JP3767889B2 - Road traffic survey method and system - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a traffic investigation method and system for investigating passing traffic on a road.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In urban improvement plans, new road plans, etc., it is required to grasp the current state of how each vehicle passes through an existing road. Conventionally, the purpose of this purpose is to investigate the amount of passing traffic, etc., by counting the number of vehicles passing by the observer at each observation point and comparing the number of passing vehicles counted at multiple observation points. It was.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, it is difficult for the observer to visually determine the number of passing vehicles at each observation point, but it is difficult to accurately identify and identify each passing vehicle. I couldn't figure out exactly what happened. Specifically, it is possible to know the number of vehicles that have passed through the entrance and exit points of the town on an existing main road that passes through a town, but whether or not the same vehicle has passed through the entrance and exit points. Because it was not possible to know, it is not possible to know whether a vehicle traveling on an existing road is destined for the town, or just passing through the town with the destination as a destination. It was difficult to accurately examine the necessity of roads.
[0004]
Even if each vehicle is identified by a license plate, only the last four digits of the license plate can be read by visual inspection. Therefore, if there is a lot of traffic or the observation point covers a wide area, The probability of appearing is high, and accurate traffic flow cannot be grasped.
[0005]
In addition, such visual discrimination is a burden on the investigator, and it takes a lot of cost to collect observation data over a long period of time. In addition, the accuracy of the obtained data decreases because it is difficult to read especially at night. In addition, it was impossible to investigate road parts that are difficult for people to enter, such as expressways and elevated roads.
[0006]
The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a road traffic investigation method and system capable of easily grasping a passing traffic volume and the like with high accuracy.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The road traffic survey method according to the present invention is provided with license plate reading means for reading license plate information of vehicles passing through each point at a plurality of points on the road, and the license plate information read by the license plate reading means. Is stored together with the reading time, and the license plate information read at two different points among the plurality of points is collated to extract a vehicle that has passed through both of the two points. A passing time between the two points is obtained from the difference between the reading times at the points, and a vehicle whose passing time is less than or less than a predetermined maximum required passing time is specified as a simple passing vehicle between the two points. Is.
[0008]
According to such a road traffic investigation method, the license plate information of vehicles passing through a plurality of points is read by the license plate reading means, so that each vehicle can be identified and specified easily and accurately. For a vehicle that has passed through two different points, it is determined whether the vehicle simply passes between two points by comparing the passing time between the two points with a predetermined maximum required passing time. Can be identified.
[0009]
Thus, for example, by setting the entrance and exit points of an existing main road passing through a certain town as observation points where license plate reading means are installed, a vehicle passing through this road has that town as its destination. It is possible to grasp whether the vehicle is simply going through the town with the destination as the destination, and the necessity of the bypass road can be accurately examined.
[0010]
In addition, even if it is difficult for people on highways and elevated roads to enter, once the license plate reading means is installed, continuous observation data can be collected over a long period of time at low cost. .
[0011]
In addition, if an infrared illuminating means is installed together with the license plate reading means, and the license plate information of the running vehicle is illuminated by the infrared illuminating means and the license plate information is read by the license plate reading means, the driver Observation data can be easily collected with high accuracy even at night without disturbing the field of view.
[0012]
In such a road traffic survey method, it is desirable to set the maximum required transit time that varies depending on the time.
[0013]
In this way, even if the degree of congestion between the two points changes depending on the time and the time required for simply passing between the two points changes, the simple passing vehicle more accurately corresponds to this change. Can be specified.
[0014]
In the road traffic survey method, it is preferable that a distribution of passage times is obtained from the passage times for a plurality of vehicles, and the maximum required passage time is set based on the distribution.
[0015]
In this way, it is possible to set the maximum required transit time based on the actual situation on the basis of the time required for the plurality of vehicles to actually pass between the two points. Can be identified.
[0016]
Further, in the road traffic survey method, a distribution of passage times is obtained from the passage times for a plurality of vehicles whose passage times between the two points are close to each other, and the maximum required passage time that varies depending on the time is determined based on the distribution. It is desirable to set.
[0017]
In this way, since the maximum transit time reflecting the actual degree of congestion in the vicinity of the time when the vehicle judged whether or not it is a simple passing vehicle passes between the two points is set. A simple passing vehicle can be accurately identified.
[0018]
Note that the passage time between two points is two points, either as the reading time of either the upstream point or the downstream point of these two points, or as an intermediate time obtained by averaging them. As long as it is a representative time that can be uniquely determined as the passage time between them, various specifying means can be adopted.
[0019]
In the road traffic survey method, it is desirable to obtain the number of simply passing vehicles by adding up the number of simply passing vehicles.
[0020]
If it does in this way, the number of the simple passing vehicles between the two points can be grasped easily. Thereby, the actual state of passing traffic can be judged accurately.
[0021]
In the road traffic survey method, it is preferable that the simple passing vehicles are totaled for each passing time zone between the two points.
[0022]
If it does in this way, the number change according to the time of the simple passing vehicle between the two points can be grasped easily.
[0023]
Further, in the road traffic survey method, the simple passing vehicle is identified over a plurality of days, the license plate information of the simple passing vehicle for each day is stored, and the number plate of the simple passing vehicle on different days is stored. It is desirable to collate information and extract a regular passing vehicle passing between the second points.
[0024]
If it does in this way, the regular passing vehicle which passes between the two points frequently among simple passing vehicles can be grasped, and the actual situation of road traffic can be grasped.
[0025]
Further, in the road traffic survey method, the passing time between the two points is stored together with the license plate information of the simple passing vehicle for each of a plurality of days, and the number of the simple passing vehicle in substantially the same time zone on different days. It is desirable to collate plate information and extract a regular passing vehicle passing between the two points in substantially the same time zone.
[0026]
If it does in this way, the purpose of a regular passing vehicle etc. will be estimated from the passage time zone of a regular passing vehicle, and the actual condition of road traffic can be grasped more correctly. For example, it can be estimated that the two simple passing vehicles at a specific time zone in the morning almost every day as commuting vehicles.
[0027]
In the road traffic survey method, it is desirable to obtain the number of regularly passing vehicles by adding up the number of regularly passing vehicles.
[0028]
In this way, it is possible to easily grasp the number of regularly passing vehicles whose various purposes are presumed, and accurately determine the actual state of passing traffic.
[0029]
Moreover, in the said road traffic investigation method, the owner of the said regular passing vehicle is discriminate | determined from the license plate information of the said regular passing vehicle by collating the database memorize | stored in association with license plate information and owner information. It is desirable.
[0030]
If it does in this way, the various specific measures which aim at the improvement of the passing traffic state, such as encouraging the owner of the regular passing vehicle to use the public transportation can be achieved.
[0031]
In the road traffic inspection method, the license plate reading means is installed at three or more points on a continuous road, and the simple passing vehicles for each section sandwiched between adjacent points are collated between adjacent sections. It is desirable to specify the start point section and the end point section on the road of each simple passing vehicle.
[0032]
In this way, it is possible to grasp where each simple passing vehicle enters and exits from this continuous road, thereby more specifically grasping the actual state of passing traffic on the road. it can.
[0033]
In addition, when the start point section and the end point section on the road of each simple passing vehicle are specified in this way, the number of simple passing vehicles having the same passing area from the starting point section to the end point section is totaled, It is desirable to calculate the number of simply passing vehicles for each region.
[0034]
If it does in this way, the trend of a simple passing vehicle can be grasped easily in each passing field.
[0035]
In the above road traffic survey method, the license plate reading means is installed at three or more points on a continuous road, and for a plurality of simple passing vehicles for each section sandwiched between adjacent points, the passing time and each section It is desirable to obtain an average travel speed in each section from the distance, and to specify one or a plurality of sections where the average travel speed decreases as a frequent congestion section.
[0036]
In this way, it is possible to grasp frequent traffic congestion sections where frequent traffic congestion occurs on continuous roads, and to easily and accurately examine which sections of continuous roads should be improved, for example, to alleviate traffic congestion. it can.
[0037]
In this case, the average travel speed of each section may be obtained for each time zone, and a frequent traffic jam section may be specified for each time zone. In this way, the actual state of the passing traffic state can be grasped more specifically.
[0038]
In the road traffic survey method, when there are a plurality of selectable routes that move between two predetermined points, all of the plurality of routes and an upstream point of a branch point where the plurality of routes branch, and Alternatively, the license plate reading means is installed at a point on the branch route in all but one route, and at a downstream point of the junction where the plurality of routes meet, and between the upstream point and the downstream point. It is desirable to identify the simple passing vehicle for each of the plurality of selectable routes by comparing the license plate information of the simple passing vehicle with the license plate information of the vehicle that has passed the point on the route.
[0039]
In this way, when there are a plurality of selectable routes that move between two predetermined points, it is possible to easily and specifically grasp which route each of the two simple passing vehicles passes through. be able to. Thereby, for example, an accurate road plan can be performed, such as specifying a route having a high priority for which a traffic jam mitigation measure or the like should be taken.
[0040]
If the license plate reading means is not installed on one route among the points on the branch route, the point on the branch route where the number plate reading means is installed among the simple passing vehicles between the two predetermined points. A vehicle that has not passed any of the above can be determined as a vehicle that has passed a branch route in which the license plate reading means is not installed. If it does in this way, the actual condition of passing traffic can be grasped with few license plate reading means.
[0041]
The road traffic survey method according to the present invention includes an upstream point and a downstream point of the main road or the branch road when the branch road is branched after the branch road merges with the main road. License plate reading means for reading the license plate information of the vehicle passing through the vehicle is installed, the license plate information read by the license plate reading means is stored, and the license plate information read at the upstream side point and the downstream side point, respectively. Are extracted, a vehicle that passes only one of the upstream point and the downstream point is extracted, and the extracted vehicle is specified as a weaving traffic vehicle.
[0042]
In a weaving section, a weaving traffic vehicle that transitions from a main road to a main road or from a main road to a main road passes only one of the upstream and downstream points of the main road or the main road. To do. Therefore, according to the road traffic survey method, it is possible to identify such a weaving traffic vehicle and grasp the actual traffic in the weaving section.
[0043]
In particular, even in such a weaving section where entry of observers such as expressways and elevated roads is prohibited or restricted, the actual condition of the weaving traffic can be easily grasped.
[0044]
In addition, if license plate reading means is installed at at least three points out of a total of four points of the upstream and downstream points of the weaving section of the main road and branch roads, vehicles passing through the main road and branch roads It is preferable because all of the passing vehicle, the vehicle that shifts from the main road to the branch road, and the vehicle that shifts from the branch road to the main road can be grasped.
[0045]
The road traffic survey system according to the present invention is installed at a plurality of points on a road and reads license plate information of vehicles passing through each point, and each vehicle read by the license plate reading unit. Number storage means for storing the license plate information together with the reading time, and a passing vehicle for collating the license plate information read at two different points out of the plurality of points and extracting a vehicle that has passed through both of the two points Extraction means, passage time calculation means for obtaining a passage time between the two points from the difference between the reading times at the two points for each extracted vehicle, and the passage time is less than or less than a predetermined maximum required passage time Simple passing vehicle specifying means for specifying the vehicle as a simple passing vehicle between the two points; It is characterized in that it comprises.
[0046]
According to such a road traffic survey system, the above-described road traffic survey method can be suitably implemented.
[0047]
In addition, when the vehicle passes the downstream point of the two points, it is checked against the license plate information read at the upstream point, and when passing through both points, the passing time is immediately obtained. Then, the reading time at the downstream point may be temporarily stored as a working memory.
[0048]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
FIG. 1 is an overall conceptual diagram showing an embodiment of a road traffic survey system for realizing a road traffic survey method according to the present invention.
[0049]
As shown in this figure, this embodiment is an investigation system for specifying a simple passing vehicle that simply passes a road R crossing a certain town T.
[0050]
This survey system was read by license plate readers (number plate readers) 10 and 10 installed at the entrance point A and the exit point B of the town T on the road R, and these license plate readers 10 and 10, respectively. It comprises an analysis system 20 that performs various analyzes based on the license plate information.
[0051]
The license plate reading device 10 includes a camera device 11 configured by a CCD camera or the like, an infrared illumination device 12, and a personal computer 13 to which these are connected by a communication cable or the like. The personal computer 13 includes input / output means such as a display device, a keyboard, and a mouse, a CPU, an image processing board, a memory, a hard disk device, and the like. Functionally, the operation of the camera device 11 and the infrared illumination device 12 is performed. A camera control unit 14 for performing control, a number identification processing unit 15, a clock unit 16, a number storage unit (number storage means), 17 and the like are provided.
[0052]
The camera device 11 is installed at a position where the front surface of the vehicle passing through the point A on the road R can be captured, and intermittently captures images at 30 frames / second by a photographing means such as a CCD camera. The camera device 11 is connected to the personal computer 13 via a communication cable or the like, is controlled by the personal computer 13, and transmits captured image data to the personal computer 13.
[0053]
The infrared illumination device 12 is juxtaposed with the camera device 11 and irradiates infrared rays onto the area photographed by the camera device 11 so that a good image can be taken mainly without disturbing the driver's view at night. It is to make. This infrared illumination device 12 is also connected to the personal computer 13 via a communication cable or the like and is controlled by the personal computer 13.
[0054]
The camera control unit 14 controls the camera device 11 and the infrared illumination device 12 via the communication cable and the like based on the image processing state performed by the number identification processing unit 15 and time information from the clock unit 16. is there. More specifically, the camera apparatus 11 appropriately controls shooting conditions such as shooting timing and lens aperture amount, whether or not to perform infrared illumination, and the like.
[0055]
The number identification processing unit 15 is composed of an image processing board or the like, and whether the license plate image of the vehicle passing through the point A on the road R is included in the image data photographed by the camera device 11. If it is included, the license plate image is cut out to identify the license plate information. At this time, the captured image data is appropriately subjected to image processing in accordance with brightness information and the like, and the brightness information of the captured image data is used for subsequent shooting condition change in the camera device 11. The information is sent to the camera control unit 14.
[0056]
The clock unit 16 counts the current time.
[0057]
The number storage unit 17 stores the license plate information identified by the number identification processing unit 15 together with the current time (reading time) counted by the clock unit 16.
[0058]
The analysis system 20 includes a display device 201, a personal computer equipped with input / output means such as a keyboard and a mouse, a CPU, a memory, a hard disk device, and the like. Functionally, the analysis system 20 includes a receiving means 21, a passing vehicle extracting means 22, a passing time calculating means 23, a maximum required passing time setting means 24, a simple passing vehicle extracting means 25, and a simple passing vehicle. The number calculating means 26, the regular passing vehicle extracting means 27, the regular passing vehicle number calculating means 28, the vehicle owner inquiry means 29 and the like are provided.
[0059]
The receiving means 21 receives license plate information from the license plate readers 10 and 10. Specifically, for example, communication means for appropriately connecting to the license plate readers 10 and 10 via a communication line such as the Internet or a communication cable for data transfer, and the license plate information by the license plate readers 10 and 10. Can be constituted by a data reading means or the like for reading a recording medium such as a floppy disk.
[0060]
The passing vehicle extraction means 22 collates (matches) the license plate information read by the license plate readers 10 and 10 at the two points A and B, respectively, and is read at both the two points A and B. License plate vehicles are extracted as passing vehicles. At this time, a time sufficiently longer than the time required to pass through the two points A and B is set, and vehicles that have passed through the two points A and B with a difference greater than this time may be excluded. preferable. This time is different from the maximum required transit time described later. For example, if a vehicle passes through point A in the morning of a certain day and passes through point B in the afternoon of the following day, it is clearly not a simple passing vehicle. Therefore, such a vehicle is removed prior to the processing described later.
[0061]
The passing time calculation means 23 calculates the above-mentioned difference from the time (reading time) that passed through the two points A and B for each vehicle that passed through both the two points A and B extracted by the passing vehicle extraction means 22. The passage time between two points A and B is obtained.
[0062]
The maximum required transit time setting means 24 is based on the transit times for a plurality of vehicles that have passed through the two points A and B, and the maximum time required to simply pass through the two points A and B without detouring. The maximum required transit time is set as a value. The maximum required passing time is set by setting a plurality of time zones according to the passing time (reading time) of the observation point A located upstream in the traveling direction of the vehicle, and the passing times of the plurality of vehicles passing in each time zone. The distribution of the passage time is obtained from the above and is performed for each time zone based on this distribution. Details will be described later.
[0063]
The simple passing vehicle extraction means 25 identifies a vehicle having a passing time that is less than or less than the maximum required passing time from among passing vehicles as a simple passing vehicle. This simple passing vehicle is pure passing traffic that does not have a start / end point between the two points A and B, that is, passes between the two points A and B without taking a detour such as stopping by somewhere. is there.
[0064]
The simple passing vehicle number calculating means 26 calculates the number of simple passing vehicles by adding up the number of the simple passing vehicles. It is desirable to add up the number of simply passing vehicles for each time zone.
[0065]
The regular passing vehicle extraction means 27 stores the license plate information of the simple passing vehicle for each day when the simple passing vehicle is specified over a plurality of days, and the license plate number of the simple passing vehicle on different days is stored. Information is collated (matched), and a vehicle that frequently passes between the two points A and B is extracted as a regular passing vehicle. As for this regular passing vehicle, it is desirable to collate substantially the same time (same time zone) on different days and find a vehicle passing in the same time zone on a plurality of days.
[0066]
The regular passing vehicle number calculating means 28 calculates the number of regular passing vehicles by adding up the number of regular passing vehicles. It is desirable to add up the number of regularly passing vehicles for each time zone.
[0067]
The vehicle owner inquiry means 29 accesses an external database 40 or the like in which the license plate information and the vehicle owner information are stored in association with each other, and determines the owner of the regular passing vehicle. Specifically, the external database 40 can include public institutions that perform vehicle registration management, and the vehicle owner inquiry means 29 accesses such an external database 40 via a communication line such as the Internet. The configuration may be such that owner information is queried.
[0068]
Next, a specific procedure of the road traffic survey method in the road traffic survey system configured as described above will be described with reference to FIGS.
[0069]
FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the procedure of this road traffic survey method.
[0070]
In this investigation, license plate readers 10 and 10 are first installed in advance at predetermined observation points A and B (step S10). These license plate readers 10 and 10 are installed on structures such as pedestrian bridges and elevated roads over the road R, installed on sign gate pillars standing on the road shoulders, temporarily installed tripods, etc. If it is a position where a vehicle traveling on the road R can be captured, it can be installed at various positions. Moreover, it may be fixedly installed for a permanent survey or temporarily installed for a short-term survey. Moreover, if the camera apparatus 11 and the infrared illumination apparatus 12 are installed in the said position among the license plate readers 10 and 10, the personal computer 13 etc. should just be installed in arbitrary positions nearby.
[0071]
After the license plate readers 10 and 10 are installed, the license plates are read at the points A and B when a predetermined survey time comes (step S20). The read license plate information is stored together with the reading time (vehicle passing time at each point).
[0072]
When license plate information is accumulated after a predetermined investigation time has passed, observation data including license plate information and reading time is taken into analysis system 20 via a communication medium or a recording medium such as a floppy disk as appropriate. The acquisition of the observation data into the analysis system 20 may be performed in real time while the license plate readers 10 and 10 perform observation, or may be performed when observation data for a predetermined time, such as every hour, is prepared. Or, for example, after all the surveys for several days are completed, all observation data may be collected.
[0073]
The analysis system 20 that has obtained the observation data collates (matches) the license plate information read at both observation points A and B, and extracts passing vehicles that have passed both points A and B (step S30). .
[0074]
FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram conceptually showing this processing. As shown in this figure, the observation data at each of the observation points A and B includes license plate information read together with the passage time (reading time) of each of the points A and B. The verification of the license plate information at both points A and B is performed by extracting the same license plate information from these observation data.
[0075]
For example, in a section that can normally pass in about 10 minutes, it is clear that a vehicle that took one hour or more to pass is not a simple passing traffic. For this reason, in order to exclude such vehicles from the subsequent processing targets, for each vehicle, data having a passage time of the downstream point B within a predetermined time (for example, one hour) with respect to the passage time of the upstream point A. It is desirable to collate only.
[0076]
Subsequently, for each matched passing vehicle, the passing time required from the point A to the point B is calculated from the difference between the passing times of the points A and B (step S40).
[0077]
When the passing time of each passing vehicle is thus calculated, the passing time distribution is obtained for each time zone for a plurality of vehicles that have passed between both points A and B in each time zone (step S50). This time zone is, for example, from 8 o'clock to 9 o'clock, from 9 o'clock to 10 o'clock,..., For example, from 8 o'clock to 9 o'clock, 8:30 to 9 o'clock Up to 30 minutes, from 9 o'clock to 10 o'clock, and so on may be set to overlap in adjacent time zones. In addition, as the passing time of each passing vehicle, the passing time of the upstream point A or the downstream point B may be adopted, or an intermediate time such as an average time of the passing times of both the points A and B may be adopted. .
[0078]
FIG. 4 is an example illustrating the distribution of passage times. In this figure, the horizontal axis represents the passing time of each vehicle, and the vertical axis represents the number of vehicles at that passing time. In this example, a lot of passing vehicles will be at both points A. It turns out that it passes between B. It is assumed that a vehicle passing for an extremely long time from about 10 minutes has detoured. In addition, if the vehicle passing in an extremely short time from around 10 minutes is not a runaway vehicle, it is assumed that it is a license plate reading error.
[0079]
Subsequently, based on the distribution of the passage time, the maximum required passage time is set as the maximum value of the time required to simply pass between the two points A and B at each time (step S60).
[0080]
Specifically, based on, for example, the peak time (10 minutes in FIG. 4) of the distribution of the passage time, a range in which the average required time becomes this peak time is obtained, and the time corresponding to the upper limit side of this range (in FIG. 4) 22 minutes) is set as the maximum required transit time. Alternatively, a distribution function such as a normal distribution or a Poisson distribution is approximated based on the peak time, a predetermined range in the approximated distribution function (for example, a range including 95% of the center side of the distribution) is obtained, and the predetermined range Even if the time corresponding to the upper limit side is set as the maximum required transit time (17 minutes when 95% of the Poisson distribution in FIG. 4 and 15 minutes when 95% (2σ) of the normal distribution is used) Good.
[0081]
In this case, it is desirable to set the time corresponding to the lower limit side of the predetermined range as the minimum required passing time in order to avoid an inappropriate result by excluding a license plate reading error or the like. In addition, once the maximum required transit time and minimum required transit time are set, except for those that exceed or exceed the maximum required transit time, and those that are less than or less than the minimum required transit time, only the data within both time ranges are revised. Find the transit time distribution, compare this with the above approximate distribution function, and if the error exceeds a predetermined tolerance, change the approximate distribution function to be used or change the range (95%, etc.) It is desirable to set the maximum required transit time and the minimum required transit time again.
[0082]
If the maximum required transit time for each time zone is set in this way, it is determined whether the transit time of each passing vehicle is less than or less than the maximum required transit time of the corresponding time zone, and If it is less, the vehicle is specified as a simple passing vehicle (step S70).
[0083]
In the example shown in FIG. 3, the passing vehicles “Osaka 40 to 222X” and “Kobe 31 to 333X” have a passing time of 9 minutes and 10 minutes, respectively, so the maximum set in the example of FIG. According to the required passing time, the passing vehicle “Naniwa 58 s 111X” is identified as a simple passing vehicle, and the passing time is 53 minutes.
[0084]
In addition, when the minimum required passage time is set, it is desirable that the minimum required passage time is also exceeded or exceeded as a condition for specifying a simple passing vehicle.
[0085]
When each time zone is set so that the times overlap in adjacent time zones as described above when obtaining the maximum required transit time, the maximum required transit time for each time zone is the middle of each time zone. What is necessary is just to apply to the passing vehicle which passed in this time range. Specifically, for example, the maximum required transit time obtained from a passing vehicle from 8:00 to 9:00 applies to a vehicle that has passed from 8:15 to 8:45, and from 8:30 to 9:30 The maximum required transit time obtained from the passing vehicle may be applied to a vehicle that has passed from 8:45 to 9:15.
[0086]
Thus, if the maximum required passing time is set and it is determined whether or not it is a simple passing vehicle, the time when each vehicle that is determined whether or not it is a simple passing vehicle passes between the two points S1 and S2. Therefore, it is possible to accurately identify a simple passing vehicle.
[0087]
Next, a more specific method for analyzing the investigation result based on the information on the simple passing vehicle thus identified will be described.
[0088]
As described above, since a simple passing vehicle is a vehicle that has passed both points A and B without detouring, there is no need for the town T between the points A and B, and the vehicle passes through the town T. If there is a bypass road connecting both points A and B, there is a high possibility of using this.
[0089]
Therefore, if such a simple passing vehicle is specified, it is possible to provide a material for determining the necessity and effectiveness of a highly reliable bypass road.
[0090]
In this case, the simple passing vehicle number may be calculated by the simple passing vehicle number calculating means 26 based on the specified simple passing vehicle information. More precisely and specifically, it is desirable to sum up the number of simply passing vehicles by time zone and by day of the week.
[0091]
FIG. 5 is a screen example in which the number of simply passing vehicles calculated in this way is output to a display or the like. The graph in this figure shows the time on the horizontal axis and the number of simple passing vehicles on the vertical axis. ○ The solid line on the plot represents Monday (weekdays), and the dashed line on the x plot represents the state on Sundays (holidays). Show. In this example, it is understood that there are an average of 4530 simple passing vehicles per day, and the necessity and effectiveness of the bypass road can be specifically examined based on this numerical value. In addition, since data by time zone and day of the week are presented, for example, depending on the peak number of simple passing vehicles in the commuting hours on Monday (weekdays), the size of the bypass road (number of lanes) etc. Can be provided.
[0092]
Further, in order to grasp the actual condition of road traffic more specifically, the simple passing vehicle is specified over a plurality of days, and the license plate information of the simple passing vehicle for each day is stored, and the regular passing is performed. It is desirable that the vehicle extraction means 27 collates the license plate information of the simple passing vehicle on different days to extract a regular passing vehicle that passes between the two points A and B in a steady manner.
[0093]
In this way, it is possible to grasp a regular passing vehicle that frequently passes between the two points A and B among the simple passing vehicles.
[0094]
Further, in order to estimate the purpose of a regular passing vehicle that is constantly passing between the two points A and B and to grasp the actual condition of road traffic more specifically, the number of the simple passing vehicles for each day The passage time between the two points is stored together with the plate information, and the regular plate passing vehicle extraction means 27 collates the license plate information of the simple passing vehicles at substantially the same time zone on different days, It is desirable to extract a regular passing vehicle passing through the vehicle at substantially the same time zone.
[0095]
If it does in this way, it can presume as a vehicle for the purpose of commuting, etc. of the above-mentioned two simple passing vehicles at a specific time zone of morning almost every day.
[0096]
In addition, when the regular passing vehicles are extracted in this way, it is desirable that the number of regularly passing vehicles is further summed up by the regular passing vehicle number calculating means 28 to obtain the number of regularly passing vehicles.
[0097]
In this way, it is possible to easily grasp the number of regularly passing vehicles whose various purposes are presumed, and to accurately determine the actual state of passing traffic.
[0098]
If the regular passing vehicle is extracted, the vehicle owner inquiry means 29 collates the external database 40 in which the license plate information and the owner information are stored in association with each other, whereby the license plate information of the regular passing vehicle is obtained. It is desirable to determine the owner of the regular passing vehicle.
[0099]
If it does in this way, the various specific measures which aim at the improvement of the passing traffic state, such as encouraging the owner of the regular passing vehicle to use the public transportation can be achieved.
[0100]
Next, an embodiment of a road traffic investigation method based on observation data at three or more observation points by installing license plate readers (number plate reading means) 10 at three or more observation points will be described. .
[0101]
FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a road traffic survey using one main road R as a survey target route.
On this road R, nine cross sections S11 to S19 are taken as observation points, and license plate readers 10 are installed respectively. And based on the observation data in each of these observation points S11 to S19, the road traffic state in each section A to H sandwiched between the observation points is analyzed.
[0102]
The license plate reading device 10 in this embodiment is configured in the same manner as the above-described embodiment. That is, the license plate information of the vehicle passing through each observation point over a predetermined survey time is read, stored along with the read time, and the stored observation data is sent to the analysis system 20 at a predetermined timing.
[0103]
The analysis system 20 is also configured in substantially the same manner as in the above-described embodiment. Based on the observation data received by the receiving unit 21, the passing vehicle extracting unit is provided for each of the sections A to H between two adjacent observation points. 22 extracts passing vehicles, the passing time calculation means 23 obtains the passing time of each passing vehicle, the maximum required passing time setting means 24 sets the maximum required passing time, and the simple passing vehicle specifying means 25 sets the sections A to A simple passing vehicle for each H is specified.
[0104]
That is, in this embodiment, the observation data at the intermediate observation points S12 to S18 are used redundantly as data for specifying the simple passing vehicle in the upstream section and the downstream section of each observation point.
[0105]
The analysis system 20 further calculates the number of simply passing vehicles for each passing area and the inter-section matching means 31 for matching simple passing vehicles between adjacent sections and the number of simply passing vehicles having the same passing area. Means 32, average travel speed calculation means 33 for calculating the average travel speed of simple passing vehicles in each section, and frequent traffic congestion sections for identifying sections in each section where traffic congestion is frequently occurring as frequent traffic congestion sections Specifying means 34.
[0106]
The inter-section collating means 31 collates simple passing vehicles for each section sandwiched between adjacent points between adjacent sections, and specifies the start point section and the end point section on the road R of each simple passing vehicle. is there.
[0107]
FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a process for specifying the start point and end point of a simple passing vehicle by the inter-section checking means 31.
[0108]
As shown in this figure, the simple passing vehicle in each section AH between adjacent observation points is already specified by the observation data at each observation point S11-S19.
[0109]
Here, “Naniwa 70-ke 555X” is specified as a simple passing vehicle in each of the B section and the C section. Since the section B and the section C are adjacent sections, the section comparison unit 31 matches the simple passing vehicles in both sections, and the “Naniwa 70-ke 555X” is specified in both sections, and B Since the time of leaving the section (the time observed at the point S13) and the time entering the C section (the time observed at the point S13) match, this vehicle continuously moves from the B section to the C section. You can see that In addition, the A section, the B section, the C section, and the D section are adjacent to each other. However, in the collation between these sections, the “Naniwa 70 555X” does not match. When these verification results are combined, it is specified that this vehicle “Naniwa 70ke 555X” has the start section in the A section on the upstream side of the B section and the end section in the D section on the downstream side of the C section. The
[0110]
In this way, it is possible to grasp where each simple passing vehicle enters and exits from this continuous road, thereby more specifically grasping the actual state of passing traffic on the road. Can do.
[0111]
Of course, for a vehicle that has passed only one of the observation points S11 to S19, the upstream section of that point is the starting point section on this road R, and the downstream section is the end point section. For example, in the vehicle observed only at the point S12, the section A is the start section and the section B is the end section.
[0112]
If the starting point section and the ending point section of each simple passing vehicle are specified as described above, the simple passing vehicle number calculation means 32 for each passing area has the same starting point section and the ending point section (the same passing area). The number of vehicles is obtained for each passing area.
[0113]
Note that the number of vehicles having the same start point section and end point section can be obtained for a vehicle detected at only one of the observation points S11 to S19.
[0114]
FIG. 8 is an example of a screen that displays the number of simply passing vehicles (and vehicles detected at only one of the observation points S11 to S19) for each passing region. In this figure, only sections A to D are shown.
[0115]
As shown in this figure, by calculating the number of vehicles for each passing area, it is easy to combine the trends of simple passing vehicles in each passing area and the vehicles detected at only one of the observation points S11 to S19. I can grasp it.
[0116]
The average travel speed calculating means 33 specifies the simple passing vehicle for each section A to H by the simple passing vehicle specifying means 25, and then determines each section A from the passing times of a plurality of simple passing vehicles in each section A to H. The average travel speed of the simple passing vehicle at ~ H is calculated.
[0117]
Specifically, in the case of the section A, the travel speed is calculated by dividing the distance of the section A (the distance between the points S11 and S12) by the passing time of each simple passing vehicle that has passed the section A. This may be averaged for a plurality of simple passing vehicles.
[0118]
This average travel speed is preferably obtained for each time zone in order to grasp the change in traffic trends depending on the time zone. Moreover, in order to grasp the change by a day of the week etc., it is desirable to obtain for every day of the week, for example.
[0119]
FIG. 9 is an example of a screen output showing the transition of the average travel speed determined in this way. FIG. 9 (a) is tabulated for each time zone, and FIG. 9 (b) is tabulated for each day of the week.
[0120]
As shown in this figure, when the average travel speed is obtained for each section, it can be grasped in which section it is congested. In addition, roads such as which time zone will be crowded if aggregated by time zone, how the congestion of a certain section will affect adjacent sections, and what time zone will be crowded will be alleviated, etc. It is possible to easily grasp the temporal transition of traffic. Further, by counting by day of the week, it is possible to easily grasp how congestion occurs on weekdays and holidays.
[0121]
The frequent traffic jam section specifying unit 34 identifies, as the frequent traffic jam section, a section in which traffic jam is expected from the average travel speed of the sections A to H.
[0122]
Specifically, by comparing the average travel speed of each section A to H with an adjacent section, a section where the average travel speed falls below a certain threshold is obtained, and this section is specified as a frequent congestion section.
[0123]
In FIG. 9 (a), the average travel speed is lower in the C section and the F section than in the adjacent sections, and traffic congestion occurs because the average travel speed is 15 km / h or less in these sections. It is estimated that traffic congestion occurs frequently in such sections.
[0124]
When the frequent traffic congestion section is identified in this way, it is possible to grasp the frequent traffic congestion section where the traffic congestion frequently occurs on the continuous road R, for example, which section of the continuous road should be improved in order to reduce the traffic congestion. And can be considered accurately.
[0125]
Next, an embodiment will be described in which, when there are a plurality of selectable routes that move between two predetermined points, it is investigated which route each of the two simple passing vehicles passes through.
[0126]
FIG. 10 shows which route is a simple passing vehicle moving between these cities C1 and C2 when there are roads R1 to R3 as selectable routes between the city (point) C1 and the city (point) C2. An example in the case of investigating whether to select is shown.
[0127]
In this example, the upstream point S21 of the branch point P1 where the roads R1 to R3 branch, the branch route upper points S22 and S23 in all of the branching roads R1 to R3 except R3, and the roads R1 to R3 are The downstream side point S24 of the merging point P2 where the merging is made is an observation point, and the number plate reading device 10 is installed in each. Based on the observation data at these observation points S21 to S24, the analysis system 20 analyzes the road traffic state between the two cities C1 and C2.
[0128]
The license plate reading device 10 in this embodiment is configured in the same manner as the above-described embodiment. That is, the license plate information of the vehicle passing through each observation point over a predetermined survey time is read, stored along with the read time, and the stored observation data is sent to the analysis system 20 at a predetermined timing.
[0129]
The analysis system 20 is also configured in substantially the same manner as the above-described embodiment. Specifically, first, the receiving means 21 receives observation data from each license plate reader 10.
[0130]
And between the upstream point S21 and the downstream point S24, the passing vehicle extracting means 22 extracts passing vehicles between them, the passing time calculating means 23 obtains the passing time of each passing vehicle, and sets the maximum required passing time. The means 24 sets the maximum required passing time, and the simple passing vehicle specifying means 25 specifies the simple passing vehicle between the upstream side point S21 and the downstream side point S24.
[0131]
That is, in this embodiment, a simple passing vehicle is specified only between the upstream side point S21 and the downstream side point S24 among the four observation points. The simple passing vehicle specified in this way is a vehicle that moves without detouring from the city C1 to the city C2.
[0132]
The analysis system 20 further obtains the license plate information of the vehicle specified as a simple passing vehicle between the upstream side point S21 and the downstream side point S24, and the license plate number of the vehicle that has passed the route upper points S22, S23. A selection route specifying means 35 for specifying a simple passing vehicle for each of the plurality of selectable roads R1 to R3 by collating with information is provided.
[0133]
FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of processing by the selected route specifying means 35. In this figure, the reading time of each point data is omitted.
[0134]
As shown in this figure, in the state where the simple passing vehicle between S21 and S24 is specified by the simple passing vehicle specifying means 25, the selected route specifying means 35 routes the license plate information of each of these simple passing vehicles. The license plate information of the vehicles that have passed the upper points S22 and S23 is collated. A simple passing vehicle that matches the data of the route upper point S22 is a vehicle that has passed the road (route) R1, and a simple passing vehicle that matches the data of the route upper point S23 is a vehicle that has passed the road (route) R2. As described above, the simple passing vehicle that does not match the data of any of the route upper points S22 and S23 is specified as a vehicle that has passed the road (route) R3.
[0135]
In this way, when there are a plurality of selectable roads R1 to R3 that move between the predetermined two points C1 and C2, the simple passing vehicles at these two points C1 and C2 pass through any of the routes R1 to R3. It is possible to easily and concretely understand what is being done. Thereby, for example, an accurate road plan can be performed, such as specifying a route having a high priority for which a traffic jam mitigation measure or the like should be taken.
[0136]
In addition, by not installing the license plate reading means 10 on one route R3 among the points on the branch route, there is an advantage that the actual state of passing traffic can be grasped with a small number of license plate reading means.
[0137]
Next, an embodiment for investigating the actual state of traffic in such a weaving section when there is a weaving section that branches after the branch road joins the main road will be described.
[0138]
FIG. 12 shows an example of investigating how each car passes through this weaving section in a weaving section that branches after the branch road merges with the main road.
[0139]
In this example, the upstream point S31 and the downstream point S32 of the weaving section of the main road and the upstream point S33 and the downstream point S34 of the weaving section of the branch road are the observation points, and the numbers Plate readers 10 are installed. And based on the observation data in each of these observation points S31 to S34, the analysis system 20 analyzes the road traffic state in the weaving section.
[0140]
The license plate reading device 10 in this embodiment is configured in the same manner as the above-described embodiment. That is, the license plate information of the vehicle passing through each observation point is read over a predetermined survey time, and the stored observation data is sent to the analysis system 20 at a predetermined timing.
[0141]
In this embodiment, there is no portion where each vehicle detours in the weaving section, and all are simple passing vehicles on main roads or branch roads. Therefore, the reading time for determining whether or not the passing vehicle is a simple passing vehicle. The storage is not necessarily performed. However, when collating observation data at a plurality of observation points S31 to S34 in the analysis system 20, in order to collate data at adjacent times in order to increase collation speed and collation accuracy, the reading time may be stored. desirable.
[0142]
The analysis system 20 is also configured in substantially the same manner as the above-described embodiment. However, as described above, in this embodiment, since each vehicle passing through the weaving section is a simple passing vehicle, the calculation of the passing time of each passing vehicle, the setting of the maximum required passing time, and the simple passing vehicle The identification is not necessarily performed.
[0143]
That is, in this embodiment, in the analysis system 20, the receiving means 21 receives the observation data from each license plate reading device 10..., And based on this observation data, the passing vehicle extraction means 22 is used for each observation point S31 to S34. Extract passing vehicles between. It can be said that the passing vehicle thus extracted is a simple passing vehicle between the observation points S31 to S34.
[0144]
Specifically, the passing vehicle extracting means 22 detects the vehicle passing through the weaving section at the vehicle a passing only the main road detected at the observation points S31 and S32 and at the observation points S31 and S34. A vehicle b moving from the main road to the branch road, a vehicle c moving from the branch road detected at the observation points S33 and S32 to the main road, and a vehicle d passing only through the branch road detected at the observation points S33 and S34 And will be classified as follows.
[0145]
The analysis system 20 further includes a vehicle b that shifts from the main road to the branch road and a vehicle c that shifts from the branch road to the main road for each vehicle (simple passing vehicle) thus classified. Weaving traffic vehicle specifying means 36 specified as follows.
[0146]
The vehicle specified as the weaving traffic vehicle is likely to cause traffic jams in such a weaving section. Therefore, if a weaving traffic vehicle is specified in this way, the actual state of road traffic in such a weaving section can be easily grasped and used for a plan for alleviating congestion in the weaving section.
[0147]
Further, if such a woven traffic vehicle is specified, it is desirable to obtain the number of vehicles. If the number of woven traffic vehicles is thus obtained, the actual traffic in the woven section can be grasped more specifically.
[0148]
Further, if the number of vehicles a to d described above is obtained, the actual traffic condition in the weaving section can be grasped more specifically.
[0149]
In particular, the weaving section is often prohibited or restricted by observers such as expressways and elevated roads. According to this embodiment, even in such a weaving section, the license plate reading device If 10 ... is installed, the actual condition of the weaving traffic can be easily grasped.
[0150]
In addition, the weaving traffic vehicle is either a main road to a branch road or a main road to a main road, and upstream and downstream points of the weaving section of the main road or branch road. Pass only one of them.
[0151]
Therefore, in this embodiment, the license plate reading means 10 are installed at four points on the upstream side and the downstream side from the weaving section of both the main road and the branch road. However, if only the weaving traffic vehicle is specified. For either one of the main road or the branch road, the license plate reading means 10 and 10 may be installed at two points on the upstream side and the downstream side of the weaving section.
[0152]
In this case, for example, if the license plate reading devices 10 and 10 are provided only at the upstream side point S33 and the downstream side point S34 from the weaving section of the branch road, the weaving traffic vehicle specifying means 36 can connect the upstream side point S33 and the downstream side point. The license plate information read in S34 is collated to extract a vehicle that passes only one of the upstream point S33 and the downstream point S34, and the extracted vehicle is specified as a weaving traffic vehicle. That's fine.
[0153]
Further, if license plate reading means 10 are installed at at least three points out of a total of four points on the upstream side and downstream side of the weaving section of the main road and branch roads, vehicles passing through the main road, branch lines It is possible to grasp all of the vehicles passing through the road, the vehicles moving from the main road to the branch road, and the vehicles moving from the branch road to the main road.
[0154]
As mentioned above, although this invention was demonstrated according to embodiment, the road traffic investigation method and this system concerning this invention are not limited to the said embodiment, You may comprise as follows.
[0155]
(1) In the above embodiment, the maximum required transit time is obtained from actual observation data, but an appropriate time may be set in advance. In this case, it is desirable to set a different maximum required transit time for each time zone depending on the degree of congestion assumed according to the time.
[0156]
(2) In the above embodiment, one license plate reader (number plate reader) 10 is installed at each observation point. However, when there are multiple lanes on the road to be investigated, each lane It is desirable to install in. Further, even in the case of one lane, a plurality of units may be installed to read the license plate more reliably and the same vehicle may be read redundantly.
[0157]
(3) In the above embodiment, various analyzes are performed by the analysis system 20 configured by a computer different from the personal computer included in each license plate reading means 10..., But the function of the analysis system 20 in the above embodiment May be realized by a computer of one or a plurality of license plate reading means 10.
[0158]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the road traffic survey method according to the present invention, the license plate information of the vehicles passing through a plurality of points is read by the license plate reading means, so that each vehicle is identified and specified easily and accurately. For a vehicle that has passed through two different points, it is determined whether the vehicle simply passes between two points by comparing the passing time between the two points with a predetermined maximum required passing time. can do.
[0159]
Thus, for example, by setting the entrance and exit points of an existing main road passing through a certain town as observation points where license plate reading means are installed, a vehicle passing through this road has that town as its destination. It is possible to grasp whether the vehicle is simply going through the town with the destination as the destination, and the necessity of the bypass road can be accurately examined.
[0160]
  In addition, even if it is difficult for people on highways and elevated roads to enter, once the license plate reading means is installed, continuous observation data can be collected over a long period of time at low cost. .And according to the road traffic investigation method concerning this invention, the regular passing vehicle which is passing between the two points frequently among simple passing vehicles can be grasped, and the actual situation of road traffic can be grasped.
[0161]
Moreover, according to the road traffic investigation system concerning this invention, the said road traffic investigation method can be implemented suitably.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an overall conceptual diagram showing an embodiment of a road traffic survey system according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a procedure of a road traffic investigation method according to the present invention.
FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram conceptually showing extraction processing of passing vehicles that have passed two points A and B. FIG.
FIG. 4 is an example illustrating a distribution of passing times of passing vehicles.
FIG. 5 is a screen output example of the number of simply passing vehicles.
FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a road traffic survey in which one main road R is a survey target route.
FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of processing for specifying a start point section and an end point section of a simple passing vehicle.
FIG. 8 is an example of a screen that displays the number of simply passing vehicles for each passing area.
FIGS. 9A and 9B are screen output examples showing changes in average travel speed, where FIG. 9A is a tabulated by time zone, and FIG. 9B is a tabulated by day of the week.
FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of an investigation when there are a plurality of selectable routes.
FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of processing for specifying a route (road) through which a simple passing vehicle has passed;
FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a survey in a weaving section.
[Explanation of symbols]
10 License plate reader (number plate reader)
11 Camera device
12 Infrared illumination device
13 Personal computer
14 Camera control unit
15 Number identification processing part
16 Clock part
17 Number storage (number storage means)
20 Analysis system
201 Display device
21 Receiving means
22 Passing vehicle extraction means
23 Passing time calculation means
24 Maximum travel time setting means
25 Simple passing vehicle extraction means
26 Simple passing vehicle number calculation means
27 Regular passing vehicle extraction means
28 Means for calculating the number of regularly passing vehicles
29 Vehicle owner inquiry means
31 Inter-section verification means
32 Simple Passing Vehicle Number Calculation Means by Passing Area
33 Average travel speed calculation means
34 Means to identify frequent traffic congestion sections
35 Selected route identification means
36 Weaving traffic vehicle identification means
40 External database
R road
T town
A, B observation point

Claims (9)

At a plurality of points on the road, license plate reading means for reading the license plate information of vehicles passing through each point is installed, and the number plate information read by the number plate reading means is stored together with the reading time, The number plate information read at two different points among the points is collated to extract a vehicle that has passed through both of the two points, and for each of the extracted vehicles, the difference between the reading times at the two points is used as the 2 In a road traffic survey method for obtaining a transit time between points and identifying a vehicle having a transit time less than or less than a predetermined maximum required transit time as a simple transit vehicle between the two points,
The simple passing vehicle is identified over a plurality of days, the license plate information of the simple passing vehicle for each day is stored, the license plate information of the simple passing vehicle on different days is collated, and the second point traffic survey methods and extracting the regular passing vehicle which passes between.  The road traffic investigation method according to claim 1, wherein the maximum required transit time varies depending on time.  The road traffic investigation method according to claim 1, wherein a distribution of passage times is obtained from the passage times for a plurality of vehicles, and the maximum required passage time is set based on the distribution.  4. A distribution of passage times is obtained from the passage times for a plurality of vehicles having close passage times between the two points, and the maximum required passage time that differs depending on the time is set based on the distribution. The road traffic survey method described.  The road traffic investigation method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the number of simple passing vehicles is totaled to obtain the number of simple passing vehicles.  6. The road traffic investigation method according to claim 5, wherein the number of simply passing vehicles is totaled for each passing time zone between the two points. The passing time between the two points is stored together with the number plate information of the simple passing vehicle for each of a plurality of days, and the number plate information of the simple passing vehicles at substantially the same time zone on different days is collated. The road traffic investigation method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein a regular passing vehicle that passes between them in substantially the same time zone is extracted. The road traffic investigation method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the number of regularly passing vehicles is obtained by summing up the number of regularly passing vehicles. Any one of 1 to 7 , wherein the owner of the regular passing vehicle is determined from the license plate information of the regular passing vehicle by collating a database in which the license plate information and the owner information are stored in association with each other. road traffic survey method according to one of claims or.

Images