HySecurity Inductive Loop Vehicle Detector
I stumbled upon this interesting application of vehicle detection loops earlier this month. The article was titled: “Somers High School Traffic Light Up and Running”.
The local department of transportation (DOT) installed a new traffic light regulating vehicle traffic at Somers High School in Somers, New York. The light, along with a separate left-turn lane, was installed this summer on a heavily trafficked road, Route 139.
Two vehicle detector loops were installed at the traffic light. One under the main school driveway and the second beneath the newly installed left-turn lane. The through traffic lights on Route 139 remain green until either vehicle detector loop is activated. Once the vehicle detector loop senses a vehicle, the red light is activated on the road and traffic is allowed to exit the high school after the proper interval.
This installation was an alternative plan to a roundabout which raised considerable opposition in the community.
Vehicle Detector Loops
Vehicle detector loops are used basically to detect traffic and then trigger an action. Once a vehicle is detected the control device triggers an output (such as the above application) to control traffic lights, open (or close) barrier gates in a parking application and even just to alert a homeowner of someone entering their property.
Vehicle detector loops rely on inductive loop technology to sense vehicles of all sizes, from motorcycles and scooters to large trucks. It is a very reliable technology, more so than alternatives such as infrared or microwave devices.
A continuous wire run loop is buried beneath a lane of vehicle traffic. Direct burial loops are installed before the concrete or asphalt is laid. Existing installations will require saw cuts into the pavement and proper resealing. A self contained wire loop in a rod is sometimes buried parallel in a less wide residential driveway application.
The loop enters and exits at the same point and connectors to a control (or detector) unit. The control unit supplies energy to the loop which sets up a magnetic field.
When the magnetic field is disturbed by a vehicle the control unit senses the disruption (actually an increase in frequency). This action triggers an electronic output(s) to the appropriate device(s) causing the desired action.
Frequencies may be adjusted to determine the size of the vehicle to be detected.
Proper design applications, installation techniques and location of devices are all required for a vehicle detection loop system to operate properly. For more information regarding vehicle loop detectors and other vehicular access control devices, call the experts, ECI today at 847.949.0134. Or click below for contact information and a handy form to contact us.
You can read the story at TAPinto.net of New Providence, New Jersey. Somers is a neighboring community to New Providence where TAPinto is located.
Image courtesy of HySecurity one of ECI’s leading suppliers.
