JP2016177638A - Roadside control device, computer program, and information processing method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a roadside control device that can perform advanced information processing such as the analysis of signal information while distributing the processing per intersection.SOLUTION: A roadside control device 5 can perform radio communication with a mobile communication apparatus 42 (on-vehicle communication apparatus). The roadside control device 5 comprises: a reception unit 58 for receiving positional information on a mobile body from the mobile body equipped with the mobile communication apparatus 42; a main control unit 54 for analyzing at least one current condition of signal control and road traffic at an intersection on the basis of the received positional information, and for generating output information on the basis of a result of the analysis; and a vehicle transmission unit 59, a first transmission/reception unit 60, and a second transmission/reception unit 61 for transmitting the generated output information to an external device.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

The present invention relates to a roadside control device, a computer program, and an information processing method.
More specifically, the present invention relates to a technique for extending a function of a roadside control device that performs a relay process of probe information and the like.

The traffic control system includes, for example, a central device installed in a traffic control center, a traffic signal controller, a vehicle detector, an information board, and a traffic monitoring terminal that communicate with the central device through a dedicated communication line. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).
In such a traffic control system, a traffic indicator for a predetermined road section is calculated from a detection signal of a vehicle detector arranged at an appropriate place in a jurisdiction area, and an optimal signal light color switching is performed for a plurality of intersections based on the calculated traffic indicator. Traffic sensitive control such as setting timing is performed.

  In addition, probe information that is transmitted and received wirelessly by inter-vehicle communication is received by a roadside communication device installed at an intersection and relayed to a central device, so that probe information generated by the vehicle is transmitted by the central device of a traffic control center. Utilization for traffic sensitive control has also been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

JP 2006-215977 A JP 2013-214225 A

The conventional roadside communication device is specialized in the function to relay the probe information received from the in-vehicle communication device, and is not directly involved in the traffic sensitivity control performed by the central device and the terminal sensitivity control performed by the traffic signal controller. It is common.
Therefore, even if roadside communication equipment is newly introduced at intersections in various places, advanced information processing such as analysis of signal information will still be centrally managed by the central device of the traffic control center, and autonomously distributed at the intersections in each place. Cannot be executed automatically.

  The present invention has been made in view of such conventional problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a roadside control device or the like that can perform advanced information processing such as analysis of signal information in a distributed manner at each intersection.

  (1) A roadside control device according to an aspect of the present invention is a roadside control device capable of wireless communication with a mobile communication device, and obtains position information of a mobile object equipped with the mobile communication device from the mobile communication device. Based on the received location information, the received reception unit, the control unit that analyzes at least one current state of signal control and road traffic at the intersection, and generates output information based on the analysis result, and the generated A transmission unit that transmits output information to an external device.

  (14) A computer program according to an aspect of the present invention is a computer program for causing a computer to function as a roadside control device capable of wireless communication with a mobile communication device, wherein the receiving unit of the roadside control device includes: The step of receiving the position information of the mobile body equipped with the mobile communication device from the mobile communication device, and the control unit of the roadside control device based on the received position information, among signal control and road traffic at the intersection And a step of generating output information based on the analysis result, and a step of transmitting the generated output information to an external device by the transmission unit of the roadside control device.

  (15) A method according to an aspect of the present invention is an information processing method executed by a roadside control device capable of wireless communication with a mobile communication device, wherein a receiving unit of the roadside control device uses the mobile communication device. The step of receiving the position information of the mounted mobile body from the mobile communication device, and the control unit of the roadside control device, based on the received position information, at least one current state of signal control and road traffic at the intersection And generating output information based on the analysis result, and a step of transmitting the generated output information to an external device by the transmission unit of the roadside control device.

  According to the present invention, advanced information processing such as analysis of signal information can be distributed and executed for each intersection.

It is a perspective view which shows the whole structure of a traffic control system. It is a road top view of the intersection where the roadside control apparatus was installed. It is a block diagram which shows an example of an internal structure of a roadside control apparatus. It is a block diagram which shows the input / output of the information with respect to a roadside control apparatus. It is the table | surface which put together the specific example of the control function which a roadside control apparatus can perform. It is explanatory drawing which shows the outline | summary of switching of point control and remote control. (A) is explanatory drawing which shows the outline | summary of blue time adjustment, (b) is a flowchart which shows the processing content of blue time adjustment. (A) is explanatory drawing which shows the necessity of platoon priority control, (b) is explanatory drawing which shows platoon priority control outline | summary. (A) is explanatory drawing which shows the outline | summary of 1st division | segmentation control, (b) is explanatory drawing which shows the outline | summary of 2nd division | segmentation control. It is a flowchart which shows the processing content of 1st division | segmentation control. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of a transition of the road condition by 2nd division | segmentation control in time series. It is explanatory drawing (continuation of FIG. 11) which shows the example of a transition of the road condition by 2nd division | segmentation control in a time series. It is a flowchart which shows the processing content of 2nd division | segmentation control. (A) is explanatory drawing which shows the outline | summary of a 1st calculation process, (b) is explanatory drawing which shows the outline | summary of a 2nd calculation process. It is explanatory drawing which shows the calculation method 1 in a 2nd calculation process. It is explanatory drawing which shows the calculation method 2 in a 2nd calculation process. It is explanatory drawing which shows the calculation method 3 in a 2nd calculation process. (A) is explanatory drawing which shows the outline | summary of advancement of gap sensitive control, (b) is explanatory drawing which shows the outline | summary of advancement of semi-sensitive control. It is explanatory drawing which shows the outline | summary of sensor emulation. It is explanatory drawing which shows the outline | summary of data thinning-out. It is explanatory drawing which shows the outline | summary of advertisement selection control.

<Outline of Embodiment of the Present Invention>
Hereinafter, an outline of embodiments of the present invention will be listed and described.
(1) The roadside control device according to the present embodiment is a roadside control device capable of wireless communication with a mobile communication device, and receives position information of a mobile body equipped with the mobile communication device from the mobile communication device. And a control unit that analyzes the current state of at least one of signal control and road traffic at an intersection based on the received position information, and generates output information based on the analysis result, and the generated output information A transmission unit that transmits to an external device.

According to the roadside control device of the present embodiment, the control unit analyzes the current state of at least one of signal control and road traffic at the intersection based on the position information of the moving object, and outputs output information based on the analysis result. Therefore, advanced information processing such as signal information analysis can be distributed and executed for each intersection.
For this reason, the output information which a roadside control apparatus produces | generates can be utilized for various controls, such as traffic sensitive control which an external apparatus performs.

  Note that the output information generated by the roadside control device includes, as will be described later, whether or not the blue time of the inflow path at the intersection can be extended, the mounting ratio of the mobile communication device, and the formation separation command.

(2) In the roadside control device according to the present embodiment, the control unit is configured based on a moving distance in which the mobile body equipped with the mobile communication device passing through the inflow path of the intersection moves in the blue time of the inflow path. It is preferable to determine whether or not to extend the blue time of the inflow path.
(3) Specifically, the control unit may not extend the blue time of the inflow path when the moving distance is less than a predetermined distance.

  The reason for this is that when the mobile unit equipped with a mobile communication device (hereinafter also referred to as “mounted mobile unit”) has a blue-time moving distance that is less than a predetermined distance (for example, “expected moving distance” described later), This is because it can be presumed that there was some cause of stoppage other than waiting for a signal, such as parking on the road on the road or clogging on the outflow route, and it cannot be determined that the inflow route was short of blue time.

(4) In the roadside control device of the present embodiment, the control unit further extends the blue time of the inflow path based on the number of signal waiting times in the inflow path for a mobile body equipped with the mobile communication device. It is preferable to determine whether or not.
(5) Specifically, the control unit extends the blue time of the inflow path when the moving distance is equal to or greater than a predetermined distance and the number of signal waiting times is equal to or greater than a predetermined number. do it.

  The reason for this is that the mounted moving body is not waiting for a signal such as parking on the road or clogging on the outflow road if the moving distance of the mounted moving body is equal to or longer than the predetermined distance and the number of signal waiting is equal to or more than the predetermined number of times. This is because it can be presumed that the passage of the mounted moving body passing through the inflow path is hindered by waiting for a signal due to lack of green time, not the cause of stopping the vehicle.

(6) In the roadside control device of the present embodiment, the control unit includes a section mounted number that is the number of vehicles equipped with the mobile communication device included in the measurement section of the inflow path of the intersection, and the measurement section includes It is preferable to calculate the mounting rate of the mobile communication device by estimating the total number of sections, which is the number of all vehicles to be transmitted, and dividing the number of mounted sections by the total number of sections.
In this way, the mounting rate of the mobile communication device can be calculated without measuring the traffic volume of all moving objects by the vehicle detector.

(7) When calculating the mounting rate of the mobile communication device, for example, the control unit moves one of one or a plurality of moving bodies mounted with the mobile communication device waiting for a signal at the intersection. The stop position of the body may be set at the upstream end of the measurement section.
However, in this case, the moving body located at the upstream end of the measurement section is always counted as the mounting moving body, and the mounting rate may be higher than the actual one.

(8) Therefore, the control unit sets a predetermined position located downstream from the stop position of one mobile body among the one or a plurality of mobile bodies equipped with the mobile communication device waiting for a signal at the intersection. It is preferable to set at the upstream end of the measurement section.
In this case, the upstream end of the measurement section and the stop position of the mounted mobile body can be avoided from being inevitably matched, so the mobile communication device mounting rate can be calculated more accurately.

(9) In the roadside control device according to the present embodiment, the control unit is a preceding vehicle capable of passing through the intersection with a current green signal through a group of moving bodies including a plurality of moving bodies equipped with the mobile communication device. Then, it is preferable to transmit a row separation command for dividing the intersection into the following vehicles that cannot pass through the intersection in the current green light to the mobile communication device of the mobile group.
In this way, it is possible to prevent the subsequent vehicle from entering the intersection without ignoring the red light and the subsequent vehicle from being left at the intersection.

  (10) In the roadside control device according to the present embodiment, the control unit transmits the platoon separation command based on the signal switching timing of the inflow path at the intersection and the positions of the head and tail of the moving body group. It is preferable to determine whether or not to do so.

(11) Specifically, the control unit may transmit the row separation command when the rear end of the moving body group cannot pass through the intersection by the blue end time of the inflow path.
The reason is that if the end of the moving body group cannot pass through the intersection by the blue end of the inflow channel, it can be estimated that a part of the moving body group exists at the intersection at red time, This is because the moving body group should be divided.

(12) In the roadside control device according to the present embodiment, the control unit may be configured such that when only a part of the moving bodies of the moving body group can pass through the intersection due to a clogging generated in the outflow path of the intersection, A delimiter command may be transmitted.
The reason for this is that if some of the moving bodies cannot pass through the intersection due to clogging, there is a high possibility that some of the moving bodies will be left behind at the intersection. This is because it should be divided.

(13) In the roadside control device according to the present embodiment, the control unit can specify a separation position between the preceding vehicle and the following vehicle according to an empty space length existing upstream of the clogging in the outflow passage. It is preferable that such information is generated and the generated information is included in the row separation command.
In this case, the moving body group can detect in advance the number of preceding vehicles that can pass according to the free space length based on the information received from the roadside control device.

(14) The computer program according to the present embodiment is a computer program for causing a computer to function as the roadside control device according to the above (1) to (13) that can perform wireless communication with a mobile communication device.
Therefore, the computer program of this embodiment has the same operational effects as the roadside control device described in the above (1) to (13).

(15) The information processing method of the present embodiment is an information processing method executed by the roadside control device described in the above (1) to (13).
Therefore, the information processing method of the present embodiment has the same effects as the roadside control device described in the above (1) to (13).

<Details of Embodiment of the Present Invention>
Hereinafter, details of embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In addition, you may combine arbitrarily at least one part of embodiment described below.

〔Definition of terms〕
In describing the details of the present embodiment, first, terms used in this specification are defined.
“Vehicle”: refers to all vehicles passing on the road, for example, vehicles according to the Road Traffic Act. Vehicles under the Road Traffic Act include automobiles, motorbikes, light vehicles, and trolley buses. Automobiles include vehicles other than four-wheeled vehicles such as motorcycles. In the present embodiment, the term “vehicle” includes both a probe vehicle having an in-vehicle device capable of transmitting probe information and a normal vehicle having no in-vehicle device.

  “Probe information”: Various types of information related to a vehicle obtained from an in-vehicle device of a probe vehicle that actually travels on a road. Sometimes referred to as probe data or floating car data. This includes data such as vehicle ID, vehicle position, vehicle speed, vehicle orientation, and the time of occurrence thereof.

“Traffic signal controller”: A controller that turns on and off a signal lamp of a traffic signal at a predetermined lamp color switching timing.
The traffic signal controller of the present embodiment can execute a point control method and a remote control method described later. The traffic signal controller normally performs point control for an intersection corresponding to the traffic signal controller. When a signal control parameter is received from a roadside control device described later, the lamp color switching timing of the signal lamp at the intersection corresponding to the own aircraft is determined according to the received signal control parameter.

  “Signal control parameter”: generally refers to cycle length, split, and offset, which will be described later. In the present embodiment, the lamp color switching timing (such as the start time and display time of each lamp color) of the signal lamp at the intersection may be included in this.

“Cycle length”: The time of one cycle from the blue (or red) start time of a traffic signal to the next blue (or red) start time.
“Split”: The ratio of the time (green signal time, red signal time, etc.) allocated to each display to the cycle length.
“Offset”: Refers to the deviation of the green signal start time between adjacent intersections. Expressed as a percentage or second of the time of one cycle.

“Roadside sensor”: A sensor device installed to sense traffic conditions on the road. Roadside sensors include vehicle detectors, surveillance cameras, optical beacons and the like.
The vehicle sensor is composed of an ultrasonic vehicle sensor that senses a vehicle passing underneath one by one using ultrasonic waves, and the surveillance camera is composed of a CCD camera that captures a moving image of the road. An optical beacon is an optical communication device that performs optical communication with a vehicle-mounted device that supports optical communication at a predetermined position on a road and exchanges predetermined information with the infrastructure side.

“Remote control device”: A traffic signal control device capable of executing remote control described later. The remote control device according to the present embodiment also performs a determination process as to whether or not the traffic signal controller at the intersection included in the area managed by the own device is to execute remote control described later.
When the remote control device causes the traffic signal at the intersection included in the area to execute remote control, the remote control device transmits the downlink information including the remote control execution command and the downlink information including the signal control parameter to the roadside corresponding to the intersection. Send to control device.

  “Roadside control device”: A control device installed on the roadside, which communicates wirelessly with mobile communication devices such as in-vehicle communication devices, relays received information, and uses traffic information A control device having a function of executing information processing such as calculation and analysis of signal information.

“Point control”: A traffic signal control method that controls the right of traffic at one intersection. Specifically, it means traffic signal control that independently controls the light color switching timing of a traffic signal at one intersection regardless of other intersections. Also called single control.
In the point control, a regular cycle control for switching the signal lamp color is usually performed according to a predetermined time schedule. In some intersections where point control is executed, point sensitive control such as pedestrian push button control, recall control, and right turn sensitive control may be performed.

“System control”: Traffic signal control for controlling the color switching timings of signal lamps in association with each other so as to cause a time delay in signal display at a plurality of intersections that continue along one route. A route for performing system control is referred to as a “system section”.
For example, in system control, by adjusting the offset between intersections included in the system section of the subarea, it is easier to pass a specific direction of the system section with a blue signal (priority offset), or conversely, stop with a red signal. Control to make it easier is included.

  “Surface control”: Traffic signal control for controlling the color switching timings of signal lamps at a plurality of intersections included in a road network that spreads in a plane. Specifically, it refers to wide-area traffic signal control that extends system control to the road network.

“Remote control”: A traffic signal control method that controls the right of traffic at multiple intersections. Specifically, it refers to traffic signal control for controlling a plurality of intersections included in a predetermined area in association with the lighting color switching timing of a traffic signal.
Therefore, both the above system control and surface control correspond to remote control. The remote control in which the predetermined area is a system section is system control, and the remote control that is a road network in which the predetermined area is expanded is surface control.

“Moving object”: A general term for objects passing through accessible areas such as public roads, private roads, and parking lots. The mobile body of the present embodiment includes the above-mentioned “vehicle” and pedestrians.
“Wireless communication device”: a device that has a communication function for wirelessly transmitting and receiving a communication frame in accordance with a predetermined protocol and is a main body of wireless communication. The wireless communication device includes a mobile communication device described later. The roadside control device described above is also a type of wireless communication device because it can perform wireless communication.

“Mobile communication device”: A wireless communication device mounted on a mobile body (in the case of a passenger or a pedestrian, “mobile”). The mobile wireless device of the present embodiment includes an on-vehicle communication device and a portable terminal described later.
“In-vehicle communication device”: A wireless communication device that is permanently or temporarily mounted on a vehicle. It may be abbreviated as “vehicle equipment”. If wireless communication with a roadside communication device is possible, a mobile terminal such as a mobile phone or a smartphone brought into the vehicle by a passenger corresponds to the in-vehicle wireless device.

“Portable terminal”: A wireless communication device carried by a passenger or pedestrian of a vehicle. Specifically, mobile phones, smartphones, tablet computers, laptop computers, and the like fall under this category.
“Communication frame”: a generic term for PDUs used for wireless communication of wireless communication devices and PDUs used for wired communication of roadside communication devices including roadside wireless devices.

[Overall configuration of traffic control system]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an overall configuration of a traffic control system including a roadside control device 5.
In FIG. 1, a grid structure in which a plurality of roads in the north-south direction and the east-west direction intersect with each other is assumed as an example of the road structure, but the present invention is not limited to this.
As shown in FIG. 1, the traffic control system of this embodiment includes a remote control device 12, a roadside control device 5, a traffic signal 41, a vehicle 43 equipped with an in-vehicle communication device 42 (see FIG. 2), a roadside sensor 44, and the like. including.

The remote control device 12 includes a computer device (also referred to as “central device”) installed in the traffic control center 11. The traffic control center 11 may be a dedicated facility managed by a national or local transportation company, or may be a data center of a cloud system operated by an IasS (Infrastructure as a Service) company.
In the latter case, the remote control device 12 is composed of a virtual machine built inside the server computer of the data center by virtualization software.

Ai in FIG. 1 is an area Ai in which the remote control device 12 has control. The remote control device 12 can execute remote control such as surface control and system control on the traffic signal device 41 included in the area Ai.
The traffic light 41 and the roadside control device 5 are respectively installed at intersections Jk (k = 1 to 12 in FIG. 1) included in the area Ai. The roadside control device 5 at each intersection Jk can communicate with the remote control device 12 via the public communication network 4 such as the Internet.

The roadside control device 5 is installed in the vicinity of the intersection Jk so that it can wirelessly communicate with the vehicle 43 passing through the road branched from the intersection Jk. Therefore, the roadside control device 5 can receive radio waves transmitted by the in-vehicle communication device 42 of the vehicle 43 that performs vehicle-to-vehicle communication on the road.
The roadside sensor 44 is connected to the roadside control device 5 through, for example, a predetermined communication line 45 (see FIG. 2). A traffic signal controller 47 (see FIG. 2) of the traffic signal 41 is also connected to the roadside control device 5 via a predetermined communication line 45.

The roadside sensor 44 is installed at an appropriate place on the road in the area Ai mainly for the purpose of counting the number of vehicles flowing into the intersection Jk.
The roadside sensor 44 includes a vehicle sensor that senses the vehicle 43 passing directly below by ultrasonic waves, a monitoring camera that captures the traffic state of the vehicle 43 in time series, and an optical beacon that performs optical communication with the vehicle 43 using near infrared rays. Etc. are included.

The remote control device 12 having jurisdiction over the area Ai controls the “downlink information S1” including the “execution command” or “cancel command” of the remote control and the signal control parameters, etc. A downlink transmission can be made to the device 5.
The downlink information S1 for the intersection Jk downlinked by the remote control device 12 is transmitted to the roadside control device 5 corresponding to the intersection Jk via the public communication network 4 or the mobile communication network.

The remote control device 12 can also include traffic information such as traffic jam information and traffic regulation information in the downlink information S1 and transmit it to the roadside control device 5.
When the roadside control device 5 receives the downlink information S1 including the traffic information from the remote control device 12, the roadside control device 5 generates a communication frame including the received traffic information, and broadcasts the generated communication frame to the in-vehicle communication device 42 by road-to-vehicle communication. Can be sent.

The roadside control device 5 included in the area Ai receives the “uplink information S2” including the traffic control calculated from the “execution request” or “cancellation request” of the remote control and the probe information and the sensor information. Uplink transmission is possible.
The uplink information S2 uplinked by the roadside control device 5 is transmitted to the remote control device 12 via the mobile communication network, the public communication network 4 or the like.

The sensor information that is the measurement result of the roadside sensor 44 includes vehicle sensor sensing information, surveillance camera image data, and the like. The sensor information is collected by the roadside control device 5 at the corresponding intersection Jk.
The in-vehicle communication device 42 of the vehicle 43 passing through the road in the area Ai transmits and receives probe information to each other by inter-vehicle communication. The roadside control device 5 can receive probe information transmitted by the in-vehicle communication device 42 of the vehicle 43.

The roadside control device 5 has a function as a wireless communication device of an intelligent road traffic system (ITS) that relays probe information received from the in-vehicle communication device 42 to the remote control device 12.
However, the roadside control device 5 of the present embodiment is enhanced by a control function that exceeds simple information relay, such as calculating a traffic index from received probe information and sensor information and analyzing signal control (FIG. 5). reference). For this reason, in the following description, the roadside control device 5 may be described as IEB (ITS Enhance Box) 5.

[Infrastructure facilities near intersections]
FIG. 2 is a road plan view of the intersection Jk where the roadside control device 5 is installed. In FIG. 2, a left-hand traffic road is illustrated, but a right-hand traffic road may be used.
As shown in FIG. 2, the traffic signal 41 includes a plurality of signal lamps 46 that display the presence / absence of right of passage in each inflow path of the intersection Jk, and a traffic signal controller 47 that controls the timing when the signal lamps 46 are turned on and off. With. The signal lamp 46 is connected to a traffic signal controller 47 via a predetermined signal control line 48.

The roadside sensor 44 and the traffic signal controller 47 are communicably connected to the roadside control device 5 via the communication line 45. The roadside sensor 44 may be connected to the roadside control device 5 via the traffic signal controller 47.
When the downlink information S1 includes a remote control execution command, the roadside control device 5 switches the control method of the intersection Jk to remote control. The roadside control device 5 returns the control method of the intersection Jk to the point control when the downlink information S1 includes a remote control cancellation command.

When the roadside control device 5 receives the downlink information S1 including the signal control parameter from the remote control device 12, the roadside control device 5 transfers the signal control parameter to the traffic signal controller 47.
In order to provide the vehicle 43 with the signal switching timing and traffic information included in the received downlink information S <b> 1, the roadside control device 5 can also wirelessly transmit the information to the vehicle 43.

The remote control device 12 performs overall collection of uplink information S2 uplink-transmitted by the roadside control device 5 included in the area Ai, traffic signal control based on the information S2, information provision of control results, and the like.
Specifically, the remote control device 12 extends “system control” for adjusting traffic signal 41 groups on the same road to the traffic signal 41 at the intersection Jk belonging to the area Ai, and extends this system control to the road network. “Surface control” can be performed.

  The remote control device 12 transmits downlink information S1 including control data for every remote control calculation cycle (for example, 2.5 minutes) such as surface control, and every predetermined cycle (for example, 5 minutes). Downlink information S1 including traffic information is transmitted in the downlink.

[Internal configuration of roadside control device]
FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of an internal configuration of the roadside control device 5.
As shown in FIG. 3, the roadside control device 5 includes a vehicle communication unit 51, a pedestrian communication unit 52, and an infrastructure communication unit 53 as a communication interface with an external device.
The roadside control device 5 includes a main control unit 54, a DSSS (Driving Safety Support Systems) control unit 55, and a pedestrian control unit 56 as control units that perform signal control and information processing regarding road traffic. The roadside control device 5 includes a storage unit 57.

The vehicle communication unit 51 includes a communication interface capable of wireless communication with the in-vehicle communication device 42 in accordance with a communication standard for vehicle-to-vehicle communication (for example, Wireless Access in Vehicle Environment: WAVE). The vehicle communication unit 51 includes a vehicle reception unit 58 and a vehicle transmission unit 59.
The vehicle receiver 58 can receive a communication frame including probe information transmitted by the in-vehicle communication device 42. The vehicle transmission unit 59 can broadcast a communication frame storing information for the vehicle to the in-vehicle communication device 42.

The pedestrian communication unit 52 includes a communication interface that performs wireless communication with the pedestrian portable terminal 49 in accordance with a predetermined communication standard (for example, wireless LAN, Bluetooth (registered trademark), WAVE, or the like).
The infrastructure communication unit 53 is a communication interface that performs communication with another control device on the infrastructure side. The infrastructure communication unit 53 includes a first transmission / reception unit 60 and a second transmission / reception unit 61.

The first transmission / reception unit 60 includes a communication interface that performs communication with the remote control device 12 in accordance with a predetermined communication standard.
The first transmission / reception unit 60 may be, for example, a communication interface capable of wireless IP communication (see FIG. 1), or a communication interface that performs wired communication with the remote control device 12 using a dedicated line as a communication medium. It may be.

The second transmission / reception unit 61 includes a communication interface that performs communication with the traffic signal controller 47 in accordance with a predetermined communication standard.
The second transmitter / receiver 61 may be, for example, a communication interface that performs wired communication using the dedicated communication line 45 as a communication medium (see FIG. 2), or wireless communication with the traffic signal controller 47 is possible. It may be a communication interface.

The control units 54 to 56 include a control device including one or a plurality of CPUs (Central Processing Units). The storage unit 57 includes a storage device including a memory such as one or a plurality of RAMs (Random Access Memory) and ROM (Read Only Memory).
The storage unit 57 stores various computer programs to be executed by the control units 54 to 56 and various data for information processing received from an external device.

The control units 54 to 56 of the road-side control device 5 can realize various control functions useful for traffic managers and drivers by reading and executing the computer program stored in the storage unit 57.
For example, the main control unit 54 can execute control including signal control analysis, road traffic analysis, and advertisement selection control. The control functions performed by the main control unit 54 are various and will be described in detail later.

The DSSS control unit 55 can perform safe driving support for the driver of the vehicle 43 using the sensor information acquired from the roadside sensor 44.
For example, when the DSSS control unit 55 obtains the sensing signal of the vehicle 43 flowing into the main line from the side road from the roadside sensor 44, the DSSS control unit 55 generates warning information for notifying the vehicle inflow, and transmits the generated warning information to the vehicle transmission unit 59. Let Thereby, the encounter collision between the vehicle 43 passing through the main line and the vehicle 43 on the side road can be prevented.

The pedestrian control unit 56 relates to services for pedestrians, such as changing the lamp color switching timing according to a pedestrian's request or providing the pedestrian with signal information held by the traffic signal controller 47. Execute control.
For example, when the pedestrian control unit 56 receives from the pedestrian communication unit 52 the “extension request” of the green light transmitted by the pedestrian's mobile terminal 49 (see FIG. 2), the pedestrian control unit 56 transmits the received extension request to the second transmission / reception. The signal is transmitted to the traffic signal controller 47 via the unit 61.

  In addition, when the pedestrian control unit 56 acquires the signal information being executed by the traffic signal controller 47 from the second transmission / reception unit 61, the pedestrian control unit 56 generates a communication frame addressed to the portable terminal 49 including the acquired signal information. The data is transmitted to the unit 52.

[Outline of control functions of roadside control device]
FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing input / output of information with respect to the roadside control device 5.
In FIG. 4, a broken line arrow is “input information” that the roadside control device 5 receives from the external device, and a solid line arrow is “output information” that the roadside control device 5 transmits to the external device.
The main control unit 54 of the roadside control device 5 performs “signal control of the intersection Jk based on input information received from external devices such as the in-vehicle communication device 42, the roadside sensor 44, the remote control device 12, and the traffic signal controller 47. “Analysis” and “Analysis of road traffic” can be executed.

The main control unit 54 of the roadside control device 5 generates output information based on the analysis result, and transmits the generated output information to a predetermined output destination.
For example, the main control unit 54 (hereinafter may be abbreviated as “control unit 54”) performs signal control of the intersection Jk based on traffic indexes calculated from sensor information, probe information, and the like as point control and remote control. Which is to be adopted is analyzed, and a remote control execution command or cancel command is transmitted to the remote control device 12 as output information based on the analysis result (see FIG. 6).

  Reception of input information and transmission of output information are executed by the vehicle communication unit 51, the infrastructure communication unit 53, etc. (see FIG. 3), and at least one analysis of signal control and road traffic and output information based on this analysis Is generated by the main control unit 54 (see FIG. 3).

[Specific examples of control functions of roadside control devices]
FIG. 5 is a table summarizing specific examples of control functions that can be executed by the roadside control device 5.
As shown in FIG. 5, the control functions that can be executed by the roadside control device 5 (specifically, the control functions executed by the control unit 54 of FIG. 3) are “signal analysis” in order from the top of the table. , “Analysis of road traffic”, “sophistication of terminal sensitive control”, “sensor emulation”, “data thinning”, and “advertising selection control”. The roadside control device 5 can execute at least one of these controls.

“Signal control analysis” refers to information processing that analyzes the current status of signal control at the intersection Jk from the switching timing of the current signal lamp color at the intersection Jk and probe information, and generates output information based on the analysis result. Say.
The signal control analysis includes “switching between point control and remote control (FIG. 6)”, “blue time adjustment (FIG. 7)”, “convoy priority control (FIG. 8)”, and “convoy separation control (FIGS. 9 to 9). FIG. 13) ”is included.

“Switching between point control and remote control (FIG. 6)” means switching the signal control of the intersection Jk to either point control (single control) or remote control according to the current traffic situation of the intersection Jk. Say.
Input information used for switching between point control and remote control includes sensor information and probe information. The output information used for switching is a remote control execution request or cancellation request, and the output destination is the remote control device 12.

“Blue time adjustment (FIG. 7)” refers to control for adjusting the blue time for which the right to pass is adjusted for each inflow path of the intersection Jj based on the traveling behavior of the vehicle 43 specified from the probe information.
The input information used for the blue time adjustment includes the current signal lamp color switching timing of the intersection Jk and probe information. The output information of the blue time adjustment is a blue time extension command, and the output destination is the traffic signal controller 47 or the remote control device 12.

“Convoy priority control (FIG. 8)” means, for example, that the blue hours are extended so that vehicles in the convoy can pass through the intersection Jk by cooperative automatic cruise control (hereinafter referred to as “CACC”). It means the control to do.
The input information used for the platoon priority control is the current signal lamp color switching timing of the intersection Jk, the probe information of the vehicle 43 in the platoon traveling, and the like. The output information of the platoon priority control is a blue time extension command, and the output destination is the traffic signal controller 47.

The “convoy separation control (FIGS. 9 to 13)” is control for instructing a vehicle group composed of a plurality of vehicles 43 running in a convoy, for example, by CACC to divide into a number of vehicles that can pass through the intersection Jk appropriately. Say.
The input information used for the convoy separation control includes the current signal lamp color switching timing of the intersection Jk, the probe information of the vehicle 43 in the convoy travel, and the like. The output information of the convoy separation control is a convoy separation command, and the output destination is the in-vehicle communication device 42 of the vehicle 43 running in the convoy.

“Analysis of road traffic” refers to information processing that analyzes the current state of road traffic at the intersection Jk and generates output information based on the analysis result.
The traffic analysis includes “onboard equipment installation rate calculation processing (FIGS. 14 to 17)”. The in-vehicle device mounting rate is the ratio of the number of in-vehicle devices mounted to the actual number of vehicles. Input information used for the calculation processing of the on-vehicle device mounting rate includes sensor information and probe information. The output information of the onboard unit mounting rate calculation process is the onboard unit mounting rate, and the output destination is the remote control device 12.

“Sophistication of terminal sensitive control (FIG. 18)” means that the roadside control device 5 enhances the terminal sensitive control at the intersection Jk being executed by the traffic signal controller 47.
The input information used for upgrading the terminal sensitivity control includes the current signal lamp color switching timing and probe information at the intersection Jk. The output information of advanced terminal sensitive control is a pseudo pulse signal, and the output destination is the traffic signal controller 47.
The pseudo pulse signal is a pulse signal generated by the road-side control device 5 in a pseudo manner similar to a detection pulse signal generated by a vehicle detector that detects the vehicles 43 one by one.

“Sensing device emulation (FIG. 19)” means that the roadside control device 5 inputs a pseudo pulse signal generated from the probe information to the traffic signal controller 47 and performs signal control similar to the intersection Jk where the vehicle sensor is installed. It means that the traffic signal controller 47 is executed.
The input information used for the sensor emulation includes the current signal lamp color switching timing at the intersection Jk and probe information. The output information of the sensor emulation is a pseudo pulse signal, and the output destination is the traffic signal controller 47.

“Data thinning (FIG. 20)” means that the information received by the roadside control device 5 is not unconditionally transmitted to the remote control device 12, but only unnecessary information is thinned out and only the necessary information is uplinked. That means.
Input information used for data thinning out includes sensor information and probe information. The data thinning output information is necessary information that is not a thinning target, and the output destination is the remote control device 12.

“Advertisement selection control (FIG. 21)” refers to control in which the roadside control device 5 selects advertisement information to be broadcast to the vehicle 43 from among a plurality of advertisement information stored in advance by the roadside control device 5.
The input information used for the advertisement selection control includes advertisement information provided from the remote control device 12 and priority thereof. The output information of the advertisement selection control is the selected advertisement information, and the output destination is the in-vehicle communication device 42.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, in the roadside control device 5 of the present embodiment, the control unit 54 (see FIG. 3) controls the signal control and road traffic at the intersection Jk based on the vehicle position included in the probe information. At least one of the current conditions is analyzed, and output information based on the analysis result is generated.
For this reason, advanced information processing such as analysis of signal information can be distributed and executed for each intersection Jk. Therefore, the output information generated by the roadside control device 5 can be used for various controls such as traffic sensitive control performed by the remote control device 12 and the traffic signal controller 47.

When the IEB 5 executes only control that does not exchange input information and output information with the remote control device 12, such as formation priority control (FIG. 8) and formation separation control (FIGS. 9 to 13), The IEB 5 need not be communicably connected to the remote control device 12.
In addition, when the IEB 5 is to execute only control in which input information and output information are not exchanged with the traffic signal controller 47, such as the onboard unit mounting rate calculation process (FIGS. 14 to 17), the IEB 5 is used as a traffic. It is not necessary to connect to the signal controller 47 so that communication is possible.

Hereinafter, with reference to FIGS. 6-21, the content of each control function which the roadside control apparatus 5 can perform is demonstrated. The road diagrams illustrated in FIGS. 6 to 21 illustrate roads on the right side.
Hereinafter, the vehicle 43 (probe vehicle) on which the in-vehicle communication device 42 is mounted may be referred to as “mounted vehicle 43A”, and the vehicle 43 on which the on-vehicle communication device 42 is not mounted is referred to as “non-mounted vehicle 43B”. Sometimes. In the drawing, the mounted vehicle (probe vehicle) 43A is hatched, and the non-mounted vehicle 43B is not hatched.

[Overview of switching between point control and remote control]
FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing an outline of switching between point control and remote control.
As shown in FIG. 6, IEB5 is monitoring the traffic parameter | index of intersection Jk which it takes charge of using the probe information etc. which are received from mounted vehicle 43A.
The traffic index monitored by the IEB 5 includes, for example, at least one of the inflow traffic volume at the intersection Jk, the congestion length, the travel time, and the average speed of the vehicle 43.

The remote control device 12 in FIG. 6 transmits the signal control parameters for the specific intersection J1 to the roadside control device 5 at the intersection J1 (see FIG. 1), and the roadside at another intersection J2 (see FIG. 1). The control device 5 can be transmitted with the signal control parameter for the other intersection J2.
Therefore, each roadside control device 5 included in the area Ai receives the downlink information S1 including the signal control parameter for the intersection Jk corresponding to the own device.

When the remote control device 12 causes the traffic signals 41 of some or all of the intersections Jk included in the area Ai to start remote control, the remote control device 12 includes an “execution command” for remote control in the downlink information S1.
When the remote control device 12 terminates the remote control to return to the point control by causing the traffic signals 41 at some or all of the intersections Jk included in the area Ai to return to the point control, the remote control device 12 includes the remote control “release command” in the downlink information S1. .

When the remote control device 12 executes remote control for some or all of the intersections Jk included in the area Ai, the remote control device 12 performs system control or surface control on the part or all of the intersections Jk included in the area Ai. The signal control parameter applied to the traffic signal 41 is generated for each intersection Jk.
The remote control device 12 can include the generated signal control parameter for each intersection Jk in the downlink information S1 and notify the roadside control device 5 of the corresponding intersection Jk.

The “execution request” in FIG. 6 indicates that the remote control device 12 executes the remote control when the IEB 5 of the intersection Jk that is executing the point control determines that the remote control is necessary based on the traffic index being monitored. Requested communication frame.
For example, as shown in the road diagram on the left side of FIG. 6, when the IEB 5 determines that the inflow traffic at the intersection Jk exceeds a predetermined value and cannot respond to the point control, the remote control execution request for remote control is performed. Transmit to device 12.

The remote control device 12 that has received such an execution request confirms whether or not the remote control can be executed by itself, and transmits a remote control execution command to the IEB 5 that is the transmission source of the execution request.
The roadside control device 5 that has received the remote control execution command starts transferring the signal control parameters generated by the remote control device 12 to the traffic signal controller 47. Thereby, the signal control of the intersection Jk is switched from the point control to the remote control.

The “release request” in FIG. 6 indicates that the remote control device 12 cancels the remote control when the IEB 5 of the intersection Jk that is executing the remote control determines that the remote control is unnecessary based on the traffic index being monitored. Requested communication frame.
For example, as shown in the road diagram on the right side of FIG. 6, when the IEB 5 determines that the inflow traffic at the intersection Jk is less than a predetermined value so that it can be handled by the point control, the remote control release request is remotely controlled. Transmit to device 12.

The remote control device 12 that has received the release request confirms whether or not the remote control can be released, and transmits a remote control release command to the IEB 5 that is the transmission source of the release request.
The roadside control device 5 that has received the remote control release command stops the transfer of the signal control parameters generated by the remote control device 12 to the traffic signal controller 47. Thereby, signal control of intersection Jk switches from remote control to point control.

As described above, the IEB 5 of the present embodiment transmits a remote control execution request to the remote control device 12 according to the traffic index. Therefore, when the traffic situation is insufficient for the point control, the remote control device 12 is remotely controlled. Control can be started.
In addition, since the IEB 5 transmits a remote control cancellation request to the remote control device 12 according to the traffic index, the remote control device 12 continues to use the remote control in vain even though the traffic condition is sufficient for the point control. Can be prevented.

[Outline of blue time adjustment and processing details]
FIG. 7A is an explanatory diagram showing an outline of blue time adjustment. FIG. 7B is a flowchart showing the processing contents of the blue time adjustment.
As shown in FIG. 7A, the IEB 5 executes “blue time determination processing” for each inflow path of the intersection Jk. The green time determination process is a process for determining, for each inflow path, whether or not the current green time is insufficient.

In FIG. 7 (a), there is a shortage of blue hours due to the large number of vehicles heading for the intersection Jk in the inflow route in the east-west direction, and blue because there are few vehicles heading for the intersection Jk in the inflow route in the north-south direction. The case where time is not insufficient is illustrated.
In this case, the IEB 5 shortens the blue time in the north-south direction where the blue time is not short by a predetermined adjustment time (for example, 10 seconds), and lengthens the blue time in the east-west direction where the blue time is short by the adjustment time. Thus, the blue time in each direction is adjusted while keeping one cycle at a constant time.

The IEB 5 does not adjust the blue time when the blue time in all directions is insufficient, and when the blue time in all directions is not insufficient.
The blue time determination process by the IEB 5 is executed based on the “signal waiting count” of the mounted vehicle 43A at the intersection Jk and the “blue time moving distance” of the mounted vehicle 43A in the inflow path.
The number of signal waiting times is the number of red signals that the mounted vehicle 43A stopped at the intersection Jk due to a red signal encounters before passing the intersection Jk.

Therefore, the number of signal waiting times = 1 means that the vehicle can pass through the intersection Jk with the blue light immediately after the stop by the red light. The signal waiting number = 2 means that the green signal immediately after the stop by the red signal cannot pass through the intersection Jk, and the green signal in the next cycle can pass through the intersection Jk.
Similarly, the signal waiting count = 3 means that the next cycle of the green signal cannot pass through the intersection Jk, and the next cycle of the green signal can pass through the intersection Jk.

When the number of signal waiting times is 1 or more, the on-board vehicle 43A is waiting for a normal signal passing through the intersection Jk by one blue hour, so it is considered that the blue hour is not insufficient.
When the number of signal waiting times is 2 or more, the mounted vehicle 43A has passed through the intersection Jk after two or more green hours, so a single green light is sufficient to make a queue of the vehicle 43 including the mounted vehicle 43A. There is a possibility that the green time is insufficient, not the length of time.

Of course, the cause that the mounted vehicle 43A passes through the intersection Jk through two or more green hours is not necessarily the shortage of the blue time, but the on-vehicle parking of the mounted vehicle 43A before the intersection Jk or the outflow route of the intersection Jk. There is also a possibility that “clogging” occurs.
Therefore, in the blue time determination process, the comparison result between the blue time movement distance Lv and the expected movement distance Lp of the mounted vehicle 43A is also considered as a material for determining whether or not the blue time is insufficient.

The blue hour moving distance Lv is the distance that the mounted vehicle 43A has moved on the inflow path of the intersection Jk from the blue start point to the blue end point.
Specifically, the IEB 5 sets the distance from the position of the mounted vehicle 43A at the start of blue to the position of the mounted vehicle 43A at the end of blue as the blue hour moving distance Lv. The blue start time and the blue end time can be specified from the signal information of the intersection Jk received from the traffic signal controller 47, and the position of the mounted vehicle 43A can be specified from the probe information received from the mounted vehicle 43A.

The expected moving distance Lp means a queue length corresponding to the number of vehicles that can be beaten by one blue hour when a queue for waiting for a signal is formed upstream from the stop line of the intersection Jk. Specifically, it is a constant calculated by the following equation.
Lp = (Tg / s) × d
In the above equation, “Tg” means the blue time (seconds), “s” means the vehicle turnover rate (vehicles / second), and “d” means the average vehicle head distance (m) when waiting for a signal. For example, if Tg = 60 seconds, s = 2 vehicles / second, and d = 7 m, then Lp = 60 ÷ 2 × 7 = 210 m.

  The determination as to whether or not the mounted vehicle 43A has stopped on the inflow path is so small that the vehicle speed of the mounted vehicle 43A in which the vehicle position is on the inflow path and the vehicle direction is toward the intersection Jk can be equated with the vehicle stop. This can be done depending on whether or not the speed threshold is exceeded again after falling below a speed threshold value (for example, 4 km / hour).

When the blue hour movement distance Lv <the expected movement distance Lp, it can be estimated that there was some cause of stop other than waiting for a signal, such as parking or clogging. In the case of the blue hour moving distance Lv ≧ the expected moving distance Lp, it can be estimated that there was no stop cause other than waiting for a signal at the intersection Jk.
Therefore, the IEB 5 determines that the inflow path where Lv ≧ Lp and the number of signal waiting times ≧ predetermined number (for example, 2 times) is insufficient for the blue time, and regarding the inflow path where neither of these inequalities holds. Determines that there is no shortage of blue hours.

A specific example of the blue time adjustment by IEB5 is as described in the flowchart of FIG. The IEB 5 executes the processing of the flowchart shown in FIG. 7B for each of a plurality of inflow paths (for example, the east-west direction and the north-south direction) of the intersection Jk in charge of the own device.
Here, an inflow path in the east-west direction is assumed. When the IEB 5 receives the probe information from the mounted vehicle 43A passing through the inflow path in the east-west direction (step ST101), the IEB 5 calculates the blue hour moving distance Lv based on the vehicle position and the like included in the probe information (step ST102).

Next, IEB5 determines whether Lv> = Lp is materialized (step ST103).
If the determination result in step ST103 is negative, the IEB 5 does not extend the blue time of the inflow path in the east-west direction (step ST106).
If the determination result in step ST103 is affirmative, the IEB 5 further determines whether or not the number of signal waiting times ≧ a predetermined number (for example, twice) is satisfied (step ST104).

If the determination result of step ST104 is negative, the IEB 5 does not extend the blue time of the inflow path in the east-west direction (step ST106).
If the determination result in step ST104 is affirmative, the IEB 5 extends the blue time of the inflow path in the east-west direction (step ST105). That is, the inflow path in the east-west direction is set as the target direction of the blue time extension.

The IEB 5 also executes the process of the flowchart of FIG. 7B for the north-south inflow path, and determines whether or not the blue time of the north-south inflow path is extended.
For example, as shown in FIG. 7A, it is determined that the blue time of one inflow path is extended (the blue time is insufficient) and the blue time of the other inflow path is not extended (the blue time is not insufficient). If determined, the IEB 5 allocates the blue time from the other inflow path to the one inflow path for a predetermined adjustment time.

When the blue time at the intersection Jk is extended, the IEB 5 generates a communication frame with a blue time extension command, and transmits the generated communication frame to the roadside device that is executing signal control of the intersection Jk.
For example, when the traffic signal controller 47 executes signal control of the intersection Jk, the IEB 5 transmits an extension command to the traffic signal controller 47. When the remote control device 12 executes signal control of the intersection Jk, the IEB 5 transmits an extension command to the remote control device 12.

The blue time adjustment by the IEB 5 illustrated in FIG. 7 is performed at least for the blue time in the straight direction as viewed from the inflow path.
In the case of an intersection Jk having a signal lamp (blue arrow or the like) that individually displays the right of turn in the left turn direction and the right turn direction when viewed from the inflow channel, the blue time adjustment illustrated in FIG. 7 is adjusted in the left turn direction and the right turn direction. You may decide to perform about at least one of the blue hours.

[Outline of platoon priority control]
FIG. 8A is an explanatory diagram showing the necessity of the formation priority control. FIG. 8B is an explanatory diagram showing an outline of the formation priority control.
Note that reference numeral 43G in the figure means a “vehicle group” that is performing a platooning operation in which a plurality of mounted vehicles 43A travel in tandem while maintaining the inter-vehicle distance by performing traveling control such as CACC. To do.

The vehicle 43 that performs inter-vehicle communication shares the acceleration / deceleration information and uses the CACC that realizes high-accuracy inter-vehicle distance control, and uses a plurality of mounted vehicles 43A at a closer inter-vehicle distance than a normal ACC (Adaptive Cruise Control). Has already been developed.
In this case, for example, if a plurality of large vehicles execute platooning by CACC over a long distance on an expressway, the preceding vehicle becomes a windshield and the fuel consumption of the following vehicle is improved and automatic driving is performed. The burden on the driver of the following vehicle is reduced.

For this reason, if platooning by CACC becomes widespread, it is expected to lead to a reduction in CO2 emissions and an improvement in vehicle traffic safety.
However, when the platooned vehicle group 43G travels on a general road on which the traffic signal 41 is installed, the passing time of the intersection Jk increases as the number of vehicles included in the vehicle group 43G increases. However, it is assumed that it is not possible to properly travel on general roads.

For example, as shown in FIG. 8 (a), when the head of the vehicle group 43G passes before the intersection Jk, the signal is green, but when a part of the vehicle group 43G enters the intersection Jk, This is a signal.
In this case, if the following vehicle other than the leading vehicle in the vehicle group 43G applies the brake, the platooning is interrupted, and if the subsequent vehicle does not apply the brake, the red signal is ignored and the vehicle enters the intersection Jk. It will be.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 8 (b), when the IEB 5 detects the vehicle group 43G traveling in the inflow path of the intersection Jk, the last vehicle (the most upstream vehicle 43A) of the vehicle group 43G is detected. The blue time at the intersection Jk is extended so that the green light can pass through the intersection Jk.
If the IEB 5 executes such a platoon priority control, it is possible to prevent the vehicle group 43G from losing platooning and ignoring red signals. Accordingly, the vehicle group 43G can appropriately travel on the general road.

In the example of FIG. 8B, “convoy travel information” indicating that all or a part of the mounted vehicles 43A (for example, the leading vehicle) included in the vehicle group 43G is in the convoy travel is used as probe information for inter-vehicle communication. To be included and sent.
For this reason, the IEB 5 detects in advance that the vehicle group 43G in the convoy travel is approaching the intersection Jk from the convoy travel information, vehicle position, vehicle orientation, and the like included in the probe information received from the mounted vehicle 43A. Can do.

In the probe information transmitted by the vehicle 43A (for example, the leading vehicle) in the convoy travel, for example, the number of the vehicle group 43G and the total number of vehicles, for example, the number from the beginning (may be the tail) of the vehicle group 43G. Information that can identify this (hereinafter referred to as “in-group identification information”) is also included.
Therefore, the IEB 5 extends the blue time in the inflow direction of the vehicle group 43G when the last vehicle cannot pass the intersection Jk before the current green time ends, and does not extend the blue time when it can pass. .

In the platoon priority control of FIG. 8B, when extending the blue time in the inflow direction of the vehicle group 43G (the east-west direction in FIG. 8), the blue time in the crossing direction (the north-south direction in FIG. 8) is increased by the extended time. It is preferable to shorten. This is to avoid disturbing the time of one cycle at the intersection Jk.
In the platoon priority control of FIG. 8B, it is preferable that the extension time of the blue time is within a preset extension limit. This is because if the extension time is too long, passage in the crossing direction intersecting the inflow direction of the vehicle group 43G is hindered.

[Outline of convoy separation control]
FIGS. 9A and 9B show two types of column separation control that the IEB 5 can execute. FIG. 9A is an explanatory diagram showing an outline of the first separation control. FIG. 9B is an explanatory diagram showing an outline of the second delimiter control.
The first segment control in FIG. 9A is a column segment control based on the blue hour. The second separation control in FIG. 9B is a formation separation control based on the clogging.

The reference symbol 43Gx in the figure means a “preceding vehicle” that passes the intersection Jk during the current blue hour in the group of traveling vehicles 43G, and the reference symbol 43Gy indicates the intersection Jk at the next blue hour. It means “following vehicle” to pass.
Further, reference numeral 43S in the figure means a tail vehicle located at the end of the clogging that has occurred in the outflow path of the intersection Jk among the vehicles 43 that pass on the downstream side of the platooning vehicle group 43G. The tail vehicle 43S includes the mounted vehicle 43A or the non-mounted vehicle 43B.

  In the above-mentioned platoon priority control (FIG. 8), if the blue time in the traveling direction (east-west direction in FIG. 8) of the vehicle group 43G is extended, the blue time in the crossing direction (north-south direction in FIG. 8) is shortened by the extension. , May cause traffic jams in the crossing direction.

In particular, as shown in FIG. 9 (a), when the frequency of passing the vehicle group 43G with a large number of vehicles (9 in the illustrated example) passes, the frequency of extending the blue time to the full extension limit increases, The adverse effect on traffic in the crossing direction will increase.
Therefore, the IEB 5 generates delimiter information corresponding to the boundary between the preceding vehicle 43Gx and the subsequent vehicle 43Gy according to the current blue remaining time, and transmits a convoy delimitation command including the generated delimiter information to the vehicle group 43G. This is the column separation control (= first separation control) based on the blue hour.

If the IEB 5 executes the first delimitation control, the vehicle group 43G can preliminarily detect delimiter information corresponding to the remaining blue time, so that the following vehicle 43Gy can be crossed without extending the blue time in the inflow direction of the vehicle group 43G. Jk can be prevented from being left behind.
Further, even in the case of the vehicle group 43G that is too long to be covered by the extension of the blue time by the platoon priority control (FIG. 8), it is possible to prevent the subsequent vehicle 43Gy from being left at the intersection Jk.

  Note that the IEB 5 can execute the first division control, which is the division separation control based on the blue time, alone without performing the above-described formation priority control (FIG. 8) (single processing), or the formation priority control. Can be executed in parallel (parallel processing).

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 9 (b), when the “clogging” occurs in the outflow path of the intersection Jk, the vehicle group 43G even if there is a margin in the blue time in the inflow direction of the vehicle group 43G. May be stopped inside the intersection Jk.
Therefore, the IEB 5 generates delimiter information corresponding to the boundary between the preceding vehicle 43Gx and the subsequent vehicle 43Gy in accordance with the empty space upstream of the preload, and transmits a convoy delimitation command including the generated delimiter information to the vehicle group 43G. . This is the formation separation control (= second separation control) based on the leading end.

  If the IEB 5 executes the second delimitation control, the vehicle group 43G can preliminarily detect delimiter information corresponding to the preemptive empty space. It can be prevented in advance that the vehicle is left behind at the intersection Jk.

[Processing of the first break control]
FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the processing contents of the first separation control.
The IEB 5 executes the processing of the flowchart shown in FIG. 10 for each of a plurality of inflow paths (for example, the east-west direction and the north-south direction) of the intersection Jj that the device is in charge of.

Here, an inflow path in the east-west direction is assumed. When the IEB 5 receives the probe information including the platooning information from the mounted vehicle 43A passing through the inflow path in the east-west direction (step ST121), the leading vehicle passes the “monitoring point” within the current blue time included in the probe information. It is determined whether or not (step ST122).
The monitoring point is a virtual point stored in advance by the IEB 5 and is set, for example, at a position separated from the stop line of the intersection Jk by a predetermined monitoring distance (for example, 150 m).

If the determination result of step ST122 is negative, the IEB 5 returns the process to before step ST121. That is, the IEB 5 continues to receive the probe information until it detects passage of the head vehicle through the monitoring point.
If the determination result of step ST122 is negative, the IEB 5 determines whether or not the leading vehicle reaches the stop line at the end of blue (step ST123).

The determination in step ST123 is performed, for example, by comparing the product of the remaining blue time Tr and the vehicle speed V when the leading vehicle passes the monitoring point and the monitoring distance Lk.
Specifically, the IEB 5 determines that the leading vehicle reaches the stop line when Tr × V ≧ Lk, and determines that the leading vehicle does not reach the stop line when Tr × V <Lk.
Note that the vehicle speed V in this case may be a predetermined fixed value, or the vehicle speed included in the probe information received from the vehicle group 43G.

If the determination result of step ST123 is negative, the IEB 5 ends the process.
If the leading vehicle of the vehicle group 43G cannot reach the stop line at the intersection Jk, all the mounted vehicles 43A included in the vehicle group 43G stop in front of the stop line with a red light, so there is no need to separate the vehicle group 43G. And from.
If the determination result in step ST123 is affirmative, the IEB 5 further determines whether or not the last vehicle exits the intersection at the end of blue (step ST124).

The determination in step ST124 is, for example, the product of the remaining blue time Tr when the leading vehicle passes the monitoring point and the vehicle speed V, and the sum of the monitoring distance Lk, the internal distance Lj of the intersection, and the vehicle group length Lg. This is done by contrast.
Specifically, the IEB 5 determines that the last vehicle passes through the intersection Jk when Tr × V ≧ Lk + Lj + Lg, and determines that the last vehicle does not pass through the intersection when Tr × V <Lk + Lj + Lg.

The internal distance Lj of the intersection is stored in advance in the storage unit 57 of the IEB 5. The vehicle group length Lg can be calculated from information such as the number of vehicles in the vehicle group 43G included in the probe information.
For example, the IEB 5 calculates the vehicle group length Lg by the product of the average vehicle length stored in advance as a fixed value and the number of vehicles included in the probe information. When the vehicle length dimension of each mounted vehicle 43A constituting the vehicle group 43G is included in the probe information, the IEB 5 can also calculate the vehicle group length Lg by adding the vehicle length dimensions.

Note that if the team priority control (FIG. 8) is not executed in parallel, the IEB 5 uses the normal blue time end time point that is not extended by the team priority control as the blue end time point used in the determination of step ST124. adopt.
In addition, when the team priority control (FIG. 8) is executed in parallel, the IEB 5 adopts the end time of the blue time after being extended by the team priority control as the blue end time used for the determination in step ST124.

If the determination result in step ST124 is affirmative, the IEB 5 uses a communication frame including a notification that all the mounted vehicles 43A in the vehicle group 43G can pass through the intersection Jk as a part of the mounted vehicle 43A by road-to-vehicle communication. Or it transmits to all (step ST126). Thereafter, the IEB 5 ends the process.
As a result, the mounted vehicle 43A constituting the vehicle group 43G can detect in advance that the entire vehicle group 43G traveling in a row can pass through the intersection Jk with a green light.

If the determination result in step ST124 is negative, the IEB 5 generates “separation information” between the preceding vehicle 43Gx and the subsequent vehicle 43Gy (step ST125).
The delimiter information is information that can identify the mounted vehicle 43A corresponding to the delimitation boundary when one vehicle group 43G is divided into a preceding vehicle 43Gx and a succeeding vehicle 43Gy. As the delimiter information, for example, any of the following delimiter information 1 to 4 can be adopted.

Separation information 1: Number of vehicles of the preceding vehicle 43Gx,
Separation information 2: In-group identification information or vehicle ID of the last vehicle of the preceding vehicle 43Gx
Separation information 3: Number of vehicles of the following vehicle 43Gy Separation information 4: In-group identification information or vehicle ID of the leading vehicle of the following vehicle 43Gy

The IEB 5 calculates the separation position X from the head of the vehicle group 43G by a calculation formula of X = (Lk + Lj + Lg) − (Tr × V), and determines the nearest mounted vehicle 43A farther downstream from the calculated separation position X. The vehicle is extracted as the last vehicle of the preceding vehicle 43Gx.
The IEB 5 generates delimiter information including any one of the delimiter information 1 to 4 based on the extracted intra-group identification information of the last vehicle. In addition, the separation position X itself may be notified to the vehicle side by road-to-vehicle communication, and the separation information 1 to 4 may be generated in the mounted vehicle 43A.

Next, the IEB 5 transmits a communication frame of a convoy separation command including separation information to a part or all of the mounted vehicle 43A by road-to-vehicle communication (step ST127). Thereafter, the IEB 5 ends the process.
As a result, the mounted vehicle 43A constituting the vehicle group 43G is the preceding vehicle 43Gx for the current passage up to the vehicle in the platooning vehicle group 43G, and the subsequent vehicle 43Gy for the next passage from which vehicle. Can be detected in advance.

For example, it is assumed that the leading vehicle in the platooning has a function of a parent machine that instructs other vehicles to permit and release the platoon. Further, as shown in FIG. 9A, it is assumed that the six vehicles from the head are the preceding vehicles 43Gx and the remaining three are the following vehicles 43Gy.
In this case, the leading vehicle that has received the convoy separation command from the IEB 5 transmits a convoy travel release instruction to the seventh onboard vehicle 43A (the leading vehicle of the succeeding vehicle 43Gy) from the top by inter-vehicle communication.

The seventh onboard vehicle 43A that has received the release command releases the inter-vehicle control such as CACC for the sixth onboard vehicle 43A. Therefore, the vehicle group 43G is divided into six preceding vehicles 43Gx and the remaining three succeeding vehicles 43Gy from the top.
After the division, the seventh onboard vehicle 43A functions as a master unit of the succeeding vehicle 43Gy. In addition, when the succeeding vehicle 43Gy approaches the preceding vehicle 43Gx again and the formation is permitted to the leading vehicle of the preceding vehicle 43Gx, the original vehicle group 43G is returned to.

[Processing of the second break control]
FIGS. 11 and 12 are explanatory diagrams showing, in chronological order, an example of a change in road conditions when the IEB 5 executes the second delimiter control. FIG. 12 shows the road situation following FIG.
FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the processing content of the second separation control. Hereinafter, the processing content of the second separation control will be described with reference to FIGS.

Road condition 1 in FIG. 11 shows a state in which a group of traveling vehicles 43G is stopped by a red light in front of the intersection Jk.
“Ls1” in FIG. 11 indicates the section length of the first section from the head of the vehicle group 43G to the stop line of the intersection Jk, and “Ls2” indicates the distance from the upstream end of the outflow path to the end vehicle 43S that is clogged. The section length of the second section is shown. “Ls” is the length of the empty space of the outflow path that can be allocated to the vehicle group 43G.

The road situation 2 in FIG. 11 shows a state in which the intersection Jk changes to a green signal after the road situation 1 and the vehicle 43 existing in the range of the first section length Ls1 heads for the outflow road.
A road situation 3 in FIG. 11 shows a state in which the preceding vehicle 43Gx of the vehicle group 43G is within the empty space length Ls detected by the IEB 5 by the first second delimiter control.
The road situation 4 in FIG. 12 shows a state in which the intersection Jk changes to a red signal after the road situation 3, and the following vehicle 43Gy of the vehicle group 43G is in a red signal and is stopped before the intersection Jk.

In the road situation 4 in FIG. 12, during the second red signal after the road situation 3, the clogging of the outflow path has progressed downstream, so that a new empty space length Ls is formed.
“43Gyx” and “43Gyy” in FIG. 12 indicate the preceding vehicle and the succeeding vehicle divided by the second row separation control in the vehicle group 43Gy that is the subsequent vehicle left by the first row division control. Yes.
The road situation 5 in FIG. 12 shows a state in which the preceding vehicle 43Gyx of the vehicle group 43Gy is within the empty space length Ls detected by the IEB 5 through the second row separation control.

The IEB 5 executes the processing of the flowchart shown in FIG. 13 for each of a plurality of inflow paths (for example, the east-west direction and the north-south direction) of the intersection Jk that the device itself is in charge of.
Here, an inflow path in the east-west direction is assumed. When the IEB 5 receives the probe information including the convoy travel information from the vehicle group 43G that is waiting for the signal on the inflow path in the east-west direction (step ST141), the IEB 5 determines whether the blue time of the current cycle has started (step ST141). ST142).

If the determination result of step ST142 is negative, the IEB 5 returns the process to before step ST141. That is, the IEB 5 continues to receive the probe information until it detects the start of the blue time of the current cycle.
If the determination result in step ST142 is affirmative, the IEB 5 determines whether or not a clogging that inhibits the outflow from the intersection Jk of the vehicle group 43G has occurred in the outflow path of the intersection Jk (step ST143). .

The determination in step ST143 can be performed, for example, by analyzing image data captured by a monitoring camera (roadside sensor 44) that includes the upstream portion of the outflow path as a subject of imaging.
When the mounted vehicle 43A can observe the stop of the vehicle 43 ahead from the captured image of the camera provided on the own vehicle, and this observation information is included in the probe information, the IEB 5 uses the observation information notified from the mounted vehicle 43A. You may decide to perform determination of step ST143 using.

For example, in the road situation 1 of FIG. 11, when the head mounted vehicle 43A waiting for a signal (the mounted vehicle 43A closest to the stop line) observes the stop of the tail vehicle 43S existing on the outflow path, the observation information is What is necessary is just to include in probe information and to transmit to IEB5.
In this case, the IEB 5 can detect the occurrence of the clogging in the outflow path based on the observation information included in the probe information received from the head mounted vehicle 43A waiting for the signal.

If the determination result in step ST143 is negative, the IEB 5 uses a communication frame including a notification that all the mounted vehicles 43A in the vehicle group 43G can pass through the intersection Jk as a part of the mounted vehicle 43A. Or it transmits to all (step ST144). Thereafter, the IEB 5 ends the process.
As a result, the mounted vehicle 43A constituting the vehicle group 43G can detect in advance that the entire vehicle group 43G traveling in a row can pass through the intersection Jk without encountering a clogging.

If the determination result of step ST143 is affirmative, the IEB 5 calculates the free space length Ls of the outflow path (step ST145).
Specifically, the IEB 5 calculates the free space length Ls by subtracting the first section length Ls1 from the second section length Ls2. The first section length Ls1 can be calculated from the vehicle position of the leading vehicle of the vehicle group 43G and the position of the stop line (see road situation 1 in FIG. 11). When the vehicle group 43G is at the head of signal waiting, the value of the first section length Ls1 is 0.

The second section length Ls2 can be acquired from the analysis result of the image data when determining the clogging from the image data of the roadside sensor 44 formed by the monitoring camera.
When the head mounted vehicle 43A waiting for a signal (mounted vehicle 43A closest to the stop line) notifies the IEB 5 of the inter-vehicle distance to the tail vehicle 43S, the internal distance Lj of the intersection Jk is determined from the notified inter-vehicle distance. By subtracting, the second section length Ls2 can be calculated.

Next, the IEB 5 determines whether or not the free space length Ls is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold Ths (step ST146).
For example, the predetermined threshold Ths is set to a value obtained by multiplying the average vehicle head distance d of the vehicle 43 or a predetermined margin rate larger than 1 by this.

Next, the IEB 5 determines whether or not the current blue remaining time is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value Tht (step ST147).
The predetermined threshold Tht is set to, for example, an average passing time when a vehicle 43 that is waiting for a signal at a predetermined position before the intersection Jk passes the intersection Jk during a green light.

When the determination result of step ST146 is negative and when the determination result of step ST147 is negative, the IEB 5 uses a road-to-vehicle communication to transmit a communication frame including a notification that the vehicle 43 cannot pass the intersection Jk. It transmits to a part or all of 43A (step ST149). Thereafter, the IEB 5 ends the process.
As a result, the mounted vehicle 43A constituting the vehicle group 43G can detect in advance that no vehicle group 43G in the row running can pass the intersection Jk.

If the determination result of step ST147 is affirmative, the IEB 5 generates “separation information” between the preceding vehicle 43Gx and the subsequent vehicle 43Gy (step S148).
Specifically, the IEB 5 employs the empty space length Ls as the separation position X from the head of the vehicle group 43G, and the nearest mounted vehicle 43A that is separated from the separation position X to the downstream side is used as the last vehicle of the preceding vehicle 43Gx. Extract as
The IEB 5 generates delimiter information including any of the delimiter information 1 to 4 described above based on the extracted intra-group identification information of the last vehicle. In addition, the separation position X itself may be notified to the vehicle side by road-to-vehicle communication, and the separation information 1 to 4 may be generated in the mounted vehicle 43A.

Then, the IEB 5 transmits a communication frame of the formation separation command including the generated separation information to a part or all of the mounted vehicle 43A by road-to-vehicle communication (step ST148).
As a result, the mounted vehicle 43A constituting the vehicle group 43G is the preceding vehicle 43Gx for the current passage up to the vehicle in the platooning vehicle group 43G, and the subsequent vehicle 43Gy for the next passage from which vehicle. Can be detected in advance.

When executing step ST148, the IEB 5 waits until the blue remaining time ends (step ST150), and then returns the process to the step S141.
Therefore, the calculation of the empty space length Ls of the outflow path (step S145) and the generation of delimiter information based on the empty space length Ls (step ST148) are repeated every cycle. The reason is that as shown in road conditions 3 and 4, a free space length Ls can newly occur due to the advance of the clogging downstream during the red time.

For example, it is assumed that the leading vehicle in the platooning has a function of a parent machine that instructs other vehicles to permit and release the platoon.
Further, as shown in FIG. 11, in the first second delimiter control, it is assumed that two vehicles from the head of the vehicle group 43G are the preceding vehicles 43Gx and the remaining seven vehicles are the following vehicles 43Gy. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 12, in the second second-partition control, it is assumed that two vehicles from the head of the vehicle group 43Gy are the preceding vehicles 43Gyx and the remaining five are the following vehicles 43Gyy.

  In this case, in the road situation 1, when the IEB 5 performs the first second separation control and transmits the formation separation command, the leading vehicle of the vehicle group 43G that has received the formation separation command is the third mounted vehicle 43A ( An instruction to cancel platooning is transmitted to the following vehicle 43Gy) by inter-vehicle communication.

The third mounted vehicle 43A that has received the release command releases the inter-vehicle control such as CACC for the second mounted vehicle 43A. Accordingly, the vehicle group 43G is divided into two preceding vehicles 43Gx and the remaining seven following vehicles 43Gy from the top.
After the division, as shown in the road situation 3, the third mounted vehicle 43A functions as a master unit of the seven succeeding vehicles 43Gy, and becomes a vehicle group 43Gy in which the seven mounted vehicles 43A are arranged.

  Next, in the road situation 4, when the IEB 5 performs the second delimitation control for the second time and transmits the convoy separation command, the leading vehicle of the vehicle group 43Gy that has received the convoy separation command is the third mounted vehicle 43A from the top. An instruction to cancel platooning is transmitted to (following vehicle 43Gyy) by inter-vehicle communication.

The third mounted vehicle 43A that has received the release command releases the inter-vehicle control such as CACC for the second mounted vehicle 43A. Therefore, the vehicle group 43Gy is divided into two preceding vehicles 43Gxy and the remaining five following vehicles 43Gyy from the top.
After the division, as shown in the road situation 5, the third mounted vehicle 43A functions as a master unit for the five succeeding vehicles 43Gyy and becomes a vehicle group 43Gyy in which the five mounted vehicles 43A are arranged.

[Outline of calculation processing of onboard unit installation rate]
FIGS. 14A and 14B show calculation processing of two types of on-vehicle device mounting rates that can be executed by IEB5. FIG. 14A is an explanatory diagram showing an outline of the first calculation process. FIG. 14B is an explanatory diagram showing an overview of the second calculation process.
The in-vehicle device mounting rate (hereinafter, also simply referred to as “mounting rate”) R is a ratio calculated by dividing the number of all passing vehicles by the number of mounted vehicles 43A.

Therefore, when the number of mounted vehicles 43A is determined from the number of vehicle IDs collected from the plurality of probe information, the actual traffic volume can be estimated by dividing the number of mounted vehicles by the mounting rate R.
The mounting rate R is likely to vary depending on the region. In addition, the mounting rate R has a periodic variation such as changing every day of the week or time period, and is considered to gradually increase in the long term as the penetration rate of the in-vehicle communication device 42 increases. Therefore, it is important for the IEB 5 to measure the current loading rate R in each place when estimating the actual traffic volume from the probe information.

The first calculation process in FIG. 14A is a calculation process using a roadside sensor 44 made of a vehicle sensor, and the second calculation process in FIG. 14B uses a roadside sensor 44 made of a vehicle sensor. This is a calculation process that does not.
Incidentally, reference numeral 44A in the figure is a sensing area where the roadside sensor 44 comprising a vehicle sensor senses the vehicles 43 one by one.

In the first calculation process of FIG. 14A, the IEB 5 calculates the mounting rate R according to the formula: mounting rate R = number of mounted vehicles / sensed number of vehicles.
The “detected number” is the number of vehicles passing through the sensing area 44A sensed by the vehicle detector during a predetermined observation period. The “number of mounted vehicles” is the number of mounted vehicles (probe vehicles) 43A estimated to have passed through the sensing area 44A during the same observation period based on the vehicle position and time information included in the probe information.

In this way, at the intersection Jk where the vehicle detectors are installed, the traffic volume of all the vehicles 43 can be obtained by the number of sensed vehicles. Therefore, by dividing the number of vehicles mounted in a predetermined observation period by the number of sensed vehicles in the same observation period. The mounting rate R can be easily calculated.
However, in the first calculation process, since the number of detected units is used, there is a disadvantage that the vehicle detector cannot be applied to the intersection Jk where the vehicle detector is not installed.

On the other hand, in the second calculation process of FIG. 14B, the IEB 5 calculates the mounting rate R using the formula of mounting rate R = section mounted number / section total number. In this case, the mounting rate R can be calculated even at the intersection Jk where the vehicle detector is not installed.
The “number of sections mounted” is the number of mounted vehicles 43A existing in a predetermined “measurement section” included in the queue formed in the inflow path. The “total number of sections” is the total number of vehicles 43 existing in the “measurement section”.

[Example of calculation method in second calculation process]
In the second calculation process using the above calculation formula, a plurality of types of calculation methods 1 to 3 illustrated in FIGS. 15 to 17 can be adopted depending on how the “measurement section” of the inflow channel is defined.
In FIGS. 15 to 17, “Na” is the number of sections mounted, “d” is the average headway interval during signal waiting, and “L1 to L3” are used in the respective calculation methods 1 to 3. It is a measurement interval.

FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram showing a calculation method 1 in the second calculation process.
The measurement section used in the calculation method 1 in FIG. 15 is composed of the illustrated first measurement section L1. The downstream end of the first measurement section L1 is a stop line of the inflow path. The upstream end of the first measurement section L1 is a stop position of the last vehicle 43E among the mounted vehicles 43A included in the queue of the inflow path.

When the calculation method 1 is adopted, the IEB 5 receives the probe information from one or a plurality of mounted vehicles 43A that are stopped waiting for a signal in the inflow path of the intersection Jk, and then determines the vehicle position of the one or more mounted vehicles 43A. The vehicle position of the rearmost vehicle 43E on the most upstream side is specified from the inside.
Thereafter, the IEB 5 calculates the length of the first measurement section L1 from the vehicle position of the last vehicle 43E to the stop line.

Next, IEB5 sets the number of mounted vehicles 43A (four in FIG. 15) located in the first measurement section L1 as the section mounted number Na. Moreover, IEB5 estimates the value (14 units in FIG. 15) which remove | divided the section length of the 1st measurement area L1 by the average vehicle head space | interval d as a section total number.
Then, the IEB 5 calculates the mounting rate R by dividing the section mounting number Na by the estimated section total number. That is, the IEB 5 calculates the mounting rate R by the calculation formula of R = Na / (L1 / d).

In the calculation process 1, the vehicle position of the last vehicle 43E is selected based on the vehicle position accuracy information included in the probe information (for example, a GPS reliability index included in the probe information) and an error equal to or smaller than a predetermined threshold value. It is preferable to carry out from among the vehicle positions.
In this way, since the accuracy of the section length of the first measurement section L1 is improved, the accuracy of the mounting rate R calculated using this is also improved.

FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a calculation method 2 in the second calculation process.
The measurement interval used for the calculation method 2 in FIG. 16 is composed of the illustrated second measurement interval L2. The downstream end of the second measurement section L2 is a stop line of the inflow path. The upstream end of the second measurement section L2 is a position away from the downstream end to the upstream side by a predetermined distance (for example, 150 m). However, it is a condition that the upstream end of the second measurement section L2 is downstream of the stop position of the last vehicle 43E among the mounted vehicles 43A included in the queue of the inflow path.

When the calculation method 2 is adopted, the IEB 5 receives the probe information from one or a plurality of mounted vehicles 43A that are stopped waiting for a signal in the inflow path of the intersection Jk, and then determines the vehicle position of the one or more mounted vehicles 43A. The vehicle position of the rearmost vehicle 43E on the most upstream side is specified from the inside.
Thereafter, the IEB 5 determines whether or not the upstream end of the second measurement section L2 is downstream of the vehicle position of the last vehicle 43E. The IEB 5 executes the calculation by the second measurement interval L2 when the determination result is affirmative, and does not execute the calculation when the determination result is negative.

Next, IEB5 sets the number of mounted vehicles 43A (two in FIG. 16) located in the second measurement section L2 as the section mounted number Na. Moreover, IEB5 estimates the value (9 units in FIG. 16) obtained by dividing the section length of the second measurement section L2 by the average vehicle head distance d as the section total number.
Then, the IEB 5 calculates the mounting rate R by dividing the intra-section mounted number Na by the estimated number of vehicles in the section. That is, the IEB 5 calculates the mounting rate R by the calculation formula of R = Na / (L2 / d).

In the calculation method 1, since the upstream end of the first measurement section L1 coincides with the stop position of the last vehicle 43E that is the mounted vehicle 43A, the last vehicle 43E is always counted as the mounted vehicle 43A. For this reason, the mounting rate R may be higher than actual.
As a workaround, it is conceivable to shift the upstream end of the measurement section to the “upstream side” from the stop position of the last vehicle 43E. However, the upstream end of the measurement section cannot be defined on the upstream side of the last vehicle 43E because the existence of the non-mounted vehicle 43B cannot be estimated.

For this reason, in the calculation method 2, the second measurement section L2 has a condition that the upstream end is located “downstream” from the stop position of the last vehicle 43E. This is because the last vehicle 43E is included in the queue of the intersection Jk, and therefore it is considered that the mounted vehicle 43A or the non-mounted vehicle 43B always exists on the downstream side of the vehicle 43E.
According to the calculation method 2, since it is possible to avoid the upstream end of the second measurement section L2 and the stop position of the last vehicle 43E from inevitably matching with each other, the mounting rate R can be calculated more accurately than in the calculation method 1.

FIG. 17 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a calculation method 3 in the third calculation process.
The calculation method 3 in FIG. 17 is a method in which the calculation method 2 in FIG. 16 is extended to a case of multiple lanes. The measurement section is composed of the third measurement section L3 shown in the drawing.
The downstream end of the third measurement section L3 is a stop line of the inflow path. The upstream end of the third measurement section L3 is a position away from the downstream end to the upstream side by a predetermined distance (for example, 150 m). The upstream end of the third measurement section L3 is conditioned on the downstream side of the last vehicles 43E1 and 43E2 of all the lanes among the mounted vehicles 43A included in the queue of the inflow path of the plurality of lanes.

  That is, assuming that the last vehicle 43E1 in one lane and the last vehicle 43E2 in the other lane, the upstream end of the third measurement section L3 is further downstream than the stop position of the downstream last vehicle 43E2. It is necessary to be located.

When the calculation method 3 is adopted, the IEB 5 receives the probe information from one or a plurality of mounted vehicles 43A that are stopped waiting for a signal in the inflow path of the intersection Jk, and determines the vehicle position of the one or more mounted vehicles 43A. From the inside, the vehicle positions of the most upstream end vehicles 43E1 and 43E2 are specified for each lane.
Thereafter, the IEB 5 determines whether or not the upstream end of the third measurement section L3 is downstream of the vehicle position of the last vehicle 43E2. The IEB 5 executes the calculation by the second measurement interval L2 when the determination result is affirmative, and does not execute the calculation when the determination result is negative.

Next, the IEB 5 sets the number of mounted vehicles 43A (three in FIG. 17) positioned in the third measurement section L3 as the section mounted number Na. In addition, IEB5 is a value (14 in FIG. 17) obtained by multiplying the value (7 in FIG. 17) by the number of lanes (2 in FIG. 17) obtained by dividing the length of the third measurement section L3 by the average vehicle head distance d. The total number of sections is estimated.
Then, the IEB 5 calculates the mounting rate R by dividing the section mounting number Na by the estimated section total number. That is, the IEB 5 calculates the mounting rate R by a calculation formula of R = Na / (L3 × n / d).

In the above calculation methods 1 to 3, the downstream ends of the measurement sections L1 to L3 do not necessarily have to be the stop line of the intersection Jk.
For example, the downstream end of each measurement section L1 to L3 may be set to a position upstream by several vehicles 43 from the stop line, or the most downstream of the mounted vehicles 43A included in the queue. You may set to the stop position of the mounted vehicle 43A located.

Further, in the calculation method 1, the upstream end of the first measurement section L1 does not necessarily use the vehicle position of the last vehicle 43E, and the vehicle position of the second and subsequent mounted vehicles 43A is downstream from the last vehicle 43E. It may be adopted.
Furthermore, in the calculation methods 2 and 3, the vehicle position used for comparison with the upstream ends of the second and third measurement sections L2 and L3 is not necessarily the vehicle position of the last vehicle 43E. You may employ | adopt the vehicle position of 43A of mounted vehicles after the 2nd downstream.

[Outline of advanced terminal sensitive control]
FIGS. 18A and 18B show the sophistication of two types of terminal sensitive control that can be executed by IEB5. FIG. 18A is an explanatory diagram showing an overview of the enhancement of gap sensitive control. FIG. 18B is an explanatory diagram showing an overview of the advancement of semi-sensitive control.
In FIG. 18, it is assumed that a roadside sensor 44 composed of a vehicle detector that detects the vehicle 43 in the sensing area 44A is installed at the intersection Jk. Reference symbol Ps in the figure is a pseudo pulse signal that can be generated by IEB5.

At the intersection Jk in FIG. 18A, the traffic signal controller 47 is executing “gap sensitive control” which is a kind of terminal sensitive control.
Gap-sensitive control means that the blue time is extended when the time interval (gap) of the detection pulse signal output from the vehicle detector installed in the inflow path is less than a predetermined threshold (for example, 2 seconds) and less than the predetermined threshold In this case, it means control to cancel the blue extension.

In the gap sensitive control based only on the sensing pulse signal, for example, as shown in FIG. 18A, when the inter-vehicle distance of the vehicle 43 flowing into the intersection Jk becomes larger than the distance corresponding to the gap threshold (= 2 seconds), the blue time The extension of is automatically terminated.
However, even when the inter-vehicle distance between the vehicles 43 flowing into the intersection Jk is larger than the distance corresponding to the gap threshold, it is safer to pass the vehicle 43 immediately after the gap with a green light because it is possible to avoid sudden braking. Sometimes.

Therefore, when the probe information is received from the succeeding mounted vehicle 43A, the IEB 5 uniquely determines whether or not the succeeding mounted vehicle 43A should be passed with a blue signal from the vehicle position and vehicle speed included in the probe information.
And when said determination result is affirmative, IEB5 produces | generates the pseudo pulse signal Ps before the subsequent mounting vehicle 43A reaches | attains the sensing area 44A, and uses the produced | generated pseudo pulse signal Ps as a traffic signal controller. 47.

For this reason, even when the inter-vehicle distance between the succeeding mounted vehicle 43A and the preceding vehicle 43 is larger than the distance corresponding to the gap threshold, the succeeding mounted vehicle 43A can pass through the intersection Jk by the extended blue time. .
As described above, the IEB 5 substantially extends the gap threshold by outputting the pseudo pulse signal to the traffic signal controller 47 that is executing the gap sensitive control in response to reception of the probe information from the mounted vehicle 43A. be able to. Therefore, the gap sensitive control can be enhanced.

At the intersection Jk in FIG. 18B, the traffic signal controller 47 is executing “half-sensitive control” which is a kind of terminal sensitive control.
Semi-sensitive control means that the right of traffic (green light) is given to the secondary road only when the vehicle detector installed on the secondary road (in the east-west direction in the figure) detects the vehicle 43, and the main road (Figure In the example, it means control that continues to give the right of traffic in the direction of north and south.

In the semi-sensitive control based only on the sensing pulse signal, for example, as shown in FIG. 18B, when the vehicle 43 reaches the sensing area 44A near the stop line, the right of traffic is still on the main road side, and the arrival The right to pass is transferred to the secondary road after a predetermined time has elapsed since the time.
Accordingly, the vehicle 43 traveling on the secondary road side cannot pass through the intersection Jk unless it waits for a certain period of time after reaching the sensing area 44A.

Therefore, when the probe information is received from the mounted vehicle 43A traveling on the inflow path on the secondary road side, the IEB 5 generates the pseudo pulse signal Ps before the mounted vehicle 43A reaches the sensing area 44A, and generates the generated pseudo pulse signal Ps. Is transmitted to the traffic signal controller 47.
For this reason, the right to pass can be given to the secondary road side at an early stage, and the signal waiting time of the mounted vehicle 43A passing through the secondary road side can be shortened.

  As described above, the IEB 5 receives the probe information from the mounted vehicle 43A as an opportunity to output the pseudo pulse signal to the traffic signal controller 47 that is executing the semi-sensitive control in advance, so that the slave road of the mounted vehicle 43A. The signal waiting time on the side can be shortened. Therefore, the semi-sensitive control can be enhanced.

[Outline of sensor emulation]
FIG. 19 is an explanatory diagram showing an outline of sensor emulation.
In FIG. 19, it is assumed that the roadside sensor 44 including a vehicle detector that detects the vehicle 43 in the sensing area 44A is not yet installed at the intersection Jk. Reference symbol Ps in the figure is a pseudo pulse signal that can be generated by IEB5.

Furthermore, at the intersection Jk in FIG. 19, the traffic signal controller 47 can switch between pattern control without dynamic fluctuation of the blue time and terminal sensitive control with blue time extension such as gap sensitive control. And
Even if the traffic signal controller 47 can switch between the pattern control and the terminal sensitive control, in order to realize the terminal sensitive control, it is necessary to install a roadside sensor 44 such as a vehicle detector on the inflow path of the intersection Jk. There is.

However, in order to install a vehicle detector on a road, it is necessary to install a support column for each inflow path and attach a sensor head to a beam provided at the upper end of the support column for each lane. For this reason, the installation cost for building pillar work and the like increases, and the scenery around the intersection may be adversely affected.
In addition, when adjusting the sensing point of the installed vehicle sensor, it is necessary to redo the construction of the pillar, so there is a problem that it is difficult to adjust the sensing point.

Therefore, the IEB 5 estimates the traffic volume for each inflow path using the probe information received from the mounted vehicle 43A that passes through the inflow path in each direction, and assigns each inflow path to the blue time based on the estimated traffic volume. To decide.
Then, the IEB 5 generates a plurality of pseudo pulse signals Ps so that the allocated blue time is reached, and transmits the generated pseudo pulse signals Ps to the traffic signal controller 47.

  For this reason, the traffic signal controller 47 can perform switching between pattern control and terminal sensitive control based on the pseudo pulse signal Ps received from the IEB 5. For this reason, the traffic signal controller 47 can execute control switching without installing a vehicle detector in the inflow path of the intersection Jk.

[Outline of data thinning]
FIG. 20 is an explanatory diagram showing an outline of data thinning.
As shown in FIG. 20, the IEB 5 can uplink transmit probe information received from the vehicle-mounted device 42 and sensor information received from the roadside sensor 44 to the remote control device 12 that performs traffic control.

When the probe information transmitted / received by inter-vehicle communication and the sensor information acquired from the roadside sensor 44 are collected in the remote control device 12, the remote control device 12 performs probe information and sensor in order to perform more advanced traffic signal control. It is preferable to collect as much information as possible.
However, since there are many in-vehicle devices 42, if the probe information acquired by the IEB 5 is transmitted to the remote control device 12 as it is, the data transmission amount in the uplink direction between the IEB 5 and the remote control device 12 becomes excessive, and communication The line may be tight.

Therefore, the IEB 5 deletes a part of the probe information except for the header part so that the data collection rate is set in advance, or a part or all of the plurality of pieces of probe information. Processing for discarding without relaying to the remote control device 12 (hereinafter referred to as “thinning processing”) can be performed.
In this way, if the IEB 5 performs the thinning process to narrow down the information to be uplinked to the remote control device 12 to the necessary data, it is possible to suppress the tightness of the communication line connected to the remote control device 12.

[Overview of advertisement selection control]
FIG. 21A is an explanatory diagram outlining the advertisement selection control. FIG. 21B is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of an advertisement information management table.
As shown in FIG. 21A, the IEB 5 installed at each intersection Jk can include predetermined advertisement information in the probe information broadcast to the in-vehicle communication device 42 by road-to-vehicle communication.

In this case, the IEB 5 calculates the predicted time when the mounted vehicle 43A reaches the predetermined point from the vehicle position of the mounted vehicle 43A, the vehicle speed, the signal information of the intersection Jk, and the like, and predicts the advertisement information closely associated with the area of the predetermined point If it is provided to the onboard vehicle 43A at the time, a timely advertisement can be provided to the driver of the onboard vehicle 43A.
Also, providing advertisement information that guides the customer to enter a commercial facility during a traffic jam can help to eliminate the traffic jam.

The IEB 5 stores the advertisement information management table shown in FIG. The entry of the management table includes data types such as advertisement ID, priority, advertisement type, and required time.
The IEB 5 selects advertisement information to be broadcast in order from the highest priority recorded in the management table. The priority order may be changed for each time zone, or may be smoothed according to the number of transmissions.

In the advertisement selection control, a service that gives points in terms of local currency may be performed according to the signal waiting time at the intersection Jk, the amount of uplink data of probe information, and the like.
In this case, if the driver can use the acquired points as currency, the spread of the in-vehicle device 42 is promoted. Further, the mounted vehicle 43A may transmit the probe information including the acquired point to the IEB 5 so that the IEB 5 performs a service such as executing priority control of the mounted vehicle 43A.

[Other variations]
The embodiments disclosed herein are illustrative and non-restrictive in every respect. The scope of rights of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, but includes all modifications within the scope equivalent to the configurations described in the claims.

For example, in the above-described embodiment, the roadside control device 5 is a separate device from the traffic signal controller 47, but the roadside control device 5 may have the function of the traffic signal controller 47.
In the above-described embodiment, the case where the moving body passing through the road is a “vehicle” having a prime mover is exemplified, but the moving body passing through the road includes a bicycle having no prime mover in addition to the vehicle having the prime mover. It may be included. In the above-described embodiment, when replacing a vehicle with a moving body, “vehicle communication device (vehicle device)” may be replaced with “mobile communication device”.

4 Public communication network 5 Roadside control device 12 Remote control device 41 Traffic signal 42 In-vehicle communication device (mobile communication device)
43 vehicle 43A vehicle (probe vehicle)
43B non-mounted vehicle 43G vehicle group 43Gx preceding vehicle 43Gy following vehicle 43S trailing vehicle 43E last tail vehicle 43E1 tail tail vehicle 43E2 tail tail vehicle 44 roadside sensor 44A sensing area 45 communication line 46 signal lamp 47 traffic signal controller 48 signal control line 49 Mobile terminal 51 Vehicle communication unit 52 Pedestrian communication unit 53 Infrastructure communication unit 54 Main control unit 55 DSSS control unit 56 Pedestrian control unit 57 Storage unit 58 Vehicle reception unit 59 Vehicle transmission unit 60 First transmission / reception unit 61 2nd transceiver Ai area

Claims (15)

A roadside control device capable of wireless communication with a mobile communication device,
A receiving unit that receives position information of a mobile body equipped with the mobile communication device from the mobile communication device;
Based on the received position information, a control unit that analyzes the current state of at least one of signal control and road traffic at an intersection, and generates output information based on the analysis result;
A roadside control device comprising: a transmission unit that transmits the generated output information to an external device.   The control unit determines whether or not to extend the blue time of the inflow path based on the moving distance that the mobile body equipped with the mobile communication device passing through the inflow path of the intersection moves during the blue time of the inflow path. The roadside control device according to claim 1, which determines whether or not.   The roadside control device according to claim 2, wherein the control unit does not extend the blue time of the inflow path when the moving distance is less than a predetermined distance.   The control unit further determines whether or not to extend a blue time of the inflow path based on the number of signal waiting times in the inflow path for a mobile body equipped with the mobile communication device. The roadside control device described.   5. The roadside control device according to claim 4, wherein the control unit extends a blue time of the inflow path when the moving distance is equal to or greater than a predetermined distance and the number of times of waiting for the signal is equal to or greater than a predetermined number. The control unit includes a section mounted number that is the number of vehicles equipped with the mobile communication device included in the measurement section of the inflow path of the intersection, and a section total number that is the number of all vehicles included in the measurement section. Estimate
The roadside control device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein a mounting rate of the mobile communication device is calculated by dividing the number of sections mounted by the total number of sections.   The control unit according to claim 6, wherein a stop position of one mobile body among one or a plurality of mobile bodies equipped with the mobile communication device waiting for a signal at the intersection is an upstream end of the measurement section. The roadside control device described.   The control unit sets a predetermined position located downstream from a stop position of one mobile body among one or a plurality of mobile bodies equipped with the mobile communication device that is waiting for a signal at the intersection. The roadside control device according to claim 6, wherein the roadside control device is an upstream end.   The control unit includes a group of moving bodies including a plurality of moving bodies equipped with the mobile communication device, a preceding vehicle that can pass through the intersection with a current green light, and a vehicle that cannot pass through the intersection with a current green signal. The roadside control device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein a convoy separation command for separating the vehicle from a succeeding vehicle is transmitted to the mobile communication device of the mobile body group.   10. The control unit according to claim 9, wherein the control unit determines whether or not to transmit the platoon separation command based on a signal switching timing of the inflow path of the intersection and the positions of the head and the tail of the moving body group. Roadside control device.   The roadside control device according to claim 10, wherein the control unit transmits the formation division command when the rear end of the moving body group cannot pass through the intersection by the blue end time of the inflow path.   The said control part transmits the said division | segmentation division | segmentation instruction | indication, when only the one part moving body of the said mobile body group can pass the said intersection by the clogging which generate | occur | produced in the outflow path of the said intersection. The roadside control device according to any one of the above.   The control unit generates information that can specify a separation position of the preceding vehicle and the subsequent vehicle according to an empty space length existing on the upstream side of the clogging in the outflow path, and generates the generated information in the formation The roadside control device according to claim 12, which is included in the delimiter command. A computer program for causing a computer to function as a roadside control device capable of wireless communication with a mobile communication device,
A step of receiving, from the mobile communication device, the position information of the mobile body on which the receiving unit of the roadside control device is mounted with the mobile communication device;
The control unit of the roadside control device analyzes the current state of at least one of signal control and road traffic at an intersection based on the received position information, and generates output information based on the analysis result;
A computer program comprising: a transmission unit of the roadside control device transmitting the generated output information to an external device. An information processing method executed by a roadside control device capable of wireless communication with a mobile communication device,
A step of receiving, from the mobile communication device, the position information of the mobile body on which the receiving unit of the roadside control device is mounted with the mobile communication device;
The control unit of the roadside control device analyzes the current state of at least one of signal control and road traffic at an intersection based on the received position information, and generates output information based on the analysis result;
A transmission unit of the roadside control device transmitting the generated output information to an external device.

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