JP2005266926A - Traffic information collecting system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To grasp a situation of traffic congestion or rainfall in the vicinity of a district in real time when a center apparatus detects the occurrence of the traffic congestion or the rainfall in the district. <P>SOLUTION: A center apparatus 1 detects a section A-B of the congestion, based on the travelling information received from a probe car 101, determines that a probe car 102 will presumably travel in a section B-C adjacent to the section A-B, based on the data from each probe car 102-106, and requests the probe car 102 to immediately transmit probe data, so that the center apparatus 1 can grasp a congestion situation in the section B-C in real time. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a traffic information collecting system that collects road traffic information such as traffic jams and rainfall in a center device by providing information from a vehicle.

  As another conventional traffic information collection system, the center periodically receives the current position from the navigation device of each vehicle through the mobile phone network, estimates the traffic jam from the running state, and uses the estimated traffic jam as the user's request In response to this, what is transmitted to the navigation device of each vehicle through a mobile phone network is known (for example, see Patent Document 1).

  In addition, as another conventional traffic information collection system, it is determined whether or not each vehicle is congested from the traveling state such as the traveling speed of the vehicle, speed change, stop time at the intersection, etc. In such a case, the vehicle traveling state and the current position are transmitted to the center as vehicle traveling information, or the accumulated vehicle traveling information is transmitted to the center every predetermined time (see, for example, Patent Document 2). .

Furthermore, as another conventional traffic information collection system, when the communication media that can be selected when transmitting road traffic information from an individual car to the center are, for example, DSRC and a mobile phone, the urgency level is low or DSRC If the estimated time required to reach the area is short, information transmission to the DSRC area will be refrained. However, if the degree of urgency is high or the estimated required time to the DSRC area is long, information will be transmitted using a mobile phone. In addition, when information with high urgency is acquired outside the mobile phone area, information is transmitted using a satellite line (see, for example, Patent Document 3).
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-183184 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-86184 JP 2000-149180 A

  However, in the conventional traffic information collection system, it is possible to estimate the traffic congestion location on the center side from the travel information such as the position of the probe car that is the vehicle for collecting information and the vehicle speed. Even if it is attempted to check the situation in real time, there is a problem that it is necessary to wait until it is determined that the traffic is congested based on transmission information from the probe car or until a predetermined time has elapsed. Further, since the urgency and importance of information are determined on the probe car side, there is a problem that there is no guarantee that information can be obtained at the timing required by the center side. Furthermore, even if the center side tries to collect information from another probe car, it is not immediately sent to the center unless another probe car is instructed to notify the center side, and the center side must wait until the next request timing. There was a problem that there was. Such a situation is the same when the road traffic information is rainfall.

  The present invention has been made to solve such a conventional problem, and provides a traffic information collection system capable of examining the surrounding situation in real time when a center device detects a traffic jam or a place of rainfall. The purpose is to do.

  The traffic information collection system of the present invention comprises a plurality of probe cars that collect information and a center device that receives information from the probe cars, and the probe car calculates positioning means for calculating the vehicle position and direction, Information collecting means for collecting information related to traveling of the own vehicle including the position and direction of the own vehicle calculated by the positioning means, and information collected by the information collecting means is transmitted to the center apparatus and information is received from the center apparatus. A communication means for transmitting and receiving information to and from the probe car, a probe database for storing probe data received from the probe car, and detecting occurrence of a predetermined event. Judgment to determine the probe car that can travel near the area where the occurrence of the event is detected based on the probe data It has a configuration that includes a stage, and wherein the requesting the transmission of the probe data to the probe car in which the determination means determines.

  With this configuration, when the center device wants to check the traffic situation on the surrounding roads in real time, it first detects the traffic jam area based on the information related to the travel received from the probe car, By determining the probe car that is estimated to travel in the adjacent section based on the data from the car and requesting that probe car to send the probe data immediately, the congestion information in the adjacent section Can be grasped in real time.

  Further, the traffic information collection system of the present invention has a configuration further comprising a beacon device provided with a communication unit that is installed on the roadside and receives information transmitted from the probe car and transmits the information to the center device, When the probe car communication means includes an uplink to the beacon device and a mobile phone, and autonomously transmits the information collected by the probe car, the probe car performs the uplink to the beacon device, and the probe car When the information collected by the computer is transmitted in response to a request from the center device, the information is collected by the mobile phone.

  With this configuration, when the information collected by the probe car is autonomously transmitted, it is performed by an uplink to the beacon device, and when the information collected by the probe car is transmitted by a request from the center device, it is performed by a mobile phone. Depending on the urgency of information, communication media can be used properly, and information can be quickly collected and judged.

  The traffic information collection system of the present invention is characterized in that the determination means makes a probe car determination using a travel locus of the probe car. With this configuration, it is possible to easily determine a probe car capable of traveling in the vicinity of an area where the occurrence of an event is detected.

  In the traffic information collecting system according to the present invention, the determination unit performs a probe car determination using a position, a direction, and a speed at the time of probe data transmission nearest to the probe car. With this configuration, it is possible to easily determine a probe car capable of traveling in the vicinity of an area where the occurrence of an event is detected.

  In the traffic information collecting system according to the present invention, the determination unit performs probe car determination using planned travel route information obtained in advance from the probe car. With this configuration, it is possible to easily determine a probe car capable of traveling in the vicinity of an area where the occurrence of an event is detected.

  In the traffic information collecting system of the present invention, the determination unit detects occurrence of a predetermined event based on information received from another system. With this configuration, it is possible to easily detect the occurrence of a predetermined event.

  In the traffic information collecting system of the present invention, the determination unit detects occurrence of a predetermined event based on probe data received from the probe car. With this configuration, it is possible to easily detect the occurrence of a predetermined event.

  The traffic information collection system of the present invention is characterized in that the predetermined event is a traffic jam. With this configuration, it is possible to easily detect road congestion.

  The traffic information collecting system of the present invention is characterized in that the predetermined event is rainfall. With this configuration, it is possible to easily detect rain on the road.

  In addition, the present invention provides positioning means for calculating the vehicle position and direction, information collection means for collecting information related to traveling of the vehicle including the vehicle position and direction calculated by the positioning means, and the information collection means. A probe car in a traffic information collection system, comprising: communication means for transmitting collected information to the center device and receiving information from the center device. With this configuration, the center device can transmit data for detecting a location such as traffic jam or rainfall to the center device, and can receive information on traffic jam or rainfall from the center device.

  In addition, the present invention detects the occurrence of an event as well as a communication means for transmitting / receiving information to / from the probe car, a probe database for accumulating probe data received from the probe car, and occurrence of a predetermined event. A center device in a traffic information collection system, comprising: a determination unit that determines a probe car capable of traveling in the vicinity of an area. With this configuration, it is possible to receive data for detecting the location of traffic jams and rain from the probe car, and to detect the location of traffic jams and rainfall from the received probe data and to drive the surrounding area. The probe car can be immediately requested to transmit probe data.

  In the present invention, when the center device wants to check traffic jams and rainfall in a specific area in real time, it first detects traffic jams and rainfall areas based on the travel information received from the probe car, and based on data from other probe cars. The probe car that is estimated to be traveling in the vicinity of the area is judged and the probe car is requested to transmit probe data immediately, so it is possible to grasp traffic jams and rainfall in another area in real time. It is possible to provide a traffic information collecting system having the effect of.

(Embodiment 1)
Hereinafter, a traffic information collection system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. First, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 shows the configuration of the traffic information collection system in the first embodiment. In FIG. 1, the traffic information collecting system is composed of a center device 1 and a plurality of probe cars 2 (identification numbers (ID) = 1 to N). In the center device 1, the wireless communication device 11 is means for communicating with the probe car 2. Based on the probe data received from the probe car 2, the determination device 12 detects the occurrence of a predetermined event such as traffic jam or rain, and is estimated to be traveling in the vicinity of the area where the occurrence of the event is detected. A means for determining a car and is constituted by a microcomputer. The probe database 13 is a storage unit that accumulates probe data such as traveling information and peripheral information transmitted from the probe car 2 in a searchable form. In the probe car 2, the wireless communication device 21 is means for communicating with the wireless communication device 11 of the center device 1. The information collection device 22 is a means for collecting information related to traveling of the vehicle including the vehicle position and direction and sending it to the wireless communication device 21, and is constituted by a microcomputer. The positioning device 23 is means for receiving a vehicle speed signal from the vehicle and calculating the position and direction of the host vehicle using an angular velocity sensor and a GPS receiver (not shown).

FIG. 3A is a block configuration diagram of the determination device 12 in the center device 1, a communication IF 14 that interfaces with the wireless communication device 11, an input / output IF 15 that interfaces with the probe database 13, a program, and the like. ROM 16 for storing data, RAM 17 for temporarily storing data, and CPU 18 for controlling the entire apparatus. FIG. 3B is a block diagram of the information collecting device 22 in the probe car 2. A communication IF 24 that interfaces with the wireless communication device 21, an input / output IF 25 that interfaces with the positioning device 23, a program, etc. It comprises a ROM 26 for storing, a RAM 27 for temporarily storing data, and a CPU 28 for controlling the entire apparatus. Although it is common to make an economical system configuration by making a difference in CPU performance, ROM and RAM storage capacity and access speed depending on whether the information collecting device 22 or the judging device 12 is used, it is common as a block diagram. It becomes composition. Further, the program software for operating the CPU differs between the determination device 12 and the information collection device 22.
FIG. 4 is a configuration example of the probe database 13 using the vehicle ID as a main key. (A) is a relation between the vehicle ID and the current location, direction, and vehicle speed, (b) is a relation between the vehicle ID and the travel locus, and (c) is a relation between the vehicle ID and the destination / route. Are related to each other. The number of travel loci and routes usually differs for each vehicle ID. (I, j, k and m are not equal. P, q, r and s are not equal.)
About the traffic information collection system comprised as mentioned above, the operation | movement is demonstrated using FIG. 1 and FIG. First, it is assumed that the positions at which probe cars 101 to 106 having the same configuration as the probe car 2 in FIG. 1 have transmitted probe data last are the positions in FIG. The probe car 101 traveling in the section A-B includes the surrounding environment such as the position, speed, direction, travel locus, destination, route, and weather of the host vehicle from the positioning device 23 collected by the information collecting device 22. The own vehicle ID is added to the traveling information, and is transmitted as probe data to the center device 1 via the wireless communication device 21. The center device 1 accumulates the probe data received by the wireless communication device 11 in the probe database 13, and the determination device 12 monitors the data in the probe database 13, and vehicle speed information is included in the probe data from the probe car 101. When the speed falls below a predetermined constant speed, the section AB is detected as a traffic jam. Next, in order to check whether the road in the section BC adjacent to the section AB is congested, the center apparatus 1 uses the method described later to select one of the sections of the probe cars 102 to 106 traveling in the vicinity. A transmission request is made so that probe data is immediately transmitted to a vehicle (in this case, the probe car 102) determined to be able to reach BC. Upon receiving this transmission request, the probe car 102 transmits the traveling information collected by the own vehicle to the center apparatus 1. Thereby, the center apparatus 1 can grasp | ascertain the congestion condition between area B-C in real time, and can notify each probe car of the result according to the request | requirement of each probe car or voluntarily. . The center apparatus 1 can grasp the traffic jam situation in the same manner for other sections by the above method.

In the above example, the probe car 101 transmits the probe data to the center device 1 and the determination device 12 determines that the section AB is in a traffic jam. However, the center device 1 receives information from other systems, For example, it can be determined that traffic between A and B is congested based on traffic information from the VICS center.
Next, three methods for determining a probe car that can be estimated to be traveling in the vicinity of the area when the determination device 12 detects the occurrence of a traffic jam will be described. First, the first determination method will be described with reference to FIGS. In FIG. 5, when points p1 to p6 representing the travel locus are given, a straight line L that minimizes the sum of the distances (squares) from the points p1 to p6 is obtained by the least square method. Next, the position at which the probe car 102 last transmitted the probe data is the position 102 in FIG. 6, the elapsed time from the last transmission is T, the speed at the time of the last transmission is V, and from the past travel locus When the obtained straight line L is shown in the figure, if the road X from the probe car 102 up to the intersection P between the section BC and the straight line L is within the range of the following formula, the probe car 102 is in the section B- It is estimated that the vehicle is traveling on C.

VT · (1−error) ≦ X ≦ VT (1 + error)
The error is a parameter that varies depending on the system to be estimated. V may be an average speed for a certain period in the past.

  The second determination method will be described with reference to FIGS. In FIG. 7, a is the orientation of the probe car 102, and b is a straight line passing through the tip position of the probe car 102 and orthogonal to the orientation a. An area delimited by a straight line b, where the position at which the probe car 102 last transmitted probe data is the position 102 in FIG. 7, the elapsed time from the last transmission is T, and the speed at the time of the last transmission is V. When the reachable area (thick broken line in FIG. 8c) overlaps with a part of the section BC as shown in FIG. Estimated that the car is running. Note that V may be an average speed for a certain period in the past.

  A third determination method will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10. In FIG. 9, when the probe car 102 that previously determined the route from the points p1 to p5 with respect to the destination point p6 has transmitted the probe data last time at the position 102 in FIG. 10, that is, the probe car 102. When the section B-C is on the scheduled route and the latest position at the time of determination is not past the section BC, the probe car 102 estimates that the vehicle is traveling on the section BC. .

  Thus, according to the traffic information collection system of the first embodiment, when the center device 1 wants to check the traffic jam on the road in real time, the traffic jam section A is first based on the travel information received from the probe car 101. -B is detected, and for the section BC adjacent to the section, the probe car 102 estimated to travel in the section BC is determined based on the data from each probe car 102-106. Since the probe car 102 is requested to transmit the probe data immediately, the traffic jam situation in the section BC can be grasped in real time.

(Embodiment 2)
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 11 shows the configuration of the traffic information system in the second embodiment. In FIG. 11, the traffic information collecting system is composed of a center device 1a, a plurality of probe cars 2a (identification numbers (ID) = 1 to N), and a beacon 3 installed on the roadside. The center device 1a includes a mobile phone 11a that directly communicates with the probe car 2a as a communication means, and a communication device 11b that communicates with the beacon 3 by wire, and further, vehicle speed information sent from the probe car 2a is a predetermined constant speed. A determination device 12a that is a microcomputer that determines a probe car that can be estimated to be traveling in the vicinity of the area by any of the methods described above, and a probe car. And a probe database 13 for accumulating data sent in a searchable form. The probe car 2a includes a mobile phone 21a that directly communicates with the center device 1a as a communication means, and a beacon communication device 21b that communicates as an uplink to the beacon 3, and further receives a vehicle speed signal from the vehicle, and receives an angular velocity sensor and a GPS. A positioning device 23 with a built-in receiver (not shown), and travel information including the surrounding environment such as the position, speed, direction, travel locus, destination, route, weather, etc. of the vehicle are received from the positioning device 23, and if necessary And an information collection device 22a that is a microcomputer that transmits the data as probe data to the center device 1a via the mobile phone 21a or the beacon communication device 21b. The beacon 3 includes a beacon communication device 31 that communicates with the probe car 2a and a communication device 32 that communicates with the center device 1a. In addition, the thing of the same code | symbol as FIG. 1 shall have the same function.

  FIG. 12A is a block diagram of the determination device 12a in the center device 1a, which stores a communication IF 14a that interfaces with the communication device 11b, an input / output IF 15 that interfaces with the probe database 13, and programs. It comprises a ROM 16, a RAM 17 that temporarily stores data, a CPU 18 that controls the entire apparatus, and a telephone IF 19 that interfaces with the mobile phone 11a. FIG. 12B is a block diagram of the information collecting device 22a in the probe car 2a. A communication IF 24a that interfaces with the beacon communication device 21a, an input / output IF 25 that interfaces with the positioning device 23, a program, and the like. It comprises a ROM 26 for storing, a RAM 27 for temporarily storing data, a CPU 28 for controlling the entire apparatus, and a telephone IF 29 for interfacing with the mobile phone 21a. In general, the system configuration is an economical system configuration with different CPU performance, ROM and RAM storage capacities and access speeds depending on whether the information collection device 22a or the determination device 12a is used. It becomes. The program software for operating the CPU differs between the determination device 12a and the information collection device 22a.

About the traffic information collection system comprised as mentioned above, the operation | movement is demonstrated using FIG. In FIG. 13, first, it is assumed that the positions at which probe cars 101 to 106 having the same configuration as the probe car 2a last transmitted probe data are the positions in FIG. In addition, beacons 71 to 75 having the same configuration as the beacon 3 are installed in the vicinity of the positions of the probe cars 101 to 106. And the beacon communication apparatus 21a of each probe car 101-106 transmits the probe data which consists of driving information, vehicle ID, etc. with respect to the beacon apparatus 31 of each beacon 71-75, and each beacon 71-75 is a communication apparatus. The probe data is transmitted to the communication device 11b of the center device 1a through 32. Here, it is assumed that the probe car 101 transmits probe data to the center device 1a via the beacon 71, and the determination device 12a of the center device 1a determines that the section AB is congested. At this time, when the center device 1a tries to check whether the section B-C is congested, the section B-C can be reached among the probe cars 102 to 106 traveling in the vicinity by any one of the methods described above. By immediately requesting the probe car that has been determined to transmit probe data to the mobile phone 21b of the probe car via the mobile phone 11a, the traffic situation between the sections B and C can be grasped in real time. The result can be notified to each probe car according to the request of each probe car or voluntarily.
As described above, according to the traffic information collection system of the second embodiment, when traveling information collected by each probe car 2a is autonomously transmitted, it is performed by uplink to the beacon 3 and collected by each probe car 2a. When the travel information is transmitted in response to a request from the center device 1a, it is possible to use the communication medium according to the urgency of the information by using the mobile phone 21b, and it is possible to quickly collect and judge the information.

(Embodiment 3)
Next, a traffic information collection system according to a third embodiment of this invention will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 14, this traffic information collection system is composed of a center device 1b and a plurality of probe cars 2b (identification numbers (ID) = 1 to N). The probe car 2b includes windshield wiper on / off information in the collected traveling information. The center device 1b detects the occurrence of rain when the wireless communication device 11 that communicates wirelessly with the probe car 2b and the ON information of the wiper sent from the probe car exceeds a predetermined time period. The determination device 12b, which is a microcomputer for determining a probe car that can be estimated to be traveling in the vicinity of the area by any of the methods described above, and the probe database 13b that accumulates data sent from the probe car in a searchable form It consists of. The probe car 2b is a wireless communication device 21 that communicates wirelessly with the center device 1b, a positioning device 23 that receives a vehicle speed signal from a vehicle and incorporates an angular velocity sensor and a GPS receiver (not shown), and the position and speed of the vehicle. And an information collecting device 22b which is a microcomputer that receives an on / off signal of a direction, a traveling locus, a destination, a route, and a wiper and sends it as probe data to the center device 1b via the wireless communication device 21 together with other information. The In addition, the thing of the same code | symbol as FIG. 1 shall have the same function. The determination device 12b and the information collection device 22b can be configured with the same block configuration as in FIGS. 3A and 3B by changing software.
FIG. 16 shows a configuration example of the probe database 13b using the vehicle ID as a main key. (A) associates the vehicle ID with the current location, direction, and vehicle speed, and wiper on / off information is added to the example of FIG. (B) associates the vehicle ID with the travel locus, and (c) associates the vehicle ID with the destination / route.

  About the traffic information collection system comprised as mentioned above, the operation | movement is demonstrated using FIG. In FIG. 15, first, it is assumed that the positions at which the probe cars 101 to 107 last transmitted probe data are the positions in FIG. The probe cars 101 to 103 existing in the area (1) transmit probe data including the wiper ON signal to the center apparatus 1b, and the determination apparatus 12b determines that the area (1) is raining. At this time, when the center device 1b tries to check whether the area (2) adjacent to the area (1) is raining, the section of the probe cars 104 to 107 traveling in the vicinity by any one of the methods described above. Probe data is immediately requested to a vehicle (in this case, the probe car 105 or the probe car 107) determined to be able to reach BC or the section AD. As a result, it is possible to determine the rainfall situation of the area (2) in real time, and to notify each probe car of the result in response to the request of each probe car or spontaneously.

  Thus, according to the traffic information collection system of the third embodiment, since the traveling information collected by each probe car 2b and transmitted to the center device 1b includes the on / off information of the windshield wiper, From this information, the center device 1b can judge the rain, and when it detects rain in a certain area, it determines the probe car that will travel in the area adjacent to that area, and transmits the probe data. By requesting, it is possible to grasp the rainfall state in the adjacent area in real time.

  In each of the above embodiments, an example has been described in which when a traffic jam or rainfall is detected, the center device voluntarily checks a traffic jam status or a rain situation for an adjacent section or region. It is not necessary to limit to the section or area. For example, according to the request from the driver of the probe car who is also the user, the traffic condition and the rain condition are examined by the same method for the section and area specified by the driver. The result may be notified to the user.

  As described above, in the traffic information collecting system according to the present invention, when the center device wants to check traffic jams and rainfall in a specific area in real time, it first detects traffic jams and rainfall areas based on the travel information received from the probe car. However, it is necessary to determine a probe car that is estimated to travel in the vicinity of the area based on data from other probe cars, and to request the probe car to transmit probe data immediately. It is useful as a traffic information collection system or the like that collects road traffic information such as traffic jam and rainfall in the center device by providing information from vehicles.

Block diagram of the traffic information collection system in Embodiment 1 of the present invention Conceptual diagram for explaining the operation of the traffic information collection system according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. The block diagram of the determination apparatus in Embodiment 1 of this invention 1 is a block diagram of an information collection device according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. Data structure diagram of probe database in Embodiment 1 of the present invention The conceptual diagram for demonstrating the 1st determination method in Embodiment 1-3 of this invention The conceptual diagram for demonstrating the 1st determination method in Embodiment 1-3 of this invention Conceptual diagram for explaining a second determination method in the first to third embodiments of the present invention. Conceptual diagram for explaining a second determination method in the first to third embodiments of the present invention. Conceptual diagram for explaining a third determination method in the first to third embodiments of the present invention. Conceptual diagram for explaining a third determination method in the first to third embodiments of the present invention. Block diagram of the traffic information collection system in Embodiment 2 of the present invention The block diagram of the determination apparatus in Embodiment 2 of this invention The block diagram of the information collection device in Embodiment 2 of this invention Conceptual diagram for explaining the operation of the traffic information collection system according to the second embodiment of the present invention. Block diagram of the traffic information collection system of Embodiment 3 of the present invention Conceptual diagram for explaining the operation of the traffic information collection system according to the third embodiment of the present invention. Data structure diagram of probe database in Embodiment 3 of the present invention

Explanation of symbols

1, 1a, 1b Center device 2, 2a, 2b Probe car 3 Beacon 11 Wireless communication device 11a Mobile phone 11b Communication device 12, 12a, 12b Judgment device 13, 13b Probe database 14, 14a Communication IF
15 I / O IF
16 ROM
17 RAM
18 CPU
19 Telephone IF
21 wireless communication device 21a mobile phone 21b beacon communication device 22, 22a, 22b information collecting device 23 positioning device 24, 24a communication IF
25 I / O IF
26 ROM
27 RAM
28 CPU
29 Telephone IF
31 Beacon Communication Device 32 Communication Device 71-76 Beacon 101-107 Probe Car

Claims (11)

A plurality of probe cars that collect information and a center device that receives information from the probe cars;
The probe car collects the positioning means for calculating the own vehicle position and direction, the information collecting means for collecting information related to the traveling of the own vehicle including the own vehicle position and direction calculated by the positioning means, and the information collecting means Communication means for transmitting the received information to the center apparatus and receiving information from the center apparatus,
The center device detects the occurrence of an event as well as a communication means for transmitting / receiving information to / from the probe car, a probe database for accumulating probe data received from the probe car, and occurrence of a predetermined event. A traffic information collecting system comprising: a determination unit that determines a probe car capable of traveling in the vicinity of an area based on the probe data; and requesting the probe car determined by the determination unit to transmit probe data. . Further comprising a beacon device comprising communication means installed on the roadside for receiving information sent from the probe car and transmitting it to the center device;
When the communication means of the probe car is composed of an uplink to the beacon device and a mobile phone, and autonomously transmits the information collected by the probe car, it is performed by the uplink to the beacon device, and the probe 2. The traffic information collecting system according to claim 1, wherein when the information collected by the car is transmitted in response to a request from the center device, the information is collected by the mobile phone.   The traffic information collecting system according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit determines a probe car using a travel locus of the probe car.   The traffic information collection system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the determination unit performs determination of a probe car using a position, an azimuth, and a speed at the time of the latest probe data transmission of the probe car.   The traffic information collection system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the determination unit performs determination of a probe car using planned travel route information obtained in advance from the probe car.   6. The traffic information collection system according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit detects occurrence of a predetermined event based on information received from another system.   The traffic information collection system according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit detects occurrence of a predetermined event based on probe data received from the probe car.   The traffic information collecting system according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined event is a traffic jam.   8. The traffic information collecting system according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined event is rainfall.   Positioning means for calculating the own vehicle position and direction, information collecting means for collecting information related to traveling of the own vehicle including the own vehicle position and direction calculated by the positioning means, and information collected by the information collecting means The probe car in the traffic information collection system according to any one of claims 1 to 9, further comprising communication means for transmitting to the device and receiving information from the center device.   A communication means for transmitting / receiving information to / from the probe car, a probe database for accumulating probe data received from the probe car, detection of occurrence of a predetermined event, and driving in the vicinity of the area where the occurrence of the event is detected 10. The center device in the traffic information collection system according to claim 1, further comprising a determination unit that determines a probe car.

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