AU2016102332A4 - Traffic Signal Control System with Multiple Control Nodes - Google Patents

Abstract

A traffic signal control system with multiple control nodes is provided, which includes a master controller and at least one traffic light cluster. The master controller may generate a control signal. The traffic light cluster is connected to the master 5 controller via at least one signal cable and includes a slave controller and a group of traffic light poles. The slave controller is connected to a group of traffic light poles and receives the control signal generated by the master controller through the signal cable. The slave controller is configured to drive the group of traffic light poles according to the control signal to indicate the corresponding light signal.

Description

TRAFFIC SIGNAL CONTROL SYSTEM WITH MULTIPLE CONTROL 2016102332 30 Dec 2016

NODES

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 5 [0001] This application claims priorities from Taiwan Patent Application Nos. 104221245 and 105202002, respectively filed on December 31st, 2015 and February 4th, 2016, in the Taiwan Intellectual Property Office, the contents of them are hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety for all purposes.

0 BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present disclosure is related to a traffic signal control system, and more particularly, to a traffic signal control system with multiple control nodes, of which at least one traffic light cluster is connected to a master controller via at least one 5 signal cable and two power wires, or a plurality of traffic light clusters are daisy chained with the master controller using at least one signal cable and two power wires. 2. Description of the Related Art 20 [0003]Nowadays, traffic lights are generally connected to the main control cabinet through electrical wires. For example, when a single main control cabinet is to control eight traffic lights, eight electrical wires are required to individually connect each of the traffic lights to the main control cabinet.

[0004] However, when too many traffic lights are to be connected to the main 25 control cabinet in the aforementioned way, there will be an excessive amount of wiring and the connection pattern thereof will be extremely complicated. Thus, the l installation of the wiring or the maintenance of the traffic lights is bound to take a long time and the cost incurred will be very high. In addition to that, because of the limited accommodation capacity available inside the main control cabinet, the amount of traffic lights the main control cabinet is capable of controlling will be 5 limited as well. As the result, additional distribution panels are required when there are too many traffic lights to control. Apart from that, the excessive amount of electrical wiring is likely to cause short circuit, which in turn will cause conflicting traffic signals, which could pose harm to traffic users. Besides, in the event of system malfunction, it will be difficult to pinpoint the faulty component or wire 0 during the troubleshooting for complicated electrical wirings therein. 2016102332 30 Dec 2016 [0005] Therefore, it is imperative to find a solution that simplifies the electrical wiring layout for the traffic signal control system and reduces the amount of wirings thereof over the present art.

5 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0006] Therefore, the present disclosure aims to provide a traffic signal control system with multiple control nodes to solve the aforementioned problems in the art.

[0007] In accordance with the objective of the present disclosure, a traffic signal control system with multiple control nodes is provided, which may include a master 20 controller and at least one traffic light cluster. The master controller may generate a control signal. The traffic light cluster may be connected to the master controller via at least one signal cable and may include a slave controller and a group of traffic light poles. The slave controller may be connected to a group of traffic light poles and may receive the control signal generated by the master controller through the 25 signal cable. The slave controller may be configured to drive the group of traffic light poles according to the control signal to indicate the corresponding light signal.

[0008] In a preferred embodiment, there may be a plurality of the traffic light 2 clusters, and each of the traffic light clusters may be connected to the master controller via the at least one signal cable. According to the control signal, the slave controller of at least one of the traffic light clusters may be configured to drive the group of traffic light poles connected thereto to indicate a corresponding light signal. 2016102332 30 Dec 2016 5 [0009] In a preferred embodiment, the traffic signal control system with multiple control nodes may include a plurality of traffic light clusters. The traffic light clusters may be daisy chained with the master controller via the signal cable. According to the control signal, the slave controller of at least one of the traffic light clusters may be configured to drive the group of traffic light poles connected thereto 0 to indicate a corresponding light signal.

[0010] In a preferred embodiment, the traffic light cluster may be connected to at least one external device or at least one traffic light. The external device or the traffic light may be driven by the slave controller, or be driven by the slave controller according to the control signal from the master controller. 5 [0011] In a preferred embodiment, the slave controller may include a traffic light driving device, which may drive the group of traffic light poles to indicate the light signal according to the control signal. In addition, the master controller may include a master control device. The traffic light driving device may monitor the group of traffic light poles and may generate a status signal, and the master control device 20 may be configured to receive the status signal.

[0012] In conclusion, the master controller of the traffic signal control system with multiple control nodes of the present disclosure may be connected to at least one traffic light cluster via a signal cable and two power wires. The master controller may also be linked by at least one signal cable and two power wires to a plurality of 25 traffic light clusters to form a daisy chain. As the result, the amount of wirings required can be dramatically reduced, and the cost and time for the installation and maintenance thereof can be reduced as well. Apart from that, in the event that the 3 signal connection to one side of one of the traffic light clusters in the daisy chain is disrupted, that traffic light cluster is still capable of receiving the signal from the other side thereof, such that the traffic light clusters are able to indicate the traffic signals properly. Besides, the traffic light cluster may be further connected to an 5 external device or traffic light. The external device or traffic light may be driven by the slave controller or be driven by the slave controller according to the control signal generated by the master controller. Therefore, the traffic light cluster functions as the extension point which allows the installation of additional external device or traffic lights thereto, and the present disclosure functions as a traffic 0 control system with multiple control nodes, which also serves as the points for the extension traffic control network. 2016102332 30 Dec 2016

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the first embodiment of the traffic signal control system with multiple control nodes of the present disclosure. 5 FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the second embodiment of the traffic signal control system with multiple control nodes of the present disclosure. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the third embodiment of the traffic signal control system with multiple control nodes of the present disclosure. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the fourth embodiment of the traffic signal 20 control system with multiple control nodes of the present disclosure. FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the fifth embodiment of the traffic signal control system with multiple control nodes of the present disclosure. FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the sixth embodiment of the traffic signal control system with multiple control nodes of the present disclosure. 25 FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing the seventh embodiment of the traffic signal control system with multiple control nodes of the present disclosure. 4 FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing the eighth embodiment of the traffic signal control system with multiple control nodes of the present disclosure. 2016102332 30 Dec 2016 FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing the ninth embodiment of the traffic signal control system with multiple control nodes of the present disclosure. 5

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0014] The present disclosure has been described with some preferred embodiments thereof and it is understood that many changes and modifications in the described embodiments can be carried out without departing from the scope and the spirit of 0 the disclosure that is intended to be limited only by the appended claims.

[0015] The descriptions hereinafter make reference to FIG. 1, which is a block diagram showing the first embodiment of the traffic signal control system with multiple control nodes of the present disclosure. As shown in the drawing, the traffic signal control system with multiple control nodes 100 of the first embodiment may 5 include a master controller 110 and at least one traffic light cluster 120.

[0016] In particular, the master controller 110 may generate a control signal 101. The traffic light cluster 120 may be connected to the master controller 110 via at least one signal cable. The traffic light cluster 120 may include a slave controller 121 and a group of traffic light poles 122. The slave controller 121 may be 20 connected to a group of traffic light poles 122 and may receive the control signal 101 generated by the master controller 110 through the signal cable. The slave controller 121 may be configured to drive the group of traffic light poles 122 to indicate the corresponding light signal according to the control signal. While only one traffic light cluster 120 is illustrated in FIG. 1, the present embodiment is not 25 limited thereto and there may be more than one traffic light cluster 120. It is noteworthy that the slave controller 121 may be a standalone processor that is capable of processing information and may be configured to perform task without 5 instruction from other devices. 2016102332 30 Dec 2016 [0017] The descriptions hereinafter make reference to FIG. 2, which is a block diagram showing the second embodiment of the traffic signal control system with multiple control nodes of the present disclosure. As shown in the drawing, the 5 difference between the traffic signal control system with multiple control nodes 100 of the present embodiment and that of the first embodiment lies in that there may be a plurality of traffic light clusters 120 in the second embodiment. Each of the traffic light clusters 120 may be connected to the master controller 110 via at least one signal cable. According to the control signal 101, the slave controller 121 of at least 0 one of the traffic light clusters may 120 be configured to drive the group of traffic light poles 122 connected thereto to indicate a corresponding light signal.

[0018] The descriptions hereinafter make reference to FIG. 3, which is a block diagram showing the third embodiment of the traffic signal control system with multiple control nodes of the present disclosure. As shown in the drawing, the 5 difference between the traffic signal control system with multiple control nodes 100 of the present embodiment and those of the previous embodiments lies in that the traffic light cluster 120 of the third embodiment may be connected to at least one external device 130 or at least one traffic light 140. The external device 130 or the traffic light 140 may be driven by the slave controller 121, or be driven by the slave 20 controller 121 according to the control signal 101 from the master controller 110.

[0019] More specifically, the external device 130 may be a surveillance camera or an accessible pedestrian signal. The traffic light 140 may be another light emitting device for traffic control or another traffic light pole. The external device 130 or the traffic light 140 may be directly connected to the slave controller 121 of one of the 25 traffic light clusters 120, and the corresponding driving software may be installed in that particular slave controller. Thus, the external device 130 or the traffic light 140 may be driven by the slave controller 121 or may be driven by the slave controller 6 121 according to the control signal 101 from the master controller 110. 2016102332 30 Dec 2016 [0020] The descriptions hereinafter make reference to FIG. 4, which is a block diagram showing the fourth embodiment of the traffic signal control system with multiple control nodes of the present disclosure. As shown in the drawing, the 5 difference between the traffic signal control system with multiple control nodes 100 of the present embodiment and those of the previous embodiments lies in that there may be a plurality of traffic light clusters 120 in the fourth embodiment. The traffic light clusters 120 may be daisy chained with the master controller 110.

[0021] More specifically, the traffic light clusters 120 may be daisy chained with the 0 master controller 110 via at least one signal cable. After receiving the control signal 101, the slave controller 121 of at least one of the traffic light clusters 120 may drive the group of traffic light poles 122 to indicate the corresponding light signal according to the control signal 101. More specifically, the group of traffic light poles 122 may be disposed with a plurality of light emitting devices, and various traffic 5 signals may be displayed by lighting up different combinations of the light emitting devices. On the other hand, in various embodiments of the present disclosure, the control signal 101 from the master controller 110 may be transmitted to all of the traffic light clusters 120, but not all of the traffic light clusters 120 will display the light signal upon reception of the control signal 101. Instead, among those traffic 20 light clusters 120, only some (e.g. at least one) traffic light cluster 120 that is configured to respond to that particular control signal 101 may indicate the corresponding light signal according to the control signal 101.

[0022] As mentioned before, for the practical usage of the traffic signal control system with multiple control nodes 100 of the present disclosure, the master 25 controller 110 thereof may generate the control signal 101, and the control signal 101 may be transmitted to the slave controller 121 of at least one traffic light cluster 120 via at least one signal cable, which connects the traffic light cluster 120 to the 7 master controller 110. Alternatively, the control signal 101 may be transmitted to the slave controller 121 of each of the traffic light clusters 120 that are daisy chained with the master controller 110 using at least one signal cable, and the slave controller 121 of the traffic light cluster 120 corresponding to the control signal 101 5 may then drive the group of traffic light poles 122 to indicate the corresponding light signal according to the control signal 101. When the traffic light clusters 120 and the master controller 110 form a daisy chain via at least one signal cable, and the signal connection to one side of one of the traffic light clusters 120 is disrupted, that traffic light cluster 120 is still able to receive the control signal 101 from the 0 signal connection to other side thereof, such that all traffic light clusters 120 are able to function properly. However, the aforementioned example is merely for illustrative purpose and does not serve to limit the scope of the present disclosure. 2016102332 30 Dec 2016 [0023] The descriptions hereinafter make reference to FIG. 5, which is a block diagram showing the fifth embodiment of the traffic signal control system with 5 multiple control nodes of the present disclosure. As shown in the drawing, the difference between the traffic signal control system with multiple control nodes 100 of the present embodiment and those of the previous embodiments lies in that the slave controllers 121 of the fifth embodiment may each include a traffic light driving device 123. At least one of the traffic light driving devices 123 may drive the group 20 of traffic light poles 122 to indicate the light signal according to the control signal 101.

[0024] More specifically, the master controller 110 may include a master control device 111 to generate the control signal 101. Each of the traffic light driving devices 123 may monitor the group of traffic light poles 122 corresponding thereto. 25 Accordingly, each traffic light driving device 123 may generate the status signal 102 for the corresponding group of traffic light poles 122, and the status signals 102 may be transmitted to the master control device 111. In other words, the master control device 111 may receive a plurality of status signals 102 generated by the respective 8 traffic light driving devices 123 thereof. In addition, the traffic light driving devices 123 may be bidirectional triode thyristors (triodes for alternating current, TRIACs). Each of the traffic light driving devices 123 may be able to independently control and monitor the corresponding group of traffic light poles 122, such that the 5 corresponding status signals 102 from the respective groups of traffic light poles 122 thereof may be returned to the master control device 111. Furthermore, the traffic light driving devices 123 may be disposed with input devices (e.g. touch control devices) instead of being connected to the master controller 110. Besides, each traffic light driving device 123 may be serviced independently. The traffic light 0 driving device 123 may only require two power wires (AC wires) and two signal cables, so the wiring layout thereof is simple, which makes the maintenance thereof easier. The master control device 111 may be a 32-bit industrial-grade processor, which has high resistance against high temperature and noises, in addition to functionalities such as power-on reset, brownout reset and over-voltage protection. 5 The master control device 111 may also capable of collecting, organizing, and analyzing the status signals 102 generated by the respective traffic light driving devices 123 thereof. Furthermore, the master control device 111 may include a Universal Serial Bus Interface (USB Interface). However, the aforementioned descriptions are merely for illustrative purpose and do not serve to limit the scope of 20 the present disclosure. 2016102332 30 Dec 2016 [0025] Apart from that, certain predetermined values may be disposed in the traffic light driving devices 123 of the slave controllers 121. Thus, in the event that any one of the slave controllers 121 fails to receive the control signal 101 (i.e. the traffic light driving device 123 detects that the slave controller 121 is not connected to the 25 master control device 111), the traffic light driving device 123 of the slave controller 121 that fails to receive the control signal 101 may drive the group of traffic light poles 122 to indicate the light signal according to the predetermined value. In other words, in the event of the master controller 110 malfunction, each traffic light 9 cluster 120 may still operate independently and retain the ability to indicate simple traffic signals. While the present embodiment illustrates that the traffic light clusters 120 are daisy chained with the master controller 110, the present embodiment is equivalent, in terms of the working principle and functions thereof, to the cases in 5 which the master controller 110 is connected to a single traffic light cluster 120, or the cases in which the master controller 110 is connected individually to a plurality of traffic light clusters 120. The present embodiment only differs from these cases in terms of the connection thereof. Therefore, for the cases in which the master controller 110 is connected to a single traffic light cluster 120, or the master 0 controller 110 is connected individually to a plurality of traffic light clusters 120, unnecessary details are omitted for brevity. 2016102332 30 Dec 2016 [0026] The descriptions hereinafter make reference to FIG. 6, which is a block diagram showing the sixth embodiment of the traffic signal control system with multiple control nodes of the present disclosure. As shown in the drawing, the 5 difference between the traffic signal control system with multiple control nodes 100 of the present embodiment and those of the previous embodiments lies in that the master controller 110 in the sixth embodiment may further include a master communication interface 112, and the slave controllers 121 may each include a slave communication interface 124. At least one signal cable may be used to link together 20 the slave communication interfaces 124 and connect them to the master communication interface 112. The master controller 110 may send out the control signal 101 via the master communication interface 112, and the control signal 101 may be transmitted by the at least one signal cable to the slave communication interfaces 124. Furthermore, the master communication interface 112 may be 25 Controller Area Network Bus (CAN-Bus). The CAN-Bus may have advantages such as high bus utilization, multiple bus master nodes (no slave node), high throughput, reliable error handling and checking mechanism, low risk of communication failure, traffic not affected by faulty nodes, long communication distance, and high 10 reliability. However, the aforementioned example is merely for illustrative purpose and does not serve to limit the scope of the present disclosure. While the present embodiment illustrates that the traffic light clusters 120 are daisy chained with the master controller 110, the present embodiment is equivalent, in terms of the working 5 principle and functions thereof, to the cases in which the master controller 110 is connected to a single traffic light cluster 120, or the cases in which the master controller 110 is connected individually to a plurality of traffic light clusters 120. The present embodiment only differs from these cases in terms of the connection thereof. Therefore, for the cases in which the master controller 110 is connected to a 0 single traffic light cluster 120, or the master controller 110 is connected individually to a plurality of traffic light clusters 120, unnecessary details are omitted for brevity. 2016102332 30 Dec 2016 [0027] The descriptions hereinafter make reference to FIG. 7, which is a block diagram showing the seventh embodiment of the traffic signal control system with multiple control nodes of the present disclosure. As shown in the drawing, the 5 difference between the traffic signal control system with multiple control nodes 100 of the present embodiment and those of the previous embodiments lies in that the master controller 110 of the seventh embodiment may further include a master power supply 113. In addition, the slave controllers 121 may each include a slave power supply 125. The slave power supplies 125 may be daisy chained with the 20 master power supply 113 via two power wires. The master power supply 113 may supply power to the slave power supplies 125 via the two power wires, and then the slave power supplies 125 may in turn supply power to the respective groups of traffic light poles 122 thereof. The master controller 110 may also be disposed with a power source (e.g. 12V or 25 V power supply), which supplies power to the 25 master power supply 113. Since the slave power supplies 125 and the master power supply 113 may form a daisy chain, in the event of power disruption on one side of any one of the slave power supplies 125, that slave power supply 125 may still receive the power from the other side thereof. However, the aforementioned 11 example is merely for illustrative purpose and does not serve to limit the scope of the present disclosure. While the present embodiment illustrates that the traffic light clusters 120 are daisy chained with the master controller 110 via two power wires, the present embodiment is equivalent, in terms of the working principle and 5 functions thereof, to the cases in which the master controller 110 is connected to a single traffic light cluster 120 via two power wires, or the cases in which the master controller 110 is connected individually to a plurality of traffic light clusters 120 via two power wires. The present embodiment only differs from these cases in terms of the connection thereof. Therefore, for the cases in which the master controller 110 is 0 connected to a single traffic light cluster 120, or the master controller 110 is connected individually to a plurality of traffic light clusters 120, unnecessary details are omitted for brevity. 2016102332 30 Dec 2016 [0028] The descriptions hereinafter make reference to FIG. 8, which is a block diagram showing the eighth embodiment of the traffic signal control system with 5 multiple control nodes of the present disclosure. As shown in the drawing, the difference between the traffic signal control system with multiple control nodes 100 of the present embodiment and those of the previous embodiments lies in that the slave controllers 121 in the eighth embodiment may each generate a response signal 103 that corresponds to the control signal 101. The response signal 103 may be 20 returned to the master controller 110 via a signal cable. Therefore, it is apparent that the control signal 101 may be transmitted to each of the traffic light clusters 120. In other words, each of the slave controllers 121 may receive the control signal 101. Then, each slave controller 121 may generate its own response signal 103 corresponding to the control signal 101, and the response signals 103 may be 25 transmitted back to the master controller 110, such that the master controller 110 is able to continuously monitor whether any slave controller 121 fails to receive the control signal 101.

[0029] In addition, in the event that the master controller 110 of the present 12 disclosure fails to receive the response signal 103 from any one of the slave controllers 121, the master controller 110 may generate a warning signal 104 accordingly. Furthermore, the master controller 110 may proceed to transmit the warning signal 104 to the traffic control center 200 connected thereto to raise the 5 issue to the traffic control center 200 regarding a possible occurrence of malfunction pending further inspection. While the present embodiment illustrates that the traffic light clusters 120 are daisy chained with the master controller 110, the present embodiment is equivalent, in terms of the working principle and functions thereof, to the cases in which the master controller 110 is connected to a single traffic light 0 cluster 120, or the cases in which the master controller 110 is connected individually to a plurality of traffic light clusters 120. The present embodiment only differs from these cases in terms of the connection thereof. Therefore, for the cases in which the master controller 110 is connected to a single traffic light cluster 120, or the master controller 110 is connected individually to a plurality of traffic light clusters 120, 5 unnecessary details are omitted for brevity. 2016102332 30 Dec 2016 [0030] The descriptions hereinafter make reference to FIG. 9, which is a block diagram showing the ninth embodiment of the traffic signal control system with multiple control nodes of the present disclosure. As shown in the drawing, the difference between the traffic signal control system with multiple control nodes 100 20 of the present embodiment and those of the previous embodiments lies in that the master controller 110 of the ninth embodiment may further include a display device 114. The display device 114 may be configured to display the status of the traffic light clusters 120, so as to display an overview of the status of the traffic light clusters 120 when the master controller 110 is examined. In particular, status of the 25 traffic light clusters 120 may be detected by the corresponding traffic light driving device 123 of each traffic light cluster 120. While the present embodiment illustrates that the traffic light clusters 120 are daisy chained with the master controller 110, the present embodiment is equivalent, in terms of the working principle and 13 functions thereof, to the cases in which the master controller 110 is connected to a single traffic light cluster 120, or the cases in which the master controller 110 is connected individually to a plurality of traffic light clusters 120. The present embodiment only differs from these cases in terms of the connection thereof. 2016102332 30 Dec 2016 5 Therefore, for the cases in which the master controller 110 is connected to a single traffic light cluster 120, or the master controller 110 is connected individually to a plurality of traffic light clusters 120, unnecessary details are omitted for brevity.

[0031] In addition, each traffic light driving device 123 may be further disposed with two light emitting devices to indicate the status of the corresponding group of traffic 0 light poles 122. For instance, the first light emitting device being off may indicate that the traffic light driving device 123 suffers from communication breakdown; the first light emitting device being on while the second light emitting device being off may indicate a broken fuse; the first light emitting device being is on while the second one being dimmed may indicate that the light signal wire is detached from 5 the traffic light itself. However, the aforementioned example is merely for illustrative purpose and does not serve to limit the scope of the present disclosure.

[0032] In conclusion, the master controller of the traffic signal control system with multiple control nodes of the present disclosure may be connected to at least one traffic light cluster via a signal cable and two power wires. The master controller 20 may also form daisy chain via at least one signal cable and two power wires with a plurality of traffic light clusters. As the result, the amount of wirings required can be dramatically reduced. The present disclosure has advantages such as simplified electrical wiring, smaller main control cabinet, extensible, simplified configuration, reduced cost, shortened installation or maintenance duration, etc. Apart from that, in 25 the case that the signal or power connection to one side of one of the traffic light clusters in the daisy chain is disrupted, that traffic light cluster is still capable of receiving the signal or power from the other side thereof, which reduces the downtime of the traffic lights. Besides, the traffic light cluster may be further 14 connected to an external device or traffic light. The external device or traffic light may be driven by the slave controller or be driven by the slave controller according to the control signal generated by the master controller. Therefore, the traffic light cluster functions as the extension point which allows the installation of additional 5 external device or traffic light thereto, and the present disclosure functions as a traffic control system with multiple control nodes, which also serves as the points for the extension of traffic control network. 2016102332 30 Dec 2016 [0033] In accordance with the embodiment(s) of the present disclosure, the components, process steps, and/or data structures described herein may be 0 implemented using various types of operating systems, computing platforms, computer programs, and/or machines. In addition, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that devices of a less general purpose nature, such as hardwired devices, field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), or the like, may also be used without departing from the scope and 5 spirit of the inventive concepts disclosed herein. Where a method including a series of process steps is implemented by a computer or a machine and those process steps can be stored as a series of instructions readable by the machine, they may be stored on a nontransitory medium such as a computer memory device (e.g., ROM (Read Only Memory), PROM (Programmable Read Only Memory), EEPROM 20 (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory), FLASH Memory, Jump Drive, and the like), magnetic storage medium (e.g., tape, magnetic disk drive, and the like), optical storage medium (e.g., CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, paper card and paper tape, and the like) and other known types of program memory.

[0034] In conclusion, traffic signal control system with multiple control nodes of the 25 present disclosure revolutionize the relevant art by overcoming various technical shortcomings of the state of the art, and such ingenuity is not easily foreseeable by a person skilled in the art. Therefore, the present disclosure should exhibit enough practical utility and inventiveness to be deemed patentable. 15

Claims (5)

1. What is Claimed is:

   1. A traffic signal control system with multiple control nodes, comprising: a master controller generating a control signal; and at least one traffic light cluster connected to the master controller via at least one signal cable, wherein the at least one traffic light cluster comprises a slave controller and a group of traffic light poles, the slave controller is connected to the group of traffic light poles and receives the control signal generated by the master controller via the signal cable, and according to the control signal, the slave controller is configured to drive the group of traffic light poles to indicate a corresponding light signal.
2. 2. The traffic signal control system with multiple control nodes of claim 1, wherein there are a plurality of the traffic light clusters, each of the traffic light clusters is connected to the master controller via the at least one signal cable, and according to the control signal, the slave controller of at least one of the traffic light clusters is configured to drive the group of traffic light poles connected thereto to indicate a corresponding light signal.
3. 3. The traffic signal control system with multiple control nodes of claim 1, wherein there are a plurality of the traffic light clusters, the traffic light clusters and the master controller form a daisy chain via the at least one signal cable, and according to the control signal, the slave controller of at least one of the traffic light clusters is configured to drive the group of traffic light poles connected thereto to indicate a corresponding light signal.
4. 4. The traffic signal control system with multiple control nodes of claim 1, wherein the at least one traffic light cluster is connected to at least one external device or at least one traffic light, and the external device or the traffic light is driven by the slave controller, or driven by the slave controller according to the control signal generated by the master controller.
5. 5. The traffic signal control system with multiple control nodes of claim 1, wherein the slave controller comprises a traffic light driving device driving the group of traffic light poles to indicate the light signal according to the control signal; the master controller comprises a master control device, the traffic light driving device monitors the group of traffic light poles and generates a corresponding status signal, and the master control device is configured to receive the status signal.