JP2001155289A - Information communication system and its method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain real-time image information such as detailed road traffic information, which a user needs. SOLUTION: A plurality of monitor cameras 1 are arranged along a road to photograph the traffic situation of a road. An image information providing part collects image information of the traffic situation of the road photographed by each monitor camera, stores and manages collected image information by corresponding it with monitor camera identifying information and monitor camera arrangement position information and provides information of a monitor camera candidate to be provided. Image information of the monitor camera designated by designating information included in request information from terminal equipment is obtained from stored image information and transmitted to terminal equipment. The terminal equipment receives image information from the image information providing part and displays it on a display screen.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method capable of providing road traffic information in real time and avoiding congestion and alleviating congestion.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a so-called car navigation system, VICS (VEHICLE I) is used as an auxiliary means for providing auxiliary information such as traffic congestion information in real time.
NFORMATION AND COMMUNICAT
ION SYSTEM) is used.
By using the S information, it is possible to grasp the road traffic situation when the vehicle is actually operated, and to avoid traffic jams and the like.

FIG. 25 shows an example of a schematic configuration of a VICS. An information collection device 101 and an information processing device 102 are shown.
, An information providing device 103 and an information utilizing device 104.

[0004] The information collection device 101 corresponds to the Japan Road Traffic Information Center and other organizations that handle parking lot information and the like.
The information processing device 102 is a VICS center. The information providing device 103 is an information providing facility using an optical beacon / radio wave beacon / FM data multiplex broadcasting. The information utilization device 104 is a terminal device such as a VICS-compatible car navigation system mounted on an automobile.

[0005] The information collection device 101 checks the traffic volume using a monitoring device such as a sensor installed on the road, and outputs the information to an information processing device 102 that is a VICS center.
The information collection device 101 also outputs information such as the usage status of the parking lot.

[0006] The information processing apparatus 102 manages traffic congestion and congestion based on the collected information, processes the information into provided information, and sends it to the information providing apparatus 103. The information providing apparatus 103 transmits the provided information to a vehicle or the like by a wireless transmission system by using a beacon or FM data multiplex broadcast installed on a road.

[0007] Although not shown, the information utilization device 104 as a car navigation system or the like mounted on an automobile displays a beacon, a receiving unit for receiving FM data multiplex broadcasting, and a navigation unit for utilizing the received data on a screen. A display monitor is provided, and the provided information is converted into screen display information and displayed.

In the current VICS, road information such as traffic congestion and traffic regulation edited and processed by the information processing device 102, which is a VICS center, is transmitted in real time, and characters and graphics are transmitted to an information utilization device 104 such as a car navigation system. Displayed with. As a result, the user can obtain traffic information in real time, so that the driving time can be reduced by avoiding traffic congestion.

[0009]

However, the conventional VIC
In the case of S, even if it is said that information is transmitted in real time, information from each measurement point is collected by the Japan Road Traffic Information Center as the information collection device 101, and then the information processing device 10
Since the data is edited and processed by the VICS center 2 and information is provided by the information providing device 103 using a beacon, FM data multiplex broadcasting, and the like, some time delay occurs.

On a suburban main road, the change in road traffic conditions due to this time delay is small, but it is considered that the change in road traffic conditions is large, for example, on a main road in Tokyo.
Further, in the case of the conventional VICS, the data update interval is about 5 minutes, and in Tokyo, it is hard to say that it is real time within a range where it can be effectively used.

The traffic congestion information provided in the case of the conventional VICS is information in which the degree of traffic congestion is classified into several levels, and the accuracy is low. In addition, regarding the display of traffic jam information,
It is a schematic drawing, and it is difficult to grasp the actual situation, and it is difficult to make a selection decision even if a traffic jam avoidance route is selected.

Further, in the navigation system utilizing the current VICS information, the user is notified of the traffic congestion and searches for a traffic congestion avoiding route in accordance with the user's traffic congestion avoiding instruction. Therefore, the recommended avoidance route obtained by the search is not always the optimal route, and when selecting the congestion avoidance by the recommended route, there may be a case where driving time is spent rather than the original route. There's a problem.

[0013] Further, the information that can be obtained by the user is only one-sidedly distributed from the provider side, and there is a problem that the information required by each user cannot be selected. For example, in the above comparison between the suburbs and Tokyo, the traveling speed is high in the suburbs, so information in a wide area is required, and road traffic information in Tokyo is more necessary.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and has as its object to enable a user to obtain real-time image information such as detailed road traffic information required by a user.

[0015]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a monitoring camera for transmitting image information obtained by photographing, and at least a plurality of monitoring cameras for displaying the image information. A terminal device having a display element, connected to the terminal device via a communication path, collecting image information from the monitoring camera, and providing the terminal device with image information according to a request from the terminal device. A traffic information communication system comprising: an image information providing unit configured to collect image information obtained by the monitoring camera; and an image information collecting unit configured to collect image information obtained by the monitoring camera. Is stored and managed in association with at least the identification information of the surveillance camera that provides the image information and the information on the installation position of the surveillance camera. A surveillance camera candidate transmission for transmitting information relating to storage means and surveillance camera candidates for providing the image information to the terminal device, the information including information for allowing a user to recognize the installation position of each surveillance camera; Means, and image information transmitting means for acquiring the image information of the monitoring camera specified by the specifying information included in the request information from the terminal device from the storage unit, and transmitting the image information to the terminal device, The terminal device is a monitoring camera candidate output unit that projects a monitoring camera selection screen on a screen of the display element based on information on the monitoring camera candidate from the monitoring camera candidate transmission unit, and the monitoring camera candidate output. Means for inputting selection of a surveillance camera whose image is to be provided from the surveillance camera selection screen displayed by the means; The request information including designation information designating the surveillance camera selected by means, and request information sending means for sending the image information providing unit receives the image information from the image information transmitting unit,
Image information display means for displaying the information on a screen of the display element.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the image information providing unit collects and accumulates image information from a plurality of surveillance cameras, and provides the terminal device with candidates for surveillance cameras that can be provided. Surveillance camera candidate information including information for causing a user to recognize the installation position of each surveillance camera is transmitted through a communication path.

The terminal device displays a surveillance camera selection screen on the display screen based on the surveillance camera candidate information. Since the surveillance camera candidate information includes information for allowing the user to recognize the installation position of each surveillance camera, the surveillance camera selection screen includes a display for recognizing the installation position of each surveillance camera. .

Therefore, the user can select and input the surveillance camera at the position where the user wants to know the situation at that time through the input operation means. When the selection of the surveillance camera is performed, the terminal device sends request information including designation information for designating the selected surveillance camera to the image information providing unit.

Upon receiving the request information from the terminal device, the image information providing unit acquires from the storage means the image information of the monitoring camera specified by the specification information included in the request information, and transmits the image information to the terminal device. .

The terminal device receives the image information from the image information transmitting means and displays it on the display screen. Therefore, on the display screen, a situation image such as a road situation that the user wants to know at that time is displayed almost in real time.

[0021]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of an information communication system according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings in the case of a road traffic information communication system for grasping road conditions.

[First Embodiment] FIG. 1 shows an embodiment in which a road traffic information communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention is configured by using existing facilities as much as possible. The system according to the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1 includes a large number of surveillance cameras 1, information collection equipment 2, a network operation center 3, and a web site 4.
And a plurality of MMAC (Multimedia Mobile Access System; Multimedia Mobile Acc)
ess Communication System)
It comprises a base station 5 and a plurality of MMAC terminals 6.

A number of surveillance cameras 1 are arranged along a road, and sequentially photograph road traffic conditions near the arrangement position. Each of the monitoring cameras 1 is connected to the information collecting facility 2 and has a function of transmitting information of the captured image to the information collecting facility 2. The surveillance camera 1 does not always send the information of the photographed image to the information collecting facility 2 as in this example, but sends the information of the photographed image to the information collecting facility 2 in response to a request from the information collecting facility 2. May be sent.

These surveillance cameras 1 are VI
Those used in the CS system can be used. In addition, a surveillance camera 1 is newly installed in a place that is newly considered necessary.

The information collection equipment 2 is a conventional VIC
S system information collection device 101 and information processing device 102
And corresponds to the VICS center. This information collection equipment 2 divides the responsible area as needed,
It may be provided for each assigned area, and may be configured to collect and process information on images captured by the monitoring cameras 1 in the assigned area. In the case of this embodiment, the information collection equipment 2
Internet 7

The Internet 7 further includes a network operation center 3, a Web site 4,
The MAC base station 5 is connected.

The information collecting equipment 2 converts the image information collected from the monitoring cameras 1 at various places on the road into a format accessible via the Internet 7 and provides it to the Web site 4.

The network operation center 3
Via the Internet 7, the MMAC base station 5 and the Web
Controls the exchange of information with site 4. The operation center 3 includes a position information database 8 including position information of each of the MMAC base stations 5 and information on where the captured image information of the monitoring camera 1 is stored in the Web site 4.

The MMAC base station 5 accesses the Web site 4 via the network operation center 3 to exchange necessary information,
It exchanges information with the MMAC terminal 6 via the C line.

The MMAC terminal 6 is an on-vehicle transmission / reception terminal mounted on a mobile body such as a car. In this embodiment, the MMAC terminal 6 has a function of connecting to the MMAC base station 5, an information display device, and an information request device. And a navigation system function. And the MMAC terminal 6
Obtains desired road traffic information by an information requesting unit and displays the obtained information on an information display unit. The MMAC terminal 6 further includes an input operation unit for acquiring desired road traffic information by the information requesting device unit.

MMAC stands for Optical Fiber Network (BISDN)
This is a high-speed wireless access system that can seamlessly connect to the Internet, uses a relatively high frequency band such as 5 GHz as a frequency band, has a transmission rate of about 30 Mbps, and uses a TDMA / TDD system (time division multiple access) as an access system. Method) is used.

In this embodiment, the MMAC base station 5 has an IP (Internet
This is a configuration in the case where a service called “net protocol connection” is performed, in which a network operation center 3 connected to the Internet 7 and an ISDN
(Or general telephone line) or optical fiber network (BISD)
Communication is performed via N). In this case, the MMAC base station 5 uses a predetermined user network interface (UN
I) connects to an ISDN or an optical fiber network.

Further, the MMAC base station 5 performs wireless communication with the MMAC terminal 6 via the MMAC line. Therefore, the MMAC base station 5 relays communication between the MMAC terminal 6 and the ISDN or optical fiber network connected thereto.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration example of the MMAC base station 5. In this example, the asynchronous transfer mode (Asynch
ronous Transfer Mode: AT below
M) is connected to an optical fiber network for communication.

Interface section 11 of MMAC base station 5
Is connected to an optical fiber network and performs a user network interface (UNI) for data (ATM cells) transmitted by ATM.

The ATM network line controller 12 connected to the interface unit 11 performs line control such as call connection with the network. AT connected to ATM network line controller 12
The M cell disassembly / assembly unit 13 disassembles ATM cells from the network side and assembles ATM cells to be transmitted to the network side.

The data received from the network decomposed by the ATM cell disassembly / assembly unit 13 is sent to the MMAC channel coding / decoding unit 14 and converted into an MMAC wireless transmission format. The converted data is supplied to the OFDM (Orthogonal) by the modulator 15.
Frequency Division Multi
plex) method and the like, and then the transmission unit 16
The transmission processing such as frequency conversion and amplification is performed by the antenna, and the radio transmission is performed from the antenna 19 to the MMAC terminal 6.

A signal transmitted from the MMAC terminal 6 is received by the antenna 19, subjected to reception processing such as frequency conversion by the reception unit 17, and then demodulated by the demodulation unit 18. The demodulated received data is MMA
The data is supplied to the C channel coding / decoding unit 14, where the decoding process is performed. And A
The ATM cell is assembled as an ATM cell by the TM cell disassembly / assembly unit 13 and transmitted from the interface unit 11 to the optical fiber network connected under the control of the ATM network line control unit 12.

The above processing in the MMAC base station 5 is executed under the control of the CPU 10 via the bus line.

Here, the radio transmission format converted by the MMAC channel coding / decoding unit 14 will be described.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the MMAC wireless transmission format. FIG. 3A shows the configuration of one frame defined by the MMAC format, where one frame is composed of 5 milliseconds, and 800 slots of 30 bytes are present therein. In MMAC, TDMA /
Since it is so-called ping-pong transmission by the TDD method, 8
Slots 1 to 400 out of the 00 slots are transmission slots T, and slots 401 to 800
Is a receiving slot R.

However, there is a case where one frame is used only for transmission. In this case, the slots 401 to 800 are also allocated as transmission slots T, and one-way communication having a double transmission speed is performed. it can. As shown in FIG. 3B, each slot is composed of an 8-byte header section (synchronization signal, control signal, etc.), 20-byte user data, and a 2-byte error detection code section. Is done.

The amount of information that can be transmitted with this configuration will be described. If the minimum transmission rate of user data in one slot is 32 kbit / sec, then if all 800 slots are used, 32 k × 800 = 25.6 Mbit / sec. Rate can be achieved. In the case of normal TDMA / TDD communication, the transmission rate is 12.8 Mbit / sec, which is half this.

FIG. 4 shows an example of the configuration of the MMAC terminal 6. As shown in FIG.
Are received by the receiving unit 22R and subjected to reception processing such as frequency conversion, and then supplied to the demodulation unit 23T to be demodulated. Demodulated received data is MMAC
The data is supplied to the channel coding / decoding unit 24, and a channel decoding process from the MMAC wireless transmission format is performed.

The decoded data is separated into video data and audio data by a control unit 20 composed of a microcomputer, and then supplied to a digital signal processing unit (DSP) 25 for decoding by MPEG2. Processing is performed. Then, the decoded video data as display data is supplied to the liquid crystal display through the liquid crystal driver 27, and the video is displayed on the liquid crystal display 28 under the control of the control unit 20. The decoded audio data is converted into an analog audio signal by the digital signal processing unit, supplied to the speaker 26, and reproduced as sound.

The transmission data generated based on the input operation at the operation unit 29 is supplied to the MMAC channel coding / decoding unit 24 where it is channel-coded and converted into the MMAC wireless transmission format. The converted data is output by the modulation unit 23T to O
After the modulation process is performed by the FDM method or the like, the transmission unit 22
T. Then, transmission processing such as frequency conversion and amplification is performed in the transmission unit 22T, and the transmission processing is performed by radio to the base station via the antenna 21.

The above-described MMAC base station 5 and MMAC
Since high-speed wireless access is possible with the terminal 6, the MMAC terminal 6 also receives video data and the like,
It can be displayed on the liquid crystal display 28.

As described above, the MMAC terminal of this example is configured to have the function of the navigation system, and the CD-RO on which the map database is recorded.
A CD-ROM drive 30 for reading necessary map data from M31 in accordance with an instruction from the control unit 20;
S receiver 32 and GP for receiving radio waves from GPS satellites
An S antenna 33 is provided.

The road map based on the map data read from the CD-ROM 31 is displayed on the liquid crystal display 28.
Are displayed on the road map of the display 28 on the basis of the position of the MMAC terminal itself obtained from the GPS satellite radio wave by the GPS receiver 32. Usually, the liquid crystal display 28
On the screen of FIG. 5, map data centered on the current position measured by the GPS receiver 32 is displayed on a CD as a map database.
Read out from the ROM 31 and displayed.

As will be described later, in the system according to the present embodiment, the MMAC terminal 6 uses a plurality of surveillance cameras among a plurality of surveillance cameras in order to provide data for grasping road traffic conditions in response to a user's request input. A function of acquiring captured image information (moving image data) of the surveillance camera specified by the user.

That is, first, the user sends a request to the MMAC base station 5 through the operation unit 29 of the MMAC terminal 6 to transmit candidate information of a surveillance camera capable of acquiring captured image information, for example, around the current position. Then, in this example, MMA
The C base station, in response to the request,
The information of the surveillance camera candidate list that can provide the captured image is sent to the terminal 6.

At the MMAC terminal 6, this surveillance camera candidate list is displayed on the screen of the liquid crystal display 28, for example. Specify camera 1. Then, the MMAC terminal 6 sends a captured image acquisition request including the designated information of the monitoring camera 1 to the MMA terminal.
Send to C base station 5.

The MMAC base station 5 transfers the received photographed image acquisition request to the network operation center 3 via the Internet 7. Based on the surveillance camera designation information and the position information database included in the received photographed image acquisition request, the network operation center 3 connects via the Internet 7 to the Web site 4 where the requested photographed image of the surveillance camera 1 is stored. It accesses and requests a captured image of the monitoring camera 1. In response to this, the Web site 4 returns the requested shooting information of the monitoring camera to the network operation center 3 via the Internet 7. The network operation center 3 sends the reply information to the MMAC base station 5 via the Internet 7.

The MMAC base station 5 converts the acquired image captured by the surveillance camera into an MMAC transmission format and sends it to the MMAC terminal 6 that issued the request. At the MMAC terminal 6 that has received the photographed image information, the image (moving image)
Is displayed on the liquid crystal display 28.

As described above, the user of the MMAC terminal 6 can detect the road traffic situation near the requested position as a real-time photographed image. Therefore, it is possible to appropriately grasp the actual congestion state of the road at that time, and it is easy to select an optimal traveling route.

The operation of each unit in FIG. 1 for realizing the above will be described in more detail. First, information collection equipment 2
Will be described.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining the photographed image collecting operation of the monitoring camera 1 of the information collecting equipment 2. In this example, the information collection equipment 2 collects the captured image information of the monitoring camera 1 in charge of the information collection equipment 2 at regular time intervals, for example, every three minutes, and stores the information in the Web site 4.

That is, the information collecting facility 2 monitors the timer and determines whether a predetermined time, for example, three minutes has elapsed (step S101). When it is determined that three minutes have elapsed, the timer is reset (step S102),
The capture of the captured image information from the monitoring camera 1 is started (step S103). In the case of this example, the captured image information from the monitoring camera 1 is collected for an appropriate time, for example, one minute.

At this time, additional information is added to the captured image information from the monitoring camera 1. In this example, as the additional information, the identification information ID of the monitoring camera 1, information on the position where the monitoring camera 1 is installed, and information on the direction of the monitoring camera 1 (for example, the direction in which the camera lens is directed) Is added. In this example, the installation position information includes, in addition to the latitude and longitude, memo information such as “in front of XX elementary school”.

The information collection equipment 2 extracts additional information such as the installation position of the surveillance camera 1, the direction of the camera, and the photographing time from the information from the surveillance camera 1 (step S10).
4).

Next, in this embodiment, the information collecting equipment 2 detects whether or not the road traffic condition is congested by detecting, for example, the motion speed of the acquired captured image information. Is added to the additional information (step S105).

Next, the photographed image information obtained from the monitoring camera 1 is converted into a format that can be transmitted through the Internet 7 (step S106). Then, the additional information is added to the converted image information and sent to the Web site 4 via the Internet (step S10).
7).

Then, it is determined whether or not information collection has been completed for all of the monitoring cameras 1 in charge of the information collection equipment 2 (step S108). Step S1
03 and subsequent processes are performed. When it is determined that the information collection for all the monitoring cameras 1 in charge has been completed, the process returns to step S101, and waits until the next camera information collection timing. Repeat the operation.

The information collected by the information collection equipment 2 is
The information transmitted to the website 4 is stored in the storage unit at the website 4 as shown in FIG.

First, upon receiving information from the information collecting equipment 1 (step S201), the identification information ID of the monitoring camera is detected from the additional information included in the received information (step S202). Next, camera installation position information in the additional information is detected (step S203), and an information storage area is determined from the detected camera installation position information (step S204).

In the case of this example, a storage area is determined for each piece of image information from a plurality of monitoring cameras 1 in the cover area of the MMAC base station 5, and the image information is stored and managed in the Web site 4. I am trying to do it. Therefore, based on the information on the installation position of the surveillance camera 1, the surveillance camera 1 recognizes which MMAC base station 5 is in the coverage area, and thereby specifies the storage location in the Web site 4. To

Then, the Web site 4 stores the reference index and the photographed image information (including the additional information) in the determined information storage area using the identification information ID of the monitoring camera as a reference index (step). S205).

It should be noted that the Web site 4 is not limited to a specific one, but may be provided for each region separately for a plurality of regions.

The MMAC base station 5 of this example is based on the information of the surveillance camera 1 collected at the Web site 4,
A surveillance camera candidate table that can provide the captured image information and the additional information to the MMAC terminal 6 is created. FIG.
6 is a flowchart showing a procedure of generating a surveillance camera candidate table in the MAC base station 5.

In this embodiment, the surveillance camera candidate table is updated every predetermined time, for example, every five minutes because there is an attribute of the congestion status that changes with time as additional information.

That is, first, the timer is monitored to determine whether or not the predetermined time has elapsed (step S30).
1). When it is determined that one point time has elapsed, the timer is reset (step S302),
Additional information added to the captured image information of the monitoring camera 1 in the area covered by the MMAC base station 5 is collected from the Web site 4 via the network operation center 3 (step S303).

At this time, the network operation center 3 refers to the location information database 8 to specify an area covered by the MMAC base station 5 that has issued the information collection request, and to the Web site 4 to monitor the area. A request to acquire additional information of the camera 1 is issued. The information collected here includes the identification information ID of the monitoring camera 1, the camera installation position, the camera orientation, the congestion status, the shooting time, and the like.

In response to a request for obtaining additional information from the network operation center 3, the Web site 4 returns additional information on the monitoring camera in the requested area to the network operation center 3 via the Internet 7. Network Operation Center 3
Transfers this reply information to the MMAC base station 5 via the Internet 7.

The MMAC base station 5 creates a surveillance camera candidate table based on the received additional information (step S304). Then, the process returns to step S301 to wait for the next monitoring camera candidate table generation timing. When the generation timing comes, the above processing operation is repeated.

FIG. 8 shows an example of the surveillance camera candidate table. In FIG. 8, characters such as "1-chome intersection" are extracted from a memo included in the position information of the additional information. The “crowd” and “sky” on the right side indicate the congestion status. The time display on the right is Web site 4.
Is displayed for the photographing time of the photographed image information stored in. On the right is the direction of the surveillance camera.

The MMAC base station 5 holds the surveillance camera candidate table updated at regular intervals as described above, and when a surveillance camera candidate request from the MMAC terminal 6 arrives, the MMAC terminal 6 Send the information of the camera candidate table.

That is, as shown in FIG. 9, when the MMAC base station 5 detects that a surveillance camera candidate request from the MMAC terminal 6 has arrived (step S310), it stores the information of the surveillance camera candidate table held therein. The data is transmitted to the MMAC terminal 6 in the MMAC wireless format (step S311).

Next, a procedure for acquiring captured image information from the surveillance camera in the MMAC terminal 6 will be described with reference to the flowchart in FIG.

In the MMAC terminal 6, a road map is displayed on the liquid crystal display 28, and the user using the navigation system can check the actual road congestion conditions, for example, in order to determine a future traveling route. Is operated, a surveillance camera candidate request button included in the operation unit 29 of FIG. 4 is operated. Then, this operation is MMAC
Since the operation of requesting the surveillance camera candidate table to the base station 5 is performed, the MMAC terminal 6
The monitoring camera candidate request is sent (step S401).

As shown in FIG. 9, the MMAC
Since the MMAC base station 5 that has received the surveillance camera candidate request from the terminal 6 sends the information of the surveillance camera candidate table, the MMAC terminal 6 receives the information of the surveillance camera candidate table (step S402). Then, as shown in FIG. 11, for example, the monitoring camera candidate table TB based on the received information is displayed on the display screen 28D of the liquid crystal display 28 so as to be superimposed on the map display (step S403).

In the surveillance camera candidate table TB in the example of FIG. 11, the MMAC terminal 6 is slightly modified. In other words, the time displayed on the right end of the table TB (min means “minute”) indicates that the vehicle, which is the moving body on which the MMAC terminal 6 is mounted, moves from the current position to the camera position. The estimated required time is shown. This is obtained in the MMAC terminal 6 based on, for example, the position information of each monitoring camera 1, the current position information, and the average moving speed.

In the case of the example shown in FIG.
1, the positions of the monitoring cameras 1 are registered in advance, and the positions of the monitoring cameras 1 are stored in a unique symbol or numerical value corresponding to the above-described identification information ID of each monitoring camera. It is displayed on the map by alphabets and further by combinations thereof. In the example of FIG. 11, A to E on the map are CDs in advance.
-Indicates the position of each monitoring camera 1 registered in the map database of the ROM,
The camera indexes correspond to the camera indexes A to E of B. The mark Pc in FIG.
This shows the current location of the vehicle on which the AC terminal is mounted.

The MMAC terminal 6 allows the user to refer to the surveillance camera candidate table TB to select and input the surveillance camera 1 whose real-time captured image is desired through the operation unit 29. , The MMAC terminal 6 monitors the user's selection input of the management camera in step S404.

When the user performs an operation of selecting one surveillance camera, for example, the column of the surveillance camera selected in the table TB is highlighted and information (surveillance camera) for designating the selected surveillance camera is displayed. A request for obtaining a captured image including the specified information including the identification information ID is transmitted to the MMAC base station 5 (step S405).

In response to the photographed image acquisition request, the MMAC
As will be described later, the image information of the designated monitoring camera 1 is sent from the base station 5, so that the MMAC
The terminal 6 receives the captured image information of the surveillance camera,
The image (moving image) is displayed on the display screen 28D of the liquid crystal display 28 (step S406). The display of the moving image may be performed on the entire screen 28D, may be displayed in the area of the table TB in place of the table TB, or may be, for example, a table TB.
May be performed in the lower region of.

This moving image display is performed in the next step S407.
, Until the user issues an image deletion instruction through the operation unit 29. Then, when there is an image deletion instruction from the user, the display screen 28D of the liquid crystal display 28 is returned to the superimposed display screen of the table TB in FIG. 11 (step S408). It should be noted that the moving image may be deleted when the moving image is displayed for a predetermined timer time using a timer, instead of waiting for the image deletion instruction from the user.

Then, it is determined whether or not there is an instruction to end the mode for acquiring the image captured by the monitoring camera (step S409). If there is no instruction to end, the process returns to step S404 to select the next monitoring camera. Wait for input, step S
404 and subsequent steps are repeated. When the end instruction is given, the table TB on the display screen 28D of the liquid crystal display 28 is deleted, and the mode for acquiring the captured image of the monitoring camera is ended (step S410).

The image information transmitted as an image captured by the surveillance camera may not be moving image information, but may have a reduced amount of information by continuous still images, such as so-called frame dropping. The same applies to other embodiments described below.

Next, the processing procedure in the MMAC base station 5 at the time of the above-described process of acquiring the captured image information of the monitoring camera 1 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

The MMAC base station 5 constantly monitors a photographed image acquisition request from the MMAC terminal 6 (step S5).
01). Then, upon receiving the photographed image acquisition request from the MMAC terminal 6, the request information is converted into a format that can be transmitted on the Internet 7, and transmitted to the network operation center 3 via the Internet 7 (Step S502).

As will be described later, this request information is sent from the network operation center 3 to the MMA.
Since the captured image information from the surveillance camera 1 specified by the captured image acquisition request from the C terminal 6 is transmitted, the MM
The AC base station 5 receives the captured image information (Step S503).

Then, the MMAC base station 5 converts the received photographic image information into an MMAC format,
The photographed image acquisition request is transmitted to the transmitting MMAC terminal 6 (step S504).

Next, the processing operation procedure of the network operation center 3 at this time will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

The network operation center 3
The captured image acquisition request from the MMAC base station 5 is constantly monitored (step S601). Then, upon receiving the photographed image acquisition request from the MMAC base station 5, it recognizes the surveillance camera designation information (identification information ID of the surveillance camera) included in the request information and recognizes the surveillance camera for which the photographed image information is requested. Recognize. Then, the network operation center 3 recognizes the Web site 4 storing the captured image information of the surveillance camera from the position information database 8, and sends a request to acquire the captured image information of the surveillance camera to the Web site 4 ( Step S602).

Then, from the Web site 4, information of a so-called home page including the requested image information of the surveillance camera is sent to the network operation center 3.
Then, the information of this homepage is received (step S6).
03), extracting only necessary image information from the information of the homepage, and using IP (Internet Protocol)
The packet is processed (step S604). Then, the IP packet is sent to the MMAC base station 5 via the Internet 7 (step S605).

When the surveillance camera photographed image providing service is a paid service, the photographed image acquisition request from the MMAC terminal 6 includes a billing personal ID of the user of the MMAC terminal 6 (ID is identification information. ) Is included, and this personal ID is recognized by the network operation center 3, so that charging is executed.

FIG. 14 shows the movement of the entire system of the processing sequence for acquiring the image captured by the surveillance camera by the MMAC terminal 6 described above.

That is, first, when a surveillance camera candidate request is issued from the MMAC terminal 6, the MMAC base station 5
The information of the surveillance camera candidate table prepared in advance is returned to the MMAC terminal 6 that issued the request.

[0099] Receiving this, the MMAC terminal 6 displays the surveillance camera candidate table on the liquid crystal display screen.
Then, a monitoring camera selection input of the user with reference to the monitoring camera candidate table is received, and a photographed image acquisition request is transmitted to the MMAC base station 5 through the MMAC wireless line.

The MMAC base station 5 sends this photographed image acquisition request to the network operation center 3 via the Internet 7. The network operation center 3 sends a distribution request for image information of the designated monitoring camera to the Web site 4.

The Web site 4 sends home page information including the requested image information to the network operation center 3 in response to the request. The network operation center 3 extracts the photographed image information from the received homepage information, and distributes the image information to the MMAC base station 5 through the Internet 7 as an IP packet.

[0102] The MMAC base station 5 converts the received image information into the MMAC format and sends it to the MMAC terminal 6. The MMAC terminal 6 displays the received image information on a liquid crystal display screen.

FIG. 15 is a diagram for explaining the format of information exchanged at this time. In FIG. 15, NOC means the network operation center 3.

FIG. 15A shows application information generated by the MMAC terminal 6 as request information in the photographed image acquisition request mode, and the identification information (ID) of the monitoring camera 1 selected and designated by the user. Surveillance camera specifying information, vehicle position information indicating the position of the vehicle on which the MMAC terminal is mounted, and MMAC for charging
It is configured to include general information such as a personal ID of a terminal user and an error detection code.

When transmitting this application information (request information) to the MMAC base station 5, the MMAC terminal 6 adds an MMAC header to the application information and converts it into the MMAC format, as shown in FIG. I do.

The MMAC base station 5 having received the MMAC format information transmits the information to the network operation center 3 via the Internet 7 as shown in FIG.
As shown in (C), it is converted into the structure of an IP packet to which an IP header is added. The network operation center 3 changes this information to the information obtained by analyzing the application information portion as shown in FIG.

The network operation center 3 extracts billing information such as a personal ID included in the application information and performs billing processing.

The I of the photographed image acquisition request information shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 15E, the Web site 4 receiving the P packet transmits the captured image of the designated surveillance camera to the network operation center 3 via the Internet 7 as shown in FIG. (Hyper Text Ma) including captured images of
It is assumed that the information of the homepage in the form of “rkup Language” is in the form of an IP packet.

The network operation center 3
Upon receiving the information in the HTML format shown in FIG.
Only the image information portion is extracted from the received information, and if necessary, processing such as image data compression and additional information addition processing is performed. The processed information is stored in an IP packet as shown in FIG. To the information in the form of
Send to base station 5.

The MMAC base station 5 converts the received information into the MMAC format as shown in FIG. 15 (G), and issues the photographed image acquisition request to the MMAC terminal 6.
Send to The MMAC terminal 6 decodes the received information as shown in FIG. That is, the image data is decompressed and decoded and displayed on the liquid crystal display, and a process according to the added additional information is performed.

As described above, in the first embodiment, a user can provide a real-time image of a road situation near his / her position by making a request for a surveillance camera as required. Information on the surveillance camera can be obtained, for example, as a surveillance camera candidate table. Then, from the surveillance camera candidate table, the user can specify a surveillance camera at a position where the user wants to know detailed road traffic conditions, and can acquire a captured image of the surveillance camera as a real-time image. Therefore, the user can grasp the detailed traffic congestion state and the like from the real-time image and appropriately determine the traveling route.

In the above-described embodiment, in particular, the surveillance camera candidate table is added with additional information such as a traffic congestion situation near the surveillance camera installation position. It also has the advantage of being useful as a reference when selecting a surveillance camera you want to see. Then, when the user is notified of the congestion by the additional information, the user sees the image captured by the surveillance camera at that position in real time, so that the user can determine in detail how much congestion is actually occurring. You can know.

In the above example, a surveillance camera candidate table is prepared in advance in the MMAC base station 5 which covers the current position of the MMAC terminal 6 as an area, and is provided in response to a request from the MMAC terminal 6. However, the present invention is not limited to this configuration.

For example, the network operation center 3 collects additional information on all surveillance cameras.
When it arrives via the MAC base station 5, a surveillance camera candidate table near the designated position is generated, and M
It can also be provided to the MAC terminal 6. In this case, the surveillance camera candidate request from the MMAC terminal 6 includes information on the position designated by the user, assuming that information on the surveillance camera candidate is to be obtained.

For example, when it is desired to know the road traffic situation near a position far from the current position to be headed,
The MMAC terminal 6 sends a surveillance camera candidate request specifying the position. Network Operation Center 3
Then, the surveillance camera candidate table near the position
Send via C base station 5. Thereby, the user can easily obtain a surveillance camera candidate table that can provide an image in the vicinity of the desired position, and use the table to
Necessary real-time image information can be obtained. Therefore, in this case, a detailed road traffic condition can be grasped even at a position distant from the current position on the traveling route, which is useful for determining an appropriate traveling route.

[Second Embodiment] In the first embodiment described above, when the user makes a request for a monitoring camera candidate,
The surveillance camera candidate table is provided to the user, and the user designates a surveillance camera that wants to view a real-time captured image from the table, but a map database including information on the installation positions of the surveillance cameras is prepared in advance. By specifying the mark of the surveillance camera displayed on the map on the display screen, the surveillance camera to be viewed can be specified.

The second embodiment is an example in that case. The hardware configuration of the system of the second embodiment can be exactly the same as that of the first embodiment.

FIG. 16 shows a display screen 28D of the liquid crystal display 28 of the MMAC terminal in the case of the second embodiment.
It is an example of a map display above. The mark CM, which is a combination of a rectangle and a trapezoid, indicates the location of the surveillance camera
The direction orthogonal to the lower base of the trapezoid of the mark CM indicates the direction of the surveillance camera.

In this embodiment, the mark CM is displayed in different colors reflecting the information on the congestion status received through the MMAC base station 5 described later. That is, in the example of FIG.
M (red) indicates the surveillance camera position where the surrounding road traffic condition is "very congested", and is displayed in red on the screen 28D. Mark CM painted out with halftone
(Green) indicates the surveillance camera position where the surrounding road traffic condition is “slightly congested”, and is displayed in green on the screen 28D. The white mark CM (yellow) indicates the surveillance camera position where the surrounding road traffic condition is “vacant”, and is displayed in yellow on the screen 28D.

When the congestion status information is not received by the MMAC terminal 6 through the MMAC base station 5, each mark CM is a yellow mark CM (yellow). The display color of the camera mark is an example, and it is needless to say that the present invention is not limited to this. Also, to reflect the congestion situation,
The method is not limited to the method of changing the display color of the mark. For example, the size of the mark or the shape of the mark may be changed.

In the second embodiment, the MM
When the user of the AC terminal 6 designates a mark of one specific surveillance camera on the screen of the liquid crystal display 28 with a pointing device, the instruction becomes a captured image acquisition request instruction. When the MMAC terminal 6 detects the photographed image acquisition request instruction, the MMAC terminal 6 sends a photographed image acquisition request including the specified monitoring camera identification information ID to the MMAC base station 5 in the same manner as in the first embodiment. .

Then, similarly to the first embodiment, the MMAC base station 5 acquires the photographed image information of the designated monitoring camera from the Web site 4 via the network operation center 3, and MMAC terminal 6
Send to In the MMAC terminal 6, the moving image based on the received captured image information is displayed on the screen 28D of the liquid crystal display 28.
Then, it is displayed on a part of the map screen or in place of the map screen.

Therefore, the user of the MMAC terminal 6
In the same manner as in the above-described first embodiment, it is possible to see the captured image of the surveillance camera 1 that has requested the instruction, and it is possible to know the road condition of the required point by a real-time moving image.

The collection and distribution of congestion state information in MMAC base station 5 in the case of the second embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart in FIG. In this case, on the Web site 4, the congestion status is detected as three modes of "very congested", "slightly congested", and "vacant", and stored as additional information.

In the second embodiment, the operation of collecting and distributing information on the congestion state is performed for a predetermined time, for example, every 5 minutes. Therefore, first, a timer is monitored to determine whether or not the predetermined time has elapsed (step S701). When it is determined that the one-point time has elapsed, the timer is reset (step S702), and then the congestion status, which is additional information added to the captured image information of the monitoring camera 1 in the area covered by the MMAC base station 5, is displayed. Information is collected from the website 4 via the network operation center 3 (step S70).
3).

At this time, the network operation center 3 refers to the location information database 8 to specify an area covered by the MMAC base station 5 that has issued the congestion status information collection request, and stores the area in the Web site 4 in the area. Of the congestion status information as additional information of the surveillance camera 1 is issued.

In response to a congestion information acquisition request from the network operation center 3, the Web site 4
Sends back additional information on the congestion status of the monitoring camera in the requested area to the network operation center 3 via the Internet 7. The network operation center 3 sends this reply information to the MMAC base station 5
Via the Internet 7.

The MMAC base station 5 distributes the received congestion information to the MMAC terminal 6 (step S70).
4).

Next, the MM in the second embodiment
The operation of the AC terminal 6 will be described with reference to the flowchart in FIG.

In the state where the MMAC terminal 6 operates as a navigation system, a map near the current position is displayed on the screen 28D of the liquid crystal display 28 together with the own vehicle position mark Pc as shown in FIG.
Then, at the position where the monitoring camera 1 is installed on the map, the mark CM is displayed in a manner indicating the direction of the monitoring camera 1 as described above (step S80).
1).

In this state, when information on the congestion status of each monitoring camera 1 is received from the MMAC base station 5 (step S802), the information on the congestion status is reflected on the mark CM on the map (step S803). . That is, as described above, the mark CM is displayed in red when it is very crowded, displayed in green when it is slightly crowded, and displayed in yellow when it is empty.

The user operates the liquid crystal display screen 28
In D, a surveillance camera that wants to view a real-time captured image can be designated using a pointing device. If there is no designation by the pointing device, a map image as shown in FIG. 16 is continuously displayed.

When it is detected that the user inputs the designation instruction of the surveillance camera by the pointing device (step S804), the captured image including the designation information of the surveillance camera (including the identification information ID of the surveillance camera) An acquisition request is sent to the MMAC base station 5 (step S80)
5).

Then, as described above, the MMAC base station 5 transmits the Web
It accesses the site b to acquire the requested image information of the surveillance camera, and returns the acquired image information to the MMAC terminal 6.

The MMAC terminal 6 receives the returned image information of the surveillance camera and displays it on the screen 28D of the liquid crystal display 28 (step S806). Thereby, the user can see the captured image of the surveillance camera instructed by the pointing device on the screen 28D, and know the detailed road condition of the surveillance camera position in real time.

The display of the image captured by the surveillance camera continues until the user performs an image display off instruction operation, and when the image display off instruction operation is performed (step S80).
7), the image captured by the monitoring camera is deleted, and the display returns to the original map display screen (step S808).

In the case of the second embodiment, the position and the direction of the monitoring camera are displayed on the map by the camera mark CM, and the user is notified of the constantly changing congestion situation. You. Therefore, the user can easily select a surveillance camera that wants to view a captured image by relying on the mark CM of the camera.

In the above description of the second embodiment, the MMAC base station 5 always collects information on the congestion status of the surveillance cameras in the cover area, and collects information on each MMAC terminal 6 in the cover area. Was delivered to
Only when there is a congestion status information request from the MMAC terminal 6, the congestion status information is collected, and the collected congestion status information is distributed only to the MMAC terminal 6 that has made the request. Good.

[Third Embodiment] In the first and second embodiments described above, each monitoring camera 1 and the information collection equipment 2
Is connected using, for example, a dedicated line, and the image captured by the surveillance camera 1 and the additional information are once collected in the information collection facility 2 and then sent to the Web site 4 via the Internet 7. However, a computer may be provided together with the surveillance camera at the installation position of each surveillance camera, and this computer may be used to send the captured image information and the additional information to the Web site 4 via the Internet 7.

In the third embodiment, FIG.
Shows the configuration of the entire system. In FIG. 19, the same parts as those in the system configuration diagram of the first embodiment in FIG.

In the third embodiment, the information collecting equipment 2 of the first embodiment is not provided, and as shown in FIG. 19, a monitoring camera 41 and a computer 42 are provided at various places on the road. Is provided. Each computer 42 of the road traffic condition monitoring device 40 is connected to the Internet 7 via a modem (not shown).

In the case of the third embodiment, information of images captured by the respective monitoring cameras 41 is provided by the computer 42 at appropriate time intervals, for example, every three minutes, for an appropriate time, for example, 1 hour. The minutes are sent to the Web site 4 via the Internet 7 and accumulated.

In this case, the computer 42 detects the congestion of the road by detecting the moving speed of the image of the image captured by the monitoring camera 41, and sends the information of the detected congestion to the Web site 4. It should be included in the additional information added to the image information. The computer 42 converts the captured image information and the additional information into data in a format that can be transmitted on the Internet 7 and sends the data to the Internet 7. Other operations are the same as those in the first embodiment or the second embodiment.

In the case of the third embodiment, the road traffic condition monitoring device 40 including the monitoring camera 41 and the computer 42 can be newly installed only by connecting to the Internet 7. Therefore, the road traffic condition monitoring device 40
Can be easily installed at a necessary place.

The operation in the third embodiment can be performed as in the case of the first embodiment, or can be performed as in the case of the second embodiment.

[Fourth Embodiment] FIG. 20 is a diagram showing an outline of a system according to a fourth embodiment. The system configuration according to the fourth embodiment is a modification of the system configuration according to the third embodiment described above, and the Web site 4 and the network operation center 3 according to the third embodiment.
This is a case where a network management center 51 integrating the above is provided.

In the fourth embodiment, the network management center 51 is connected to the MMAC base station 5 not only through the Internet but also through a dedicated line 52.

Then, each road traffic condition monitoring device 40
When the monitoring camera 41 is installed, the network management center 5
1, an installation position is registered through the Internet 7 and an Internet address (URL) is registered. At this time, the direction of the monitoring camera 41 is also registered in the network management center 51.

In the same manner as in the third embodiment, the computer 42 determines the congestion state near the installation position on the basis of the captured image information of the monitoring camera 41, and transmits the information on the determined congestion state. , With a function to distribute.

As will be described later, the road traffic condition monitoring device 40 is connected to the MMAC terminal 6 through the MMAC base station 5.
In response to the photographed image acquisition request from, the photographed image of the surveillance camera 41 is transmitted through the requesting MMAC base station 5,
It is provided to the requesting MMAC terminal 6.

The network management center 51 manages the installation position and the Internet address (URL) of the monitoring camera 41 of each road traffic condition monitoring device 40. A change or update of the installation position of the monitoring camera 41 and a new registration accompanying the installation of the new road traffic condition monitoring device 40 are received.

The network management center 51 also
It manages the position of the MAC base station 5 and the cover area 53, and also changes and updates them. Then, information of the road traffic condition monitoring device 40 in each cover area 53 of the MMAC base station 5, that is, the installation position of each monitoring camera 41 in the cover area 53, the direction of the camera, and the identification information ID of the camera The MMAC base station 5 is notified of camera-related information such as When the camera-related information is updated, the network management center 51
The new information is transmitted to the MMAC base station 5.

The MMAC base station 5 stores camera-related information from the network management center 51. Based on the stored camera-related information, the MMAC base station 5 detects and manages the road traffic condition monitoring device 40 in its own area 53. Then, it periodically inquires of each road traffic condition monitoring device 40 in the service area 53 about the congestion status, and holds the congestion status information returned by the computer 42 in association with the camera-related information.

Then, the MMAC base station 5 prepares information of the surveillance camera candidate table similar to that of the first embodiment as a database in advance by using the camera-related information and the congestion information. I do. And M
When a monitoring camera candidate request arrives from the MMAC terminal 6, the MAC base station 5 requests information of the monitoring camera candidate table prepared as a database from the MM.
A reply is sent to the AC terminal 6.

Further, in the case of the fourth embodiment, the MMAC base station 5 requests the MMAC terminal 6 to obtain a photographic image acquisition request (a request for a photographic image of the monitoring camera 41 of the specific road traffic condition monitoring apparatus 40). When the identification information ID of the surveillance camera is included as the designated information), the URL of the road traffic condition monitoring device 40 is detected by referring to its own database using the identification information ID of the surveillance camera as a search element, and this URL is detected. Through the Internet 7 using
A request to transmit a captured image of the monitoring camera 41 is sent to the designated road traffic condition monitoring device 40.

The MMAC base station 5 transmits the information of the captured image of the monitoring camera 42 transmitted from the road traffic condition monitoring device 40 to the request for transmitting the captured image to the MMAC terminal 6 which has issued the request. Send via MMAC line.

The MMAC terminal 6 of this embodiment has exactly the same configuration and operation as the MMAC terminal 6 of the above-described embodiment. That is, the MMAC terminal 6 has a function of requesting a surveillance camera candidate, and displays the surveillance camera candidate table TB acquired by the request for the surveillance camera on the map screen of the navigation system as shown in FIG.

Then, the MMAC terminal 6 specifies a monitoring camera whose real-time captured image is to be viewed from the monitored camera candidate table TB and transmits a captured image acquisition request to the MMAC base station 5 in the same manner as described above. To do.

Then, as described above, in response to the photographed image acquisition request, the MMAC base station 5 transmits, via the Internet 7, the road traffic condition monitoring device 4 at the requested position.
From 0, the captured image information of the monitoring camera 41 is acquired and returned to the MMAC terminal 6, so that the received image is superimposed on a part of the map display screen or replaced with the map display screen. The screen 28 of the liquid crystal display 28
D.

In the case of the fourth embodiment, the MMAC
FIG. 21 shows a sequence in which the terminal 6 acquires an image captured by the monitoring camera.

That is, first, when a surveillance camera candidate request is issued from the MMAC terminal 6, the MMAC base station 5
The information of the surveillance camera candidate table prepared in advance is returned to the MMAC terminal 6 that issued the request.

[0162] Receiving this, the MMAC terminal 6 displays the surveillance camera candidate table on the liquid crystal display screen.
Then, a monitoring camera selection input of the user with reference to the monitoring camera candidate table is received, and a photographed image acquisition request is transmitted to the MMAC base station 5 through the MMAC wireless line.

The MMAC base station 5 searches the database using the identification information ID of the surveillance camera included in the photographed image acquisition request as a reference searcher, and the Internet address of the road traffic condition monitoring device 40 including the requested surveillance camera. The URL is detected, and a request for transmitting photographed image information is issued to the road traffic condition monitoring device 40 including the monitoring camera requested through the Internet 7 using the detected URL.

The road traffic condition monitoring device 40 converts the information of the home page including the image information requested in response to the
It is sent to the AC base station 5. The MMAC base station 5 extracts photographed image information from the received homepage information,
The image information is converted into the MMAC format and the image information is distributed to the MMAC terminal 6 through the MMAC line.

The MMAC terminal 6 demodulates the received image information and displays it on the liquid crystal display screen.

In the above first, third and fourth embodiments, the method of designating a surveillance camera requesting a photographed image by a user while referring to the surveillance camera candidate table in the MMAC terminal 6 is described. As an example, when a surveillance camera mark is displayed on a map screen, the monitoring camera may be displayed by pointing a position on the map screen.

Further, the fourth embodiment and the second embodiment can be combined.

[Fifth Embodiment] FIG. 22 is a diagram showing a system configuration of a fifth embodiment. In the fifth embodiment, the broadcast facility 100 is used instead of the Web site 4 of the first embodiment, and the MMAC
Instead of the base station 5, a media conversion base station 200 equipped with an MMAC transmission / reception facility and a broadcast reception facility is used.

The information collection equipment 2 of this example is connected to the broadcast equipment 100 through a dedicated line or a network such as BISDN. Similarly, the network operation center 3 is connected to the broadcasting equipment 100 through a dedicated network or a network such as BISDN, and is also connected to the media conversion base station 200 through the Internet 7. Media conversion base station 20
0 receives a broadcast signal from the broadcast facility 100 and is connected to a number of MMAC terminals 6 through an MMAC line.

In this example, the broadcasting equipment 100 includes terrestrial broadcasting equipment, satellite broadcasting equipment, and cable television broadcasting equipment. On the other hand, the media conversion base station 200
It has a function that can receive all of these various broadcasts.

That is, the radio wave from the terrestrial broadcast transmitting antenna 101 of the broadcasting equipment 100 is transmitted to the media conversion base station 20.
0 terrestrial broadcast receiving antenna 201. Also,
Radio waves from the satellite broadcasting transmitting antenna 102 of the broadcasting equipment 100 are transmitted to the media conversion base station 2 via the artificial satellite 103.
00 is received by the satellite broadcast receiving antenna 202. Further, cable television broadcasting is performed from the broadcasting facility 100 to the media conversion base station 200 via the coaxial cable 104.

Next, a detailed configuration example of the media conversion base station 200 is shown in FIG. That is, in the media conversion base station 200, a terrestrial broadcast wave of a desired channel is received by the tuner 203 connected to the terrestrial broadcast reception antenna 201, and the received signal is demodulated by the demodulation unit 204 to obtain received data.

Further, a satellite broadcast wave of a desired channel is received by tuner 205 connected to satellite broadcast receiving antenna 202, and the received signal is demodulated by demodulation section 206 to obtain received data.

Further, a cable television broadcast signal of a desired channel is received by tuner 207 connected to coaxial cable 104, and the received signal is demodulated by demodulation section 208 to obtain received data.

The channels received by the tuners 203, 205, and 207 are set by tuning control data supplied via a bus line 231 from a control unit 230 constituted by a microcomputer, for example.

Each received data is supplied to the de-interleave unit 2
09 and the error correction unit 210
Error correction processing (for example, correction of outer code by Reed-Solomon code, decoding of inner code by Viterbi decoder)
The descrambling process in the descrambling unit 211 is performed, and for example, MPEG (Moving Pict)
The TS (transport stream) specified by the U.R. Experts Group (2) is restored.

Here, TS defined by the MPEG2 system
FIG. 24 shows the configuration of the packet and TS packet streams.
As shown in FIG. 24A, one unit of the TS packet is made up of 188 bytes as shown in FIG. 24A, and the first four bytes are a header part and the remaining 184 bytes are a data part. In the data section, in addition to data, an area called an adaptation field for transmitting system information such as a data synchronization reference clock can be provided, and can be used properly depending on purposes.

The header has a 1-byte header synchronization signal and a 13-bit packet identifier (PID). T
The S packet stream, as shown in FIG.
Eight TS packets constitute one transmission frame.

In general, encoded video and audio data are temporally continuous data, but are separated by a length convenient for signal processing during encoding and information presentation on the receiving side. A data group signal is configured as a variable-length packet in which a header is added to the data group signal. The data grouped signals are divided and transmitted by TS packets having the same packet identifier.

The TS (transport stream) having the above configuration is demultiplexed and demultiplexed from the descrambler 211.
Demultiplexed and supplied to the program selection unit 212,
At 12, a process of selecting and outputting video data and audio data of a desired program is performed. Here, the program selection process is a process of determining a packet identifier assigned to a TS packet and determining data of a target program.

The video data and audio data output from the demultiplexing / program selection unit 212 are sent to the MMAC channel coding / decoding unit 213,
To the wireless transmission format. The converted data is subjected to a modulation process by an OFDM system or the like in a modulation unit 214, and then is subjected to a transmission process such as frequency conversion and amplification in a transmission unit 215, and is wirelessly transmitted from an antenna 216 to an MMAC terminal.

The processing in the descrambler 211 and the program selection in the demultiplexer / program selector 212 are controlled by the controller 230. Also, MMA
The processing in the C channel coding / decoding unit 213 is also controlled by the control unit 230.

The signal transmitted from the MMAC terminal side is subjected to reception processing such as frequency conversion in reception section 217 connected to antenna 216, and then supplied to demodulation section 218 to demodulate the received data. You. Then, the demodulated received data is supplied to the MMAC channel coding / decoding section 213, where decoding processing is performed.

Among the decoded data, the data that needs to be transmitted to the BISDN network is the AT
The interface unit 221 is supplied to the M cell disassembly / assembly unit 219 and assembled as an ATM cell for performing communication in the asynchronous transfer mode (ATM), and connected to the BISDN network connected under the control of the ATM network line control unit 220. Sent from. This transmission control is also performed by the control unit 230.

Also, transmitted from the MMAC terminal 6 side,
MMAC channel coding / decoding unit 2
Among the data decoded in 13, a signal specifying a channel to be viewed, a program, or the like is supplied to the control unit 230 to be determined. Then, based on the result of the determination, the control unit 230 controls each of the tuners 203, 205, 20
7 or the program selected by the demultiplexing / program selection unit 212 is set to be the specified channel or program.

Next, the operation of the fifth embodiment having the above system configuration will be described.

That is, in the fifth embodiment, each of the surveillance cameras 1 sequentially photographs road traffic conditions, and distributes the photographed image information to the information collection equipment 2. The information collecting equipment 2 converts the photographed image information collected from the surveillance cameras 1 at various places on the road into a program of a specialty channel, and
To provide.

For example, an area where broadcasting is performed is divided into a plurality of areas, photographed image information is collected from the surveillance camera 1 for each of the divided areas, and a program for the area is generated as a channel for the area. To the broadcasting equipment 100. Alternatively, the broadcast program may be a program on one specialty channel, but the program may be generated and provided to the broadcasting facility so that the broadcast time is shifted for each of a plurality of divided areas.

[0189] In this case, the program provided to the broadcasting equipment 100 is not limited to the captured image, but also includes the additional information such as the installation position and the camera direction of the monitoring camera as described above, such as the congestion state generated by the information collection equipment 2. May be included.

Broadcasting equipment 100 distributes a given program in a time-division or region-division manner over a broadcasting network such as satellite broadcasting, terrestrial broadcasting, or cable television broadcasting. In this example, broadcasting is performed by, for example, area division.

In the network operation center 3, the media conversion base station 20 is connected via the Internet 7.
0, and provides information from the media conversion base station 200 to the broadcasting equipment 100 as a control signal in the case of a regional division broadcast. In the media conversion base station 200, the MMAC terminal 6
It also exchanges information with.

The MMAC terminal 6 has the function of connecting to the media conversion base station 200, as in the above-described embodiment.
It has an information display function and an information request function, displays information acquired by the information display function, and performs an input operation by the user to obtain desired road traffic information (images captured by the surveillance camera) by the information request function. Accept.

The photographed image acquisition request in the case of the fifth embodiment is such that the user of the MMAC terminal 6 designates a point on the map on the screen of the liquid crystal display 28 of the navigation system where the photographed image is desired to be viewed. Or an instruction to input a name such as an address or an intersection name.

In the MMAC terminal 6, when the above-mentioned photographed image acquisition request is input by the user, the position information (coordinates such as longitude and latitude) of the request point and the own vehicle (own terminal)
A captured image acquisition request including the location information of the
Media conversion base station 200 using MMAC uplink
Send to The media conversion base station 200 transmits the photographed image acquisition request to the network operation center 3 via the Internet 7.

Then, the network operation center 3 transmits the road traffic information including the captured image of the monitoring camera corresponding to the given captured image acquisition request to the broadcast facility 100.
For the selected program.

In response to this request, the broadcasting equipment 4 broadcasts the requested selected program to the divided area where the requested MMAC terminal is located.

The media conversion base station 200 selectively receives the broadcasted program, and transmits the program (road traffic information) to the MMAC terminal 6 using the MMAC downlink.
The MMAC terminal 6 outputs the obtained program (road traffic information including image information of the monitoring camera at the requested location) to the liquid crystal display. Therefore, the user can see the screen, grasp the traffic congestion status at each point, and determine a future traveling route and the like.

Also in the case of the fifth embodiment, for example, in a cable television broadcast, information of a surveillance camera candidate table including congestion information and the like is broadcasted in advance for each region, and the broadcast is used. When a user designates a surveillance camera for which he / she wants to view a captured image, the network operation center 3 is connected to, for example, a telephone line.
By transmitting a photographed image acquisition request and transmitting this request to the broadcasting equipment 100 by the network operation center 3, the photographed image can be distributed by broadcasting.

[Other Embodiments] Next, a sixth embodiment will be described. In the sixth embodiment,
In the navigation system of the MMAC terminal, the position information of the surveillance camera on the route to be headed from the own vehicle position and the traveling direction is automatically detected, and the request information of the photographed image of the surveillance camera is determined by the user's operation. Separately, information requests are sequentially transmitted to the MMAC base station or the media conversion base station via the MMAC uplink.

[0200] That is, for example, in a map database stored on a CD-ROM, a DVD, or the like, information on the arrangement position of the monitoring camera is recorded in advance. The MMAC terminal refers to the map database and detects the surveillance camera on the route to be passed and the installation position thereof based on the current position of the vehicle and the traveling direction. Then, the captured image acquisition request including the detected surveillance camera identification information and the installation position information is automatically transmitted to the MMAC base station or the media conversion base station through the MMAC uplink without passing through the user's acquisition request operation. Send. This is performed sequentially with the operation of the automobile.

In this way, the requested captured image of the surveillance camera is returned to the MMAC terminal through the MMAC base station or the media conversion base station.
In the AC terminal, the image is displayed on the screen of the liquid crystal display.

Therefore, according to the sixth embodiment, real-time images of road conditions at a point ahead on the traveling route are automatically and sequentially obtained and provided to the user. The user can know the congestion status and the like in detail, and can easily determine an appropriate traveling route that avoids congestion. Then, in this case, the user can obtain the necessary road traffic information without performing the photographed image acquisition request operation for acquiring the individual photographed images, and particularly in the case where the user is a driver. When considered,
It is also preferable in terms of safety.

Next, in the seventh embodiment, when a user of the navigation system of the MMAC terminal performs a route search, the route search result is captured from the MMAC terminal via the MMAC base station 5. It is sent to the network operation center 3 as an image acquisition request or together with a photographed image acquisition request.

In the seventh embodiment, the position information database 8 connected to the network operation center 3 records the installation position information of all the monitoring cameras 1. MMAC terminal 6 through MMAC base station 5
The network operation center 3 that has obtained the route search result from the Web site 4 sequentially obtains the information of the surveillance cameras on the route determined by the route search result from the Web site 4 with reference to the position database 8. A reply is sent to the MMAC terminal via the MMAC base station 5.

In this case, when the route search result is sent, the network operation center 3 acquires the photographed image information of all the surveillance cameras from the Web site 4 and sequentially provides the photographed image information to the MMAC terminal 6. Alternatively, it is also possible to sequentially send the captured image information of the surveillance camera according to the position of the vehicle as the moving body on which the MAC terminal 6 is mounted, as follows.

That is, information on the position of the vehicle is transmitted from the MMAC terminal 6 to the network operation center 3 through the MMAC base station 5 at a fixed timing. The network operation center 3 sequentially determines appropriate monitoring cameras to be provided, such as monitoring cameras in the vicinity of the position, based on the position information, and sequentially sends the captured image information.

In the case of the seventh embodiment, the MMA
By simply sending the route search result from the C terminal 6, a photographed image of a necessary road condition can be obtained. In addition, the user can obtain necessary road traffic information without performing individual operations. Therefore, when the user is a driver, it is particularly preferable in terms of safety.

In each of the above embodiments, the network operation center obtains traffic congestion information, construction locations, and accident information from the Japan Road Traffic Information Center or VICS Center, and obtains the location (position information) or road traffic information. Of course, it may be transmitted to the user. As a method of transmitting such information, MMA
A method to add to the reply to the information request from the C terminal,
It is possible to use a method in which a dedicated channel is provided and distribution is continuously performed from the MMAC base station or the media conversion base station. As a result, the user can obtain the expected location of the traffic congestion without searching.

[0209] In the above description, the information to be provided mainly deals with road traffic information such as traffic congestion information. However, it is also possible to provide information on other areas such as leisure facilities depending on the installation location of the monitoring camera. The provision of information other than the moving image can be handled by the same device, and the provision of such information is not limited. For example, a surveillance camera may be installed in a parking lot, and an image about the congestion state of the parking lot may be provided.

[0210] Billing for information provision can be centrally managed in the network operation center.

[0211]

As described above, according to the present invention, an image captured by a monitoring camera at a desired position, for example, road traffic information, can be obtained in real time as a camera captured image. Therefore, since an image of the actual road condition can be obtained, it is easy for the user to make an appropriate situation determination, avoiding unnecessary traffic congestion and entering traffic congestion, and leading to alleviation of traffic congestion. Moreover, there is an effect that a required camera position can be selected from surveillance camera candidates including additional information such as a traffic congestion state.

Further, according to the present invention, a user can view a high-speed moving image of high quality as a photographed image by using a realistic method using MMAC. In addition, We
By using the b site, it is possible to easily provide a large number of access points, and it is also easy to add the access points, so that it is particularly effective as a road traffic information providing means.

Further, contact information (position information, information request point,
By collecting and managing the destinations, etc., the concentration and dispersion of road transportation (cars) can be grasped, and the invention can be applied to optimization of traffic management of ITS (Intelligent Transport System).

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a first embodiment in which an information communication system according to the present invention is applied to a road traffic information communication system.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of an MMAC base station according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an MMAC transmission format.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of an MMAC terminal according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the information collection facility according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the Web site according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining an operation of the MMAC base station according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a surveillance camera candidate table according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart for explaining an operation of the MMAC base station according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the MMAC terminal according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a display screen in the MMAC terminal according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the MMAC base station according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the network operation center according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 14 shows the MMAC terminal and M in the first embodiment.
FIG. 4 is a sequence diagram illustrating exchange of information between a MAC base station and a network operation center.

FIG. 15 shows an MMAC terminal and M in the first embodiment.
FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a format of information exchanged between a MAC base station and a network operation center.

FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating an example of a display screen in the MMAC terminal according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the MMAC base station according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the MMAC terminal according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating a system configuration according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating a system configuration according to a fourth embodiment;

FIG. 21 shows an MMAC terminal and M in the fourth embodiment.
FIG. 4 is a sequence diagram illustrating exchange of information between a MAC base station and a road traffic condition monitoring device.

FIG. 22 is a diagram illustrating a system configuration according to a fifth embodiment.

FIG. 23 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a media conversion base station according to a fifth embodiment.

24 is a diagram used to explain a processing operation in the media conversion base station in FIG. 23.

FIG. 25 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a conventional VICS system.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Surveillance camera, 2 ... Information collection equipment, 3 ... Network operation center, 4 ... Web site, 5 ... MMA
C base station, 6: MMAC terminal, 7: Internet, 8
… Position database, 28… Liquid crystal display, 29…
Operation unit, 30 ... CD-ROM drive, 31 ... CD-R
OM, 40: Road traffic condition monitoring device, 41: Surveillance camera, 42: Computer, 51: Network management center, 100: Broadcast equipment, 200: Media conversion base station

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) H04N 7/18 H04B 7/26 K F term (Reference) 5C054 CH08 DA01 DA07 DA09 EA03 EG04 FA02 FB05 FD02 FE14 FE13 FE14 FE16 FE19 FE23 GA02 GB05 GB06 GB11 GB15 GD09 HA26 HA28 5H180 AA01 BB05 BB13 BB15 CC04 DD04 FF05 FF12 FF13 FF22 FF33 FF35 5K067 AA21 BB21 DD52 EE02 LL05

Claims (46)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of surveillance cameras having a function of transmitting image information obtained by photographing, a terminal device having at least a display element for displaying the image information, and a connection to the terminal device through a communication path. A road traffic information communication system configured to collect image information from the surveillance camera and to provide image information according to a request from the terminal device to the terminal device. Wherein the image information providing unit includes: an image information collecting unit that collects image information obtained by the surveillance camera; and the image information collected by the image information collecting unit, at least providing the image information. Accumulating means for accumulating and managing the surveillance camera in association with the identification information of the surveillance camera and information on the installation position of the surveillance camera; and providing the image information to the terminal device Surveillance camera candidate transmitting means for transmitting information relating to a candidate for a monitoring camera, the information including information for causing a user to recognize the installation position of each surveillance camera; and designation included in request information from the terminal device. Image information transmitting means for acquiring the image information of the surveillance camera specified by the information from the storage means and transmitting the image information to the terminal device, wherein the terminal device receives the image information from the surveillance camera candidate transmitting means. Based on the information about the surveillance camera candidates, a surveillance camera candidate output unit that projects a surveillance camera selection screen on the screen of the display element, and Input operation means for selecting and inputting a surveillance camera to be provided with an image, and designation for designating the surveillance camera selected by the input operation means Request information transmitting means for transmitting request information including information to the image information providing unit; and image information displaying means for receiving image information from the image information transmitting means and displaying the image information on a screen of the display element. An information communication system comprising: 2. The information communication system according to claim 1, wherein the terminal device is installed in a mobile object, and is connected to the image information providing unit via a wireless communication path. The providing unit includes a wireless base station for performing wireless communication with the terminal device, wherein the wireless base station generates information regarding the candidate for the monitoring camera and provides the information to the terminal device. Information communication system. 3. The information communication system according to claim 2, wherein the wireless base station is connected to the Internet, and the storage unit of the image information providing unit is configured by a Web site on the Internet. The information transmitting means comprises the radio base station, and a network operation center connected to the Internet for controlling exchange of information between the radio base station and the storage means. Communications system. 4. The information communication system according to claim 2, wherein the terminal device is configured as an MMAC (Multimedia Mobile Access System) terminal, and the radio base station is an MMAC base station. An information communication system configured as described above. 5. The information communication system according to claim 1, wherein the terminal device has a function of transmitting a surveillance camera candidate transmission request to the image information providing unit. The information communication system, wherein the unit transmits information on a candidate for a monitoring camera capable of providing the image information only to the terminal device that has transmitted the monitoring camera candidate transmission request. 6. The information communication system according to claim 5, wherein the monitoring camera candidate transmission request includes information for specifying an area, and the image information providing unit includes information for specifying the area. An information communication system for transmitting information on surveillance camera candidates in an area indicated by: 7. The information communication system according to claim 1, wherein the information from the surveillance camera candidate transmitting means of the image information providing unit includes a position at which each surveillance camera is installed. The surveillance camera candidate output means of the terminal device, together with information indicating the congestion situation at the position where each of the surveillance cameras is installed, on the surveillance camera selection screen to be displayed An information communication system characterized by displaying. 8. The information communication system according to claim 1, wherein the information from the surveillance camera candidate transmitting means of the image information providing unit includes information of an image provided from each surveillance camera. The surveillance camera candidate output means of the terminal device further includes information on a photographing time of an image provided from each surveillance camera on a selection screen of a surveillance camera to be projected. An information communication system characterized by the above-mentioned. 9. The information communication system according to claim 1, wherein the information from the monitoring camera candidate transmitting means of the image information providing unit includes image information provided by each monitoring camera. of,
The monitoring camera candidate output means of the terminal device includes information on the direction of the monitoring camera in an image provided from each of the monitoring cameras on a selection screen of the monitoring camera to be displayed. An information communication system characterized by displaying 10. A plurality of surveillance cameras having a function of transmitting image information obtained by photographing, and a photographed image including identification information of a designated surveillance camera among the plurality of surveillance cameras via a wireless communication path. A wireless terminal device having a function of transmitting an acquisition request and a function of receiving the captured image information for which the acquisition request has been received through the wireless communication path and displaying the information on a display element; and A management center that is connected and manages the installation position of each monitoring camera, and is connected to the wireless terminal device via the wireless communication path,
A plurality of wireless base stations connected to the plurality of monitoring cameras via a network and connected to the management center via a predetermined communication path, wherein the management center is provided for each of the wireless base stations; Providing camera information including at least identification information and information about a network address of a surveillance camera in an area served by each wireless base station, and the wireless base station holds the camera information from the management center, Upon receiving the captured image acquisition request from the wireless terminal device, the monitoring camera requested through the network based on the identification information of the monitoring camera included in the request and the held camera information. An information communication system characterized by acquiring captured image information from a wireless terminal and providing the captured image information to the wireless terminal device. 11. The information communication system according to claim 10, wherein each of said wireless base stations sets a plurality of said monitoring cameras in a service area and a monitoring camera candidate for providing captured image information to said wireless terminal device. An information communication system having a function of providing information to the wireless terminal device. 12. The information communication system according to claim 10, wherein said wireless terminal device is configured as an MMAC (Multimedia Mobile Access System) terminal, and said wireless base station is an MMAC base station. An information communication system having a station configuration. 13. A plurality of surveillance cameras installed along a road and having a function of transmitting image information obtained by photographing traffic conditions on the road, and surveillance related to the installation position information of the surveillance cameras. A reproducing apparatus for reproducing map information from a recording medium storing a map database containing camera installation display as information, and a display element for displaying a map based on the map information reproduced by the reproducing apparatus and displaying the image information. A terminal device comprising: an image connected to the terminal device via a communication path, collecting image information from the monitoring camera, and providing the terminal device with image information according to a request from the terminal device. An information communication system configured with an information providing unit, wherein the image information providing unit is configured to collect image information obtained by the monitoring camera. Collection means, and storage means for storing and managing the image information collected by the image information collection means in association with the identification information of the monitoring camera that provides the image information and the information on the installation position of the monitoring camera. A congestion status detection unit that detects a congestion status of a road at each installation position of the monitoring camera; a congestion status transmission unit that transmits information of the congestion status detected by the congestion status detection unit to the terminal device; Image information transmission means for acquiring image information of the surveillance camera specified by the specification information included in the request information from the storage means, and transmitting the image information to the terminal device, the terminal device comprising: The monitoring camera installation display on the map screen displayed on the screen of the display element reflects the information on the congestion status received from the congestion status transmission unit. A congestion status reflecting unit, an input operation unit for selecting and inputting a surveillance camera to be provided with an image by indicating a surveillance camera installation display position on the display screen, and an input operation unit selected by the input operation unit. Request information sending means for sending the request information including designation information for designating the monitoring camera; image information display means for receiving image information from the image information sending means and displaying the image information on a screen of the display element; An information communication system comprising: 14. The information communication system according to claim 13, wherein the surveillance camera installation display is a display using a specific mark, and the congestion status reflecting means changes a display mode such as a color of the specific mark. An information communication system, which changes according to a situation. 15. The information communication system according to claim 13, wherein the terminal device is installed in a mobile body, and is connected to the image information providing unit via a wireless communication path. The information communication system according to claim 1, wherein the image information providing unit includes a wireless base station for performing wireless communication with the terminal device. 16. The information communication system according to claim 15, wherein said wireless base station is connected to the Internet, and said storage means of said image information providing unit is constituted by a Web site on the Internet. The information transmitting means is constituted by the radio base station, and a network operation center connected to the Internet for controlling exchange of information between the radio base station and the storage means. Communications system. 17. The information communication system according to claim 15, wherein said terminal device is configured as an MMAC (Multimedia Mobile Access System) terminal, and said radio base station is an MMAC base station. An information communication system configured as described above. 18. A plurality of surveillance cameras having a function of transmitting image information obtained by photographing, and a map database including, as information, surveillance camera installation displays related to the installation position information of the surveillance cameras are stored. A playback device that plays back map information from a recording medium, a terminal device that includes a display element that displays a map based on the map information played back by the playback device, and that displays captured image information of the surveillance camera; An image information providing unit that is connected through a communication path, collects image information from the monitoring camera, and provides the terminal device with image information according to a request from the terminal device. In the communication system, the image information providing unit collects image information obtained by the surveillance camera, and transmits the collected image information to a broadcast signal. And a means for requesting the broadcasting means to broadcast the image information when receiving a captured image information request of a surveillance camera from the terminal device. Means for transmitting a request for a captured image of the surveillance camera including information on a position on a map displayed on a screen of a display element to the image information providing unit, receiving image information from the image information providing unit, An information communication system comprising: image information display means for displaying an image on a screen of the display element. 19. A plurality of surveillance cameras having a function of transmitting image information obtained by photographing traffic conditions on a road are installed along the road, and the image information providing unit includes a plurality of surveillance cameras. And collects and manages the collected image information in association with the identification information of the surveillance camera that provides the image information and the information on the installation position of the surveillance camera. Along with the terminal device, information on the surveillance camera candidates that provide the image information,
The terminal device transmits surveillance camera candidate information including information for causing a user to recognize the installation position of each surveillance camera, and the terminal device displays a surveillance camera selection screen based on the received surveillance camera candidate information on a display screen. The terminal device receives a selection input of a surveillance camera whose image is to be provided from the surveillance camera selection screen displayed on the display screen, and based on the selection input, Sending request information including designation information to be designated to the image information providing unit, wherein the image information providing unit sends the image information of the monitoring camera designated by the designation information included in the request information from the terminal device, Acquired from storage means and transmitted to the terminal device, wherein the terminal device receives image information from the image information providing unit and displays the image information on the display screen. Information communication method. 20. The information communication method according to claim 19, wherein the terminal device is installed in a mobile body, and is connected to the image information providing unit via a wireless communication path. The providing unit includes a wireless base station for performing wireless communication with the terminal device, wherein the wireless base station generates information regarding the candidate for the monitoring camera and provides the information to the terminal device. Information communication method. 21. The information communication method according to claim 20, wherein, in the image information providing unit, the wireless base station is connected to the Internet, and stores image information on a Web site on the Internet. An information communication method, characterized in that a network operation center controls exchange of information between a base station and the Web site. 22. The information communication method according to claim 20, wherein the terminal device is configured as an MMAC (Multimedia Mobile Access System) terminal, and the radio base station is an MMAC base station. An information communication method configured as described above. 23. The information communication method according to claim 19, wherein the terminal device has a function of sending a monitoring camera candidate transmission request to the image information providing unit. The information communication method, wherein the unit transmits information on a surveillance camera candidate that can provide the image information only to the terminal device that has transmitted the surveillance camera candidate transmission request. 24. The information communication method according to claim 23, wherein the monitoring camera candidate transmission request includes information for specifying an area, and the image information providing unit includes information for specifying the area. An information communication method characterized by transmitting information on surveillance camera candidates in an area indicated by: 25. The information communication method according to claim 19, wherein the surveillance camera candidate information from the image information providing unit includes information on a road at a position where each surveillance camera is installed. Information on the congestion state is included, and the surveillance camera selection screen projected on the display screen of the terminal device also displays information indicating the congestion state of the road at the position where each of the surveillance cameras is installed. An information communication method comprising: 26. The information communication method according to claim 19, wherein the surveillance camera candidate information from the image information providing unit includes a photographing time of an image provided from each surveillance camera. An information communication method, wherein information is included, and information about a shooting time of an image provided from each of the monitoring cameras is displayed together with a monitoring camera selection screen projected on a display screen of the terminal device. 27. The information communication method according to claim 19, wherein the information from the surveillance camera candidate transmitting means of the image information providing unit includes image information provided by each surveillance camera.
Information on the direction of the surveillance camera is included, and information on the direction of the surveillance camera of an image provided from each of the surveillance cameras is also displayed on a surveillance camera selection screen projected on the display screen of the terminal device. An information communication method, comprising: 28. A plurality of surveillance cameras having a function of transmitting image information obtained by photographing are installed at predetermined positions, and a management center connected to the plurality of surveillance cameras via a network includes: Manage the installation position of the monitoring camera, for each of a plurality of wireless base stations connected via a network with the plurality of monitoring cameras,
Giving camera information including at least identification information and information about a network address of a monitoring camera in an area served by each wireless base station, the wireless communication terminal connected to the wireless base station via a wireless communication path, A captured image acquisition request including identification information of a designated monitoring camera of the plurality of monitoring cameras is transmitted through a wireless communication path, and captured image information returned in response to the captured image acquisition request is transmitted to the wireless communication path. To receive through the road and display it on a display element, the wireless base station holds the camera information from the management center, and when receiving the captured image acquisition request from the wireless terminal device, Based on the identification information of the monitoring camera included in the request and the held camera information, through the network, Information communication method, which comprises providing to acquire the captured image information from the monitoring camera that is demanded in the wireless terminal device. 29. The information communication method according to claim 28, wherein each of said radio base stations sets a plurality of said surveillance cameras in a service area as surveillance camera candidates for providing photographed image information to said radio terminal device. An information communication method having a function of providing information to the wireless terminal device. 30. The information communication method according to claim 28, wherein said wireless terminal device is configured as an MMAC (Multimedia Mobile Access System) terminal, and said wireless base station is an MMAC base station. An information communication method configured as a station. 31. A plurality of surveillance cameras having a function of transmitting image information obtained by photographing traffic conditions on a road are installed along the road, and an image information providing unit includes: And collects and manages the collected image information in association with the identification information of the surveillance camera that provides the image information and the information on the installation position of the surveillance camera. Together with detecting the congestion state of the road at each installation position of the surveillance camera, transmitting information on the detected congestion state to the terminal device, and installing the surveillance camera associated with the installation position information of the surveillance camera. A map based on the map information read from the recording medium in which the map information including the display is stored is displayed on the display screen, and the map on the map screen displayed on the display screen is displayed. The surveillance camera installation display reflects the information on the congestion status received from the congestion status transmission unit, and the terminal device detects that the surveillance camera installation display position on the display screen has been instructed, Receiving a selection input of a monitoring camera that wants to receive provision of an image, sending request information including designation information for designating the monitoring camera to the image information providing unit based on the selection input, wherein the image information providing unit includes: The image information of the surveillance camera specified by the specification information included in the request information from the terminal device is obtained from the storage unit and transmitted to the terminal device. Receiving the image information and displaying the image information on the display screen. 32. The information communication method according to claim 31, wherein the surveillance camera installation display is a display using a specific mark, and the congestion status reflecting means changes a display mode such as a color of the specific mark. An information communication method characterized by changing according to a situation. 33. The information communication method according to claim 31 or 32, wherein the terminal device is installed on a mobile body, and is connected to the image information providing unit by a wireless communication path. The information communication method, wherein the image information providing unit includes a wireless base station for performing wireless communication with the terminal device. 34. The information communication method according to claim 33, wherein said wireless base station is connected to the Internet, and said storage means of said image information providing unit is constituted by a Web site on the Internet. The information transmitting means comprises the radio base station, and a network operation center connected to the Internet for controlling exchange of information between the radio base station and the storage means. Communication method. 35. The information communication method according to claim 33, wherein the terminal device is configured as an MMAC (Multimedia Mobile Access System) terminal, and the radio base station is an MMAC base station. An information communication method configured as described above. 36. A plurality of surveillance cameras having a function of transmitting image information obtained by photographing traffic conditions on a road are installed along the road, and the terminal device associates the surveillance cameras with the installation position information of the surveillance cameras. The map information containing the surveillance camera installation display as information is reproduced from the recording medium storing the map database, and displayed on the display screen, and the image captured by the surveillance camera including the position information on the map. Transmitting a request to an image information providing unit, the image information providing unit includes a broadcast facility, collects image information obtained by the monitoring camera, and transmits a program that transmits the collected image information as a broadcast signal. Prepare, when receiving the request for the captured image information of the surveillance camera from the terminal device, a broadcast program of image information including at least the requested captured image information of the surveillance camera, Information communication method characterized by providing relative serial terminal. 37. Collecting image information from a plurality of surveillance cameras transmitting image information obtained by photographing, identifying information of the surveillance camera providing the collected image information, and an installation position of the surveillance camera. A terminal device connected through a predetermined communication path to an image information providing unit that stores and manages the image information in correspondence with the information of the image information providing unit, and for displaying the image information sent from the image information providing unit. A display element, sent from the image information providing unit, based on information on the candidate for the monitoring camera that provides the image information,
A surveillance camera candidate output unit that projects a selection screen of a surveillance camera that wants to receive image information on the screen of the display element; and Input operation means for selecting and inputting a surveillance camera desired to be provided, request information sending means for sending request information including designation information for designating the surveillance camera selected by the input operation means to the image information providing unit, A communication terminal device, comprising: image information display means for receiving image information from the image information providing unit and displaying the image information on a screen of the display element. 38. The communication terminal device according to claim 37, further comprising a function of transmitting a surveillance camera candidate transmission request to the image information providing unit, wherein the surveillance camera candidate output unit responds to the surveillance camera candidate transmission request. And displaying, on the screen of the display element, a selection screen of a monitoring camera that wants to be provided with image information, based on information on a candidate for a monitoring camera capable of providing the image information sent from the image information providing unit. A communication terminal device characterized by the above-mentioned. 39. The communication terminal device according to claim 38, wherein the surveillance camera candidate transmission request includes information for specifying an area, and the surveillance camera candidate transmitted from the image information providing unit. The communication terminal device is characterized in that the information on the communication terminal is information on surveillance camera candidates in the area indicated by the information for specifying the area. 40. The communication terminal device according to claim 37, wherein the communication terminal device is installed on a mobile body, and is connected to the image information providing unit via a wireless communication path. Communication terminal device. 41. The communication terminal device according to claim 37, wherein the information from the image information providing unit includes information on a traffic congestion state at a position where each monitoring camera is installed. A communication terminal device, wherein the surveillance camera candidate output means displays information indicating a traffic congestion state at a position where each of the surveillance cameras is installed, on a selection screen of a surveillance camera to be projected. 42. The communication terminal device according to claim 37, wherein the information from the image information providing unit includes information on a shooting time of an image provided from each monitoring camera. A communication terminal device, wherein the camera candidate output means displays information on a shooting time of an image provided from each of the monitoring cameras on a selection screen of a monitoring camera to be projected. 43. The communication terminal device according to claim 37, wherein the information from the image information providing unit includes information on the direction of the monitoring camera in the image information provided from each monitoring camera. The communication terminal, wherein the surveillance camera candidate output means displays information on the direction of the surveillance camera of an image provided from each of the surveillance cameras on a selection screen of a surveillance camera to be projected. apparatus. 44. A communication terminal device according to claim 37, wherein said communication terminal device has a configuration of an MMAC (Multimedia Mobile Access System) terminal. 45. A plurality of surveillance cameras installed along a road and having a function of transmitting image information obtained by photographing traffic conditions on the road; and surveillance related to the installation position information of the surveillance cameras. A reproducing apparatus for reproducing map information from a recording medium storing a map database including camera installation display as information, and a display element for displaying a map based on the map information reproduced by the reproducing apparatus and displaying the image information. And a terminal device connected to the terminal device through a communication path, collects image information from the monitoring camera, and provides the terminal device with image information according to a request from the terminal device. An information communication system including an image information providing unit, wherein the terminal device is mounted on a mobile body and includes a unit that detects a current position. A function of sequentially transmitting a photographed image acquisition request including information on the detected current position to the image information providing unit, wherein the image information providing unit responds to the photographed image acquisition request, An information communication system for providing photographed image information to the terminal device. 46. A plurality of surveillance cameras installed along a road and having a function of transmitting image information obtained by photographing traffic conditions on the road; and A terminal device comprising: an image connected to the terminal device via a communication path, collecting image information from the monitoring camera, and providing the terminal device with image information according to a request from the terminal device. An information communication system including an information providing unit, wherein the terminal device has a function of transmitting a captured image acquisition request including information on a route search result to a destination of a mobile object to the image information providing unit. The image information providing unit searches for a corresponding monitoring camera in response to the captured image acquisition request, and provides the captured image information of the search result to the terminal device. Information communication system.