US 8,803,708 B2Granted

Method and apparatus for continuously detecting the presence of vehicles, with an optical sensor and a magnetic sensor

AssigneeUniversitat Politecnica De Catalunya

InventorsRamon Pallàs Areny, Jaime Oscar Casas Piedrafita, Ernesto Sifuentes De La Hoya

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Abstract

A method and apparatus for continuous, non-intermittent, detection of vehicles based on a light detector for detecting a change in illumination when a vehicle arrives or departs, and on a use of the light detection to activate a magnetic sensor, a sensitivity of which is adjusted to detect only those magnetic disturbances sufficiently large to be able to be attributed to a vehicle which is over the sensor. Both the light detector and the magnetic sensor are connected directly to a digital controller without a need for active electronic components or their own or a shared power supply source. The light detector may be fixed or portable, wireless or connected by cables, and may operate independently or as part of a sensor network.

Claims11

Dependent claims

A method for using an apparatus for the continuous detection of the presence of a vehicle in a predetermined area, wherein the method is carried out from the ground and uses a dual principle of measurement based on a passive optical sensor and a magnetic field sensor, comprising

said passive optical sensor and said magnetic field sensor are connected to a digital controller, from which the sensors are activated and powered;
in a stand-by state, said digital controller remains in a low power consumption state and supplies power to said passive optical sensor, whereas said magnetic field sensor does not receive any power supply;
in said stand-by state, said passive optical sensor detects a level of illumination, and when said detected level of illumination is below a predefined value, said passive optical sensor awakens said digital controller from the low power consumption state and said digital controller activates and powers said magnetic field sensor to confirm the presence of a vehicle by detecting and quantifying a magnetic disturbance in a direction in which the Earth's magnetic field is large in accordance with the latitude of the area where said apparatus is used.

An apparatus for the continuous detection of the presence of a vehicle in a predetermined area, said apparatus comprising a digital controller, a passive optical sensor for detecting a level of illumination, and a magnetic field sensor for detecting and quantifying a magnetic disturbance in a direction in which the Earth's magnetic field is large in accordance with the latitude of the area where said apparatus is used, said passive optical sensor and said magnetic field sensor being activated and powered from said digital controller, wherein said digital controller is configured to perform the following actions:

in a stand-by state, remain in a low power consumption state and supply power to said passive optical sensor, without supplying any power to said magnetic field sensor;
in said stand-by state, be awakened from the low power consumption state by said passive optical sensor when the passive optical sensor detects a level of illumination below a predefined value, and activate and power said magnetic field sensor to confirm the presence of a vehicle by detecting and quantifying a magnetic disturbance in a direction in which the Earth's magnetic field is large in accordance with the latitude of the area where said apparatus is used.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 13/498,073Filed 31 Aug 2010
Priority: ES 20090197028 Sep 2009
Published: US 2012/0274483 A11 Nov 2012
Granted: 12 Aug 2014
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification5 codes

G08G 1/04
Detecting movement of traffic to be counted or controlled: using optical or ultrasonic detectors
G01V 11/00
Prospecting or detecting by methods combining techniques covered by two or more
G08G 1/042
Detecting movement of traffic to be counted or controlled: using inductive or magnetic detectors
G08G
Traffic control systems