JP2003317188A - Information service providing system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an information service providing system which can send and receive information of music, a moving picture, etc., even when the time of passage through a beacon service area is short. <P>SOLUTION: When a vehicle 6 travels on a road 5, a moving VICS transmitter receiver 7 on the vehicle receives specified information which is stored on a specified information server 3 and large in information amount in divisions among a plurality of beacon terminals 4 (4a, 4b, and 4c). The specified information which is divided and sent is outputted by a speaker or on a display when all obtained. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an information service providing system capable of providing specific information other than road traffic information to a vehicle traveling on a road by using a road traffic information communication system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A road traffic information communication system is a system for appropriately transmitting road traffic information such as accident information and traffic congestion information to a vehicle traveling on a road.
ICS (Vehicle Information and Communication Syst)
em) has been put to practical use.

The VICS is a system for transmitting the above road traffic information to a vehicle traveling on the road via an optical beacon or a radio wave beacon installed on the road, and the road traffic information to be transmitted is: It is generated based on information collected by a vehicle detector or a remote control camera managed by a road administrator or the like, and is transmitted via a beacon, for example, about every 5 minutes.

The basic function of the VICS is to appropriately provide road traffic information to a vehicle traveling on a road. By using this, interactive communication with the vehicle is enabled, A system that can provide various information in response to a request from a vehicle is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Hei 20
No. 00-298798. In this system, the reservation information of the restaurant is transmitted from the vehicle side to the center via the VICS beacon, and the information such as the reservation result is transmitted to the vehicle in the subsequent beacon service area (the area where the beacon enables communication). Send.

The device disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 10-188195 discloses a device that provides information other than road traffic information to a vehicle via a beacon.

[0006]

However, in a system that transmits information to a vehicle traveling on a road via a beacon, the vehicle passes through the beacon service area for an extremely short time, so that the vehicle passes through that area. The amount of information that the vehicle can obtain in time is not very large. Therefore, in the devices disclosed in JP 2000-298798 A and JP 10-188195 A, the information that can be transmitted / received when the vehicle passes through the beacon is limited to text, graphics, and the like. However, it was not possible to send and receive a large amount of information such as moving images.

The present invention has been made in view of the above, and an object of the present invention is to provide an information service providing system capable of transmitting and receiving information such as music and moving images even when the time for passing through the beacon service area is short. is there.

[0008]

The information service providing system of the present invention utilizes VICS and connects a specific information server to the road traffic information control center of VICS.
The specific information server has a small amount of information (small size)
Unlike road traffic information, it stores specific information with a large amount of information (large size) such as music and images. This specific information has an amount of information that cannot be transmitted at a time at the communication speed between vehicles using the beacon. In the information service providing system of the present invention, the specific information is divided and transmitted by a plurality of beacon terminals installed on the road, and the specific information that has been divided and transmitted on the vehicle side is restored to the original specific information. I am trying to output it. Therefore, as long as the vehicle is traveling on the road and can pass through the plurality of beacon terminals, specific information having a large amount of information such as music and images can be transmitted in addition to the road traffic information. In addition, with the beacon terminal of the present invention,
It has a function to judge and process the contents of transmission / reception information together with a transmission / reception unit such as an optical beacon and a radio beacon.

As a method of the above-mentioned division transmission, it is desirable that the vehicle-mounted device provided in the vehicle is configured to notify each beacon terminal of the reception start point of the specific information each time it enters each beacon service area. The reason why such a method is desirable is that it cannot be guaranteed that the received information amount of the vehicle is constant during the transit time of each beacon service area. For example, even if reception is successful in one beacon service area, reception may fail in the next beacon service area, and since the transit time of the beacon service area is not constant depending on the vehicle speed, each beacon service area This is because the amount of received information may differ for each passing area.

The specific information registered in the specific information server may be segment information previously divided into fixed lengths, or may be information in a state where it is not divided.
In the former case, the transmission / reception of the specific information between the road traffic information control center and the vehicle-mounted device is performed in a segment unit for each passage of the beacon service area, and in the latter case, it is performed with a variable length every passage of the beacon service area. Therefore, the reception start point becomes a segment number when transmitting / receiving in fixed length segment units, and becomes information indicating a bit position of specific information when transmitting / receiving in a variable length.

[0011]

1 is a block diagram of an information service providing system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

A road traffic information server 2 and a specific information server 3 are connected to the VICS center 1. The road traffic information server 2 mainly stores road traffic information such as traffic congestion information and regulation information. The specific information server 3 is information such as music, voice, sound effects, maps, and the like, which has a larger amount of information (larger size) than road traffic information and can be divided and transmitted. These information are MP3,
It is compressed by an appropriate standard such as MPEG2 or JPEG.

The VICS center 1 has a plurality of beacon terminals 4 (4) equipped with fixed VICS transceivers (beacons).
a, 4b, 4c ...) are connected to each beacon terminal 4
Are installed at predetermined locations on the road 5. The beacon communicates with the mobile VICS transceiver 7 mounted on the vehicle 6 using light (infrared rays) or radio waves as a medium. That is, when the vehicle 6 passes through the beacon service area (communicable area) of the beacon terminal 4, the beacon terminal 4 detects the vehicle 6 and moves the predetermined road traffic information stored in the road traffic information server 2 to the VICS. It transmits to the transceiver 7. In the present embodiment, in addition to this road traffic information, the specific information stored in the specific information server 3 is also transmitted via the beacon terminal 4. The specific information stored in the specific information server 3 has a larger amount of information than the road traffic information, and one beacon terminal 4 cannot transmit all the specific information to the mobile VICS transceiver 7. Therefore, in the present embodiment, this specific information is divided into a plurality of beacon terminals 4a, 4b, ...
It transmits to the mobile VICS transceiver 7 of the table. As one effective method for realizing this, the mobile VICS transceiver 7 notifies the beacon terminal 4 of the reception start point when the vehicle 6 comes to the beacon service area. When the beacon terminal 4 receives the notification of the reception start point, the beacon terminal 4 extracts the information from the reception start point from the specific information server 3 and transmits the information. Therefore, for example, as shown in FIG. 1, when one road 5 is sequentially installed like a beacon 4a, a beacon 4b, and a beacon 4c, the specific information is divided by each beacon terminal 4 and transmitted. Then, the vehicle 6 receives these divided specific information one after another by the mobile VICS transceiver 7, restores them to the original one specific information at the stage when all are collected, and outputs such as reproduction. .

The specific information may be information related to road traffic information or information not related to the road traffic information. The related information includes, for example, voice guidance information and sound effects for outputting road traffic information by voice, or map information related to road traffic information. Specific information that is not related to road traffic information includes music information and arbitrary advertisement image information.

FIG. 2 shows a mobile VICS mounted on a vehicle 6.
It is a block diagram of a transceiver 7. The transmission / reception unit 10 receives the data transmitted by the beacon terminal 4 and transmits the reception start point of the specific information to the beacon terminal 4. The storage device 11 is a device for storing and storing the received road traffic information and specific information. voice/
The musical sound reproducing unit 12 is a device which expands the received specific information and reproduces it as voice or musical sound, and drives the speaker 13. The memory 14 temporarily stores the received road traffic information or the specific information, or temporarily stores the expanded information of the specific information. The CPU 15 expands the received specific information and controls the entire device. The display unit 16 is
Display control for the display 17 is performed. When the vehicle 6 is equipped with a car navigation device, it is also possible to use the display of this car navigation device.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of the beacon terminal 4 to the mobile VICS.
The transmission format of road traffic information or specific information transmitted to the transceiver 7 is shown. The sync bits at the beginning and end positions declare the start and end of data transmission, and the data body and the CRC check bit are arranged between them. If the data body is road traffic information,
The VICS center 1 uses the beacon terminals 4 (4a, 4b,
In 4c), the same information is controlled to be transmitted at the same time. On the other hand, when the information to be transmitted is specific information, the data body transmitted by each beacon terminal 4 (4a, 4b, 4c) is different. The data body at this time is divided into fixed-length segments as shown in FIG. 4 or variable-length data as shown in FIG. When the specific information is divided into fixed-length segments, at least one segment is arranged in the data body. In this case, each piece of specific information is previously divided into fixed-length segments in the specific information server 3.
When the specific information is not divided in advance, it is transmitted as variable length data as shown in FIG. The variable length data arranged in the data body in this case is determined by the relative transit time of the vehicle 6 with respect to the beacon service area. That is, if the speed of the vehicle 6 is high, the time that can be transmitted by the beacon terminal 4 is short, and thus the length of the variable length data is relatively short. That is, the amount of data arranged in the data body is small. On the contrary, if the speed of the vehicle 6 is slow, the transit time of the vehicle to the beacon service area becomes long, and the variable length data becomes long. That is, the amount of data placed in the data body increases. It should be noted that the header H is placed at the beginning of each of the fixed-length segment and the variable-length data, and the division number is placed at the position of the header H. In addition, when the variable length data is transmitted, the beacon terminal 4 needs to know the approximate speed of the vehicle 6, and therefore, a speed detecting means is additionally provided or speed information is acquired from the vehicle.

The vehicle 6 concatenates all the fixed-length segments or variable-length data received while passing through the beacon service area in the order of division numbers to create one piece of specific information. Also, when transmitting these specific information,
When the vehicle 6 reaches the beacon service area, it notifies the division number as the reception start point or the bit position at which reception should be started. For example, when the service area of the first beacon terminal 4a is reached, division number 1 or the leading bit position is notified as the reception start point. At this time, when the specific information is divided into fixed-length segments and stored in the specific information server 3, the beacon terminal 4a
Controls to send sequentially from the first fixed length segment,
When the specific information is not divided and stored, control is performed to sequentially transmit from the beginning. When the vehicle 6 has finished passing through the service area of the beacon terminal 4a, the moving VI
Since the CPU 15 of the CS transceiver 7 can know the data that has been properly received by then, when the service area of the next beacon terminal 4b is entered, the next reception start point is notified to the beacon terminal 4b. To do. That is, when the specific information is divided by the fixed length segment, the division number of the fixed length segment next to the proper fixed length segment that can be received in the service area of the beacon terminal 4a is notified as the next reception start point, When the specific information is not divided, the next bit position of the data string that can be received in the service area of the beacon terminal 4a is notified as the reception start point. Beacon terminal 4
b performs data transmission again from the fixed length segment corresponding to the reception start point received as described above or from the bit position corresponding to the reception start point.

In this way, the vehicle 6 receives the divided specific information at the plurality of beacon terminal positions, and when the specific information is completely received, the specific information is combined and processed, and the speaker 13 is operated. Alternatively, it is output to the display 17.

As shown in FIG. 4 or 5, a header is arranged at the head position of the fixed length segment or the head position of the variable length data, and the division number is recorded in order in this header. The mobile VICS transceiver 7 correctly combines the received data by referring to this division number. Further, the end code E is arranged next to the last data of the 1 identification information. This allows the movement VI
By receiving this end code E, the CS transceiver 7 knows that it has received all the data forming one piece of specific information.

When the specific information is transmitted in fixed length segments, the number of segments to be transmitted in one beacon service area may be fixed, but in the case of variable length data transmission, the vehicle speed is changed. You need to know. Therefore, in this case, the vehicle 6
Is provided on the road to detect the speed of the vehicle, or when the vehicle 6 transmits the reception start point,
At the same time, speed information is also transmitted. When the beacon terminal acquires this speed information, it obtains the time that the vehicle passes through the beacon service area, calculates the length (amount) of specific information that can be transmitted within that time, and transmits the variable length data. Seeking the length. Note that it is also possible to transmit as fixed-length data instead of variable-length data. In this case, the amount of information that can be transmitted when the vehicle speed is the maximum speed is obtained, and the data length corresponding to this is set, or the data length is set shorter than that.

Each beacon terminal 4 simultaneously transmits the same information when transmitting road traffic information, but operates individually when transmitting specific information, and the information transmitted by each beacon terminal is asynchronous. is there. Therefore,
For example, when the beacon terminal 4a is sending the fixed-length segment with the division number 1 of the specific information A to a vehicle, at the same time, the beacon terminal 4b sends the fixed-length segment with the division number 5 of the specific information B to another vehicle. Can be sent. Further, when the beacon terminal 4a is sending the fixed-length segment of the specific information A with the division number 1 to a certain vehicle, at the same time, the beacon terminal 4b transmits the fixed-length segment of the specific information A with the division number 1 to another vehicle. Can be sent.

Next, the beacon terminal 4 and the mobile VIC
The general operation of the S transceiver 7 will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7.

FIG. 6 shows the operation of each beacon terminal 4. This operation operates individually and asynchronously in each beacon terminal.

When there is an instruction from the VICS center 1 to transmit road traffic information, the road traffic information sent from the road traffic information server 2 is transmitted in step ST1. At this time, the vehicle 6 is placed in the service area of the beacon terminal 4.
If so, the mobile VICS transceiver 7 can receive the information and display it on the display 17. In step ST2, when the instruction to transmit the specific information is received from the mobile VICS transceiver 7 of the vehicle 6, the process proceeds to step ST3 to receive the information name of the specific information and the reception start point. Further, in step ST4, the specific information server 3 is accessed through the VICS center 1, and the information corresponding to the received information name and reception start point is extracted and transmitted.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the operation of the mobile VICS transceiver 7.

First, at step ST10, the vehicle 6
Determines whether or not has entered the beacon service area. This determination can be performed by receiving a specific signal transmitted from the beacon terminal 4. next,
In step ST11, it is determined whether or not the signal transmitted from the beacon terminal 4 has road traffic information such as traffic jam information. If so, in step ST12, the road traffic information such as the traffic congestion information is received and displayed on the display 17 or the display of the car navigation device to which the mobile VICS transceiver 7 is connected. Subsequently, in step ST13, it is determined whether or not the request for receiving the specific information is made by the user in the vehicle 6. When the user wants to acquire this specific information, the user inputs the information name for identifying the information to be acquired in advance by using the car navigation device or the like. When this input operation is performed, in step ST13, it is considered that there is a request for receiving the specific information, and the process proceeds to step ST14. In step ST14, the beacon terminal 4 is notified of the input information name and the reception start point. The reception start point is initially data indicating the division number 1 of the fixed-length segment or data indicating the start position of the information. When the beacon terminal 4 receives these data in step ST3 of FIG. 6, the corresponding information is transmitted (step ST4). Therefore, the mobile VICS transceiver 7 transmits the transmitted specific information in step ST15. To receive. As described above, since the amount of specific information that can be received by one beacon terminal 4 is a part of the whole, the current beacon terminal 4
The specific information received in (i) is temporarily stored in the memory 14,
The reception start point of the specific information to be received by the next beacon terminal 4 (i + 1) is updated in step ST17. And
When the next beacon service area is reached (step S
T10), ST10 → ST11 → ST13 → ST14, and again transmits the information name and the reception start point updated in step ST17 to the beacon terminal 4 (i + 1) corresponding to the beacon service area. . The next specific information corresponding to the transmitted data is step ST.
The reception start point is updated again in ST17. By repeating this operation, in step ST15,
The divided specific information can be received one after another and stored in the memory 14.

As described with reference to FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, when the specific information is stored in the specific information server 3 in the pre-divided state as the fixed length segment, the reception start point has the fixed length. It is a division number that indicates the position of the segment. Further, if the specific information stored in the specific information server 3 is information that is not divided, the reception start point is the head bit position at which reception should be started. Then, in step ST16, if the end code E is included in the specific information received this time, it is determined that all reception is completed, and the process proceeds to step ST18. In step ST18, the divided specific information temporarily stored in the memory 14 is combined, decoded (decompressed), and output to the voice / tone reproduction unit 12 or the display unit 16. That is, if the specific information is voice information or musical tone information, the specific information is output to the voice / musical tone reproducing unit 12,
If it is image information, it is output to the display unit 16.

In the above description, the specific information is transmitted based on the request from the user in the vehicle 6. However, if the specific information is related to the road traffic information, there is no request from the user. Alternatively, the specific information may be automatically transmitted after the road traffic information is transmitted. However, even in the case of controlling in this way, each time the vehicle 6 reaches the beacon service area, the mobile VICS transceiver 7 transmits the information name of the specific information to be downloaded and the reception start point to the beacon terminal 4, The beacon terminal 4 extracts the specific information corresponding to this from the specific information server 3 and transmits it.

[0029]

According to the present invention, even if the amount of information that a vehicle can receive from one beacon terminal is small, by passing through the service areas of a plurality of beacon terminals, information such as music and images having a large amount of information can be obtained. Can be received and output on a speaker or a display.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an information service providing system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a mobile VICS transceiver.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a format of transmission data.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a data body when the specific information is divided into fixed lengths in advance.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a data body when specific information is not divided in advance.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a schematic operation of a beacon terminal.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a schematic operation of a mobile VICS transceiver.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An in-vehicle device for a vehicle traveling on a road,
In a system including a road traffic information control center that transmits road traffic information by each of a plurality of beacon terminals installed on a road, identification of information provided to the in-vehicle device and having a larger amount of information than the road traffic information A specific information server that stores information and is connected to the road traffic information control center is provided, and the plurality of beacon terminals divides and transmits the specific information to the vehicle-mounted device of a vehicle passing through a beacon service area. An information service providing system, wherein the vehicle-mounted device outputs the specific information transmitted in a divided manner at a stage when the specific information is collected. 2. The in-vehicle device notifies each beacon terminal of a reception start point of the specific information each time it enters each beacon service area, and when the beacon terminal receives the notification of the reception start point. The information service providing system according to claim 1, wherein the specific information is transmitted from the reception start point to the user. 3. The specific information server stores the specific information as segment information obtained by dividing the specific information in advance into fixed lengths, and transmission / reception of the specific information between the beacon terminal and the vehicle-mounted device is fixed for each beacon service area. The information service providing system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the information service providing system is performed in units of long segments. 4. The specific information server stores the specific information in a non-divided state, and transmission / reception of the specific information between the beacon terminal and the vehicle-mounted device is performed in a variable length for each beacon service area. Claim 1 characterized by the above.
Or the information service providing system described in 2.