JP5741191B2 - TRAVEL TIME PROVIDING DEVICE, COMPUTER PROGRAM, AND TRAVEL TIME PROVIDING METHOD - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a travel time providing apparatus that provides information on travel time of an arbitrary road section of a road network, a computer program for realizing the travel time providing apparatus, and a travel time providing method.

  With the development of information communication technology in recent years, research on intelligent transportation systems for reducing traffic accidents or alleviating traffic congestion has been promoted. In addition, VICS (Vehicle Information and Communication System) is a VICS (Vehicle Information and Communication System) that sends traffic information such as traffic jam information or traffic regulation information to in-vehicle devices, etc. Development is also active.

  For example, a navigation device is disclosed that can search for the shortest route on road map data in consideration of travel time information required to travel through a predetermined road section and can effectively provide travel guidance ( Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-51679

  However, in the process of clearing traffic congestion in the road section, the travel time of the road section decreases with the passage of time, but if the reduced travel time is provided as it is to the in-vehicle device etc., the road section that was congested The vehicle that has been guided to travel around the vehicle stops traveling around the road and travels along the road section. For this reason, there is a problem that the number of vehicles traveling on the road section increases, and the road section that has been reducing the traffic congestion becomes a traffic jam again, and the traffic congestion cannot be reduced. In particular, there has been a strong demand for providing optimal travel time for a system that appropriately distributes traffic flow, improves road traffic safety, and facilitates smooth road improvement.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and provides a travel time providing device capable of providing an optimal travel time, a computer program for realizing the travel time providing device, and a travel time providing method. The purpose is to do.

The travel time providing apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention is the travel time providing apparatus for providing information on the travel time of an arbitrary road section of the road network, and acquiring means for acquiring a plurality of travel times at a plurality of different points in the road section Determining means for determining whether or not there is a traffic jam including a traffic jam period in the road section, and the traffic time period when the judgment means determines that there is a traffic jam, and the travel time acquired by the acquisition means Providing means for providing a travel time longer than the travel time acquired in the vicinity of the provision time point during a period of decreasing trend.

  In the travel time providing apparatus according to a second invention, in the first invention, the providing means determines the travel time obtained by the obtaining means from the provision time of the travel time when the travel time is in an increasing tendency or within a predetermined range. The travel time is provided by delaying the provision time of the travel time when the travel time acquired by the acquisition means tends to decrease when the means determines that there is a traffic jam. .

  The travel time providing device according to a third aspect of the present invention is the first invention or the second invention, wherein the providing means has a tendency to decrease the travel time acquired by the acquiring means when the determining means determines that there is a traffic jam. In this case, the maximum travel time is provided among travel times acquired within a predetermined time before the provision time.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a travel time providing apparatus according to the first invention, wherein the providing means provides a travel time obtained by adding a predetermined value to the travel time acquired in the vicinity of the provision time by the acquiring means. It is characterized by that.

  A travel time providing apparatus according to a fifth aspect of the present invention is the travel time providing apparatus according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, further comprising frequency determining means for determining a congestion frequency of the road section, wherein the providing means is the frequency determining means. The travel time is provided when the determined congestion frequency is greater than a threshold value.

A computer program according to the sixth invention, the computer, the computer program for providing information travel time for any road section of the road network, a computer, the presence or absence of a traffic jam including a period of congestion in the road section a determination unit, a period of the congestion if it is determined congestion there and, during the period when travel time acquired at different points in time the road section is decreasing, travel acquired in providing point near characterized in that to function as a providing means for providing long travel time than the time.

A travel time providing method according to a seventh aspect of the present invention is the travel time providing method by the travel time providing device for providing information on the travel time of an arbitrary road section of the road network. a step of acquiring means acquires a plurality, wherein the existence determining means determining congestion including periods of congestion in the road section, a period of the congestion if it is determined congestion is with travel time obtained Providing means for providing a travel time longer than the travel time acquired in the vicinity of the provision time point during a period in which there is a tendency to decrease.

  In the first invention, the sixth invention, and the seventh invention, travel times at a plurality of different points in an arbitrary road section of the road network are acquired a plurality of times, and the presence or absence of traffic congestion in the road section is determined. The travel time can be obtained by using a sensing pulse signal measured by a vehicle detector (for example, a near-infrared type optical beacon, an ultrasonic type, an image type, etc.) installed at an appropriate location in a road section. Alternatively, probe information including a vehicle position and time, a vehicle identification code, and the like every predetermined cycle (for example, 1 second cycle) is acquired from an in-vehicle device via an optical beacon and the vehicle is obtained based on the acquired probe information. You can also ask for travel time every time. The travel time acquired in real time may be used, or a statistical value of travel time previously divided for each day, day of the week, or time may be used. Furthermore, a predicted value of travel time predicted by a known prediction method may be used. Note that the known prediction method here refers to, for example, a method of extracting and predicting a trend of similar travel time fluctuations from a stored database of past travel time, or a neural network It refers to a method of making predictions after learning past statistical information using a learning system such as a network, and is not limited thereto.

  For example, the determination of the presence or absence of traffic congestion on the road section is performed by calculating the occupation rate (which can be obtained by accumulating the sense pulse width) based on the sense pulse signal measured by the vehicle detector. If it is larger than the predetermined threshold, it can be determined that there is a traffic jam, and if the occupation rate is less than the threshold, it can be determined that there is no traffic jam. Alternatively, it can be determined that there is a traffic jam if the travel time of the road section is longer than a predetermined threshold time, and it can be determined that there is no traffic jam if the travel time is less than the predetermined threshold time.

  When it is determined that there is traffic congestion on the road section, when travel time acquired multiple times tends to decrease (that is, when the travel time decreases with the time of acquisition), travel longer than the travel time acquired near the time of provision Provide time. For example, when the travel time acquired (or calculated) at times t1, t2, and t3 in the time zone determined to be congested in the road section is T1, T2, and T3, and the travel time is reduced (ie, T1 > T2> T3), the travel time T provided at time t3 or in the vicinity of time t3 is set to be longer than the travel time T3.

  In other words, the actual travel time is not provided as it is, but by providing a travel time longer than the actual travel time, the vehicle that has bypassed the road section stops the detour and concentrates on the road section. By suppressing and eliminating the traffic jam in the meantime, it is possible to provide an optimal travel time that can avoid the worsening of the traffic situation of the road section again and consequently speed up the elimination of the traffic jam.

  In the second invention, when it is determined that there is traffic congestion in the road section from the provision time of travel time when the travel time acquired is increasing (increases with the passage of time of acquisition) or within a predetermined range The travel time is provided by delaying the provision time of the travel time when the acquired travel time tends to decrease (when the travel time decreases as the acquisition time elapses). That is, if the travel time acquired (or calculated) increases over time, or if the travel time acquired does not increase or decrease over time and can be considered to be substantially constant, acquisition of the acquired travel time Provide travel time without intentional delay from the point in time. Note that the travel time acquisition time point and the provision time point are not necessarily the same because of the processing time.

  On the other hand, if it is determined that there is traffic congestion on the road section and the travel time acquired (or calculated) decreases with the passage of the acquisition time, the travel time is intentionally delayed from the acquisition time of the acquired travel time. provide. The delay time can be determined as appropriate. For example, the delay time can be made longer / shorter according to the length / shortness of the acquired travel time. As a result, the decreasing travel time acquired until the congestion of the road section is resolved is intentionally delayed so that the vehicle that has bypassed the road section stops the detour and enters the road section. It is possible to provide an optimal travel time that can sufficiently reduce traffic congestion until the concentration, and avoid congestion of the road section again, thereby speeding up resolution of the traffic jam.

  In the third invention, when it is determined that there is traffic jam in the road section, when the acquired travel time tends to decrease (when it decreases with the lapse of the acquisition time), within a predetermined time before the provision time Provide the maximum travel time of travel time acquired in. The predetermined time can be determined as appropriate, and can be, for example, 3 minutes, 7.5 minutes, 15 minutes, or the like. For example, if travel times T1, T2, and T3 (T1> T2> T3) are acquired (calculated) within a predetermined time before the travel time is provided, the maximum travel time T1 is provided. Note that the predetermined time may be made longer / shorter according to the length / shortness of the acquired travel time. As a result, the decreasing travel time acquired until the congestion of the road section is resolved is intentionally delayed, so the vehicle that has bypassed the road section stops the detour and It is possible to provide an optimal travel time that can sufficiently reduce traffic congestion until it concentrates on the road section, and avoid the traffic congestion on the road section again, thereby speeding up the cancellation of the traffic congestion.

  In 4th invention, the travel time which added predetermined value to the travel time acquired in the vicinity of a provision time point is provided. The vicinity of the provision time point is, for example, the latest time point of the provision time point. For example, when the travel time acquired (or calculated) at time t1 is T1, and travel time is provided at time t1 + Δt, the travel time T to be provided is T = T1 + ΔT. Note that the predetermined value ΔT to be added is a difference (ΔT = T0−T1) between the travel time T0 acquired at time t0 prior to time t1 and the travel time T1 acquired at time t1, which can be determined as appropriate. be able to. As a result, instead of providing the acquired travel time as it is, by providing a travel time longer than the acquired travel time, the vehicle that has detoured the road section stops the detour and concentrates on the road section By suppressing the traffic jam and eliminating the traffic jam in the meantime, it is possible to provide the optimum travel time that can avoid the worse traffic situation of the road section again and consequently speed up the traffic jam resolution.

  In the fifth invention, the congestion frequency of the road section is determined, and the travel time is provided when the congestion frequency is greater than the threshold value. The traffic jam frequency can be, for example, the number of traffic jams in one day, or the traffic jam time in which one traffic jam lasts. As a result, it is possible to provide an optimal travel time by narrowing down to a road section where frequent traffic congestion is likely to occur, and avoid unnecessary processing.

  According to the present invention, an optimum travel time can be provided.

It is a schematic diagram which shows an example of a road network. It is a schematic diagram which shows an example of a road area. It is a block diagram which shows an example of a structure of the travel time provision apparatus of this Embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the provision method of the travel time by the travel time provision apparatus of this Embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows the other example of the provision method of the travel time by the travel time provision apparatus of this Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the processing procedure of the travel time provision by the travel time provision apparatus of this Embodiment.

  Hereinafter, a travel time providing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a road network, FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a road section, and FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a travel time providing apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment. is there. As shown in FIG. 1, the road network includes a plurality of intersections and road sections connecting adjacent intersections. Hereinafter, the road section is also referred to as a link. A road section is a road section from one intersection (shown by a rectangle in FIG. 1) to another adjacent intersection. For example, two road sections, such as an upward direction and a downward direction, according to the traveling direction of the vehicle. The direction is specified. In addition, the number or structure of a road area is not limited to the example of FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a road section (link) between intersections S1 and S2 adjacent to each other is defined as L1. The road section L1 is a direction from the intersection S1 toward the intersection S2. A vehicle detector 200 such as an optical beacon is installed on the upstream side of the road section L1. In addition, the installation location of the vehicle detector 200 is not limited to the example of FIG. 2, A plurality can also be installed at an appropriate interval in the road section L1. In the following description, the road section L1 as an example will be described assuming that the road section L1 is selected from the road network.

  The travel time providing apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment provides information on the optimal travel time in an arbitrary road section in the road network. As illustrated in FIG. 3, the travel time providing apparatus 100 includes a control unit 101 that controls the entire apparatus, a communication unit 102, a storage unit 103, a travel time calculation unit 104, a statistical value calculation unit 105, a traffic jam determination unit 106, and a traffic jam frequency. A determination unit 107, a travel time providing unit 108, and the like are provided.

  The communication unit 102 has a communication function with the vehicle detector 200, receives measurement data (for example, a sense pulse signal) measured by the vehicle detector 200, and uses the received measurement data as a travel time calculation unit 104, a traffic jam The data is output to the determination unit 106 and the like.

  In addition, the communication unit 102 can receive vehicle probe information via the vehicle sensor 200 such as an optical beacon and output the received probe information to the travel time calculation unit 104. The probe information includes information such as the position of the vehicle at a predetermined cycle (for example, every second), the time when the vehicle passes through the position, and an identification number for identifying the vehicle.

  The communication unit 102 also has a local communication function such as a communication function using a mobile phone network, UHF radio, or dedicated short range communication (DSRC), and provides traffic information to the in-vehicle device or the in-vehicle device with an optimal travel time. While transmitting to a server etc., probe information can also be received directly from a vehicle equipment.

  The storage unit 103 stores road network information, road map data, and the like. The storage unit 103 can store measurement data, probe information, and the like acquired via the communication unit 102. The storage unit 103 stores travel times acquired at different times. In the present embodiment, acquiring travel time includes acquiring travel time calculated in advance, calculating travel time in travel time calculation unit 104 (updating), and the like. The travel time acquisition time includes a time when a travel time calculated in advance is acquired, a time when the travel time is calculated (updated) by the travel time calculation unit 104, and the like.

  The travel time calculation unit 104 is based on the measurement data received from the vehicle sensor 200 via the communication unit 102, and the road segment L1 every predetermined update period (for example, 1 minute, 2.5 minutes, 5 minutes, etc.). Calculate travel time. The travel time calculation unit 104 calculates real-time travel time, unlike a statistical value calculation unit 105 described later. The calculated travel time is, for example, an average value of a plurality of vehicles.

  In order to calculate the travel time of the road section L1 using the measurement data (sensing pulse signal) from the vehicle detector 200, for example, the following may be performed. That is, when the road section L1 is not congested (when there is no signal queue length or when the signal queue length can be ignored), the traffic volume is calculated by counting the number of sensing pulses within a predetermined time. In addition, the occupation rate is obtained by accumulating the sense pulse width. Then, the average speed is calculated by multiplying the ratio of the traffic volume and the occupation ratio by the effective vehicle length (the total value of the sensing area of the vehicle detector 200 and the average vehicle length), and the length of the road section L1 is calculated by the average speed. The travel time can be calculated by dividing.

  When the road section L1 is congested (when the signal queue length cannot be ignored in order to obtain the travel time with high accuracy), the time according to the signal queue length may be added to the travel time described above.

  In addition, the travel time calculation unit 104 is based on the probe information received via the communication unit 102, and travel time for the road section L1 every predetermined update period (for example, 1 minute, 2.5 minutes, 5 minutes, etc.). Can also be calculated.

  To calculate the travel time of the road section L1 using the vehicle probe information, for example, the following may be performed. That is, the travel locus information for each vehicle identification code is extracted from the probe information acquired via the communication unit 102, and the map matching process is performed based on the road section data of the road map data stored in the storage unit 103. The vehicle that traveled on the road section L1 is specified. Then, the position closest to the start and end of the road section L1 and the time at that position are extracted, and the time at the position closest to the start is subtracted from the time at the position closest to the end. The travel time of the road section L1 is calculated.

  The travel time calculation unit 104 outputs the calculated travel time to the control unit 101 and the travel time providing unit 108.

  The travel time calculation method is not limited to the above-described example. For example, the number plate (vehicle number) of the vehicle is detected together with the time by an image-type vehicle detector, and the vehicle with the same number plate is a road. The time that has passed through the section L1 can be obtained as travel time, or other methods can be used.

  The statistical value calculation unit 105 calculates the travel time (statistical value) subjected to the statistical processing of the road section L1 based on the collected measurement data or the probe information.

  The statistical value calculation unit 105 collects the travel time calculated by the travel time calculation unit 104 over a predetermined period (for example, 1 month, 2 months, 3 months, 6 months, etc.) and stores the travel time. The travel time is classified into arbitrary time zones (for example, every 1 minute, every 2.5 minutes, every 5 minutes, etc.), and the average of the total travel time of each vehicle for each time zone divided by the number of vehicles The value is calculated as travel time subjected to statistical processing. Note that the statistical processing is not limited to averaging, and may be a predetermined percentile value. In addition, the arbitrary time zone may be a part of the day, or may include all 24 hours per day. In addition, the arbitrary time zone includes the time (time point). Furthermore, a predicted value of travel time predicted by a known prediction method may be used. Note that the known prediction method here refers to, for example, a method of extracting and predicting a trend of similar travel time fluctuations from a stored database of past travel time, or a neural network It refers to a method of making predictions after learning past statistical information using a learning system such as a network, and is not limited thereto. Note that the statistical value calculation unit 105 may not be provided if the travel time statistical value is not used.

  The traffic jam determination unit 106 determines whether there is traffic jam on the road section L1. The traffic determination unit 106 uses the measurement data (sensed pulse signal) received via the communication unit 102 to calculate the occupation rate by accumulating the sensed pulse width within a certain time, and the calculated occupation rate is a predetermined threshold value. If it is greater than (for example, 30%), it is determined that there is a traffic jam, and if the occupation rate is equal to or less than a threshold value, it can be determined that there is no traffic jam.

  The traffic jam determination unit 106 determines that there is traffic jam when the travel time calculated by the travel time calculation unit 104 is longer than a predetermined threshold time, and determines that there is no traffic jam when the travel time is equal to or shorter than the predetermined threshold time. You can also. The traffic jam determination unit 106 outputs the traffic jam determination result to the control unit 101 and the travel time providing unit 108.

  The travel time providing unit 108 is calculated (updated) by the travel time calculation unit 104 or calculated (updated) by the statistical value calculation unit 105 every predetermined update cycle under the control of the control unit 101. Based on the statistical value of the travel time and the determination result determined by the traffic jam determination unit 106, the optimized travel time is provided to an external vehicle-mounted device or a server that provides traffic information to the vehicle-mounted device. The travel time providing unit 108 obtains the travel time to be provided based on the updated travel time when the travel time is updated at a predetermined update cycle by the travel time calculation unit 104 or the statistical value calculation unit 105, and The same travel time will continue to be provided until the renewal time.

  More specifically, the travel time providing unit 108 updates (calculates) a trip that has been updated (calculated) a plurality of times by the travel time calculating unit 104 or the statistical value calculating unit 105 when the traffic jam determining unit 106 determines that there is traffic on the road section L1. When the time decreases with the passage of the update (calculation) time (when it tends to decrease), a travel time longer than the travel time updated (calculated) in the vicinity of the provision time is provided.

  For example, the travel times updated (or calculated) at times t1, t2, and t3 in the time zone determined to be congested in the road section L1 are T1, T2, and T3, and the travel time is reduced (ie, T1> T2> T3), the travel time T provided at time t3 or in the vicinity of time t3 is set to be longer than the travel time T3.

  In other words, the actual travel time is not provided as it is, but by providing a travel time longer than the actual travel time, the vehicle that has bypassed the road section L1 stops the detour and concentrates on the road section L1. By suppressing and eliminating the congestion in the meantime, it is possible to provide the optimum travel time that can avoid the deterioration of the traffic condition of the road section L1 again and consequently speed up the cancellation of the traffic jam.

  FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a travel time providing method by the travel time providing apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment. In FIG. 4, the horizontal axis indicates time, and the vertical axis indicates travel time. The data plotted by the square indicates the travel time acquisition value (updated value), and the data plotted by the circle indicates the travel time provision value. In the example of FIG. 4, the travel time is updated every 5 minutes, and the same provided value is provided during the update period. In the example of FIG. 4, it is determined that the road section L1 is congested between the times 7:25 and 8:30.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the travel time providing unit 108 provides a provided value having the same value as the travel time acquired value when there is no traffic jam in the road section L1 (see, for example, symbol A).

  Further, the travel time providing unit 108 has the same value as the acquired travel time value when the acquired travel time increases with the passage of time when there is traffic congestion in the road section L1 (when the travel time tends to increase). Is provided (see, for example, symbols B and C).

  Further, the travel time providing unit 108 provides a provision value greater than the travel time acquisition value when the acquired travel time decreases with the passage of time when there is a traffic jam in the road section L1 ( For example, refer to the relationship between symbols D1 and D2, and the relationship between E1 and E2.) From another point of view, the travel time providing unit 108 delays the travel time acquisition value when the acquired travel time decreases with the passage of time when there is traffic congestion in the road section L1. (For example, refer to the relationship between the codes D1 and E2 and the relationship between the E1 and F2).

  In addition, when there is no traffic jam on the road section L1, the travel time providing unit 108 provides a provision value that is the same value as the travel time acquisition value even when the acquired travel time decreases with the passage of time. (For example, see symbol G).

  As described above, the travel time providing unit 108 increases when the acquired travel time increases with the lapse of the acquisition time or is determined to be congested in the road section from the time when the travel time is provided within the predetermined range. In addition, the travel time is provided by delaying the provision time of the travel time when the acquired travel time decreases with the passage of the acquisition time.

  That is, when the travel time provided (or updated) travel time increases with the passage of time or when the travel time acquired does not increase or decrease with the passage of time, the travel time providing unit 108 can be regarded as substantially constant. Provide travel time without intentional delay, from the time of acquisition of travel time acquired. Note that the travel time acquisition time point and the provision time point are not necessarily the same because of the processing time.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that there is traffic jam in the road section L1 and the travel time acquired (or calculated) decreases with the passage of the acquisition time, the travel time providing unit 108 intends from the acquisition time of the acquired travel time. Provide travel time with a delay. The delay time can be determined as appropriate. For example, the delay time can be made longer / shorter according to the length / shortness of the acquired travel time. As a result, the decreasing travel time acquired until the traffic congestion in the road section L1 is resolved is intentionally delayed, so that the vehicle that has bypassed the road section L1 stops the detour and enters the road section L1. It is possible to provide an optimal travel time that can sufficiently reduce the traffic congestion until the concentration, and avoid the traffic congestion on the road section L1 again, thereby speeding up the cancellation of the traffic jam.

  In addition, when it is determined that there is traffic jam in the road section L1, the travel time providing unit 108 acquires the travel acquired within a predetermined time before the provided time when the acquired travel time decreases with the passage of the acquired time. Provide maximum travel time out of time. The predetermined time can be determined as appropriate, for example, 3 minutes, 7.5 minutes, or 15 minutes. For the 3 minutes, 7.5 minutes, or 15 minutes, the maximum value is obtained from the three most recent acquired values when the update cycle is 1 minute, 2.5 minutes, or 5 minutes, respectively. This is an example.

  For example, if travel times T1, T2, and T3 (T1> T2> T3) are acquired (calculated) within a predetermined time before the travel time is provided, the maximum travel time T1 is provided. For example, in the example of FIG. 4, when travel time is provided at time 8:15, the latest three acquired values are at times 8:15, 8:10, and 8:05, and the maximum value among them is Since it is the acquired value indicated by the code D1 at time 8:05, this is provided as the provision value (code E2) at time 8:15. The same applies to the provided values at other times.

  Note that the predetermined time may be made longer / shorter according to the length / shortness of the acquired travel time. As a result, the reduced travel time acquired until the traffic congestion in the road section L1 is resolved is intentionally delayed, so the vehicle that has bypassed the road section L1 stops the detour and It is possible to provide an optimal travel time that can sufficiently reduce the traffic congestion before the concentration in the section L1, and avoid the traffic congestion on the road section L1 again, thereby speeding up the cancellation of the traffic congestion.

  The travel time providing unit 108 provides a travel time obtained by adding a predetermined value to the travel time acquired in the vicinity of the provision time point. The vicinity of the provision time point is, for example, the latest time point of the provision time point. For example, when the travel time acquired (or calculated) at time t1 is T1, and travel time is provided at time t1 + Δt, the travel time T to be provided is T = T1 + ΔT. For example, in the example of FIG. 4, when the travel time is provided at time 8:15, a value (indicated by reference symbol E2) obtained by adding a predetermined value to the acquired value at time 8:15 indicated by reference symbol E1 is provided as the provision value. .

  Note that the predetermined value ΔT to be added is a difference (ΔT = T0−T1) between the travel time T0 acquired at time t0 prior to time t1 and the travel time T1 acquired at time t1, which can be determined as appropriate. be able to. Thereby, instead of providing the acquired travel time as it is, by providing a travel time longer than the acquired travel time, the vehicle that has bypassed the road section L1 stops the detour and concentrates on the road section L1. By suppressing the congestion and eliminating the congestion in the meantime, it is possible to provide the optimum travel time that can avoid the deterioration of the congestion condition of the road section L1 again and consequently speed up the cancellation of the congestion.

  FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram illustrating another example of a travel time providing method by the travel time providing apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment. In FIG. 5, the horizontal axis indicates time, and the vertical axis indicates travel time. The data plotted by the square indicates the travel time acquisition value (updated value), and the data plotted by the circle indicates the travel time provision value. In the example of FIG. 5, the travel time is updated every 5 minutes, and the same provided value is provided during the update period. In the example of FIG. 5, it is determined that the road section L1 is congested between the times 7:25 and 8:40.

  Depending on traffic conditions, the travel time does not necessarily increase or decrease monotonically with the passage of time, but may increase and decrease repeatedly within a certain range. As illustrated in FIG. 5, the travel time fluctuates but does not significantly decrease or increase between the times 7:45 and 8:25. In such a case, it can not be said that the road section L1 is in a direction of relieving congestion, so the acquired value of travel time is not provided with a delay, but the acquired value or a value close to the acquired value. It is preferable to provide the provided value.

  In the example of FIG. 5, when it is determined that there is a traffic jam in the road section L1, if the acquired value (updated value) has not decreased twice consecutively, the travel time provided value B is the same as the acquired value B. The value (when the acquisition value B increases compared to the latest value B1) or the travel time provision value A2 is the same value as the latest acquisition value A2 (when the acquisition value A1 decreases compared to the latest value A2) ).

  Thereby, detouring from the road section L1 is promoted, and as a result, it is possible to expedite the elimination of the traffic congestion in the road section L1.

  The congestion frequency determination unit 107 determines the congestion frequency of the road section L1. The travel time providing unit 108 provides travel time when it is determined that the congestion frequency of the road section L1 is greater than the threshold. The traffic jam frequency can be, for example, the number of traffic jams in one day, or the traffic jam time in which one traffic jam lasts. That is, when the congestion frequency is larger than the threshold value, it means that the congestion frequently occurs or that once the congestion occurs, the congestion continues for a long time. By providing the (optimized) travel time after the processing by the travel time providing unit 108 to the road section where the congestion frequency is larger than the threshold, the road section where the traffic congestion is likely to occur frequently, or the traffic congestion immediately occurs when the guard is not careful. It is possible to provide an optimal travel time by narrowing down to the road section that occurs, and avoid unnecessary processing.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure for providing travel time by the travel time providing apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment. In the following processing procedure, the control unit 101 will be mainly described. The control unit 101 selects the road section L1 (S11). The road section can be selected based on a road section where traffic congestion is likely to occur, that is, the frequency of traffic congestion.

  The control unit 101 acquires the travel time of the selected road section L1 every update cycle (for example, 1 minute, 2.5 minutes, 5 minutes, etc.) (S12). The acquisition of travel time means that a travel time calculated in advance is calculated, a travel time is calculated (updated) by the travel time calculation unit 104, and a statistical value of the travel time is calculated by the statistical value calculation unit 105. Including cases.

  The control unit 101 determines whether or not there is a traffic jam in the selected road section L1 (S13). If there is a traffic jam (YES in S13), the control unit 101 determines whether or not the acquired travel time has decreased with the passage of time. (S14).

  If the acquired travel time is decreasing with the passage of time (YES in S14), the control unit 101 provides a travel time longer (larger) than the acquired travel time (acquired value) (S15). It should be noted that providing a travel time that is greater than the acquired value has the same meaning as providing the acquired value with a delay of the required time.

  When there is no traffic jam on the road section L1 (NO in S13), or when the acquired travel time has not decreased with the passage of time (NO in S14), the control unit 101 provides the acquired travel time as it is (S16). ). In addition, if the travel time is provided a plurality of times before the next update of the travel time, the same provided value may be provided.

  The control unit 101 determines whether or not to update the travel time (S17). When the travel time is updated (YES in S17), the process after step S12 is repeated, and when not updated (NO in S17), the process ends.

  Travel time providing apparatus 100 of the present embodiment can also be realized using a general-purpose computer that includes a CPU, a RAM, and the like. That is, as shown in FIG. 6, a computer program that defines each processing procedure is recorded on a recording medium such as an optical disc, the optical disc is read by an optical disc reader provided in the computer, the computer program is loaded into a RAM, The travel time providing apparatus 100 can be realized on a computer by executing the computer program on the CPU.

  The disclosed embodiments are to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is defined by the terms of the claims, rather than the description above, and is intended to include any modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the terms of the claims.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 Control part 102 Communication part 103 Storage part 104 Travel time calculation part 105 Statistical value calculation part 106 Congestion judgment part 107 Congestion frequency judgment part 108 Travel time provision part

Claims (7)

In a travel time providing device that provides travel time information for an arbitrary road section of the road network,
Obtaining means for obtaining a plurality of travel times at a plurality of different points in the road section;
Determining means for determining the presence or absence of traffic congestion including a period of traffic congestion in the road section;
A travel time longer than the travel time acquired in the vicinity of the provision time point during the traffic congestion period when the determination means determines that there is traffic congestion and the travel time acquired by the acquisition means tends to decrease. A travel time providing device comprising: providing means for providing. The providing means includes
The travel time acquired by the acquisition unit tends to increase or the travel time acquired by the acquisition unit tends to decrease when the determination unit determines that there is a traffic jam than when the travel time is within a predetermined range. 2. The travel time providing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the travel time is provided by delaying the provision time of the travel time when the travel time is in the range. The providing means includes
When the determination means determines that there is a traffic jam and the travel time acquired by the acquisition means tends to decrease, the maximum travel time is provided among the travel times acquired within a predetermined time before the provision time. The travel time providing device according to claim 1, wherein the travel time providing device is configured as follows. The providing means includes
The travel time providing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the travel time is provided by adding a predetermined value to the travel time acquired in the vicinity of the provision time point by the acquisition unit. A frequency determining means for determining the frequency of traffic congestion in the road section;
The providing means includes
The travel time providing device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the travel time is provided when a congestion frequency determined by the frequency determination means is greater than a threshold value. . In a computer program for causing a computer to provide travel time information of an arbitrary road section of a road network,
The computer,
Determining means for determining the presence or absence of traffic congestion including a period of traffic congestion in the road section;
Travel time longer than the travel time acquired in the vicinity of the provision time point during the traffic time period when it is determined that there is traffic congestion and the travel time acquired at a plurality of different time points of the road section is decreasing. Providing means and providing
A computer program characterized by functioning as a computer program. In a travel time providing method by a travel time providing device that provides information on travel time of any road section of the road network,
A plurality of acquisition means for acquiring a plurality of travel times at a plurality of time points in the road section;
A step of determining whether or not there is a traffic jam including a traffic jam period in the road section; and
The providing means provides a travel time longer than the travel time acquired in the vicinity of the provisional time during the period of the traffic jam when it is determined that there is traffic jam and the travel time acquired tends to decrease. A travel time providing method comprising:

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