JP2009075981A - Traffic information providing system, program for center side computer, retrieval program, recording medium, and traffic information providing method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a traffic information providing system 1 and the like for determining whether traffic jam is caused by a large traffic volume or an accident, showing a traffic jam place in detail even when the traffic jam occurs on the way to a link, estimating the cause of the traffic jam and predicting the subsequent traffic state. <P>SOLUTION: A congestion degree computing section 33 computes a predetermined congestion degree in a section based on received collected information, and records, in a congestion degree record database 43, a present traffic congestion record which associates the section, time information based on the collected information, and the computed predetermined congestion degree. A previous traffic congestion retrieval section 34 retrieves a previous traffic congestion record recorded in the congestion record database 43 on the same section as the section of the present traffic congestion record. A determining section 35 determines occurrence of unnatural traffic jam (accidental traffic jam) in a position indicated by the position information of the present traffic congestion record based on the comparison between the predetermined traffic congestion in the present traffic congestion record and the predetermined congestion degree in the previous traffic congestion record retrieved by the previous traffic congestion record retrieval section 34. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a traffic information providing system including an in-vehicle device mounted on a vehicle and a center computer that communicates with the in-vehicle device.

  Conventionally, development and operation of a probe system for monitoring traffic information using a probe car has been advanced (see Non-Patent Document 1). This probe car notifies position information indicating the current location and time information indicating the current time to the probe center at regular time intervals such as 1 minute or 5 minutes. The probe center, for example, displays the traffic information on where the vehicles are concentrated (congested) on the map by counting the position information and time information notified from thousands of probe cars per city. You can get a bird's-eye view. In general, traffic information represents intersections or other locations (hereinafter referred to as “intersections, etc.” in this specification) as nodes, and expresses whether traffic congestion has occurred at links connecting intersections, etc. ing. The probe center appropriately transmits the traffic information thus obtained to the vehicle. Since such traffic information is created based on the movement of a vehicle traveling along the traffic flow, the probe center performs cleansing to exclude information on vehicles not along the traffic flow.

“2. Probe Information Cases”, [online], Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Road Bureau ITS Home Page, [September 13, 2007 Search], Internet, <URL: http://www.its.go.jp/ ITS / j-html / VicsProbe / 20050629 / siryo3_4.pdf>

  As described above, cleansing is performed at the probe center, but it is not easy to determine whether a vehicle is parked or stopped on the road, and taxis around the station are waiting for customers. It is not easy to judge whether there is a traffic jam or not. As described above, since the cleansing function is insufficient, there is a problem that it is difficult to determine whether the traffic is a natural traffic jam or a sudden traffic jam.

  Since the traffic jam is determined for the link, there is a problem that when the traffic jam occurs in the middle of the link, the location where the traffic jam occurs cannot be shown in detail.

  There is a problem that it is impossible to know the cause of the traffic jam because it only determines whether there is traffic jam on a certain link. For this reason, there has been a problem that it is difficult to predict the traffic condition thereafter.

  When reporting the cause of traffic congestion for each probe car in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the amount of transmission in the entire probe system becomes enormous. There was a problem that the operating cost of the center would be extremely increased.

  There is a problem that the probe car side only notifies the position information and time information, and has not received traffic information from the probe center side.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and is to provide a traffic information providing system and the like that can determine whether the traffic is a natural traffic jam or a sudden traffic jam. is there.

  The second object of the present invention is that even when a traffic jam occurs in the middle of the link, the location of the traffic jam can be shown in detail, the cause of the traffic jam can be estimated, and the subsequent traffic state prediction It is to provide a traffic information providing system and the like that can perform the above.

  The third object of the present invention is to provide a method for making the use of a mobile phone network or the like to notify the cause of the traffic jam for each probe car only by notifying the position information and time information from the probe car side as before. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a traffic information providing system and the like that can be used without increasing the operating cost of the probe center.

  A fourth object of the present invention is to provide a traffic information providing system or the like that can receive traffic information from the probe center side even on the probe car side.

  The traffic information providing system according to the present invention is a traffic information providing system including an in-vehicle device mounted on a vehicle and a center-side computer that communicates with the in-vehicle device, and the vehicle collects information. And the vehicle-mounted device of the information collection vehicle includes position information collection means for collecting position information indicating the position of the information collection vehicle, position information collected by the position information collection means, and time for collecting the position information. Collection information transmission means for transmitting the collected information including the time information indicating to the center side computer side, and the center side computer receives the collection information transmitted by the collection information transmission means. And calculating a predetermined degree of congestion in the section based on the collected information received by the collected information receiving means, and calculating the time information based on the section and the collected information. A congestion degree calculating means for recording a current congestion record associated with a predetermined congestion degree in a congestion degree recording section, and the same section as the current congestion record section recorded in the congestion degree recording section by the congestion degree calculating section A conventional traffic record search means for searching a previous traffic record recorded in the traffic jam recording unit, a predetermined traffic level in the current traffic jam record recorded in the traffic level recording unit by the traffic level calculation means and the previous traffic record Occurrence of non-natural congestion at the position indicated by the current traffic record position information based on comparison with the predetermined traffic congestion degree in the previous traffic record searched for the same section as the current traffic record record by the traffic record search means A determination means for determining the presence or absence of traffic, and if the determination means does not determine that a non-natural traffic jam has occurred, the current traffic jam record as traffic information to the vehicle side A vehicle-mounted device of the vehicle, the traffic information receiving means for receiving the traffic information transmitted by the traffic information transmitting means, and a predetermined information based on the traffic information received by the traffic information receiving means. And a function operating means for operating the above functions.

  Here, in the traffic information providing system according to the present invention, the traffic information providing system further includes a search program that automatically performs a search on a network and communicates with the center computer, and the search program is transmitted from the center computer. Network search means for performing a search on the network based on the current traffic jam record and a predetermined search item, a candidate that causes a non-natural traffic jam based on the search result by the network search means, and its probability Non-natural congestion cause estimation means, and non-natural congestion cause information transmission means for transmitting non-natural congestion cause information including the candidates and probabilities estimated by the non-natural congestion cause estimation means to the center side computer. The center computer determines that a non-natural traffic jam has occurred by the determination means. The traffic jam record transmission means for transmitting the current traffic jam record to the search program side and the non-natural traffic jam cause information transmitted by the non-natural traffic jam cause information transmission means. Non-natural congestion cause information associating means for recording in the congestion degree recording unit in association with the congestion record, the traffic information transmitting means to the vehicle side by the non-natural congestion cause information associating means The non-natural traffic jam cause information recorded in association with the current traffic jam record and / or the current traffic jam record can be transmitted as traffic information.

  Here, in the traffic information providing system according to the present invention, the network search means performs a first search on the network based on position information, time information and a predetermined search item in the current traffic jam record transmitted by the traffic jam record sending means. And a second search on the network based on the position information and the time information in the current traffic jam record, and the non-natural traffic jam cause estimating means searches for the number of searches by the second search performed by the network search means. The total number of cases, a candidate that causes non-natural congestion is obtained from the appearance frequency based on the ratio of the number of occurrences of words or sentences appearing in the result of the first search and the total number of searches, and the appearance frequency is determined as the probability of the candidate Can be estimated.

  Here, in the traffic information providing system according to the present invention, the traffic information providing system further includes a search program that automatically performs a search on a network and that communicates with the center-side computer, and the search program includes a time indicating a current time. Network monitoring means for performing a search on the network based on the information and a predetermined search item, and when the occurrence of non-natural traffic jam is detected based on the result of the search by the network monitoring means, the searched result and map information A position information acquisition unit that acquires position information indicating a position where the non-natural traffic jam occurs based on the map recording unit on which the information is recorded, and a candidate that causes the non-natural traffic jam based on the search result by the network monitoring unit And the non-natural traffic jam cause estimating means for estimating the probability and the position acquired by the position information acquiring means Non-natural congestion cause information transmission that transmits to the center side computer information, time information used by the network monitoring means, and non-natural congestion cause information including candidates and probabilities estimated by the non-natural congestion cause means The center-side computer searches for a traffic jam record recorded in the traffic jam degree recording unit corresponding to the position information and time information transmitted by the non-natural traffic jam cause information transmission unit, and Non-natural traffic jam cause information associating means for associating the non-natural traffic jam cause information transmitted by the traffic jam cause information transmitting means with the searched traffic jam record and recording it in the traffic jam degree recording unit, the traffic information transmitting means, The non-natural traffic jam recorded in the traffic jam degree recording unit in association with the retrieved traffic jam record by the non-natural traffic jam cause information associating means to the vehicle side It can be transmitted in information and / or the retrieved congestion recorded as the traffic information.

  Here, in the traffic information providing system according to the present invention, the network monitoring means performs a first search on the network based on time information and a predetermined search item, and a second search on the network based on the time information, The non-natural traffic jam cause estimating means uses the number of searches by the second search performed by the network search means as the total number of searches, and the number of appearances of words or sentences appearing in the result of the first search and the total number of searches Candidates that cause non-natural traffic congestion can be obtained from the appearance frequency based on the ratio, and the appearance frequency can be estimated as the probability of the candidate.

  Here, in the traffic information providing system according to the present invention, the search program predicts a subsequent traffic situation caused by the non-natural traffic jam based on the candidates and probabilities estimated by the non-natural traffic jam cause estimation means. Prediction means can be further provided.

  Here, in the traffic information providing system of the present invention, the predetermined search item can be a keyword based on one or more items of a geographical information item, a peripheral facility item, a road traffic facility item, and an event item. .

  Here, in the traffic information providing system of the present invention, the predetermined function may be a traffic jam display function and / or a route re-search function.

  The center-side computer program according to the present invention is a center-side computer program that communicates with an in-vehicle device mounted on a vehicle, the vehicle including an information collecting vehicle that collects information, Collection information receiving means for receiving collection information transmitted from the information collection vehicle and including position information indicating the position of the information collection vehicle collected by the information collection vehicle and time information indicating the time when the position collection information was collected Calculating a predetermined degree of congestion in the section based on the collected information received by the collected information receiving means, and displaying a current congestion record associating the section with time information based on the collected information and the calculated predetermined congestion degree The traffic jam degree calculating means for recording in the traffic degree recording section, and the current traffic jam recording section recorded in the traffic jam degree recording section by the traffic jam degree calculating means for the same section. A previous traffic record search means for searching a previous traffic record recorded in the traffic jam recording section, a predetermined traffic jam level in the current traffic jam record recorded in the traffic jam level recording section by the traffic jam degree calculation means and the previous traffic jam record Existence of non-natural traffic jam at the location indicated by the current traffic record location information based on comparison with the predetermined traffic jam level in the previous traffic jam record searched for the same zone as the current traffic jam record section by the search means A center for functioning as a traffic information transmitting unit for transmitting a current traffic jam record as traffic information to the vehicle when the determination unit does not determine that a non-natural traffic jam has occurred. A computer program characterized in that an operation of a predetermined function is performed on the basis of the traffic information by an in-vehicle device of the vehicle.

  Here, in the center side computer program of the present invention, when it is determined by the determining means that a non-natural traffic jam has occurred, the program automatically searches on the network and communicates with the center side computer. A traffic jam record transmitting means for transmitting a current traffic jam record to the search program side to be performed, and a search is performed on the network based on the current traffic jam record transmitted by the traffic jam record transmitting means and a predetermined search item by the search program. Based on the retrieved result, the candidate and the probability of causing the non-natural congestion are estimated, and the non-natural congestion cause information including the estimated candidate and the probability is transmitted to the center side computer and transmitted. Further, the non-natural congestion cause information is associated with the current congestion record transmitted by the congestion record transmission means, and the congestion degree recording unit Non-natural traffic jam cause information associating means for recording, and the traffic information transmitting means is recorded on the vehicle side by the non-natural traffic jam cause information associating means in the traffic jam degree recording unit in association with the current traffic jam record. The non-natural traffic jam cause information and / or the current traffic jam record can be transmitted as traffic information.

  Here, in the computer program for the center side according to the present invention, the time information indicating the current time and a predetermined search item are obtained by the search program for automatically searching on the network and communicating with the center side computer. If the occurrence of a non-natural traffic jam is detected based on the retrieved result, the non-natural traffic jam is detected based on the retrieved result and the map recording unit in which the map information is recorded. Position information indicating the generated position is acquired, a candidate that causes non-natural congestion and its probability are estimated based on the search result, the acquired position information, and the time information used for the search Non-natural congestion cause information including estimated candidates and probabilities is transmitted to the center-side computer, and corresponds to the transmitted position information and time information. The traffic record recorded in the traffic jam degree recording unit is searched, and the non-natural traffic jam cause information transmitted by the non-natural traffic jam cause information transmitting means is associated with the searched traffic jam record and recorded in the traffic jam level recording unit. Natural traffic jam cause information associating means is further provided, and the traffic information transmitting means is recorded in the traffic jam degree recording unit in association with the searched traffic jam record by the non-natural traffic jam cause information associating means to the vehicle side. Natural traffic cause information and / or searched traffic records can be transmitted as traffic information.

  The search program of the present invention is a search program that automatically searches on a network and communicates with a center computer that communicates with an in-vehicle device mounted on the vehicle, and the vehicle collects information. Position information indicating the position of the information collecting vehicle collected by the information collecting vehicle and time information indicating the time when the position information was collected, transmitted from the information collecting vehicle by the center side computer. Is received, and a predetermined congestion degree is calculated in the section based on the collected information, and the current congestion record that associates the section with the time information based on the collected information and the calculated predetermined congestion degree is a traffic jam. The previous traffic record recorded in the traffic jam recording unit is searched for the same segment as the current traffic jam recorded in the traffic level recording unit. Based on the comparison between the predetermined congestion degree in the current congestion record recorded in the congestion degree recording section and the predetermined congestion degree in the previous congestion record searched for the same section as the current congestion record section, If it is determined whether or not non-natural traffic jam occurs at the position indicated by the location information of the traffic jam record, and it is determined that non-natural traffic jam occurs, the current traffic jam record is transmitted to the search program side, and the computer Based on the current traffic jam record transmitted from the center side computer and a predetermined search item, network search means for searching on the network, based on the result searched by the network search means, the cause of non-natural traffic jam Non-natural congestion cause estimation means for estimating the candidate and its probability, and the candidate and probability estimated by the non-natural congestion cause estimation means A search program for causing non-natural traffic cause information transmitting means to transmit to the center-side computer including non-natural traffic cause information transmitting means transmitted by the non-natural traffic cause information transmitting means by the center-side computer Non-natural traffic jam cause information is recorded in the traffic jam recording unit in association with the current traffic jam record transmitted to the search program side, and is recorded in the traffic jam level recording unit in association with the current traffic jam record to the vehicle side. The non-natural traffic jam cause information and / or the current traffic jam record is transmitted as traffic information.

  Here, in the search program of the present invention, the network search means includes a first search on the network based on position information, time information and a predetermined search item in the current traffic jam record transmitted from the center side computer, The second search on the network based on the position information and the time information in the current traffic jam record is performed, and the non-natural traffic jam cause estimation means uses the number of searches by the second search performed by the network search means as the total number of searches. The candidate that causes the non-natural traffic jam is obtained from the appearance frequency based on the ratio between the number of appearances of the word or sentence appearing in the result of the first search and the total number of searches, and the appearance frequency is estimated as the probability of the candidate. be able to.

  The search program of the present invention is a search program that automatically searches on a network and communicates with a center computer that communicates with an in-vehicle device mounted on the vehicle, and the vehicle collects information. Position information indicating the position of the information collecting vehicle collected by the information collecting vehicle and time information indicating the time when the position information was collected, transmitted from the information collecting vehicle by the center side computer. Is received, and a predetermined congestion degree is calculated in the section based on the collected information, and the current congestion record that associates the section with the time information based on the collected information and the calculated predetermined congestion degree is a traffic jam. A network monitor that searches the network based on time information indicating a current time and a predetermined search item. Means, when the occurrence of non-natural traffic jam is detected based on the result retrieved by the network monitoring means, indicates the position where the non-natural traffic jam occurs based on the retrieved result and a map recording unit in which map information is recorded Position information acquisition means for acquiring position information, non-natural congestion cause estimation means for estimating a candidate and a probability of non-natural congestion based on a result searched by the network monitoring means, and the position information acquisition means The non-natural traffic information that includes the acquired location information, the time information used by the network monitoring means, and the non-natural traffic cause information including candidates and probabilities estimated by the non-natural traffic cause means to the center side computer A search program for functioning as a cause-of-congestion information transmission unit, wherein the non-natural The non-natural congestion cause information transmitted by the non-natural congestion cause information transmitting unit is retrieved by searching the traffic record recorded in the congestion level recording unit corresponding to the position information and time information transmitted by the congestion cause information transmitting unit. Is recorded in the traffic jam recording unit in association with the searched traffic jam record, and non-natural traffic jam cause information recorded in the traffic jam recording unit in association with the searched traffic jam record and / or retrieved to the vehicle side. A traffic jam record is transmitted as traffic information.

  Here, in the search program of the present invention, the network monitoring means performs a first search on the network based on time information and a predetermined search item, and a second search on the network based on the time information, and The natural traffic jam cause estimation means uses the number of searches by the second search performed by the network search means as the total number of searches, and sets the ratio between the number of appearances of words or sentences appearing in the result of the first search and the total number of searches. Candidates that cause non-natural congestion are obtained from the appearance frequency based on the frequency, and the appearance frequency can be estimated as the probability of the candidate.

  Here, the search program according to the present invention may further include a traffic condition predicting means for predicting a subsequent traffic condition caused by the generated non-natural traffic based on the candidates and probabilities estimated by the non-natural traffic cause estimating means. it can.

  Here, in the search program of the present invention, the predetermined search item may be a keyword based on one or more items of a geographical information item, a peripheral facility item, a road traffic facility item, and an event item.

  The recording medium of the present invention is a computer-readable recording medium that records either the center side computer program or the search program of the present invention.

  The traffic information providing method of the present invention is a traffic information providing method using an in-vehicle device mounted on a vehicle and a center-side computer that communicates with the in-vehicle device, and the vehicle is an information collecting vehicle that collects information. A position information collecting step in which the vehicle-mounted device of the information collecting vehicle collects position information indicating the position of the information collecting vehicle, the position information collected in the position information collecting step, and a time at which the position information is collected. A collection information transmission step for transmitting collection information including time information to the center computer side, a collection information reception step for the center computer to receive the collection information transmitted in the collection information transmission step, A predetermined congestion degree in a section based on the collected information received in the collected information receiving step is calculated, and the time information based on the section and the collected information is calculated. A traffic congestion degree calculating step for recording a current traffic congestion record associated with a predetermined traffic congestion degree in a traffic congestion degree recording unit, and the same interval as the current traffic jam recording section recorded in the traffic congestion degree recording unit in the traffic congestion degree calculating step A conventional traffic record search step for searching a previous traffic record recorded in the traffic jam recording unit, a predetermined traffic level in the current traffic jam record recorded in the traffic jam level recording unit in the traffic jam level calculating step and the previous traffic record Occurrence of non-natural congestion at the position indicated by the current traffic record position information based on the comparison with the predetermined congestion level in the previous traffic record searched for the same section as the current traffic record section in the traffic record search step A judgment step for judging the presence or absence of traffic, and if it is not judged in the judgment step that a non-natural traffic jam has occurred, A traffic information transmitting step for transmitting as information, a traffic information receiving step for the vehicle-mounted device of the vehicle to receive the traffic information transmitted in the traffic information transmitting step, and a predetermined information based on the traffic information received in the traffic information receiving step. And a function operation step for operating the function.

  Here, in the traffic information providing method according to the present invention, the traffic information providing method further includes a search program for automatically performing a search on a network and communicating with the center side computer, wherein the center side computer does not execute the determination step. When it is determined that a natural traffic jam has occurred, a traffic jam record transmission step for transmitting the current traffic jam record to the search program side, and the current traffic jam record transmitted in the traffic jam record transmission step, A network search step for performing a search on the network based on a predetermined search item, and a non-natural traffic jam cause for estimating a candidate and a probability of the non-natural traffic jam based on a result searched in the network search step An estimation step, a candidate and a probability estimated in the non-natural congestion cause estimation step. Non-natural traffic jam cause information transmitting step for transmitting natural traffic jam cause information to the center side computer, and the non-natural traffic jam cause information transmitted by the center side computer in the non-natural traffic jam cause information transmitting step in the traffic jam record transmitting step A non-natural traffic jam cause information associating step for recording in the traffic jam degree recording unit in association with the current traffic jam record transmitted in the step, wherein the traffic information transmitting step includes the non-natural traffic jam cause information associating step to the vehicle side. Thus, the non-natural traffic jam cause information recorded in association with the current traffic jam record and / or the current traffic jam record can be transmitted as traffic information.

  Here, in the traffic information providing method of the present invention, the network search step includes a first search on the network based on position information, time information, and a predetermined search item in the current traffic jam record transmitted in the traffic jam record sending step. And a second search on the network based on the position information and the time information in the current traffic jam record, and the non-natural traffic jam cause estimation step retrieves the number of searches by the second search performed in the network search step. The total number of cases, a candidate that causes non-natural congestion is obtained from the appearance frequency based on the ratio of the number of occurrences of words or sentences appearing in the result of the first search and the total number of searches, and the appearance frequency is determined as the probability of the candidate Can be estimated.

  Here, in the traffic information providing method according to the present invention, the traffic information providing method further includes a search program for automatically searching on a network and communicating with the center side computer, wherein the search program is a time indicating a current time. A network monitoring step for performing a search on the network based on the information and a predetermined search item, and if the occurrence of a non-natural traffic jam is detected based on the search result in the network monitoring step, the searched result and map information A position information acquisition step for acquiring position information indicating the position where the non-natural traffic jam occurs based on the map recording unit on which the non-natural traffic jam is recorded, and candidates that cause the non-natural traffic jam based on the search result in the network monitoring step Obtained in the non-natural traffic jam cause estimating step and the position information acquiring step. Non-natural traffic information including the time information used in the network monitoring step and the non-natural traffic cause information including the candidates and probabilities estimated in the non-natural traffic cause transmission step. The traffic jam cause information transmitting step, and the center side computer searches the traffic jam record recorded in the traffic jam degree recording unit corresponding to the position information and time information transmitted in the non-natural traffic jam cause information transmitting step, and A non-natural congestion cause information associating step of recording the non-natural congestion cause information transmitted in the non-natural congestion cause information step in association with the searched traffic record and recording in the congestion level recording unit, the traffic information transmitting step Is associated with the retrieved traffic record in the non-natural traffic cause information associating step to the vehicle side. Recorded non natural cause of traffic congestion information and / or retrieved congestion recorded section can be transmitted as traffic information.

  Here, in the traffic information providing method of the present invention, the network monitoring step performs a first search on the network based on time information and a predetermined search item, and a second search on the network based on the time information, In the non-natural traffic jam cause estimating step, the number of searches by the second search performed in the network search step is set as the total number of searches, and the number of occurrences of words or sentences appearing in the result of the first search and the total number of searches Candidates that cause non-natural traffic congestion can be obtained from the appearance frequency based on the ratio, and the appearance frequency can be estimated as the probability of the candidate.

  Here, in the traffic information providing method according to the present invention, the search program predicts a subsequent traffic situation caused by the non-natural traffic jam based on the candidates and probabilities estimated in the non-natural traffic jam cause estimation step. A prediction step can further be provided.

  Here, in the traffic information providing method of the present invention, the predetermined search item can be a keyword based on one or more items of a geographical information item, a peripheral facility item, a road traffic facility item, and an event item. .

  Here, in the traffic information providing method of the present invention, the predetermined function may be a traffic jam display function and / or a route re-search function.

  According to the traffic information providing system and the like of the present invention, the in-vehicle device or the like collects the position information collecting unit that collects the position information indicating the position of the probe car, the position information collected by the position information collecting unit, and the position information. And a collection information transmission unit that transmits collection information including time information indicating the measured time to the probe center side computer. As in the past, only the position information and time information are notified from the probe car side, and a method of using the mobile phone network or the like to report the cause of the traffic jam for each probe car is not used. For this reason, there is an effect that it is possible to avoid increasing the operating cost of the probe center. The probe center side computer calculates a predetermined congestion degree in a section (link) based on the collection information reception unit that receives the collection information transmitted by the collection information transmission unit, and the collection information received by the collection information reception unit, and A congestion degree calculation unit is provided that records a current congestion record that associates a section, time information based on the collected information, and the calculated predetermined congestion degree in the congestion degree record DB. Calculation of the predetermined congestion degree in the section (link) may be performed in the same manner as in the past. The probe center side computer includes a previous traffic record search unit that searches the previous traffic record recorded in the traffic record DB for the same section as the current traffic record recorded in the traffic record DB by the traffic level calculation unit. ing. The probe center side computer is searched for a predetermined traffic level in the current traffic record recorded in the traffic level record DB by the traffic level calculation unit and the same section as the current traffic record section (link) by the previous traffic record search unit. Based on a comparison with a predetermined traffic level in a conventional traffic record, a determination unit that determines whether or not a non-natural traffic (sudden traffic) has occurred at a position (that is, a link) indicated by position information of the current traffic record It has. The determination unit compares the congestion level recorded in the current congestion record with the congestion level at the same time on the previous day, the congestion level at the same time on the same day of the previous month, and the like. As a result of this comparison, for example, when the congestion level recorded in the current congestion record and the congestion level at the same time on the previous day are equal, the determination unit breaks down that the congestion on the current link is a natural congestion. That is, it is not determined that a non-natural traffic jam has occurred. As described above, the determination unit can determine whether the current traffic jam is a natural traffic jam or an unexpected traffic jam by comparing the current traffic jam record and the past traffic jam record in the same section. The probe center side computer includes a traffic information transmission unit that transmits the current traffic jam record as traffic information to the receiving vehicle when the determination unit does not determine that a non-natural traffic jam has occurred. Since the probe car 1 may be a receiving vehicle, the traffic information transmission unit can transmit the current traffic jam record as traffic information to the probe car side.

  The vehicle-mounted device of the receiving vehicle includes a traffic information receiving unit that receives the traffic information transmitted by the traffic information transmitting unit, and a function operation unit that operates a predetermined function based on the traffic information received by the traffic information receiving unit. Yes. From the above, there is an effect that it is possible to determine whether the traffic is a natural traffic jam or a sudden traffic jam. As usual, only the location information and time information is reported from the probe car side, and the method of using the mobile phone network etc. to report the cause of traffic congestion for each probe car is not used. There is an effect that it is possible to do without increasing. The probe car side can also receive traffic information from the probe center side computer.

  Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows a traffic information providing system 1 in Embodiment 1 of the present invention. In FIG. 1, reference numerals 10a,. . . , 10n are onboard units 11a,. . . , 11n, a probe car (information collecting vehicle), 20a,. . . , 20m are onboard devices 21a,. . . , 21m is a receiving vehicle (vehicle) that receives traffic information. n and m are arbitrary numbers of 1 or more. Hereinafter, the probe car and its in-vehicle device are referred to as the probe car 10a, etc., the in-vehicle device 11a, etc., and the receiving vehicle and its in-vehicle device are the receiving vehicle 20a, the in-vehicle device 21a, etc. Call it. Although the vehicle is configured by the probe car 10a and the like and the receiving vehicle 20a and the like, the probe car 10a and the like may be the receiving vehicle 20a and the like. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 30 denotes a probe center side computer (center side computer) that communicates with the probe car 10a and the like and the receiving vehicle 20a and the like.

  In FIG. 1, the code | symbol 12 is a functional block which shows the function with which the vehicle equipment 11a etc. are provided. As shown in the functional block 12, the in-vehicle device 11 a and the like are collected by the position information collection unit (position information collection unit) 13 that collects position information indicating the position of the probe car 10 a and the like, and the position information collection unit 13. A collection information transmission unit (collection information transmission means) 14 that transmits collection information including position information and time information indicating the time at which the position information is collected to the probe center side computer 30 is provided.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining a method by which the probe car 10a and the like collect position information and time information. In FIG. 2, the same reference numerals as those in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2A, when the probe car 10a or the like is at the position Pi (or running) at time Tm (09:30 on September 10, 2007), the position information collecting unit 13 Pi's latitude, longitude, and altitude three-dimensional coordinates (position information) are collected by a GPS antenna (not shown) connected to the vehicle-mounted device 11a and the like. The collection information transmission unit 14 transmits collection information including the position information of the position Pi collected by the position information collection unit 13 and time information indicating the time Tm to the probe center side computer 30. When the probe car 10a or the like travels in the right direction on FIG. 2A, the position information collection unit 13 collects position information at the position Pj, and the collection information transmission unit 14 includes the position information and time information indicating the time Tm + 1. Is sent to the probe center side computer 30. Subsequently, the position information collection unit 13 collects position information at the position Pk, and the collection information transmission unit 14 transmits collection information including the position information and time information indicating the time Tm + 2 to the probe center side computer 30. In FIG. 2B, the position Pi is an intersection or the like (node N1), the position Pk is an intersection or the like (node N2), the links connecting the nodes N1 and N2 are N ₁ and ₂ , and the node N1 the distance between the N2 indicates that the _{R 1, 2.} As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the collection of position information is performed between nodes N1 and N2 at a desired periodic interval such as 5 minutes.

Returning to FIG. 1, reference numeral 40 denotes a recording device such as a disk provided in the probe center side computer 30. The recording device 40 includes a node position database (DB) 41 that records information on the position Pi and the like of the node N1 and the like. The inter-node distance DB 42 that records the distances R _{1, 2,} etc. between the nodes N 1, etc. and the N 2, etc., and the congestion degree recording DB, which records the degree of congestion (described later) between the nodes N 1, etc. (Congestion degree recording unit) 43 is recorded.

FIG. 3 illustrates the contents of the DB recorded in the recording device 40. As shown in FIG. 3A, in the node position DB 41, a node number such as the node N1 and a node position (intersection etc.) Pi corresponding to the node N1 are recorded in association with each other. The node position Pi is actually recorded in three-dimensional coordinates such as latitude, longitude, and altitude. As shown in FIG. 3B, the inter-node distance DB 42 records distances R1, _2, etc. between the nodes N1, etc. and N2, etc. Although FIG. 3B shows the inter-node distance DB 42 using a table, it is sufficient that only the upper (or lower) triangular portion of the table is recorded, so other recording methods may be used. . As shown in FIG. 3 (C), the congestion level recorded DB43 are recorded in association with the current and historical congestion degree the time in the link N _{1, 2,} etc. between the node N1 and the like and N2, etc. Yes. For example, as shown in the table of links N _{1 and 2,} the degree of congestion at time Tm is 3, and the degree of congestion at previous time Tm-1 is 3.

Returning to FIG. 1, reference numeral 31 is a functional block showing functions provided in the probe center side computer 30. As shown in the functional block 31, the probe center side computer 30 receives the collected information transmitted by the collected information transmitting unit 13 and receives it by the collected information receiving unit 32 (collected information receiving means) and the collected information receiving unit 32. Current congestion record in which a predetermined congestion degree in a section (link N _{1, 2,} etc.) based on the collected information is calculated, and the section, time information based on the collected information, and the calculated predetermined congestion degree are associated with each other Is stored in the traffic jam degree record DB 43. As described above, the traffic jam record DB 43 uses a table in which time information and the traffic jam degree are associated with each section (link N _{1, 2,} etc.) to record the current traffic jam record with respect to the link N _1,2. It can be recorded as a congestion degree 1 at Tm.

Calculation of a predetermined degree of congestion in the section (link N _{1, 2} etc.) may be performed in the same manner as before (guideline for providing traffic information http://www.npa.go.jp/koutsuu/jouhou/guideline. (See pdf). In the probe center side computer 30, the “link travel time” indicating the travel time of the specific links N _{1, 2,} etc. on the map is known by counting the position information at regular intervals transmitted from the probe car 10 a and the like. Next, the degree of congestion is obtained as follows.
1) link travel time and link distance and the average speed of a particular probe car 10a (= link travel time of the distance _{R 1, 2} / specific link _{N 1, 2} of the specific link _{N 1, 2)} is calculated.
2) The calculated average vehicle speed is applied to a congestion degree table (see the above guideline) to determine the congestion degree.

FIG. 4 shows a table of the degree of congestion. As shown in FIG. 4, the speed of traffic congestion is defined as a speed to be expressed as “congested” and a speed to be expressed as “congested” according to the road classification. Speeds above “congested” are considered “good”. For example, when a certain probe car 10a or the like travels on links N ₁ and _{2 of} 1 km in 4 minutes and the links N ₁ and ₂ are ordinary roads, the average vehicle speed is about 15 km / h. From the table of congestion levels shown in Fig. 1, the congestion level is "congested". In the present embodiment, for example, according to the congestion degree table shown in FIG. 4, the case of “congestion” is set as the congestion degree 3, the case of “congestion” is set as the congestion degree 2, and the case of “smooth” is set. Expressed as a congestion level of 1. However, other congestion degree tables or criteria may be used.

Returning to FIG. 1, as shown in the functional block 31, the probe center side computer 30 records in the traffic jam record DB 43 about the same zone as the current traffic jam record recorded in the traffic jam degree record DB 43 by the traffic jam degree calculation unit 33. The conventional traffic jam record search unit (previous traffic jam record search means) 34 for searching the previous traffic jam record is provided. Referring to FIG. 3C, when the current traffic jam record section is links N ₁ and ₂ and the current time is Tm, the previous traffic jam record (previous time, traffic jam degree) is ( Tm-1, 3), (Tm-2, 1),. . . , (Tm-k, 2), etc. can be searched.

As shown in the functional block 31, the probe center side computer 30 uses the traffic jam degree calculation unit 33 to record the current traffic jam by using the predetermined traffic jam degree and the previous traffic jam record search unit 34 in the current traffic jam record DB 43. Based on a comparison with a predetermined traffic jam degree in the previous traffic jam record searched for the same zone as the recorded zone (link N _{1, 2,} etc.), the location indicated by the current traffic jam location information (ie, link N _{1 , 2} etc.) includes a determination unit (determination means) 35 for determining whether or not a non-natural traffic jam (sudden traffic jam) has occurred. To explain with the above example, for the current traffic record section links N _{1 and 2} , the previous traffic record search unit 34 sets (Tm-1, 3), (Tm) as the previous traffic record (previous time, congestion level). -2, 1),. . . , (Tm-k, 2), etc. Since the time Tm recorded in the current traffic jam record is represented by the year, month, day, time, the determination unit 35 determines that the traffic jam degree 3 recorded in the current traffic jam record is the same as that of the previous month. Compare traffic congestion at the same time of day. As a result of this comparison, for example, when the congestion degree 3 recorded in the current congestion record and the congestion degree at the same time on the previous day are equal, the determination unit 35 determines that the congestion with the congestion degree 3 on the current links N _{1 and 2} is a natural congestion. It breaks when it is. That is, it is not determined that a non-natural traffic jam has occurred. On the other hand, when the traffic congestion level 3 recorded in the current traffic congestion record is different from the traffic congestion level at the same time on the previous day, for example, when the traffic congestion level at the same time on the previous day is 1, the determination unit 35 uses the current links N _{1 and 2} It is determined that a traffic jam with a traffic jam degree of 3 is a sudden traffic jam (non-natural traffic jam). This case will be described in the second embodiment.

  As shown in the function block 31, the probe center side computer 30 transmits the current traffic jam record as traffic information to the receiving vehicle 20a etc. side when the judgment unit 35 does not judge that a non-natural traffic jam has occurred. A traffic information transmission unit (traffic information transmission means) 36 is provided. As described above, since the probe car 10a or the like may be the receiving vehicle 20a or the like, the traffic information transmission unit 36 can transmit the current traffic jam record as traffic information to the probe car 10a or the like side.

  In FIG. 1, the code | symbol 22 is a functional block which shows the function with which the receiving vehicle 20a etc. are provided. As shown in the functional block 22, the in-vehicle device 21a such as the receiving vehicle 20a includes a traffic information receiving unit (traffic information receiving means) 23 that receives the traffic information transmitted by the traffic information transmitting unit 36, and a traffic information receiving unit. A function operation unit (function operation means) 24 that operates a predetermined function based on the traffic information received by the unit 23 is provided. Examples of the predetermined function include a traffic jam display function and / or a route re-search function. For example, traffic information received by the traffic information receiving unit 23 can be displayed by a traffic jam display function, or a route previously searched for by car navigation based on the traffic information can be re-searched. The predetermined function is not limited to the above function, and may be another function.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the flow of each process of the probe car 10a and the like, the probe center side computer 30 and the receiving vehicle 20a and the like in the traffic information providing system 1 and method according to the first embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 5, the upper left flowchart shows the processing of the probe car 10a and the like, the lower left flowchart shows the processing of the receiving vehicle 20a and the like, and the central flowchart shows the processing of the probe center side computer 30 and the probe car 10a and the like. Communication between the center computer 30 and the receiving vehicle 20a is indicated by a broken line. As shown in FIG. 5, the vehicle-mounted device 11a such as the probe car 10a collects position information indicating the position of the probe car 10a or the like (position information collecting step, step S10). Next, the collection information CINF including the position information collected in the position information collection step (step S10) and the time information indicating the time when the position information was collected is transmitted to the probe center side computer 30 (collection information transmission step). Step S11).

  Subsequently, the probe center side computer 30 receives the collection information CINF transmitted in the collection information transmission step (step S11) (collection information reception step, step S20). A predetermined congestion degree in the section based on the collection information CINF received in the collected information receiving step (step S20) is calculated, and the current time in which the section, time information based on the collection information CINF, and the calculated predetermined congestion degree are associated with each other Is recorded in the traffic congestion degree record DB 43 (congestion degree calculation step, step S21). The previous congestion record recorded in the congestion record DB 43 is searched for the same section as the current congestion record section recorded in the congestion degree record DB 43 in the congestion degree calculation step (step S21) (previous congestion record search step, step). S22). The predetermined congestion degree in the current congestion record recorded in the congestion degree record DB 43 in the congestion degree calculation step (step S21) and the same section as the current congestion record section are searched in the previous congestion record search step (step 22). Based on the comparison with the predetermined traffic level in the previous traffic record, it is determined whether or not a non-natural traffic has occurred at the position indicated by the position information of the current traffic record (determination step, step S23). If it is not determined in the determination step (step S23) that a non-natural traffic jam has occurred, the current traffic jam record is transmitted as traffic information to the receiving vehicle 20a or the like side (traffic information transmission step, step S24).

  The in-vehicle device 21a such as the receiving vehicle 20a or the in-vehicle device 11a such as the probe car 10a receives the traffic information transmitted in the traffic information transmitting step (step S24) (traffic information receiving step, step S30). A predetermined function is operated based on the traffic information received in the traffic information reception step (step S30) (function operation step; step S31).

As described above, according to the first embodiment of the present invention, the in-vehicle device 11a and the like include the position information collecting unit 13 that collects position information indicating the position of the probe car 10a and the like, and the position information collected by the position information collecting unit 13. And a collection information transmission unit 14 for transmitting collection information including time information indicating the time at which the position information is collected to the probe center side computer 30. As in the past, only the position information and the time information are notified from the probe car 10a and the like side, and a method of using the mobile phone network or the like to report the cause of the traffic jam for each probe car is not used. For this reason, it is possible to avoid increasing the operating cost of the probe center. The probe center side computer 30 includes a collection information reception unit 32 that receives the collection information transmitted by the collection information transmission unit 13 and a section (link N _{1, 2,} etc.) based on the collection information received by the collection information reception unit 32. A congestion degree calculating unit that calculates a predetermined congestion degree, and records the current congestion record in the congestion degree record DB 43 in association with the section, time information based on the collected information, and the calculated predetermined congestion degree; ing. The calculation of the predetermined congestion degree in the section (link N _{1, 2,} etc.) may be performed in the same manner as in the past. The probe center side computer 30 searches the previous traffic record recorded in the traffic record DB 43 for the same section as the current traffic record recorded in the traffic record DB 43 by the traffic level calculation unit 33. 34 is provided. The probe center side computer 30 uses a predetermined congestion degree in the current congestion record recorded in the congestion degree record DB 43 by the congestion degree calculation unit 33 and the current congestion record section (link N _{1, 2)} by the previous congestion record search unit 34. Etc.) based on a comparison with a predetermined congestion degree in the previous congestion record searched for the same section as the non-natural congestion at the position (namely, link N _{1, 2,} etc.) indicated by the position information of the current congestion record. A judgment unit 35 is provided for judging whether or not a sudden traffic jam has occurred. The determination unit 35 compares the congestion level 3 recorded in the current congestion record with the congestion level at the same time on the previous day, the congestion level at the same time on the same day of the previous month, and the like. As a result of this comparison, for example, when the congestion degree 3 recorded in the current congestion record and the congestion degree at the same time on the previous day are equal, the determination unit 35 determines that the congestion with the congestion degree 3 on the current links N _{1 and 2} is a natural congestion. It breaks when it is. That is, it is not determined that a non-natural traffic jam has occurred. As described above, the determination unit 35 can compare the current traffic jam record with the past traffic jam record in the same section to determine whether the current traffic jam is a natural traffic jam or an unexpected traffic jam. The probe center side computer 30 includes a traffic information transmission unit 36 that transmits the current traffic jam record as traffic information to the receiving vehicle 20a side when the determination unit 35 does not determine that a non-natural traffic jam has occurred. Yes. As described above, since the probe car 10a or the like may be the receiving vehicle 20a or the like, the traffic information transmission unit 36 can transmit the current traffic jam record as traffic information to the probe car 10a or the like side. The vehicle-mounted device 21a and the like such as the receiving vehicle 20a operate a predetermined function based on the traffic information receiving unit 23 that receives the traffic information transmitted by the traffic information transmitting unit 36 and the traffic information received by the traffic information receiving unit 23. And a functional operation unit 24. From the above, it is possible to provide the traffic information providing system 1 and the like that can determine whether the traffic is a natural traffic jam or a sudden traffic jam. As usual, only the location information and time information is reported from the probe car side, and the method of using the mobile phone network etc. to report the cause of traffic congestion for each probe car is not used. It is possible to provide a traffic information providing system or the like that can avoid the increase in traffic. It is possible to provide a traffic information providing system or the like that can receive traffic information from the probe center side computer 30 even on the probe car 10a side or the like.

As briefly mentioned in the first embodiment, the second embodiment will describe a case where the determination unit 35 determines that the current traffic jam on the links N _{1 and 2} is a sudden traffic jam (non-natural traffic jam).

FIG. 6 shows a traffic information providing system 2 in Embodiment 2 of the present invention. In FIG. 6, portions denoted by the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 1 indicate the same elements or functions, and thus description thereof is omitted. In FIG. 6, reference numeral 51 is a program that automatically performs a search on a network 59 such as the Internet, and is a web search agent (search program) that communicates with the probe center side computer 30, and 50 is a web search agent 51. Is a computer such as a server on which is executed. As shown in FIG. 6, the probe center side computer 30 transmits a current traffic jam record to the web search agent 51 side when the judgment unit 35 determines that a non-natural traffic jam has occurred. (Congestion record transmission means) 37 is provided. Since the current traffic jam record is recorded as the traffic jam degree 3 at the time Tm with respect to the links N _{1 and 2} , for example, the traffic jam record transmission unit 37 directly transmits the information of the links N _{1 and 2 with} respect to the position information. Alternatively congestion recording transmitting unit 37 may transmit the position of the nodes N1, N2 constituting the link N _{1, 2} by using the node position DB41 (latitude, longitude and altitude of the three-dimensional coordinates) as the location information, Both the information of the links N ₁ and ₂ and the position may be transmitted.

In FIG. 6, reference numeral 52 is a functional block showing the function of the web search agent 51, and the same part as the web search agent 51 is given a reference for convenience of the drawing. As shown in the functional block 52, the web search agent 51 performs a network search unit (network search) that performs a search on the network 59 based on the current traffic jam record transmitted from the probe center side computer 30 and a predetermined search item. Means) 53 is provided. When only the links N _{1 and 2} are transmitted regarding the position information, the web search agent 51 uses the node position DB 41 for obtaining the road position (latitude, longitude, and altitude three-dimensional coordinates) from the links N ₁ and ₂ . It has such DB.

  FIG. 7 illustrates predetermined search items. As shown in FIG. 7, as the predetermined search item, it is preferable to use a keyword based on one or more items of a geographical information item, a peripheral facility item, a road traffic facility item, and an event item. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, an address, a longitude / latitude, a map code, or the like can be used as a keyword based on a geographical information item. Names in peripheral facility items, road traffic facility items, and event items can include not only formal names but also different names such as common names. For example, a road name in the road traffic facility item can include not only a formal name such as No. 99 but also a common name such as XX bypass.

  Since the network search unit 53 can obtain the position of the road (three-dimensional coordinates of latitude, longitude, and altitude) based on the transmitted position information, the keyword based on the geographical information item can be extracted from the position. For example, an address can be obtained from the position and the address can be used as a keyword. In this case, a desired address information DB (not shown) in which the correspondence between the position and the address is recorded may be used. Similarly, keywords based on peripheral facility items and road traffic facility items can be extracted from the position. In this case as well, a desired map information DB (not shown) in which correspondences such as position-address-peripheral facility name, road traffic facility name, etc. are recorded may be used. Since the network search unit 53 can obtain the current time based on the transmitted time information, a keyword based on the event item can be extracted from the position and the time. In this case, a desired event information DB (not shown) in which correspondences such as time-address-held event are recorded may be used. The network search unit 53 performs a search on the network 59 using the keywords extracted as described above.

  As shown in the functional block 52 of FIG. 6, the web search agent 51 estimates the non-natural congestion cause estimation based on the search result by the network search unit 53 and the candidate and the probability of causing the non-natural congestion. Part (non-natural traffic jam cause estimating means) 54 is provided. As a result of the network search unit 53 searching the network 59 using the keyword described above, a page (URL) including the keyword can be obtained as a search result. The non-natural congestion cause estimation unit 54 compiles the appearance frequencies of words, sentences, etc., other than the keywords that appear in the search results, and uses words, sentences, etc., whose appearance frequency is a predetermined value or more as the cause of non-natural congestion. And the appearance frequency is estimated as the probability.

  FIG. 8 exemplifies the result searched by the network search unit 53. In FIG. 8, reference numeral 61 is a candidate field indicating candidates that cause non-natural traffic jam, 62 is a search total number field indicating the total number of search results searched by the network search unit 53, and 63 is a candidate field 61. The appearance frequency column 61 indicates the appearance frequency (%) of the candidate that causes the non-natural traffic shown, and the rank column 61 indicates the rank of the appearance frequency displayed in the appearance frequency column 63. More specifically, the non-natural congestion cause estimation unit 54 calculates the total number of search results and the appearance frequency as follows. The network search unit 53 performs the first search on the network 59 based on the position information, the time information, and the predetermined search item described above, and the position information in the current traffic jam record, transmitted in the traffic jam record transmission unit 37. And a second search on the network 59 based on the time information. The non-natural traffic jam cause estimating unit 54 sets the number of searches by the second search performed by the network search unit 53 as the total number of searches, such as words or sentences appearing in the result of the first search performed by the network search unit 53. An appearance frequency is obtained based on the ratio between the number of appearances and the total number of searches, and a candidate that causes a non-natural traffic jam is determined from words or sentences having the appearance frequency equal to or higher than a predetermined value. Estimate with probability. Referring to FIG. 8, for example, it is assumed that 3114 search results (total number of searches) are obtained as a result of the second search performed by the network search unit 53. On the other hand, it is assumed that 1541 search results (number of appearances) including the word “fire occurrence” are obtained as a result of the first search. In this case, since the number of appearances of the word “fire occurrence” (= 1541) / total number of searches (= 3114) × 100 = 49.4%, the appearance frequency is 49.4%. Assuming that a word whose appearance frequency is a predetermined value, for example, 30% or more, is a candidate that causes non-natural congestion, in FIG. 8, only the word “fire occurrence” becomes a candidate that causes non-natural congestion, and its appearance frequency. 49.4% is the probability of a candidate causing non-natural congestion. The web search agent 51 predicts a subsequent traffic situation due to the generated non-natural traffic based on the candidates and probabilities estimated by the non-natural traffic cause estimator 54 (traffic status prediction means, not shown). Can further be provided. For example, if the probability estimated by the non-natural congestion cause estimation unit 54 is 20% or more, it is considered as a cause of a large-scale non-natural congestion (such as a large-scale fire), and in this case, the congestion time is about 2 hours. The traffic situation after that may be predicted.

  As shown in the functional block 52 of FIG. 6, the web search agent 51 uses non-natural traffic cause information including candidates and probabilities estimated by the non-natural traffic cause estimation unit 54 (in the above example, (fire occurrence, 49.4)) to the probe center side computer 30 is provided with a non-natural congestion cause information transmission unit (non-natural congestion cause information transmission means) 55. As shown in the functional block 31 of FIG. 6, the probe center side computer 30 has the current traffic jam record transmitted by the traffic jam record transmitting unit 37 and the current traffic jam record transmitted by the non-natural traffic jam cause information transmitting unit 55. A non-natural traffic jam cause information associating unit (non-natural traffic jam cause information associating means) 38 that records the data in the traffic jam degree recording DB 43 is provided.

FIG. 9 shows an example of association performed by the non-natural traffic jam cause information association unit 38. As shown in FIG. 9, when the non-natural traffic cause information transmitted by the non-natural traffic cause information transmission unit 55 is (fire occurrence, 49.4), the table regarding the links N _{1 and 2} of the traffic record DB 43 A pointer column POINTER may be provided, and a pointer to an area where non-natural traffic jam cause information (fire occurrence, 49.4) is recorded in the pointer column POINTER may be recorded. As a result of the above, as shown in FIG. 9, it is recorded that the congestion degree 3 at the time Tm in the links N _{1 and 2} is a non-natural congestion, and the cause is a fire occurrence with a probability of 49.4%. The If the initial value of the pointer field POINTER is set to NULL, as shown in FIG. 9, it can be recorded that the degree of congestion 3 at time Tm-1 in the links N _{1 and 2} is a natural congestion.

  The traffic information transmitting unit 36 sends the non-natural traffic cause information and / or the current traffic record recorded to the receiving vehicle 20a and the like in association with the current traffic record in the traffic level record DB 43 by the non-natural traffic cause information associating unit 38. As traffic information.

  FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the processing flow of the probe car 10a and the like, the probe center side computer 30, the web search agent 50 and the receiving vehicle 20a and the like in the traffic information providing system 2 and method according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In the flowchart of FIG. 10, the processing blocks having the same step numbers as those of the flowchart of FIG.

  In the second embodiment, a case will be described in which it is determined in the determination step (step S23) that the current traffic jam is a sudden traffic jam (non-natural traffic jam). As shown in FIG. 10, when the probe center side computer 30 determines that a non-natural traffic jam has occurred in the determination step (step S23), the current traffic jam record JINF is transmitted to the web search agent 51 side (see FIG. 10). A traffic jam record transmission step (step S25).

  The web search agent 51 performs a search on the network 59 based on the current traffic jam record JINF transmitted in the traffic jam record transmission step (step S25) and a predetermined search item (network search step, step S40). Based on the search result in the network search step (step S40), the candidate and the probability that cause the non-natural traffic jam are estimated (non-natural traffic jam cause estimation step, step S41). Non-natural congestion cause information CAUSE including the candidates and probabilities estimated in the non-natural congestion cause estimation step (step S41) is transmitted to the probe center side computer 30 (non-natural congestion cause information transmission step, step S42).

  The probe center side computer 30 associates the non-natural traffic cause information CAUSE transmitted in the non-natural traffic cause information transmission step (step S42) with the current traffic record record JINF transmitted in the traffic record recording step (step S25). It records in record DB43 (non-natural traffic jam cause information correlation step. Step S26). The non-natural traffic jam cause information and / or the current traffic jam record JINF recorded in association with the current traffic jam record JINF and the current traffic jam record JINF in the non-natural traffic jam cause information associating step (step S26) to the receiving vehicle 20a etc. Transmit as TINF '(traffic information transmission step, step S24'). The traffic information transmission step in the second embodiment is a traffic information transmission step (step S24 ') because the transmitted information is slightly different from the traffic information transmission step in the first embodiment.

As described above, according to the second embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to process the case where the determination unit 35 determines that the current traffic jam on the links N _{1 and 2} is an unexpected traffic jam (non-natural traffic jam). The traffic information providing system 2 is a program that automatically performs a search on the network 59 and includes a web search agent that communicates with the probe center side computer 30. The probe center side computer 30 uses a determination unit 35. When it is determined that a non-natural traffic jam has occurred, a traffic jam record transmission unit 37 that transmits the current traffic jam record to the web search agent 51 side is provided. The web search agent 51 includes a network search unit 53 that performs a search on the network 59 based on the current traffic jam record transmitted from the probe center side computer 30 and a predetermined search item. As the predetermined search item, it is preferable to use a keyword based on one or more items of a geographical information item, a peripheral facility item, a road traffic facility item, and an event item. Since the network search unit 53 can obtain the position of the road (three-dimensional coordinates of latitude, longitude, and altitude) based on the transmitted position information, the keyword based on the geographical information item can be extracted from the position. For example, an address can be obtained from the position and the address can be used as a keyword. The web search agent 51 includes a non-natural congestion cause estimation unit 54 that estimates candidates and causes of non-natural congestion based on the search result of the network search unit 53. As a result of the network search unit 53 searching the network 59 using the keyword described above, a page (URL) including the keyword can be obtained as a search result. The non-natural congestion cause estimation unit 54 compiles the appearance frequencies of words, sentences, etc., other than the keywords that appear in the search results, and uses words, sentences, etc., whose appearance frequency is a predetermined value or more as the cause of non-natural congestion. And the appearance frequency is estimated as the probability. More specifically, the network search unit 53 performs a first search on the network 59 based on the position information, time information, and the predetermined search item described above in the current traffic jam record transmitted by the traffic jam record transmission unit 37, and the current traffic jam. A second search on the network 59 based on position information and time information in the recording is performed. The non-natural traffic jam cause estimating unit 54 sets the number of searches by the second search performed by the network search unit 53 as the total number of searches, such as words or sentences appearing in the result of the first search performed by the network search unit 53. An appearance frequency is obtained based on the ratio between the number of appearances and the total number of searches, and a candidate that causes a non-natural traffic jam is determined from words or sentences having the appearance frequency equal to or higher than a predetermined value. Estimate with probability. The web search agent 51 may further include a traffic condition prediction unit that predicts a subsequent traffic condition caused by the generated non-natural traffic based on the candidates and probabilities estimated by the non-natural traffic cause estimation unit 54. The web search agent 51 includes a non-natural congestion cause information transmission unit 55 that transmits non-natural congestion cause information including the candidates and probabilities estimated by the non-natural congestion cause estimation unit 54 to the probe center side computer 30. The probe center side computer 30 records the non-natural congestion cause information transmitted by the non-natural congestion cause information transmission unit 55 in the congestion level record DB 43 in association with the current congestion record transmitted by the congestion record transmission unit 37. A cause information association unit 38 is provided. The traffic information transmitting unit 36 sends the non-natural traffic cause information and / or the current traffic record recorded to the receiving vehicle 20a and the like in association with the current traffic record in the traffic level record DB 43 by the non-natural traffic cause information associating unit 38. As traffic information. From the above, even if a traffic jam occurs in the middle of the link, the location of the traffic jam can be shown in detail, the cause of the traffic jam can be estimated, and the subsequent traffic state can be predicted A traffic information providing system or the like can be provided.

  In the third embodiment, a case where the occurrence of a non-natural traffic jam is detected while the web search agent 51 side is monitoring the network 59 will be described.

  FIG. 11 shows the traffic information providing system 3 according to the third embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 11, the same reference numerals as those in FIG. The web search agent 51 is also used in the third embodiment. However, the web search agent 51 of the second embodiment performs a search on the network 59 based on the current traffic jam record transmitted from the probe center side computer 30 and a predetermined search item. The web search agent 51 according to the third embodiment is provided with a network search unit 53 that performs the time information indicating the current time and the predetermined search item described above, as shown in the function block 52 of FIG. Is different in that a network monitoring unit (network monitoring unit) 56 for performing a search on the network is provided. In the third embodiment, it is assumed that the web search agent 51 detects the occurrence of a non-natural traffic jam while monitoring on the network 59 before the traffic jam record is transmitted by the traffic jam record sending unit 37. The monitoring unit 56 performs a search without receiving the current traffic jam record from the probe center side computer 30. That is, the network monitoring unit 56 does not perform a search based on the position information. Time information indicating the current time can be obtained by using the clock function of the computer 50. As shown in the functional block 52 of FIG. 11, when the web search agent 51 of the third embodiment detects the occurrence of non-natural congestion based on the result searched by the network monitoring unit 56, the searched result and the map A position information acquisition unit (position information acquisition means) 57 is provided for acquiring position information indicating a position where the non-natural traffic jam occurs based on a map record DB (not shown) in which information is recorded. Also in this case, a desired map information DB in which correspondences such as position-address-periphery facility name, road traffic facility name, etc. are recorded may be used. Since the search results include words such as addresses, names of surrounding facilities, and names of road traffic facilities, position information can be acquired from these words.

  As shown in the functional block 52 of FIG. 11, the web search agent 51 according to the third embodiment estimates a candidate that causes a non-natural traffic jam and a probability thereof based on the search result by the network monitoring unit 56. A natural traffic jam cause estimation unit (non-natural traffic jam cause estimation means) 54 'is provided. The non-natural traffic jam cause estimation unit 54 ′ has basically the same function as the non-natural traffic jam cause estimation unit 54 of the second embodiment. However, based on the result searched by the network monitoring unit 56, The candidate and the probability are estimated.

  As shown in the function block 52 of FIG. 11, the web search agent 51 of the third embodiment includes the position information acquired by the position information acquisition unit 57, the time information used by the network monitoring unit 56, and the non-natural traffic jam. A non-natural traffic cause information transmitting unit (non-natural traffic cause information transmitting means) 55 ′ for transmitting non-natural traffic cause information including the candidates and probabilities estimated by the cause estimating unit 54 ′ to the probe center side computer 30 is provided. Yes. The non-natural traffic jam cause information transmission unit 55 ′ of the third embodiment transmits the position information and the time information to the probe center side computer 30 in addition to the candidates and probabilities estimated by the non-natural traffic jam cause estimation unit 54 ′. Thus, it is different from the non-natural traffic jam cause information transmission unit 55 of the second embodiment. This is because the current traffic jam record including position information and time information is not transmitted from the probe center side computer 30 in advance as in the second embodiment, so the probe center side computer 30 stores the non-natural traffic jam cause information in the traffic jam degree record DB 43. This is to transmit the recording location when recording the data.

  As shown in the functional block 31 of FIG. 11, the probe center side computer 30 has the traffic jam recorded in the traffic jam degree record DB 43 corresponding to the position information and time information transmitted by the non-natural traffic jam cause information transmission unit 55 ′. A non-natural congestion cause information associating unit (non-natural congestion cause information transmission unit 55 ') that records the non-natural congestion cause information transmitted by the non-natural congestion cause information transmission unit 55' in the congestion degree record DB 43 in association with the searched traffic record. (Cause information association means) 38 '. The non-natural traffic jam cause information associating unit 38 ′ of the third embodiment records in the traffic jam degree recording DB 43 based on the recording location (position information and time information) transmitted from the non-natural traffic jam cause information transmitting unit 55 ′ as described above. The point of searching the recorded traffic jam record is different from the non-natural traffic jam cause information association unit 38 of the second embodiment. The association method is the same as in the second embodiment.

  As shown in the functional block 31 of FIG. 11, the probe center side computer 30 links to the traffic congestion degree record DB 43 in association with the searched traffic jam record by the non-natural traffic jam cause information associating unit 38 ′ to the side of the consultation vehicle 20a or the like. A traffic information transmission unit (traffic information transmission means) 36 ′ that transmits the recorded non-natural traffic jam cause information and / or the retrieved traffic jam record as traffic information is provided. The traffic information transmitting unit 36 ′ of the third embodiment transmits the non-natural traffic cause information and the like recorded in the traffic degree record DB 43 in association with the traffic record searched by the non-natural traffic cause information associating unit 38 ′ as traffic information. Is different from the traffic information transmission unit 36 of the second embodiment.

  The network monitoring unit 56 performs a first search on the network based on the time information and a predetermined search item, and a second search on the network based on the time information, and the non-natural congestion cause estimation unit 54 ′ The number of searches by the second search performed by the department is taken as the total number of searches, and the cause of non-natural congestion is determined from the appearance frequency based on the ratio between the number of appearances of words or sentences appearing in the result of the first search and the total number of searches. And the appearance frequency is estimated as the probability of the candidate. The first search and the second search performed by the network monitoring unit 56 of the third embodiment do not use position information as described above. The non-natural traffic jam cause estimation unit 54 ′ according to the third embodiment basically has the same function as the non-natural traffic jam cause estimation unit 54 according to the second embodiment. However, as described above, the first search and the second search are performed. As such, it is slightly different from the second embodiment.

  FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the processing flow of the probe car 10a, the probe center side computer 30, the web search agent 50, the receiving vehicle 20a, etc. in the traffic information providing system 3 and method according to the third embodiment of the present invention. In the flowchart of FIG. 12, the processing blocks denoted by the same step numbers as those in the flowchart of FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 12, the web search agent 51 performs a search on the network 59 based on time information indicating the current time and a predetermined search item (network monitoring step, steps S43 and S44). When the occurrence of a non-natural traffic jam is detected based on the result retrieved in the network monitoring step (steps S43 and S44), the non-natural traffic jam occurs based on the retrieved result and the map record DB in which the map information is recorded. The position information indicating the position is acquired (position information acquisition step, step S45). Based on the search result in the network monitoring step (steps S43 and S44), a candidate that causes a non-natural traffic jam and its probability are estimated (non-natural traffic jam cause estimation step; step S41 '). The non-natural traffic jam cause estimation step (step S41 ′) performs basically the same processing as the non-natural traffic jam cause estimation step (step S41) of the second embodiment, but is searched by the network monitoring step (steps S43 and S44). The point which estimates the candidate and the probability which cause non-natural traffic jam based on a result is different. The position information acquired in the position information acquisition step (step S45), the time information used in the network monitoring step (steps S43 and S44), the candidates estimated in the non-natural traffic cause transmission step (step S41 ′), and The non-natural congestion cause information CAUSE ′ including the probability is transmitted to the probe center side computer 30 (non-natural congestion cause information transmission step, step S42 ′). In the non-natural traffic jam cause information transmission step (step S42 ′) of the third embodiment, in addition to the candidates and probabilities estimated by the non-natural traffic jam cause estimation step (step S41 ′), the position information and time information are also transmitted from the probe center side. It differs from the non-natural traffic jam cause information transmission step (step S41) of the second embodiment in that it is transmitted to the computer 30.

  The probe center side computer 30 searches the traffic jam record recorded in the traffic jam degree record DB 43 corresponding to the position information and time information transmitted in the non-natural traffic jam cause information transmission step (step S42 ′), and causes the non-natural traffic jam cause. The non-natural traffic jam cause information CAUSE ′ transmitted in the information transmission step (step S42 ′) is recorded in the traffic jam degree record DB 43 in association with the searched traffic jam record (non-natural traffic jam cause information correlation step, step S26 ′). The non-natural traffic jam cause information associating step (step S26 ′) of the third embodiment is based on the recording location (position information and time information) transmitted in the non-natural traffic jam cause information transmitting step (step S42 ′) as described above. The point which searches the traffic jam record recorded on traffic jam degree record DB43 differs from the non-natural traffic jam cause information correlation step (step S26) of the second embodiment. The association method is the same as in the second embodiment. The non-natural traffic jam cause information CAUSE ′ recorded in the traffic jam record DB 43 in association with the searched traffic jam record and / or searched in the non-natural traffic jam cause information associating step (step S26 ′) A traffic jam record is transmitted as traffic information (traffic information transmission step, step S24 ′). In the traffic information transmission step (step S24 ′) of the third embodiment, the non-natural congestion cause information CAUSE recorded in the congestion level record DB 43 in association with the congestion record retrieved in the non-natural congestion cause information association step (step S26 ′). The point of transmitting 'etc. as traffic information is different from the traffic information transmission step (step S24) of the second embodiment.

  As described above, according to the third embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to process the case where the web search agent 51 side detects the occurrence of a non-natural traffic jam while monitoring the network 59. The web search agent 51 according to the third embodiment includes a network monitoring unit 56 that performs a search on the network based on time information indicating the current time and the predetermined search item described above. In the third embodiment, it is assumed that the web search agent 51 detects the occurrence of a non-natural traffic jam while monitoring on the network 59 before the traffic jam record is transmitted by the traffic jam record sending unit 37. The monitoring unit 56 performs a search without receiving the current traffic jam record. That is, the network monitoring unit 56 does not perform a search based on the position information. When the web search agent 51 of the third embodiment detects the occurrence of a non-natural traffic jam based on the search result by the network monitoring unit 56, the web search agent 51 executes the search based on the search result and the map record DB in which the map information is recorded. A position information acquisition unit 57 that acquires position information indicating the position where the non-natural traffic jam occurs is provided. The web search agent 51 according to the third embodiment includes a non-natural congestion cause estimation unit 54 ′ that estimates candidates and causes of non-natural congestion based on the search result by the network monitoring unit 56. The network monitoring unit 56 performs a first search on the network based on the time information and a predetermined search item, and a second search on the network based on the time information, and the non-natural congestion cause estimation unit 54 ′ The number of searches by the second search performed by the department is taken as the total number of searches, and the cause of non-natural congestion is determined from the appearance frequency based on the ratio between the number of appearances of words or sentences appearing in the result of the first search and the total number of searches. And the appearance frequency is estimated as the probability of the candidate. The web search agent 51 according to the third embodiment includes the position information acquired by the position information acquisition unit 57, the time information used by the network monitoring unit 56, and the candidates and probabilities estimated by the non-natural congestion cause estimation unit 54 ′. The non-natural traffic jam cause information transmitting unit 55 ′ is transmitted to the probe center side computer 30. The probe center side computer 30 searches the traffic jam record recorded in the traffic jam degree record DB 43 corresponding to the position information and time information transmitted by the non-natural traffic jam cause information transmission unit 55 ′, and searches for the non-natural traffic jam cause information transmission unit. A non-natural traffic jam cause information associating unit 38 ′ that records the non-natural traffic jam cause information transmitted by 55 ′ in the traffic jam degree record DB 43 in association with the searched traffic jam record is provided. The probe center side computer 30 sends the non-natural congestion cause information and / or the search to the side of the consultation vehicle 20a and the like by the non-natural congestion cause information associating unit 38 'in association with the searched congestion record and recorded in the congestion degree record DB 43. A traffic information transmission unit 36 ′ that transmits the recorded traffic jam record as traffic information is provided. As described above, in addition to the effects of the first and second embodiments, a traffic information providing system and the like that can handle the case where the web search agent 51 side detects the occurrence of a non-natural traffic jam while monitoring on the network 59 are provided. be able to.

  In the second embodiment, monitoring by the web search agent 51 was not described. However, while the web search agent 51 side was monitoring the network 59, it was previously determined by the probe center side computer 30 that a non-natural traffic jam occurred. You may think.

  FIG. 13 shows the inside of the computer 50 in which the program (means) of the probe center side computer 30 and the web search agent 51 are executed in the traffic information providing systems 1, 2 and 3 of the present invention for realizing the above-described embodiments. 2 is a block diagram showing a circuit 70. FIG. As shown in FIG. 13, the CPU 71, ROM 72, RAM 73, image control unit 76, controller 77, input control unit 80 and external interface (I / F) unit 84 are connected to the bus 82. In FIG. 13, the above-described computer program of the present invention is recorded on a recording medium (including a removable recording medium) such as a ROM 72, a disk 40, a CD-ROM, or a DVD 78. The computer program of the present invention is loaded into the RAM 73 from the ROM 72 via the bus 82 or from a recording medium such as the disk 40, CD-ROM or DVD 78 via the controller 77 via the bus 82. The input control unit 80 is connected to an input operation unit 70 such as a numeric keypad to perform input control and the like. The VRAM 75 that is an image memory has a capacity corresponding to the data capacity of at least one screen of the display device 74 of the probe center side computer 30 and the computer 50 such as the in-vehicle device 11a, and the image control unit 76 stores the data in the VRAM 75. It has a function of converting to image data and sending it to the display device 74. The external I / F unit 81 has an input / output interface function when communicating between the probe center side computer 30 and the computer 50 such as the in-vehicle device 10a.

  As described above, the CPU 71 executes the above-described computer program (means) of the present invention, whereby the object of the present invention can be achieved. The computer program can be supplied to the computer CPU 71 in the form of a recording medium such as a CD-ROM or DVD 78 as described above, and a recording medium such as a CD-ROM or DVD 78 on which the computer program is recorded is also recorded in this manner. It constitutes the invention. As a recording medium on which the computer program is recorded, for example, a memory card, a memory stick, an optical disk, an FD, or the like can be used in addition to the recording medium described above.

  Application examples of the present invention include application to a traffic jam display function, a car navigation system, and the like.

It is a figure which shows the traffic information provision system 1 in Example 1 of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the method by which the probe car 10a etc. collects positional information and time information. 6 is a diagram illustrating the contents of a DB recorded in a recording device 40. FIG. It is a figure which shows the table | surface of a traffic congestion degree. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of each process of the probe car 10a etc. in the traffic information provision system 1 and method in Example 1 of this invention, the probe center side computer 30, and the receiving vehicle 20a. It is a figure which shows the traffic information provision system 2 in Example 2 of this invention. It is a figure which illustrates a predetermined search item. It is a figure which illustrates the result searched by the network search part. It is a figure which shows an example of the correlation which the non-natural traffic jam cause information correlation part 38 performs. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of each process of the probe center side computer 30, the web search agent 50, the receiving vehicle 20a, etc. in the traffic information provision system 2 and method in Example 2 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the traffic information provision system 3 in Example 3 of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of each process of the probe center side computer 30, the web search agent 50, the receiving vehicle 20a, etc. in the traffic information provision system 3 and method in Example 3 of this invention. The block diagram which shows the internal circuit 70 of the computer 50 in which the program (means) of the probe center side computer 30 in the traffic information provision systems 1, 2, and 3 of this invention for implement | achieving each Example and the web search agent 51 are performed. It is.

Explanation of symbols

  1, 2, 3 Traffic information providing system, 10a, 10n probe car, 11a, 11n, 21a, 21n On-vehicle device, 12, 22, 31, 52 functional block, 13 Location information collection unit, 14 Location information transmission unit, 20a, 20n receiving vehicle, 23 traffic information receiving unit, 24 function operating unit, 30 probe center side computer, 32 collected information receiving unit, 33 traffic jam degree calculating unit, 34 previous traffic jam record searching unit, 35 judging unit, 36, 36 ′ traffic information Transmission unit, 38, 38 'non-natural traffic jam cause information association unit, 40 recording device, 41 node position DB, 42 inter-node distance DB, 43 traffic jam degree recording DB, 50 computer, 51 web search agent, 53 network search unit, 54 , 54 'Non-natural traffic jam cause estimation unit, 55, 55 Non-natural traffic jam cause information transmission unit, 56 network monitoring unit, 57 location information acquisition unit, 59 network, 60 rank column, 61 candidate column, 62 total search number column, 63 appearance frequency column, 70 internal circuit, 71 CPU, 72 ROM 73 RAM, 74 display device, 75 VRAM, 76 image control unit, 77 controller, 78 DVD, CD-ROM, 79 input operation unit, 80 input control unit, 81 external I / F unit, 821 bus.

Claims (26)

A traffic information providing system comprising an in-vehicle device mounted on a vehicle and a center-side computer that communicates with the in-vehicle device, the vehicle including an information collecting vehicle that collects information,
The in-vehicle device of the information collecting vehicle is
Position information collecting means for collecting position information indicating the position of the information collecting vehicle;
Collection information transmission means for transmitting collection information including the position information collected by the position information collection means and time information indicating the time at which the position information was collected to the computer on the center side,
The center computer is
Collected information receiving means for receiving the collected information transmitted by the collected information transmitting means;
A predetermined congestion degree in a section based on the collected information received by the collected information receiving unit is calculated, and a current congestion record in which the section, the time information based on the collected information and the calculated predetermined congestion degree are associated is recorded as the congestion degree. A congestion degree calculating means for recording in the recording section;
Previous traffic record search means for searching the previous traffic record recorded in the traffic jam recording section for the same section as the current traffic jam record section recorded in the traffic jam degree recording section by the traffic jam degree calculating means;
In the previous traffic jam record searched for the same traffic jam section as the predetermined traffic jam level in the current traffic jam record recorded in the traffic jam degree recording unit by the traffic jam degree calculation means and the previous traffic jam record search means. A determination means for determining whether or not a non-natural traffic jam occurs at a position indicated by position information of a current traffic jam record based on a comparison with a predetermined traffic jam degree;
If it is not determined by the determining means that a non-natural traffic jam has occurred, traffic information transmitting means for transmitting the current traffic jam record as traffic information to the vehicle side,
The in-vehicle device of the vehicle is
Traffic information receiving means for receiving the traffic information transmitted by the traffic information transmitting means;
A traffic information providing system comprising: function operating means for operating a predetermined function based on the traffic information received by the traffic information receiving means. The traffic information providing system according to claim 1, further comprising a search program that automatically performs a search on a network and that communicates with the center-side computer,
Network search means for performing a search on a network based on a current traffic jam record transmitted from the center side computer and a predetermined search item;
Based on the result searched by the network search means, non-natural congestion cause estimation means for estimating a candidate that causes non-natural congestion and its probability;
Non-natural congestion cause information transmitting means for transmitting non-natural congestion cause information including candidates and probabilities estimated by the non-natural congestion cause estimation means to the center-side computer,
The center computer is
When it is determined by the determining means that a non-natural traffic jam has occurred, a traffic jam record transmitting means for transmitting a current traffic jam record to the search program side;
Non-natural congestion cause information associating means for recording the non-natural congestion cause information transmitted by the non-natural congestion cause information transmission means in association with the current congestion record transmitted by the congestion record transmission means and recording in the congestion degree recording unit. In addition,
The traffic information transmitting means, to the vehicle side, the non-natural traffic cause information recorded in association with the current traffic record in the traffic level recording unit by the non-natural traffic cause information associating means and / or the current traffic record. A traffic information provision system characterized by transmitting traffic as traffic information. The traffic information providing system according to claim 2,
The network search means includes a first search on the network based on position information, time information and predetermined search items in the current traffic jam record transmitted by the traffic jam record transmission means, and position information and time in the current traffic jam record. Perform a second search on the network based on information,
The non-natural traffic jam cause estimating means uses the number of searches by the second search performed by the network search means as the total number of searches, and the number of appearances of words or sentences appearing in the result of the first search and the total number of searches A traffic information providing system characterized in that a candidate that causes a non-natural traffic jam is obtained from an appearance frequency based on a ratio, and the appearance frequency is estimated as a probability of the candidate. The traffic information providing system according to claim 1, further comprising a search program that automatically performs a search on a network and that communicates with the center-side computer,
Network monitoring means for performing a search on the network based on time information indicating the current time and a predetermined search item;
If the occurrence of a non-natural traffic jam is detected based on the result retrieved by the network monitoring means, location information indicating the location where the non-natural traffic jam occurs based on the retrieved result and a map recording unit in which the map information is recorded Position information acquisition means for acquiring
Based on the result searched by the network monitoring means, a non-natural traffic cause estimating means for estimating a candidate that causes a non-natural traffic and its probability,
Position information acquired by the position information acquisition means, time information used by the network monitoring means, and non-natural congestion cause information including candidates and probabilities estimated by the non-natural congestion cause means A non-natural traffic jam cause information transmitting means for transmitting to a computer,
The center computer is
A traffic jam record recorded in the traffic jam degree recording unit corresponding to the position information and time information transmitted by the non-natural traffic jam cause information transmission means is searched, and the non-natural traffic jam cause information transmission means is transmitted. Non-natural congestion cause information associating means for associating the congestion cause information with the retrieved congestion record and recording it in the congestion level recording unit,
The traffic information transmitting means is associated with the searched traffic record by the non-natural traffic cause information associating means, and / or searched for the non-natural traffic cause information recorded in the traffic degree recording unit. A traffic information providing system that transmits a traffic jam record as traffic information. The traffic information providing system according to claim 4,
The network monitoring means performs a first search on the network based on time information and a predetermined search item, and a second search on the network based on the time information,
The non-natural traffic jam cause estimating means uses the number of searches by the second search performed by the network search means as the total number of searches, and the number of appearances of words or sentences appearing in the result of the first search and the total number of searches A traffic information providing system characterized in that a candidate that causes a non-natural traffic jam is obtained from an appearance frequency based on a ratio, and the appearance frequency is estimated as a probability of the candidate.   6. The traffic information providing system according to claim 2, wherein the search program is based on a candidate and a probability estimated by the non-natural congestion cause estimation means, and a subsequent traffic situation due to the generated non-natural congestion. A traffic information providing system further comprising a traffic condition predicting means for predicting traffic.   7. The traffic information providing system according to claim 2, wherein the predetermined search item is a keyword based on one or more items of a geographical information item, a peripheral facility item, a road traffic facility item, and an event item. A traffic information provision system characterized by   The traffic information providing system according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the predetermined function is a traffic jam display function and / or a route re-search function. A computer program for a center that communicates with an in-vehicle device mounted on a vehicle, the vehicle including an information collecting vehicle that collects information,
Collection information reception for receiving collection information transmitted from the information collection vehicle and including position information indicating the position of the information collection vehicle collected by the information collection vehicle and time information indicating the time when the position collection information was collected means,
A predetermined congestion degree in a section based on the collected information received by the collected information receiving unit is calculated, and a current congestion record in which the section, the time information based on the collected information and the calculated predetermined congestion degree are associated is recorded as the congestion degree. Congestion degree calculation means for recording in the recording unit,
Previous traffic record search means for searching a previous traffic record recorded in the traffic jam recording section for the same section as the current traffic jam record section recorded in the traffic jam degree recording section by the traffic jam degree calculating means;
In the previous traffic jam record searched for the same traffic jam section as the predetermined traffic jam level in the current traffic jam record recorded in the traffic jam degree recording unit by the traffic jam degree calculation means and the previous traffic jam record search means. A determination means for determining whether or not a non-natural traffic jam occurs at a position indicated by position information of a current traffic jam record based on a comparison with a predetermined traffic jam degree;
A computer program for a center side for causing the vehicle side to function as traffic information transmission means for transmitting the current traffic congestion record as traffic information when the determination means does not determine that a non-natural traffic jam has occurred. ,
A computer program for a center side, wherein an operation of a predetermined function is performed based on the traffic information by an in-vehicle device of the vehicle. In the center side computer program according to claim 9,
When it is determined by the determination means that a non-natural traffic jam has occurred, the traffic jam is a program that automatically searches on the network and transmits the current traffic jam record to the search program side that communicates with the center computer. Recording transmission means;
A search is performed on the network based on the current traffic jam record transmitted by the traffic jam record transmitting means and a predetermined search item by the search program, and based on the retrieved result, a candidate that causes a non-natural traffic jam and The non-natural congestion cause information including the estimated candidates and probabilities is transmitted to the center-side computer, and the transmitted non-natural congestion cause information is transmitted by the congestion record transmission unit. A non-natural congestion cause information associating means for recording in the congestion level recording unit in association with the recording,
The traffic information transmitting means, to the vehicle side, the non-natural traffic cause information recorded in association with the current traffic record in the traffic level recording unit by the non-natural traffic cause information associating means and / or the current traffic record. Is transmitted as traffic information. A computer program for a center computer. In the center side computer program according to claim 9,
A search program that automatically searches on the network and that communicates with the center computer performs a search on the network based on time information indicating the current time and a predetermined search item. If the occurrence of a non-natural traffic jam is detected based on the result, position information indicating the position where the non-natural traffic jam occurs is acquired and searched based on the retrieved result and the map recording unit in which the map information is recorded. The candidate and the probability that cause non-natural traffic are estimated based on the result, and the acquired location information, the time information used for the search, and the non-natural traffic cause including the estimated candidate and probability Information is transmitted to the center-side computer, and a traffic jam record recorded in the traffic jam degree recording unit corresponding to the transmitted location information and time information is retrieved, and the non-natural traffic Cause information in association with been congestion recorded Search non natural cause of traffic congestion information transmitted by the transmission means further comprising a non-natural cause of traffic congestion information associated means for recording on the congestion level recording unit,
The traffic information transmitting means is associated with the searched traffic record by the non-natural traffic cause information associating means, and / or searched for the non-natural traffic cause information recorded in the traffic degree recording unit. A computer program for a center computer which transmits a traffic jam record as traffic information. A search program that automatically performs a search on a network and communicates with a center-side computer that communicates with an in-vehicle device mounted on the vehicle, the vehicle including an information collection vehicle that collects information,
Collected information transmitted from the information collecting vehicle by the center side computer and including position information indicating the position of the information collecting vehicle collected by the information collecting vehicle and time information indicating a time when the position information was collected Is received, a predetermined congestion degree in the section based on the collected information is calculated, and the current congestion record that associates the section with the time information based on the collected information and the calculated predetermined congestion degree is stored in the congestion degree recording unit The current traffic jam recorded and recorded in the traffic jam recording unit is searched for the previous traffic jam recorded in the traffic jam recording unit for the same segment as the current traffic jam recording segment recorded in the traffic jam recording unit. Based on the comparison between the predetermined congestion degree in the record and the predetermined congestion degree in the previous congestion record searched for the same section as the current congestion record section, Occurrence of non-natural traffic jam in the position shown it is determined, if the non-naturally congestion is determined to have occurred, the current traffic jam record is sent to the search program side, the computer,
Network search means for performing a search on the network based on the current traffic jam record transmitted from the center side computer and a predetermined search item;
A non-natural congestion cause estimating means for estimating a candidate and a probability of causing a non-natural congestion based on a result of the search by the network search means;
A search program for functioning as non-natural traffic cause information transmitting means for transmitting non-natural traffic cause information including candidates and probabilities estimated by the non-natural traffic cause estimating means to the center side computer,
The non-natural congestion cause information transmitted by the non-natural congestion cause information transmitting means is recorded in the congestion level recording unit in association with the current congestion record transmitted to the search program by the center computer, and the vehicle The non-natural congestion cause information recorded in association with the current traffic record and / or the current traffic record is transmitted as traffic information to the traffic level recording unit. The search program according to claim 12, wherein
The network search means includes a first search on the network based on position information, time information and predetermined search items in the current traffic jam record transmitted from the center side computer, and position information and time information in the current traffic jam record. And a second search on the network based on
The non-natural traffic jam cause estimating means uses the number of searches by the second search performed by the network search means as the total number of searches, and the number of appearances of words or sentences appearing in the result of the first search and the total number of searches A search program characterized in that a candidate causing non-natural congestion is obtained from an appearance frequency based on a ratio, and the appearance frequency is estimated as a probability of the candidate. A search program that automatically performs a search on a network and communicates with a center-side computer that communicates with an in-vehicle device mounted on the vehicle, the vehicle including an information collection vehicle that collects information,
Collected information transmitted from the information collecting vehicle by the center side computer and including position information indicating the position of the information collecting vehicle collected by the information collecting vehicle and time information indicating a time when the position information was collected Is received, a predetermined congestion degree in the section based on the collected information is calculated, and the current congestion record that associates the section with the time information based on the collected information and the calculated predetermined congestion degree is stored in the congestion degree recording unit Recorded,
Computer
Network monitoring means for performing a search on the network based on time information indicating the current time and a predetermined search item;
If the occurrence of a non-natural traffic jam is detected based on the result retrieved by the network monitoring means, location information indicating the location where the non-natural traffic jam occurs based on the retrieved result and a map recording unit in which the map information is recorded Position information acquisition means for acquiring
A non-natural congestion cause estimating means for estimating a candidate and a probability of causing a non-natural congestion based on a result searched by the network monitoring means;
Position information acquired by the position information acquisition means, time information used by the network monitoring means, and non-natural congestion cause information including candidates and probabilities estimated by the non-natural congestion cause means A search program for functioning as a non-natural traffic jam cause information transmission means to be transmitted to a computer,
The center side computer searches the traffic jam record recorded in the traffic jam degree recording unit corresponding to the position information and the time information transmitted by the non-natural traffic jam cause information transmitting unit, and the non-natural traffic jam cause information transmitting unit. The non-natural traffic jam cause information transmitted by is recorded in the traffic jam recording unit in association with the retrieved traffic jam record, and is recorded in the traffic jam recording unit in association with the retrieved traffic jam record to the vehicle side. A search program, wherein natural traffic cause information and / or searched traffic records are transmitted as traffic information. The search program according to claim 14, wherein
The network monitoring means performs a first search on the network based on time information and a predetermined search item, and a second search on the network based on the time information,
The non-natural traffic jam cause estimating means uses the number of searches by the second search performed by the network search means as the total number of searches, and the number of appearances of words or sentences appearing in the result of the first search and the total number of searches A search program characterized in that a candidate causing non-natural congestion is obtained from an appearance frequency based on a ratio, and the appearance frequency is estimated as a probability of the candidate.   16. The search program according to any one of claims 12 to 15, wherein traffic condition predicting means for predicting a subsequent traffic condition caused by a non-natural traffic jam based on the candidates and probabilities estimated by said non-natural traffic jam cause estimating means. A search program characterized by further comprising:   17. The search program according to claim 12, wherein the predetermined search item is a keyword based on one or more items of a geographical information item, a peripheral facility item, a road traffic facility item, and an event item. A search program characterized by that.   A computer-readable recording medium recording the center computer program according to any one of claims 9 to 11 and the search program according to any one of claims 12 to 17. A traffic information providing method using a vehicle-mounted device mounted on a vehicle and a center computer that communicates with the vehicle-mounted device, the vehicle including an information collecting vehicle that collects information,
The vehicle-mounted device of the information collecting vehicle is
A position information collecting step for collecting position information indicating the position of the information collecting vehicle;
A collection information transmission step of transmitting collection information including the position information collected in the position information collection step and time information indicating a time when the position information was collected to the center computer side;
The center computer is
A collection information reception step for receiving the collection information transmitted in the collection information transmission step;
A predetermined traffic jam level in the section based on the collected information received in the collected information receiving step is calculated, and a current traffic jam record in which the section, the time information based on the collected information and the calculated predetermined traffic jam level are associated with each other is recorded. A congestion degree calculating step to record in the recording unit;
A previous traffic record search step for searching a previous traffic record recorded in the traffic jam recording section for the same section as the current traffic jam record section recorded in the traffic jam level recording section in the traffic jam level calculating step;
In the previous traffic record searched for the same traffic jam record section in the previous traffic jam record search step as the predetermined traffic jam level in the current traffic jam record recorded in the traffic jam level recording unit in the traffic jam degree calculation step. A determination step for determining whether or not a non-natural traffic jam occurs at a position indicated by position information of a current traffic jam record based on a comparison with a predetermined traffic jam degree;
If it is not determined that a non-natural traffic jam has occurred in the determination step, a traffic information transmission step of transmitting the current traffic jam record as traffic information to the vehicle side;
The on-vehicle device of the vehicle is
A traffic information receiving step for receiving the traffic information transmitted in the traffic information transmitting step;
A traffic information providing method comprising: a function operation step for operating a predetermined function based on the traffic information received in the traffic information reception step. The traffic information providing method according to claim 19, further comprising a search program for automatically searching on a network and communicating with the center computer,
The center computer is
If it is determined in the determination step that a non-natural traffic jam has occurred, a traffic jam record transmission step for transmitting a current traffic jam record to the search program side;
The search program is
A network search step for performing a search on the network based on the current traffic record and a predetermined search item transmitted in the traffic record transmission step;
Based on the search result in the network search step, a non-natural traffic jam cause estimation step for estimating a candidate and the probability of causing a non-natural traffic jam,
A non-natural congestion cause information transmission step of transmitting non-natural congestion cause information including the candidates and probabilities estimated in the non-natural congestion cause estimation step to the center side computer;
The center computer is
A non-natural congestion cause information associating step for recording the non-natural congestion cause information transmitted in the non-natural congestion cause information transmission step in association with the current congestion record transmitted in the congestion record transmission step in the congestion degree recording unit; In addition,
In the traffic information transmission step, the non-natural congestion cause information and / or the current congestion record recorded in the congestion level recording unit in association with the current congestion record in the non-natural congestion cause information association step to the vehicle side. A traffic information providing method characterized by transmitting as traffic information. The traffic information providing method according to claim 20,
The network search step includes a first search on the network based on position information, time information, and predetermined search items in the current traffic jam record transmitted in the traffic jam record transmission step, and position information and time in the current traffic jam record. Perform a second search on the network based on information,
In the non-natural traffic jam cause estimating step, the number of searches by the second search performed in the network search step is set as the total number of searches, and the number of occurrences of words or sentences appearing in the result of the first search and the total number of searches A traffic information providing method comprising: obtaining a candidate that causes non-natural congestion from an appearance frequency based on a ratio, and estimating the appearance frequency as a probability of the candidate. The traffic information providing method according to claim 19, further comprising a search program for automatically searching on a network and communicating with the center computer,
The search program is
A network monitoring step for performing a search on the network based on time information indicating the current time and a predetermined search item;
If the occurrence of a non-natural traffic jam is detected based on the result retrieved in the network monitoring step, location information indicating the location where the non-natural traffic jam occurs based on the retrieved result and a map recording unit in which the map information is recorded A location information acquisition step for acquiring
Based on the search result in the network monitoring step, a non-natural congestion cause estimation step for estimating a candidate and a probability of causing the non-natural congestion, and
The location information acquired in the location information acquisition step, the time information used in the network monitoring step, and the non-natural traffic cause information including the candidates and probabilities estimated in the non-natural traffic cause transmission step Non-natural congestion cause information transmission step to be transmitted to the side computer,
The center computer is
A traffic jam record recorded in the traffic jam degree recording unit corresponding to the position information and time information sent in the non-natural traffic jam cause information sending step is searched, and the non-natural traffic jam causal information sending step is sent. A non-natural traffic jam cause information associating step for correlating traffic jam cause information with the searched traffic jam record and recording in the traffic jam degree recording unit,
In the traffic information transmitting step, the non-natural traffic jam cause information recorded in the traffic jam degree recording unit in association with the traffic jam record searched in the non-natural traffic jam cause information association step and / or searched. A traffic information providing method characterized by transmitting a traffic jam record as traffic information. The traffic information providing method according to claim 22,
The network monitoring step performs a first search on the network based on time information and a predetermined search item, and a second search on the network based on the time information,
In the non-natural traffic jam cause estimating step, the number of searches by the second search performed in the network search step is set as the total number of searches, and the number of occurrences of words or sentences appearing in the result of the first search and the total number of searches A traffic information providing method comprising: obtaining a candidate that causes non-natural congestion from an appearance frequency based on a ratio, and estimating the appearance frequency as a probability of the candidate.   The traffic information providing method according to any one of claims 20 to 23, wherein the search program is based on the candidates and probabilities estimated in the non-natural congestion cause estimation step, and a subsequent traffic situation due to the generated non-natural congestion. A traffic information providing method characterized by further comprising a traffic situation prediction step for predicting traffic.   25. The traffic information providing method according to claim 20, wherein the predetermined search item is a keyword based on one or more of a geographical information item, a peripheral facility item, a road traffic facility item, and an event item. A traffic information providing method characterized by   26. The traffic information providing method according to any one of claims 19 to 25, wherein the predetermined function is a traffic jam display function and / or a route re-search function.

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