Traffic congestion information determination device

Abstract

The present invention provides a traffic congestion detection device that can accurately determine the exact location of traffic congestion. [Solution] The control unit 3 of the congestion prediction device 1 acquires the traffic flow velocity V2 in section Z2, sets the length of the congestion determination section based on the traffic flow velocity V2, and performs congestion determination in this congestion determination section. By setting the congestion determination section shorter when the traffic flow velocity in section Z2 is low, and longer when the traffic flow velocity in section Z2 is high, the location of the congestion can be determined accurately and precisely.

Description

Technical Field

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[0001] The present invention relates to a traffic jam information determination device.

Background Art

[0002] Generally, a system is known that identifies a congested section by acquiring information on traffic flow from vehicles (mobile bodies), sensors on the road, etc., and provides it to users. In such a system, it is preferable to provide the latest information as much as possible. Therefore, a traffic jam situation estimation system has been proposed in which an in-vehicle system collects traffic jam information based on the driving situation, and a center system receives traffic jam information from the vehicle (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In the traffic jam situation estimation system described in Patent Document 1, by collecting traffic jam information in the in-vehicle system, the processing load on the server-side system is reduced, and the time required for information provision is shortened.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In a system that provides traffic jam information, not only is it desired to shorten the time required for information provision as described in Patent Document 1, but it is also desired to provide detailed information. That is, it is preferable to provide information about the end (tail or head) of a traffic jam by performing traffic jam determination in a narrower range. However, if the range for performing traffic jam determination is simply narrowed, the number of acquired traffic flow information (sample number) decreases, and the determination accuracy deteriorates. Thus, it has been difficult to achieve both accurate determination of a detailed traffic jam position and improvement of determination accuracy.

[0005] Therefore, one example of an object of the present invention is to provide a traffic congestion determination device that can accurately determine the location of detailed traffic congestion. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the aforementioned problems and achieve the objective, the congestion determination device of the present invention as described in claim 1 is characterized by comprising: an acquisition unit that acquires the predicted degree of congestion occurrence in a predetermined section and adjacent sections adjacent to the predetermined section; a trend acquisition unit that acquires the congestion trend of the predetermined section based on the predicted degree of congestion occurrence in the predetermined section and the predicted degree of congestion occurrence in the adjacent sections; a setting unit that divides the predetermined section into lengths corresponding to the congestion trend and sets congestion determination sections; and a determination unit that performs congestion determination in the congestion determination section based on traffic flow information of the congestion determination section. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0007] [Figure 1] This is a schematic block diagram of a traffic congestion determination device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] This is a plan view showing an example of a road targeted for determination by the traffic congestion determination device. [Figure 3] This flowchart shows an example of the traffic congestion determination process performed by the aforementioned traffic congestion determination device. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0008] Embodiments of the present invention will be described below. A congestion determination device according to an embodiment of the present invention comprises: an acquisition unit that acquires the predicted degree of congestion occurrence in a predetermined section; a setting unit that sets the length of a congestion determination section including at least a part of the predetermined section based on the predicted degree of congestion occurrence; and a determination unit that performs congestion determination in the congestion determination section based on traffic flow information of the congestion determination section.

[0009] When the likelihood of congestion is high, there is a high probability that the speed of moving vehicles will be low (or the number of moving vehicles will be high) in this designated section. Therefore, even if the congestion detection section is set short to determine the exact location of congestion, it is easy to secure a sufficient sample size, and accuracy is less likely to decrease. On the other hand, when the likelihood of congestion is low, there is a high probability that the speed of moving vehicles will be high (or the number of moving vehicles will be low) in this designated section. However, there is no need to determine the exact location of congestion, and the congestion detection section can be set long to secure a sufficient sample size. Therefore, by setting the congestion detection section short when the likelihood of congestion is high and long when the likelihood of congestion is low, the exact location of congestion can be determined with high accuracy.

[0010] The setting unit preferably sets the length of the congestion determination section to a first length when the congestion prediction degree is less than a predetermined threshold, and sets the length of the congestion determination section to a second length that is shorter than the first length when the congestion prediction degree is equal to or greater than the threshold.

[0011] In this case, the setting unit may set the length of a predetermined section as the first length if the congestion prediction rate is below a threshold, and divide the predetermined section into multiple sections to set a second length if the congestion prediction rate is equal to or greater than the threshold. This makes it possible to determine where congestion is occurring within the predetermined section when the congestion prediction rate is equal to or greater than the threshold. The number of divisions may be set in advance, or the number of divisions may be determined based on the congestion prediction rate.

[0012] Furthermore, the setting unit may divide the predetermined section into equal lengths and set the second length if the congestion prediction rate is above a threshold. The congestion determination device also includes a trend acquisition unit that acquires congestion trends for sections including at least the predetermined section, and the setting unit may divide the predetermined section into lengths corresponding to the congestion trends and set multiple second lengths if the congestion prediction rate is above a threshold. This makes it possible to set a shorter second length in sections of the predetermined section where the travel speed is predicted to be low (or the number of moving objects is large), and to accurately determine the detailed location of congestion.

[0013] The acquisition unit preferably acquires traffic flow information, which is information about the flow of moving objects in a predetermined section, as a prediction of congestion occurrence. Furthermore, the traffic flow information only needs to include at least one of the following: traffic flow velocity and traffic volume. The traffic flow velocity may be, for example, the average, median, or mode of the speeds of multiple moving objects in the predetermined section, and the traffic volume may be, for example, the number of moving objects present in the predetermined section at a given moment.

[0014] Furthermore, the acquisition unit may acquire information about traffic conditions in at least one of the areas ahead of or behind a predetermined section as a prediction of congestion occurrence.

[0015] This allows the system to obtain congestion prediction scores before congestion actually occurs in the designated section by using traffic information outside the designated section as the congestion prediction score, thus minimizing the time lag between the actual congestion location and the congestion location information provided. For example, if congestion, an accident, or fallen objects occur ahead of the designated section, congestion in the designated section is predicted to occur afterward. In such cases, shortening the congestion judgment section in advance allows for the rapid provision of detailed congestion location information compared to shortening the congestion judgment section after congestion actually occurs.

[0016] The congestion detection device preferably further includes a storage unit that stores the length of the congestion detection section set by the setting unit. This allows the information stored in the storage unit to be updated when the setting unit sets the length of the congestion detection section. The information stored and updated in the storage unit in this way can be used for subsequent congestion detection. For example, in a section where congestion is likely to occur and it is preferable to set a shorter congestion detection section, the congestion detection section can be set to be shorter in advance. Also, by associating the length of the congestion detection section with the time it is set, in a section where congestion is likely to occur only during a specific time period and it is preferable to set a shorter congestion detection section only during that time period, the congestion detection section can be set to be shorter in advance for that time period.

[0017] Further, the traffic jam determination method according to the present embodiment includes an acquisition step of acquiring a predicted traffic jam occurrence degree in a predetermined section, a setting step of setting the length of a traffic jam determination section including at least a part of the predetermined section based on the predicted traffic jam occurrence degree, and a determination step of determining a traffic jam in the traffic jam determination section based on the traffic flow information in the traffic jam determination section. According to the traffic jam determination method of the present embodiment, similar to the above-described traffic jam determination device, by setting the length of the traffic jam determination section based on the predicted traffic jam occurrence degree in the predetermined section, a detailed traffic jam position can be accurately determined.

[0018] Alternatively, it may be a traffic jam determination program for causing a computer to execute the above-described traffic jam determination method. Thereby, using a computer, a detailed traffic jam position can be accurately determined.

[0019] Alternatively, the above-described traffic jam determination program may be stored in a computer-readable recording medium. Thereby, in addition to being incorporated into a device, the program can be distributed as a single entity, and version updates and the like can be easily performed.

Example

[0020] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described. As shown in FIG. 1, the traffic jam determination device 1 of the present embodiment is an information collection processing device including a communication unit 2, a control unit 3, and a storage unit 4. The traffic jam determination device 1 collects information from a plurality of vehicles (moving bodies) 10, processes this information, and provides the processed information to a user (a passenger in the vehicle).

[0021] The communication unit 2 is composed of a circuit, an antenna, etc. for communicating with a network such as the Internet or a public line, and communicates with the vehicle 10 to transmit and receive information. That is, the traffic jam determination device 1 acquires the probe information of the vehicle 10 by the communication unit 2.

[0022] The control unit 3 is composed of a CPU (Central Processing Unit) equipped with a memory such as a RAM (Random Access Memory) or a ROM (Read Only Memory), and is in charge of the overall control of the traffic jam determination device 1.

[0023] The storage unit 4 is composed of, for example, a hard disk or a non-volatile memory, and stores map data.

[0024] The vehicle 10 is a probe car equipped with a probe information generation device 20 that transmits probe information to the traffic jam determination device 1. The probe information generation device 20 includes a communication unit 11, a control unit 12, a current position estimation unit 13, and a driving state information acquisition unit 14.

[0025] The communication unit 11 is composed of a circuit, an antenna, etc. for communicating with a network such as the Internet or a public line, and communicates with the traffic jam determination device 1 to transmit and receive information. That is, the probe information generation device 20 transmits the information (latitude and longitude information and moving speed information) acquired by the current position estimation unit 13 and the driving state information acquisition unit 14 to the traffic jam determination device 1 as probe information. In addition, the probe information transmitted by the probe information generation device 20 may include other information such as the measurement results by a gyro sensor or an acceleration sensor, and information related to the operation of the brake or the direction indicator, or may include the driving trajectory information after map matching instead of the latitude and longitude information.

[0026] The control unit 12 is composed of a CPU (Central Processing Unit) equipped with a memory such as a RAM (Random Access Memory) or a ROM (Read Only Memory), and is in charge of the overall control of the probe information generation device 20.

[0027] The current position estimation unit 13 estimates the current position (absolute position) of the vehicle 10, and can be, for example, a GPS receiver that receives radio waves transmitted from multiple GPS (Global Positioning System) satellites. The current position estimation unit 13 acquires latitude and longitude information as the current position of the vehicle 10.

[0028] The driving status information acquisition unit 14 is, for example, a CAN (Controller Area Network), which allows the control unit 12 to acquire information on the vehicle's moving speed.

[0029] The congestion detection device 1 sets congestion detection sections as described below and performs congestion detection.

[0030] [First Setup Method] In the map data stored in memory unit 4, roads are divided into sections of predetermined length. The length of these sections may be constant or variable, as long as it corresponds to the type of road (expressway or general road) and the speed limit.

[0031] The control unit 3 acquires probe information from the probe information generation device 20 via the communication units 2 and 11 at predetermined time intervals or predetermined travel distances. Based on this probe information, the control unit 3 calculates the average speed of the multiple vehicles 10 traveling in each of the sections divided as described above. This average value becomes the traffic flow speed, and the lower the traffic flow speed, the higher the probability that congestion is occurring in that section. In other words, the control unit 3 acquires traffic flow information (information regarding the traffic flow of vehicles 10 in each section), including traffic flow speed, as a congestion prediction measure, and functions as an acquisition unit.

[0032] In this embodiment, the average of the movement speeds of multiple vehicles 10 was used as the traffic flow speed, but the median or mode may also be used as the traffic flow speed. Furthermore, the control unit 3 may acquire traffic flow information, including traffic volume, as a congestion prediction. Traffic volume may be, for example, the number of vehicles 10 present in each section at a given moment.

[0033] The control unit 3 sets the length of the congestion determination section in each section based on the traffic flow velocity. Specifically, the control unit 3 compares the traffic flow velocity with a speed threshold and, if it is higher than the speed threshold (i.e., the predicted degree of congestion is less than the threshold), sets the length of the congestion determination section to a first length. If it is less than or equal to the speed threshold (i.e., the predicted degree of congestion is greater than or equal to the threshold), sets the length of the congestion determination section to a second length which is shorter than the first length, and functions as a setting unit. In the congestion determination section thus set, the control unit 3 performs congestion determination based on the traffic flow velocity of the congestion determination section and functions as a determination unit. Alternatively, the control unit 3 may perform congestion determination based on the traffic flow rate of the congestion determination section.

[0034] A specific example of how to set the length of the congestion judgment section and perform congestion judgment within this section will be explained with reference to Figures 2 and 3. The road shown in Figure 2 is a highway with a speed limit of 100 km / h and is divided into sections of 100 m in length. Of the three sections Z1 to Z3, which are arranged sequentially from the rear to the front in the direction of travel, the central section Z2 is designated as the predetermined section.

[0035] The control unit 3 of the congestion determination device 1 executes the congestion determination process shown in Figure 3. The control unit 3 calculates the traffic flow velocity V2 in section Z2 (step S1) and determines whether the traffic flow velocity V2 is less than or equal to a first threshold V01 (for example, 40 km / h) (step S2). If the traffic flow velocity V2 is higher than the first threshold V01 (N in step S2), the control unit 3 designates the entire section Z2 as a congestion determination section, i.e., the length L of the congestion determination section is set to the first length (100 m) (step S3). On the other hand, if the traffic flow velocity V2 is less than or equal to the first threshold V01 (Y in step S2), the control unit 3 divides section Z2 into two equal parts and designates each as a congestion determination section, i.e., the length L of the congestion determination section is set to the second length (50 m) (step S4).

[0036] Following steps S3 and S4, the control unit 3 calculates the traffic flow velocity V2x in all the set congestion determination sections (step S5). That is, if step S3 is used, only the traffic flow velocity V21 in one congestion determination section is calculated, and if step S4 is used, the traffic flow velocities V21 and V22 in each of the two congestion determination sections are calculated.

[0037] Next, the control unit 3 determines whether the traffic flow velocity V2x in each congestion determination section is less than or equal to a second threshold (e.g., 30 km / h) V02 (step S6). At this time, the second threshold V02 is preferably lower than the first threshold V01, but it may be the same or higher. If multiple congestion determination sections are set, the control unit 3 determines whether the traffic flow velocity V2x in all congestion determination sections is less than or equal to the second threshold V02. Note that in steps S5 and S6, congestion determination may be performed by calculating the traffic flow rate instead of the traffic flow velocity and comparing it with the threshold.

[0038] If the traffic flow velocity V2x in the congestion determination section is higher than the second threshold V02 (N in step S6), the control unit 3 determines that there is no congestion in this congestion determination section (step S7). On the other hand, if the traffic flow velocity V2x in the congestion determination section is less than or equal to the second threshold V02 (Y in step S6), the control unit 3 determines that there is congestion in this congestion determination section (step S8).

[0039] Following steps S7 and S8, the control unit 3 transmits the congestion determination result to the vehicle 10 via the communication unit 2 and stores it in the storage unit 4 (step S9), and then returns to step S1. That is, the length L of the congestion determination section set in section Z2 is stored in the storage unit.

[0040] For example, if the traffic flow speed V2 in section Z2 calculated in step S1 is 35 km / h, then in step S4, section Z2 is divided equally into two sections to set up congestion detection sections. Then, in step S5, suppose the traffic flow speed V21 in the rear congestion detection section is calculated to be 45 km / h, and the traffic flow speed V22 in the front congestion detection section is calculated to be 25 km / h. In this case, the congestion detection result is obtained that there is no congestion in the rear congestion detection section, but there is congestion in the front congestion detection section. In other words, the information obtained is that the end of the congestion is located in the front congestion detection section.

[0041] In contrast, if congestion is always determined using section Z2 as the congestion determination section (comparative example), the overall traffic flow speed V2 of section Z2 is higher than the second threshold (threshold for determining congestion) V02. Therefore, even though congestion occurs in the forward section of section Z2, the congestion determination result is that there is no congestion in section Z2 as a whole. In other words, information is obtained that the end of the congestion is located ahead of section Z2. Thus, the method of this embodiment makes it possible to determine the location of congestion in detail.

[0042] Furthermore, if section Z2 is divided into two equal parts in step S4 to set the congestion judgment section, the traffic flow velocity is low in section Z2 (vehicle 10's movement speed is low). Therefore, even if the congestion judgment section is set to be short, the number of vehicles that remain in the congestion judgment section and the time that a single vehicle remains in the congestion judgment section tend to increase, making it easier to secure a sufficient sample size and preventing a decrease in accuracy. On the other hand, if the entire section Z2 is set as the congestion judgment section in step S3, although the traffic flow velocity is high in section Z2 (vehicle 10's movement speed is high), there is no need to determine the exact location of congestion, and the congestion judgment section can be made longer to secure a sufficient sample size.

[0043] With the above configuration, the length of the congestion detection section is set based on the traffic flow speed in section Z2. That is, the congestion detection section is set shorter when the traffic flow speed is low, and longer when the traffic flow speed is high, thereby enabling accurate determination of the exact location of congestion.

[0044] Furthermore, if the traffic flow speed V2 is less than or equal to the first threshold V01, the section Z2 can be divided into two equal parts, each designated as a congestion detection section, thereby determining where congestion is occurring within section Z2.

[0045] Furthermore, since the congestion detection device 1 is equipped with a memory unit 4, the information stored in the memory unit 4 can be updated when the control unit 3 sets the length of the congestion detection section. The information stored and updated in the memory unit 4 in this way can be used for subsequent congestion detection. For example, in a section where congestion is likely to occur and it is preferable to set a shorter congestion detection section, the congestion detection section can be set to be shorter in advance. Also, by associating the length of the congestion detection section with the time it is set, in a section where congestion is likely to occur only during a specific time period and it is preferable to set a shorter congestion detection section only during that time period, the congestion detection section can be set to be shorter in advance for that time period.

[0046] [Second setup method] In the first setting method described above, in step S4, section Z2 is divided into two equal parts if the traffic flow speed V2 is less than or equal to the first threshold V01. However, in the second setting method, the congestion trend of at least the section including section Z2 is obtained, and section Z2 is divided into lengths corresponding to the congestion trend.

[0047] The control unit 3 also acquires the traffic flow speed in sections Z1 and Z3, and functions as a trend acquisition unit to determine the congestion trend based on the traffic flow speed in sections Z1 to Z3. For example, if the traffic flow speed in section Z3 ahead of section Z2 is lower than the traffic flow speed in section Z2, it can be determined that within section Z2, the traffic flow speed is lower towards the front than towards the rear, indicating a congestion trend. Similarly, if the traffic flow speed in section Z1 behind section Z2 is lower than the traffic flow speed in section Z2, it can be determined that within section Z2, the traffic flow speed is lower towards the rear than towards the front, indicating a congestion trend.

[0048] If the traffic flow velocity is lower on the front side of section Z2 than on the rear side, the control unit 3 sets the length of the congestion detection section on the front side to be shorter than the length of the congestion detection section on the rear side. If the length of section Z2 is 100m, for example, the length of the congestion detection section on the front side should be set to 30m and the length of the congestion detection section on the rear side to be 70m. On the other hand, if the traffic flow velocity is lower on the rear side of section Z2 than on the front side, the control unit 3 sets the length of the congestion detection section on the front side to be longer than the length of the congestion detection section on the rear side. If the length of section Z2 is 100m, for example, the length of the congestion detection section on the front side should be set to 70m and the length of the congestion detection section on the rear side to be 30m.

[0049] Furthermore, the division ratio of section Z2 may be constant, or it may be variable, for example, depending on the difference or ratio of traffic flow velocities between sections. That is, the larger the difference or ratio of traffic flow velocities between adjacent sections, the larger the division ratio may be.

[0050] With the above configuration, similar to the first setting method, the length of the congestion determination section can be set based on the traffic flow speed in section Z2, thereby enabling accurate determination of the detailed congestion location.

[0051] Furthermore, by dividing section Z2 into lengths corresponding to congestion trends and setting the length of the congestion judgment section, it is possible to set a shorter congestion judgment section length in sections of section Z2 where the traffic flow speed is predicted to be low (or the traffic volume is high), thereby enabling accurate determination of the exact location of congestion.

[0052] [Third setting method] In the first setting method described above, the control unit 3 acquires traffic flow information as the degree of congestion prediction. However, in the third setting method, information about the traffic conditions in at least one of the forward or backward directions of section Z2 is acquired as the degree of congestion prediction.

[0053] The control unit 3 acquires information, for example, whether or not there is congestion ahead of section Z2, whether or not an accident has occurred, or whether or not there are fallen objects. If congestion, an accident has occurred, or fallen objects are present ahead of section Z2, then congestion is predicted to occur in section Z2 afterward, and the congestion prediction rate increases.

[0054] If at least one of the following three conditions is met ahead of section Z2—that traffic congestion occurs, an accident occurs, or there are fallen objects—the control unit 3 divides section Z2 appropriately and sets the length of the congestion determination section, similar to the first or second setting method. On the other hand, if none of the above three conditions are met, the control unit 3 sets the entire section Z2 as the congestion determination section.

[0055] With the above configuration, the length of the congestion judgment section can be set based on the predicted degree of congestion in section Z2, thereby enabling accurate determination of the exact location of congestion.

[0056] Furthermore, by using traffic information from sections other than Z2 as the congestion prediction level, it is possible to obtain the congestion prediction level before congestion actually occurs in section Z2, minimizing the time lag between the actual congestion location and the congestion location information provided. If congestion, an accident, or fallen objects occur ahead of section Z2, shortening the congestion judgment section in section Z2 in advance allows for the rapid provision of detailed congestion location information compared to methods that shorten the congestion judgment section after congestion actually occurs.

[0057] [Fourth Setup Method] The fourth setting method of this embodiment includes an acquisition step of acquiring the predicted degree of congestion in a predetermined section having multiple lanes, a setting step of setting the number of lanes in the congestion determination section of the predetermined section based on the predicted degree of congestion, and a determination step of performing a congestion determination in the congestion determination section based on the traffic flow information of the congestion determination section. That is, while the first to third setting methods described above divide section Z2 in the direction of travel when the predicted degree of congestion is high, the fourth setting method aims to perform congestion determination for each lane in section Z2 having multiple lanes. Accordingly, as will be explained below, it is set whether to perform congestion determination for each road (i.e., multiple lanes together) or for each lane, depending on the predicted degree of congestion.

[0058] The control unit 3 obtains the congestion prediction degree in the same manner as the first to third setting methods, and sets the number of lanes in the congestion judgment section of section Z2 to 2 if the congestion prediction degree is less than a predetermined threshold, and sets the number of lanes in the congestion judgment section of section Z2 to 1 if the congestion prediction degree is equal to or greater than the threshold.

[0059] Furthermore, when targeting sections with three or more lanes, you may set a number of congestion detection sections equal to the number of lanes, or a number of congestion detection sections different from the number of lanes. For example, when setting congestion detection sections in a section with three lanes, you may set three congestion detection sections corresponding to one lane, or you may set one congestion detection section corresponding to one lane and two congestion detection sections corresponding to two lanes.

[0060] With the above configuration, by setting the number of lanes in the congestion judgment section based on the predicted degree of congestion in section Z2, the number of samples can be increased by setting multiple lanes in the congestion judgment section of section Z2 when the predicted degree of congestion is low, and detailed congestion judgment can be performed by setting fewer lanes in the congestion judgment section of section Z2 when the predicted degree of congestion is high, thereby enabling accurate determination of the exact location of congestion.

[0061] As described above, the first to fourth setting methods are described, but these are only some of the setting methods, and you may combine them as appropriate. For example, you may combine the method of dividing section Z2 in the direction of travel, as in the first to third setting methods, with the method of performing congestion judgment for each lane in section Z2 which has multiple lanes, as in the fourth setting method.

[0062] Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and includes other configurations that can achieve the objectives of the present invention, as well as the following modifications.

[0063] For example, in the first and second setting methods of the above embodiment, when the traffic flow speed V2 is less than or equal to the first threshold V01, section Z2 is divided into two to set congestion judgment sections, but the number of divisions of section Z2 may be three or more. Also, after dividing section Z2, the divided sections may be further divided based on the predicted degree of congestion occurrence in the divided sections. Furthermore, if there are consecutive sections in which the predicted degree of congestion occurrence is greater than or equal to the threshold, the entire section may be divided into a predetermined number of parts to set congestion judgment sections. For example, if the predicted degree of congestion occurrence is greater than or equal to the threshold in all of sections Z1 to Z3, these consecutive 300m sections may be divided into 10 parts to set congestion judgment sections.

[0064] Furthermore, the length of the congestion determination section can be set based on the congestion prediction level, and it is not necessary to divide section Z2. For example, if the congestion prediction level is less than a threshold, the entire section Z2 can be used as the congestion determination section, and if the congestion prediction level is equal to or greater than the threshold, the length of the congestion determination section can be shortened to include only a part of section Z2. Also, the entire congestion determination section does not have to be included in section Z2; the congestion determination section only needs to include at least a part of section Z2. That is, the congestion determination section can be set to span section Z1 and section Z2, or it can be set to span section Z2 and section Z3.

[0065] Furthermore, although the above embodiment includes a memory unit 4 for the congestion determination device 1, the congestion determination device does not necessarily have to include a memory unit. For example, the congestion determination device may transmit the determination result externally and store the determination result in an external memory device, or it may not store the determination result and may not use the history.

[0066] Furthermore, the likelihood of congestion occurring is not limited to what is obtained using the first to third setting methods. For example, if the probe information includes information on brake and turn signal operation, and information on acceleration, this information may be used to obtain the likelihood of congestion occurring. That is, if there are obstacles on the road (slow-moving vehicles, accident vehicles, fallen objects, etc.), other vehicles may slow down or change lanes to avoid them. Therefore, if information is obtained that a vehicle has slowed down or changed lanes (operated a turn signal), there is a high possibility that congestion is occurring in the section before and after that point, or that congestion will occur afterward. Also, if multiple vehicles exhibit similar behavior (slowing down or changing lanes), it can be determined that there is a higher probability that obstacles are present.

[0067] Furthermore, while the best configurations and methods for carrying out the present invention are disclosed in the above description, the present invention is not limited thereto. That is, although the present invention is particularly illustrated and described with respect to specific embodiments, those skilled in the art can make various modifications to the embodiments described above in terms of shape, material, quantity, and other detailed configurations without departing from the scope of the technical idea and objectives of the present invention. Therefore, the descriptions of shapes, materials, etc. disclosed above are illustrative to facilitate understanding of the present invention and do not limit the present invention. Accordingly, descriptions of components with some or all of these limitations removed are included in the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0068] 1. Traffic congestion detection device 3 Control unit (acquisition unit, setting unit, judgment unit, trend acquisition unit) 4 Storage section 10. Vehicles (mobile devices)

Claims

1. An acquisition unit that acquires the degree of congestion occurrence prediction in a predetermined section and adjacent sections adjacent to the predetermined section, A trend acquisition unit that acquires the congestion trend of the predetermined section based on the predicted congestion rate of the predetermined section and the predicted congestion rate of the adjacent section, A setting unit that divides the predetermined section into lengths corresponding to the congestion trend and sets congestion determination sections, A congestion determination device comprising: a determination unit that performs congestion determination in the congestion determination section based on traffic flow information of the congestion determination section.

2. The aforementioned congestion trend is obtained based on the difference or ratio between the predicted congestion rate for the predetermined section and the predicted congestion rate for the adjacent section. The congestion determination device according to claim 1, characterized in that the setting unit increases the division ratio of the predetermined section as the difference or ratio increases.

3. The congestion determination device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the acquisition unit acquires traffic flow information, which is information regarding the traffic flow of moving objects in the predetermined section, as the predicted degree of congestion occurrence in the predetermined section.

4. The traffic congestion determination device according to claim 3, characterized in that the traffic flow information includes at least one of traffic flow velocity and traffic flow rate.

5. The traffic congestion determination device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the acquisition unit acquires information about the traffic conditions in at least one of the forward and backward sections of the predetermined section as the predicted degree of traffic congestion in the predetermined section.

6. The traffic congestion determination device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising a storage unit for storing the length of the traffic congestion determination section set by the setting unit.

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