Vehicle traffic control system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12592148-B2
Application number	US-202218716124-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 25, 2022
Priority date	Oct 25, 2022
Publication date	Mar 31, 2026
Grant date	Mar 31, 2026

Abstract

In a server apparatus of a traffic control system, a pre-processor records a position of a vehicle in a database. A control information generator periodically generates individual control information regarding vehicles by using information in the database, and transmits the individual control information to each vehicle. Each vehicle controls travel of the subject vehicle by using the latest individual control information received from the server apparatus. In the server apparatus, an emergency processor is implemented when received travel information includes information that hinders travel of another vehicle, and generates and transmits information corresponding to the information that hinders the travel of the other vehicle, as the individual control information regarding each of the vehicles.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1 . A vehicle traffic control system comprising:
vehicles each comprising a travel controller configured to generate a control value to control travel of a corresponding one of the vehicles as a subject vehicle; and a server apparatus configured to generate individual control information for each of the vehicles based on travel information from the vehicles, and transmit the individual control information to the vehicles, wherein, the travel controller of each of the vehicles is configured to, when receiving the individual control information addressed to the subject vehicle from the server apparatus, generate the control value for a travel control of the subject vehicle using the received latest individual control information addressed to the subject vehicle, the server apparatus comprises:
a server communication device configured to receive the travel information from each of the vehicles;
a pre-processor configured to, when the server communication device receives the travel information, record, in a database, information including at least a travel position of a vehicle that has transmitted the received travel information; and
a control information generator configured to periodically generate the individual control information for each of the vehicles using the information held in the database,
the pre-processor is configured to:
determine that the received travel information includes information indicating that the vehicle that has transmitted the received information is a traffic hindrance,
cause an interrupt in response to determining that the vehicle is the traffic hindrance,
the server apparatus further comprises an emergency processor configured, in response to the interrupt caused by the pre-processor, to:
pre-empt next scheduled periodic generation by the control information generator, such that the emergency processor executes prior to that next scheduled periodic generation;
select one or more vehicles susceptible to an influence of the traffic hindrance; and
generate and transmit, to the selected one or more vehicles, per-vehicle individual control information corresponding to the traffic hindrance, using information held in the database.

2 . The vehicle traffic control system according to claim 1 , wherein the emergency processor is configured to;
identify a position of the vehicle that has transmitted the received travel information, and record a passage regulation region for prohibition or suppression of the travel of another vehicle in the database, before generating the per-vehicle individual control information for each of the selected one or more vehicles using the information held in the database; and when the database holds the passage regulation region, generate and transmit the per-vehicle individual control information for deceleration or a stop to a vehicle that is likely to travel in the passage regulation region.

3 . The vehicle traffic control system according to claim 2 , wherein, the emergency processor is configured to,
when the travel information received by the server communication device from a vehicle that is traveling on a road having lanes includes, as the information that hinders the travel of another vehicle, information indicating an accident involving the vehicle that has transmitted the travel information, or detection information of the vehicle corresponding to the information indicating the accident involving the vehicle, record, as the passage regulation region, a passage prohibition region that prohibits the travel of another vehicle in the database, for all the lanes of the road on which the vehicle that has transmitted the travel information is traveling, and when the travel information received by the server communication device from a vehicle that is traveling on a road having lanes includes, as the information that hinders the travel of another vehicle, information indicating that the vehicle that has transmitted the travel information is stopped on the road, or detection information of the vehicle corresponding to the information indicating that the vehicle is stopped on the road,
record, as the passage regulation region, the passage prohibition region that prohibits travel of another vehicle in the database, for the lane on which the vehicle that has transmitted the travel information is traveling, and
record, as the passage regulation region, a passage warning region that suppresses travel of another vehicle in the database, for the remaining lane.

4 . The vehicle traffic control system according to claim 3 , wherein the emergency processor is configured to, when the travel information received by the server communication device after the passage prohibition region and the passage warning region are recorded in the database includes information indicating alighting of an occupant from the vehicle, update the passage warning region held in the database to the passage prohibition region.

5 . The vehicle traffic control system according to claim 4 , wherein, the emergency processor and the control information generator are configured to, when the database holds the passage regulation region, generate and transmit, for the vehicle that is likely to travel in the passage regulation region, per-vehicle individual control information for a reduction in speed as compared with a vehicle that is likely to travel in a region regarding which the passage regulation region is not held in the database.

6 . The vehicle traffic control system according to claim 2 , wherein the information that hinders travel of another vehicle comprises at least one of: (a) accident information, (b) information that a vehicle is parked or stopped on a road due to malfunction or otherwise, or (c) information indicating that an occupant has alighted from a stopped vehicle.

Assignees

• Subaru Corp

Inventors

• Yamaguchi Fumihito
• Oyama Hajime

Classifications

• G08G1/164

  Centralised systems, e.g. external to vehicles · CPC title

• G08G1/096708 Primary

  where the received information might be used to generate an automatic action on the vehicle control · CPC title

• G08G1/096725

  where the received information generates an automatic action on the vehicle control · CPC title

• G08G1/096741

  where the source of the transmitted information selects which information to transmit to each vehicle · CPC title

• G08G1/0112

  from the vehicle, e.g. floating car data [FCD] · CPC title