JP2008262418A - Traffic jam easing system, ground system, traffic jam prediction control device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a traffic jam easing system, a ground system, and a traffic jam prediction control device, for controlling traffic upon lane change to ease a traffic jam during passing through a narrowed road. <P>SOLUTION: In the traffic jam easing system 1, the ground system 3 includes first identification information acquisition means 14 and 13 for acquiring identification information of a vehicle passing through a predetermined part S; first passage time acquisition means 14 and 13 for acquiring first passage time when the vehicle passed through the predetermined part; second identification information acquisition means 15 and 9 for acquiring identification information of vehicle passing through the narrowed road; second passage time acquisition means 15 and 9 for acquiring second passage time when the vehicle passed through the narrow road; a traffic jam arithmetic control part for determining the priority order of each vehicle passing through the narrowed road based on the first acquired time; and a transmitting device for transmitting the priority order to each vehicle. The traffic jam prediction control device 20 includes a receiving device 35 for receiving the priority order and report devices 36 and 37 for reporting the priority order to an occupant. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a traffic jam mitigation system, a ground system, and a traffic jam prediction control device for mitigating traffic jams such as Kushiro.

  The number of lanes decreases, for example, two lanes become one lane at road junctions and construction sites. In this case, the operation of the own vehicle is required while grasping the position of the vehicle in the other lane, for example, the vehicle in the other lane and the vehicle in the own lane need to merge into one lane or change the lane.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a vehicle traveling along a narrow road. In FIG. 1, since there is a construction spot 110 in the right lane, a bottleneck occurs, and two lanes temporarily become one lane from the front of the construction spot 110. The road marking 120 is often provided in front of the predetermined distance at the construction site 110, and the driver of the vehicle in the right lane who grasps the existence of the construction site 110 by the road marking 120 lanes in the left lane at his own judgment and timing. change. If the lane change is performed in a state where the number of passing vehicles is relatively large, it is inevitably difficult to travel at the same speed as before, and traffic congestion occurs in the left lane and the right lane. In addition, in a state where the number of traveling vehicles is large, the congested platoon becomes longer, and eventually it becomes necessary to interrupt the lane change from the right lane to the left lane. It is up to each driver to decide when to interrupt or whether to accept the interrupt, so a contact accident may occur due to a difference in consciousness between the interrupting driver and the interrupted driver. May be triggered. Furthermore, if a congested platoon stretches and crosses an intersection, vehicles from the road that goes directly to the intersection must be interrupted, which may encourage confusion and prolong the congestion.

In order to convey the intention of interruption, a technique for transmitting a request of the own vehicle to another vehicle by inter-vehicle communication has been proposed (for example, see Patent Document 1). According to the technique of Patent Document 1, when a vehicle transmits an interrupt request and a driver of another vehicle that has received the interrupt request permits interrupt, an interrupt permission is transmitted to the original vehicle. Therefore, the driver on the interrupting side and the driver on the interrupting side can communicate with each other, and smooth merging is possible.
JP 2004-118608 A

  However, since the technique described in Patent Document 1 is intended to communicate only between two vehicles, the interrupting side and the interrupting side, an interrupt permitted between one vehicle affects an interrupt between other vehicles. May cause confusion. Moreover, since the timing and place of interruption are left to the judgment of each driver, there is a possibility of confusion at the time of interruption because it is not different from the conventional one. Further, for example, when a plurality of vehicles in the right lane in FIG. 1 transmit an interrupt request, many vehicles in the left lane receive the interrupt request, and the driver of the vehicle in the left lane has received an interrupt request from which vehicle. It is difficult to determine if

  In view of the above-described problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a traffic jam mitigation system, a ground system, and a traffic jam prediction control device that control traffic at the time of lane change and ease traffic jams when passing through a narrow road.

  In view of the above problems, the present invention provides a traffic jam mitigation system having a vehicle traffic jam prediction control device and a ground system for mitigating traffic jams in a narrow road through which a plurality of vehicles pass. First identification information acquisition means (for example, the communication device 14 or the monitoring camera 13) for acquiring identification information (for example, a vehicle number) of a vehicle that passes the specific point S), and a first passage time that has passed through the predetermined unit. The first passage time acquisition means (for example, the communication device 14 or the monitoring camera 13) to be acquired and the second identification information acquisition means (for example, the communication device 15 or the monitoring camera 9) that acquires the identification information of the vehicle that has passed the bottleneck. ), Second passage time acquisition means (for example, the communication device 15 or the monitoring camera 9) for acquiring the second passage time passing through the bottleneck, and each passing through the bottleneck based on the first acquisition time The traffic jam calculation control unit that determines both priorities and a transmission device that transmits the priorities to each vehicle. The traffic jam prediction control device informs the occupant of the priorities and a receiving device that receives the priorities. And a notification device.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to determine the priority order of a plurality of vehicles in front of the Kushiro and to inform the passengers of each vehicle, so that the plurality of vehicles change their lanes in which order. Can prevent unexpected situations. Further, since the traveling position of each vehicle is controlled according to the priority order, disturbance due to interruption can be suppressed, and as a result, the passage time of the bottleneck can be minimized.

  Further, in one aspect of the present invention, the traffic jam calculation control unit estimates an estimated transit time from the predetermined unit to pass the Kushiro based on the first passage time and the second passage time, and the estimated passage time is set for each vehicle. It transmits, It is characterized by the above-mentioned.

  According to the present invention, by transmitting the estimated passage time to each vehicle, the driver of each vehicle can predict the time until the vehicle passes the traffic jam.

  In one embodiment of the present invention, when a lane occurs on any lane of a plurality of roads, the traffic congestion calculation control unit travels on the left and right lanes in a predetermined section from the predetermined section to the narrow road. The lane information to be traveled is transmitted to each vehicle so that the number of vehicles to be equalized.

  According to the present invention, the number of vehicles traveling in the left and right lanes up to the bottleneck can be made uniform, so that the traffic jam can be alleviated without the vehicles being biased toward one lane.

  In one embodiment of the present invention, the ground system has a traffic signal control unit that controls the display of traffic signals existing from the predetermined unit to the bottleneck for each lane. The display of the traffic light is controlled so as to stop the lower vehicle when the vehicle is passed earlier and the vehicle with lower priority travels on the rutted road side than the vehicle with higher priority.

  According to the present invention, the display of the traffic lights makes the convoys of a plurality of vehicles comply with the priority order, so that the convoy length can be minimized, and traffic jams can be reduced as a result.

  Further, in one aspect of the present invention, the traffic jam prediction control device can change the number of lanes when the current lane passes the Kushiro and returns to the route set in advance by navigation when the lane change is not allowed. The driver is informed of the lane with the smallest lane as the preferred lane.

  According to the present invention, even when a lane change is necessary to pass through a narrow road, it is possible to recommend to the driver a lane that is most likely to return to the lane set by the navigation.

  It is possible to provide a traffic jam mitigation system, a ground system, and a traffic jam prediction control device that control traffic at the time of lane change and ease traffic jams when passing through a Kushiro.

  Hereinafter, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a road and a vehicle to which the traffic jam mitigation system 1 is applied. Vehicles A, B, and C are traveling on the right lane of the road on two lanes on one side, and vehicles X, Y, and Z (hereinafter, vehicles A to Z may be simply referred to as vehicles) are traveling on the left lane. There is a construction site 11 and it is a Kushiro. In Kushiro, traffic congestion is expected because two-lane vehicles merge into one lane. The traffic jam prediction / monitoring center 10 provides various information to each vehicle until it passes through the Kushiro.

  The traffic jam prediction monitoring center 10 receives the vehicle identification information (vehicle number), the passing time of a specific point S such as the traffic jam start point, etc. from the on-vehicle traffic jam prediction control device 20 via the communication device 14, and also the monitoring camera 13, 9 to photograph the vehicle number. Based on such information, the traffic jam prediction monitoring center 10 determines the priority order and preferred lane of the vehicle passing through the Kushiro and transmits it to the vehicle, thereby alleviating the traffic on the Kushiro. Further, by controlling the passing of each vehicle by the traffic lights 12A to 12D installed in front of the narrow road, the platoon of vehicles traveling on the narrow road is arranged.

  In addition, the traffic jam prediction monitoring center 10 receives the passing time of the vehicle that has passed the bottleneck by the communication device 15 or the monitoring camera 9, so based on the passing time from the specific point S to the communication device 15 or the monitoring camera 9. Estimate future estimated transit time. The priority, preferred lane, and estimated transit time are transmitted from the communication device 14 to each vehicle and displayed on the vehicle display.

  With this configuration, the traffic congestion mitigation system 1 can predict traffic jams in Kushiro and control the lanes of vehicles A, B, and C in the right lane and vehicles X, Y, and Z in the left lane, minimizing interruptions. It makes it possible to travel comfortably even on a narrow road. In addition, the driver of each vehicle can grasp the priority order and the preferred driving lane, and can change the lane at an appropriate timing.

[Congestion prediction control device 20]
FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the traffic jam mitigation system 1 including the traffic jam prediction control device 20 and the ground system 3. The traffic jam prediction control device 20 is controlled by a traffic jam control ECU 40 connected to various sensors and devices via an in-vehicle LAN such as CAN (Controller Area Network) and LIN (Local Interconnect Network). The traffic control ECU 40 is connected to an image processing device 33 connected to the front camera 31 and the rear camera 32. The front camera 31 images a region extending in a predetermined angular range horizontally downward in front of the vehicle, and outputs a digital image (hereinafter referred to as a front image) having a predetermined luminance gradation (for example, 256 gradations). For example, the front camera 31 can also be used as a white line recognition camera. The rear camera 32 captures a region extending in a predetermined angular range horizontally downward behind the vehicle, and outputs a digital image with a predetermined luminance gradation (hereinafter referred to as a rear image). The rear camera 32 can also be used as a parking assistance camera, for example.

  In the case of the traffic jam prediction control device 20 of the vehicle B in FIG. 1, the number plate of the preceding vehicle A of the vehicle B is photographed in the front image and the following vehicle C of the vehicle B is photographed in the rear image. The image processing device 33 recognizes the vehicle number by performing image processing on each of the front image and the rear image. The image processing device 33 extracts, for example, a rectangular area from the lower half area of the front image and the rear image where the license plate is photographed by pattern matching or the like, and after binarization processing, known OCR (Optical Character Reader) processing is performed. To recognize the vehicle number.

  The own vehicle position detection device 34 connected to the traffic congestion control ECU 40 detects the position of the own vehicle using information of a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver, detection signals of a vehicle speed sensor and a gyro sensor. The GPS receiver calculates the position (coordinates) of the automobile by calculating the distance from the arrival times of radio waves received from a plurality of GPS satellites, and the traveling distance detected by the vehicle speed sensor and the traveling detected by the gyro sensor at this position. The current position of the vehicle is continuously detected by autonomous navigation in which the azimuth is accumulated to estimate the travel route of the vehicle.

  The communication device 35 transmits the traffic jam prediction information to the ground system 3. The communication device 35 and the communication devices 14 and 15 are communication devices for performing narrow-range communication by DSRC (Dedicated Short Range Communication), wireless LAN, optical beacon, radio wave beacon, or the like. When communicating by DSRC, the communication device 14 transmits radio waves that can be received in the processing range before and after that, and when entering a communication area having a radio field strength of a predetermined level or higher, transmits the traffic jam prediction information requested by the communication device 14. .

  FIG. 4A shows an example of traffic jam prediction information. The traffic jam prediction information is a traveling lane determined from the vehicle number of the own vehicle, the own vehicle position information, the vehicle number of the preceding vehicle, the vehicle number of the following vehicle, the passing time after passing the specific point S, and the own vehicle position information. is there. When entering the communication area, the traffic jam control ECU 40 transmits traffic jam prediction information to the traffic jam prediction monitoring center 10 through the communication device 35. The reason why the vehicle number of the preceding vehicle and the vehicle number of the following vehicle are transmitted is to improve the accuracy of information by using many vehicle numbers.

  When the communication device 35 enters the communication area with the communication device 15, the communication device 35 transmits the vehicle number of the host vehicle and the passage time of the specific point S to the communication device 15. With these pieces of information, the traffic jam prediction / monitoring center 10 can estimate the estimated passing time of subsequent vehicles as will be described later.

  By the way, if it is common vehicles, there is almost no priority relationship in driving on the road, but emergency vehicles such as ambulances and police vehicles, and public vehicles such as buses should be given priority over general vehicles in many cases. . In order to prepare for such a situation, the traffic jam prediction information includes information indicating that the vehicle is an emergency vehicle, and emergency vehicle information that is information indicating the degree of emergency in the case of an emergency vehicle.

  Further, the traffic jam control ECU 40 receives the traffic jam section passing information from the traffic jam prediction monitoring center 10 through the communication device 35. FIG. 4B shows an example of the traffic jam portion passing information. The traffic jam portion passing information is, for example, an estimated passing time estimated from passing from a specific point S to passing through a Kushiro (more precisely, the communication device 15 or the monitoring camera 9), the priority order of the preceding and following vehicles associated with the vehicle number, and preferably Includes lanes, lanes for construction site 11, etc. The estimated transit time, priority, and preferred lane will be described later.

  The display 36 and the speaker 37 serve as a user interface that informs the vehicle occupant of the traffic jam portion passing information. The estimated transit time, the priority order of the front, rear, left and right vehicles, the preferred lane, and the lane of the construction site 11 are displayed on the display 36, and the sound is output from the speaker 37, so that the vehicle occupant must pass through the traffic jam section. It is possible to know the estimated time, whether or not the vehicle behind is given priority, and whether or not there is a construction point 11 in the own lane.

  The traffic jam control ECU 40 controls the brake ECU 38 and the engine ECU 39 based on the traffic jam portion passing information. For example, when the vehicle cannot travel for a while due to a high degree of congestion, the engine ECU 39 shifts to fuel saving control that stops idle rotation. When the engine speed is low even though the power consumption of the air conditioner is large, the idle rotation Increase the number to secure the remaining battery power. When the vehicle is traveling at high speed before the traffic jam, the traffic jam control ECU 40 requests the brake ECU 38 to decelerate. Thereby, for example, it is possible to prevent the vehicle from accidentally colliding with the last vehicle in the traffic jam section without noticing the traffic jam.

[Ground system 3]
The ground system 3 is controlled by the traffic jam prediction monitoring center 10. The traffic jam prediction / monitoring center 10 has as its main body a computer that executes a program, a hard disk drive and a RAM (hereinafter, both are simply referred to as a memory 18), a ROM, a NIC (Network Interface Card), and the like connected to each other via a bus. The server 17 is configured. When the CPU executes the program, the traffic light control unit 17a, the traffic jam calculation control unit 17b, and the traffic jam part passage information generation unit 17c are realized.

  Since the communication devices 14 and 15, the monitoring cameras 9 and 13, and the traffic lights 12 </ b> A to 12 </ b> D are provided at predetermined intervals or predetermined locations on the road, the positions thereof are fixed. In the present embodiment, the communication device 14 and the monitoring camera 13 are in front of the bottleneck and before or after the specific point S, the traffic lights 12A to 12D are in front of the bottleneck (the construction site 11), and the communication device 15 and the monitoring camera 9 are It is behind the construction site 11.

  An image processing device 16 connected to the monitoring cameras 9 and 13 is connected to the traffic jam prediction monitoring center 10. The monitoring cameras 9 and 13 are provided with a horizontal downward depression angle at a predetermined height from the road surface. The surveillance cameras 9 and 13 shoot a region extending in a predetermined angle range, and a digital image (hereinafter referred to as 256 gradations) with a predetermined luminance gradation (hereinafter referred to as a gradation gradation). Road image). The image processing device 16 recognizes the vehicle number from a road image obtained by photographing the front or the back of the vehicle by a known OCR (Optical Character Reader) process in the same manner as the image processing device 33.

  The passage time passing through the specific point S transmitted from the vehicle is stored in the memory 18. Further, the vehicle for which the vehicle number is recognized by the monitoring camera 9 may store in the memory 18 the shooting time and the passage time when the vehicle passes the bottleneck. The traffic jam portion passing information generating unit 17c estimates an estimated passing time until passing through the Kushiro based on the passing time between two points.

  Moreover, the communication apparatus 14 receives traffic jam prediction information from a vehicle, and transmits traffic jam portion passage information to the vehicle. The communication device 15 receives the vehicle number and the passage time from the vehicle.

・ Specific point S
The identification of the specific point S will be described. The specific point S is, for example, a traffic jam start point. When no traffic jam occurs, the specific point S is a position of a road sign or road display indicating the presence of a bottleneck, or a position of the monitoring camera 13 or the communication device 14.

  FIG. 5A shows a flowchart of a procedure for the traffic congestion control ECU 40 to specify a road sign or the like as the specific point S. FIG. 5B is a flowchart of step S10 in FIG. ) Is a flowchart of step S30, and FIG. 6B is a flowchart of step S60.

(S10, S20)
When the ground system 3 knows the position of the specific point S, the position becomes the specific point S. FIG. 5B shows a flowchart of a procedure for the traffic jam prediction monitoring center 10 to specify the traffic jam start point as the specific point S.

  The traffic jam prediction monitoring center 10 analyzes the position and speed of the vehicle that has passed from the image captured by the monitoring camera 13 (S11). The photographing here may be anything that can determine the approximate vehicle speed of the vehicle that has passed, so whether or not the same vehicle is photographed by photographing at predetermined time intervals, and if it is photographed, the travel distance and the predetermined time Approximate vehicle speed is calculated based on the interval.

  The traffic jam prediction monitoring center 10 determines whether or not the vehicle speed of the passed vehicle is equal to or lower than the vehicle speed at the time of traffic jam (S12), and determines that the vehicle is congested when the vehicle speed is equal to or lower than the vehicle speed at the time of traffic jam (S12 Yes) (S13). ), If it is not less than the vehicle speed at the time of traffic jam (No in S12), it is determined that there is no traffic jam (S14).

  The traffic jam prediction monitoring center 10 repeats the processes of steps S10 to S40 for all vehicles photographed in the image (S15). In this way, the traffic jam prediction monitoring center 10 specifies the traffic jam start position based on the vehicle speed.

  Then, the traffic jam prediction monitoring center 10 repeats the processing of steps S10 and S40 by the monitoring camera 9, and specifies the traffic jam end point (S16).

The traffic jam prediction monitoring center 10 identifies the traffic jam start position as the specific point S (S17).
Returning to FIG. 5A, when the traffic congestion control ECU 40 is notified of the specific point S from the ground system 3 and receives the notification of the specific point S (S10), the traffic congestion control ECU 40 determines the specific point S (S20).

(S30, S40)
When the specific point S is not notified from the ground system 3, the specific point S is notified from another vehicle. FIG. 6A is a flowchart of a procedure for the traffic congestion control ECU 40 to specify the specific point S.

  First, the traffic congestion control ECU 40 receives a notification of a bottleneck from the ground system 3 (S31). The traffic congestion control ECU 40 detects from the approximate position included in the notification of the bottleneck that there is a bottleneck nearby and a traffic jam has occurred, and therefore determines whether the vehicle speed of the host vehicle is equal to or less than the vehicle speed at the time of the jam (S32). ). If it is not less than the vehicle speed at the time of traffic jam (No in S32), it has not yet reached the traffic jam start position, so it waits until it travels a predetermined distance (S33), and repeats the determination of whether the vehicle speed is lower than the vehicle speed at the time of traffic jam.

  If the vehicle speed is less than or equal to the vehicle speed at the time of traffic jam (Yes in S32), the traffic jam control ECU 40 determines that there is a traffic jam (S34). Then, the position that is initially determined to be congested is taken as the traffic jam start position, and that position is identified as the specific point S (S35).

  Next, the traffic jam control ECU 40 notifies the traffic jam prediction monitoring center 10 of the specific point S (= traffic jam start position) (S36). Then, it is determined whether or not there is a response from the ground system 3 (S37). If a response indicating that the specific point S may be the specific point is received, the specific point S is determined (S38). If there is no response from the ground system 3, the other vehicle is simply notified of the traffic jam start position (S39).

Returning to step S30 in FIG. 5 (a), it is determined whether or not the specific point S is also notified from another vehicle (S30), and road-to-vehicle communication is performed from the other vehicle that has determined the specific point S, such as a vehicle that has already passed the bottleneck. And the specific point S is acquired by communication between vehicles.
When acquiring the position of the specific point S from another vehicle, it is considered that the specific point S is received from a plurality of vehicles. Therefore, the traffic congestion control ECU 40 determines that the position of the acquired plurality of specific points S matches (S40). The point S is determined (S50).
(S60)
When the specific point S cannot be acquired from the ground system 3 or another vehicle, the traffic congestion control ECU 40 analyzes the specific point S in the own vehicle (S60).

  FIG. 6B is a flowchart of a procedure for the traffic jam control ECU 40 to specify the specific point S from the preceding vehicle.

  The traffic jam control ECU 40 analyzes the position and vehicle speed of the front vehicle P from the image of the front camera 31 (S61). The traffic congestion control ECU 40 calculates the change in the position of the forward vehicle P from the change in the size of the body to be photographed, and calculates the vehicle speed of the forward vehicle P by comparing with the change in the travel distance of the host vehicle.

  Then, the traffic congestion control ECU 40 determines whether or not the vehicle speed of the preceding vehicle P is equal to or lower than the vehicle speed at the time of traffic jam (S62). If it is not less than the vehicle speed at the time of traffic jam (No in S62), it is determined that the traffic jam start position has not yet been reached (S64), and the calculation of the vehicle speed of the preceding vehicle P is repeated.

  When the vehicle speed is less than or equal to that at the time of traffic congestion (Yes in S62), the traffic congestion control ECU 40 determines that the preceding vehicle P is traveling in the traffic jam (S63). When there are a plurality of forward vehicles, the traffic congestion control ECU 40 repeats the determination of whether or not all the forward vehicles P are traveling in the traffic jam (S65).

  The traffic congestion control ECU 40 repeats steps S10 to 40 for all the forward vehicles P, and specifies the traffic jam start position (S66).

  Then, the traffic jam control ECU 40 identifies the traffic jam start position as the specific point S and notifies the other vehicle (S67).

  Returning to step S70 of FIG. 5A, the specific point S is specified by any of the above methods (S70). Then, the traffic congestion control ECU 40 notifies the specific point S to the ground system 3 and other vehicles (S80). As described above, the specific point S is specified and can be shared by the ground system 3 and the vehicle.

-Priority level The priority level will be explained. The congestion calculation control unit 17b determines the priority order of the vehicle based on the specific point S. For general vehicles, the priority is higher in the order of early passage time. For example, in FIG. 1, the passing time of the specific point S is earlier in the order of the vehicles A, B, Z, and C, so the priority order is the priority order of the vehicle A in this order, the vehicle B is 2, the vehicle Z is 3, C becomes 4. In accordance with this priority order, each vehicle passes through the bottleneck. When emergency vehicles are included, the highest possible priority is given.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart of a procedure for determining the priority order by the traffic jam calculation control unit 17b. The traffic jam calculation control unit 17b detects that the vehicle has passed the specific point S by the monitoring camera 13 or the communication device 14 (S10).

  Then, the congestion calculation control unit 17b determines whether there is emergency vehicle information or whether the vehicle is an emergency vehicle by image processing (S20), and determines the priority as 1 in the case of an emergency vehicle ( S30).

  If the vehicle is not an emergency vehicle, the traffic jam calculation control unit 17b determines whether the vehicle is a public transportation vehicle (S40). Information on whether or not the vehicle is a public transportation vehicle is included in the emergency vehicle information. Moreover, you may determine by the place where the said vehicle was image | photographed on a bus lane. And in the case of a public transport vehicle, the traffic jam calculation control part 17b determines a priority to 2 (S50).

  Next, the traffic congestion calculation control unit 17b confirms that the vehicle is a general vehicle other than the emergency vehicle or the public transportation vehicle (S60), and determines the priority of the general vehicle to 3 (S70).

  Then, the traffic jam calculation control unit 17b keeps the priorities 1, 2, and 3 from going back and forth, the order of passage of the specific point S of the vehicle of the priority 1, the order of passage of the specific point S of the vehicle of the priority 2, and The final priority order is determined based on the passing order of the specific point S of the vehicle having the priority order 3 (S80).

・ Estimated passage time The estimation of the estimated passage time will be explained. Since the communication device 14 or the monitoring camera 13 detects that the specific point S specified as described above has passed, and further the communication device 15 or the monitoring camera 9 detects that the vehicle has passed the bottleneck, the traffic jam portion passing information The generation unit 17c calculates a passing time from the specific point S to the time when the vehicle passes the Kushiro from the passing time at the two points.

  Since this passage time becomes past information at the time of receiving the traffic jam portion passage information, the traffic jam portion passage information generation unit 17c estimates the estimated passage time from the passage time. For example, the congestion part passage information generation unit 17c determines how long the passage time of a plurality of vehicles is (or is shortened) per unit time, the number of vehicles from the specific point S to the Kushiro, the average vehicle speed, and the like. Based on the estimated transit time.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart of a procedure for estimating the estimated transit time by the traffic jam portion passing information generating unit 17c, and FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram for estimating the estimated transit time.

  First, the traffic jam portion passage information generation unit 17c detects that the vehicle has passed the specific point S by the communication device 14, the monitoring camera 13, or the like (S10), and associates the passage time with the vehicle number recognized by the image processing. Is stored in the memory 18 (S20).

  Further, the traffic jam portion passing information generating unit 17c detects that the vehicle has passed through the narrow road (S30), and stores the passing time in the memory 18 in association with the vehicle number recognized by the image processing (S40).

  The traffic jam portion passing information generating unit 17c extracts the passing time of the specific point S and the passing time of the Kushiro for each vehicle number from the memory 18 (S50). Then, the passage time is calculated from “the passage time of Kushiro−the passage time of the specific point S” (S60). As shown in FIG. 9A, the traffic jam portion passage information generation unit 17c repeats the calculation of the passage time for each vehicle (S70).

  Next, the traffic jam portion passing information generating unit 17c calculates the correlation between the elapsed time and the passing time (S80). FIG. 9B shows the relationship between the elapsed time and the past passage time. Since the passage time varies depending on the degree of congestion, the congestion portion passage information generation unit 17c correlates the elapsed time and the passage time ( Here, the slope of the dotted line) is calculated.

  And the traffic congestion part passage information generation part 17c estimates the estimated passage time from the specific point S to the Kushiro based on the current (latest) vehicle passage time and the correlation (S90).

-Kushiro Pass Control The following describes how to control the formation when passing through the Kushiro. Here, assuming a case where one lane of a road with two lanes on one side cannot pass through the construction site 11, the ground system 3 controls each vehicle so that the left and right vehicles pass through the bottleneck alternately.

FIG. 10 shows a flowchart of a procedure in which the ground system 3 alternately passes the left and right vehicles through the bottleneck. In FIG. 10, a specific passing point before the specific point S is provided. The specific passing point is a distance (e.g., 100 m before the specific point S) that allows the vehicle to decelerate and change lanes before reaching the specific point S.

First, the traffic jam prediction monitoring center 10 detects that the vehicle passes a specific passing point by the communication device 14 (S10). Then, the traffic jam calculation control unit 17b gives priority to the passed vehicle (S20).

  Next, the traffic jam prediction monitoring center 10 detects which of the left and right lanes the previous vehicle has traveled (S30).

  When the previous vehicle selects the right lane, the traffic congestion prediction monitoring center 10 instructs the vehicle to the left lane (S40), and when the previous vehicle selects the left lane, the traffic congestion prediction monitoring center 10 The right lane is instructed to the vehicle (S40).

  Then, the traffic jam prediction monitoring center 10 determines whether or not the vehicle has selected a lane as an instruction (S50, S130).

  If the left lane is selected in step S50, the process proceeds to step S60. If the right lane is selected, the process proceeds to step S140. If the right lane is selected in step S130, the process proceeds to step S60, and if the right lane is selected, the process proceeds to step S140.

  Next, the traffic jam prediction monitoring center 10 determines whether or not the vehicle has passed the specific point S (S60, S140). Whether or not the vehicle has passed the specific point S is detected by the communication device 14 or a monitoring camera (not shown).

  After passing the specific point S, the number of vehicles that have selected each lane is counted up assuming that no lane changes are made to the Kushiro (S70, S150).

  Next, the traffic jam prediction / monitoring center 10 instructs the vehicle passing through the bottleneck according to the priority order (S80, S160). In other words, if the priority of the vehicle in the right lane is higher, a passing instruction is transmitted to the vehicle in the right lane, and a standby is instructed to the vehicle in the left lane. If the priority of the vehicle in the left lane is higher, a passing instruction is transmitted to the vehicle in the left lane, and a standby is instructed to the vehicle in the right lane.

  The traffic jam prediction monitoring center 10 determines whether or not the vehicle instructed to pass has passed a narrow road (S90, S170), and when the vehicle in the left lane passes the narrow road, the number of vehicles having selected the left lane is counted down. (S100) When the vehicle in the right lane passes the bottleneck, the number of vehicles that have selected the right lane is counted down (S180).

  Then, the number of vehicles that have selected the left and right lanes is compared to determine whether or not the difference is 1 or more (S110). When the number of vehicles having selected the left and right lanes is not 1 or more (No in S110), the traffic jam prediction monitoring center 10 reverses the lane instructing the next vehicle (S120), and the number of vehicles having selected the left and right lanes is In the case of 1 or more (Yes in S110), the traffic jam prediction monitoring center 10 does not reverse the lane instructed to the next vehicle (S190).

  The traffic jam prediction monitoring center 10 repeats the above process for each vehicle, equalizes the number of vehicles traveling left and right from the front of the specific point S, and gives order to vehicles passing through the Kushiro, so it is congested. Vehicles form a platoon evenly on the left and right, and can pass through the bottleneck alternately.

  By the way, you may use signal machine 12A-12D for formation of a formation. The traffic light control unit 17a controls the traffic lights 12A to 12D so that the vehicles sequentially pass the bottleneck according to the priority order. As shown in FIG. 1, the traffic lights 12A to 12D are provided in a pair in the right lane and the left lane, and the pair of traffic lights 12A and B and 12C and D can be separately displayed for stop and travel permission. One traffic signal may be provided in either the right lane or the left lane, and a stop signal and a travel permission display may be separately displayed for vehicles in the right lane and the left lane with one traffic signal.

  FIG. 11A shows an example of lighting control of the traffic lights 12A to 12D. In FIG. 11A, the priority order of the vehicle E is 2 and the priority order of the vehicle F is 1. In this case, the traffic light control unit 17a displays the traffic light 12A as a stop display and the traffic light 12B as a travel permission display. Since the vehicle F can travel while the vehicle E is stopped, the traveling order according to the priority order can be obtained in front of the bottleneck as in the vehicles E and F indicated by the dotted lines.

  The display control timing of the pair of traffic lights 12A and 12B can be determined from the distance from the monitoring camera 13 to the traffic lights 12A and 12B and the estimated transit time (that is, average vehicle speed).

  By repeating such control to the traffic lights 12A to 12D, for example, as shown in FIG. 11B, a plurality of vehicles can be controlled to a predetermined traveling position (for example, a starting grid of F1) according to the priority order. In FIG. 11 (b), since the vehicles are not completely parallel to each other in the left and right lanes, for example, vehicles with priority 2 can easily change lanes before vehicles with priority 3, and vehicles with priority 4 have priority. It becomes easier to change lanes in front of the vehicle of rank 5, and it is possible to travel on the Kushiro without confusion. In addition, the length of the column can be minimized, and as a result, the waiting time until passing through the Kushiro can be minimized.

  Since it may take time to pass through the bottleneck one by one as shown in FIG. 11B, several lanes (5 to 10) may be passed through the lane on one side continuously.

-Passing emergency vehicle As shown in Fig. 11 (b), when the vehicles are in a row in front of the road, the emergency vehicles are preferentially passed when the emergency vehicles approach. Therefore, the traffic jam prediction / monitoring center 10 causes the vehicle ahead of the emergency vehicle to evacuate and, after the emergency vehicle has passed, promptly packs the blank area created by the evacuation to prevent interruption of the following vehicle. The fairness of the passing time of each vehicle is maintained. In addition, it is preferable to exclude the entry of a general vehicle when the bus approaches in a lane that is determined to run with priority on public transportation such as a bus lane.

  FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure in which the traffic jam prediction monitoring center 10 causes the emergency vehicle to pass through the Kushiro with priority.

  The traffic jam prediction monitoring center 10 detects the approach of the emergency vehicle to the specific point S (S10). When the traffic jam prediction monitoring center 10 detects that the emergency vehicle having the priority order 1 has approached from the emergency vehicle information, it enters the evacuation mode (S20).

  In this evacuation mode, the traffic jam prediction monitoring center 10 requests the general vehicle ahead of the emergency vehicle to evacuate. That is, the vehicle in the left lane is instructed to use the left shoulder to clear the right lane, and the vehicle in the right lane is instructed to use the right shoulder to clear the left lane. For example, the display 36 of the vehicle displays “Emergency vehicle is approaching, please open the center side (right side or left side) of the road”. Since the center of the two lanes is vacant in the evacuation mode, the emergency vehicle can pass through the Kushiro road without being affected by traffic congestion.

  When it is detected that the emergency vehicle has passed through the bottleneck (S30), the traffic jam prediction monitoring center 10 cancels the evacuation mode (S40). When canceling the evacuation mode, the traffic jam prediction monitoring center 10 instructs each vehicle to return to the original travel position. Thereby, according to the priority order, each company can form a formation again.

Adjustment of optimal engine speed during traveling in traffic jam The traffic jam prediction monitoring center 10 transmits traffic jam section passing information such as priority order to each vehicle. FIG. 13 shows an example of traffic jam section passing information displayed on the display 36 by the traffic jam control ECU 40. In FIG. 13, the own vehicle is indicated by oblique lines, and vehicle numbers are displayed on the front and rear vehicles and the left lane vehicle. The traffic congestion control ECU 40 displays the message “change lane” and the lane change arrow 36a in the lane where the construction site 11 is located, so that the vehicle in the right lane needs to be changed. Since the priority order is displayed for each vehicle including the host vehicle, the driver of the host vehicle can determine which vehicle the lane should be changed in front of and when the lane should be changed (confluence point). In addition, the traffic congestion control ECU 40 displays “It takes about XX minutes to pass” or the like based on the estimated passing time, so that the driver can travel without knowing the passing time to Kushiro. By visually displaying the traffic jam section passing information in this way, the driver can grasp at a glance the position of the vehicle and the priority relationship with other vehicles.

  Also, the optimum engine speed may be included in the traffic jam passage information. In a traffic jam, the power generation amount decreases and the battery may rise. This is prevented, and the engine speed is adjusted to adjust the power generation amount by the alternator for power consumption.

  FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure for adjusting the engine speed to be optimal by the traffic congestion control ECU 40.

  First, the vehicle receives the estimated transit time from the communication device 14 at the specific point S, for example (S10). Based on the estimated transit time and the vehicle speed, the traffic jam control ECU 40 predicts the engine speed and the total amount of power generated by the alternator until passing through the bottleneck (S20).

  Further, based on the electric load of the in-vehicle device such as an air conditioner, the total power consumption until passing through the Kushiro is predicted (S30).

  Then, the traffic congestion control ECU 40 determines whether or not the battery remaining amount prediction when passing through the bottleneck is equal to or greater than a threshold (S40). For example, the determination is made using the following determination formula.

“Battery remaining at specific point S + sum of total power generation−total power consumption ≧ threshold”
If it is equal to or greater than the threshold value, the traffic congestion control ECU 40 repeats the processing from step S10, and determines again when the traffic congestion progresses.

  If it is not equal to or greater than the threshold value, the traffic congestion control ECU 40 displays a message such as “There is a possibility of running out of the battery” and alerts the driver to turn off the electric load (S50). .

  Since the total power consumption is expected to be reduced by such an alert, the traffic congestion control ECU 40 determines again whether or not the battery remaining amount prediction when passing through the bottleneck is greater than or equal to the threshold (S60). If the total power consumption is reduced and the battery remaining amount prediction when passing through the bottleneck is equal to or greater than the threshold, the process is repeated from step S10.

  If the remaining battery amount prediction when passing through the bottleneck does not exceed the threshold value, the traffic congestion control ECU 40 increases the engine speed, and again predicts the total power generation amount based on the increased speed (S70). Then, the traffic congestion control ECU 40 determines again whether or not the battery remaining amount prediction when passing through the bottleneck is equal to or greater than a threshold value (S80).

  If the battery remaining amount prediction when passing through the bottleneck does not exceed the threshold value, the process from step S50 is repeated, and if the battery remaining amount prediction when passing through the bottleneck exceeds the threshold value, the process is repeated from step S10 (S90).

  Therefore, even if a traffic jam occurs, the traffic jam control ECU 40 can prevent the battery from running out and can maintain the optimum engine speed and reduce the power consumption.

[Control procedure of traffic congestion reduction system 1]
With reference to the sequence diagram of FIG. 15, a control procedure in which the traffic jam mitigation system 1 controls a platoon of a plurality of vehicles and transmits traffic jam section passage information to the vehicles using the above configuration will be described. The sequence diagram of FIG. 15 is repeatedly executed when there is a bottleneck.

  The ground system 3 always collects the occurrence of a bottleneck due to construction or an accident, and when the bottleneck occurs, the specific point S is specified and stored in the memory 18 together with the position and its lane (S11).

  Further, the vehicle recognizes the vehicle numbers of the preceding and following vehicles every predetermined cycle time, and always stores the latest vehicle number in the memory (S21). Note that, as described in the second embodiment, the vehicle may receive the position of the bottleneck and search for a route that avoids the bottleneck.

  When the vehicle enters the communication area, the traffic jam prediction information is transmitted to the traffic jam prediction monitoring center 10 in response to a request from the traffic jam prediction monitoring center 10 (S22). As described above, the traffic jam prediction information is the traveling lane determined from the own vehicle position information, the vehicle numbers of the preceding and following vehicles, the vehicle number of the own vehicle, the passing time after passing the specific point S, and the own vehicle position information. The traffic jam prediction monitoring center 10 receives the traffic jam prediction information by the communication device 14 and stores it in the memory 18 in association with the vehicle number of the transmitted vehicle. The vehicle may transmit a travel lane desired to travel to the traffic jam prediction monitoring center 10.

  When the vehicle passes through the monitoring camera 13, the vehicle number of the vehicle passed by the image processing device 16 is recognized (S12). Then, the traffic jam prediction information stored in the memory 18 is extracted based on the vehicle number recognized by the image processing device 16, and the traffic jam prediction information is transmitted depending on whether the driving lanes match or the vehicle numbers of the preceding and following vehicles match. Check the vehicle that was used.

  Next, the traffic jam calculation control unit 17b determines the passing time of the specific point S, the priority order, and the preferred travel lane of each vehicle (S13). The passage time is, for example, the photographing time when the monitoring camera 13 photographed the vehicle or the passage time when the vehicle passed through the communication device 14, and the priority order is determined based on this passage time, and the preferred travel lane is the travel lane of the traffic jam prediction information or The desired lane of travel.

  And the traffic congestion part passage information generation part 17c produces | generates traffic congestion part passage information (S14). The traffic jam portion passing information generation unit 17c associates the priority determined in step S13 with the vehicle number and determines a travel lane for each vehicle. Further, the traffic jam portion passing information generating unit 17c estimates the estimated passing time from the passing time of the vehicle that has already passed through the communication device 15.

  When the traffic jam portion passing information is transmitted to the vehicle, the traffic jam prediction control device 20 displays the traffic jam portion passing information on the display 36 (S23). The traffic congestion control ECU 40 determines the target idle speed or stop of the idle rotation according to the estimated passage time, requests engine control from the engine ECU 39, and requests deceleration to the brake ECU 38 if deceleration is necessary.

  Further, the traffic signal controller 17a of the traffic jam prediction monitoring center 10 controls the display of the traffic signals 12A to 12D according to the determined priority order (S15). As described above, by switching the stop display and the travel permission display alternately with the pair of traffic lights 12A and 12B, or by displaying the travel permission first on the vehicle having a higher priority, Can be controlled. In addition, when there is no traffic signal, you may instruct | indicate a driving lane for every vehicle at a specific passing point.

  And if a vehicle passes the communication apparatus 15, the congestion calculation control part 17b will correct an estimated passage time using the passage time of the said vehicle from the passage time (S16). As a result, the accuracy of the estimated transit time can always be maintained.

  As described above, the congestion alleviation system 1 of the present embodiment determines the priority order of a plurality of vehicles passing through the Kushiro and transmits them to each vehicle. This makes it possible to change lanes with discipline. Further, since the platoon is determined by controlling the traveling position of each vehicle according to the priority order, the lane change can be facilitated. By letting the driver know the priority order and the vehicle platoons are also in accordance with the priority order, the platoon length can be minimized and disturbance due to interruptions can be suppressed, resulting in minimizing the passage time of the Kushiro be able to.

  In this embodiment, route selection and lane selection when a bottleneck occurs will be described. In the present embodiment, the configuration of the first embodiment is used as appropriate.

  FIG. 16 shows an example of the relationship between the vehicle and the bottleneck. The traffic congestion control ECU 40 sets a route to the destination on the road map, and a bottleneck is generated on the route. In this case, the traffic jam control ECU 40 can determine whether to proceed according to the route or select an avoidance route, and can instruct the driver of an appropriate lane.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 16B, when the vehicle is traveling on a road with three or more lanes on one side, and the number of narrow roads is two or less, the vehicle can select a plurality of lanes. However, allocating vehicles alternately to the left and right lanes is not preferable because a vehicle that turns right after passing a narrow road may be guided to the left lane. Therefore, out of the possible lanes, information before and after the bottleneck is extracted from the route information to the destination, and the driver is instructed to the lane having a high evaluation value for the vehicle. Note that the position of the bottleneck is transmitted to the vehicle by the communication device 14.

  FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing a procedure for route selection and lane selection. Hereinafter, a description will be given with reference to FIG.

(S10)
When the position of the Kushiro and the specific point S is determined, the traffic congestion control ECU 40 determines whether the Kushiro and the specific point S are in the middle of the route (S10). Then, when the bottleneck and the specific point S are not in the middle of the route (Yes in S10), the process (1) is executed.

  FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the process (1), FIG. 19A shows a case where the specific point S is not included in the route, and FIG. 19B shows a case where the specific point S is included in the route. , Respectively.

  The traffic congestion control ECU 40 determines whether or not the specific point S is on the route (S11). Since the specific point S is a traffic jam start position or a road sign before the Kushiro, if the specific point S is not included in the route, it can be considered that the specific point S can pass without being affected by the traffic jam due to the Kushiro.

  Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 19A, if the specific point S is not included in the bottleneck, the traffic congestion control ECU 40 uses the navigation route as it is (S12). If the specific point S is included in the route as shown in FIG. 19B, the traffic congestion control ECU 40 determines whether there is a route that avoids the specific point S (S13).

  And if there exists a path | route which avoids the specific point S (Yes of S13), traffic control ECU40 will perform a process (2). As will be described later, in the process (2), it is determined whether or not the specific point S is to be avoided.

  If there is no route that avoids the specific point S (No in S13), the process proceeds to step S30.

  FIG. 20A is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of the processing (2). When there is a route that avoids the specific point S as shown in FIG. 19B, the traffic congestion control ECU 40 determines whether it is faster to pass the original route or to avoid the specific point S earlier.

  The traffic congestion control ECU 40 estimates the required estimated time A [min] when the vehicle passes through the specific point S and travels to the junction (S21). The traffic jam control ECU 40 estimates the transit time of the traffic jam portion on the route from the position of the specific point S and the estimated transit time, and calculates the estimated estimated time A to the junction.

  Next, the traffic congestion control ECU 40 estimates the required estimated time B [min] when the vehicle travels through the avoidance route to the junction (S22). The required estimated time B is easily calculated from the distance to the junction.

  Then, the traffic congestion control ECU 40 compares the two required estimated times A and B, and selects a route having a shorter required estimated time (S23). That is, when A <B is not satisfied (No in S23), the traffic congestion control ECU 40 selects an avoidance route (S24). When A <B is satisfied (Yes in S23), the traffic congestion control ECU 40 is the original route passing through the specific point S. Is selected (S25).

  If a route passing through the original specific point S is selected, the process returns to step S30 in FIG.

(S20)
Returning to step S20 in FIG. 17, the traffic congestion control ECU 40 determines whether there is a path that avoids the narrow road and the specific point S (S20). When there is a route that avoids the bottleneck and the specific point S (Yes in S20), the traffic jam control ECU 40 executes the process (2).

(S30)
Since step S30 in FIG. 17 is a case where an original route with traffic jam is selected, it is a process of selecting an appropriate lane.

  In order to select an optimal lane, the traffic congestion control ECU 40 determines whether or not there are three or more lanes (S30). If it is one lane or two lanes (No in S30), the traffic congestion control ECU 40 executes the process (3).

  FIG. 20B is a flowchart showing the processing procedure of the processing (3). In process (3), when there is no traffic jam with two lanes, the lane is changed to a lane without traffic jam. In addition, the presence or absence of traffic congestion is determined by the vehicle speed, and the case where there is no traffic congestion refers to a state where the vehicle can pass through the Kushiro without significantly decelerating or stopping.

  First, the traffic congestion control ECU 40 determines whether or not there are two lanes (S31). In the case of one lane (No in S31), the traffic is alternated with the oncoming lane. In the case of one lane, it will be described in process (5).

  In the case of two lanes (Yes in S31), the traffic jam control ECU 40 determines whether there is traffic jam (S32). If there is a traffic jam (Yes in S32), the traffic jam control ECU 40 selects a route through the process (2). In the process (2), a route is selected according to the required estimated time to the merging point.

  If there is no traffic jam (No in S32), it is determined whether or not the current travel lane and the lane of the construction site 11 match (S33). If they do not coincide, that is, in another lane (No in S33), the vehicle can travel as it is, but the process (6) is executed because a merge from another lane is expected.

  When the current travel lane and the lane of the construction site 11 match (Yes in S33), the traffic congestion control ECU 40 instructs to avoid the construction site 11 (S34). That is, an instruction is given to change the lane to a lane having no construction spot 11.

  When the lane change is completed and the avoidance is completed (S35), the traffic congestion control ECU 40 instructs to return to the original route (S36). Therefore, even when the lane is changed to pass through the Kushiro, it is possible to quickly return to the original lane.

  FIG. 21A is a flowchart showing the processing procedure of the process (5), and FIG. 21B shows an example of a road having a bottleneck in one lane. Since only one lane in the traveling direction cannot travel due to the construction site 11, the opposite lane becomes a bottleneck and the opposite lane passes alternately with the oncoming vehicle.

In the case of one lane, the traffic jam prediction monitoring center 10 sets the specific point S not only in the traveling lane but also in the opposite lane. In other words, because the opposite lane is expected to be congested or congested,
The traffic jam prediction monitoring center 10 sets priorities for vehicles that have passed the specific point S in the travel lane, sets priorities for vehicles that have passed the specific point S in the opposite lane, and assigns each priority to each vehicle. Transmit (S51). For example, at the timing at which the vehicle in the traveling lane should pass, the priority of the vehicle in the traveling lane is 1 to N from the top, and the priority of the vehicle in the opposite lane is N + 1 to 1.

  The driver of each vehicle determines whether or not to pass the bottleneck according to the displayed priority order, so that alternate traffic can be realized (S52). In addition, by setting a high priority to vehicles in a lane with a long traffic jam in the traveling lane and the oncoming lane, it is possible to reduce the traffic jam in a lane with a large amount of traffic.

  FIG. 23 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure of the processing (6). The process (6) is a process when the two lanes are not congested and the construction location 11 and the traveling lane do not match. Therefore, the vehicle can travel as it is. However, since there is a possibility that vehicles may join from the other lane where the construction site 11 is located to the own lane, the travel position is adjusted based on the priority order transmitted by the traffic jam prediction monitoring center 10 (S61).

  In accordance with the priority order, the vehicle driver adjusts the vehicle speed so that the vehicle whose lane is changed from the other lane enters before and after the own vehicle, and the merging is completed (S62).

(S40)
Returning to step S40 of FIG. 17, processing when the traveling lane is three or more lanes will be described. When there are three or more lanes, the congestion control ECU 40 determines whether there is a congestion (S40). If there is a traffic jam (Yes in S40), the traffic jam control ECU 40 executes the process (1).

(S50)
When there is no traffic jam (No in S40), the traffic jam control ECU 40 determines whether or not the currently traveling lane and the lane with the construction site 11 match (S50).

  If they do not match, that is, in another lane (No in S50), a merge from another lane is expected, so process (4) is executed.

  In the process (4), the vehicle is traveling in a state where the construction location 11 and the traveling lane do not coincide with each other in three or more lanes. As shown in FIG. 16B, when there is a construction site 11 in any of the three lanes, it is assumed that there is a construction site 11 in the right lane and the vehicle is traveling in the center lane or the left lane. Therefore, the vehicle can travel straight without changing the lane as it is.

  FIG. 22 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure of the processing (4).

  The traffic congestion control ECU 40 first determines whether or not the construction location 11 is an adjacent lane (S41), and if it is not an adjacent lane, it travels as it is (S42). In other words, since the vehicle is not adjacent to the lane where the construction site 11 is located, the vehicle in the lane where the construction site 11 is located is less likely to join the own lane, and the vehicle can travel as it is.

  When the construction location 11 is an adjacent lane (Yes in S41), the traffic congestion control ECU 40 warns that there is a vehicle to join according to the priority order transmitted from the traffic congestion prediction monitoring center 10 (S43). Therefore, the driver can travel while paying attention to the vehicles that join together based on the priority.

(S60)
Returning to step S50 in FIG. 17, if the currently traveling lane and the lane of the construction site 11 coincide with each other (Yes in S50), the traffic congestion control ECU 40 needs to avoid the lane and the original route. The difference is calculated (S60).

  For example, if you are driving in the right lane of a three-lane road, count the difference between the center line or the left lane and the route of the navigation, for example, by the number of lanes, and until you return to the original route from the current driving lane, Count how many lanes and lanes to change.

(S70)
The traffic congestion control ECU 40 sets the lane with the smallest number of lane changes as a preferable lane (maximum evaluation value) (S70).

(S80)
Since the lane is determined, as in the first embodiment, the traffic congestion control ECU 40 calculates the merge position according to the priority order transmitted from the traffic congestion prediction monitoring center 10 and notifies the driver (S80).

(S90, S100, S110)
The driver starts avoiding the construction site 11 by changing lanes with reference to the priority order and the merging position (S90), and the avoidance is completed after passing the bottleneck (S100). After passing the bottleneck, the traffic congestion control ECU 40 instructs to return to the original route (lane) of the navigation, so that the driver can return to the original route (S110). Thus, the process of FIG. 17 ends.

  According to the present embodiment, even if a narrow road or a traffic jam occurs on the route set by the navigation, the estimated time for driving the avoidance route and the estimated time for driving the navigation route (traffic) are estimated. The route to reach the destination earlier can be determined.

  If it is difficult to set an avoidance route, an appropriate lane can be instructed according to the position of the traveling lane and the construction location 11. When merging is necessary or when merging from other lanes is expected, the priority order and the merging position are displayed, so that the merging can be completed smoothly.

  In the first embodiment, the priority order is determined by the traffic jam prediction monitoring center 10. However, in this embodiment, the priority order is determined in principle between vehicles, and when it is difficult to adjust the priority order between vehicles, the traffic jam prediction monitoring center 10. The traffic jam alleviating system 1 that requests the adjustment of the priority order will be described.

  FIG. 24 is a schematic view of a road and a vehicle to which the traffic congestion alleviating system 1 is applied. 24, the same components as those in FIG. 2 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted. The traffic congestion control ECU 40 of the vehicles A to Z of this embodiment includes a communication device 41 that communicates with each other between the vehicles, and the vehicles A to Z exchange the vehicle information of each other to determine the priority order. The communication device 41 is preferably a communication device for optical communication such as near-infrared or the like that communicates only with the front and rear vehicles and the left and right vehicles, and the transmission unit is configured by LEDs and the reception unit is configured by photodiodes. . Therefore, each vehicle includes a transmission unit and a light receiving unit at the front and rear and left and right predetermined portions.

  When the priority order cannot be determined and the traffic congestion prediction monitoring center 10 requests adjustment, the traffic congestion prediction monitoring center 10 determines the priority order of each vehicle.

  FIG. 25 is a block diagram of the traffic jam mitigation system 1 including the traffic jam prediction control device 20 and the ground system 3. 25, the same components as those in FIG. 3 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted. The ground system 3 of the present embodiment does not require photographing by the monitoring camera 13 or control of the traffic lights 12A to 12D, and includes only the communication device 14. Further, although the configuration of the traffic jam prediction control device 20 is the same as that of the first embodiment, the traffic jam prediction monitoring center 10 uses the priority order adjustment unit 17d, and the traffic jam prediction control device 20 uses the priority order decision method for determining the priority order between the vehicles. It differs from Example 1 by the point which has the part 40a.

  The determination of the priority order between vehicles will be described. When any of the vehicles (vehicles A and X in FIG. 24) detects the bottleneck, the priority order determination unit 40a starts determining the priority order. The detection of the bottleneck may be detected, for example, by photographing a sign with the front camera 31, or may be detected by the driver and input to the traffic jam prediction control device 20 by pressing a predetermined button.

When a narrow road is detected, the traffic jam prediction control device 20 for the vehicles A and X broadcasts the narrow road detection signal to the vehicles B and C and the vehicles Y and Z, so that the narrow road detection signal is successively transmitted between the vehicles. The The priority order determination unit 40a of each vehicle A to Z determines the priority order based on the traveling lane and the lane with the construction site 11 or the like. For example, the priority order determination unit 40a determines the priority order according to the following rules.
a) For vehicles in the same lane, the priority is higher for vehicles ahead. b) For vehicles on the left and right immediately before passing through the narrow road, the vehicles in the lane without construction site 11 have higher priorities. The number of vehicles is detected from the number of vehicles in the same lane detected by the own vehicle position detection device 34 among the number of vehicles responding to communication. Further, even when the preceding vehicle passes through a narrow road and the number of vehicles ahead decreases, the number of vehicles from the number of vehicles responding to communication to the narrow road in each lane is detected.

  The lane without the traffic congestion point 11 can pass through the Kushiro from the head vehicle, and then the vehicle in the lane with the construction point 11 changes the lane and passes through the Kushiro. When a vehicle in one lane passes through a lane and the number of vehicles in that lane decreases, the priority of vehicles in the lane with the reduced number of vehicles increases one by one, so basically the vehicles in the left and right lanes Can pass through the Kushiro alternately.

  In FIG. 24, vehicle X has a higher priority for vehicle A and vehicle X), and vehicle X has a higher priority for vehicle X and Y by a). Assuming that the vehicles X and A have passed, the priorities of the vehicles B and Y can be determined in the same manner. By repeating this, the priorities of the following vehicles can be determined.

  The determined priority order is displayed on the display 36 as in the first embodiment. In this embodiment, since it is difficult to calculate the estimated passage time, for example, the number of vehicles is displayed instead of the estimated passage time.

  The priority order adjusted by the priority order adjustment unit 17d of the traffic jam prediction monitoring center 10 when the priority order cannot be determined between vehicles will be described. If the above-mentioned rules are not provided, or if the priority is not stable because there are many vehicles that change the lane at their own timing even if the priority is determined, the traffic congestion control ECU 40 predicts the traffic jam. Requests the monitoring center 10 to adjust priority.

  Upon receiving the request, the priority order adjustment unit 17d transmits adjustment information for adjusting the priority order to the vehicles AZ before the narrow road. The adjustment information is, for example, the number of vehicles ahead of the host vehicle, the traveling lane, position information, whether or not the vehicle is an emergency vehicle, and the like. Based on the adjustment information, the traffic jam prediction monitoring center 10 determines the priority order according to, for example, the above rules, and transmits the priority order to the vehicles AZ. The transmitted priority order is displayed on the display 36 as in the first embodiment.

  In order to give a forcible force to the priority order determined and adjusted by the priority order adjustment unit 17d, a vehicle with a higher priority order may be allowed to travel at a higher maximum vehicle speed. When traveling at the limited maximum vehicle speed, a vehicle with a higher priority can approach the Kushiro earlier, and can form a platoon according to the priority. Also, interrupts that ignore priority are difficult.

  Therefore, according to the present embodiment, since the priority order can be determined only between vehicles, the configuration of the ground system 3 can be simplified and the increase in cost can be suppressed. Further, when the priority order cannot be determined between the vehicles, the priority order can be surely determined by the traffic jam prediction monitoring center 10. The driver of each vehicle can grasp which vehicle changes the lane in which order, and can change the lane with discipline. By letting the driver know the priority order, disturbance due to interruption can be suppressed, and as a result, the passage time of the bottleneck can be minimized.

It is a figure which shows the vehicle which drive | works with a Kushiro. It is the schematic of the road and vehicle to which the traffic congestion alleviation system was applied. It is a block diagram of the traffic congestion alleviation system which consists of a traffic congestion prediction control apparatus and a ground system. It is a figure which shows an example of traffic congestion prediction information and traffic congestion part passage information. It is a flowchart figure of the procedure in which traffic control ECU specifies a road sign etc. to the specific point S. FIG. It is a flowchart figure of the procedure in which traffic control ECU specifies a road sign etc. to the specific point S. FIG. It is a flowchart figure of the procedure in which a traffic congestion calculation control part determines a priority. It is a flowchart figure of the procedure in which a traffic congestion part passage information generation part estimates an estimated passage time. It is explanatory drawing of estimation of estimated passage time. It is a flowchart figure of the procedure in which a ground system passes a right and left vehicle alternately through a Kushiro. It is a figure which shows an example of lighting control of a traffic light. It is a flowchart figure of the procedure in which a traffic congestion prediction monitoring center passes an emergency vehicle preferentially through a Kushiro. It is a figure which shows an example of traffic congestion part passage information which traffic control ECU displays on a display. It is a flowchart figure of the procedure which traffic control ECU adjusts to optimal engine rotation. It is a sequence diagram which shows the control procedure which a traffic congestion alleviation system controls the row | line | column of a some vehicle, and transmits traffic congestion part passage information to a vehicle. It is a figure which shows an example of the relationship between a vehicle and a Kushiro. It is a flowchart figure which shows the process sequence of route selection and lane selection. It is a flowchart figure which shows the procedure of a process (1). It is a figure which shows an example of the relationship between the specific point S and a path | route. It is a flowchart figure which shows the process sequence of a process (2) (3). It is a flowchart figure which shows the process sequence of a process (5), and a figure which shows an example of the road which has a bottleneck in one lane. It is a flowchart figure which shows the process sequence of a process (4). It is a flowchart figure which shows the process sequence of a process (6). It is the schematic of the road and vehicle to which the traffic congestion alleviation system was applied. It is a block diagram of the traffic congestion alleviation system which consists of a traffic congestion prediction control apparatus and a ground system.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Congestion alleviation system 3 Ground system 10 Congestion prediction monitoring center 11 Construction location 12A-12D Traffic light 9,13 Monitoring camera 14, 15, 35, 41 Communication apparatus 16, 33 Image processing apparatus 17 Server 17a Traffic signal control part 17b Congestion calculation control part 17c Congestion section passage information generation section 17d Priority level adjustment section 18 Memory 20 Congestion prediction control apparatus 31 Front camera 32 Rear camera 34 Own vehicle position detection apparatus 36 Display 37 Speaker 38 Brake ECU
39 Engine ECU
40 Traffic control ECU
40a Priority determining unit

Claims (7)

In a traffic jam mitigation system having a traffic jam prediction control device mounted on a vehicle and a ground system that mitigates traffic on a Kushiro through which a plurality of vehicles pass,
The ground system is
First identification information acquisition means for acquiring identification information of a vehicle passing through the predetermined part;
First passage time acquisition means for acquiring a first passage time that has passed through the predetermined portion;
Second identification information acquisition means for acquiring identification information of the vehicle that has passed through the bottleneck;
Second passage time acquisition means for acquiring the second passage time passing through the Kushiro;
A traffic jam calculation control unit that determines the priority of each vehicle passing through the Kushiro based on the first acquisition time, and a transmission device that transmits the priority to each vehicle,
The traffic jam prediction control device comprises: a receiving device that receives the priority order;
A notification device for notifying the occupant of the priority,
Congestion alleviation system characterized by that. The traffic jam calculation control unit estimates an estimated transit time from the predetermined unit to pass through the Kushiro based on the first passage time and the second passage time, and transmits the estimated passage time to each vehicle.
The traffic jam alleviating system according to claim 1. If a lane has a bottleneck on one of several lanes,
The traffic congestion calculation control unit transmits lane information to be traveled to each vehicle so that the number of vehicles traveling in the left and right lanes is equal in a predetermined section from passing through the predetermined unit to the road.
The traffic jam alleviating system according to claim 1. The ground system is
Having a traffic signal control unit that controls the display of traffic signals existing from the predetermined part to the Kushiro for each lane;
The traffic light control unit allows the vehicle with a higher priority to pass earlier than a vehicle with a lower priority, and stops the vehicle with a lower priority when the vehicle with a lower priority travels on a rutted side than a vehicle with a higher priority. Control the display of
The traffic jam alleviating system according to claim 1. The traffic jam prediction control device
If you cannot pass the Kushiro without changing the lane, if you pass the Kushiro from the current lane and return to the route set in advance by the navigation system, inform the driver of the lane with the smallest number of lane changes as the preferred lane ,
The traffic jam alleviating system according to claim 1. A ground system that alleviates congestion on a Kushiro road where multiple vehicles pass,
First identification information acquisition means for acquiring identification information of a vehicle passing through the predetermined part;
First passage time acquisition means for acquiring a first passage time that has passed through the predetermined portion;
Second identification information acquisition means for acquiring identification information of the vehicle that has passed through the bottleneck;
Second passage time acquisition means for acquiring the second passage time passing through the Kushiro;
A traffic jam calculation control unit that determines a priority order of each vehicle passing through the Kushiro based on a first acquisition time. An on-vehicle traffic jam prediction control device for acquiring passing information of a road in a traveling direction,
First identification information acquisition means for acquiring identification information of a vehicle passing through the predetermined part;
First passage time acquisition means for acquiring a first passage time that has passed through the predetermined portion;
Second identification information acquisition means for acquiring identification information of the vehicle that has passed through the bottleneck;
Second passage time acquisition means for acquiring the second passage time passing through the Kushiro;
A traffic jam calculation control unit for determining the priority of each vehicle passing through the Kushiro based on the first acquisition time;
From a ground system having a transmission device for transmitting the priority to each vehicle,
A receiving device for receiving the priority;
A notification device for notifying the passenger of the priority,
A traffic jam prediction control apparatus characterized by comprising:

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