Traffic signal light control system and method

• US 7,689,347 B2
• Filed: 02/24/2006
• Issued: 03/30/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 03/08/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Henry H. Wall III
• Original Assignee: Henry H. Wall III
• Inventors: Wall, Henry H. III
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran; Khoi
• Assistant Examiner(s): KING, RODNEY P
• Application Number:
  US11/360,958
• Publication Number:
  US 20080086258A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,495 Days
• Field of Search: 701/117, 340/933
• US Class Current: 701/117
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/081 Plural intersections under common control

Abstract

An apparatus or system and method to control traffic at an intersection which uses a digital camera with pan, tilt, zoom, fast position and autofocus to send information to an integrated central processing unit having image processing algorithms which evaluate and analyze less than the entire image to determine whether a vehicle(s) is (are) present or are approaching and its (their) size, speed and distance in order to solve logical propositions to maintain or change the right of way by signal to a conventional traffic control signal unit.

Claims

1. A traffic control apparatus adjacent at least two roadways in which one or more moving objects is to be controlled for efficiency and safety in a passage through an intersection of the at least two roadways in real-time, said apparatus including

a) at least one means for viewing said intersection, at least two roadways, or combinations thereof;

and for capturing a series of images thereof to provide information related to movement of one or more of said objects through said intersection, at least two roadways, or combinations thereof;

b) a marker means at a predetermined location, for determining the location of the field of view of the means for viewing;

c) at least one digital computer means with at least one central processing unit comprising computer instructions with algorithms to process less than the entire image of each image of the series of images and to compare less than the entire image of each image of the series of images to a previously captured image of the intersection, at least two roadways, or combinations thereof;

wherein the intersection, at least two roadways, or combinations thereof is unoccupied in the previously captured image, for analyzing and evaluating said information to provide location, speed, direction of travel, size and distance from said intersection parameters for one or more of said objects in order to provide said parameters as data for computer program instructions for determining the most efficient and effective protocol for allowing each moving object to enter and safely pass through the intersection for regulation of the passage through said intersection and provide an appropriate control signal, wherein the algorithms are selected from the group consisting of;

a first algorithm for determining atmospheric conditions for determining blindness of the means for viewing;

a second algorithm for determining the position of the means for viewing;

a third algorithm for selecting the previously captured image for comparison with less than the entire image of each image of the series of images;

a fourth algorithm for selecting atypical pixels for comparison to the previously captured image and for detecting moving objects;

a fifth algorithm for identifying the atypical pixels by comparing the atypical pixels to memory files on the moving objects stored on the at least one digital computer means;

a sixth algorithm for calculating the distance of the moving objects from the intersection;

a computational algorithm for calculating the speed of the moving objects and for calculating the estimated time of arrival of the moving objects to the intersection;

a seventh algorithm for determining a distance along each roadway for the means for viewing to capture images;

an eighth algorithm for calculating an expected new location of the moving objects;

or combinations thereof;

d) a plurality of inputs in communication with the each central processing unit for receiving data from the algorithms and a plurality of outputs in communication with each central processing unit for sending instructions to the means for viewing; and

e) computer instructions for communicating the appropriate control signal to at least one control signal means for regulating the passage of one or more of said objects through the intersection.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said means for viewing is a high resolution digital camera.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the high resolution digital camera is a video camera.

4. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the high resolution digital camera can pan 360 degrees horizontally, 180 degrees vertically and zoom from 1 to about 10 times with automatic focus.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said marker means is a flat, geometrically shaped marker of a fixed and precise geometry for recognition by the computer instructions with algorithms, has a highly reflective surface, and is sized to be readily recognized by the means for viewing and capable of being viewed at night.

6. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said at least one digital computer means employs a simplified digital image processing algorithm to process less than the entire image of each of the images captured in said series of images in order to provide data to a logical algorithm for regulation of passage of one or more of said objects through said intersection.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said at least one control signal means is a tri-color traffic control signal.

12. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a library of defective pixels maintained on the digital computer means;

wherein the defective pixels are pixels that have become non-responsive to light, for excluding the defective pixels from use by the computer instructions with algorithms.

8. A process for regulating the movement of one or more discrete bodies in motion in specific intersecting lanes and intersecting motion in real-time so that collision of such bodies in the intersection is avoided and the bodies proceed through the intersection in a safe and efficient manner, said process comprising the steps of

a) capturing at least a portion of each image of a series of images of the discrete bodies approaching the intersectional area over a discrete period of time, using a camera means and including a known marker means at a predetermined location in at least a portion of each said image of the series of images for determining the location of the field of view of the camera means;

wherein the camera means is in communication with at least one central processing unit of at least one digital computer means, to provide information related to the movement of one or more of said discrete bodies;

b) using computer instructions on each central processing unit, wherein the computer instructions comprise a plurality of algorithms to compare each captured image of the series of images using less than the entire image to a known image of an unoccupied lane in order to determine the size, on speed of approach to, distance from the intersection and direction of travel of at least one such discrete body in the captured image, if any;

wherein the plurality of algorithms are selected from the group consisting of;

a first algorithm for determining atmospheric conditions for determining blindness of the camera means;

a second algorithm for determining the position of the camera means;

a third algorithm for selecting the known image for comparison with less than the entire image of each captured image;

a fourth algorithm for selecting atypical pixels for comparison to the known image and for detecting discrete bodies;

a fifth algorithm for identifying atypical pixels by comparing the atypical pixels to memory files on the discrete bodies stored on the at least one digital computer means;

a sixth algorithm for calculating the distance of the discrete bodies from the intersection;

a computational algorithm for calculating the speed of the discrete bodies and for estimating the time of arrival of the discrete bodies to the intersection;

a seventh algorithm for determining a distance along each intersecting lane for the camera means to capture images;

an eighth algorithm for calculating an expected new location of the discrete bodies;

or combinations thereof;

c) a plurality of inputs in communication with each of the at least one central processing units for receiving data from the plurality of algorithms and a plurality of outputs in communication with each central processing unit for sending signals to the camera means;

d) based on the calculated size, location speed, distance from the intersection and direction of travel, using computer instructions on at least one central processing unit for determining the most efficient and effective protocol for allowing at least one such discrete bodies to enter and safely pass through the intersection, and

e) using computer instructions on at least one central processing unit to signal a control means to operate at such a safe and efficient method for allowing one or more of the discrete bodies to pass through said intersection.

9. The process of claim 8 farther comprising a fail safe intersectional area protocol in the event that a useable image or series of images cannot be captured.

10. The process of claim 8 further comprising the step of

f) intervening in the process at any step by an operator to manually control the intersectional control means.

11. The process of claim 8 further comprising in said step b) using separate computational devices for each algorithm or subroutine so that simultaneous parallel processing of all simplified digital image processing and computations is carried out allowing traffic control in real time.

13. The process of claim 8, further comprising in step b) maintaining a library of defective pixels on the digital computer means;

wherein the defective pixels are pixels that have become non-responsive to light, for excluding the defective pixels from use by the computer instructions with the plurality of algorithms.