Traffic congestion information providing device, traffic congestion information providing method, and traffic congestion information providing program

Abstract

To guide a driver of a vehicle in accordance with a point of arrival where the vehicle arrives at a tail of congestion.SOLUTION: Congestion information that associates a tail position of congestion occurring on a road where vehicles are traveling with a time of acquisition of the tail position is input to an input unit. A calculation unit calculates an extension speed of the tail position of the congestion on the basis of the congestion information. A generation unit generates guide information for a guiding point positioned upstream of the tail position by using the tail position of the congestion indicated by the input congestion information and the extension speed calculated by the calculation unit. An output unit outputs the guide information generated by the generation unit.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a technique for generating guidance information regarding traffic congestion that occurs on a road on which a vehicle is traveling. [Background technology]

[0002] BACKGROUND ART Conventionally, there have been devices that detect the end position of a traffic jam that occurs on a road on which a vehicle is traveling (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2).

[0003] The device described in Patent Document 1 determines whether a target vehicle is a vehicle in a traffic jam (a traffic jam vehicle). When the device described in Patent Document 1 determines that the target vehicle is a traffic jam vehicle, it sets the following vehicle as the target vehicle and repeatedly determines whether the target vehicle is a traffic jam vehicle. A following vehicle is a vehicle that follows the target vehicle and is located upstream of the target vehicle. When the device described in Patent Document 1 determines that the target vehicle is not a traffic jam vehicle, it estimates the position of the target vehicle that was last determined to be a traffic jam vehicle to be the end of the traffic jam.

[0004] Patent Document 2 also describes a device configured to detect the speed of vehicles at multiple points on a road and detect the occurrence of congestion based on points where the detected speed is lower than a threshold. Patent Document 2 also describes a configuration in which, when the occurrence of congestion is detected, a sign informing people of the occurrence of congestion is displayed on a guide board installed at a point upstream of the detected congestion occurrence point. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 5262907 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2016-181309 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] However, when a traffic jam occurs on a road, the end of the traffic jam extends upstream. Therefore, even if guidance is provided upstream of the traffic jam according to the detected end of the traffic jam, the destination where a vehicle driven by a driver who has confirmed the traffic jam guidance upstream will reach the traffic jam is upstream of the destination where the guidance guided to the end of the traffic jam. In other words, the driver is not provided with guidance according to the destination where the vehicle will reach the traffic jam.

[0007] Furthermore, because the vehicle reached the congestion upstream of the end of the congestion that it had been guided to, the driver was slow to slow down the vehicle, which meant that the possibility of a rear-end collision occurring where the vehicle crashed into the preceding vehicle at the end of the congestion could not be reduced.

[0008] An object of the present invention is to provide a technology that can provide guidance to a vehicle driver according to the destination where the vehicle will reach the end of a traffic jam. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] In order to achieve the above object, the traffic congestion information providing device of the present invention is configured as follows.

[0010] The input unit receives traffic congestion information that associates the end position of a traffic congestion occurring on a road on which the vehicle is traveling with the acquisition time of the end position. The calculation unit calculates the extension speed of the end position of the traffic congestion based on the traffic congestion information.

[0011] For example, the calculation unit calculates the extension speed of the end position of the congestion using the previous congestion information input to the input unit and the current congestion information. Specifically, the calculation unit calculates the extension speed of the end position of the congestion by dividing the distance from the end position of the congestion indicated by the previously input congestion information to the end position of the congestion indicated by the currently input congestion information by the time difference between the acquisition time of the end position of the congestion indicated by the previously input congestion information and the acquisition time of the end position of the congestion indicated by the currently input congestion information. The combination of congestion information used to calculate this extension speed is not limited to the combination of the previously input congestion information and the currently input congestion information described above, but may also be the congestion information input two times before last and the currently input congestion information, or two other congestion states may be used.

[0012] The generation unit generates guidance information for a guidance point located upstream of the end position of the congestion indicated by the input congestion information and the extension speed calculated by the calculation unit. For example, the generation unit may estimate an arrival point where a vehicle traveling from the guidance point will reach the end of the congestion and generate the guidance information according to the estimated arrival point, or may estimate an arrival time until a vehicle traveling from the guidance point will reach the end of the congestion and generate guidance information according to the estimated arrival time.

[0013] The generation unit may also take into account the acceleration of the traffic congestion extension speed when estimating the arrival point or the arrival time. The acceleration of the traffic congestion extension speed can be calculated, for example, by the calculation unit using the difference between the traffic congestion extension speed calculated last time and the traffic congestion extension speed calculated this time.

[0014] The acceleration of the traffic congestion extension speed is not limited to the above example, and may be calculated by other methods.

[0015] The output unit outputs the guidance information generated by the generation unit. The guidance information is, for example, a guidance message (a traffic jam notification message) to be displayed on a guide board installed at a guidance point.

[0016] According to this configuration, guidance can be provided to a driver of a vehicle traveling through a guidance point according to the destination point where the vehicle will reach the end of the traffic jam, thereby preventing rear-end collisions caused by the driver slowing down the vehicle and crashing into a preceding vehicle at the end of the traffic jam.

[0017] Furthermore, for example, the generating unit may be configured to generate guidance information for a guidance point by also using the speed of the vehicle traveling at the guidance point acquired by the traveling speed acquiring unit.

[0018] This configuration allows guidance to be provided according to the destination where the vehicle will reach the end of the traffic jam, taking into consideration the speed of the vehicle traveling through the guidance point. Therefore, guidance regarding the traffic jam can be provided more appropriately to the driver of the vehicle traveling through the guidance point. [Effects of the Invention]

[0019] According to this invention, when a traffic jam occurs, guidance can be provided to the driver of the vehicle according to the destination where the vehicle will reach the end of the traffic jam. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0020] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the guidance system of this example. [Figure 2] 1 is a diagram illustrating an observation area of ​​a radio wave radar in the guidance system of this example. FIG. [Figure 3] 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a main part of a traffic situation estimation device of this example. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing tracking data. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating state information. [Figure 6] 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a main part of a traffic congestion information providing device according to this embodiment. [Figure 7] 10 is a flowchart showing a tracking process of the traffic condition estimation device. [Figure 8] 10 is a flowchart showing a determination process of the traffic condition estimation device. [Figure 9] 10 is a flowchart showing an estimation process of the traffic condition estimation device. [Figure 10] 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the traffic congestion information providing device of this example. [Figure 11] 10 is a flowchart showing the operation of the traffic congestion information providing device of the first modification. [Figure 12] 10 is a flowchart showing the operation of a traffic congestion information providing device according to a second modification. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0021] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described.

[0022] <1. Application Examples> Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a guidance system of this example. Fig. 2 is a diagram explaining the observation area of ​​a radio radar in the guidance system of this example. The guidance system of this example includes a traffic congestion information providing device 1, a guide board 2, a traffic condition estimation device 3, and a radio radar 4.

[0023] In this example guidance system, a traffic condition estimation device 3 detects whether a traffic jam has occurred on a road (e.g., a highway) on which a vehicle is traveling, and if it detects that a traffic jam has occurred, estimates the end position of the traffic jam. A traffic jam information providing device 1 calculates the extension speed of the end position of the traffic jam using the end position of the traffic jam estimated by the traffic condition estimation device 3. The traffic jam information providing device 1 estimates the destination point at which a vehicle 110 traveling through the installation position (guidance point) of a guide board 2 (2a to 2c) will reach the end of the traffic jam using the extension speed of the end position of the traffic jam. For each guide board 2, the traffic jam information providing device 1 generates and outputs traffic jam information (guidance information) to be displayed on that guide board 2. This traffic jam information is guidance information according to the destination point at which the vehicle 110 traveling through the installation position of the guide board 2 will reach the end of the traffic jam, estimated for the vehicle 110 traveling through the installation position of the guide board 2.

[0024] The end position of the traffic jam, the arrival point, the installation position of the guide board 2, and the installation position of the radio radar 4 are indicated by the distance from a reference point defined on the road. Therefore, the relative positional relationships of the end position of the traffic jam, the arrival point, the installation position of the guide board 2, and the installation position of the radio radar 4 are related by the reference point.

[0025] A plurality of radio wave radars 4 (4-1 to 4-n) are connected to the traffic condition estimation device 3. The radio wave radars 4 are connected to the traffic condition estimation device 3 by wire or wirelessly. The radio wave radars 4 scan the assigned observation area SA with millimeter waves (search waves) and receive the reflected waves to detect the position and traveling speed (hereinafter simply referred to as speed) of a traveling vehicle 110. The radio wave radar 4 repeats scanning of the observation area SA at a predetermined period (e.g., 100 msec). As is well known, the radio wave radar 4 calculates the position of the traveling vehicle 110 (the vehicle 110 that reflected the search wave) using the direction in which the search wave was emitted and the time from when the search wave was emitted to when the reflected wave was received (the flight time). The radio wave radar 4 also calculates the speed of the traveling vehicle 110 (the vehicle 110 that reflected the search wave) using the frequency of the emitted search wave and the frequency of the received reflected wave.

[0026] The guidance system of this example may include only one radio wave radar 4.

[0027] The radio radar 4 is installed so that the observation area SA is a section from a point Xm (e.g., 20m) away from the installation position in the traveling direction of the vehicle 110 to a point Ym (e.g., 150m) away from the installation position. The radio radar 4 also determines the range in which it scans the search waves in the width direction of the road so that the three lanes of the road shown in Fig. 1 fall within the observation area SA.

[0028] In addition, although Figures 1 and 2 show an example of installation in which the radio radar 4 emits a search wave toward the downstream side, it may also be installed so that the search wave is emitted toward the upstream side (the traveling direction shown in Figures 1 and 2 may be reversed).

[0029] As shown in Fig. 1, the guidance system of this example has multiple radio radars 4 (4-1 to 4-n) installed side by side in the traveling direction of the vehicle 110. Therefore, the observation areas SA of the multiple radio radars 4 are lined up in the traveling direction of the vehicle 110. The observation areas SA of two adjacent radio radars 4 may partially overlap, may be in contact with each other, or may be separated. However, if the observation areas SA of two adjacent radio radars 4 are separated from each other, there will be a section between the two adjacent observation areas SA in which the vehicle 110 cannot be detected.

[0030] Note that some of the vehicles 110 shown in Figures 1 and 2 are not labeled with reference numerals. In Figures 1 and 2, the vehicles 110 are not distinguished from one another by whether or not they are labeled, but are omitted for the sake of clarity.

[0031] Every time the radio radar 4 scans the observation area SA with a search wave, it outputs detection data of each vehicle 110 detected in the current scan to the traffic condition estimation device 3. The detection data of each vehicle 110 is data indicating the position and speed of the vehicle 110.

[0032] When detection data of the vehicle 110 is input from the radio radar 4, the traffic condition estimation device 3 of this example acquires the speed of the vehicle 110 in each of a plurality of sections obtained by dividing an observation area SA of the radio radar 4 in the traveling direction of the vehicle 110. FIG. 2 shows an example in which the observation area SA is divided into m sections (first section to m-th section) in the traveling direction of the vehicle 110. The length of each section in the traveling direction of the vehicle 110 is, for example, 5 m to 20 m. For each section, the traffic condition estimation device 3 may acquire the average speed of the vehicle 110 detected in that section as the speed of the vehicle 110 in that section, or may acquire the minimum speed of the vehicle 110 detected in that section as the speed of the vehicle 110 in that section, or may acquire the speed of the vehicle 110 in each section by another method.

[0033] The traffic condition estimation device 3 in this example determines, for each radio radar 4, for each section obtained by dividing the observation area SA of that radio radar 4, whether that section is a congested section or a non-congested section for the vehicle 110. If the determined states are a congested section and a non-congested section consecutively, and the upstream section is not congested (in other words, if the downstream section is congested), the traffic condition estimation device 3 estimates that the downstream section is the end of the congestion. Furthermore, if the determined states are a congested section and a non-congested section consecutively, and the upstream section is congested (in other words, if the downstream section is not congested), the traffic condition estimation device 3 estimates that the upstream section is the start of the congestion.

[0034] The traffic condition estimation device 3 in this example estimates the end of a traffic jam, for example, at a predetermined cycle. The traffic condition estimation device 3 outputs traffic congestion information that associates the end position of the traffic jam based on the estimated end section of the traffic jam with an estimated time (which corresponds to the acquisition time in this invention) to the traffic congestion information providing device 1. The end position of the traffic jam may be the upstream end position of the estimated end section of the traffic jam, or may be an intermediate position between the upstream end and downstream end positions of the estimated end section of the traffic jam.

[0035] The traffic congestion information providing device 1 calculates the extension speed of the end position of the traffic congestion based on the traffic congestion information input from the traffic condition estimation device 3. For example, the traffic congestion information providing device 1 calculates the extension speed of the end position of the traffic congestion using the previously input traffic congestion information and the currently input traffic congestion information. Specifically, the traffic congestion information providing device 1 calculates the extension speed of the end position of the traffic congestion by dividing the distance from the end position of the traffic congestion indicated by the previously input traffic congestion information to the end position of the traffic congestion indicated by the currently input traffic congestion information by the time difference between the acquisition time of the end position of the traffic congestion indicated by the previously input traffic congestion information and the acquisition time of the end position of the traffic congestion indicated by the currently input traffic congestion information. The combination of traffic congestion information used to calculate this extension speed is not limited to the combination of the previously input traffic congestion information and the currently input traffic congestion information described above, but may also be the traffic congestion information input two times before last and the currently input traffic congestion information, or two other traffic congestion states.

[0036] A plurality of guide boards 2 are installed on the traffic congestion information providing device 1. In Fig. 1, three guide boards 2a to 2c are illustrated (this does not mean that there are three guide boards 2 connected to the traffic congestion information providing device 1).

[0037] In this example, the guide boards 2a to 2c are installed at different positions in the traveling direction of the vehicle 110. That is, the guide boards 2a to 2c are installed at positions with different distances to the end of the traffic jam estimated at a certain point in time by the traffic condition estimation device 3. The guide boards 2a to 2c display guidance information about the traffic jam that is occurring to the driver of the vehicle 110 traveling slightly upstream of the installation positions of the guide boards 2a to 2c.

[0038] The traffic congestion information providing device 1 generates traffic congestion information to be displayed on each guide board 2. In this example, a guidance message saying "You will reach the end of the traffic congestion in XX km. Please drive carefully" is generated as the traffic congestion information that is being generated. The "XX km" in this guidance message is a value calculated using the installation position of the guide board 2, the speed of the vehicle 110, the end position of the traffic congestion indicated by the latest input traffic congestion information, and the calculated extension speed of the end position of the traffic congestion.

[0039] Specifically, the distance from the location of the guide board 2 to the end of the traffic jam indicated by the latest input traffic jam information is set to L km. The traveling speed of the vehicle 110 near the location of the guide board 2 is set to V1 km / h, and the extension speed at the end of the traffic jam is set to V2 km / h. In this case, the traffic jam information providing device 1 calculates "L × (1 - V2 / (V1 + V2)) km" as "XX km" of the guidance information.

[0040] V1 is a positive value in the traveling direction of the vehicle 110 on the road (from upstream to downstream), and V2 is a positive value in the opposite direction to the traveling direction of the vehicle 110 on the road (from downstream to upstream). Furthermore, L is a positive value when the installation position of the guide board 2 is upstream of the end position of the traffic jam.

[0041] As is clear from the above explanation, the traffic congestion information providing device 1 estimates the distance until the vehicle 110 reaches the end of the traffic congestion (the distance from the installation position of the guide board 2 to the destination point where the vehicle 110 reaches the end of the traffic congestion) taking into account the speed at which the traffic congestion is expanding, and provides traffic congestion guidance according to the estimated distance on the guide board 2. In other words, guidance according to the destination point where the vehicle 110 reaches the end of the traffic congestion can be provided to the driver of the vehicle 110.

[0042] <2.Configuration example> 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the main parts of the traffic condition estimation device of this example. The traffic condition estimation device 3 includes a control unit 31, a detection data input unit 32, a tracking DB 33, and an input / output unit .

[0043] The control unit 31 controls the operation of each part of the main body of the traffic condition estimation device 3. The control unit 31 also has a detection data acquisition unit 31a, a traveling speed acquisition unit 31b, a provisional determination unit 31c, a determination unit 31d, and an estimation unit 31e. The detection data acquisition unit 31a, the traveling speed acquisition unit 31b, the provisional determination unit 31c, the determination unit 31d, and the estimation unit 31e that the control unit 31 has will be described later.

[0044] The radio radars 4 (4-1 to 4-n) are connected to the detection data input unit 32. The radio radars 4 are connected to the traffic condition estimation device 3 by wire or wirelessly. Each time the radio radar 4 scans the assigned observation area SA with a search wave, it outputs detection data for each vehicle 110 detected in the current scan, which corresponds to the position and speed of that vehicle 110. The detection data output by each connected radio radar 4 is input to the detection data input unit 32.

[0045] The tracking DB 33 stores tracking data of vehicles 110 detected by the radio radar 4. The tracking data is stored for each radio radar 4 and for each vehicle 110 detected by that radio radar 4. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing tracking data. FIG. 4 illustrates an example of tracking data for a vehicle 110 detected by radio radar 4-n with an ID of "123456789." The tracking data is data in which the ID for identifying the vehicle 110 is associated with detection data at each detection time. The detection time may be, for example, the time when the radio radar 4 starts scanning the observation area SA with the search wave, the time when it finishes scanning, a time between the start time and the end time, or the time when the detection data is input from the radio radar 4.

[0046] The detection data includes the speed and position of the detected vehicle 110. The position is the position in the direction of travel of the vehicle 110 in the observation area SA and the position in the width (total width) direction of the vehicle 110. The position in the direction of travel of the vehicle 110 corresponds to the distance from the installation position of the radio radar 4 to the vehicle 110. Furthermore, the position in the width direction of the vehicle 110 corresponds to the lane in which the vehicle 110 is traveling.

[0047] The traffic condition estimation device 3 may be configured to perform processing to identify the detected vehicle 110 between the radio radars 4, or may be configured not to perform processing to identify the detected vehicle 110 between the radio radars 4.

[0048] The input / output unit 34 inputs and outputs data to and from the traffic congestion information providing device 1.

[0049] Next, the detection data acquisition unit 31a, the traveling speed acquisition unit 31b, the tentative determination unit 31c, the determination unit 31d, and the estimation unit 31e included in the control unit 31 will be described.

[0050] The detection data acquisition unit 31a processes the detection data of the vehicle 110 input from the radio radar 4 and stores it in the tracking DB 33. The detection data acquisition unit 31a performs an identification process to associate the vehicle 110 detected by the radio radar 4 during the current scan of the observation area SA using the search wave with the vehicle 110 detected during the previous scan of the observation area SA using the search wave.

[0051] Note that the identification process referred to here is a process of identifying a vehicle 110 detected by the same radio radar 4, and is not a process of identifying a vehicle 110 detected between two adjacent radio radars 4.

[0052] The detection data acquisition unit 31a sets the ID of the vehicle 110 detected by the radio radar 4 during the current scan of the observation area SA with the search wave to the ID of the vehicle 110 detected during the previous scan of the observation area SA with the search wave that it has associated with it. Furthermore, if the detection data acquisition unit 31a cannot associate the vehicle 110 detected by the radio radar 4 during the current scan of the observation area SA with the search wave with the vehicle 110 detected during the previous scan of the observation area SA with the search wave, it assigns a new ID to the vehicle 110 detected this time.

[0053] For the radio radar 4 into which detection data has been input, the traveling speed acquisition unit 31b acquires the speed of the vehicle 110 for each divided section of the observation target area SA of the radio radar 4. As the traveling speed of the vehicle 110 in each section, the traveling speed acquisition unit 31b may acquire, for example, the average speed of the vehicle 110 traveling in that section, or the minimum speed of the vehicle 110 traveling in that section.

[0054] In the following description, the section M into which the observation area SA of the radio radar 4-N is divided may be referred to as section NM for convenience. N is a code that identifies the radio radar 4, and in this example, is a code ranging from 1 to n. M is a code that identifies the section into which the observation area SA is divided in the traveling direction of the vehicle 110, and in this example, is a code ranging from 1 to m.

[0055] When detection data of the vehicle 110 is input from the radio radar 4-N, the traffic condition estimation device 3 has the traveling speed acquisition unit 31b acquire the traveling speed of the vehicle 110 in each section NM belonging to the observation area SA of the radio radar 4-N.

[0056] The provisional determination unit 31c provisionally determines whether the state of each section NM, for which the traveling speed acquisition unit 31b has acquired the traveling speed of the vehicle 110, is congested or non-congested. In this example, the provisional determination unit 31c provisionally determines the state of a section NM, for which the traveling speed of the vehicle 110 acquired by the traveling speed acquisition unit 31b exceeds a predetermined congestion threshold speed, as non-congested, and provisionally determines the state of a section NM, for which the traveling speed of the vehicle 110 acquired by the traveling speed acquisition unit 31b does not exceed the congestion threshold speed, as congested. The congestion threshold speed is, for example, 5 to 10 km / h.

[0057] The determination unit 31d corrects the provisional determination result of the state of each section NM based on the sequence of provisionally determined states in the traveling direction of the vehicle 110 in the observation target area SA, and determines the state of each section NM. For example, the determination unit 31d groups sections NM that have been provisionally determined to be congested and that are continuous in the traveling direction of the vehicle 110 in the observation target area SA, and if the number of sections NM belonging to that group does not exceed a predetermined first set number, corrects the state of the sections NM belonging to that group to non-congested. Furthermore, the determination unit 31d groups sections NM that have provisionally determined to be congested and that are continuous in the traveling direction of the vehicle 110 in the observation target area SA, and if the number of sections NM belonging to that group exceeds a predetermined first set number, leaves the state of the sections NM belonging to that group as congested.

[0058] Furthermore, the determination unit 31d groups sections NM that have been provisionally determined to be non-congested and that continue in the direction of travel of the vehicle 110 in the observation area SA, and if the number of sections NM that belong to the group does not exceed a predetermined second set number, corrects the state of the sections NM that belong to the group to congested. Furthermore, the determination unit 31d groups sections NM that have been provisionally determined to be non-congested and that continue in the direction of travel of the vehicle 110 in the observation area SA, and if the number of sections NM that belong to the group exceeds a predetermined second set number, keeps the state of the sections NM that belong to the group as non-congested.

[0059] The first set number and the second set number may be the same value (number) or different values. The first set number and the second set number are preferably set according to the length of the section in the vehicle's traveling direction. For example, in this example, if the provisionally determined state is not the same over several tens of meters (20 to 80 meters), the determination unit 31d determines that the provisional determination result is incorrect due to some traffic condition and corrects it. For example, if the length of the section NM in the vehicle's traveling direction is 5 meters, and the provisionally determined state of the section NM is not continuous over 50 meters, the first set number and the second set number are set to 10.

[0060] The determination unit 31d updates the state of the section whose state has been determined this time. For example, the traffic condition estimation device 3 stores state information in memory that registers the state of each section. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating this state information. The state information is data indicating the state determined by the determination unit 31d for each section (section 1-1 to section nm). In FIG. 5, sections whose state determined by the determination unit 31d is congestion are shown by hatching. In other words, in FIG. 5, sections whose state determined by the determination unit 31d is non-congestion are not shown by hatching.

[0061] 5, the point where a section in a congested state and a section in a non-congested state are consecutive in the traveling direction of the vehicle 110 is the beginning or end of the congestion. Specifically, if the downstream section is in a non-congested state and the upstream section is in a congested state, the upstream section is the beginning of the congestion. Also, if the downstream section is in a congested state and the upstream section is in a non-congested state, the downstream section is the end of the congestion.

[0062] The estimation unit 31e estimates the position of the end of the traffic jam by referring to the state information shown in Fig. 5 at a predetermined estimation period (for example, every 30 seconds to 5 minutes). The estimation unit 31e outputs to the traffic jam information providing device 1 traffic jam information in which the estimated position of the end of the traffic jam is associated with the estimated time.

[0063] The estimation unit 31e may be configured to estimate the end position of the congestion when detection data of the vehicle 110 is input from any of the radio radars 4, the provisional judgment unit 31c provisionally judges the state of each section of the observation area SA of the radio radar 4 as being congested or not, and the determination unit 31d updates the state information shown in Figure 5.

[0064] Furthermore, the estimation unit 31e may estimate the end position of the traffic jam when detection data of the vehicle 110 is input from a radio radar 4 that belongs to the observation area SA and a radio radar 4 that is located upstream of this radio radar 4, the provisional judgment unit 31c provisionally judges the state of each section of the observation area SA of the radio radar 4 as being congested or not congested, and the determination unit 31d updates the state information shown in Figure 5.

[0065] The traffic condition estimation device 3 in this example may or may not estimate the section that is the head of the congestion. By estimating the section that is the head of the congestion, the traffic condition estimation device 3 can acquire the change in the congestion length (the length from the head to the tail of the congestion) over time.

[0066] The control unit 31 of the traffic condition estimation device 3 is composed of a hardware CPU, memory, and other electronic circuits. When the hardware CPU executes the traffic condition estimation program, it operates as a detection data acquisition unit 31a, a traveling speed acquisition unit 31b, a tentative determination unit 31c, a determination unit 31d, and an estimation unit 31e. The memory also has an area for expanding the traffic condition estimation program and an area for temporarily storing data generated during execution of the traffic condition estimation program. The control unit 31 may be an LSI that integrates the hardware CPU, memory, and the like.

[0067] 6 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the main parts of the traffic congestion information providing device 1 of this example. The traffic congestion information providing device 1 of this example includes a control unit 11, an input unit 12, a traffic congestion information storage unit 13, and an output unit 14.

[0068] The control unit 11 controls the operation of each part of the main body of the traffic congestion information providing device 1. The control unit 11 also has a speed acquisition unit 11a, a calculation unit 11b, and a generation unit 11c. The speed acquisition unit 11a, the calculation unit 11b, and the generation unit 11c of the control unit 11 will be described later.

[0069] The input unit 12 is connected to the traffic condition estimation device 3 by wire or wirelessly. The input unit 12 receives the congestion information output by the traffic condition estimation device 3 every time the traffic condition estimation device 3 estimates the end position of the congestion at the above-mentioned estimation cycle. The congestion information is information that associates the estimated end position of the congestion with the acquisition time of the end position (estimated time).

[0070] The congestion information may additionally include the start position of the congestion.

[0071] The congestion information storage unit 13 stores the congestion information input from the traffic condition estimation device 3.

[0072] The guide boards 2 installed at various locations are connected to the output unit 14 by wire or wirelessly. For each connected guide board 2, the output unit 14 outputs a guidance message (guidance information) generated for that guide board 2.

[0073] Next, the speed acquisition unit 11a, calculation unit 11b, and generation unit 11c included in the control unit 11 will be described.

[0074] For each guide board 2, the speed acquisition unit 11a acquires the speed of the vehicle 110 around the installation position of the guide board 2. When the area around the installation position of the guide board 2 is not congested, the speed acquisition unit 11a may acquire the speed limit around this installation position as the speed of the vehicle 110. Furthermore, the speed acquisition unit 11a may acquire, via the traffic condition estimation device 3, the speed of the vehicle 110 traveling around the installation position of the guide board 2, which is detected by the radio radar 4, as the speed of the vehicle 110 around this installation position.

[0075] For each guide board 2, the calculation unit 11b estimates the destination point where the vehicle 110 traveling around the location where the guide board 2 is installed will reach the end of the traffic jam. For example, let L km be the distance from the location where the guide board 2 is installed to the end of the traffic jam indicated by the latest input traffic jam information. Also, let V1 km / h be the traveling speed of the vehicle 110 near the location where the guide board 2 is installed, and V2 km / h be the elongation speed at the end of the traffic jam. In this case, the calculation unit 11b calculates that the destination point where the vehicle 110 will reach the end of the traffic jam is a point that is L × (1 - V2 / (V1 + V2)) km downstream from the location where the guide board 2 is installed.

[0076] V1 is a positive value in the traveling direction of the vehicle 110 on the road (from upstream to downstream), and V2 is a positive value in the opposite direction to the traveling direction of the vehicle 110 on the road (from downstream to upstream). Furthermore, L is a positive value when the installation position of the guide board 2 is upstream of the end position of the traffic jam.

[0077] In this way, the calculation unit 11b takes into consideration the traffic congestion extension speed V2 and calculates (estimates) the travel distance until the vehicle 110 reaches the end of the traffic congestion.

[0078] The generation unit 11c generates, for each guide board 2, a guidance message according to the travel distance to the end of the traffic jam estimated by the calculation unit 11b for that guide board 2. For example, the generation unit 11c generates a guidance message such as "The end of the traffic jam will be reached in XX km. Please drive carefully."

[0079] Furthermore, when the congestion information includes the start position of the congestion, the generation unit 11c A guidance message such as "You will reach the end of the traffic jam in XX km. Please drive carefully. The traffic jam is XX km long" may be generated.

[0080] For each signboard 2, the output unit 14 transmits the guidance message generated by the generation unit 11c to that signboard 2.

[0081] Each guide board 2 displays a guidance message generated by the traffic congestion information providing device 1.

[0082] The control unit 11 of the traffic congestion information providing device 1 is composed of a hardware CPU, memory, and other electronic circuits. When the hardware CPU executes the traffic congestion information providing program according to the present invention, it operates as a speed acquisition unit 11a, a calculation unit 11b, and a generation unit 11c. The memory also has an area for expanding the traffic congestion information providing program and an area for temporarily storing data generated when the traffic congestion information providing program is executed. The control unit 31 may be an LSI that integrates the hardware CPU, memory, and the like. The hardware CPU is also a computer that executes the traffic congestion information providing method according to the present invention.

[0083] <3. Example of operation> 7 is a flowchart showing the tracking process of the traffic condition estimation device of this example. The tracking process is a process of processing the detection data of the vehicle 110 input from any of the radio radars 4, generating the tracking data shown in FIG. 4, and storing it in the tracking DB 33.

[0084] The traffic condition estimation device 3 waits (s1) for detection data output from any of the radio radars 4 to be input to the detection data input unit 32. In this example, the radio radar 4 scans the assigned observation area SA with search waves, and outputs detection data for each vehicle 110 detected during the current scan, associating the position and speed of that vehicle 110. The radio radar 4 also scans the observation area SA with search waves at 100 msec intervals. Therefore, in this example, the traffic condition estimation device 3 receives detection data from each radio radar 4 input to the detection data input unit 32 at 100 msec intervals.

[0085] The detection data acquisition unit 31a selects a target vehicle from among the vehicles 110 detected this time that have not undergone the processes of s3 to s7 described below (unprocessed vehicles 110) (s2). The detection data acquisition unit 31a determines whether the target vehicle selected in s2 is a vehicle 110 that was detected previously (s3). In s3, the position and speed of the target vehicle are used to determine whether the corresponding vehicle 110 was detected previously.

[0086] If the target vehicle is a vehicle 110 that was also detected last time, the detection data acquisition unit 31a matches the ID of this target vehicle to the ID assigned last time (s4), and adds the detection data of the current target vehicle to the tracking data of the vehicle 110 with the corresponding ID stored in the tracking DB 33 (s5).

[0087] If the target vehicle is a vehicle 110 that was not detected last time, the detection data acquisition unit 31a issues and assigns an ID to this target vehicle (s6). The detection data acquisition unit 31a registers the tracking data of the target vehicle to which the newly issued ID has been assigned in the tracking DB 33 (s7). In s6, an ID that can be distinguished from other vehicles 110 is issued. The tracking data registered in s7 contains only the current detection data.

[0088] After performing the process of s5 or s7, the detection data acquisition unit 31a determines whether or not there is an unprocessed vehicle 110 that has been detected this time by the radio radar 4 and has not yet been subjected to the processes of s3 to s7 (s8). If there is an unprocessed vehicle 110, the detection data acquisition unit 31a returns to s2. If there is no unprocessed vehicle 110, the detection data acquisition unit 31a returns to s1.

[0089] By performing this tracking process, the traffic situation estimation device 3 in this example acquires tracking data for each radio radar 4 indicating the travel trajectory of the vehicle 110 detected within the observation area SA assigned to that radio radar 4.

[0090] As is clear from the above description, the tracking data of each vehicle 110 registered in the tracking DB 33 is updated based on the detection data of the vehicle 110 input from each radio wave radar 4.

[0091] 8 is a flowchart showing the determination process of the traffic condition estimation device of this example. The traffic condition estimation device 3 of this example waits for the tracking data to be updated by the tracking process shown in FIG. 7 (s11). When the tracking data is updated, the traffic condition estimation device 3 causes the traveling speed acquisition unit 31b to acquire the speed of the vehicle 110 in each section belonging to the observation target area SA for which the tracking data has been updated this time (s12). The traveling speed acquisition unit 31b performs the process of s12 by, for example, referring to the tracking data stored in the tracking DB 33.

[0092] The provisional determination unit 31c provisionally determines the state (congestion or non-congestion) for each section in the observation area SA for which the tracking data has been updated this time (s13). The provisional determination unit 31c provisionally determines that a section in which the traveling speed of the vehicle 110 acquired by the traveling speed acquisition unit 31b exceeds a predetermined congestion threshold speed is a non-congestion section, and provisionally determines that a section in which the traveling speed of the vehicle 110 acquired by the traveling speed acquisition unit 31b does not exceed the congestion threshold speed is a congestion section.

[0093] The determination unit 31d corrects the provisional determination result of the state of each section based on the sequence of provisionally determined states in the traveling direction of the vehicle 110 in the observation target area SA, and determines the state of each section (s14). In this example, the determination unit 31d groups sections that have been provisionally determined to be congested and that are consecutive in the traveling direction of the vehicle 110 in the observation target area SA, and if the number of sections belonging to that group does not exceed a predetermined first set number, corrects the state of the sections belonging to that group to non-congested. Furthermore, the determination unit 31d groups sections that have been provisionally determined to be congested and that are consecutive in the traveling direction of the vehicle 110 in the observation target area SA, and if the number of sections belonging to that group exceeds a predetermined first set number, leaves the state of the sections belonging to that group as congested.

[0094] Furthermore, the determination unit 31d groups sections that are provisionally determined to be non-congested and that are consecutive in the direction of travel of the vehicle 110 in the observation area SA, and if the number of sections that belong to the group does not exceed a predetermined second set number, corrects the state of the sections that belong to the group to congested. Furthermore, the determination unit 31d groups sections that are provisionally determined to be non-congested and that are consecutive in the direction of travel of the vehicle 110 in the observation area SA, and if the number of sections that belong to the group exceeds a predetermined second set number, keeps the state of the sections that belong to the group as non-congested.

[0095] The determination unit 31d updates the state information stored in the memory (s15), and the process returns to s11.

[0096] In this way, the traffic condition estimation device 3 of this example can update the state of each section almost in real time by performing this determination process.

[0097] 9 is a flowchart showing the estimation process of the traffic condition estimation device of this example. The estimation unit 31e waits for the estimation timing to arrive (s21). When the estimation timing arrives, the estimation unit 31e refers to the state information stored in memory and extracts a location where a congested section and a non-congested section are connected (s22). If, at the location extracted at s22, the state of the downstream section is non-congested and the state of the upstream section is congested, the estimation unit 31e estimates that the upstream section is the beginning of the congestion (s23). Furthermore, if, at the location extracted at s22, the state of the downstream section is congested and the state of the upstream section is non-congested, the estimation unit 31e estimates that the downstream section is the end of the congestion (s24).

[0098] The traffic situation estimation device 3 outputs to the traffic congestion information providing device 1 (s25) congestion information that associates the position of the first section of the congestion estimated by the estimation unit 31e in s23 (first position of the congestion), the position of the last section of the congestion estimated in s24 (last position of the congestion), and the current estimated time, and then returns to s21.

[0099] Here, the congestion information includes the location of the beginning of the congestion, but it does not have to include this information.

[0100] In this way, the traffic condition estimation device 3 in this example estimates the positions of the beginning and end of the congestion at the estimation timing cycle. In other words, if the estimation timing cycle is shortened, the positions of the beginning and end of the congestion can be estimated almost in real time.

[0101] 10 is a flowchart showing the operation of the traffic congestion information providing device of this example. The traffic congestion information providing device 1 waits for traffic congestion information to be input from the traffic condition estimation device 3 (s31). When the traffic congestion information is input to the input unit 12, the traffic congestion information providing device 1 stores the input traffic congestion information in the traffic congestion information storage unit 13 (s32). The calculation unit 11b calculates the traffic congestion extension speed (s33).

[0102] The calculation unit 11b calculates the extension speed of the end position of the congestion by using, for example, the previously input congestion information and the currently input congestion information. Specifically, the calculation unit 11b calculates the extension speed of the end position of the congestion by dividing the distance from the end position of the congestion indicated by the previously input congestion information to the end position of the congestion indicated by the currently input congestion information by the time difference between the acquisition time of the end position of the congestion indicated by the previously input congestion information and the acquisition time of the end position of the congestion indicated by the currently input congestion information.

[0103] In addition, the combination of congestion information used to calculate this extension speed is not limited to the combination of the congestion information input last time and the congestion information input this time, but may also be the congestion information input two times before last and the congestion information input this time, or two other congestion conditions may be used.

[0104] The generation unit 11c extracts the guide boards 2 that are installed upstream of the end position of the congestion indicated by the currently input congestion information (s34). From the guide boards 2 extracted in s34, the generation unit 11c selects the guide boards 2 for which no guidance message has been generated (unprocessed guide boards 2) as the guide boards 2 to be processed (s35).

[0105] The speed acquisition unit 11a acquires the traveling speed of the vehicle 110 around the installation position of the target guide board 2 selected in s35 (s36). The speed acquisition unit 11a may acquire the speed limit around the installation position of the target guide board 2 selected in s35 as the speed of the vehicle 110. Furthermore, the speed acquisition unit 11a may acquire, via the traffic condition estimation device 3, the speed of the vehicle 110 traveling around the installation position of the target guide board 2, detected by the radio radar 4, as the speed of the vehicle 110 around this installation position.

[0106] The generation unit 11c estimates a point (arrival point) where the vehicle 110 traveling around the installation position of the target guide board 2 selected in s35 will reach the end of the traffic jam. The generation unit 11c estimates the arrival point using the end position of the traffic jam indicated by the currently input traffic jam information, the traffic jam extension speed calculated in s33, the installation position of the target guide board 2 selected in s35, and the travel speed of the vehicle 110 around the installation position of the target guide board 2 acquired in s36. Specifically, assuming that the distance between the end position of the traffic jam indicated by the currently input traffic jam information and the installation position of the target guide board 2 is L km, the travel speed of the vehicle 110 around the installation position of the target guide board 2 is V1 km / h, and the extension speed of the traffic jam is V2 km / h, the generation unit 11c estimates the arrival point to be a point L × (1 - V2 / (V1 + V2)) km downstream from the installation position of the guide board 2.

[0107] The generation unit 11c generates a guidance message to be displayed on the target guide board 2 selected in s35 (s38), and outputs the generated guidance message to the target guide board 2 selected in s35 (s39). For example, the generation unit 11c generates a guidance message based on the arrival point estimated in s37, Generates guidance messages such as "You will reach the end of the traffic jam in XX km. Please drive carefully."

[0108] The generation unit 11c determines whether there is an unprocessed guide board 2 (s40), and if there is an unprocessed guide board 2, the process returns to s35 and repeats the above processing. On the other hand, if the generation unit 11c determines that there is no unprocessed guide board 2, the process ends.

[0109] In this way, according to the guidance system of this example, each guide board 2 can provide traffic congestion guidance according to the destination point at the end of the traffic congestion to the driver of the vehicle 110 traveling around that guide board 2. Therefore, it is possible to prevent rear-end collisions in which the driver slows down the vehicle 110 late and the vehicle collides with a preceding vehicle at the end of the traffic congestion.

[0110] <4. Modifications> Variation 1 The operation of the traffic congestion information providing device 1 in the above example may be replaced with the processing shown in Fig. 11. In Fig. 11, the same processing as the processing shown in Fig. 10 is assigned the same step number.

[0111] 11, in this modification 1, when the traffic congestion information providing device 1 determines in s31 that traffic congestion information has been input from the traffic condition estimation device 3, it determines whether or not traffic congestion has occurred based on the input traffic congestion information (s51). The determination in s51 can be made by checking whether or not the end position of the traffic congestion is included in the input traffic congestion information.

[0112] If the traffic congestion information providing device 1 determines in s51 that a traffic jam has occurred, it performs the above-described processing from s32 onward. If the traffic congestion information providing device 1 determines in s51 that a traffic jam has not occurred, it returns to s31.

[0113] In this modification, the processing load on the traffic congestion information providing device 1 can be reduced.

[0114] Variation 2 In the above example, the traffic congestion information providing device 1 generates a guidance message for the guide board 2 according to the distance to the destination, but it may also be configured to generate a guidance message according to the time it takes for the vehicle 110 traveling around the guide board 2 to reach the end of the traffic congestion.

[0115] Specifically, as shown in Figure 12, the traffic congestion information providing device 1 of this variant example 2 estimates the time it takes for a vehicle 110 traveling around the signboard 2 to reach the end of the traffic congestion by processing s52 shown below instead of the processing related to s37 described above.

[0116] The generation unit 11c estimates the time at which the vehicle 110 will reach the end of the traffic jam, using the end position of the traffic jam indicated by the currently input traffic jam information, the traffic jam extension speed calculated in s33, the installation position of the target guide board 2 selected in s35, and the traveling speed of the vehicle 110 around the installation position of the target guide board 2 acquired in s36. Specifically, assuming that the distance between the end position of the traffic jam indicated by the currently input traffic jam information and the installation position of the target guide board 2 is L km, the traveling speed of the vehicle 110 around the installation position of the guide board 2 is V1 km / h, and the extension speed of the traffic jam is V2 km / h, it is estimated that the vehicle 110 will reach the end of the traffic jam after "(L / (V1+V2))×60" (minutes) from the current time.

[0117] In s38, the generation unit 11c generates a guidance message according to the time estimated in s52. For example, the generation unit 11c generates a guidance message saying, "You will reach the end of the traffic jam in XX minutes. Please drive carefully."

[0118] In addition, the generation unit 11c may be configured to generate a guidance message according to the time estimated in s52 if the time it takes for the vehicle 110 traveling around the installation location to reach the end of the traffic jam is less than a predetermined time (for example, about 5 minutes), and to generate a guidance message according to the distance to the destination point estimated in s37 if the time it takes for the vehicle 110 traveling around the installation location to reach the end of the traffic jam is greater than or equal to the predetermined time.

[0119] Variation 3 The traffic congestion information providing device 1 may also be configured to calculate the traffic congestion extension speed for each lane. In this case, the traffic congestion information providing device 1 receives input of the end position of the traffic congestion and the acquisition time of the end position for each lane from the traffic condition estimation device 3.

[0120] The traffic congestion information providing device 1 may generate a guidance message indicating the time until the end of the traffic congestion for each lane, to be displayed on the guide board 2. For example, A guidance message may be generated such as "The passing lane will reach the end of the congestion in about three minutes. The driving lane will reach the end of the congestion in about five minutes."

[0121] In this case, it is preferable that the traffic congestion information providing device 1 is configured to input the traveling speed of the vehicle 110 in each lane around the installation position of each guide board 2, but the time to reach the end of the traffic congestion may be calculated based on the speed limit around the installation position of the guide board 2. For example, for the travel lane, the time to reach the end of the traffic congestion may be calculated by setting the traveling speed of the vehicle 110 to the speed limit around the installation position of the guide board 2, and for the overtaking lane, the time to reach the end of the traffic congestion may be calculated by setting the traveling speed of the vehicle 110 to the speed limit around the installation position of the guide board 2 + α (α is 10 km / h or less).

[0122] Variation 4 In the above guidance system, the traffic condition estimation device 3 estimates the end position of the occurring congestion and outputs congestion information based on the estimation result to the congestion information providing device 1. However, the device that estimates the end position of the occurring congestion is not limited to the above device and may be another device. For example, the device described in the above Patent Document 1 or the device described in Patent Document 2 may be the device that outputs congestion information to the congestion information providing device 1.

[0123] It should be noted that this invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and that the components can be modified and embodied in practice without departing from the spirit of the invention. Furthermore, various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining multiple components disclosed in the above-described embodiments. For example, some components may be omitted from all the components shown in the embodiments. Furthermore, components from different embodiments may be appropriately combined. Furthermore, the order of each step in the flowcharts described in all the above examples is merely an example, and may be appropriately changed within the scope of the present invention.

[0124] Furthermore, the correspondence between the configuration according to the present invention and the configuration according to the above-described embodiment can be described as follows: <Additional Notes> an input unit (12) into which congestion information is input, which associates the end position of a congestion occurring on a road on which a vehicle (110) is traveling with the acquisition time of the end position; a calculation unit (11b) that calculates an extension speed of the end position of the congestion based on the congestion information; a generating unit (11c) that generates guidance information for a guidance point located upstream of the end position of the congestion indicated by the input congestion information, using the end position of the congestion and the extension speed calculated by the calculating unit (11b); and an output unit (14) that outputs the guidance information generated by the generation unit (11c). [Explanation of symbols]

[0125] 1...Traffic congestion information device 2(2a~2c)…information board 3...Traffic situation estimation device 4 (4-1 to 4-n)...Radio wave radar 11...Control unit 11a…Speed ​​acquisition section 11b...Calculation section 11c...Generation part 12...Input section 13...Traffic congestion information storage unit 14...Output section 110...Vehicle

Claims

1. an input unit for inputting congestion information that associates the end position of a congestion occurring on a road on which a vehicle is traveling with the acquisition time of the end position; a calculation unit that calculates an extension speed of the end position of the congestion based on the congestion information; a generating unit that generates guidance information for a guidance point located upstream of the end position of the congestion indicated by the input congestion information and the extension speed calculated by the calculating unit; an output unit that outputs the guidance information generated by the generation unit, The generation unit uses the end position of the congestion indicated by the congestion information and the extension speed calculated by the calculation unit to estimate the destination point where a vehicle traveling through the guidance point will reach the congestion, and generates the guidance information according to the estimated destination point.

2. a travel speed acquisition unit that acquires the speed of a vehicle traveling at the guide point; The traffic congestion information providing device according to claim 1 , wherein the generating unit generates the guidance information for the guidance point by also using the speed of the vehicle traveling at the guidance point acquired by the traveling speed acquiring unit.

3. 3. The traffic congestion information providing device according to claim 1, wherein the generating unit estimates a time required for a vehicle traveling from the guidance point to reach the traffic jam, and generates guidance information according to the estimated time required.

4. The generation unit generates the guidance information to be presented on the information board at each location where a guide board that presents the guidance information to the driver of the vehicle is installed.

5. 5. The traffic congestion information providing device according to claim 1, wherein the generating unit generates, as the guidance information, a guidance message for a driver of a vehicle traveling through the guidance point.

6. a calculation step of calculating an extension speed of the tail position of the traffic jam based on traffic jam information input to the input unit, the traffic jam information correlating the tail position of the traffic jam occurring on the road on which the vehicle is traveling with the acquisition time of the tail position; a generating step of generating guidance information for a guidance point located upstream of the end position of the congestion indicated by the congestion information input to the input unit, using the extension speed calculated in the calculating step; an output step of outputting the guidance information generated in the generation step, A method for providing traffic congestion information, characterized in that the generation step is a step of estimating the destination point where a vehicle traveling through the guidance point will reach the traffic congestion using the end position of the traffic congestion indicated by the traffic congestion information input to the input unit and the extension speed calculated in the calculation step, and generating the guidance information according to the estimated destination point.

7. a calculation step of calculating an extension speed of the tail position of the traffic jam based on traffic jam information input to the input unit, the traffic jam information correlating the tail position of the traffic jam occurring on the road on which the vehicle is traveling with the acquisition time of the tail position; a generating step of generating guidance information for a guidance point located upstream of the end position of the congestion indicated by the congestion information input to the input unit, using the extension speed calculated in the calculating step; an output step of outputting the guidance information generated in the generation step, A traffic congestion information provision program characterized in that the generation step is a step of estimating the destination point where a vehicle traveling through the guidance point will reach the traffic congestion using the end position of the traffic congestion indicated by the traffic congestion information input to the input unit and the extension speed calculated in the calculation step, and generating the guidance information corresponding to the estimated destination point.

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