This invention relates to a system of vehicle traffic management with edge device and hydraulic dividers.
Background of the Invention
US9595190 This patent provides a method that has steps for dividing a controlled roadway into virtual moving packets with characteristics of being spaced apart by a specific distance and moving at a controlled speed on the roadway, by a master computer coupled to sensors and actuators of the controlled roadway, managing vehicles traveling on the controlled roadway to enter, leave and occupy individual ones of the virtual packets, through communication by the master computer with on-board computers in individual ones of the vehicles, and adjusting virtual packet size and spacing during operation, causing vehicles occupying the spaces of the virtual packets to readjust position relative to one another according to the size and spacing adjustment of the packets by the master computer.
Research Gap: Instead of providing a Personal Transportation System (PTS) and self-propelled dual mode Personal Vehicles (PVs) as suggested in the adjacent patent, this disclosure will incorporate installation of vertically movable dividers of adequate width and height to the existing roads so as to increase or decrease the available lanes to the commuting vehicles. This invention will also incorporate an edge device to monitor the traffic volume and hence control the dividers accordingly.
US10122790 This patent provides systems and methods for traffic management in a network of moving things. Various aspects of this disclosure provide systems and methods for utilizing vehicles, vehicle sensors, and/or vehicle-based networks of the internet of moving things for traffic control optimization.
Research Gap: This disclosure provides systems for managing and controlling vehicular traffic at points of heavy traffic with the help of edge device aided with machine learning and vertically movable hydraulic dividers.
US10332405 This invention provides a traffic management system for managing unmanned aerial systems (UASs) operating at low - altitude. The system includes surveillance for locating and tracking UASs in uncontrolled airspace, for example, in airspace below 10,000 feet MSL. The system also includes flight rules for safe operation of UASs in uncontrolled airspace. The system further includes computers for processing said surveillance and for applying the flight rules to UASs. The traffic management system may be portable, persistent, or a hybrid thereof.
Research Gap: This invention provides systems for managing and controlling manned terrestrial vehicles operating on roads.
US10460601 This patent provides a smart traffic control device that transmits information to approaching vehicles regarding its current and future state enabling vehicles to control their speed to avoid arriving at the traffic control device until it permits the passage of traffic, thus avoiding stopping, idling and reaccelerating when reaching the traffic control device. In other embodiments the traffic control device systems receive information from vehicles, transmitting it to other vehicles.
Research Gap: In this disclosure, an edge device comprising of camera, computing unit and a radio frequency (RF) modem has been proposed which will be send the traffic volume data to the control unit. The control unit will then control the dividers automatically to increase or decrease the available lanes for commute.
AU2021102850A4 This patent discloses a real time connectivity and location monitoring system for vehicular emergency using JOT which consists of plurality of vehicular units is embedded in the vehicle which communicates with local server unit using Zigbee module which further transmits to the data transmission node and uploads on cloud server and access through web application/mobile application by nearest emergency unit. The present invention communicates information about vehicle during emergency to the nearest emergency unit.
Research Gap: This invention, instead of real time connectivity and location monitoring for vehicular emergency, will address the traffic issues in the cities by incorporating hydraulic dividers.
None of the prior art indicate above either alone or in combination with one another disclose what the present invention has disclosed. Present invention is a system of vehicle traffic management with edge device and hydraulic dividers
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts, in a simplified format, that are further described in the detailed description of the invention.
This summary is neither intended to identify key or essential inventive concepts of the invention and nor is it intended for determining the scope of the invention.
To further clarify advantages and features of the present invention, a more particular description of the invention will be rendered by reference to specific embodiments thereof, which is illustrated in the appended drawings. It is appreciated that these drawings depict only typical embodiments of the invention and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope. The invention will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail with the accompanying drawings.
The present invention provides a traffic management system for two-way traffic with four lane city roads at times of peak traffic in one-way and low traffic in the other. The system incorporates vertically movable, foldable & hydraulically operated dividers of adequate width and height; capable of providing extra lanes to high traffic way from the low traffic way. The system also consists of an edge device for computing the traffic volume with the help of camera and a computing unit aided with machine learning. The edge device sends the traffic data to the control unit through RF modem. The control unit then through its own computing unit and actuators, control the hydraulic dividers. Infrared sensors and alarm system provided further confirms the safety of the commuters during operation of the dividers. The traffic management system may be installed at places of heavy traffic at peak times.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The illustrated embodiments of the subject matter will be understood by reference to the drawings, wherein like parts are designated by like numerals throughout. The following description is intended only by way of example, and simply illustrates certain selected embodiments of devices, systems, and methods that are consistent with the subject matter as claimed herein, wherein:
Fig. 1 Arrangements of dividers and edge device with control unit in two way traffic
Fig. 2 Active dividers (113) during heavy traffic from 1 towards 2 – lanes L1, L2 and L3 available for traffic from 1 to 2
Fig. 3 Active dividers (111) during heavy traffic from 2 towards 1 – lanes L2, L3 and L4 available for traffic from 2 to 1
Fig. 4 Single Hydraulic Divider (111, 112 & 113) when lowered (left) and raised (right)
Fig. 5 edge Device
Fig. 6 Control Unit
Fig. 7 Flowchart of traffic management by Edge Device and Hydraulic Dividers
The figures depict embodiments of the present subject matter for the purposes of illustration only. A person skilled in the art will easily recognize from the following description that alternative embodiments of the structures and methods illustrated herein may be employed without departing from the principles of the disclosure described herein.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The detailed description of various exemplary embodiments of the disclosure is described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that the embodiments are described herein in such details as to clearly communicate the disclosure. However, the amount of details provided herein is not intended to limit the anticipated variations of embodiments; on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the scope of the present disclosure as defined by the appended claims.
It is also to be understood that various arrangements may be devised that, although not explicitly described or shown herein, embody the principles of the present disclosure. Moreover, all statements herein reciting principles, aspects, and embodiments of the present disclosure, as well as specific examples, are intended to encompass equivalents thereof.
The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of example embodiments. As used herein, the singular forms “a",” “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes” and/or “including,” when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components and/or groups thereof.
It should also be noted that in some alternative implementations, the functions/acts noted may occur out of the order noted in the figures. For example, two figures shown in succession may, in fact, be executed concurrently or may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality/acts involved.
In addition, the descriptions of "first", "second", “third”, and the like in the present invention are used for the purpose of description only, and are not to be construed as indicating or implying their relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of technical features indicated. Thus, features defining "first" and "second" may include at least one of the features, either explicitly or implicitly.
Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which example embodiments belong. It will be further understood that terms, e.g., those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.
These and other advantages of the present subject matter would be described in greater detail with reference to the following figures. It should be noted that the description merely illustrates the principles of the present subject matter. It will thus be appreciated that those skilled in the art will be able to devise various arrangements that, although not explicitly described herein, embody the principles of the present subject matter and are included within its scope.
The present invention is related generally to the field of transportation engineering, and more specifically to the vehicular traffic management that utilizes hydraulic dividers, edge device and a control unit to manage the traffic on the existing non-expandable city roads with two-way traffic and a total of four lanes with heavy traffic in one way at peak times and lower traffic in the other.
During peak times, it has been observed that the traffic volume on one way is relatively higher than the traffic volume on the other. This results in traffic jam on the way with higher traffic volume due to constrained lanes while the other way remains free. The lesser traffic volume on the other way can be accommodated in one lane only; setting free the other lane. The proposed invention utilizes this free lane with the help of vertically movable and foldable hydraulic dividers controlled by control unit with the help of edge device.
Some embodiments of this disclosure, illustrating all its features, will now be discussed in detail.
Figure 1 depicts the arrangement of the various components of the proposed traffic management system on the two-way traffic and four lane city road. 1 (106) and 2 (107) are the two sections of the road. The road consists of four lanes namely L1 (100), L2 (101), L3 (102) and L4 (103). The direction of traffic movement on lanes L1 (100) and L2 (101) is from 1 (106) to 2 (107) while the direction of traffic movement on lanes L3 (102) and L4 (103) is from 2 (107) to 1 (106). The four lanes have been divided by three hydraulic divider lines namely HDL1 (111), HDL2 (112), HDL3 (113) and HDL4 (114).
Each hydraulic divider line consists of several individual vertically movable and foldable hydraulic dividers (Fig. 4). A hydraulic divider is foldable in three layers with each fold of height 100 mm taking the total height of the divider as 300 mm. the width of the divider is 100 mm which is thin & sufficiently wide enough so as to provide more room for the vehicles to move. The length individual divider is 900 mm. The gap between subsequent dividers is 100 mm. Each divider will be equipped with infrared sensors (206). The sensors on the dividers will prevent that divider along with the other two dividers in front and back of the vehicle to be raised in adverse conditions of vehicle being on top of the dividers.
Two edge devices ED1 (108) and ED2 (109) have been installed on the two opposite sides of the road so as to monitor the traffic volume on the two ways with lanes as L1, L2 and L3, L4 respectively. Each Edge Device (Fig. 5) consists of a camera (200), a computing unit (201) and a Radio Frequency (RF) modem (202). The camera sends real time traffic pictures to the computing unit, which in turn with the help of machine learning determines the traffic volume and send the data to the computing unit (203) of the Control Unit (110) (Fig. 6).
Vehicles (114) have been depicted by rectangular green shapes. The control center as depicted by CU (110) is located near the center of the length of the road being monitored. Each Control Unit consists of a Computing Unit (203), an actuator (204), an alarm system (205), infrared sensors (206) and hydraulic dividers (111, 112 and 113). The data received from the Edge Devices (108 & 109) is further computed by the Computing Unit (203) which further controls the raising and lowering of the hydraulic dividers through actuators (204). With RF modem, the control units can be installed even away from the monitored sites in cases of constrained spaces.
An alarm system (205) has been proposed to avoid any collision of the vehicles with the dividers. The system will alarm the commuters of the activation process of the dividers. The alarm system consists of a hooter and two displays for both ways of traffic for displaying remaining time of activation of the hydraulic dividers. The computing unit, in case of activating the hydraulic dividers, will also activate the alarm system thereby informing the commuters of the activation by displaying time 5 minutes prior to the activation of the dividers. The alarm system will also run hooter for the first and last 20 seconds of this alarming period to inform the commuters of the process in case they are unable to see the display.
Detailed Working of Traffic Management System:
On normal traffic times (Fig. 1), the HDL2 (112) will be raised up while the other two HDL1 (111) and HDL3 (113) will be lowered enabling the traffic to move through two lanes in each way.
The camera (200) of Edge Devices (108 & 109) collects real time traffic pictures (251) and send it as an input to the Computing Unit (201) of the respective edge devices which further computes the traffic volume (252). The computed data in terms of traffic volume is then transmitted by the RF modem (202) to the Computing Unit (203) of the Control Unit (110); 253. The computing Unit (203) then compares the received traffic volume data with the maximum traffic volume. In case of heavy traffic volume from 1 (106) to 2 (107) i.e. heavy traffic volume in lanes L1 (100) and L2 (101); 254; Computing Unit (203) sends instructions to the alarm system (205) and infrared sensors (206) for activation (255). The monitor then displays the remaining time starting from 5 minutes along with hooter sound for the first and last 20 seconds of this alarming period to inform the commuters of the process in case they are unable to see the monitor display. On completion of the alarming time, the Computing Unit (203) sends instructions to the Actuators (204) for raising HDL3 (113) and lowering HDL2 (112); 256. This provides three lanes i.e. L1, L2 and L3 to the heavy traffic moving from 1 to 2 and one lane to the lower traffic volume from 2 to 1 (257).
In case of heavy traffic volume from 2 (107) to 1 (106) i.e. heavy traffic volume in lanes L3 (102) and L4 (103); 258; Computing Unit (203) sends instructions to the alarm system (205) and infrared sensors (206) for activation (259). The monitor then displays the remaining time starting from 5 minutes along with hooter sound for the first and last 20 seconds of this alarming period to inform the commuters of the process in case they are unable to see the monitor display. On completion of the alarming time, the Computing Unit (203) sends instructions Computing Unit (203) sends instructions to the Actuators (204) for raising HDL1 (111) and lowering HDL2 (112); 260. This provides three lanes i.e. L2, L3 and L4 to the heavy traffic moving from 2 to 1 and one lane to the lower traffic volume from 1 to 2 (261).
In case of normal traffic (259), HDL2 (112) will be raised up while the other two HDL1 (111) and HDL3 (113) will be lowered enabling the traffic to move through two lanes in each way (262).
ADVANTAGES OF THE INVENTION:
Following are the advantages of the invention:
1. The present invention will solve the problem of traffic by providing a traffic management system for two-way traffic with four lane city roads at times of peak traffic in one-way and low traffic in the other.
2. The present invention will allow more vehicles, in the heavy traffic side, to pass through a section in a given time.
3. The present invention will be cost effective as compared to the construction of extra lane.
4. The present invention provides traffic management solution for non-expandable city roads by incorporating thin vertically movable and foldable hydraulic dividers which can be raised and lowered down to increase or decrease the available lanes for the traffic.
5. The present invention will automatically calculate the traffic volume with the help of edge device, consisting of camera and computing unit, which is unique on its own.
6. Hydraulic dividers provide a robust solution for harsh weather conditions which will not be possible with electric dividers.
7. The RF modem attached to the edge device can send the data from the computing unit of the edge device to the control unit over longer distances. This, in case of no room for installation of the control unit, will enable the control unit to be placed at locations away from the location of installation of dividers.
8. The control unit, with its own computing unit, is capable of operating the dividers automatically without human interference. In case of any failure, the control unit can also be operated manually.
9. The alarm system with running time on display, will alarm the drivers minutes before operation of the hydraulic dividers. Thereby, preventing any collision with the dividers.
10. The sensors on the dividers will prevent that divider along with the other two dividers in front and back of the vehicle to be raised in adverse conditions of vehicle being on top of the dividers.

Novel Features of the Invention
1. Traffic management system for non-expandable two-way traffic with four lanes city roads.
2. Edge device for real time traffic volume computation through machine learning and sending the data to the Control Unit through Radio Frequency (RF) modem.
3. Vertically movable, foldable hydraulic dividers for traffic management.
4. Smart control unit with computing unit and actuators to control the dividers in real time.
5. Alarm System for traffic management with edge device and control unit for dividers.
6. Smart system for gradually lifting the dividers one by one to prevent collision with the vehicles.

We Claim:

1. A system of vehicle traffic management with edge device and hydraulic dividers comprises camera (200) of Edge Devices (108 & 109) collects real time traffic pictures (251) and send it as an input to the Computing Unit (201) of the respective edge devices which further computes the traffic volume (252); wherein the computed data in terms of traffic volume is then transmitted by the RF modem (202) to the Computing Unit (203) of the Control Unit (110).
2. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the computed data in terms of traffic volume is then transmitted by the RF modem (202) to the Computing Unit (203) of the Control Unit (110); 253.
3. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the computing Unit (203) then compares the received traffic volume data with the maximum traffic volume.
4. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein in case of heavy traffic volume from 1 (106) to 2 (107) i.e. heavy traffic volume in lanes L1 (100) and L2 (101); 254; Computing Unit (203) sends instructions to the alarm system (205) and infrared sensors (206) for activation (255).
5. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the monitor then displays the remaining time starting from 5 minutes along with hooter sound for the first and last 20 seconds of this alarming period to inform the commuters of the process in case they are unable to see the monitor display; and On completion of the alarming time, the Computing Unit (203) sends instructions to the Actuators (204) for raising HDL3 (113) and lowering HDL2 (112); 256; which provides three lanes i.e. L1, L2 and L3 to the heavy traffic moving from 1 to 2 and one lane to the lower traffic volume from 2 to 1 (257).
6. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein in case of heavy traffic volume from 2 (107) to 1 (106) i.e. heavy traffic volume in lanes L3 (102) and L4 (103); 258; Computing Unit (203) sends instructions to the alarm system (205) and infrared sensors (206) for activation (259); the monitor then displays the remaining time starting from 5 minutes along with hooter sound for the first and last 20 seconds of this alarming period to inform the commuters of the process in case they are unable to see the monitor display.
7. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein on completion of the alarming time, the Computing Unit (203) sends instructions Computing Unit (203) sends instructions to the Actuators (204) for raising HDL1 (111) and lowering HDL2 (112); 260; which provides three lanes i.e. L2, L3 and L4 to the heavy traffic moving from 2 to 1 and one lane to the lower traffic volume from 1 to 2 (261).
8. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein in case of normal traffic (259), HDL2 (112) will be raised up while the other two HDL1 (111) and HDL3 (113) are enabling the traffic to move through two lanes in each way (262).