JP2005293055A - Real-time traffic information automatic collection distribution system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a traffic information collection system for collecting data in real time to more rapidly generate accurate information related to traffic including traffic jam information. <P>SOLUTION: This traffic information collection system has an on-vehicle device and a center system. The on-vehicle device has: a measurement means acquiring at least one of speed information and absolute position information of a vehicle: a time information acquisition means for obtaining time information; and a communication means for transmitting prescribed information based on the information acquired by the measurement means and the time information to the center system. In the center system, the information related to the traffic such as the traffic jam information is generated on the basis of the prescribed information transmitted from the on-vehicle device. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a system for collecting information relating to traffic such as traffic jam information.

  A GPS receiver can provide time information together with an absolute position and speed at a positioning point by performing GPS positioning, and is widely used as an important part of a navigation device. On the other hand, systems for providing traffic information to users such as VICS (Vehicle Information and Communication System) are widely used. The information provided by such a system is diverse, such as traffic jam information, required time, accident / construction information, and the car navigation device can obtain the current position obtained by the GPS receiver on a map and obtain it by VICS. By displaying the traffic information together, it has been possible to further increase the utility value of the car navigation device.

  For example, Patent Document 1 below describes a device that receives VICS information and displays road traffic information obtained thereby on a display screen.

JP 09-236439 A

  As mentioned above, the current situation is that the use of GPS in car navigation devices and the use of VICS for traffic information provision are spreading, but traffic information such as traffic information is more accurate and more real-time. It must be noted that being strong will further increase its utility value. One known method of generating traffic jam information in the current VICS system is, for example, by a person monitoring a television camera installed on the roadside.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances. That is, an object of the present invention is to provide a traffic information collection system capable of collecting data in real time and generating accurate information on traffic including traffic jam information more quickly.

  In order to achieve the above object, a traffic information collecting system including an in-vehicle device and a center system is configured. The in-vehicle device includes a measuring unit that acquires the absolute position information and speed information of the vehicle, and a communication unit that transmits predetermined information based on the information and time information acquired by the measuring unit to the center system. And In the center system, information relating to the traffic state is generated based on predetermined information transmitted from the in-vehicle device (claim 1). According to this configuration, the center system can acquire information from the measuring means traveling on the road, and can use this to generate information related to traffic such as traffic jam information.

  The in-vehicle device may further include time information acquisition means for obtaining time information (claim 2).

  The in-vehicle device may include a GPS receiver that operates as a measurement unit and a time information acquisition unit.

  The in-vehicle device may further include a determination unit that determines whether the vehicle is in a traffic jam based on a predetermined measurement condition. In this case, when the determination unit determines that the vehicle is in a traffic jam, the in-vehicle device can transmit information including the absolute position information of the vehicle as predetermined information to the center system (claim 4).

The predetermined determination condition used by the determination means is:
Condition (1) Condition in which the average speed of the vehicle within a predetermined time is lower than the first threshold (2) Condition that the time required to travel a predetermined distance is longer than the second threshold (3) Position within the predetermined time It may include at least one of the change of less than the third threshold. In this case, the determination means determines that the vehicle is in a traffic jam when at least one of the conditions (1) to (3) is satisfied (claim 5).

  The center system has map information, and based on the absolute position information transmitted from the in-vehicle device of each vehicle determined by the determining means that the vehicle is in a traffic jam, the traffic jam information and / or road traffic characteristics are determined. The structure which produces | generates the information to represent may be sufficient (Claim 6).

  The real-time traffic information collection system may be configured to further include a wireless communication gate installed on the roadside that is configured to be connectable to the center system. In this case, the communication means of the in-vehicle device is configured to wirelessly communicate with the roadside wireless communication gate, and the predetermined information from the in-vehicle device is transmitted to the center system via the wireless communication gate. .

  The wireless communication gate is preferably configured to add location specifying information for specifying the installation location of the wireless communication gate to the predetermined information received from the in-vehicle device and transmit the information to the center system. In this case, the center system generates information on the traffic state based on the location specifying information of the wireless communication gate and the predetermined information from the in-vehicle device (claim 8).

  The information transmitted from the in-vehicle device may be vehicle speed information. In this case, the center system generates traffic jam information as information related to the traffic state based on the speed information transmitted from the vehicle and the location specifying information of the wireless communication gate (claim 9).

  Whether the location where the wireless communication gate is installed is congested by applying predetermined judgment conditions based on the speed information transmitted from the vehicle and the location specifying information of the wireless communication gate. The traffic jam information can be generated based on the determination result (claim 10).

In this case, the center system determines the predetermined determination condition as
-Using the condition that the average value of the speed of each vehicle is lower than a predetermined threshold, it is determined whether or not the condition is satisfied for each wireless communication gate, and traffic congestion occurs for the wireless communication gate that satisfies the condition. (Claim 11).

  The center system may include map information, and generate information representing road traffic characteristics based on the map information and predetermined information transmitted from each vehicle. 12).

  As described above, according to the data collection system of the present invention, the GPS receiver output acquired in each vehicle is collected in real time, and comprehensively determined so that various traffic related information including traffic jam information can be obtained. Information can be generated quickly.

First Embodiment FIG. 1 shows a configuration of a data collection system 100 as a first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the data collection system 100 includes an in-vehicle device 10 mounted on each vehicle and a center system 50 that receives information from the in-vehicle device. The center system 50 is composed of a workstation, obtains information from the in-vehicle device 10 and generates traffic jam information.

  The in-vehicle device 10 and the center system 50 will be described with reference to FIG. The in-vehicle device 10 is configured as a car navigation device. That is, the in-vehicle device 10 includes a GPS receiver 11, a system controller 12, a display 15, a user interface 16, map data 13, and a communication device 14.

  The system controller 12 is constituted by a so-called microcomputer chip, and includes a ROM, RAM, flash memory, RTC (real time clock) and the like in which various programs are stored, and is mounted on a vehicle as a car navigation device. Controls the entire apparatus 10. The system controller 12 performs various functions necessary as a car navigation device, such as displaying the current position of the vehicle based on information provided from the GPS receiver 11. The GPS receiver 11 provides a GPS receiver output including position (absolute position), speed, and time information. The GPS receiver output is updated at a predetermined time interval (for example, once per second).

  The communication device 14 is a communication means for connecting to the center system 50 via a network. In the present embodiment, the communication device 14 is a mobile phone, and the in-vehicle device 10 and the center system 50 are connected based on the TCP / IP protocol via a public line and the Internet.

  The system controller 12 stores the GPS receiver output (position, speed, and time) that is output every moment at a predetermined time interval. Based on the stored latest and previous GPS receiver outputs, the system controller 12 Determine if you are in a traffic jam. This traffic jam determination process is executed at predetermined time intervals (for example, once per minute).

Specifically, the system controller 12 determines whether or not the vehicle is in a traffic jam using determination conditions such as (1) to (5) below.
Condition (1) Condition in which the average speed of the vehicle within a predetermined time is lower than a predetermined threshold (2) Condition that the time required to travel a predetermined distance is longer than the predetermined threshold (3) Position within the predetermined time (4) Condition in which the average speed in the predetermined section is smaller than the predetermined threshold (5) The average value of the latest N times of the speed obtained periodically is smaller than the predetermined threshold

  In order to determine the condition (1), the GPS receiver force is used as the speed information, and the time information obtained from the GPS receiver output or the RTC in the system controller 12 can be used. The average speed used for the determination may be, for example, an average value of speeds for the past one minute.

  In order to determine the condition (2), a GPS receiver output is used as the position information, and the time information can be obtained from the GPS receiver output or the RTC in the system controller 12 or the like. The distance used for the determination may be, for example, a movement distance for the past one minute.

  In order to determine the condition (3), the GPS receiver output is used as the position information, and the time information is obtained from the GPS receiver output or the RTC in the system controller 12 or the like. Note that the above conditions (4) and (5) can be similarly determined by the GPS receiver output.

  In determining whether or not there is a traffic jam, it may be determined as a traffic jam when one of the above conditions (1) to (5) is satisfied, or the conditions (1) to (5) A traffic jam may be determined when two or more of (or all of) are satisfied. The above conditions (1) to (5) are merely examples, and it is possible to use conditions that can determine whether or not the vehicle is congested.

  As a result, if it is determined that there is a traffic jam, information indicating that the traffic is jammed and vehicle position information are notified from the in-vehicle device 10 to the center system 50.

  In this way, the center system 50 collects position information from each vehicle determined to be in a traffic jam. The center system 50 has map data 172, and determines the location where the traffic jam occurs by collating these pieces of information with the position information transmitted from each vehicle. The map data 172 includes detailed information about the road such as the width of the road, the number of lanes, and the width. In the center system 50, traffic jam information is generated in this way. Further, in the center system 50, information indicating the degree of traffic jam can be generated for a certain point based on the number of vehicles that transmit position information, and can be included in the traffic jam information.

  Note that the center system 50 may handle the location information sent from the vehicle as the location where the traffic jam occurs by giving an attribute of the validity period and discarding the position information after the validity period (for example, 1 minute) has elapsed. In addition, the center system 50 may make an additional determination so that a point is considered to be congested only when a notification indicating that the point is congested is received from a predetermined number or more of vehicles. .

Second Embodiment FIG. 2 shows a configuration of a data collection system 200 as a second embodiment of the present invention. The data collection system 200 includes an in-vehicle device 110 mounted on the vehicle 101, a wireless communication gate 150 that is installed on the roadside and receives information from the in-vehicle device 110, and a center system 170 that is wired to the gate 150. In FIG. 2, only one wireless communication gate 150 is shown, but the wireless communication gate 150 is installed at various locations on the road.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram for explaining the functions of the data collection system 200 in detail. The in-vehicle device 110 is configured as a car navigation device like the in-vehicle device 10 in the first embodiment. The difference from the in-vehicle device 10 is that the communication device 14 is replaced with a transmission / reception unit 140 for transmitting / receiving a signal to / from the wireless communication gate, and the system controller 120 does not determine the traffic jam itself. It is configured. In the in-vehicle device 110, the same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  The data collection system 200 does not determine whether or not there is a traffic jam on the in-vehicle device 110 side, and the in-vehicle device 110 transmits the GPS receiver output to the center system 170 via each wireless communication gate installed on the road. . Then, the center system 170 side determines the traffic jam and generates traffic jam information. The GPS receiver output includes position, speed, and time information.

The operation of traffic information generation by the in-vehicle device 110, the wireless communication gate 150, and the center system 170 will be described.
In the in-vehicle device 110, the system controller 120 receives and holds the GPS receiver output from the GPS receiver 11 at predetermined time intervals. The transmission / reception unit 140 periodically transmits an inquiry signal for detecting the wireless communication gate 150 to check whether there is a response. When the vehicle 101 approaches the wireless communication gate 150 and receives a response indicating that communication is possible from the wireless communication gate 150 in response to the inquiry signal output from the transmission / reception unit 140, the system controller 120 passes the transmission / reception unit 140 through the transmission / reception unit 140. The latest GPS receiver output is transmitted to the wireless communication gate 150.

  The communication control unit 151 of the wireless communication gate 150 adds the identification information of the wireless communication gate 150 to the GPS receiver output received from the vehicle 101 and transmits it to the center system 170.

  In the center system 170, the GPS receiver output from each vehicle passing through the wireless communication gate 150 is collected. The center system 170 has gate installation point information 171 that associates the identification information of the wireless communication gate with the installation point of the wireless communication gate. Therefore, the center system 170 can grasp which wireless communication gate the received information is from. The center system 170 has map data 172 including detailed information on roads.

In the center system 170, as to whether or not the vicinity of the wireless communication gate 150 is congested, for example,
The determination is performed using a condition that the average value of the speeds of the vehicles transmitted from the wireless communication gate is lower than a predetermined threshold value.

  As described above, the center system 170 can generate traffic jam information for each wireless communication gate installed on the roadside. By appropriately installing each wireless communication gate at various points, traffic information over a wide range can be generated.

  Note that the traffic jam information generated as described above may be provided to the vehicle side by a beacon or FM multiplex broadcast installed on the road side.

  According to the data collection systems of the first and second embodiments described above, information that can be generated by the center system is not limited to traffic jam information at the current time. For example, in the data collection system 200 of the second embodiment, if the wireless communication gate is installed in the up lane and the down lane of one road, the traffic characteristics of the road such as which lane is likely to generate a traffic jam are generated. be able to.

  To generate road traffic characteristics such as which part of the road is likely to be jammed and which time zone is likely to be jammed if radio communication gates are installed at predetermined intervals as a whole for a given road You can also. Such road traffic characteristics can also be generated in the data collection system 100 according to the first embodiment. This is because position information from a vehicle determined to be congested can be obtained and used.

Various modifications can be considered for the embodiment of the present invention described above.
For example, in the above embodiment, the in-vehicle device acquires position and speed information by GPS. However, the position and speed information can be obtained by using various sensors installed on the vehicle such as a speed sensor alone or in combination with GPS. It may be generated.

It is a figure showing the structure of the data collection system as 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure showing the structure of the data collection system as 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram for demonstrating in detail the function of the data collection system of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Vehicle 10 In-vehicle apparatus 11 GPS receiver 12 System controller 13 Map data 14 Communication apparatus 15 Display 50 Center system

Claims (12)

A system for collecting information on the traffic state in real time comprising an in-vehicle device and a center system,
The in-vehicle device includes a measuring unit that acquires absolute position information and speed information of a vehicle, and a communication unit that transmits predetermined information based on the information acquired by the measuring unit and the time information to the center system. And having
The center system generates information on a traffic state based on the predetermined information transmitted from the in-vehicle device;
Real-time traffic information collection system characterized by   The real-time traffic information collection system according to claim 1, wherein the in-vehicle device further includes time information acquisition means for obtaining time information.   The real-time traffic information collection system according to claim 2, wherein the in-vehicle device includes a GPS receiver, and the GPS receiver operates as the measurement unit and the time information acquisition unit.   The on-vehicle device further includes a determination unit that determines whether or not the vehicle is in a traffic jam based on a predetermined determination condition, and the predetermined information is determined when the determination unit determines that the vehicle is in a traffic jam. The information including the absolute position information of the vehicle is transmitted to the center system as a real-time traffic information collection system according to any one of claims 1 to 3. The predetermined determination condition used by the determination means is:
Condition (1) Condition in which the average speed of the vehicle within a predetermined time is lower than the first threshold (2) Condition that the time required to travel a predetermined distance is longer than the second threshold (3) Position within the predetermined time And the determination means determines that the vehicle is in a traffic jam when at least one of the conditions (1) to (3) is satisfied. The real-time traffic information collection system according to claim 4.   The center system has map information, and based on the map information and the absolute position information transmitted from the in-vehicle device of each vehicle determined by the determination means that the vehicle is in a traffic jam, 6. The real-time traffic information collection system according to claim 5, wherein information representing traffic characteristics of roads is generated. A radio communication gate configured to be connectable with the center system and further installed on the roadside,
The communication means of the in-vehicle device is configured to wirelessly communicate with the roadside wireless communication gate,
4. The real-time traffic information generation system according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined information from the in-vehicle device is transmitted to the center system via the wireless communication gate. The wireless communication gate adds location specifying information for specifying the installation location of the wireless communication gate to the predetermined information received from the in-vehicle device, and transmits the information to the center system.
The center system generates information related to the traffic state based on location specifying information of the wireless communication gate and predetermined information from the in-vehicle device;
The real-time traffic information generation system according to claim 7. The information transmitted from the in-vehicle device is vehicle speed information,
The said center system produces | generates traffic congestion information as information regarding the said traffic state based on the speed information transmitted from a vehicle, and the place specific information of the said radio | wireless communication gate, It is characterized by the above-mentioned. Real-time traffic information generation system.   The center system is congested at a place where the wireless communication gate is installed by applying a predetermined determination condition based on speed information transmitted from the vehicle and location specifying information of the wireless communication gate. 10. The real-time traffic information generation system according to claim 9, wherein the traffic information is generated based on the determination result. The center system, as the predetermined determination condition,
-Using the condition that the average value of the speed of each vehicle is lower than a predetermined threshold, it is determined whether or not the condition is satisfied for each wireless communication gate, and congestion occurs for the wireless communication gate that satisfies the condition. The real-time traffic information generation system according to claim 10, wherein the real-time traffic information generation system according to claim 10 is determined.   8. The center system has map information, and generates information representing road traffic characteristics based on the map information and the predetermined information transmitted from each vehicle. The traffic information collection system according to claim 11.

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