JP2008009639A - Road toll setting device and road toll setting program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To determine a toll of each route so that traffic on each route can flow smoothly. <P>SOLUTION: In setting a toll to be charged for a vehicle which has travelled on each route from each starting point to a terminal point within a traffic network, traffic demand on a target day every combination of starting point and terminal point is estimated according to past traffic data (5), a volume of traffic on each route is predicted (9) on the basis of an initial value (20) of the volume of traffic distribution to each route and the estimated traffic demand, and the initial value of volume of traffic distribution is corrected on the basis of the prediction and target volume of traffic distribution is determined (10). Then, on the basis of initial toll on each route (24) and a distance on the route, the volume of traffic distribution on each route is predicted (13) and the initial toll are corrected so that the predicted traffic amount distribution approximates the target distribution (14), which is to be final toll on each route (25). <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a road fee setting device and a road fee setting program for setting a fee for each route from a plurality of start points to an end point set in a road network.

  In recent years, introduction of a road pricing system has been considered for problems such as traffic congestion and air pollution in urban areas and tourist areas. This road pricing system is a system that designates a specific target area and collects charges for vehicles that enter or pass through the target area. By collecting tolls, the traffic volume in the target area will be reduced to reduce traffic congestion and air pollution. It has already been introduced in other countries such as Singapore and the United Kingdom.

As a technique related to the road pricing system, Patent Document 1 proposes a method of controlling the traffic volume by changing the amount of toll according to the atmospheric environment conditions in the toll collection area. Patent Document 2 proposes a method of increasing or decreasing the fee based on the route traveled by the vehicle.
JP 2002-133469 A JP 2003-337966 A

  However, in the above-mentioned Patent Documents 1 and 2, a method is proposed in which the amount of charge in the area where charges are collected varies depending on atmospheric environmental conditions and routes. It is not explained how much to set.

  In other words, if the price of road pricing is too high, more vehicles will avoid the target area and traffic congestion and air pollution will be reduced in the target area. It is conceivable that the air environment deteriorates due to traffic congestion. On the other hand, if the fee is too low, the effect of road pricing cannot be obtained sufficiently.

  In addition, when a vehicle passes through this target area, the route in which the vehicle moves from the entry point (start point) to the exit point (end point) with respect to this target area is limited to a traffic section (road). Even if it is limited to toll roads, there are multiple.

  In this case, the route on which the driver of the vehicle travels is selected. However, if the fare is constant regardless of the route, the vehicle concentrates on the shortest route and causes traffic congestion. Therefore, a difference in fee should be provided between each route according to the distance of the route and the time required for the route. However, if the route charge is not set appropriately, it is conceivable that vehicles are partially concentrated in the target area and traffic congestion occurs.

  When there are multiple routes from this one point (starting point) to another point (ending point), the same can be said for not only the road pricing mentioned above but also the general toll road network. . That is, it is desirable for road managers and users (drivers) to set reasonable charges and toll charges that do not cause traffic congestion.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and by adopting the target traffic distribution obtained from past traffic data, distances, etc., in the charge setting of each route, the traffic volume between each route. It is possible to suppress the occurrence of extreme inequality, minimize the occurrence of traffic congestion, suppress environmental deterioration such as air pollution, and set a fee that is beneficial for environmental managers, road managers, and vehicle drivers. An object is to provide a road charge setting device and a road charge setting program that can be performed.

  In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a road fee setting apparatus for setting a fee to be collected from a vehicle traveling on each route formed in a plurality of sections from a plurality of starting points to an end point set in a road network. Based on the traffic data storage means for storing the past traffic data in the road network and the past traffic data stored in the traffic data storage means, on the target date for each combination of the start point and the end point through which each vehicle passes Based on the traffic demand estimation means for estimating the traffic demand, and the preset initial value of the traffic distribution for each route and the estimated traffic demand, the traffic volume and the travel time of each route and each section are predicted. A traffic condition prediction means, a target traffic distribution setting means for correcting the initial value of the traffic distribution based on the prediction of the traffic condition prediction means and outputting it as a target traffic distribution; Based on the initial charge and the distance of the route, a traffic distribution prediction unit that predicts the traffic distribution of each route, and the traffic distribution predicted by the traffic distribution prediction unit approximate the target distribution. Thus, a charge setting means for correcting the initial charge and outputting it as the final charge for each route is provided.

  In the road fare setting device configured in this way, using the past traffic data in the road network and the initial value of the traffic distribution, each route of the current or target day and the traffic situation of each section of each route Prediction is obtained by a simulation method. Further, the target traffic volume is obtained from the traffic situation prediction by repeating the simulation method and the distribution adjustment. The target traffic distribution is, for example, the traffic distribution of each route that can be regarded as the best based on past traffic data and distance.

  Then, the charge for the corresponding route is determined so that the traffic distribution predicted based on the initially determined initial charge and distance of each route matches the previously set target distribution. Therefore, it is possible to alleviate traffic congestion and improve the surrounding environment. In other words, if the route charge is set high, the traffic distribution on the route decreases.

  In another aspect of the invention, parameter setting means for setting a parameter indicating the degree of contribution of the route fee and distance to the traffic distribution is added to the road fee setting device of the invention described above. Further, the traffic volume distribution predicting means calculates an evaluation function using the charge and distance as variables for each route weighted by the corresponding parameter, and predicts the traffic distribution of each route based on the evaluation function. .

  In the road fare setting device configured as described above, by changing the parameter value, it is possible to select whether the predicted traffic distribution is focused on the distance or on the fare. For example, when there are many drivers who place more importance on the price than the distance, the distance weight is set larger. In this way, as the distance weight increases, the charge for the route with the larger distance that is expected to have a smaller traffic distribution is further reduced to approach the target traffic distribution.

  In another aspect of the present invention, the traffic rate allocation prediction unit is based on the travel time predicted by the traffic state prediction unit in addition to the initial fee and distance of each route. To predict the traffic distribution for each route.

  In the road toll setting device configured as described above, the accuracy of the predicted traffic volume distribution of each route is improved. That is, a more optimal charge can be set for each route.

  Further, another invention provides a target date setting means for sending the traffic data of the target date stored in the traffic data storage means to the traffic demand estimation means as past traffic data for the road fee setting device of the invention described above. I have.

  The road fare setting device configured in this way differs from Weekday by extracting traffic data for the weekend, for example, where there are many tourists and tourists, and estimating traffic demand from past traffic data. Weekend-specific rates can be set.

Another invention is a road fee setting program. That is, the road fee setting program is a computer for setting a fee to be collected from a vehicle traveling on each route formed in a plurality of sections from a plurality of start points to end points set in the road network.
Traffic demand estimation means for estimating traffic demand on the target day for each combination of starting and ending points that each vehicle passes based on past traffic data in the road network, preset initial value of traffic distribution for each route Based on the estimated traffic demand, the traffic situation prediction means for predicting the traffic volume and travel time in each route and each section, and the initial value of traffic volume allocation is corrected based on the prediction of this traffic situation prediction means Target traffic volume distribution setting means for outputting as target traffic volume distribution, traffic volume distribution prediction means for predicting traffic volume distribution of each route based on a preset initial charge for each route and the distance of the route Then, the initial charge is corrected so that the traffic distribution predicted by the traffic distribution prediction means approximates the target distribution, and it is made to function as a charge setting means that outputs the final charge for each route.

  The road fee setting program configured as described above can achieve substantially the same operational effects as the road fee setting device of each invention described above.

  In the present invention, extreme unevenness in traffic volume between routes that connect each starting point and each end point is suppressed, traffic congestion is suppressed as much as possible, and environmental deterioration such as air pollution is suppressed. Thus, it is possible to set a fee that is beneficial for the environment manager, road manager, and vehicle driver.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a road fee setting apparatus constituted by a computer in which a road fee setting program according to the first embodiment of the present invention is incorporated. The road fee setting device of this embodiment sets a fee for each route collected from a vehicle that enters or passes through the target area 15 of road pricing shown in FIG.

  The road fee setting device according to the first embodiment is roughly composed of a traffic volume distribution setting unit 1 and a fee setting unit 2. Further, a road database 3 for storing road information in the road pricing target area 15 shown in FIG. 2, a traffic demand database 4 as traffic data storage means for storing past traffic data in the road pricing target area 15; A traffic demand estimation unit 5 that estimates the traffic demand on the target day from past traffic data stored in the traffic demand database 4 and a display unit 6 that displays a toll 25 for each finally determined route are incorporated. ing.

  In the traffic distribution setting unit 1, a distribution initial setting unit 7, a distribution storage unit 8, a traffic situation prediction unit 9, and a distribution determination unit 10 are provided. Further, in the fee setting unit 2, a fee initial setting unit 11, a fee storage unit 12, a distribution prediction unit 13, and a fee determination unit 14 are provided.

  Hereinafter, the detailed configuration and detailed operation of each unit described above will be described in order.

  In the road database 3, road information in the road pricing target area 15 shown in FIG. 2 is stored and held as a road link table 16 and a route table 17 in FIG. In this embodiment, a toll road network will be described as an example of the road network in the road pricing target area 15.

  In FIG. 2, starting points D1, D2, D3, and D4 indicating entry points into the target area 15 of the vehicle, and end points D5, D6, D7, and D8 indicating exit points outside the target area 15 of the vehicle are defined. The road network has a large number of nodes (junction / merging sections) 18, and sections connecting the starting point, the ending point, and the nodes 18 are defined as road links L 1, L 2,..., L 15, L 16. The link lengths of the road links L1 to L16 are registered in the road link table 16 shown in FIG.

  The vehicle enters the road pricing target area 15 from the starting point and travels on the road link. The vehicle travels to the target end point via the node 18 and exits from the end point. In this embodiment, it is assumed that each road link has a directionality and is a one-way road. However, in describing the embodiment of the present invention, the road link does not have to be a one-way road.

  There are a plurality of paths P1, P2,..., P18 connecting each starting point D1, D2, D3, D4 and each ending point D5, D6, D7, D8, and the starting point, ending point of each path P1, P2,. The via link and distance are registered in the route table 17 shown in FIG.

  In general, when the starting point and the ending point are determined, the driver selects the route with the shortest distance, so only one route is set for one combination of the starting point and the ending point. For example, the route P1 connecting the starting point D1 and the ending point D6 passes through the road links L1, L12, L14, L16, and L6 that are the shortest distance (= 16.6 km).

  On the other hand, when there are a plurality of routes whose distances approximate to one combination of the start point and the end point, a plurality of routes are registered for one combination of the start point and the end point. For example, between the start point D2 and the end point D6, a route P5 having a distance of 20 and 8 km via the road link L12 and a route P6 having a distance of 28 km via the road link L13 are set.

  In the traffic demand database 4, for example, the traffic volume for the past year is stored and held. Specifically, for example, the traffic volume at each start point and the end point every 30 minutes and the travel time (required time) between routes are stored in time series.

  The traffic demand estimation unit 5 estimates the traffic demand on the target day with reference to the past traffic volume data stored in the traffic demand database 4 and transmits it to the traffic situation prediction unit 9 of the traffic volume allocation setting unit 1. . Specifically, by averaging the traffic data for the past year stored in chronological order, each time zone every 30 minutes in 24 hours a day as shown in FIG. The traffic demand 19 on the target day can be estimated from the traffic demand (number) for each starting point and end point.

  In the distribution initial setting unit 7 of the traffic distribution setting unit 1, an initial value 20 of traffic distribution of each route P1 to P18 in each time zone every 30 minutes in 24 hours a day shown in FIG. 6 is stored. ing. In other words, how much traffic is allocated to each route connecting the start and end points to a set of start and end points. Indicates. That is, in the initial value 20 of traffic distribution, if there is no other route having the same starting point and ending point, the route distribution is set to 1.0, and if there are a plurality of routes having the same starting point and ending point, the ratio is equal. You may distribute, or you may distribute in the ratio proportional to the reciprocal number of the path distance of each path | route.

  In this embodiment, the distribution is performed at a rate proportional to the reciprocal of the route distance of each route. This is because the driver selects a route with a short distance unless there are other conditions. For example, in the traffic distribution initial value 20 of FIG. 6, the routes P5 and P6 are the same routes with the starting and ending points D2 and D6. Since the distance of each route is 20.8 km for P5 and 28.0 km for P6, the reciprocal ratio is 1 / 20.8: 1/28 = 0.574: 0.426. Similarly, the calculated traffic volume distribution initial value 20 is set for the routes P7, P8, P11, P12, P13, and P14.

  The distribution initial setting unit 7 sets the initial value 20 of traffic distribution using the contents of the route table 17 of FIG. Therefore, in the initial value 20 of traffic distribution, the same value is set for all time zones every 30 minutes. The distribution initial setting unit 7 transmits the traffic volume distribution initial value 20 of FIG. 6 created and stored to the distribution storage unit 8.

  The distribution storage unit 8 stores the initial value 20 of the traffic volume distribution input from the distribution initial setting unit 7, reads the stored initial value 20 of the traffic volume distribution, and sends it to the traffic condition prediction unit 9. Since the initial value 20 of the traffic volume distribution stored in the distribution storage unit 8 is corrected by the distribution determination unit 10, the corrected traffic volume distribution 22 shown in FIG. It is sent to the prediction unit 9.

  When the traffic condition prediction unit 9 receives the traffic distribution from the distribution storage unit 8, the traffic condition distribution initial value 20 of each route shown in FIG. 6 and the traffic demand estimation unit 5 shown in FIG. Based on the traffic demand (the number of passing vehicles) 19 between the start point and the end point, the traffic situation is predicted by a traffic simulation.

  Specifically, the number of vehicles between the starting point and the ending point is assigned to each route according to traffic distribution. Since the road links included in each route are known, when the allocation of the number of vehicles for all routes is completed, the number of vehicles of each road link is also determined. That is, for example, when 100 vehicles travel between one starting point and ending point, when distributing the two starting points to the two connecting routes, the number of vehicles (traffic volume) for each route is calculated as traffic. Calculate according to the quantity distribution. By the same method, the traveling time of each route and the traveling time of each road link are obtained. The prediction of the traffic situation is transmitted to the distribution determination unit 10.

  In addition, if the traffic volume and travel time of each road link at each time can be predicted, this prediction can be performed by a micro-type simulator that simulates the behavior of each vehicle or a macro-type simulator that expresses traffic flow using a fluid model. Can be executed. 7A and 7B show the average travel time 21a of the route and the average travel time 21b of each road link, which are simulation results.

  The distribution determination unit 10 determines whether or not to correct the target traffic volume distribution to be sent to the charge setting unit 2 based on the traffic situation predicted as a result of the simulation. The traffic volume distribution stored in the distribution storage unit 8 is corrected.

Next, a specific operation of the distribution determination unit 10 will be described. There are various judgment criteria, but in this embodiment, there is a difference in travel time between two routes having the same starting point and end point in the predicted average travel times 21a and 21b in FIG. description will be given of a case where it is determined that correct the certain the traffic assignment with values [delta] ₁ or more. For example, it corresponds to the routes P5 and P6 in the predicted average travel time 21a in FIG.

The travel times of the routes P5 and P6 in a certain time zone, which are the simulation results of FIG. 7A, are indicated by T ₅ and T ₆ (T _5> T ₆ ). If the travel time difference abs (T ₅ −T ₆ ) is greater than or equal to a predetermined value δ _1, it is determined that correction is to be performed. When it is determined that correction is to be performed, the distribution determination unit 10 calculates the correction amount. The correction amounts Δρ ₅ and Δρ ₆ of the paths P5 and P6 are calculated as follows.

Δρ ₅ = −ε (T ₅₋ T ₆ )
Δρ ₆ = −ε (T ₆₋ T ₅ )
ε is a correction coefficient and is a small positive value.

  The calculated correction amount is transmitted from the distribution determination unit 10 to the distribution storage unit 8.

When the distribution storage unit 8 receives the correction amount from the distribution determination unit 10, the traffic amount distribution stored at the current time point according to the correction amounts Δρ ₅ and Δρ ₆ , which specify the received time zones and the routes P 5 and P _6. 22 corrects the traffic distribution in the corresponding time zone and route. The traffic volume is corrected using the following formula.

ρ ₅ = ρ ₅₊ Δρ ₅
ρ ₆ = ρ ₆₊ Δρ ₆
However, correction is made in the range of 0 << ρ ₅ << 1, 0 << ρ ₆ << 1.

  FIG. 8 shows the corrected traffic distribution 22. Compared with the initial value 20 of traffic distribution shown in FIG. 6, it can be understood that the traffic distribution is corrected according to the traffic demand for each time zone. The distribution storage unit 8 transmits the corrected traffic volume distribution 22 stored therein to the traffic condition prediction unit 9.

  When the traffic situation prediction unit 9 receives the traffic volume distribution 22 from the distribution storage unit 8, the traffic situation prediction unit 9 again predicts the traffic situation by the traffic simulation and transmits the prediction result to the distribution determination unit 10.

The allocation determination unit 10, as described above, the starting point, the corrected again when the difference between the travel time of the end point are equal path P5, P6 is a predetermined value [delta] ₁ or more performed. This correction amount calculation, distribution correction, and traffic situation prediction are repeated.

And the distribution determination part 10 will transmit correction completion to the distribution memory | storage part 8, if the difference of driving time becomes less than a certain value. For example, FIG. 8 shows the traffic distribution 22 after correction when it is determined that no further correction is made when the predetermined value δ ₁ is 0.01. 9A and 9B show the travel time 23a of each route and the travel time 23b of each road link at the final prediction at this time.

  When the distribution storage unit 8 receives the correction completion from the distribution determination unit 10, the distribution storage unit 8 transmits the currently stored traffic distribution 22 after correction in FIG. 8 as the target distribution to the fee determination unit 14 of the fee setting unit 2.

  As shown in FIG. 10A, the charge initial setting unit 11 sets and stores the initial charge 24 for each of the routes P1 to P18 for each 30-minute time zone of 24 hours per day in the target area 15 for road pricing. The initial charge 24 held and stored is written into the charge storage unit 12.

  The initial toll 24 of the toll may be a constant value for all routes P1 to P18, or a value proportional to the distance of the route may be set. In this embodiment, a value proportional to the distance of the route is set. However, for routes with the same starting and ending points, the shortest route fee will be adopted.

  For example, for routes P5 and P6 with the same starting and ending points, the distance of route P5 is 20.8 km and the distance of route P6 is 28.0 km, so if the unit charge for driving 1 km is 25 yen, the charge for route P5 is 520 yen, The fee for route P6 is 700 yen.

  However, since the starting and ending points of the route P5 and the route P6 are the same for D2 and D6, the fee for the shortest route is adopted, and the fee is set to 520 yen for both the routes P5 and P6. The initial charge 24 for all routes P1 to P18 is set by the same method. Therefore, in the initial charge 24 for each route, the same value is set for all time zones every 30 minutes.

  The usage money storage unit 12 stores the initial fee 24 received from the fee initial setting unit 11 and sends the initial fee 24 for each route shown in FIG. .

  The distribution predicting unit 13 predicts the traffic distribution of each route based on the initial fee 24 and the distance of the route set in the route table 17 stored in the road database 3, and as traffic distribution prediction And sent to the charge determination unit 14.

  Various methods can be considered as a method for predicting the traffic distribution. In this embodiment, a method using a driver's route selection model will be described.

An evaluation function E with the route charge R and the distance D as variables is defined. If the coefficients (parameters) indicating the degree of contribution of the fee R and distance D to the evaluation function E are k ₁ and k ₂ , the evaluation function E is expressed by the following equation. And the traffic distribution of each route is determined by the evaluation function E of the route.

E = k ₁ R + k ₂ D
For example, if the parameters k ₁ and k ₂ indicating the contributions to the charge R and the distance D are set as k ₁ = 1.0 and k ₂ = 25.0, the evaluation functions E ₅ and E ₆ of the routes P5 and P6 are as follows: It becomes the value of.

E ₅ = 1.0 × 520 + 25.0 × 20.8 = 1040
E ₆ = 1.0 × 520 + 25.0 × 28.0 = 1220
Since the traffic distribution for each route P5, P6 is proportional to the inverse of the evaluation functions E ₅ , E ₆ ,
(1 / E ₅ ) :( 1 / E ₆ ) = (1/1040) :( 1/1220) = 0.54: 0.46
It becomes.

  The distribution prediction unit 13 sends the traffic distribution prediction calculated from the initial fee 24 and the distance of each route to the fee determination unit 14.

  Upon receiving the traffic distribution prediction from the distribution prediction unit 13, the fee determination unit 14 compares the traffic distribution prediction with the target distribution shown in FIG. 8 of the traffic distribution previously received from the distribution storage unit 8. It is determined whether or not the initial value 24 of the toll stored in the storage unit 12 is to be corrected.

There are various ways to determine whether the toll is required to be corrected. In this embodiment, when the difference (ρ−ρ _d ) between the predicted distribution ρ and the target distribution ρd is equal to or greater than a preset value δ ₂ , It is determined that the fee will be corrected. Calculation of the charge correction amount ΔR is shown below. That is, if ε ₂ is a correction coefficient that is a small positive value, the charge correction amount ΔR is expressed by the following equation.

ΔR = ε ₂ (ρ- _d )
The fee determination unit 14 sends the calculated correction amount ΔR of each fee every 30 minutes for each route to the fee storage unit 12.

  When the charge storage unit 12 receives the charge correction amount ΔR from the charge determination unit 14, the charge storage unit 12 corrects the charge R in each time zone of each route currently stored according to the following equation.

R = R + ΔR
FIG. 10A shows the toll 25 in each time zone of each route after correction.

  The fee storage unit 12 sends the corrected toll 25 to the distribution prediction unit 13. The distribution prediction unit 13 again predicts the traffic distribution from the corrected toll 25 and the distance of each route, and transmits the prediction result to the fee determination unit 14.

  When the charge determination unit 14 compares the received traffic volume distribution prediction with the previous distribution target and determines that the charge correction is not necessary, the charge determination unit 14 transmits a correction end to the charge storage unit 12.

  When the charge storage unit 12 receives the end of correction from the charge determination unit 14, the charge storage unit 12 transmits the corrected toll 25 shown in FIG. The display unit 6 displays the received toll 25 as the final toll.

  This final toll 25 is distributed, for example, to an in-vehicle terminal such as a car navigation system. The driver of each vehicle entering the road pricing target area 15 selects a route on which he / she travels with reference to the toll 25. Alternatively, the in-vehicle terminal automatically selects and guides the route. If the route selection of each vehicle is close to the distribution prediction predicted by the distribution prediction unit 12 of the road fee setting apparatus according to the embodiment, it is possible to reduce traffic congestion and improve the surrounding environment.

  The overall operation of the road toll setting device of the first embodiment configured as described above will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  First, the traffic demand estimation unit 5 estimates the traffic demand on the target day based on the past traffic volume data stored in the traffic demand database 4 (step S1101). When the distribution storage unit 8 receives the distribution initial value from the distribution initial setting unit 7, the distribution storage unit 8 stores it as the traffic volume distribution initial value 20 (S 1102) and transmits it to the traffic situation prediction unit 9. When the traffic situation prediction unit 9 receives the traffic volume allocations 20 and 22 from the allocation storage unit 8, the traffic situation prediction unit 9 predicts the traffic situation based on the traffic demand and the traffic volume allocation (S1103), and sends the prediction result to the allocation determination unit 10. Send.

  The distribution determination unit 10 determines whether or not to correct the traffic distributions 20 and 22 based on the predicted traffic situation (S1104). If it is determined that correction is to be performed, a correction amount Δρ is calculated and transmitted to the distribution storage unit 8. The distribution storage unit 8 corrects the traffic distributions 20 and 22 (S1105). When it is determined that the traffic volume distribution is not corrected, the correction end is transmitted to the distribution storage unit 8. The distribution storage unit transmits the currently stored traffic distribution 22 to the charge determination unit 13.

  Next, the fee initial setting unit 11 of the fee setting unit 2 sets the initial fee 24 of the toll for each route and transmits it to the fee storage unit 12 (S1106). The fee storage unit 12 transmits the initial toll 24 of the toll to the distribution prediction unit 13. The distribution prediction unit 13 predicts the traffic distribution of each route using the initial toll 24 of the toll and the distance (S1107), and transmits the prediction result to the fee determination unit 14.

  When the charge determination unit 14 receives the traffic distribution predicted from the distribution prediction unit 13, it compares the traffic distribution prediction with the traffic distribution target value received from the distribution storage unit 8 and corrects the charge. It is determined whether or not (S1108). If it is determined that the charge needs to be corrected, the charge correction amount ΔR is calculated and transmitted to the charge storage unit 12. The fee storage unit 12 corrects the fee (S1109), and the distribution prediction unit 13 predicts the traffic distribution of each route again with the corrected fee (S1107) and transmits it to the fee determination unit 14.

  When the charge determination unit 14 compares the received traffic volume distribution prediction with the previous distribution target and determines that the charge correction is not necessary, the charge determination unit 14 transmits a correction end to the charge storage unit 12. The fee storage unit 12 transmits the corrected final toll 25 stored at the present time to the display unit 6 (S1110).

  In the road fare setting device according to the first embodiment of the present invention configured as described above, each of the current or target date is obtained using the past traffic data of the target area 15 for road pricing and the initial value of the traffic distribution. The route and the traffic situation prediction of each section of each route are obtained. In addition, the target traffic distribution is obtained from this traffic situation prediction, and the traffic distribution predicted based on the initial fee and distance of each route matches the previously set target distribution. Fees are determined. Therefore, the charge for each route can be reasonably determined with reference to the actual traffic volume, distance, travel time, etc., reducing traffic congestion on each route in the road pricing target area 15 and improving the surrounding environment. Can be achieved.

(Second Embodiment)
FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the operation of the traffic volume distribution setting unit 1 of the road fee setting apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

  In the second embodiment, the traffic volume distribution setting unit 1 in FIG. 1 in the road fee setting device of the first embodiment described above corrects the traffic volume distributions 20 and 22 based on the predicted traffic situation. The process of determining whether or not to perform is performed as shown in the flowchart shown in FIG. 12, for example.

  The estimation of traffic demand by the traffic demand estimation unit 5, the initial setting of traffic distribution by the allocation initial setting unit 7, the prediction of traffic conditions by the traffic condition prediction unit 9, etc. are the road charges of the first embodiment described above. Since it is the same as that of the setting device, the description is omitted.

  When the distribution determination unit 10 of the traffic volume distribution setting unit 1 receives the prediction result from the traffic situation prediction unit 9, the distribution determination unit 10 determines whether or not to correct the traffic volume distribution according to the flowchart of FIG.

First, the counter n is initialized to 0 (S1201). Next, an evaluation function F ₀ is defined, and this evaluation function F ₀ value is calculated (S1202). Various evaluation functions F ₀ can be considered. For example, the number of vehicles that have reached from the start point to the end point within the simulation time of the traffic situation prediction unit 9, the total travel time that each vehicle traveled within the simulation time, and the travel time exceeded twice that when the vehicle traveled freely For example, the total value of time exceeded.

  Next, a minute correction amount dρ is set for a part of the traffic distribution (S1203) and transmitted to the distribution storage unit 8. When the distribution storage unit 8 receives the correction amount from the distribution determination unit 10, the distribution storage unit 8 corrects the distribution according to the correction amount, and transmits the corrected distribution as a result to the traffic condition prediction unit 9. When the traffic situation prediction unit 9 receives the traffic distribution from the distribution storage unit 8, the traffic situation prediction unit 9 predicts the traffic situation by the traffic simulation and transmits the prediction result to the distribution determination unit 10 (S1204).

The distribution determination unit 10 calculates the value of the evaluation function F based on the prediction result received from the traffic situation prediction unit 9, and the sensitivity of the evaluation function (F−F ₀ ) / dρ with respect to the minute correction amount dρ described above.
Is calculated (S1205).

Furthermore, using this sensitivity (F−F ₀ ) / dρ, if η is a small positive correction coefficient, a distribution correction amount Δρ shown by the following equation is obtained.

Δρ = [η (F−F ₀ ) / dρ] −dρ
This correction amount Δρ is transmitted to the distribution storage unit 8. The distribution storage unit 8 corrects the distribution ρ with the correction amount Δρ (S1206).

ρ = ρ + Δρ
It is determined whether or not the magnitude of this sensitivity is less than a predetermined value (S1207). If the magnitude of sensitivity is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, the counter n is reset to 0 (S1208). If the magnitude of the sensitivity is less than the determined value, 1 is added to the counter n (S1209), and if the updated counter n is smaller than the predetermined value N (S1210), the process returns to S1202, Similar processing is repeated. When the value of the counter n is larger than a predetermined value N, it is determined that the distribution is not corrected.

  In the charge setting unit 2, the initial setting of the charge of the charge initial setting unit 11, the prediction of traffic distribution of the distribution prediction unit 13, the charge correction determination of the charge determination unit 14, the correction of the charge, and the display of the charge are shown in FIG. Since it is the same as the road charge setting apparatus of 1 embodiment, description is abbreviate | omitted.

  In the first example, the distribution determination unit 10 performs the distribution correction until the traveling time becomes equal for the same starting and ending route. However, in the road fee setting device of the second embodiment, the evaluation function F is calculated as follows. By defining and modifying the traffic distribution so that the evaluation function is maximized or minimized, it is possible to set the traffic distribution that can realize the traffic situation satisfying various evaluation criteria.

(Third embodiment)
FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a road fee setting apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention. The same parts as those in the road fee setting apparatus according to the first embodiment shown in FIG.

In the road fee setting apparatus of the third embodiment, a parameter setting unit 26 is provided in the fee setting unit 2. In this parameter setting unit 26, as shown in FIG. 14, parameters k ₁ and k ₂ indicating contributions to the evaluation function E of the charge R and the distance D, which are adopted in the distribution prediction unit 13 of the first embodiment. Is formed according to the category (type) of the driver.

That is, the driver is classified into three categories A, B, and C, and the ratio (population ratio) of each category is set to 0.6, 0.2, and 0.2. Parameter values k ₁ and k _{2 for} each driver category are category A (k ₁ , k ₂ ) = ( ₁ , 25)
Category B (k ₁ , k ₂ ) = (5, 5)
Category C (k ₁ , k ₂ ) = (5, 50)
Is set to

  Category A is an average type that evaluates both charges and distances, category B is a type that emphasizes charges, and category C is a type that emphasizes distance.

  The ratio (population ratio) of each category in the parameter table 27 in the parameter setting unit 26 can be arbitrarily set and changed as necessary by the operator of the road fee setting apparatus.

  The parameter setting unit 26 sends each parameter set by the operator in the parameter table 27 to the distribution prediction unit 13. The distribution prediction unit 13 predicts traffic distribution based on the initial fee 24 and the distance of each route using the evaluation function E, and sends the prediction result to the fee determination unit 14. Below, the concrete traffic volume allocation prediction using the parameter of the allocation prediction part 13 is demonstrated.

As described above, if the coefficients (parameters) indicating the degree of contribution of the fee R and the distance D to the evaluation function E are k ₁ and k ₂ , the evaluation function E is expressed by the following equation.

E = k ₁ R + k ₂ D
An evaluation function E for each route is calculated for each category of A, B, and C, and traffic distribution is determined by the ratio of the evaluation function values. As described above, routes P5 and P6 having the same starting point and ending point will be described as an example.

Since k ₁ = 1.0 and k ₂ = 25.0 for the driver category A, the evaluation functions E ₅ and E ₆ for the paths P5 and P6 _are
E ₅ = 1.0 × 520 + 25.0 × 20.8 = 1040
E ₆ = 1.0 × 520 + 25.0 × 28.0 = 1220
It becomes.

Since the traffic distribution for each route P5, P6 is proportional to the inverse of the evaluation functions E ₅ , E ₆ ,
(1 / E ₅ ) :( 1 / E ₆ ) = (1/1040) :( 1/1220) = 0.54: 0.46
It becomes.

Similarly, for driver category B, since k ₁ = 5.0 and k ₂ = 5.0, the evaluation functions E ₅ and E ₆ for the paths P5 and P6 _are
E ₅ = 5.0 × 520 + 5.0 × 20.8 = 2704
E ₆ = 5.0 × 520 + 5.0 × 28.0 = 2740
It becomes.

Since the traffic distribution for each route P5, P6 is proportional to the inverse of the evaluation functions E ₅ , E ₆ ,
(1 / E ₅ ) :( 1 / E ₆ ) = (1/2704) :( 1/2740) = 0.50: 0.50
It becomes.

Further, since k ₁ = 0.2 and k ₂ = 5.0 for the driver category C, the evaluation functions E ₅ and E ₆ for the paths P5 and P6 _are
E ₅ = 0.2 × 520 + 5.0 × 20.8 = 1144
E ₆ = 0.2 × 520 + 5.0 × 28.0 = 1504
It becomes.

Since the traffic distribution for each route P5, P6 is proportional to the inverse of the evaluation functions E ₅ , E ₆ ,
(1 / E ₅ ) :( 1 / E ₆ ) = (1/1140) :( 1/1504) = 0.57: 0.43
It becomes.

Since the ratio of each driver category A, B, C of the total vehicle of the route P5, P6 with the same starting point and ending point is 0.6, 0.2, 0.2, the prediction of the final traffic distribution of the route P5, P6 is
[(0.6 × 0.54) + (0.2 × 0.50) + (0.2 × 0.57)]
: [(0.6 × 0.46) + (0.2 × 0.50) + (0.2 × 0.43)]
= 0.538: 0.462
It becomes.

  The charge determination unit 12 that has received the traffic distribution prediction of each route from the distribution prediction unit 13 determines the charge correction and corrects the charge from the target distribution input from the distribution storage unit 8 and the current traffic distribution prediction. To implement.

  FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing the overall operation of the road fee setting apparatus of the third embodiment shown in FIG. The processing from the step S1501 to the step S1505 up to the transmission to the rate determination unit 14 of the rate setting unit 2 of the target allocation performed by the traffic volume allocation setting unit 1 starts from step S1101 in the flowchart of the first embodiment shown in FIG. Since it is the same as the processing up to step S1105, the description is omitted.

The fee initial setting unit 11 of the fee setting unit 2 sets an initial fee 24 of the toll for each route and transmits it to the fee storage unit 12. The fee storage unit 12 transmits the initial toll 24 of the toll to the distribution prediction unit 13 (S1506). The parameter setting unit 26 sends the ratios of the driver categories A, B, and C and the parameters k ₁ and k ₂ set in the parameter table 27 of FIG. 14 by the operator to the distribution prediction unit 13 (S1507).

The distribution prediction unit 13 uses the initial toll 24 of the toll and the distance to predict the traffic distribution of each route using the parameters k ₁ and k ₂ set by the parameter setting unit 26 as described above. This is performed by the method of function E (S1508) and transmitted to the charge determination unit 14.

  When the charge determination unit 14 receives the traffic distribution predicted from the distribution prediction unit 13, it compares the traffic distribution prediction with the traffic distribution target value received from the distribution storage unit 8 and corrects the charge. It is determined whether or not (S1509). If it is determined that the charge needs to be corrected, the charge correction amount is calculated and transmitted to the charge storage unit 12. The fee storage unit 12 corrects the fee (S1510), and the distribution prediction unit 13 again predicts the traffic distribution of each route with the corrected fee (S1508) and transmits it to the fee determination unit 14.

  When the charge determination unit 14 compares the received traffic volume distribution prediction with the previous distribution target and determines that the charge correction is not necessary, the charge determination unit 14 transmits a correction end to the charge storage unit 12. The charge storage unit 12 transmits the corrected final toll 25 stored at the present time to the display unit 6 (S1511).

  In the road fare setting device of the third embodiment of the present invention configured as described above, the driver is classified into a plurality of categories with respect to the fare and distance (required time), and the route selection ratio is set for each driver category. Predicting and predicting the distribution in all vehicles from the ratio of each category. Furthermore, the category ratio can be arbitrarily set by the operator of the road fee setting apparatus as required.

  Therefore, by changing the value of the parameter, it is possible to select whether the predicted traffic distribution is focused on distance or on the charge, so that the prediction accuracy of traffic distribution can be further improved.

(Fourth embodiment)
FIG. 16: is a block block diagram which shows schematic structure of the road fee setting apparatus concerning 4th Embodiment of this invention. The same parts as those in the road fee setting apparatus of the first embodiment shown in FIG.

  In the road fee setting apparatus of the fourth embodiment, a target date setting unit 28 is provided. In the target date setting unit 28, a category calendar 29 shown in FIG. 17 is set.

  The category calendar 29 of the target day setting unit 28 stores the date, day of the week, and target day category. Category A indicates weekdays, category B indicates holidays (weekends), and category C indicates consecutive holidays. The operator of the road fee setting apparatus of the fourth embodiment designates one category from the range of the target date and the categories A, B, and C prior to operation to the target date setting unit 28. To do. The target date setting unit 28 transmits the range and category of the specified target date to the traffic demand estimation unit 5.

  When the traffic demand estimation unit 5 receives the target date and its category from the target date setting unit 28, the traffic demand estimation unit 5 reads the traffic volume data of the corresponding date from the traffic demand database 4 within the range of the category and the target date. Then, the current traffic demand belonging to the corresponding category is estimated and sent to the traffic situation prediction unit 9.

  For example, when the category of the target day is A, since it is a weekday traffic demand, for example, the traffic demand on a weekday in the past week is read, and the average value is set as the traffic demand on the target day. When the target day category is B, the traffic demand on the Saturday and Sunday of the past month is read, and the average value is set as the traffic demand on the target day. Furthermore, when the category of the target day is C, the traffic demand of the same holiday or event day one year ago is read and set as the traffic demand of the target day.

  The traffic situation prediction unit 9 predicts the traffic distribution of each route on the date (day of the week) corresponding to the designated category.

  FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing the overall operation of the road fee setting apparatus of the fourth embodiment shown in FIG. In step S1801, when the target date setting unit 28 sets the target date range and category in the target date setting unit 28, the target date range and category are sent to the traffic demand estimation unit 5. And the traffic demand estimation part 5 reads the traffic volume data of the corresponding date from the traffic demand database 4 in the range of a category and an object day, estimates the traffic demand which belongs to the corresponding category now, and a traffic condition prediction part 9 (S1802).

  The process from the setting of the initial value 20 of traffic distribution in the distribution initial setting unit 7 in step S1803 to the display of the determined toll 25 in the display unit 6 in step S1811 is the road of the first embodiment shown in FIG. Since the processing is the same as the processing from step S1102 to step S1110 in the flowchart of the fee setting device, description thereof is omitted.

  In the road fare setting device of the fourth embodiment configured as described above, the date (target date) of past data used for calculation calculation of the toll for each route can be classified into a plurality of categories, and the category can be designated. It is said.

  Thus, for example, different tolls can be set on weekdays and weekends. Furthermore, since the traffic volume in the city center decreases during consecutive holidays, it is possible to set a fare that takes into consideration the driver, road manager, and environment more carefully, such as reducing tolls.

(Fifth embodiment)
FIG. 19 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a road fee setting apparatus according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention. The same parts as those in the road fee setting apparatus of the first embodiment shown in FIG.

  In the road fee setting device of the fifth embodiment, the distribution determination unit 10 determines that it is not necessary to correct the traffic volume distribution for each route, and the corrected traffic volume stored in the distribution storage unit 8. FIG. 9 shows the prediction of the traffic situation sent to the distribution determination unit 10 by the traffic situation prediction unit 9 of the traffic volume setting unit 1 at the time when the distribution 22 is sent to the charge determination unit 14 as the target distribution. The travel time 23a of each route of the final prediction and the travel time 23b of each road link are sent to the distribution prediction unit 13 of the fee setting unit 2.

  The distribution prediction unit 13 of the fee setting unit 2 includes the initial fee 24 and the distance between the routes set in the route table 17 stored in the road database 3 and the travel time of each route input from the traffic condition prediction unit 9. 23a, based on the travel time 23b of each road link, the traffic volume distribution of each route is predicted and sent to the charge determination unit 14 as the traffic volume distribution prediction.

  When receiving the traffic distribution predicted from the distribution prediction unit 13, the fee determination unit 14 compares the traffic distribution prediction with the traffic distribution target value received from the distribution storage unit 8 and corrects the fee. If it is determined whether or not the charge needs to be corrected, the charge correction amount is calculated and transmitted to the charge storage unit 12.

  In addition, the configurations and operations of the fee initial setting unit 11, the fee storage unit 12, the distribution storage unit 8, the distribution initial setting unit 7, and the distribution determination unit 10 are the same as those of the road fee setting device of the first embodiment shown in FIG. Are the same.

  FIG. 20 is a flowchart showing the overall operation of the road fee setting apparatus of the fifth embodiment shown in FIG. Each processing from step S2001 to S2005 is the same as the processing from step S1101 to step S1105 in the flowchart of the road fee setting apparatus of the first embodiment shown in FIG.

  In step S2004, when the distribution determination unit 10 determines that no fee correction is necessary, each route of the final prediction shown in FIG. 9 that is a prediction of the traffic situation that the traffic situation prediction unit 9 sends to the distribution determination unit 10 The travel time 23a and the travel time 23b of each road link are sent to the distribution prediction unit 13 of the charge setting unit 2.

  The fee initial setting unit 11 sets an initial fee 24 of the toll for each route (S2006), and the distribution prediction unit 13 determines the distance between the initial fee 24 and the route, the travel time 23a of each route, and the travel of each road link. Based on the time 23b, the traffic volume distribution of each route is predicted and sent to the charge determination unit 14 as the traffic volume distribution prediction (S2007).

  Each processing from step S208 to S2010 is the same as each processing from step S1108 to step S110 in the flowchart of the road fee setting apparatus of the first embodiment shown in FIG.

  In the road fee setting device of the fifth embodiment configured as described above, the distribution prediction unit 13 is based on the distance between the initial fee 24 and the route, the travel time 23a of each route, and the travel time 23 of each road link. Since the prediction of the traffic distribution of each route is performed, the prediction accuracy of the traffic distribution of each route is improved.

(Sixth embodiment)
FIG. 21 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a road fee setting apparatus according to the sixth embodiment related to the present invention. The same parts as those in the road fee setting apparatus of the first embodiment shown in FIG.

  The road database 3 stores road information of a road pricing target area 15. The traffic demand estimation unit 5 estimates the traffic demand between the start point and the end point of the target date from the past traffic data in the traffic demand database 4. Based on the traffic demand received from the traffic demand estimation unit 5, the traffic volume allocation setting unit 1a calculates a target allocation that satisfies a certain evaluation criterion, and sends it to the fee setting unit 2a. Based on the target traffic distribution received from the traffic distribution setting unit 1a, the charge setting unit 2a matches the traffic distribution with a route selection result based on a model that selects a route from input data such as a route fee and distance. The fee is set as described above, and the set fee is transmitted to the display unit 6.

  The overall operation of the road toll setting device of the sixth embodiment having such a configuration will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  The traffic demand estimation unit 5 estimates the traffic demand on the target day based on the past traffic data in the traffic demand database 4 (step S2201). Next, when the traffic distribution setting unit 1a can select a plurality of routes for the traffic between the start and end points of the road pricing target area 15, the traffic distribution allocated to each route is set (S2202). The fee setting unit 2a sets the fee so that the route selection ratio predicted based on the route information such as the fee and distance matches the target value of traffic distribution (S2203). Finally, the display unit 6 displays the fee received from the fee setting unit 2a (S2204).

  Also in the road fee setting device of the sixth embodiment configured as described above, the fee for each route is obtained by repeated calculation using past traffic data, initial fee, route distance, etc. Traffic can be implemented smoothly.

(Seventh embodiment)
FIG. 23 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a road charge setting apparatus according to the seventh embodiment related to the present invention. The same parts as those in the road fee setting apparatus of the first embodiment shown in FIG.

  The road database 3 stores road information of a road pricing target area 15. The traffic demand estimation unit 5 estimates the traffic demand between the start point and the end point of the target day from the past traffic data in the traffic demand database 4 and transmits the traffic demand to the traffic condition prediction unit 31.

  When the traffic situation prediction unit 31 receives the traffic demand from the traffic demand estimation unit 5 and receives the traffic distribution prediction from the distribution prediction unit 32, the traffic condition prediction unit 31 performs a simulation based on the received traffic demand and the traffic distribution. Predict the traffic volume and travel time for each road link. The traffic situation prediction unit 31 sends the prediction result to the determination unit 30.

  The determination unit 30 determines whether to correct the fee based on the prediction result received from the traffic condition prediction unit 31. If it is determined that correction is to be performed, the correction amount is calculated and transmitted to the fee storage unit 12. When it is determined that no correction is made, the end of correction is transmitted to the charge storage unit 12.

  The fee initial setting unit 11 creates an initial fee 24 of the toll for each route shown in FIG. 11A and sends it to the fee storage unit 12. The fee storage unit 12 stores and holds the initial fee 24 input from the fee initial setting unit 11 and sends the initial fee 24 to the distribution prediction unit 32. When the correction amount is received from the determination unit 30, the toll stored by itself is corrected.

  When the distribution prediction unit 32 receives the fee (the initial fee 24 or the corrected toll 25) from the fee storage unit 12, the distribution prediction unit 32 predicts the traffic distribution based on the received fee and the distance of each route, and predicts the traffic distribution. Is transmitted to the traffic condition prediction unit 31.

  As described above, the traffic condition prediction unit 31 uses the traffic volume distribution prediction received from the distribution prediction unit 32 and the traffic demand from the traffic demand estimation unit 5 to determine the traffic volume and travel of each road link at each time. Predict time. The traffic situation prediction unit 31 sends the prediction result to the determination unit 30. If the determination unit 30 determines not to correct the toll, the determination unit 30 transmits the correction end to the fee storage unit 12. When the charge storage unit 12 receives the correction completion, the charge storage unit 12 displays and outputs the toll stored by itself on the display unit 6 as the determined toll.

  The overall operation of the road fee setting apparatus of the seventh embodiment having such a configuration will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  The traffic demand estimation part 5 estimates the traffic demand at the present time based on the past traffic volume data, and transmits it to the traffic condition prediction part 31 (step S2401). When the traffic situation prediction unit 31 receives the traffic demand, the traffic state prediction unit 31 transmits a toll transmission instruction to the toll storage unit 12. The charge storage unit 12 transmits a transmission instruction to the charge initial setting unit 11 when the toll is not stored. When the fee initial setting unit 11 receives the transmission instruction, the fee initial setting unit 11 transmits the stored initial fee 24 of the toll to the fee storage unit 12. The fee storage unit 12 stores the initial toll 24 of the toll and transmits it to the distribution prediction unit 32 (S2402).

  The distribution prediction unit 32 predicts the traffic distribution based on the charge (initial charge 24 or the modified toll 25) from the charge storage unit 12 and the distance of each route, and the predicted traffic distribution is the traffic condition prediction unit. It transmits to 31 (S2403). The traffic condition prediction unit 31 uses the traffic volume allocation prediction from the distribution prediction unit 32 and the traffic demand from the traffic demand estimation unit 5 to predict and determine the traffic volume and travel time of each road link at each time. The data is transmitted to the unit 30 (S2404).

  The determination unit 30 determines whether or not to correct the fee based on the predicted traffic situation (S5205). When determining that the correction is to be made, the determination unit 30 calculates the correction amount and transmits it to the charge storage unit 12, and instructs the charge storage unit 12 to correct the toll (S2406). If the determination unit 30 determines not to correct the toll, the determination unit 30 transmits an end of correction to the fee storage unit 12. The charge storage unit 12 displays and outputs the corrected toll 25 stored by the self that is currently stored on the display unit 6 as the determined toll (S2407).

  The road fee setting device according to the seventh embodiment having such a configuration can exhibit substantially the same operational effects as the road fee setting device according to the first embodiment described above.

(Eighth embodiment)
FIG. 25 is a schematic diagram showing a schematic configuration of a road fee providing system according to an eighth embodiment related to the present invention. This road fee providing system is roughly divided into a ground system 33 and an in-vehicle system 34 mounted on each vehicle traveling on each road.

  In the ground system 33, the road fee setting device 35 of the first embodiment described above, a fee database 36 for storing the toll 25 of each route shown in FIG. 10B determined by the road fee setting device 35, A server 37 for accessing the toll stored in the toll database 36 and a roadside communication unit 38 for exchanging information by radio with the in-vehicle system 34 installed in each vehicle are provided.

  On the other hand, in the in-vehicle system 34, a communication unit 39 for performing wireless information exchange with the ground system 33, an input unit 40 including, for example, a touch panel for a driver to input a starting point and an ending point, driver characteristics A driver characteristic storage unit 41 that stores information, a route selection unit 42 that selects a route along which the host vehicle travels, and a display unit 43 that displays the selected route are provided.

  Next, detailed operations of each unit will be described in order. The input unit 40 transmits a start point and an end point such as (start point D2, end point D6) and the like input by the driver to the route selection unit 42. The route selection unit 42 creates a charge transmission request specifying the starting point and the ending point, and transmits the fee transmission request to the roadside communication unit 38 of the ground system 33 via the communication unit 39. The roadside communication unit 38 of the ground system 33 transmits the received fee transmission request to the server 37.

  The server 37 searches the starting point and the end point of the fee transmission request received from the fee database 36, reads the toll information 44 shown in FIG. 26 including the toll 25 after the current time regarding the route between the starting point and the end point, It returns to the in-vehicle system 34 of the vehicle that is the transmission source of the charge transmission request via the roadside communication unit 38. The communication unit 39 of the in-vehicle system 34 sends the received fee information 44 to the route selection unit 42. As shown in FIG. 26, the fee information 44 includes the via link of each route having the same starting point and ending point, the distance, and each fee in each time zone after the current time.

  A driver characteristic for the driver of the vehicle is set in the driver characteristic storage unit 41. The driver characteristic is a combination of parameters indicating the importance of each characteristic of the route when the driver selects the route.

For example, the importance k _D of the distance D, the combination of importance k _R rates R (k _D, k _R) for the driver characteristics (k _D, k _R) drivers = (1,0), fees It is characterized by being a driver who doesn't care and selects a route with a short distance (time) anyway. Conversely, a driver with driver characteristics (k _D , k _R ) = (0, 1) is characterized as a driver who does not care about the distance (time) and selects a route with a cheap fare anyway.

The driver characteristics (k _D , k _R ) are registered and set in advance in the driver characteristic storage unit 41 via the input unit 40 by the driver himself. The driver characteristic storage unit 41 transmits the stored driver characteristics (k _D , k _R ) to the route selection unit 42.

The route selection unit 42 uses the toll information 44 from the ground system 33 and the driver characteristics (k _D , k _R ) from the driver characteristic storage unit 41 to select the route along which the host vehicle travels. Specifically, an evaluation function H is defined with variables such as route distance, fee, and driver characteristics, and the route is selected according to the size of the evaluation function H.

Various evaluation functions are conceivable. In this embodiment, the evaluation function H is defined by the following equation using the distance D, the charge R as a variable, and k _D and k _R as parameters.

H = k _D D + k _R R
For example, if the driver characteristics (k _D , k _R ) are (0.2, 0, 8), the values of the evaluation functions H ₅ and H ₆ of the paths P5 and P6 from time 1:30 to 2:00 are H5 = 0.2 × 20.8 × 25 + 0.8 × 520 = 520
H ₆ = 0.2 × 28.0 × 25 + 0.8 × 400 = 460
Since the evaluation function value of the path P6 is small, the path P6 is selected. The reason why the distance is multiplied by 25 in the evaluation function is to convert the distance of 1 km into a unit charge of 25 yen.

  The route selection unit 42 displays the received fee information 44 and the selected route on the display unit 43. The driver causes the vehicle to travel according to the fee information 44 displayed on the display unit 43 and the selected route.

  The overall operation of the road fee providing system of the eighth embodiment having such a configuration will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

When the starting point and the ending point are input to the input unit 40 by the driver's operation (step S2701), the starting point and the ending point are transmitted to the ground system 33 as a charge transmission request to the ground system 33 by the route selection unit 42, and the route is selected. The unit 42 acquires fee information 44 (S2702). Next, it is determined whether the driver characteristic storage unit 41 stores the driver characteristics (k _D , k _R ) (S2703). If the driver characteristics storage unit 41 stores the driver characteristics (k _D , k _R ), the driver characteristics storage unit 41 sends the driver characteristics to the route selection unit 42. (K _D , k _R ) is transmitted (S2704).

When driver characteristics (k _D , k _R ) are not stored in the driver characteristic storage unit 41, a driver characteristic input instruction is transmitted to the input unit 40, and when the driver characteristic is input to the input unit 40 (S2705). The driver characteristics (k _D , k _R ) are transmitted to the route selection unit 42 and transmitted to and stored in the driver characteristic storage unit 41 (S2706).

The route selection unit 40 selects a route based on the obtained fee information 44 and driver characteristics (k _D , k _R ) (S2707), and displays the selected route and fee information 44 on the display unit 43 (S2708). .

In the road fee providing system of the eighth embodiment configured as described above, a driver who intends to enter the road pricing target area 15 is stored in the driver characteristic storage unit 41 of the in-vehicle system 34 mounted on his / her vehicle. The driver characteristics (k _D , k _R ) are set in advance. Then, if a starting point and an ending point are input to the input unit 40, an optimum route that matches the personality is automatically selected and displayed. Therefore, the route can be easily selected for the driver.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments. In each embodiment, each fare is calculated when entering the target area 15 for road pricing. However, it is not the target area 15 for road pricing. It is possible to apply to route selection and price setting.

The block block diagram which shows schematic structure of the road fee setting apparatus comprised with the computer by which the road fee setting program of 1st Embodiment of this invention was integrated. The figure which shows the object area of road pricing. The figure which shows the memory content of the road link table formed in the road database of the road charge setting apparatus of 1st Embodiment. The figure which shows the memory content of the route table formed in the road database of the road fee setting apparatus. The figure which shows the traffic demand of the target day estimated in the traffic demand estimation part of the road fee setting apparatus. The figure which shows the initial value of the traffic volume allocation set to the allocation initial setting part of the road fee setting apparatus. The figure which shows the average driving | running time of the path | route and road link which were predicted in the traffic condition prediction part of the road fee setting apparatus. The figure which shows the traffic distribution corrected in the distribution memory | storage part of the road fee setting apparatus. The figure which shows the average driving | running | working time of the path | route and road link which were predicted again by the traffic condition estimation part of the road fee setting apparatus. The figure which shows the toll written in the charge memory | storage part of the road fee setting apparatus. The flowchart which shows the whole operation | movement of the road fee setting apparatus. The flowchart which shows operation | movement of the traffic volume distribution setting part of the road fee setting apparatus concerning 2nd Embodiment of this invention. The block block diagram which shows schematic structure of the road charge setting apparatus concerning 3rd Embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows the memory content of the parameter table formed in the parameter setting part of the road toll setting device The flowchart which shows the whole operation | movement of the road fee setting apparatus. The block block diagram which shows schematic structure of the road fee setting apparatus concerning 4th Embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows the category calendar formed in the target day setting part of the road fee setting apparatus. The flowchart which shows the whole operation | movement of the road fee setting apparatus. The block block diagram which shows schematic structure of the road fee setting apparatus concerning 5th Embodiment of this invention. The flowchart which shows the whole operation | movement of the road fee setting apparatus. The block block diagram which shows schematic structure of the road fee setting apparatus concerning 6th Embodiment relevant to this invention. The flowchart which shows the whole operation | movement of the road fee setting apparatus. The block block diagram which shows schematic structure of the road fee setting apparatus concerning 7th Embodiment relevant to this invention. The flowchart which shows the whole operation | movement of the road fee setting apparatus. The trial figure which shows schematic structure of the road charge provision system concerning 8th Embodiment relevant to this invention. The figure which shows the fee information used with the road fee provision system. The flowchart which shows operation | movement of the vehicle-mounted system of the road charge provision system.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Traffic allocation setting part, 2 ... Charge setting part, 3 ... Road database, 4 ... Traffic demand database, 5 ... Traffic demand estimation part, 6 ... Display part, 7 ... Distribution initial setting part, 8 ... Distribution memory part, 9 , 31 ... Traffic condition prediction unit, 10 ... Distribution determination unit, 11 ... Charge initial setting unit, 12 ... Charge storage unit, 13, 32 ... Distribution prediction unit, 14 ... and charge determination unit, 15 ... Target region, 16 ... Road Link table, 17 ... route table, 18 ... node, 19 ... traffic demand on the target day, 20 ... initial value of traffic distribution, 21a, 21b, 32a, 23b ... average travel time, 22 ... corrected traffic distribution, 24 ... Initial toll of toll, 25 ... Toll after correction, 26 ... Parameter setting unit, 27 ... Parameter table, 28 ... Target date setting unit, 29 ... Category calendar, 30 ... Judgment unit, 33 ... Ground system, 34 ... In-vehicle system, 42 ... Route selector

Claims (5)

In a road fee setting device for setting a fee to be collected from a vehicle traveling on each route formed in a plurality of sections from a plurality of start points to end points set in a road network,
Traffic data storage means for storing past traffic data in the road network;
Based on the past traffic data stored in the traffic data storage means, traffic demand estimation means for estimating the traffic demand on the target date for each combination of the start point and the end point through which each vehicle passes,
Traffic status prediction means for predicting the traffic volume and travel time of each route and each section based on a preset initial value of traffic distribution for each route and the estimated traffic demand;
Based on the prediction of the traffic situation prediction means, the target traffic volume distribution setting means for correcting the initial value of the traffic volume distribution and outputting it as the target traffic volume distribution;
A traffic distribution prediction means for predicting traffic distribution of each route based on a preset initial fee for each route and the distance of the route;
And a charge setting means for correcting the initial charge so that the traffic distribution predicted by the traffic distribution prediction means approximates the target distribution and outputting as a final charge for each route. Road fee setting device. Parameter setting means for setting parameters indicating the degree of contribution of the route fee and distance to the traffic distribution,
The traffic volume allocation predicting means calculates an evaluation function using the charge and distance as variables for each route weighted by the corresponding parameter, and predicts the traffic volume allocation of each route based on the evaluation function. The road toll setting device according to claim 1, wherein:   The traffic volume distribution predicting means predicts the traffic volume distribution of each route based on the travel time predicted by the traffic condition predicting means in addition to the initial fee and distance of each route. The road fee setting device according to claim 1.   2. The road fee setting device according to claim 1, further comprising target date setting means for sending traffic data of the target date stored in the traffic data storage means to the traffic demand estimation means as past traffic data. A computer for setting a fee to be collected from a vehicle traveling on each route formed in a plurality of sections from a plurality of start points to end points set in the road network,
Traffic demand estimation means for estimating traffic demand on the target day for each combination of starting and ending points through which each vehicle passes based on past traffic data in the previous road network,
A traffic condition prediction means for predicting the traffic volume and the travel time in each route and each section based on the preset initial value of traffic distribution for each route and the estimated traffic demand;
Target traffic volume distribution setting means for correcting the initial value of the traffic volume distribution and outputting it as the target traffic volume distribution based on the prediction of the traffic situation prediction means;
A traffic distribution prediction means for predicting the traffic distribution of each route based on a preset initial charge for each route and the distance of the route;
Road charge setting program for functioning as a charge setting means for correcting the initial charge so that the traffic distribution predicted by the traffic distribution prediction means approximates the target distribution and outputting it as the final charge for each route .

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