Vehicle detecting system

• US 5,537,110 A
• Filed: 02/10/1994
• Issued: 07/16/1996
• Est. Priority Date: 02/19/1993
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Mitsubishi Jukogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Jukogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
• Inventors: Konishi, Masayoshi, Fujita, Ichiro, Nakayama, Hiroyuki, Kato, Seiki, Iida, Yasuhisa, Yamashita, Riichiro, Uehara, Hideo
• Primary Examiner(s): Swarthout, Brent A.
• Assistant Examiner(s): TONG, NINA C
• Application Number:
  US08/194,352
• Time in Patent Office: 887 Days
• Field of Search: 340/942, 340/936, 340/933, 340/937, 340/941, 340/939, 364/436
• US Class Current: 340/942
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/015 with provision for distinguishing between two or more types of vehicles, e.g. between motor-cars and cycles
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/04 using optical or ultrasonic detectors

Abstract

The object of the present invention is to accurately detect vehicles even under special conditions where vehicles go side by side, a motorcycle passes another vehicle in a traffic jam, or a shadow is cast on the road surface. The vehicle detecting system comprises a one dimension CCD camera 2 mounted above a road surface so as to provide one dimension light amount signal in the lane width direction from above the road surface and intermittent markings 6 disposed in the field of view of the one dimension CCD camera. When a vehicle 3 enters the field of view of the one dimension CCD camera 2, the modulation of one dimension light amount signal is disturbed. Therefore, a signal processing device 5 detects the vehicle on the basis of the output signal of the one dimension CCD camera 2 by checking the disturbance of modulation.

Claims

1. A vehicle detecting system comprising, an optical array sensor which is disposed above a road surface to receive a one dimension light amount signal in the lane width direction from the road surface;

an optical equipment which is mounted to said optical array sensor;

intermittent markings which are disposed at fixed intervals on the road surface in the one dimension field of view of said optical array sensor; and

a signal processing device which detects vehicles passing through on said road surface by processing an output signal sent from said optical array sensor;

wherein the intermittent period interval of said intermittent markings is longer than the on-road period interval of the picture elements of said optical array sensor, and shorter than the minimum width of the vehicle to be detected.

2. A vehicle detecting system according to claim 1 wherein said vehicle detecting system further includes at least one sensor out of a step board which is embedded in the road surface and has a contact operated by a vehicle wheel, a loop coil which is embedded in the road surface, an ultrasonic wave transmitter/receiver which is mounted above the road surface, and a microwave transmitter/receiver which is mounted above the road surface, so that said signal processing device detects vehicles from the output signal of said one sensor and the output signal of said optical array sensor.

3. A vehicle detecting system according to claim 1 wherein said signal processing device detects said vehicles passing through on said road surface by comparing a standard signal pattern from said optical array sensor which is modulated intermittently by said markings in the case where no vehicle is present with the output signal pattern in the case where a vehicle passes through.

4. A vehicle detecting system comprising, a marking projecting device which includes a laser light source and a diffraction grating mounted above a road surface in order to project stripe-pattern intermittent marking images in the lane width direction onto the road surface;

an optical array sensor which is mounted above the road surface so as to have an optical axis in a nonparallel arrangement with the optical axis of said marking projecting device, and receives a one dimension light amount signal of said intermittent marking images in the lane width direction from the road surface;

an optical equipment which is mounted to said optical array sensor; and

a signal processing device which detects vehicles passing through on said road surface by processing an output signal sent from said optical array sensor;

wherein the intermittent period interval of said intermittent marking images is longer than the on-road period interval of the picture elements of said optical array sensor, and shorter than the minimum width of the vehicle to be detected.

5. A vehicle detecting system according to claim 4 wherein said vehicle detecting system further includes at least one sensor out of a step board which is embedded in the road surface and has a contact operated by a tire of vehicle, a loop coil which is embedded in the road surface, an ultrasonic wave transmitter/receiver which is mounted above the road surface, and a microwave transmitter/receiver which is mounted above the road surface, and said signal processing device detects vehicles from the output signal of said one sensor and the output signal of said optical array sensor.

6. A vehicle detecting system according to claim 4 wherein said signal processing device detects said vehicles passing through on said road surface by processing the change of output signal pattern of passing vehicle out of the output signal patterns from said optical array sensor which are modulated intermittently by said marking image when no vehicle is present.