JP2004234649A - Navigation server, and display method of navigation - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide traffic jam information and tendency of extension or contraction of the traffic jam of a point frequently causing traffic jams, in a navigation system. <P>SOLUTION: This navigation server accumulates traffic jam information distributed from a traffic information provision center, traffic jam information from a probe car and the like, and obtains statistically processed information such as an average traffic jam period and the average level of traffic jam for each road section on a season, day-of-week or time band basis, or information such as the degree of reliability relating to the statistically processed information to create traffic jam statistical information. A navigation device obtains traffic jam statistical information from a traffic information center via communication or the like, and displays it by superimposing it on a map. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a navigation system including a server and an in-vehicle terminal, and more particularly, to a navigation server that manages traffic information and a navigation device that outputs traffic information by performing data communication with the navigation server.

  In conventional navigation devices, information such as traffic congestion and traffic regulation provided by a traffic information center via FM multiplex broadcasting, radio / optical beacons, telephone networks, etc., is displayed in characters or simple figures, or is superimposed on a map. To notify the driver. In general, the traffic information draws a line parallel to the congested road beside the road, and expresses the degree of congestion by the color of the line and the congestion length by the length of the line. Also, by performing a dynamic route search in consideration of the traffic information and providing the user with the shortest time route, the driver can know the traffic information centered on the own vehicle position and can drive smoothly. it can.

  By the way, the traffic information is traffic information at a certain time in the near past, and the driver cannot judge whether the traffic congestion will be resolved in the future or whether the traffic congestion will worsen. Therefore, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-124577 discloses a method of displaying an animation of a direction in which traffic congestion will be improved or becoming worse in the future, and a method of displaying a graphic indicating an increasing tendency and a decreasing tendency of congestion on a map. Proposed. For example, it has been proposed that the tendency to increase traffic congestion is indicated by thickening the rear end of the arrow, and the tendency to decrease is indicated by thinning the rear end of the arrow.

JP 2001-124577 A

  However, according to the above-described related art, it is not possible to determine whether the provided traffic information is frequently-occurring traffic or sudden traffic due to an accident or construction. In addition, in the case of frequently occurring traffic jams, it is difficult to determine how long the traffic jam is usually resolved.

  By the way, it is difficult for a user to recognize the tendency of congestion on a small display used in an in-vehicle terminal due to a subtle difference in a figure shape. In the case of an animation display, the driver's attention is drawn, which is not preferable from the viewpoint of eyes-free. Further, if the expansion / contraction tendency of traffic congestion is displayed by deforming a graphic such as an arrow, a dedicated graphic LSI or the like for performing graphics processing such as texture mapping is required, which increases the cost of the terminal.

  Therefore, a first object of the present invention is to provide a navigation system having means for notifying a user of a point where traffic congestion frequently occurs, a road section, and a traffic congestion time zone.

  A second object is to provide a navigation system that displays congestion points and the like in an easy-to-understand manner with a simple display method.

  The navigation server that constitutes the navigation system of the present invention that achieves the above object, based on accumulated past traffic information, determines the frequency of occurrence of congestion or the average congestion degree in a predetermined point such as an intersection or a road section between intersections. It is characterized by comprising traffic jam statistical information creating means for creating traffic jam statistical information comprising traffic jam information and the reliability of the traffic jam information.

  By displaying statistical congestion information on a map, a user can easily grasp intersections and road sections where traffic is congested on a daily and chronic basis.

Next, details of a navigation system using the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the entire configuration of the navigation system. The system receives data transmitted from a satellite 101, a user vehicle 102, a user terminal 122, a mobile telephone network 103, a provider 104 for connection to the Internet, and satellites, and transmits the received data to a user via an IP network 106. The broadcast service provider 105 for distribution, the navigation server 107 connected to the IP network 106 used for transmitting and receiving data distributed between the broadcast service provider 105 and the provider 104, the IP network 106 connected to the provider 104, or mobile A fixed telephone network 108 for transmitting and receiving data through the body telephone network 103, a personal computer 110 at each user's home 109, a VICS center, a Japan Road Traffic Information Center (JARTIC), or traffic information providing traffic information such as ATIS. It consists of a providing center 100. The user vehicle 102 is not necessarily a vehicle. If the user terminal 122 is a mobile terminal having a wireless communication function such as a mobile phone, a PHS, a Bluetooth, a wireless LAN, or an ETC terminal, a person (pedestrian) is used. ).

Next, the configuration of the navigation server 107 will be described with reference to FIG. The navigation server 107 transmits the latitude / longitude of the user terminal, the moving speed of the user terminal, the moving direction, the user ID number, the authentication password, the engine transmitted from the user terminal 122 mounted on the user vehicle 102 through the IP network 106. , A parameter indicating the number of revolutions of the vehicle and other vehicle conditions, and data relating to the requested service ID desired by the user. After that, CGI (Common Gate
After performing user authentication in the interface 115, any one of the functional units of the user management unit 111, the map editing unit 114, the route search unit 116, and the traffic information management unit 112 is performed according to the service requested by the user. The transmitted data is transmitted.

  The data received by each of the functional units is used to transmit information on services according to the user's request through the CGI 115, the IP network 106, the provider 104, and the mobile telephone network 103 (this route is hereinafter referred to as a "communication network"). 102 to the user terminal 122. Alternatively, when broadcasting is used to transmit information on the service, the information is transmitted to the user terminal 122 through a route of the CGI 115, the IP network 106, the broadcaster 105, and the satellite 101 (this route is hereinafter referred to as a “broadcasting network”). . Alternatively, when transmitting the information to the personal computer 110 in each user's home 109, a fixed telephone network is used, and each user's home 109 is transmitted through the CGI 115, the IP network 106, the provider 104, and the fixed telephone network 108. To a personal computer 110 located at

  Next, the configuration of each functional unit described above will be described.

  The user management unit 111 includes a user information database 118 and a user information registration / editing unit 117. Here, if there is a user information registration / edit request in the data sent from the user, the data is collated with the user information database 118 based on the ID of the corresponding user to register / edit the corresponding item. I do.

  The map editing unit 114 includes a map database 125 and a map extracting unit 124. This is because, when a download request of map data near a designated place such as the current place is sent from the user, map data in a predetermined range including the designated place is read out from the map database 125 by the map extracting unit 124. , Sent to the user. Also, when the route search unit 116, which will be described later, is called, if the map data on the searched route has not been downloaded to the terminal side, the map editing unit 114 is automatically called, and the map data of the corresponding area is downloaded. Cut out and download to the user.

The route search unit 116 includes an option information database 126, a route search engine 127, an option information setting / change unit 128, and a guide point creation unit 129. In the route search unit 116, after the user is authenticated by the CGI 115, based on the information of the departure place (current place) and the destination or the waypoint transmitted from the user, further option information (for example, priority is given to a general road / highway). Option information setting / changing unit 128 sets / changes the option information based on the information, and then the route search engine 127 uses the Dijkstra method or the like to set / change the option information. The route from the own vehicle position to the destination is calculated using a search technique. The guidance point creation unit 129 extracts intersections where the vehicle turns left or right or points instructing to change lanes on the route obtained by the route search engine 127, and extracts a simplified figure such as an enlarged view of an intersection or a lane at each of the extracted points, and guidance. For example, voice data and the like are read out from the option information database 126 to generate guidance point information.

The traffic information management unit 112 includes a traffic information DB (traffic information database) 113, a traffic congestion prediction unit 120, and a traffic congestion statistical processing unit 121. The traffic information such as traffic volume, traffic congestion, travel time, accident / regulation information, etc., which is periodically sent from the traffic information providing center 100 is stored in the traffic information DB 113. In addition, traffic information and the like obtained from information collected by the probe car (probe information) may be stored in the traffic information DB 113. Using the accumulated traffic information, the traffic congestion statistics processing unit 121 calculates the frequency of occurrence of traffic congestion at each intersection or road section, and creates traffic congestion statistical data including a traffic congestion frequently occurring point and the frequency of occurrence of the point. The traffic congestion prediction unit 120 predicts, based on the accumulated traffic congestion information and real-time traffic congestion information, prediction data on the traffic congestion tendency such as whether each traffic congestion is growing or contracting in the future, or whether the traffic congestion state does not change. Then, this is called "congestion prediction data"). Then, the created traffic congestion statistical data and traffic congestion prediction data are stored in the traffic information DB 113.

  When a request for downloading traffic information near a designated place such as the current location is sent from the user to the navigation server 107, real-time traffic information distributed from the traffic information providing center 100 or The traffic congestion prediction data and traffic congestion statistical data processed and created by the traffic information management unit 112 are read from the traffic information DB 113 and transmitted to the user. When the traffic information on the route is requested, the route data is acquired from the user management unit 111, and the traffic information on the route (the same information as that near the designated place) is extracted and transmitted to the user.

  The charge calculation unit 119 is a part that performs a process of charging a service charge for the vehicle-mounted terminal. It has functions for charging contents such as map data, route data, and traffic information data, and for notifying the communication fee to the in-vehicle terminal by counting communication data packets. It should be noted that it is not necessary to notify the in-vehicle terminal each time the user uses the service for a user who has a contract for fixing either the content fee or the communication fee to a fixed monthly fee. The communication amount may be reduced to about once a month, or no notification may be given.

  Referring to FIG. 3, a configuration of a car navigation (navigation) terminal which is an example of the user terminal 122 mounted on the user vehicle 102 will be described. The navigation terminal has a main body 132 connected to a display device 130, a GPS receiver 131, a mobile phone 134, a microphone 137, and a speaker 138. The main body 132 has a memory card slot 133. A remote control 135 for operating the main body 132 is provided.

  The display device 130 is a device capable of displaying graphics such as a liquid crystal screen. The GPS receiver 131 is a device that receives positioning signals from a plurality of GPS satellites 136 and accurately calculates the position of the terminal. The main body 132 is a device in which a CPU, a memory, a power supply, a device for displaying graphics, and the like are mounted. This will be described later in detail with reference to FIG. The mobile phone 134 is a device that communicates with the outside, that is, transmits and receives data to and from the navigation server 107 described above. The remote control 135 is a device for transmitting an operation desired by the user to the navigation terminal by a button. In addition, a command can be sent by voice using the microphone 137. The speaker 138 is a device that outputs information received from the navigation server 137, user assistance during navigation operation, and audio output such as a beep at the time of caution / warning.

  The memory card slot 133 connects an external storage medium typified by a memory card using a non-volatile memory or a small hard disk to accumulate data received from the navigation server 107 or download data from the navigation server 107 in the past. This information is used to load the obtained information into the navigation terminal. The memory card slot 133 can be used as a mere storage device, or can be used for communication interface or authentication of user information for receiving a broadcast. For example, when the vehicle equipped with the present navigation terminal is a vehicle (and a navigation terminal) used by an unspecified number of users such as a rental car, a memory card in which the authentication information is written is inserted into the memory card slot 133. The user can use the service. In other words, charging when using another person's navigation terminal can be charged to the terminal user instead of the terminal owner, and the convenience is improved. At this time, if the maximum amount of the service to be received by the navigation terminal is set in the memory card, it is possible to use the service according to the user's budget. Further, by downloading the map data of the departure point in advance on a memory card or the like, it is possible to save the user from having to download the map data from the navigation server 107 in the initial state. In addition, the service used by the user is written to the memory card, uploaded to the navigation server 107 at regular intervals, and analyzed on the navigation server 107 side, so that information frequently required by the user can be distributed. .

  In the configuration of FIG. 3, the example of the mobile phone 134 is shown as the communication device, but other communication devices such as a PHS (Personal Handyphone System), Bluetooth, a wireless LAN, a DSRC (Dedicated Short Range Communication) terminal such as ETC, or the like. Or a receiver that can receive broadcast waves from satellites, broadcast waves using digital terrestrial waves, broadcast waves using AM / FM waves, and a device that decodes the received data. 132 may be added. Further, instead of the GPS receiver 131, a location identification service using a PHS or a mobile phone may be used. FIG. 3 shows an example of a navigation terminal as an example of the user terminal 122. Among them, the navigation body 132, the display device 130, and the like particularly have some display means such as a PDA, a notebook computer, and a mobile phone. It is also possible to substitute a terminal.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of the main body 132 in the navigation terminal. In this example, the CPU 141, the remote control driver 142 for interpreting the signal from the remote control 135,
It comprises an RS-232C driver 143, a mobile phone driver 144, a memory card interface 145 with a memory card slot 133, a flash memory 146, a DRAM 147, a graphics processor 148, a graphics memory 149, and an NTSC encoder 150. The audio input / output is used for input from a microphone 137 for voice recognition and output of a voice guide to a speaker 138.

The configuration described above is a configuration in the case where data transmission / reception with the navigation server 107 is performed by communication. As described above, the configuration in the case of using broadcast media includes an interface with an antenna for receiving a broadcast, Requires a decoder. In general, the signal to the display device 130 uses the NTSC, but if the broadcast uses the PAL system, or if the display device 130 is compatible with the PAL system, the NTSC encoder 150 part is of course converted to the PAL system. It becomes a corresponding encoder.

  Next, an example of a traffic information providing service provided by the navigation system will be described. First, using the navigation system of FIG. 1, real-time information such as traffic congestion / travel time information, accident / regulation information, SA (service area) / PA (parking area) information, parking lot information, etc. is stored in the user terminal 122 of the user vehicle 102. An example of downloading various types of traffic information including processed information such as traffic congestion prediction information and traffic congestion statistics information will be described.

  When a user inputs a request for traffic information via an operation unit such as a remote controller 135, the user terminal 122 mounted on the vehicle 102 requests a download of traffic information via the mobile telephone network 103, the provider 104, and the IP network 106. Is transmitted to the navigation server 107. Here, in addition to the request data to be downloaded, any one of designated position information such as a current position described in, for example, latitude and longitude, or a range (area) for downloading map data and traffic information, and user ID information , Transmits an IP address indicating the position of the navigation server 107 on the IP network. The information is transmitted to the provider 104 through the mobile telephone network 103.

The provider 104 recognizes the IP address of the navigation server 107 specified by the user terminal from the information transmitted from the user terminal 122, and accesses the navigation server 107 through the IP network 106.

  The navigation server 107 accumulates traffic information sent from the traffic information providing center 100 (a plurality of traffic information providing centers may exist), and calculates traffic congestion statistical information such as a traffic congestion frequency and an average traffic congestion frequency for each road section and intersection. The traffic congestion prediction unit 121 and the traffic congestion prediction unit 120 create traffic congestion prediction information that predicts the increase and decrease tendency of traffic congestion in the near future by analyzing changes in traffic congestion up to now. When a traffic information download request is sent from the user terminal 122, the navigation server 107 receives the traffic congestion / travel time information, accident / regulation information, and SA (service area) / PA (parking area) of the received data request range (area). ) Reads from the traffic information database 113 various types of traffic information including information, real-time information such as parking lot information, or processed information such as traffic congestion prediction information and traffic congestion statistical information.

  Next, the read traffic information is transmitted to the broadcaster 105, where the traffic information is encoded and packetized, and then transmitted to the satellite 101. After receiving the data transmitted from the satellite 101, the user terminal 122 mounted on the user vehicle 102 outputs traffic information obtained by decoding to the display device 130 and the speaker 138.

In the above-described embodiment, the traffic information is downloaded to the navigation terminal via the broadcaster 105. In the next embodiment, a method of acquiring the traffic information only by communication will be described. When the user requests to download the traffic information, the navigation terminal requests the mobile telephone network 103 to download the requested data to be downloaded in the same manner as in the above example, as well as the data request range, the designated position information, the user ID, and the navigation. The IP address of the server 107 is transmitted, and the data is transmitted to the navigation server 107 via the provider 104 and the IP network 106. The navigation server 107 reads the traffic information requested to be downloaded, as in the example described above. The read traffic information is provided with the IP address information of the user terminal 122 of the vehicle 102, divided into packets, and transmitted to the user terminal 122 of the vehicle 102 through the IP network 106, the provider 104, and the mobile telephone network 103. The terminal 122 outputs the received traffic information to the display device 130 and the speaker 138.

  Information that does not need to be updated frequently, such as traffic congestion statistics information, may be stored in a storage medium such as a hard disk or a memory card in advance. When the user requests the download of the information, the data may be downloaded from the navigation server 107 and updated by overwriting the data stored in the storage medium, or may be stored as separate data. As a result, the user terminal 122 can output traffic information at any time without performing data communication by appropriately reading the data from the storage medium.

  Hereinafter, the traffic information download processing will be described in detail. FIG. 5 is an example of a screen configuration for selecting traffic information that the user wants to download on the user terminal 122 side. This screen includes traffic congestion information 201 indicating the current traffic congestion status, accident / regulation information 202 indicating information such as traffic blocking and lane regulation, accidents, parking lot information 203 indicating parking lot empty / full information, and traffic congestion in each road section. The user operates the remote controller 135 and the microphone 13 for the traffic congestion prediction information 204 indicating whether the data is in a growth tendency or a contraction tendency, and the traffic congestion statistical information 205 indicating the statistical information such as the traffic congestion frequency and the average traffic congestion degree. By operating the ON button 210 or the OFF button 211 arranged beside each item by voice input or an operation unit such as a hardware switch provided on the navigation body 132 or the display device 130, traffic information to be downloaded is provided. Is to select. At the time of a traffic information download request, the traffic information whose ON button 210 is selected on this screen is requested to the navigation server 107. For example, in the case of setting as shown in the screen shown in FIG. 5, each of the traffic information corresponding to the congestion information 201, the accident / regulation information 202, the congestion prediction information 204, and the congestion statistics information 205 is requested to the navigation server 107 side. .

  FIG. 6 is an example of a screen transition in which the user specifies a position on the screen and downloads traffic information around the point. First, the user scrolls the map 301 from the screen 300 displaying the current position to a point where the user wants traffic information via an operation unit such as a remote controller. When the user arrives at the target point, the user operates an operation unit such as a remote controller and presses a “menu” button to display a menu screen 302. Next, when the user selects the traffic information button 304 in the menu, a menu screen 303 for confirming whether to download the traffic information is displayed. When the "Yes" button is selected, the download of the data of the items set in advance on the traffic information download selection screen as shown in FIG. 5 is started. When the “No” button is selected, the screen transits to the menu screen 302. When the user wants to download the traffic information around the current location, the menu screen 302 is displayed without scrolling (301) the map in a situation where the current location and the map around the current location are displayed, and the operation described above is performed. By doing so, traffic information around the current location can be downloaded.

FIG. 7 is an example of a terminal-side processing flow when downloading traffic information. First, in the information request position determination, it is determined whether the download range is around the current position or around the point where the user has set the request position on the screen (S1000). When traffic information around the current position is requested, the latitude / longitude information of the vehicle position is acquired from position detecting means such as GPS or gyro (S1001). When traffic information around the position designated by the user is requested, the position selected on the screen is obtained and converted to latitude / longitude information (S1002). Then, a region of a predetermined rectangular size is set as a data request range around the obtained latitude / longitude information (S1003). Next, the type of traffic information selected in advance on the traffic information download setting screen as shown in FIG. 5 is read from the memory and set as the requested data type (S1004). The traffic information request command including the data request range and the requested data type is transmitted to the navigation server 107 via a modem or the like. Upon receiving the traffic information sent from the navigation server 107 in response to the traffic information request command, the user terminal 122 stores the data in a storage medium such as a memory card or a hard disk and disconnects the line (S1005). If the traffic information is set in advance to be displayed on the map screen of the display device 130 (S1006), the downloaded traffic information is read from the storage medium, and the stored traffic information is superimposed on the map (S1007). . If a route to the destination is set and a route guidance screen (for example, a simple figure such as a deformed map, a schematic map, etc.) for the route is displayed, the traffic information is superimposed on the map. In addition, the downloaded traffic information may be displayed on the guidance screen.

  Next, the flow of processing in the traffic information management unit 112 will be described. The unit performs a process of creating traffic congestion statistical information and traffic congestion prediction information. First, the traffic jam statistical information creation process will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

The traffic information management unit 112 receives the traffic congestion information for each link ID periodically transmitted from the traffic information providing center 100, and stores the traffic congestion information accumulated for a predetermined period in a specified period (for example, the past one month from the present time). , Etc.) (S1200). Here, the traffic congestion information from the traffic information providing center 100, which is the original data used when creating the traffic congestion statistical information, may contain abnormal values (singular values) due to abnormal sensing or failure of the vehicle sensor. For this reason, in order to make the traffic congestion statistical information more accurate, the abnormal value detection / removal process may be performed in two stages using the following statistical method. The first abnormal value detection / removal process is a process in which data of a link ID indicating traffic congestion for a predetermined time or more during a day (for example, 20 hours or more including 24 hours during the night) is used for a vehicle sensor failure or event. (For example, Tokyo Motor Show), etc., it is considered that the day-to-day data relating to the link ID is abnormal (S1201), and the entire data of the day is not used for creating traffic congestion statistics information. (S1202). Next, a second abnormal value detection / removal process is performed on the remaining data subjected to the first abnormal value detection / removal process. The second abnormal value detection / removal process is for comparing traffic congestion information in the same time zone for a plurality of days, deeming data having a large deviation to be abnormal (S1203), and removing the data (S1204). For example, when traffic congestion occurrence times per hour from 10:00 am to 11:00 am on a weekday for a road with a certain link ID are 0 minute, 15 minutes, 20 minutes, 20 minutes, and 50 minutes, respectively. , Data at 0 minutes and 50 minutes that have a large difference from the average value (21 minutes) are regarded as abnormal and removed. As another method of detecting the data having a large deviation, a method of unconditionally removing a predetermined ratio (for example, 10%) of the most significant data and the least significant data from the data parameter, such as a method using a trim average, may be used. After the abnormal value detection / removal process is performed in two steps as described above, the remaining data is averaged to create traffic jam statistical information (S1205). The processing of S1201 to S1205 is performed for all links (S1206). Then, the created traffic congestion statistical information of each link is converted into a format for distribution to a user terminal, a home PC, or the like, and distribution format editing is performed, such as dividing the data into mesh units, which will be described in detail later (S1207). .

  The traffic congestion statistical information is created as described above, and the information may be automatically created periodically, for example, once a month, using the calendar / clock function of the navigation server. Alternatively, the information may be created by an operator of the navigation server inputting a command for creating the information as needed.

  Here, the creation of the traffic jam statistical information will be described more specifically.

  In the distribution format editing process in S1207, a description will be given of an example of a management unit in consideration of ease of management of traffic information data in the navigation server 107. The accumulated traffic congestion information is managed in units of areas called meshes in which the ground surface is divided at equal intervals by latitude and longitude, and statistical information on traffic congestion is created for each mesh. As a management method other than the mesh, management is performed for each prefecture, city, town, village, or town unit, or for each road type such as expressways, national roads, and prefectural roads, or a combination of a plurality of management units described above. Is also good.

  In the data reading function for the designated period from the traffic information DB in S1200, for example, traffic information for each month is accumulated, and the traffic congestion time such as the total traffic congestion time or the traffic congestion time for each road section (link) divided at an intersection or the like is calculated. Read indices related to degree and frequency. Incidentally, the traffic congestion information to be read may be set for each day of the week, and the traffic congestion statistical information for each day of the week may be created, or may be created for each weekday, holiday, and holiday. In addition, during a period in which traffic conditions are special, such as during Golden Week, Bon Festival, and the year-end and New Year holidays, it may be created for each period. Further, the above-described statistical information on traffic congestion may be created in consideration of a time zone such as morning, afternoon, or hourly. Further, as shown in FIG. 15, information on the weather such as fine weather, rain, snow, and the like, and road surface conditions such as dryness, wetness, and freezing are obtained from the weather information providing center 123, and the information is created in consideration of the information. Is also good.

  In the creation of the traffic jam statistical information in S1205, ranks such as the traffic jam occurrence frequency may be divided according to the averaged traffic jam information (congestion occurrence time). For example, the average traffic jam occurrence time during one hour is classified into three ranks: traffic jam rank 1 (good) for 0 to 10 minutes, traffic jam rank 2 (congestion) for 10 to 30 minutes, and traffic jam rank 3 (congestion) for 30 to 60 minutes. Separate. For a link for which data has not been acquired or for which a significant average traffic jam information has not been obtained due to a large amount of data abnormalities, a traffic jam rank of 0 (no traffic jam statistical information acquired) may be used.

Although the example shown in the flowchart of FIG. 14 shows that the traffic jam statistical information is created for each link which is a road section, an example in which the traffic jam statistical information is created for each point such as an intersection will be described. The processing procedure is the same from S1200 to S1206 in the flowchart of FIG. 14, and the following point editing processing (S1208) is added after the processing of S1206 ends. In S1208, based on the previously created point DB as shown in FIG. 16, traffic congestion statistical information of a point is created from link traffic congestion statistical information. The point DB is created with respect to the link 600 flowing into the point 601 as shown in FIG. 17 (the link flowing out of the 601 is not targeted), and based on the coordinates of the point, the number of constituent links, and each constituent link ID. Become. Then, in order to create traffic congestion statistical information of a point from the traffic congestion statistical information of a link, the largest one of the average traffic congestion time in each link ID is adopted for all links flowing into the point based on the point DB. . Alternatively, the traffic congestion statistical information is created by using information indicating the congestion potential as a point, such as the average value of the average congestion occurrence time for each link ID. Then, the above-described congestion rank is created according to the average congestion occurrence time at each point. In the distribution format editing process in S1207, the same process as in the case of the link unit is performed.

  In this way, it is possible to create traffic congestion statistical information for each point. As shown in FIG. 16, the traffic congestion statistical information for each point is obtained by aggregating the traffic congestion statistical information of the link flowing into the corresponding point, so that the data amount can be reduced as compared with the traffic congestion statistical information for each link. This is also effective in avoiding clutter and improving visibility when displaying on a wide area map. Since the traffic congestion statistical information for each point specifically means traffic congestion information for each intersection, it is possible to easily understand how much congestion / congestion at each intersection.

  Next, the traffic jam prediction information creation processing will be described. Changes in the traffic congestion index from a predetermined time ago to the present (the latest past) are accumulated and analyzed, and traffic congestion prediction information, which is information on an increase or decrease in traffic congestion in the near future, is created. For example, if the result of the analysis of the change in the traffic congestion index indicates that the traffic congestion is increasing, it is determined that the traffic congestion is about to increase, and if it is decreasing, it is determined that the traffic congestion is in the direction of reduction. In the determination of the traffic congestion tendency, the determination may be made using only the latest traffic congestion information from the present time to a predetermined time ago, or data accumulated for a predetermined period such as one month in addition to the traffic congestion information in the latest past. The determination may be made using the statistical data of traffic congestion statistically processed such as the average value of the traffic jam. In the analysis result of the traffic congestion index, the tendency of increase or decrease in traffic congestion may be ranked according to the magnitude of the rate of change. For example, traffic congestion increase tendency, traffic congestion increase tendency, traffic congestion decrease tendency, congestion decrease tendency, etc. Express. As a result, it is easy to understand how the traffic congestion will change in the future in relation to the current traffic congestion information provided only in three stages, such as traffic congestion, congestion, and normal, so that the user can more flexibly select a traveling route. Be able to respond. For example, even if it is the information that the road section 1 km ahead of the traveling route is the same “traffic congestion”, if the traffic congestion is decreasing, even if the vehicle travels on the congested road without changing the route, it will reach around Can determine that the congestion has been resolved. Conversely, if the congestion is increasing, the congestion can be avoided beforehand by requesting the navigation server 107 to change the route.

  Next, the processing of the navigation server 107 when the user requests traffic information download will be described. FIG. 8 is an example of a processing flow on the navigation server side when downloading traffic information. In the navigation server 107, after performing user authentication in the CGI 115, data including a request command is transmitted to the traffic information management unit 112. When receiving the traffic information request command from the navigation terminal (S1100), the traffic information management unit 112 analyzes the request command, and from the request commands, a rectangular area for downloading traffic information, a data type to be downloaded (real-time data). Traffic congestion information, accident / regulation information, parking lot information, traffic congestion statistical information, traffic congestion prediction information, etc.) are extracted (S1101).

  In the required range conversion S1102, a process of searching for a mesh including the rectangular range and setting traffic information of the corresponding mesh as a read target is performed. In the requested data determination S1103, the requested data type is determined, and the process branches to a data reading process (S1104 to S1108) of the corresponding data type. If the requested data type is the traffic congestion statistics, the traffic congestion statistical data is read and the requested data type is determined. If the requested data type is real-time congestion information, the real-time congestion data is read. If the requested data type is accident / regulation, the accident / regulation information data is read. If the requested data type is the congestion prediction information, congestion prediction is performed. The data is read out, and if the requested data type is a parking lot, the parking lot data is read out.

  In reading end determination S1109, it is determined whether or not reading of traffic information of all requested data types has been completed. If information of a plurality of data types is requested to be downloaded, the type of data to be downloaded is updated, and the flow shifts to request data determination S1103. When all traffic information is read, the traffic information is converted into a communication format in which header information such as each information type and data size is added to the traffic information read in the process of format conversion S1110. In the transmission process S1111, the traffic information converted into the communication format is transmitted to the user terminal 122 or the home PC 110 via the CGI 115, the IP network, or the like.

  FIG. 9 is an example of a communication format for traffic information. The management header section includes the total data size of the communication data, the number of data indicating the number of meshes in the target area included in the communication data, the offset from the head of the data to the data of each mesh unit, the data size, and the like. Information management data.

  The traffic information managed on a mesh basis includes a data header portion and a data portion of a data type requested to be downloaded, such as real-time traffic congestion data, traffic congestion prediction data, accident / regulation data, traffic congestion statistics data, and parking lot data.

The data header section includes a mesh ID, which is a unique value added to each area obtained by equally dividing the ground surface in the latitude / longitude coordinate system, a storage data type indicating a data type stored in the data, It is composed of management data including the offset to the head of data of each data type, the number of stored data, the data size, and the like. The real-time traffic congestion data includes a link ID that is assigned to each road section and is a unique value in the mesh, congestion information including a congestion degree and a congestion length of the road section corresponding to the link ID, and a latitude / longitude corresponding to the link ID. One piece of traffic congestion information is constituted by the road shape, and these are stored for the number of data of the management unit. The traffic congestion prediction data is composed of link IDs and traffic congestion tendency information indicating whether the traffic congestion is expanding or contracting, and these are stored for the number of data described in the management unit. Accident / regulation data includes the location coordinates of latitude / longitude indicating the location where the accident / regulation has occurred, the link ID indicating the road section where the accident / regulation has occurred, the type of accident / regulation such as lane regulation, traffic closure, and the like. It is composed of accident / regulation types indicating the cause, and these are stored for the number of data described in the management unit. The traffic congestion statistical data includes latitude / longitude point coordinates indicating a location where traffic congestion frequently occurs, a link ID indicating a road section where traffic congestion frequently occurs, and a season, month, day, morning / afternoon, and time when the traffic congestion location is valid. It is composed of information such as statistical time zones indicating bands, congestion occurrence frequency (or congestion rank) indicating occurrence frequency of congestion, average congestion degree indicating average congestion degree when congestion occurs, and data reliability. These are stored for the number of data described in the management unit. The parking lot data includes the location coordinates of the longitude indicating the location of the parking lot, the parking lot ID which is the identification code of the parking lot, and the vacancy status and operation status (open or closed) of the parking lot. It is composed of a parking lot state composed of information and the like, and these are stored for the number of data described in the management unit.

  Next, FIG. 10 shows a display example of traffic jam statistical information on a terminal such as a user terminal of a vehicle or a PC at home. FIG. 10A shows that a circle 400 having a radius corresponding to the frequency of occurrence of traffic congestion and the like and centering on the traffic congestion location is superimposed and displayed on a map. . The valid time 401 displayed at the upper left of the screen indicates the date and time and the time zone in which the statistical information superimposed on the map is valid. The data creation time and expiration date 404 displayed at the lower left of the screen indicate the date and time when the displayed traffic congestion statistical information was generated and the validity period of the traffic congestion statistical information. For example, the traffic congestion statistical information superimposed on the map at the valid time 401 is statistical information between 9:00 and 10:00 AM on weekdays in January, indicating that the validity is high in this time zone. The data creation and expiration date 404 indicates that this data was created in June 2002 and is valid until June 2003.

In this embodiment, when the display scale of the map is changed as shown in FIGS. 10A and 10B, the display mode of the traffic congestion statistics information 400 is changed. For example, when the map is enlarged (detailed) as shown in FIG. 10A, the size of the circle is changed according to the traffic jam occurrence frequency to help grasp the degree of the traffic jam, and the map is reduced (wide area). When displayed, as shown in FIG. 10 (b), for an intersection having a degree of congestion equal to or higher than a predetermined degree of congestion, a traffic congestion frequency 410 is displayed in a circle of a predetermined constant size to identify a congestion occurrence location. Is helping. That is, when the map is enlarged and displayed, detailed information on the degree of congestion at each intersection is provided, but when the map is displayed, it becomes increasingly difficult to grasp the degree of congestion at the intersection. The display emphasizes the display of intersections where traffic jams occur. In addition, if the light traffic congestion is displayed with circles of the same size, the visibility of the map is rather reduced. Therefore, a circle indicating the occurrence of traffic congestion is displayed only at intersections with a predetermined traffic congestion degree or higher. The congestion degree to be displayed may be changed according to the scale of the map. In this case, the reference congestion degree and the size of a circle to be displayed are determined for each scale of the map. Further, information on whether the size of the circle to be displayed is variable or fixed is determined for each scale of the map. By displaying a circle indicating the degree of congestion at an intersection on a map using these pieces of information, the congestion state at the intersection can be represented without impairing the visibility of the map.

  In the case of the above example, when changing the scale of the map to be displayed, the congestion degree to be displayed in association with the intersection is selected according to the magnitude of the congestion degree, but may be selected based on the reliability of the congestion state described later. . In this case, by displaying the traffic congestion state on the map only for traffic information having a certain degree of reliability or more, when the map is reduced and displayed, a highly reliable summary of the traffic congestion state can be grasped.

  In the above-described embodiment, an example is shown in which the size of the circle is selected based on the frequency of occurrence of congestion, but the size of the circle may be determined based on the average congestion degree at the point. Alternatively, the display changed according to the information on the traffic congestion state (occurrence frequency or average congestion degree) may be the color of the circle instead of the size of the circle, or a combination thereof. Further, the circumference of the circle to be displayed may be displayed by a solid line or a broken line in consideration of the data reliability in addition to the information on the traffic congestion state. For example, the solid line 400 indicates that the reliability of the data is relatively high, and the broken line 406 indicates that the reliability is relatively low. Here, the data reliability corresponds to the reproducibility of the traffic congestion statistical information. When the reproducibility is high and the probability of a large change depending on the day is small, the reliability increases.

  This reliability is determined by the variance (or standard deviation) of values such as the traffic jam occurrence time, the average traffic jam rank, or the travel time on each day. For example, when traffic congestion occurrence times per hour from 10:00 am to 11:00 am on a weekday for a road with a certain link ID are 0 minute, 15 minutes, 20 minutes, 20 minutes, and 50 minutes, respectively. Has a standard deviation of 18.1659 minutes, and by comparing this with a predetermined threshold value, a plurality of ranks can be classified for reliability. Examples of the threshold value include a rank 1 (high reliability) when the standard deviation is less than 0 to 10 minutes, a rank 2 (medium reliability) when the standard deviation is less than 10 to 20 minutes, and a rank 3 (low reliability) when the standard deviation is 30 minutes or more. Just fine.

  Note that the line type may be changed to a dotted line, a broken line, a one-dot chain line, a two-dot chain line, or the like according to the reliability. When the traffic congestion statistics information for each time zone is provided, the terminal uses the calendar held by the terminal, the time data received from the GPS, and the time data managed by the vehicle to determine the current time zone on the terminal side. For example, the most effective traffic congestion statistics information may be automatically selected and displayed, or a means for manually operating the effective time 401 of the traffic congestion information may be provided, which differs from the current time zone or the like according to the user's preference. The traffic congestion statistics information of the time zone may be displayed.

  In this embodiment, the data creation time and the expiration date 404 of the traffic congestion statistical information are displayed as character strings. However, if the current date and time has passed the expiration date, the plate color of the expiration time 401 may be changed or the traffic congestion may occur frequently. By changing the display color or the like of the point 400, the user may be notified that the data of the traffic congestion statistical information has expired. For example, if the traffic jam statistical data is within the validity period, the color of the plate of the validity time 401 is displayed in gray, and after the validity period, the color of the plate of the validity time 401 is displayed in red. If the traffic congestion data is within the expiration date, the traffic congestion point is displayed as described above. After the expiration date, the transmittance, brightness, and color of the graphic indicating the traffic congestion point are changed and displayed. The information is displayed so as to indicate that there is a problem with the quality of the information, such as reducing the size of the information.

  By the way, when there is an area to which the traffic jam statistical information is not provided, the area to which the traffic jam statistical information is provided and the area to which the traffic jam statistical information is not provided may be displayed with different map background colors. For example, an area where traffic congestion statistical information does not exist is drawn in a normal map background color, and an area where traffic congestion statistical information exists is drawn in a color different from the normal map background color.

FIG. 11 shows another display example of traffic jam statistical information on a user terminal or a home PC. FIG. 11A shows the icon 402 selected and displayed according to the frequency of traffic congestion or the like, with the coordinates of the point of heavy traffic congestion adjusted to the center position of the image. FIG. 11B shows an example in which the traffic congestion statistical information is displayed not in a point type such as an intersection but in units of sections (links). This is an example in which a traffic congestion section is displayed by a so-called cushion, which draws a thick line on the back of the road shape, in a road section where traffic congestion frequently occurs.

First, the background data of the sea, rivers, green spaces, and the like are drawn, and then the roads in the heavy traffic congestion section are selected with the line color according to the frequency of traffic congestion, and drawn with a line thicker than the road. In this case, the congestion section 403 is drawn in red, the congestion section 406 is drawn in yellow, and the congestion section 408 is drawn in orange. After that, information such as roads and names are overlaid and drawn, so that a screen as shown in FIG. 11B is displayed. In addition, when displaying the detailed map by combining the display method of the traffic congestion statistical information shown in FIG. 10 and FIG. 11, the traffic congestion frequency 400 is displayed in a circular shape, and when the wide area map is displayed. May display an icon 402 indicating a point of heavy traffic congestion. When a detailed map is displayed by using both the traffic congestion statistical information for each point and the traffic congestion statistical information for each section, the traffic congestion statistical information 403 for each road section is displayed as shown in FIG. However, when displaying a wide area map, an icon 402 indicating a heavy traffic congestion point may be displayed. Further, when the route 405 to the destination is set as shown in FIG. 11C, the traffic jam statistical information 411 on the route 405 may be extracted and displayed. When displaying the traffic congestion statistical information in section units, if the traveling direction can be identified in the section, instead of drawing with a thick line as shown in FIG. Is also good.

  Further, since it is not possible to know the specific direction of the traffic congestion road only by displaying the point units as shown in FIG. 10, the point unit and the section unit may be displayed together as shown in FIG. May be displayed. Since the display form in units of points corresponds to the traffic congestion statistical information in which a plurality of links are aggregated as shown in FIG. 16, it is particularly effective when overviewing the traffic congestion state of the wide area road network. Since the information is detailed traffic congestion statistics for each direction, it is particularly effective when grasping detailed traffic congestion conditions. For this reason, the display mode may be automatically switched according to the display scale of the map. In this case, in the same manner as in the above-described example, information indicating whether or not to display the point unit display and the section unit display is provided for each scale of the map to be displayed, or the lower limit for performing both the point unit display and the section unit display. When a detailed display is performed from this scale, the point unit and section unit are displayed.On the other hand, when a wide area display is performed from this scale, the congestion status display is limited to the point unit display. Do.

  In FIG. 11D, 400 and 406 are examples of intersection (point) units, and 407 and 408 are examples in which traffic congestion statistical information of each section with a direction (link) is superimposed and displayed on a map. Further, colors, lengths, line thicknesses, and the like may be distinguished from each other according to the degree of congestion such as the frequency of occurrence of congestion. Further, as shown by a solid line 407 and a broken line 408, the display may be changed according to the level of the data reliability.

FIG. 18 shows another display example of the traffic jam statistical information on the user terminal or the home PC. FIG. 18 (a) shows a traffic congestion point and its congestion occurrence frequency or average congestion degree and occurrence time zone by a circle having a radius corresponding to the congestion occurrence frequency or the average congestion degree around the congestion frequently occurring point (intersection). This shows that the pie charts 700 and 701 are superimposed on the map. Since there is a pie chart indicating the occurrence time period, there is no description about the time period for the effective time 401 of the traffic jam statistical information. In the pie chart, the true north (directly above) direction means midnight, and the time zone for traffic congestion statistical information for 24 hours is engraved clockwise in units of one hour, and the time zone corresponding to the color of the graph is shown. The frequency of occurrence of traffic congestion is displayed. For example, 700a in the figure is good from 0:00 to 6:00 (vehicles), traffic congestion until 9:00 (vehicles), congestion until 16:00 (vehicles), congestion up to 20:00, and congestion until 23:00 (vehicles) Means good. FIG. 18B shows the position of a traffic congestion-prone road section (link), and furthermore, a pie chart showing the degree of traffic congestion and the time period of occurrence of each congestion-prone road section is superimposed and displayed near the corresponding link on the map. It indicates that Since the former display mode in units of points corresponds to the traffic congestion statistical information obtained by aggregating a plurality of links as shown in FIG. 16, it is particularly effective when overviewing the traffic congestion state of the wide area road network. Since the display mode in link units is detailed traffic congestion statistical information for each traveling direction, it is particularly effective when grasping a detailed traffic congestion state. For this reason, the display mode may be automatically switched according to the display scale of the map. In the figure, while the circumference of the pie chart 700 is a solid line,
The broken line 701 indicates the reliability of the traffic jam statistical information as described above.

  Next, FIG. 12 shows a display example of traffic jam prediction information on a user terminal or a home PC. FIG. 12A is an example of a case where the current congestion and the congestion tendency are displayed by the outline arrow line 500. The length of the arrow line indicates a congestion section, the color inside the arrow line indicates the current congestion degree, and the outline color of the arrow line indicates the congestion tendency. For example, the color inside the arrow line is represented by green for smoothness, yellow for congestion, and red for congestion. Also, if the arrow line border color is expressed by blue for the congestion reduction tendency and purple for the congestion extension tendency, the data in which the congested road is currently expanding is indicated by a purple arrow line 500 whose center is purple and yellow. . In this manner, the arrow line 504 indicating that the congestion section has a tendency to shrink is drawn in blue, the arrow line 505 indicating that there is no increase or decrease is outlined in white, and the arrow line 506 indicating the elongation tendency is drawn in purple. In the present embodiment, whether to display the traffic congestion prediction information is selected according to the display scale of the map. For example, when the map is enlarged (detailed) as shown in FIG. 12A, an arrow line 500 indicating traffic congestion prediction information is displayed together with traffic congestion information, and when the map is reduced (wide area) is displayed. As shown in FIG. 12B, a line 501 indicating traffic congestion information is superimposed on the map.

  In the above-described example, the traffic congestion prediction information is displayed only when the map is enlarged and displayed. However, the traffic congestion prediction information may be displayed using another display mode described later according to the display scale of the map. FIG. 13A shows an example in which the current traffic congestion state and the traffic congestion tendency are displayed by the arrow line 501 and the icon 502. The current congestion section is represented by the length of the arrow line 501, the congestion degree is indicated by the color of the arrow line 501, and an icon 502 indicating the traffic congestion tendency is superimposed on the arrow line 501. In the present embodiment, the icon 502 is displayed at the middle point of the congestion section, but the icon 502 may be displayed at the end of the congestion. Further, the icon 502 may be displayed at a plurality of places depending on the distance such as when the distance of the congested section is long.

  FIG. 13B shows the current traffic congestion state in the traffic congestion section by the length of the arrow line 501, the congestion degree by the color of the arrow line 501, and another line pattern indicating the traffic congestion tendency on the arrow line 501, or the like. A line 503 displaying an icon at the interval is displayed. For example, if the color of the arrow line is expressed as green for normal, yellow for congestion and red for congestion, and the tendency to reduce traffic congestion is represented by a blue circle and the congestion expansion tendency is represented by a purple circle, the currently congested road is expanding. In the data, a purple circle 503 is displayed on the yellow arrow line 501 at equal intervals from the head of the traffic jam. Accordingly, a blue circle is drawn side by side on the arrow line 507 indicating that the traffic congestion section tends to shrink, and a purple circle is drawn side by side on the arrow line 508 indicating the tendency to expand.

  In addition, the traffic congestion tendency may be represented by the line width of the arrow line 501 or may be represented by a line style. For example, if the traffic congestion tendency is an extension tendency, draw an arrow line with a thicker line than usual, if it is a reduction tendency, draw an arrow line thinner than usual, or if it is a growth tendency, draw an arrow line with a double line. If it is drawn and if it is in a shrinking tendency, it may be drawn with a broken line. Similarly to the traffic congestion statistical information, the line may be used as a solid line or a broken line depending on the reliability of the traffic congestion prediction information.

  The map shown in FIG. 10 and the like is a map in which a map around the current position is enlarged (detailed) and a map distant from the current position is reduced (wide area), that is, a map displayed as a bird's-eye view, a three-dimensional map. Map may be displayed.

  According to the above, by displaying the statistical traffic congestion information on the map, the user can easily grasp the intersections and road sections where the traffic is congested on a daily and chronic basis. In addition, by providing statistical information on traffic congestion for each season, weather, road surface conditions, or holidays, weekdays, and time zones, it is possible to grasp in more detail the locations where traffic congestion frequently occurs and the average degree of congestion. it can. In addition, by adding the reliability of the statistical information, the user can use it as a guide for determining how reliable the provided information is. In addition, the server side analyzes the traffic congestion increase / decrease tendency information on whether the current traffic congestion will grow or contract in the future, and provides the information to the user so that the user can easily determine whether to avoid the traffic congestion. It becomes possible to.

FIG. 1 is an overall system diagram of a communication type navigation system. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a navigation information providing device. Navigation terminal configuration diagram. The hardware block diagram of a navigation terminal. Example of traffic information download setting screen of navigation terminal. Screen transition example of traffic information download of navigation terminal. Traffic information download processing flow of the navigation terminal. Traffic information download processing flow of the navigation server. Data configuration example of delivery traffic information. Display example of traffic jam statistics information. Display example of traffic jam statistics information. An example of a display screen of traffic jam prediction information. An example of a display screen of traffic jam prediction information. The traffic congestion statistics information creation processing flow of the navigation server. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a navigation traffic information providing system. 4 is a data configuration example of a point DB. A specific example showing the relationship between a point and a link. Display example of traffic jam statistics information.

Explanation of reference numerals

  100: traffic information providing center, 101: satellite, 102: user vehicle, 103: mobile telephone network, 104: provider, 105: broadcaster, 106: IP network, 107: navigation server, 108: fixed telephone network, 109 ... user's home 110 personal computer 111 user management unit 112 traffic information management unit 113 traffic information database 114 map editing unit 115 CGI 116 route search unit 117 user information registration Editing unit, 118: User information database, 119: Charge calculation unit, 120: Traffic congestion prediction unit, 121: Traffic congestion statistical processing unit, 122: User terminal, 124: Map extraction unit, 125: Map database, 126: Option information Database 127: Route search engine 128: Option Broadcast setting and changing unit, 129 ... guidance point generating unit.

Claims (10)

A navigation server that receives information provided from a traffic information providing center and presents or provides information created based on the information to a terminal,
First storage means for storing information provided from the traffic information providing center,
Based on the information accumulated in the first accumulation means, traffic jam information at a predetermined point or a predetermined section and traffic jam statistical information creating means for creating traffic jam statistical information including the reliability of the traffic jam information,
A second storage means for storing the information created by the traffic jam statistics information creating means,
A navigation server that presents or provides information stored in the second storage unit to the terminal based on a request from the terminal or at a predetermined timing.   The terminal is a vehicle-mounted navigation device, the predetermined point is a predetermined intersection, the predetermined section is a predetermined road section, and the congestion information is information including at least one of a congestion occurrence frequency and an average congestion degree. The navigation server according to claim 1. In claim 1 or 2,
The congestion statistics information creating means is based on past traffic information accumulated in the first accumulation means and information on weather or road surface conditions from the weather information providing center, the traffic congestion statistics information for each weather or road surface condition unit A navigation server characterized by being created. In any one of claims 1 to 3,
Detects abnormal values based on accumulated past traffic information and removes abnormal values, if any, to determine the frequency of occurrence of congestion or the average congestion degree at a predetermined point such as an intersection or a road section between intersections. A navigation server that creates traffic jam information that is information including at least one of the traffic jam information and traffic jam statistical information that includes the reliability of the traffic jam information.   As an abnormal value detecting means in the traffic congestion statistical information creating means of claim 4, the first detecting means determines that the data of the entire predetermined period is abnormal when most of the predetermined period indicates congestion, The navigation server compares traffic congestion information in the same time zone with respect to a plurality of days, determines data having a large deviation as abnormal, and detects the data. In a navigation system comprising a navigation server that manages a road map and traffic information and provides information to a navigation device, and a navigation device that outputs traffic information by transmitting and receiving data to and from the navigation server,
It is provided with traffic congestion prediction information creation means for creating traffic congestion prediction information on future traffic congestion tendency of each traffic congestion from the accumulated traffic congestion information and real-time traffic congestion information, and traffic congestion prediction information composed of the reliability of the prediction information. A featured navigation server. In a car navigation display method of displaying a vehicle position and a traveling direction on a road map and displaying a guidance route as necessary,
A navigation display method for superimposing and displaying traffic congestion information and traffic congestion statistical information including the reliability of the traffic congestion information on the road map. In claim 7,
A circle is additionally displayed at a traffic congestion point according to the traffic congestion information,
A navigation display method, wherein the circle is divided into sectors according to the time of occurrence of the circle, and the color of the sector is distinguished according to the frequency of traffic congestion or the average degree of congestion. In a car navigation display method of displaying a vehicle position and a traveling direction on a road map and displaying a guidance route as necessary,
A navigation display method for additionally displaying a figure representing traffic congestion prediction information on the guidance route. In claim 8 or 9,
A navigation display method characterized by changing and displaying a line type of a contour of an additionally displayed figure according to reliability.

Images