Optical receiving apparatus, shield plate, computer product, transit support method, and transit support apparatus

• US 8,305,236 B2
• Filed: 09/23/2009
• Issued: 11/06/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 03/28/2007
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Inventors: Mori, Shinichiro, Noguchi, Yuichiro, Hida, Kazuo
• Primary Examiner(s): Zimmerman, Brian
• Assistant Examiner(s): Alizada, Omeed
• Application Number:
  US12/565,268
• Publication Number:
  US 20100019937A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,140 Days
• Field of Search: 340/936, 701/119, 382/104, 348/149
• US Class Current: 340/936
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 1/7036 Collocated with electrical equipment other than beacons
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/10 providing dedicated supplementary positioning signals
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2201/01 adapted for specific applications or environments
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/095 Traffic lights
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0962 having an indicator mounted inside the vehicle, e.g. giving voice messages
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096716 where the received information does not generate an automatic action on the vehicle control
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/09675 where a selection from the received information takes place in the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096783 where the origin of the information is a roadside individual element
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/161 Decentralised systems, e.g. inter-vehicle communication

Abstract

An optical receiving apparatus is provided on a mobile object and includes a receiving unit that receives an optical signal transmitted from a transmitting unit of a communication device disposed apart from the mobile object; and a blocking unit that blocks the optical signal when an incident angle of the optical signal relative to a disposition surface of the receiving unit becomes equal to or greater than a predetermined incident angle.

Claims

1. An optical receiving apparatus provided on a mobile object and comprising:

a receiving unit that receives an optical signal transmitted from a transmitting unit of a communication device disposed apart from the mobile object; and

a blocking unit that blocks the optical signal when an incident angle of the optical signal relative to a disposition surface of the receiving unit becomes equal to or greater than a predetermined incident angle, wherein the optical signal is blocked at a point where the optical signal is strongest.

2. The optical receiving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the blocking unit is a blocking plate provided on an incoming optical path of the optical signal to the receiving unit.

3. The optical receiving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined incident angle is set based on a height from a road surface to the transmitting unit, a height from the road surface to the receiving unit, and a distance between the receiving unit and a perpendicular line from the transmitting unit to the road surface.

4. The optical receiving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined incident angle is set based on a height from the communication device to the receiving unit and a distance between the receiving unit and a perpendicular line from the transmitting unit to the ground.

5. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium storing therein a transit support program that causes a computer equipped on a vehicle to execute:

detecting passage of the vehicle through an initial position on a road along which the vehicle is traveling toward an intersection of the road, based on a light receiving state of an optical receiving apparatus equipped on the vehicle and comprising a receiving unit that receives an optical signal transmitted from a transmitting unit of a communication device disposed apart from the mobile object, and a blocking unit that blocks the optical signal when an incident angle of the optical signal relative to a disposition surface of the receiving unit becomes equal to or greater than a predetermined incident angle, wherein the optical signal is blocked at a point where the optical signal is strongest;

acquiring information concerning a position of the vehicle relative to the initial position, if the passage of the vehicle has been detected at the detecting, the vehicle continuing to travel after passing the initial position;

identifying a position of the vehicle with respect to the intersection, based on the information acquired at the acquiring;

extracting, from traffic information concerning the intersection and correlated with positions at the intersection, specific traffic information correlated with the position identified at the identifying; and

outputting the specific traffic information extracted at the extracting.

6. The non-transitory computer-readable recording medium according to claim 5 and storing therein the transit support program that further causes the computer to execute:

determining priorities when plural items of the specific traffic information are extracted at the extracting, the priorities being correlated respectively to the items of the specific traffic information extracted at the extracting, wherein the outputting includes sequentially outputting the items of the specific traffic information according to the priorities determined at the determining.

7. The non-transitory computer-readable recording medium according to claim 6, wherein the determining includes determining the priorities based on at least one type of information among information concerning the vehicle, information concerning the environment around the vehicle, and biological information concerning a driver of the vehicle.

8. The non-transitory computer-readable recording medium according to claim 5 and storing therein the transit support program that further causes the computer to execute:

judging whether the position identified at the identifying is a position within a service execution area indicated by coordinates relative to the initial position, wherein

the outputting includes, based on a judgment result at the judging, outputting the specific traffic information if the position of the vehicle is within the service execution area and terminating output if the position of the vehicle subsequently is outside the service execution area.

9. The non-transitory computer-readable recording medium according to claim 8 and storing therein the transit support program that further causes the computer to execute:

accepting an input of area specification information specifying center coordinates of the service execution area and a size of the service execution area, wherein

the judging step includes judging whether the position identified at the identifying is a position within the service execution area based on the area specification information accepted at the accepting.

10. The non-transitory computer-readable recording medium according to claim 8, wherein

the extracting includes extracting information concerning the service execution area from the optical signal received by the optical receiving apparatus, and

the judging includes judging whether the position is within the service execution area based on the information extracted at the extracting.

11. A transit support apparatus equipped on a vehicle and comprising:

an optical receiving apparatus that comprises

a receiving unit that receives an optical signal transmitted from a transmitting unit of a communication device disposed apart from the mobile object, and

a blocking unit that blocks the optical signal when an incident angle of the optical signal relative to a disposition surface of the receiving unit becomes equal to or greater than a predetermined incident angle, wherein the optical signal is blocked at a point where the optical signal is strongest;

a detecting unit that detects passage through an initial position on a road along which the vehicle is traveling toward an intersection of the road, based on a light receiving state of the optical receiving apparatus;

an acquiring unit that, if passage through the initial position is detected by the detecting unit, acquires information concerning displacement of the vehicle with respect to the initial position, the vehicle continuously moving after passing the initial position;

an identifying unit that identifies a position of the vehicle with respect to the intersection based on the information acquired by the acquiring unit;

an extracting unit that extracts specific traffic information correlated with the identified position, from traffic information concerning the intersection and stored in a storage device equipped on the vehicle, the traffic information being correlated with positions at the intersection; and

an output unit that outputs the specific traffic information extracted by the extracting unit.

12. The transit support apparatus according to claim 11, further comprising:

a determining unit that determines priorities when plural items of the specific traffic information are extracted by the extracting unit, the priorities being correlated respectively to the items of the specific traffic information extracted by the extracting unit, wherein

the output unit sequentially outputs the items of the specific traffic information according to the priorities determined by the determining unit.

13. The transit support apparatus according to claim 12, wherein

the determining unit determines the priorities based on at least one type of information among information concerning the vehicle, information concerning the environment around the vehicle, and biological information concerning a driver of the vehicle.

14. The transit support apparatus according to claim 11, further comprising:

a judging unit that judges whether the position identified by the identifying unit is a position within a service execution starting area or a service execution ending area indicated by coordinates relative to the initial position, wherein

the output unit, based on a judgment result of the judging unit, starts outputting the specific traffic information if the position identified by the identifying unit is located within the service execution starting area and terminates output of the specific traffic information if the position identified by the identifying unit is located within the service execution ending area.