CN114521181A

CN114521181A - Congestion determination device, vehicle, server device, and congestion determination method

Info

Publication number: CN114521181A
Application number: CN202080066957.XA
Authority: CN
Inventors: 吉田一辉; 神田好崇; 角田进
Original assignee: Isuzu Motors Ltd
Current assignee: Isuzu Motors Ltd
Priority date: 2019-09-26
Filing date: 2020-09-24
Publication date: 2022-05-20
Anticipated expiration: 2040-09-24
Also published as: WO2021060354A1; JP2021049917A; JP7238719B2; CN114521181B

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a congestion determination device, a vehicle, a server device, and a congestion determination method that can appropriately determine whether or not a traveling road of a host vehicle is congested during execution of an automatic traveling function. The congestion determination device is provided with: an engagement time acquisition unit that acquires an engagement time of a clutch that can cut off or connect power from a drive source and is provided in a vehicle having an automatic travel function; and a congestion determination unit that determines whether the travel path of the vehicle is congested based on the obtained engagement time.

Description

Congestion determination device, vehicle, server device, and congestion determination method

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to a congestion determination device, a vehicle, a server device, and a congestion determination method.

Background

In recent years, various driving assistance devices have been developed and put into practical use in order to reduce the burden on the driver and avoid accidents. As one of such driving assistance devices, a driving assistance device having an automatic traveling function (for example, an Adaptive Cruise Control function, which is hereinafter referred to as an "ACC function") is known (for example, see patent document 1). In general, the ACC function defines a speed range (hereinafter, referred to as a "settable speed range") in which a target speed can be set during constant speed travel (for example, 40km/h to 110km/h) on the premise that the ACC function is used during travel on an expressway with a low frequency of accelerator and brake operation.

In the driving assistance device provided with the ACC function, for example, the current vehicle speed is set as the target speed by the driver performing an operation to activate the ACC function while traveling at a speed within the settable speed range. Then, the driving force and the braking force of the vehicle are controlled so that the vehicle travels at a constant speed set as a target speed when there is no preceding vehicle, and so that the vehicle travels with following while maintaining a constant inter-vehicle distance (target inter-vehicle distance) when there is a preceding vehicle.

In addition, a full-vehicle speed ACC function that executes an ACC function in a full-vehicle speed range has been proposed (for example, see patent document 2). In the full-vehicle-speed ACC function, when the preceding vehicle has stopped, the vehicle is stopped so that the inter-vehicle distance falls within a predetermined target range, and when the preceding vehicle resumes the travel, the driving force and the braking force of the vehicle are controlled so that the follow-up travel is resumed.

Documents of the prior art

Patent document

Patent document 1: japanese patent application laid-open No. Hei 7-17295.

Patent document 2: japanese patent application laid-open No. 2013-123993.

Disclosure of Invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

However, when the traveling road of the host vehicle is congested during the execution of the ACC function, the start-stop may frequently occur, and the drivability of the driver may be degraded. For example, when the preceding vehicle is traveling at a low speed due to a traffic jam on the traveling road of the vehicle or the like during execution of the full-speed ACC function, the host vehicle repeats start and stop such that the host vehicle quickly catches up with the preceding vehicle to stop, and then the host vehicle is restarted when the inter-vehicle distance to the preceding vehicle is increased, and thereafter the host vehicle quickly catches up with the preceding vehicle to stop; this may reduce the drivability of the driver. Therefore, in the driving assistance device having the ACC function, it is preferable to appropriately determine whether or not the traveling road of the host vehicle is congested, and if the traveling road of the host vehicle is congested, perform the traveling control different from the normal traveling in which the traveling road of the host vehicle is not congested.

An object of the present disclosure is to provide a congestion determination device, a vehicle, a server device, and a congestion determination method that can appropriately determine whether or not a traveling road of a host vehicle is congested during execution of an automatic traveling function.

Means for solving the problems

A congestion determining device according to an aspect of the present disclosure includes:

an engagement time obtaining unit that obtains an engagement time of a clutch that can disconnect or connect power from a drive source and is provided in a vehicle having an automatic travel function; and

and a congestion determination unit configured to determine whether or not the travel path of the vehicle is congested based on the obtained engagement time.

A vehicle according to an aspect of the present disclosure includes the congestion determination device.

A server device according to an aspect of the present disclosure includes the congestion determination device, and is connected to the vehicle through a communication line.

A congestion determination method of an aspect of the present disclosure includes the steps of:

obtaining an engagement time of a clutch that can cut off or connect power from a drive source and that is provided in a vehicle having an automatic travel function;

determining whether a travel road of the vehicle is congested based on the obtained engagement time.

Effects of the invention

According to the present disclosure, it is possible to appropriately determine whether or not the travel road of the host vehicle is congested during execution of the automatic travel function.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a vehicle including a driving assistance device according to the present embodiment.

Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the driving assistance device in the present embodiment.

Fig. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of a congestion determination operation of the driving assistance apparatus according to the present embodiment.

Detailed Description

An embodiment of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

First, a configuration of a vehicle including a driving assistance device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described.

Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a configuration of a vehicle including a driving assistance device according to the present embodiment.

The vehicle 1 shown in fig. 1 is a large vehicle such as a truck on which an inline six-cylinder diesel engine is mounted. As shown in fig. 1, the vehicle 1 includes a drive system 10 that runs the vehicle 1, a brake system 20 that decelerates the vehicle 1, a driving assistance device 30 that assists a driver in driving the vehicle 1, and the like.

The drive system 10 includes an engine 11 (functioning as a "drive source" of the present disclosure), a clutch 12, a transmission 13, a propeller shaft 14, a differential 15, a drive shaft 16, wheels 17, an engine ECU (Electronic Control Unit) 18, and a power transmission ECU 19. The Transmission 13 may be, for example, an AMT (Automated Manual Transmission) or the like.

The engine ECU18 and the power transmission ECU19 are connected to the driving support apparatus 30 via an in-vehicle Network such as a CAN (Controller Area Network), and CAN receive and transmit necessary data and control signals from each other. The engine ECU18 controls the output torque of the engine 11 in accordance with a drive command from the driving assistance device 30. The power transmission ECU19 controls the clutch 12 to be disengaged or engaged and the transmission 13 to be shifted according to a drive command from the driving assistance device 30.

The power (output torque) of the engine 11 is transmitted to the transmission 13 via the clutch 12 capable of disconnecting or connecting the power from the engine 11. The power transmitted to the transmission 13 is further transmitted to wheels 17 via a propeller shaft 14, a differential device 15, and a drive shaft 16. Thereby, the power of the engine 11 is transmitted to the wheels 17, and the vehicle 1 travels.

The brake system 20 includes a service brake 21,

auxiliary brakes

22 and 23, a parking brake (not shown), and a brake ECU 24.

The service brakes 21 are friction brakes, which are generally referred to as service brakes, foundation brakes, or the like. The service brake 21 is, for example, a drum brake in which a brake lining (brake shoe) is pressed against the inside of a brake drum that rotates together with the wheel 17 to obtain a braking force.

The auxiliary brake 22 is a retarder (hereinafter referred to as "retarder 22") that obtains braking force by directly applying a load to the rotation of the propeller shaft 14, and is, for example, an electromagnetic retarder. The auxiliary brake 23 is an exhaust brake (hereinafter referred to as "exhaust brake 23") that improves the effect of engine braking by utilizing the rotational resistance of the engine 11. By providing the retarder 22 and the exhaust brake 23, the braking force can be increased, and the frequency of use of the service brake 21 is reduced, so that abrasion of brake linings and the like can be suppressed.

The brake ECU24 is connected to the driving assistance device 30 via a vehicle-mounted network such as CAN, and CAN receive and transmit necessary data and control signals to each other. The brake ECU24 controls the braking force of the service brakes 21 (the brake fluid pressure in the wheel cylinders of the wheels 17) in accordance with a brake command from the driving assistance device 30.

The braking operation of the service brake 21 is controlled by the driving assistance device 30 and the brake ECU 24. The braking actions of the retarder 22 and the exhaust brake 23 are controlled by the driving assistance device 30 in an on/off manner. The braking forces of the retarder 22 and the exhaust brake 23 are substantially constant, so a service brake 21 is suitable which is able to finely adjust the braking force in situations where it is necessary to generate the desired braking force precisely.

The driving assistance device 30 obtains various information from the inter-vehicle distance detection unit 41, the ACC operation unit 42, the accelerator operation detection unit 43, the brake operation detection unit 44, and the vehicle speed sensor 45, and controls the operations of the drive system 10 and the brake system 20 based on the obtained information.

The driving assistance device 30 outputs various information related to travel from the information output unit 50 by voice, image, or the like.

The driving assistance device 30 realizes a full vehicle speed ACC (Adaptive Cruise Control) function as an automatic traveling function. That is, the driving assistance device 30 performs constant-speed running control and follow-up running control (hereinafter, collectively referred to as "automatic running control") in the vehicle 1.

The constant speed running control is control for operating the drive system 10 and the brake system 20 so that the running speed of the vehicle 1 (hereinafter referred to as "vehicle speed") approaches a predetermined target value (value, or range of values) when there is no preceding vehicle within a predetermined range.

The follow-up running control is control for operating the drive system 10 and the brake system 20 so that the inter-vehicle distance is within a predetermined target range and the relative speed approaches zero when there is a preceding vehicle within a predetermined range. In the present embodiment, when a preceding vehicle that is traveling on the traveling road of the vehicle 1 has stopped, the vehicle 1 stops so that the inter-vehicle distance between the vehicle 1 and the preceding vehicle (hereinafter, simply referred to as "inter-vehicle distance") falls within a predetermined target range, and then when the preceding vehicle resumes traveling, the follow-up traveling is resumed. Details of the driving assistance device 30 will be described later.

The inter-vehicle distance detecting unit 41 measures (detects) the inter-vehicle distance, and outputs the measurement result to the driving assistance device 30. In the inter-vehicle distance detection unit 41, for example, laser radar, millimeter wave radar, an imaging device, or the like may be used alone or in combination. The driving assistance device 30 controls the operations of the drive system 10 and the brake system 20 during constant-speed running and follow-up running based on the detection result of the inter-vehicle distance detection unit 41.

The ACC operation unit 42 includes a main switch for making the full-vehicle-speed ACC function executable, and an ACC setting switch for setting and releasing the full-vehicle-speed ACC function. The ACC operation unit 42 includes a speed setting button for setting a target value of the vehicle speed and an inter-vehicle distance setting button for setting an inter-vehicle distance. Note that these switches and buttons may be a user interface displayed on a display with a touch panel. The ACC operation unit 42 outputs an operation signal indicating the content of the operation performed by the ACC operation unit 42 to the driving assistance device 30. The driving assistance device 30 sets information related to automatic travel control based on an operation signal from the ACC operation unit 42 (operation by the driver via the ACC operation unit 42).

The accelerator operation detection unit 43 detects whether or not an accelerator pedal for accelerating the vehicle is depressed and the depression amount of the accelerator pedal, and outputs the detection result to the driving assistance device 30. The driving assistance device 30 transmits a drive command to the engine ECU18 and the power transmission ECU19 based on the amount of depression of the accelerator pedal.

The brake operation detection unit 44 detects whether or not a brake pedal for operating the service brake 21 is depressed, and the depression amount of the brake pedal. The brake operation detection unit 44 detects whether or not an auxiliary brake lever that operates the retarder 22 or the exhaust brake 23 is operated. The brake operation detection unit 44 outputs the detection result of the brake pedal and the auxiliary brake lever to the driving assistance device 30. The driving assistance device 30 described above sends a brake command to the brake ECU24 based on the amount of depression of the brake pedal. In addition, the driving assist device 30 controls the opening/closing operation of the retarder 22 or the exhaust brake 23 based on the operation of the auxiliary brake lever.

The vehicle speed sensor 45 is attached to the propeller shaft 14, for example, and detects a vehicle speed and outputs a detection result to the driving assistance device 30.

The information output unit 50 includes, for example, a speaker, and a display unit (display) such as a display (not shown) of a so-called instrument panel and/or a navigation system. The driving assistance device 30 uses the information output unit 50 to display information related to various instruments such as a speedometer, a tachometer, a fuel gauge, a water temperature gauge, and an odometer, and to output an alarm sound.

Although not shown, the engine ECU18, the power transmission ECU19, the brake ECU24, and the driving assistance device 30 each include, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a storage medium such as a ROM (Read Only Memory) in which a control program is stored, a working Memory such as a RAM (Random Access Memory), and a communication circuit. In this case, the functions of each unit described later constituting the driving assistance device 30 are realized by the CPU executing a control program, for example. The engine ECU18, the power transmission ECU19, the brake ECU24, and the driving assistance device 30 have interfaces (connection units) for transmitting and receiving various information to and from each other via the in-vehicle network.

The vehicle 1 having such a configuration can travel not only by normal travel based on the operation of the driver but also by automatic travel control based on the vehicle speed, the inter-vehicle distance, and the like by using the driving assistance device 30.

Next, the configuration of the driving assistance device 30 (functioning as a "congestion determination device" of the present disclosure) will be described with reference to fig. 2.

As shown in fig. 2, the driving assistance device 30 has an information obtaining portion 32, an ACC control portion 34 (functioning as an "engagement time obtaining portion" and a "congestion determining portion" of the present disclosure), and a disengaged or engaged state obtaining portion 36.

The information obtaining portion 32 obtains target values of the vehicle speed, the relative speed, or the inter-vehicle distance, for example, based on the input information from the ACC operation portion 42, and outputs the obtained target values to the ACC control portion 34.

The information obtaining unit 32 obtains the vehicle speed, the relative speed of the preceding vehicle with respect to the vehicle 1 (hereinafter simply referred to as "relative speed"), and the inter-vehicle distance based on the input information from the vehicle speed sensor 45 and the inter-vehicle distance detecting unit 41. For example, the information obtaining unit 32 records the input information, and calculates the relative speed from the temporal change in the inter-vehicle distance. Then, the information obtaining portion 32 outputs the obtained vehicle speed, relative speed, and inter-vehicle distance to the ACC control portion 34.

The information obtaining unit 32 may appropriately set the target value of the vehicle speed and the target value of the inter-vehicle distance based on, for example, the current vehicle speed and the current inter-vehicle distance, and an inter-vehicle range (level of the inter-vehicle distance) set in advance by the user. For example, the information obtaining unit 32 receives an operation performed by the driver to select one of a plurality of preset vehicle-to-vehicle ranges via the vehicle-to-vehicle distance setting button of the ACC operation unit 42 at the time of starting the engine 11. Then, the information obtaining unit 32 sets the target value of the inter-vehicle distance to a larger value as the selected inter-vehicle range is longer or the current vehicle speed is larger. The information obtaining unit 32 may display information indicating the set plant area on the information output unit 50.

The ACC control unit 34 controls the drive system 10 and the brake system 20 of the vehicle 1 such that at least one of the vehicle speed, the relative speed, and the inter-vehicle distance approaches the respective target values. That is, the ACC control unit 34 performs the above-described automatic travel control.

For example, the ACC control unit 34 performs proportional control (P control) on a difference between a vehicle speed (actual speed) and a target value (target speed) thereof and a difference between a relative speed and a target value thereof, and performs integral control (I control) on a difference between an inter-vehicle distance and a target value (inter-vehicle range) thereof. That is, the ACC control unit 34 performs a feedback operation based on the difference between the target values of the vehicle speed, the relative speed, and the inter-vehicle distance and the actual vehicle speed, the relative speed, and the inter-vehicle distance. Thus, the ACC control unit 34 calculates an addition/subtraction torque (acceleration torque, deceleration torque) for bringing each of these differences close to zero as a target value of the addition/subtraction torque (hereinafter referred to as "output target torque" corresponding to "output target torque" in the present disclosure), and outputs the calculated output target torque value as a control value for the drive system 10 and the brake system 20.

The engine ECU18 obtains a fuel injection amount corresponding to an output target torque (acceleration torque) output from the ACC control unit 34. For example, the engine ECU18 can easily obtain the fuel injection amount corresponding to the output target torque output from the ACC control unit 34 by storing a correlation map indicating the correlation between the output target torque and the fuel injection amount of the engine 11 in a storage unit, not shown, in advance.

The engine ECU18 controls the output of the engine 11 by controlling the obtained fuel injection amount. That is, the engine ECU18 controls the engine 11 so that the output target torque matches the output torque of the engine 11.

The power transmission ECU19 notifies the disengagement or engagement state obtaining portion 36 of the disengaged or engaged state of the clutch 12 (whether the disengaged or engaged state of the clutch 12 is the engaged state or the disengaged state). The disengagement/engagement state obtaining unit 36 outputs the disengagement/engagement state of the clutch 12 notified from the power transmission ECU 19.

However, in the case where the traveling road of the vehicle 1 is congested during execution of the full-speed ACC function, the start-stop may frequently occur, and the drivability of the driver may be degraded. Specifically, in the case where the preceding vehicle is running at a low speed due to a running road congestion of the vehicle 1 or the like, the vehicle 1 repeats starting and stopping in which the vehicle 1 catches up with the preceding vehicle soon to stop, then the vehicle 1 is started again when the inter-vehicle distance with the preceding vehicle is increased, and thereafter the vehicle 1 catches up with the preceding vehicle soon again to stop; this may reduce the drivability of the driver. Therefore, in the driving assistance device 30 having the full vehicle speed ACC function, it is preferable to appropriately determine whether or not the traveling road of the vehicle 1 is congested, and if the traveling road of the vehicle 1 is congested, perform the traveling control different from that in the normal traveling in which the traveling road of the vehicle 1 is not congested.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, the ACC control unit 34 performs the following operation in order to appropriately determine whether or not the traveling road of the vehicle 1 is congested.

The ACC control portion 34 obtains the engagement time of the clutch 12 based on the disengaged or engaged state of the clutch 12 output from the disengaged or engaged state obtaining portion 36. Here, the engagement time of the clutch 12 is a time from the start of engagement of the clutch 12 to the end of engagement of the clutch 12 within a predetermined period. The predetermined period is a period from the start of the vehicle 1 to the stop of the vehicle.

The engagement time of the clutch 12 may be a cumulative time of the time from the start of engagement of the clutch 12 to the end of engagement of the clutch 12 within a predetermined period. The predetermined period may be a period during which the vehicle 1 travels a predetermined distance.

The ACC control portion 34 determines whether the running road of the vehicle 1 is congested based on the obtained engagement time of the clutch 12. In the present embodiment, the ACC control unit 34 determines that the traveling road of the vehicle 1 is congested when the engagement time of the clutch 12 is shorter than a predetermined time, and determines that the traveling road of the vehicle 1 is uncongested when the engagement time of the clutch 12 is equal to or longer than the predetermined time.

When the full-vehicle-speed ACC function is not enabled, the ACC control unit 34 controls each unit of the vehicle 1 including the drive system 10 and the brake system 20 based on operations of operation interfaces (none of which are shown) such as an accelerator, a brake, a shift lever, and a steering wheel. These controls are the same as those of normal running in a conventional vehicle, and therefore, the description thereof is omitted here.

Next, an example of the congestion determination operation of the driving assistance device 30 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of fig. 3. When the full vehicle speed ACC function is enabled in the travel control of the vehicle 1, the process of fig. 3 is executed.

First, the ACC control portion 34 obtains the engagement time of the clutch 12 based on the disengaged or engaged state of the clutch 12 output from the disengaged or engaged state obtaining portion 36 (step S100).

Next, the ACC control unit 34 determines whether the obtained engagement time of the clutch 12 is less than a predetermined time (step S120). If the determined result is that the engagement time of the clutch 12 is shorter than the predetermined time (yes at step S120), the ACC control unit 34 determines that the traveling road of the vehicle 1 is congested (step S140). After that, the driving assistance device 30 ends the processing in fig. 3.

On the other hand, when the engagement time of the clutch 12 is equal to or longer than the predetermined time (no in step S120), the ACC control unit 34 determines that the traveling road of the vehicle 1 is not congested (step S160). After that, the driving assistance apparatus 30 ends the processing in fig. 3.

As described above in detail, in the present embodiment, the driving assistance device 30 (congestion determination device) includes: an engagement time obtaining portion (ACC control portion 34) that obtains an engagement time of a clutch 12, the clutch 12 being capable of disconnecting or connecting power from a drive source (engine 11) and provided to a vehicle 1 having an automatic travel function (full vehicle speed ACC function); and a congestion determination unit (ACC control unit 34) that determines whether or not the travel path of the vehicle 1 is congested based on the obtained engagement time.

According to the present embodiment configured as described above, focusing on the fact that the engagement time of the clutch 12 tends to be short when the travel path of the vehicle 1 is congested, it is determined whether the travel path of the vehicle 1 is congested based on the engagement time of the clutch 12. Therefore, it is possible to appropriately determine whether or not the traveling road of the vehicle 1 is congested. Further, when the traveling road of the vehicle 1 is congested, by performing traveling control different from that in normal traveling in which the traveling road of the vehicle 1 is not congested, it is possible to suppress frequent occurrence of start and stop and to suppress deterioration of drivability of the driver.

In the above-described embodiment, an example was described in which a configuration that functions as a "congestion determination device" of the present disclosure is provided in the vehicle 1, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. For example, a configuration that functions as the "congestion determination device" of the present disclosure may be provided in a server device connected to the vehicle 1 via a communication line. In this case, first, the server device obtains the engagement time of the clutch 12 based on the disengaged or engaged state of the clutch 12 output from the disengaged or engaged state obtaining unit 36. Next, the server apparatus determines whether the travel road of the vehicle 1 is congested based on the obtained engagement time of the clutch 12. Finally, the server device transmits the determination result of whether the traveling road of the vehicle 1 is congested to the vehicle 1 via the communication line.

In the above embodiment, the example in which the congestion determination based on the engagement time of the clutch 12 is performed in the vehicle 1 capable of executing the full vehicle speed ACC function has been described, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. For example, the congestion determination based on the engagement time of the clutch 12 may be performed in a vehicle capable of executing the ACC function in a predetermined section (a specific vehicle speed range), or in a vehicle capable of executing an automatic driving function that allows the driver to avoid operating an accelerator, a brake, a steering wheel, and the like without time limitation.

In the above embodiment, when the engagement time of the clutch 12 is shorter than the predetermined time, the ACC control unit 34 may determine that the traveling road of the vehicle 1 is congested if the difference between the engagement time and the predetermined time is large.

The above embodiments are merely examples of embodying the present disclosure, and the technical scope of the present disclosure should not be limited by these embodiments. That is, the present disclosure can be implemented in various forms without departing from the gist or main features thereof.

The present application is based on the japanese patent application (japanese patent application 2019-175421) filed on 26.9.2019, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

Industrial applicability

The present disclosure is useful as a congestion determination device, a vehicle, a server device, and a congestion determination method that can appropriately determine whether or not a traveling road of a host vehicle is congested during execution of an automatic traveling function.

Description of the reference numerals

1 vehicle

10 drive system

11 engines

12 clutch

13 speed variator

14 drive shaft

15 differential device

16 drive shaft

17 wheel

18 ECU for engine

19 ECU for power transmission

20 braking system

21 service brake

22 retarder

23 exhaust brake

24 brake ECU

30 driving assistance device

32 information obtaining part

34 ACC control unit

36 separated or joined state obtaining portion

41 inter-vehicle distance detecting section

42 ACC operating unit

43 acceleration operation detecting part

44 brake operation detecting part

45 vehicle speed sensor

50 information output unit

Claims

1. A congestion determination device is provided with:

2. The congestion determination device according to claim 1,

the congestion determination unit determines that the traveling road of the vehicle is congested when the obtained joining time is less than a predetermined time.

3. The congestion determination device according to claim 1,

the engagement time is a time from the start of engagement of the clutch to the end of engagement of the clutch.

4. The congestion determination device according to claim 3,

the engagement time is a time from the start of engagement of the clutch to the end of engagement of the clutch during a predetermined period.

5. The congestion determination device according to claim 4,

the engagement time is a cumulative time of a time from the start of engagement of the clutch to the end of engagement of the clutch during the predetermined period.

6. The congestion determination device according to claim 4,

the predetermined period is a period from when the vehicle starts to stop.

7. The congestion determination device according to claim 4,

the predetermined period is a period during which the vehicle travels a predetermined distance.

8. The congestion determination device according to claim 1,

the automatic travel function is an adaptive cruise control function.

9. A vehicle comprising the congestion determination device according to claim 1.

10. A server device, comprising the congestion determination device according to claim 1, and connected to the vehicle via a communication line.

11. A congestion determination method comprising the steps of:

obtaining an engagement time of a clutch that can cut off or connect power from a drive source and that is provided in a vehicle having an automatic travel function; and