Traffic signal cycle estimation device and traffic signal cycle estimation method

• US 8,725,397 B2
• Filed: 06/17/2010
• Issued: 05/13/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 06/17/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Hayashida, Teruhide, Nakashima, Hiroki, Jiang, Meilan, Kudara, Masatsugu, Okude, Hiroshi, Suzuki, Youta
• Primary Examiner(s): Jabr, Fadey
• Assistant Examiner(s): Schneider, Paula A
• Application Number:
  US13/499,997
• Publication Number:
  US 20130103291A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,426 Days
• Field of Search: 701/117, 701/118
• US Class Current: 701/117
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0125 Traffic data processing
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/08 according to detected number or speed of vehicles

Abstract

A traffic signal cycle estimation device 2 is provided, which includes a travel time acquisition unit 4 acquiring a traffic signal section travel time, a frequency distribution calculation unit 5 calculating a frequency distribution of the traffic signal section travel times on the basis of the traffic signal section travel times, a travel time group determination unit 6 determining a first travel time group in which the vehicle does not stop at the traffic signal and a second travel time group in which the vehicle stops at the traffic signal on the basis of the frequency distribution of the traffic signal section travel times, and a traffic signal cycle estimation unit 7 estimating cycle information of the traffic signal on the basis of a difference between the first travel time group and the second travel time group.

Claims

1. A traffic signal cycle estimation device comprising:

an electronic control unit, including executable program logic, configured to perform;

acquiring travel time data of plural vehicles, wherein said travel time data is generated by the plural vehicles and transmitted from the plural vehicles to the electronic unit;

analyzing the travel time data to acquire a traffic signal section travel time that is a time taken from entrance of the plural vehicles into a predetermined traffic signal section that corresponds to a traffic signal until the plural vehicles pass through the traffic signal section;

calculating a frequency distribution of the traffic signal section travel times;

determining a first travel time group in which the vehicle does not stop at the traffic signal and a second travel time group in which the vehicle stops at the traffic signal on the basis of the frequency distribution of the traffic signal section travel times; and

estimating cycle information of the traffic signal on the basis of a difference between the first travel time group and the second travel time group.

2. The traffic signal cycle estimation device according to claim 1, wherein the electronic control unit is configured to estimate a red signal time of the traffic signal on the basis of the difference between the first travel time group and the second travel time group.

3. The traffic signal cycle estimation device according to claim 2, wherein the electronic control unit is configured to estimate the red signal time of the traffic signal on the basis of a difference between a peak value of the first travel time group and a peak value of the second travel time group.

4. The traffic signal cycle estimation device according to claim 2, wherein the electronic control unit is configured to estimate green signal times of plural traffic signals that are installed on the same intersection on the basis of the red signal times that are respectively estimated with respect to the plural traffic signals.

5. A traffic signal cycle estimation method comprising:

acquiring travel time data of plural vehicles from the plural vehicles, wherein said travel time data is generated by the plural vehicles;

analyzing the travel time data to acquire a traffic signal section travel time that is a time taken from entrance of the plural vehicles into a predetermined traffic signal section that corresponds to a traffic signal until the vehicle passes through the traffic signal section;

calculating, by a processor, a frequency distribution of the traffic signal section travel times acquired in the travel time acquisition;

determining a first travel time group in which the vehicle does not stop at the traffic signal and a second travel time group in which the vehicle stops at the traffic signal on the basis of the frequency distribution of the traffic signal section travel times calculated in the frequency distribution calculation; and

estimating cycle information of the traffic signal on the basis of a difference between the first travel time group and the second travel time group.

6. The traffic signal cycle estimation method according to claim 5, wherein the traffic signal cycle estimation estimates a red signal time of the traffic signal on the basis of the difference between the first travel time group and the second travel time group.

7. The traffic signal cycle estimation method according to claim 6, wherein the traffic signal cycle estimation estimates the red signal time of the traffic signal on the basis of a difference between a peak value of the first travel time group and a peak value of the second travel time group.

8. The traffic signal cycle estimation method according to claim 6, wherein the traffic signal cycle estimation estimates green signal times of plural traffic signals that are installed on the same intersection on the basis of red signal times that are respectively estimated with respect to the plural traffic signals.