JP2007195144A - In-vehicle information communication system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make a mobile information communication device with a GPS function, in particular a mobile information communication device with a GPS function such as a mobile phone or PHS being palm-sized or smaller available for car navigation and further, to enable a driver himself-herself to perform operation or to read a map image in that case. <P>SOLUTION: A mobile information communication device comprises a radio communication means for receiving GPS signals, a storage means for storing programs and data files, a data processing means which processes a GPS signal and map information data based on a program, so as to generate a digital display signal of a present position map image, and a display means for displaying the present position map image based on the digital display signal. In such a mobile information communication device, an interface means A1 is provided to which a peripheral device with an external display means is connected and which transmits an external display signal to the peripheral device on the basis of the digital display signal. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a portable information communication device such as a mobile phone having a GPS function, an external output unit or an input / output unit used with the portable information communication device, an in-vehicle information communication system having the portable information communication device as a core, and the in-vehicle information communication Involved in a road traffic information provision system that provides information to the system.

  A “cell phone with GPS function” having a GPS function for receiving a radio wave signal (hereinafter abbreviated as GPS signal) transmitted from a GPS (Global Positioning System) satellite and detecting a current position has been put into practical use. However, in particular, the map image that is displayed by superimposing the current location information by combining the current location information with the map information held by the mobile phone itself or the map information acquired from the network by the wireless communication means possessed by the mobile phone. (Hereinafter abbreviated as self-location map image) or a map image (hereinafter abbreviated as navigation image) that displays information related to the route to the destination input using the operation keys superimposed on the self-location map image. A “mobile phone with a navigation function” having a function of displaying on an attached display has been put into practical use.

  For example, in Patent Document 1, a map information storage unit in which map information is stored in advance, a GPS receiving unit that detects a current position based on radio waves transmitted from artificial hygiene, and a current position detected by the GPS receiving unit And the map information stored in the map information storage unit, the GPS image data generating means for generating GPS image data for displaying the current location, and the current location based on the GPS image data generated by the GPS image data generating means. There has been disclosed a mobile phone device including a display for displaying and a display control unit for controlling display of the current location on the display.

Now, the navigation function for displaying the self-location map image and the navigation image on the display has a high need for car navigation for displaying the current position of the vehicle and the optimum route to the destination. However, in general, since the mobile phone places importance on portability and the screen of the attached display is small, when browsing the map information displayed on the attached display of the mobile phone with a navigation function, the mobile phone is held in hand. It is necessary to hold it in front of the face. For this reason, it is very dangerous for the driver to drive while browsing the navigation screen.
In fact, according to the current Japanese road traffic law, a driver of an automobile or motorbike is holding a mobile phone or the like while he / she is driving and using an image display device for sending and receiving mail. It is forbidden to hold and stare at. For this reason, mobile phones with navigation functions are symbolized by the fact that a telecommunications company that provides car navigation services for mobile phones with navigation functions has labeled the services as “passenger seat navigation”. When a telephone is used for car navigation, it is assumed that operations and map image reading are performed by a passenger, not a driver.

  However, when a passenger is on board, it is possible for the passenger to give directions to the driver while checking the road map, so the driver is driving alone for car navigation needs. The case is higher. For this reason, a driver who wants to drive a car with the support of the car navigation function, even if the car owner owns a mobile phone with a navigation function, because the screen is large, A car-mounted car navigation device that is not dangerous even when driving while looking at the self-location map image and navigation image displayed there, and is not prohibited by the Road Traffic Law, will be installed. As a result, the driver of the car will make a double investment in a device having the same function, resulting in a decrease in at least one of the operating rates, which is preferable from the viewpoint of efficient use of resources. Absent.

  Such “irrational double investment” and “inefficient use of resources” can be eliminated if a mobile phone with a navigation function can be diverted as an in-car car navigation device, but it is related to its purpose. The technique is disclosed in Patent Document 2. That is, in Patent Document 2, a monitor of a new portable terminal (hereinafter abbreviated as a new terminal) in which a mobile phone and a PDA (Personal Digital Assistants) are integrated is placed horizontally on the front dashboard toward the driver. , Disclosing an installation device that transforms the new terminal into a new car navigation system, by providing a detachable plastic film magnifying glass in parallel with the monitor surface installed at a substantially right angle to the driver's line of sight, It has been proposed to expand the monitor of the new terminal to the same level as a car navigation monitor.

  However, in general, the size of the display screen of the in-vehicle car navigation device is usually about 7 inches wide or larger, whereas the size of the display screen of the mobile phone is about 2.5 inches at most. . Therefore, if the cellular phone is used together with the installation device disclosed in Patent Document 2 to enlarge it to the same level as a car navigation monitor, the magnifying glass must have a magnification ratio of 2 to 3 times or more in aspect ratio. However, this is physically impossible by optical means.

  Therefore, if the installation apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 2 is applied, such a portable terminal is limited to a mobile terminal such as a PDA or UMPC (Ultra-Mobile PC) whose display screen size is originally about 4 inches. Is done. Moreover, in the case of optical enlargement as in Patent Document 2, there is a problem that the map image is distorted or cannot be recognized at all due to the position of the driver's viewpoint.

JP-A-10-341476 JP2002-209004

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and a GPS function having a GPS function is a portable information communication device with a GPS function, in particular, a palm size such as a mobile phone or a PHS (Personal Handy-phone System). It is an object of the present invention to make it possible to use an attached portable information communication device for car navigation and to allow a driver himself to perform operations and read map images.

In order to achieve the above object, a first invention according to a portable information communication device receives a radio wave signal (hereinafter abbreviated as a GPS signal) transmitted from a GPS satellite, converts it into a digital signal, Wireless communication means for transferring to the processing means, a program for operating the data processing means to be described later, storage means for storing a data file that can be processed by the data processing means, and wireless communication based on the program stored in the storage means By processing the digital GPS signal received from the means and the map information data, a digital display signal of a map image (hereinafter abbreviated as a self-location map image) on which the current position information is superimposed and generated is generated. Data processing means to be transmitted to display control means A to be described later, and an image is displayed by driving each pixel constituting the screen A portable information communication device comprising a display means comprising a display panel A and display control means A for driving each pixel of the display panel A based on a digital display signal received from the data processing means. A peripheral device including an external display means and / or a peripheral device to which the external display means is connected, and an external display signal is transmitted to the peripheral device based on the digital display signal received from the data processing means. The interface means A1 for transmitting is provided.
The “digital GPS signal” in the “specification” and “claims” means a signal obtained by converting a GPS signal, which is a radio wave signal, into a digital signal.
In addition, the “digital display signal” referred to in the “specification” and “claims” includes not only a signal directly corresponding to digital image data defined by a bitmap method or the like, but also digital image data generation ( It also includes a digital signal of a drawing command for instructing (drawing).
The “external display signal” in the “specification” and “claims” means that an external display means in the peripheral device receives it and appropriately processes it to display an image. It means a certain signal. And, “appropriately processing” a display signal, an image data file, or a moving image signal (hereinafter abbreviated as a display signal) includes display means, or data processing means and display means. This means that the logical color information for each pixel is realized as the color display of the physical pixels that make up the screen of the display means without any excess or deficiency. This means that pixels are not thinned to reduce the resolution of the display image, or pixels are not interpolated to increase the resolution of the display image.
Further, in the present “specification” and “claims”, the expression “means included in the peripheral device or means connected to the peripheral device” means “means included in the peripheral device” by the expression “means in the peripheral device”. .

According to a second aspect of the portable information communication device, in the portable information communication device of the first aspect, the data processing means and the interface means A1 are combined with each other from the interface means A1 to provide a high-resolution external device. A function of transmitting a display signal is realized.
Note that “high resolution” in the “specification” and “claims” means that the original resolution of the display signal or the like is larger than the screen resolution (the number of horizontal pixels × the number of vertical pixels) of the display panel A. In particular, the term “high resolution external display signal” means an external display signal whose resolution is originally larger than the screen resolution of the display panel A. In addition, the “original image” such as a display signal is a display means having a sufficiently large screen resolution or a data processing means and a display means having a sufficiently large screen resolution. It means an original image displayed by receiving and appropriately processing, and “original resolution” means the resolution of “original image”.

  According to a third aspect of the portable information communication device of the present invention, in the portable information communication device of the first or second aspect, the storage means is a data file containing map information data (hereinafter abbreviated as a map information data file). ), And the data processing means generates the digital display signal of the self-location map image by accessing the storage means, reading the map information data file and processing it with the digital GPS signal. It has a function to perform.

  According to a fourth aspect of the portable information communication device, in the portable information communication device according to any one of the first to third aspects, the wireless communication means receives a wireless signal other than a GPS signal and receives a digital signal. And the function of transmitting the digital signal received from the data processing means into a radio signal and transmitting the radio signal, and the radio communication means and the data processing means are compatible. Thus, by receiving a radio signal compliant with the Internet protocol, a function of acquiring a map information data file from a web server connected to the Internet is realized, and the data processing means stores the map information data file in the digital information By processing in real time with GPS signals and / or the map information data file Temporarily stored in 憶 means, the digital GPS signal after having then read. By processing together with the number, it has a function of generating a digital display signal of the self-location map image.

  According to a fifth aspect of the portable information communication device, in the portable information communication device of any one of the first to fourth aspects, a peripheral device including external storage means and / or external storage means is connected. Interface means A2 for connecting the peripheral device to the external device and exchanging data with the external storage means in the peripheral device, the data processing means accessing the external storage means in the peripheral device and transferring the data It has a function of writing and / or a function of reading data.

  According to a sixth aspect of the portable information communication apparatus, in the portable information communication apparatus according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, the digital audio signal received from the data processing means is converted into sound and output. Audio output means is provided, and the data processing means has a function of generating a digital audio signal and transmitting it to the audio output means.

According to a seventh aspect of the portable information communication device, in the portable information communication device of the sixth aspect, a peripheral device including an external audio output means and / or a peripheral device to which the external audio output means is connected is connected. The external audio output means in the peripheral device is provided with interface means A3 for transmitting an external audio signal based on the digital audio signal received from the data processing means.
The “external audio signal” as used in the “specification” and “claims” means that the external audio output means in the peripheral device can receive the audio and output it appropriately. Means such a signal.

Further, an eighth invention according to the portable information communication device is the portable information communication device according to any one of the first to seventh inventions, and includes road traffic information such as traffic jam information transmitted by the road traffic information providing system. It has a function of receiving a radio signal (hereinafter abbreviated as road traffic information radio signal), converting it to a digital signal, and transmitting it to the data processing means. The data processing means is received from the radio communication means By processing the digital road traffic information signal, a digital display signal of a map image for displaying the road traffic information included in the digital road traffic information signal in an superimposed manner and / or road traffic information included in the digital road traffic information signal A function of generating a digital audio signal of audio and transmitting it to the display control means A and / or the audio output means is explained. That.
The “digital road traffic information signal” referred to in the “specification” and “claims” means a signal obtained by converting a road traffic information radio signal, which is a radio signal, into a digital signal.

  According to a ninth aspect of the portable information communication device, in the portable information communication device of any one of the first to eighth aspects, data such as character data input by a user through a manual operation is transmitted to the data processing means. Manual input means is provided, and the data processing means has a function of processing data transmitted from the manual input means.

  A tenth aspect of the portable information communication device is the portable information communication device of the ninth aspect, wherein the peripheral device including the external manual input means and / or the peripheral device to which the external manual input means is connected, Interface means A4 is provided for receiving data input by an external manual input means in the peripheral device, performing necessary processing, and transmitting the data to the data processing means, and the data processing means includes the interface means A4. It has a function of processing data received from.

  According to an eleventh aspect of the portable information communication device, in the portable information communication device according to any one of the first to tenth aspects, the wireless communication means receives the voice uttered by the user and converts it into a digital voice signal. And / or voice input means for transmitting to the data processing means, the data processing means having a function of processing a digital voice signal received directly from the voice input means or via the wireless communication means. It is what you have.

  According to a twelfth aspect of the portable information communication device, in the portable information communication device of the eleventh aspect, a peripheral device including an external voice input means and / or a peripheral device to which the external voice input means is connected is connected. Interface means A5 is provided for receiving voice data input by an external voice input means in the peripheral device, performing necessary processing, and transmitting the data to the data processing means, and the data processing means includes the interface means. It has a function of processing audio data received from A5.

  According to a thirteenth aspect of the portable information communication device, in the portable information communication device according to any one of the ninth to twelfth aspects, the data processing means is selected by the user by the manual input means and / or voice input means. When data that can identify the destination (hereinafter abbreviated as destination data) is input, the current location based on the destination data, the map information data, and the program stored in the storage means A function for calculating the optimum route from the destination to the destination, a digital display signal of a map image (hereinafter abbreviated as a navigation image) for displaying information on the optimum route superimposed on the self-location map image, and / or And a function of generating a digital audio signal for guiding the optimum route.

  According to a fourteenth aspect of the portable information communication device, in the portable information communication device of the thirteenth aspect, the wireless communication means receives a road traffic information wireless signal, converts it into a digital signal, and then converts it into the data processing means. The data processing means calculates the optimum route from its current position to the destination in consideration of the road traffic information included in the digital road traffic information signal received from the wireless communication means. It has a function to perform.

  According to a fifteenth aspect of the portable information communication device, in the portable information communication device according to any one of the first to fourteenth aspects, an audio output means for converting a digital audio signal received from the data processing means into sound and outputting the sound. And voice input means for receiving voice, converting it into a digital voice signal, and transmitting it to the wireless communication means and / or the data processing means, wherein the data processing means generates a digital voice signal and A function of transmitting to a voice output means, wherein the wireless communication means receives a radio signal converted from a voice, converts it into a digital signal, and transmits the digital signal to the data processing means and / or the voice output means; And a function of converting a digital voice signal received from the data processing means and / or the voice input means into a radio signal and transmitting the radio signal.

  According to a sixteenth aspect of the portable information communication device, in the portable information communication device of any one of the fifteenth aspects, a peripheral device including an external audio output unit and / or a peripheral device to which the external audio output unit is connected Interface means A3 for transmitting an external audio signal based on the digital audio signal received from the data processing means to the external audio output means in the peripheral device, and a peripheral device including an external audio input means, and Or, connect a peripheral device to which the external audio input means is connected, receive the audio data input by the external audio input means in the peripheral device, perform necessary processing, and transmit to the data processing means Interface means A5, and the data processing means has a function of processing data received from the interface means A5. Those were Unishi.

  A seventeenth aspect of the external output unit for a portable information communication device is an external output unit for use with the portable information communication device of the seventh aspect, and displays an image by driving each pixel constituting the screen. Display panel B, display control means B for driving each pixel of the display panel B based on an external display signal received via interface means B1, which will be described later, and interface means B3, which will be described later. External audio output means for converting the received external audio signal into sound and outputting it, interface means B1 for connecting the interface means A1 of the portable information communication device and the display control means B, and the interface of the portable information communication device Connecting means A3 and the external audio output means It is obtained by the manner and an interface unit B3 that.

  An eighteenth aspect of the external input / output unit for a portable information communication device is an external input / output unit for use with the portable information communication device of the tenth aspect of the invention, and is driven by driving each pixel constituting the screen. An external display means comprising a display panel B for displaying the image and a display control means B for driving each pixel of the display panel B based on an external display signal received via the interface means B1, which will be described later. External manual input means for inputting data such as character data, interface means B1 for connecting the interface means A1 of the portable information communication apparatus and the display control means B, interface means A4 of the portable information communication apparatus, and the External manual input means It is obtained by the manner and an interface unit B4 for connecting.

  According to a nineteenth aspect of the external input / output unit for a portable information communication device, in the external input / output unit of the eighteenth aspect, the circuit constituting the interface means B1 and the circuit constituting the interface means B4 are integrated. The display panel B is placed on the top surface of the casing, and the external terminals constituting the interface means B1 and the external terminals constituting the interface means B4 are arranged on the side or bottom of the casing. A terminal is arranged, and a key constituting an external manual input means is arranged on the frame portion of the display panel B on the top surface of the casing.

  A twentieth invention relating to an external input / output unit for a portable information communication device is an external input / output unit used together with the portable information communication device of the twelfth invention, wherein each pixel constituting a screen is driven to drive an image. An external display means comprising a display panel B for displaying and a display control means B for driving each pixel of the display panel B based on an external display signal received via the interface means B1 to be described later; The external voice input means for converting the digital voice signal to the interface means B5 to be described later, the interface means B1 for connecting the interface means A1 of the portable information communication device and the display control means B, and the portable information communication Device interface means A5 and the external voice input means It is obtained by the manner and an interface unit B5 for connecting.

  A twenty-first invention related to an external input / output unit for a portable information communication device is an external input / output unit used together with the portable information communication device of the sixteenth invention, wherein an image is formed by driving each pixel constituting the screen. An external display means composed of a display panel B for displaying the image and a display control means B for driving each pixel of the display panel B based on an external display signal received via the interface means B1 described later, and an interface means B3 described later. An external audio output means for converting an external audio signal received via the voice to output, an external audio input means for receiving the audio, converting it into a digital audio signal, and transmitting it to the interface means B5, and the portable information The interface means A1 of the communication device and the display control means B are connected. Interface means B1, interface means B3 for connecting the interface means A3 of the portable information communication device and the external voice output means, interface means for connecting the interface means A5 of the portable information communication device and the external voice input means B5 is provided.

  According to a twenty-second aspect of the external input / output unit for a portable information communication device, in the external input / output unit of any one of the seventeenth to twenty-first aspects, the mobile phone of the seventh, tenth, twelfth or sixteenth aspect of the invention. Among the information communication devices, an external input / output unit together with a portable information communication device provided with interface means A2 for exchanging data with external storage means in the peripheral device, the data processing in the portable information communication device The means connects the external storage means B for writing and / or reading data via the interface means A2 and the interface means B2 described later, and the interface means A2 of the portable information communication device and the external storage means B. The interface means B2 is provided.

  According to a twenty-third aspect of the in-vehicle information communication system, the combination of the portable information communication device according to any one of the first to twenty-second inventions and a peripheral device including external display means, and the portable information communication device of the seventh invention And a combination of the portable information communication device external output unit of the seventeenth invention and a combination of the portable information communication device of the tenth invention and the external input / output unit for the portable information communication device of the eighteenth or nineteenth invention. The combination of the portable information communication device of the twelfth invention and the external input / output unit for the portable information communication device of the twentieth invention, the portable information communication device of the sixteenth invention and the portable information communication device of the twenty-first invention The peripheral device, the external output unit or the external input / output unit is composed of any one of the combinations with the external input / output unit. Current position map image displayed on the Mugaibu display means is that as mounted on a range such that it is visible from the driver's seat of the vehicle.

According to a twenty-fourth aspect of the in-vehicle information communication system, in the in-vehicle information communication system of the twenty-third aspect, the wireless communication in the portable information communication device is obtained by acquiring data indicating a running state of the vehicle and converting it into a digital signal. Means for transmitting to the data processing means and / or interface means B6 for connecting the traveling state detection means to the portable information communication device, and the wireless communication means in the portable information communication device comprises: A function of receiving a road traffic information radio signal, converting it into a digital signal, and transmitting it to the data processing means; and from the running state detecting means via the interface means B6 or with the interface means B6 The digital running state signal received via the data processing means is converted into a radio signal and transmitted. The data processing means in the portable information communication device superimposes road traffic information included in the digital road traffic information signal by processing the digital road traffic information signal received from the wireless communication means. A digital display signal of a map image to be displayed and / or a digital audio signal of voice explaining road traffic information included in the digital road traffic information signal is generated and transmitted to the display control means A and / or the voice output means It has a function to perform.
The “digital running state signal” in the “specification” and “claims” means a signal obtained by converting data indicating the running state of the vehicle into a digital signal.

  According to a twenty-fifth aspect of the in-vehicle information communication system, the combination of the portable information communication device of the tenth invention and the external input / output unit for the portable information communication device of the eighteenth or nineteenth invention, and the portable of the twelfth invention. Combination of information communication device and external input / output unit for portable information communication device of twentieth invention, and combination of portable information communication device of sixteenth invention and external input / output unit for portable information communication device of twenty-first invention And the external input / output unit is a range in which the self-location map image displayed on the external display means in the external input / output unit is visible from the driver's seat of the vehicle. The wireless communication means in the portable information communication device and / or the data obtained by acquiring data indicating the running state of the vehicle and converting it into a digital signal A travel state detection means for transmitting to the data processing means, and an interface means B6 for connecting the travel state detection means and the portable information communication device, and the wireless communication means in the portable information communication device comprises road traffic information A function of receiving a radio signal and converting it into a digital signal and transmitting it to the data processing means, and from the running state detecting means via the interface means B6 or the interface means B6 and the data processing means And a function of transmitting the digital running state signal received via the radio signal after converting it into a radio signal, and the data processing means in the portable information communication device is a function that the user inputs the manual input means and / or voice input means. The destination data, the map information data, and the storage means A function for calculating an optimum route from its current position to a destination based on a stored program and a function for generating a digital display signal of a navigation image and / or a digital voice signal of a voice for guiding the optimum route. It is made to have.

A twenty-sixth aspect of the road traffic information providing system is a road traffic information providing system for providing road traffic information to the plurality of in-vehicle information communication systems according to the twenty-fourth or twenty-fifth invention, wherein the in-vehicle information communication system (plural) The base station which receives the driving state radio signal and converts it into a digital signal and transmits it to the traffic condition estimation means described later, and also converts the digital signal received from the traffic condition estimation means described later into a road traffic information radio signal and transmits it. Estimating the traffic situation on the road by processing the digital running state signal received from the station means and the base station means, and then sending the digital signal including information on the traffic situation to the base station means And means.
The “running state radio signal” in the “specification” and “claims” means a signal obtained by converting a digital running state signal into a radio signal.

According to the portable information communication device of the present invention, the external output unit or input / output unit for the portable information communication device, and the in-vehicle information communication system having the portable information communication device as a core, the interface means A1 includes an external display means. By connecting the device or a peripheral device to which the external display means is connected, the local position map image or the navigation image can be displayed on the external display means. For this reason, after selecting an external display means having a sufficiently large screen size (about 7 inches wide size or more), a peripheral device including the external display means or a peripheral device to which the external display means is connected is connected to the external display. By mounting the self-location map image displayed on the means in a range where it can be viewed from the driver's seat of the vehicle, a car navigation function that can be operated and viewed by the driver can be realized.
In addition, at this time, the GPS signal receiving function and the image processing function for generating the display signal of the self-location map image or the navigation image are held only on the portable information communication device side. The problem of “irrational double investment” and “inefficient use of resources” as in the case of possessing both devices does not occur. Further, since image enlargement is performed by digital signal processing, there is no restriction on the image enlargement ratio as in the case of optical enlargement.

  Among these, in particular, according to the portable information communication device of the second invention and the in-vehicle information communication system having the portable information communication device as a core, the portable information communication device is connected to the external display means in the peripheral device connected to the interface means A1. The self-location map image having a resolution higher than the screen resolution (the number of horizontal pixels × the number of vertical pixels) of the display panel A attached to the display panel A can be displayed. As a result, the external display screen has a self-located map image having a larger amount of information than the attached display panel A, for example, covers a wide area with the same scale, and the definition of characters and symbols (font size, etc.) Will be able to display a self-located map image that does not change.

  Further, according to the portable information communication device of the fourth invention and the in-vehicle information communication system having the portable information communication device as a core, even if a change occurs in the map information due to construction of a new road, the map If the web server that provides the information data file updates the file, each mobile information communication device does not need to update the map information data file by purchasing a new recording medium. The self-location map image and the navigation image based on the latest map information can always be displayed.

  Further, according to the portable information communication device of the fifth invention and the in-vehicle information communication system having the portable information communication device as a core, for example, when the portable information communication device is used alone, the map information data file Even when the information is acquired via the Internet, when used as an in-vehicle information communication system, the interface means A2 includes a peripheral device including an external storage means having a larger capacity than the storage means, or a capacity larger than the storage means. By connecting a peripheral device to which a large external storage means is connected, the map information data file once acquired via the Internet can be stored in the external storage means. As a result, when the vehicle is traveling in the area where the map information data file has already been stored, the screen is not smoothly scrolled as a result of frequent access to the Internet by accessing the external storage means. The problem can be reduced. On the other hand, even when the map information data file is stored in the storage means attached to the portable information communication device, when used as an in-vehicle information communication system, the interface means A2 has an external capacity larger than that of the storage means. By displaying a peripheral device including a storage unit or a peripheral device to which an external storage unit having a capacity larger than that of the storage unit is connected, it is possible to display a self-location map image with a larger amount of information than when used alone. Can do.

  Further, according to the portable information communication device of the sixth or seventh invention, based on the voice signal received via the attached wireless communication means or the voice signal generated by the data processing means, the voice is outputted from the attached voice output means. Can be output. Of these, in particular, according to the seventh portable information communication device and the in-vehicle information communication system having the portable information communication device as a core, the voice is connected not only to the attached external voice output means but also to the interface means A3. It can also be output from external audio output means in the peripheral device.

  Further, according to the portable information communication device of the eighth invention, a map image for displaying road traffic information provided from the road traffic information system superimposed on the attached display panel A is displayed, or voice output means attached The voice explaining the road traffic information can be output. In particular, when the portable information communication device includes the interface means A1 and / or the interface means A3, displaying a map image for displaying road traffic information superimposed on the external display means in the peripheral device, and / or Alternatively, it is possible to realize output of sound describing the road traffic information from external sound output means in the peripheral device.

  Further, according to the portable information communication device of the ninth or tenth invention, not only simply selecting a display mode from a menu but also inputting data using manual input means, the portable information communication device Destination information and the like can be input. Among these, in particular, according to the portable information communication device of the tenth invention and the in-vehicle information communication system having the portable information communication device as the core, the external of the peripheral device connected to the interface means A4 for inputting data such as character data Since it can be done from the manual input means, when using it as an in-vehicle information communication system, select an external manual input means that has a sufficient size and fix it near the driver's seat of the vehicle. However, it is not necessary to hold the portable information communication device by hand and can be input from a fixed manual input means.

  Further, according to the portable information communication device of the eleventh, twelfth, fifteenth or sixteenth invention, voice data can be input using the voice data input means. Of these, in particular, according to the portable information communication device of the twelfth or sixteenth invention and the in-vehicle information communication system having the portable information communication device as a core, the peripheral device connected to the interface means A5 for inputting voice data This can be done from external voice input means. In particular, according to the portable information communication device of the fifteenth or sixteenth invention, a voice call can be made by using the wireless communication means and the voice output means together. Further, in particular, according to the sixteenth portable information communication device and the in-vehicle information communication system having the portable information communication device as a core, the external voice input means and the interface means A3 in the peripheral device connected to the interface means A5 By inputting / outputting voice (data) using an external voice output means in the connected peripheral device, it is possible to realize a voice call without a portable information communication device, that is, a hands-free voice call. .

  Further, according to the thirteenth or fourteenth portable information communication device and the in-vehicle information communication system having the portable information communication device as a core, the display panel A attached to the portable information communication device or the external display means in the peripheral device In addition, not only the self-location map image but also the navigation image can be displayed. Alternatively, not only a voice explaining road traffic information but also a voice guiding the optimum route can be outputted from a voice output means attached to the portable information communication device or an external voice output means in the peripheral device. In particular, according to the fourteenth portable information communication device and the in-vehicle information communication system having the portable information communication device as the core, the map information is simply used when the data processing means of the portable information communication device calculates the optimum route. It is possible to take into account road traffic information such as traffic jam information provided by the road traffic information providing system.

  According to the in-vehicle information communication system and the twenty-sixth road traffic information providing system of the twenty-fourth or twenty-fifth invention, the vehicles travel from the traveling states of a plurality of vehicles equipped with the in-vehicle information communication system. It is possible to estimate traffic congestion information of a certain area and provide road traffic information based on the traffic congestion information, and to calculate an optimum route on the in-vehicle information communication system side based on the road traffic information thus obtained.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the technical idea.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a block diagram for explaining the configuration and functions of an embodiment of a portable information communication device, an external input / output unit for a portable information communication device, and an in-vehicle information communication system configured by connecting the two according to the present invention. In particular, the case where the portable information communication device is a mobile phone is described.

In this embodiment, the mobile phone 1 is used alone for voice calls, for data communication / processing, for navigation, for viewing TV broadcast programs, and for storing / reproducing image data and / or audio data. When used for purposes other than voice calls, various images are displayed on an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) panel 15A, which is an attached display panel.
In the following description, the LCD panel 15A is described as having a QVGA size screen resolution and normally used in a portrait screen (horizontal pixel × vertical pixel = 240 × 320 pixels). Also good.

  First, when the mobile phone 1 is used for a voice call, the voice input from the microphone 18A is converted into a digital signal by a CODEC (COder-DECoder) 18C, and the digital signal is converted into a baseband processor 11 and an RF (Radio Frequency). ) The radio wave signal is transmitted from the shared antenna 113A to the public network via the transmission / reception unit 111B. Conversely, voice data transmitted as a radio signal from the other party of the voice call to the public network is received by the shared antenna 113A and converted into a digital signal via the duplexer 113D, the RF transceiver 111B, and the baseband processor 11. The digital signal is converted into an analog electric signal by CODEC_18C, and finally outputted as sound from the speaker 18B.

  Here, the shared antenna 113A converts both a radio signal for voice call or data communication (hereinafter abbreviated as a communication radio signal) and a GPS signal into an electrical signal, and transmits it to the duplexer 113D. 113D distributes the electrical signal converted from the communication radio signal and the electrical signal converted from the GPS signal to the RF transmitting / receiving unit 111B and the GPS down converter 113B, respectively, and transmits them. Then, an AD / DA converter 2_113C described later is added to the shared antenna 113A, duplexer 113D, RF transmitter / receiver 111B, and GPS down converter 113B, and further, a TV reception antenna 112A, a TV tuner 112B, and an AD / DA converter The whole including 1_112C corresponds to the wireless communication means in the claims.

  Next, when the cellular phone 1 is used for data communication and processing, it is usually input by operating the key operation unit 16A composed of about 20 small keys, and converted into a digital signal by the key input controller 16B. Data such as received character data and / or radio signals compliant with the Internet protocol are received from the public network by the common antenna 113A, and the digital signal is transmitted via the duplexer 113D, the RF transceiver 111B and the baseband processor 11. The converted data is transferred to the central processing circuit 10A via the bus 19. The central processing circuit 10A performs necessary processing based on the program stored in the flash memory 14A, and the processed data is sent via the bus 19 to the flash memory 14A and RAM (Random Access Memory) 14B, or graphics. The data is transferred to the controller 10B and the baseband processor 11. Finally, an image is displayed on the LCD panel 15A, sound is output from the speaker 18B, a radio signal is transmitted from the shared antenna 113A, or data is stored in the flash memory 14A.

Note that the flash memory 14A and the RAM_14B correspond to storage means in the “claims”. At this time, although not shown in FIG. 1, a removable recording medium such as a memory card can be added as a storage means.
Further, the whole of the central processing circuit 10A, the graphic controller 10B, and the baseband processor 11 plus a VRAM (Video RAM) 10C, which will be described later, corresponds to data processing means in the “claims”.

  FIG. 2 shows information exchange between an embodiment of the portable information communication apparatus according to the present invention and a web server connected to the Internet, particularly information between a web server for a road traffic information providing system. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating exchanges.

  When a user uses a mobile phone 1 to access a general web server 52 connected to the Internet 5 and browse a web page, the central processing circuit 10A is input by operating the key operation unit 16A. On the basis of the data such as the character data and the browser program stored in the flash memory 14A, a digital signal for requesting transmission of the markup document file constituting the web page and its link file is generated. The digital signal includes user agent information of the mobile phone 1, and is transmitted to the public network as a radio signal conforming to the Internet protocol via the bus 19, the baseband processor 11, and the RF transmission / reception unit 111B. The radio signal is received by the base station 51 of the public network, converted into a digital signal, transmitted to the Internet 5, and finally received by the web server 52.

  Note that communication radio wave signals are exchanged between the mobile phone 1 and the base station 51 when the base station 51 is a mobile communication cellular network base station, such as CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access). When the base station 51 is a wireless LAN base station / access point, communication is performed using a method such as DSSS (Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum) or OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing). . At that time, by enabling the shared antenna 113A, the duplexer 113D, the RF transceiver unit 111B, and the baseband processor 11 to support radio signals in a plurality of bands, for example, close to a base station / access point of a wireless LAN such as indoors Switching can be realized in which communication is performed at a high-speed wireless LAN system at a location, and communication is performed at a location other than that by third-generation mobile communication (cellular system) such as a CDMA system.

The web server 52 transmits the data file requested for transmission via the Internet 5 based on the user agent information included in the received digital signal. The digital signal is converted into a radio signal by the base station 51 and transmitted, and the radio signal is finally transmitted via the shared antenna 113A, the duplexer 113D, the RF transceiver unit 111B, the baseband processor 11 and the bus 19. Is received as a digital signal by the central processing circuit 10A, whereby a markup document file and its link file constituting a web page can be obtained.
Then, the central processing circuit 10A generates and transmits a drawing command as follows according to the layout format of the web page. That is, if the web page adopts a liquid layout or a fixed-width layout narrower than the screen horizontal resolution (240 pixels) of the LCD panel 15A, a page image having the same number of horizontal pixels as the screen horizontal resolution of the LCD panel 15A. If the web page adopts a fixed width layout wider than the screen horizontal resolution of the LCD panel 15A, a drawing command for generating a page image having the same number of horizontal pixels as the fixed width is generated and the drawing command is generated. The instruction is transmitted to the graphic controller 10B.

Based on the drawing command, the graphic controller 10B generates bitmap data on a virtual screen having a sufficiently large logical resolution, writes it into the VRAM_10C, and displays it on the LCD panel 15A, and has the same resolution as the screen resolution of the LCD panel 15A. Bitmap data describing an image having the same is cut out from the VRAM_10C and transmitted to the LCD driver 15B. The LCD driver 15B drives each pixel constituting the screen of the LCD panel 15A based on the bitmap data, and finally the screen image corresponding to the web page is displayed on the screen as necessary. A full-screen image combining menu displays and the like displayed at the top and bottom of the screen is displayed on the LCD panel 15A.
At this time, if the resolution of the page image is larger than the screen resolution of the LCD panel 15A, the central processing circuit 10A draws according to the data input by operating the jog key that performs the screen scroll function in the key operation unit 16A. By changing the command, the bitmap data cut out from the VRAM_10C gradually transitions on the virtual screen, and as a result, the page image is scroll-displayed on the LCD panel 15A.

  Next, when the mobile phone 1 is used for navigation, the GPS signal received by the shared antenna 113A is converted into a digital GPS signal via the duplexer 113D, the GPS down converter 113B, and the AD / DA converter 2_113C. Then, it is transmitted to the central processing circuit 10A via the bus 19. The central processing circuit 10A calculates its current position by processing the digital GPS signal based on a program stored in the flash memory 14A, and a digital signal including own position information (hereinafter abbreviated as own position digital signal). Generate). The self-position digital signal is finally received as a digital signal by the web server 53 for the road traffic information providing system connected to the Internet 5 through the process described in [0055].

  The web server 53 for the road traffic information providing system selects a map information data file including the current position of the mobile phone 1 based on the own position information included in the received digital signal, converts it into a digital signal, Send to. The central processing circuit 10A of the mobile phone 1 acquires the map information data file through the process described in [0057], and sends a drawing command for the self-location map image together with the calculated self-location information to the graphic controller 10B. Finally, the self-location map image is displayed on the LCD panel 15A.

The web server 53 for the road traffic information providing system frequently sends a map information data file transmission request from the mobile phone 1 even when the user holding the mobile phone 1 or the vehicle equipped with the mobile phone 1 moves. In order not to receive it, a map information data file that covers a wider area than the area that can be displayed on the LCD panel 15A at a time is transmitted. For this reason, the original resolution of the map information data file is naturally larger than the screen resolution of the LCD panel 15A, and the central processing circuit 10A has a high-resolution self-location map image in which the self-location information is superimposed on the high-resolution map image. The drawing command is transmitted to the graphic controller 10B, and the graphic controller 10B once writes the bitmap data describing the high-resolution self-location map image in the VRAM_10C and then describes the image having the same resolution as the screen resolution of the LCD panel 15A. The bitmap data to be cut out from the VRAM_10C and transmitted to the LCD driver 10B.
At this time, the displayed map image is not only scrolled by the jog key operation, but in the automatic display mode, the central processing circuit 10A keeps updating the drawing command in accordance with the movement of the user or the vehicle. Thus, the mobile phone 1 is automatically scrolled so that the current position of the mobile phone 1 is always located at the center of the LCD panel 15A.

FIG. 3 is an image diagram for explaining a self-location map image displayed on an attached display panel (LCD panel 15A in FIG. 1) of one embodiment of the portable information communication device according to the present invention.
In this embodiment, the current position of the mobile phone 1 is indicated by an arrow in the center of the figure, but when the user holding the mobile phone 1 or a vehicle equipped with the mobile phone 1 moves in the direction of the arrow, With the function described in [0061], the map image is scrolled from above to below so that the arrow is always located at the center of the screen.
FIG. 3 shows an example in which the self-location map image is displayed on the entire screen on the attached display panel (LCD panel 15A in FIG. 1). An example of display is also possible.

  On the other hand, the central processing circuit 10A of the cellular phone 1 generates a data file (hereinafter referred to as a road traffic information data file) containing road traffic information transmitted to the Internet 5 by the web server 53 for the road traffic information providing system in [0060]. Obtained through the process as described above and processed together with the map information data file, for example, a map image drawing command for displaying the traffic congestion state superimposed on the local position map image is transmitted to the graphic controller 10B. Alternatively, the road traffic information data file is processed and, for example, a digital audio signal for explaining the traffic jam condition is transmitted to the CODEC_18C.

  In addition, according to the portable information communication device of the present embodiment, the user operates the key operation unit 16A and inputs character data for specifying the destination. A navigation image that displays information related to the optimum route to the destination superimposed on the self-location map image is displayed on the LCD panel 15A, and sound for guiding the optimum route is output from the speaker 18B.

That is, the character data input by the key operation unit 16A is converted into a digital signal by the key input controller 16B, and further converted into a digital signal accompanied by destination information and user agent information by the central processing circuit 10A, [0059] Through the process as described above, the web server 53 for a road traffic information providing system connected to the Internet 5 is finally received as a digital signal.
On the other hand, the web server 53 for the road traffic information providing system is based on the destination information included in the received digital signal and the location information received from the mobile phone 1 most recently, the area including the location and the destination. A digital signal including road traffic information such as traffic jam information is transmitted to the Internet 5. The central processing circuit 10A of the mobile phone 1 acquires the road traffic information through a process as described in [0060], and based on the road traffic information, its own location information, and destination information, The optimal route from the position to the destination is calculated. Then, a navigation image drawing command in which the optimum route is superimposed on the self-location map image is transmitted to the graphic controller 10B, and a digital audio signal for voice guiding the optimum route is generated and transmitted to the CODEC_18C.

  In the present embodiment, the destination information is input as character data by the key operation unit 16A. However, the destination information can be input by the following method. That is, for example, after the destination option is displayed on the LCD panel 15A, the destination can be selected from the options by operating the jog key responsible for the pointing function in the key operation unit 16A, or on the LCD panel 15A. A map image including the destination can be displayed, and a point in the map can be designated as the destination by operating the jog key. Further, by storing a voice recognition program in the flash memory 14A and further adopting a central processing circuit 10A having a necessary voice data processing capability, destination information can be input as voice data by the microphone 18A. Is also possible.

  Next, when the mobile phone 1 is used for viewing a TV program, the TV broadcast signal received by the TV receiving antenna 112A is converted into a digital video signal and a digital audio signal by the TV tuner 112B and the AD / DA converter 1_112C. The data is converted and transmitted to the central processing circuit 10A via the bus 19.

  In the mobile phone 1, an image of a TV program is displayed with the LCD panel 15A placed vertically (→ vertically long screen (horizontal pixel number × vertical pixel number = 240 × 320 pixels)) or displayed horizontally ( → Landscape (horizontal pixel × vertical pixel = 320 × 240 pixels) can be selected by operating the key operation unit 16A. The central processing circuit 10A has a screen image displayed on the LCD panel 15A based on the input signal corresponding to this selection and the digital moving image signal (however, in the case of a vertically long screen, a non-display area is generated in the upper part and / or the lower part). A drawing command for creating bitmap data of a screen image is generated, and the drawing command is transmitted to the graphic controller 10B.

At this time, the original resolution of the video signal in a television broadcast signal (hereinafter, abbreviated as a fine television broadcast signal) other than the terrestrial digital TV mobile / mobile service, the so-called “One Seg” service, is either a portrait screen or a landscape screen. Even in this case, since the screen resolution of the LCD panel 15A is larger, when receiving a fine television broadcast signal, the central processing circuit 10A thins out a part of the digital moving image signal transmitted from the AD / DA converter 1_112C. A drawing command for an image having a low resolution is generated.
On the other hand, the original resolution of the moving image signal in the radio signal of the 1Seg service (hereinafter abbreviated as “1Seg broadcast signal”) is the number of horizontal pixels × the number of vertical pixels = 320 × 240 pixels (or 320 × 180 pixels). For this reason, when receiving a one-segment broadcasting signal, the central processing circuit 10A draws a low-resolution image by thinning out part of the digital moving image signal transmitted from the AD / DA conversion unit 1_112C in the case of a vertically long screen. An instruction is generated, and in the case of a landscape screen, an original image drawing instruction of the digital moving image signal is generated.

  The operations of the graphic controller 10B, the VRAM_10C, and the LCD driver 15B are the same as the case of displaying the page image of the web page except that there is no image scrolling according to the operation of the key operation unit 16A. A television broadcast video is displayed in real time on panel 15A.

  Also, the digital audio signal in the television broadcast signal is appropriately processed by the central processing circuit 10A, and finally outputted as sound from the speaker 18B through the baseband processor 11 and the CODEC_18C. As a result, it can be viewed as a television program together with the moving image displayed on the LCD panel 15A.

  On the other hand, in the mobile phone 1, not only the moving image is displayed on the LCD panel 15A in real time and the sound is output from the speaker 18B in real time based on the TV broadcast signal, but also the digital sound obtained by converting the TV broadcast signal. The signal and / or digital moving image signal can be converted into a data file and stored in the flash memory 14A. The mobile phone 1 also performs the process described in [0055] and [0057] for the image data file and / or the audio data file stored on the website, and the markup document file and its link file. It can be obtained in the same way.

  When the cellular phone 1 reproduces the stored image data and / or audio data, the central processing circuit 10A accesses the flash memory 14A based on the data input by operating the key operation unit 16A. By reading the data file and performing necessary processing, the rendering command is output to the graphic controller 10B, and the digital audio signal is output to the CODEC_18C via the baseband processor 11. As a result, an image can be displayed on the LCD panel 15A, audio can be output from the speaker 18B, or the movie can be reproduced as a combination of both.

When storing image data that is a moving image, the image data that is a still image is stored in an MPEG standard format such as MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group) -1, MPEG-2, or MPEG-4. In this case, the data is stored in a format such as BMP (Bit Map), TIFF (Tagged Image File Format), JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group), GIF (Graphic Interchange Format), and PNG (Portable Network Graphics). The audio data is stored in the WAVE format, MP3 (MPEG Audio Layer 3), AIFF (Audio Interchange File Format), ATRAC3 (Adaptive TRansform Acoustic Coding 3), or the like.
However, in any case, since the capacity of the flash memory 14A is limited, for example, there is a restriction in storing a movie or the like for a long time.

The above is the outline of the function when the mobile phone 1 is used alone. The mobile phone 1 includes the external connection terminal portion A_13D for connecting to the external input / output unit 3, and the external input / output unit. 3 is mounted on the vehicle, and the external connection terminal part A_13D on the mobile phone 1 side and the external connection terminal B_33D constituting the interface part B_33 on the external input / output unit 3 side are connected via the connection cable 2 Thus, the cellular phone 1 and the external input / output unit 3 can be operated as an integrated vehicle information communication system.
Here, the external connection terminal portion A_13D is a common terminal of the interface means A1, interface means A2, interface means A3, interface means A4, and interface means A5 in the “claims”. The interface unit B_33 is configured by integrally configuring the interface unit B1, the interface unit B2, the interface unit B3, the interface unit B4, the interface unit B5, and the interface unit B6 as referred to in the “claims”.

  FIG. 4 is an external view for explaining a configuration of an embodiment of an in-vehicle information communication system configured by connecting a portable information communication device according to the present invention and an external input / output unit for a portable information communication device, In particular, the case where the portable information communication device is a mobile phone is described.

  FIG. 5 shows an embodiment of an in-vehicle information communication system configured by connecting a portable information communication device according to the present invention and an external input / output unit for a portable information communication device, and a web server connected to the Internet. Exchange of information, particularly exchange of information with a web server for a road traffic information providing system, and a function of an embodiment of a road traffic information providing system according to the present invention It is explanatory drawing of.

  In this embodiment, an external LCD touch panel 356 is arranged on the top surface on the driver side of the dashboard 4 of the automobile, and an external key operation unit 361 is arranged on the frame portion of the external LCD touch panel 356 on the top surface. The body is fitted, and an external microphone 38A and an external speaker 38B are disposed around the casing. Furthermore, various interface circuits and control circuits (all of which are HDD_34, interface unit B_33, TMDS (Transition Minimized Differential Signaling) receiver 35D, external LCD driver 35B, external CODEC_38C, interface unit C_39) are included in the housing. (Not shown in FIG. 4), and these components are connected as shown in FIG.

  On the other hand, an external connection terminal portion B_33D is provided on the side surface or bottom surface of the housing embedded in the dashboard 4, and the external connection terminal portion B_33D and the mobile phone provided on the top surface of the dashboard 4 are provided. The bottom of the insertion port 33D1 for inserting the telephone 1 is connected by a connection cable 2 (not shown in FIG. 4). For this reason, by inserting the mobile phone 1 into the insertion port 33D1 and connecting the external connection terminal portion A_13D on the mobile phone 1 side and the external input / output terminal portion B_33D on the external input / output unit 3 side via the connection cable 2. , It will function as an integrated in-vehicle information communication system.

  Further, in this embodiment, the in-vehicle information communication system configured by connecting the mobile phone 1 and the external input / output unit 3 is an external rechargeable battery_37A (not shown in FIG. 4) mounted on the automobile. It is operated by DC power supplied from). That is, the DC power stored in the external rechargeable battery_37A is not only used for the operation of the external input / output unit 3, but also the internal charging of the mobile phone 1 via the external connection terminal portion B_33D and the external connection terminal portion A_13D. It is supplied to the battery 17 and once stored, it is also used for the operation of the mobile phone 1.

  In the following description, the external LCD touch panel 356 is described as having a screen resolution of WVGA (Wide Video Graphics Array) size (number of horizontal pixels × number of vertical pixels = 800 × 480 pixels). Also good.

  Now, when the active mobile phone 1 and the active external input / output unit 3 are connected, the active mobile phone 1 is connected to the external input / output unit 3, and the external input / output unit 3 is activated. Alternatively, when the mobile phone 1 is connected to the active external input / output unit 3 and the mobile phone 1 is activated, the central processing circuit 10A of the mobile phone 1 is connected to the external input / output unit 3 from the external input / output unit 3. A signal for detecting connection (hereinafter abbreviated as a connection detection signal) and screen resolution data of the external LCD touch panel 356 are sent to the external connection terminal B_33D, the connection cable 2, the external connection terminal A_13D and the bus 19. Receive via.

  When the central processing circuit 10A of the mobile phone 1 receives the connection detection signal, the central processing circuit 10A determines what purpose / situation of the in-vehicle information communication system composed of the mobile phone 1 and the external input / output unit 3 Depending on whether or not it is used, an image drawing command having various resolutions (in either case, larger than the screen resolution of the LCD panel 15A) is generated and transmitted to the graphic controller 10B. Further, the central processing circuit 10A generates a transmission command for instructing the TMDS transmitter 13A to transmit the bitmap data cut out from the VRAM_10C to the LCD driver 15B together with the drawing command described above. The instruction is transmitted to the graphic controller 10B.

  Based on the drawing command received from the central processing circuit 10A, the graphic controller 10B generates bitmap data on a virtual screen having a sufficiently large logical resolution and writes it into the VRAM_10C. Further, the graphic controller 10B has the same resolution as the screen resolution of the external LCD touch panel 356 based on the screen resolution data of the external LCD touch panel 356 obtained from the central processing circuit 10A, and is displayed on the screen of the external LCD touch panel 356. Is extracted from VRAM_10C. Then, based on the transmission command received from the central processing circuit 10A, the bitmap data is transmitted to the TMDS transmitter 13A. The TMDS transmitter 13A sends the bitmap data to the external input via the external connection terminal portion A_13D. The data is transmitted to the interface unit B_33 of the output unit 3 by the TMDS transmission method.

  In the present embodiment, bitmap data is transferred from the mobile phone 1 to the external input / output unit 3 by the TMDS transmission method, but other than that, digital RGB, LVDS (Low Voltage Differential Signaling) ( Alternatively, it can be transferred by a transmission method such as LDI (LVDS Display Interface) and GVIF (Gigabit Video InterFace).

  Finally, in the external input / output unit 3, the bitmap data received / transferred by the interface unit B_33 is received by the interface unit C1_35, and necessary processing is performed by the TMDS receiver 35D, which is then transmitted to the external LCD touch panel 356. As a result, on the screen of the external LCD touch panel 356, an image having a resolution corresponding to the screen resolution, that is, a high-resolution image having a resolution larger than the screen resolution of the LCD panel 15A is displayed.

Details of operations of the central processing circuit 10A, the graphic controller 10B, and the VRAM_10C for each purpose and situation of the in-vehicle information communication system are as follows.
First, when the in-vehicle information communication system is used for browsing a web page, the central processing circuit 10A renders as follows according to the layout format of the web page according to the browser program stored in the flash memory 14A. Generate and send instructions. That is, if the web page adopts a liquid layout or a fixed width layout narrower than the screen horizontal resolution (800 pixels) of the external LCD touch panel 356, the page has the same number of horizontal pixels as the screen horizontal resolution of the external LCD touch panel 356. If an image drawing command is generated / transmitted and the web page adopts a fixed width layout wider than the screen horizontal resolution of the external LCD touch panel 356, a page image drawing command having the same number of horizontal pixels as the fixed width is generated. Generate and send.
In any case, the graphic controller 10B cuts out the bitmap data of the image having the same resolution as the screen resolution of the external LCD touch panel 356 from the VRAM_10C and transmits it to the TMDS transmitter 13A.
As a result, in the external LCD touch panel 356, when browsing a web page that adopts a liquid layout or a fixed width layout smaller than the screen horizontal resolution of the external LCD touch panel 356, the horizontal direction of the page image Is displayed and there is no need to scroll horizontally. On the other hand, when browsing a web page that uses a fixed-width layout that is wider than the screen horizontal resolution of the external LCD touch panel 356, the screen image of the screen of the external LCD touch panel 356 is only part of the horizontal direction. Is displayed, and the entire page image can be browsed by performing horizontal scrolling.

  Next, when the in-vehicle information communication system is used for car navigation, the original resolution of the map information data file received from the web server 53 for the road traffic information providing system is as described in [0061] The screen resolution of the external LCD touch panel 356 is larger. For this reason, the central processing circuit 10A transmits a drawing instruction for a high-resolution self-location map image to the graphic controller 10B, and the graphic controller 10B once writes bitmap data describing the high-resolution self-location map image in the VRAM_10C. Above, bitmap data describing an image having the same resolution as the screen resolution of the external LCD touch panel 356 is cut out from the VRAM_10C and transmitted to the TMDS transmitter 13A.

FIG. 6 shows a display screen of the external input / output unit in one embodiment of the in-vehicle information communication system configured by connecting the portable information communication apparatus according to the present invention and the external input / output unit for the portable information communication apparatus. FIG. 5 is an image diagram for explaining a self-location map image displayed on an external LCD touch panel 356) in FIG. 1 and FIG.
Also in this embodiment, the current position of the mobile phone 1 is indicated by the arrow in the center of the figure, but if the user holding the mobile phone 1 or the vehicle equipped with the mobile phone 1 moves in the direction of the arrow, By the same mechanism as described in [0061], the map image scrolls from top to bottom so that the arrow is always located at the center of the screen.
As is clear from comparison with FIG. 3, the external LCD touch panel 356 displays a map image that covers a wider area than that displayed on the LCD panel 15A. Further, by selecting an external LCD touch panel 15A having a sufficiently large physical size itself, the visibility of the driver of the vehicle can be further improved.

Next, when the in-vehicle information communication system is used for viewing a television program, the operation of the central processing circuit 10A differs as follows depending on the type of television broadcast being received.
For example, when a 480i digital TV broadcast is received, the original resolution of the video signal is the number of horizontal pixels × the number of vertical pixels = 720 × 480 pixels. (In that case, the LCD touch panel 356 displays an image stretched in the horizontal direction with the same number of pixels).
On the other hand, when one-segment broadcasting is received, an original image drawing command of the video signal is generated and transmitted (in this case, the LCD touch panel 356 maintains the same number of pixels in the horizontal and vertical directions. A stretched image is displayed), or an image drawing command having the same resolution as the screen resolution of the LCD touch panel 356 is generated and transmitted by interpolating pixels.

The external input / output unit 3 in the present embodiment includes an external LCD touch panel 356 having a touch panel function that allows data to be input by touching the surface of the panel. Further, a key is provided on the outer edge of the external LCD touch panel 356. An external key operation unit 361 capable of switching screens by operation is provided. Thus, the user can input data by operating the external key operation unit 361 and the touch operation of the external LCD touch panel 356. The input data passes through the interface unit B_33, the external connection terminal unit A_13D, and the bus 19. Then, it is transmitted to the central processing circuit 10A.
When the central processing circuit 10A of the mobile phone 1 receives the connection detection signal, the central processing circuit 10A does not accept the input signal from the key operation unit 16A of the mobile phone 1 to the key input controller 16B. An input source instruction signal for accepting only an input signal from the external LCD touch panel 356 or the external key operation unit 361 of the external input / output unit 3 is output.

  Since the in-vehicle information communication system of this embodiment has such a function, the user can operate the key operation unit 16A of the mobile phone 1 that is prohibited by the Road Traffic Law even while the vehicle is driving. Without specifying this, data specifying the destination can be input by operating the external LCD touch panel 356 or the external key operation unit 361. As a result, the central processing circuit 10B transmits a navigation image drawing command to the graphic controller 10B through the process described in [0065], and further as described in [0084], [0086], and [0088]. Through this process, a high-resolution navigation image is finally displayed on the external LCD touch panel 356.

Further, the external input / output unit 3 in this embodiment includes an HDD_34 (not shown in FIGS. 4 and 5) inside the housing, and the central processing circuit 10A of the mobile phone 1 includes a bus 19, By accessing via the external connection terminal part A_13D, the connection cable 2 and the interface part B_33 of the external input / output unit 3, data can be written to the HDD_34 and data files stored in the HDD_34 can be read.
Thereby, the central processing circuit 10A stores the data file such as the image data file received from the general web server 52 connected to the Internet 5 or the web server 53 for the road traffic information providing system in the HDD_34 or vice versa. By reading the file and performing necessary processing, it becomes possible to generate and transmit drawing commands and digital audio signals. At this time, since the capacity of the HDD_34 can be made much larger than the flash memory 14A built in the mobile phone 1, for example, it is possible to save a long movie or save / play many music files without restriction. Will be able to do.

In particular, when the in-vehicle information communication system is used for car navigation, map information data files are received one after another from the web server 53 for the road traffic information providing system as the vehicle moves. The received map information data file should be stored in the HDD_34, and when the vehicle passes through the region where the map information data file is stored, the map information data file should be read from the HDD_34. The problem that the local position map image or the navigation image is not smoothly scrolled with the reception operation of the map information data file can be reduced.
In addition, when the map information data file is updated on the road traffic information providing system side, it is necessary to receive the map information data file again even when the map information data file has already been stored. For this, only the revision number of the map information data file is always received, the revision number is compared with the update number of the map information data file stored in HDD_34, and the map information data file is based on the result. What is necessary is just to judge the necessity of receiving.

Further, the external input / output unit 3 includes an external microphone 38A, an external speaker 38B, and an external CODEC_38C, while the external connection terminal portion A_13D of the mobile phone 1 and the interface portion B_33 of the external input / output unit 3 are digital audio data. It has a function to exchange. When the central processing circuit 10A of the mobile phone 1 receives the connection detection signal, the central processing circuit 10A and the baseband processor 11 change the input / output destination of the digital audio data from the CODEC_18C to the external connection terminal unit A_13 and the interface. Switch to the external CODEC_38C via the part B_33.
With such a function, the external microphone 38A, the external speaker 38B, the external CODEC_38C, and the baseband processor 11 exchange digital audio via the bus 19 and the interface means, thereby using the external microphone 38A and the external speaker 38B. Voice calls can be realized. Thus, even when the vehicle is in operation, the user can make a hands-free voice call without making a call with the mobile phone 1 held by hand as prohibited by the Road Traffic Law.

Also, by using these external voice input / output functions, the voice guidance of the optimum route as described in [0064] and [0065] can be output from the external speaker 38B, and also described in [0066]. Such destination information voice input can be performed using the external microphone 38A.
Furthermore, when viewing a TV broadcast program or playing a movie stored in the HDD_34 as described in [0093], the audio can be output from the external speaker 38B. By selecting a high-performance one, it is possible to enjoy a voice with better sound quality than when the voice is output from the speaker 18B when the mobile phone 1 is used alone.

The external input / output unit 3 can receive the speed data of the vehicle from the speedometer 41 mounted on the vehicle via the interface unit C_39, and the speed data is converted into a digital signal by the interface unit C_39. Then, the data is transmitted to the cellular phone 1 via the interface unit B_33 and the external connection terminal unit A_13D. Then, the central processing circuit 10A of the mobile phone 1 generates a digital signal including its own position information and speed information, and the digital signal is finally subjected to a process as described in [0055], and finally the Internet 5 Is received as a digital signal by the web server 53 for the road traffic information providing system connected to the.
Note that the combination of the speedometer 41 and the interface unit C_39 corresponds to the traveling state detection means in the “claims”.

  In this way, the web server 53 for the road traffic information providing system can obtain data in which position information and speed information are set from the in-vehicle information communication system of the present embodiment. And if the number of vehicles on which the in-vehicle information communication system of this embodiment is traveling increases in a certain area, the traffic jam situation in the area can be grasped very accurately, and If this information can be fed back to the in-vehicle information communication system, the convenience of the driver of the vehicle equipped with the in-vehicle information communication system will be enhanced.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can be used in industries that manufacture portable information communication devices such as mobile phones. Further, the present invention can be used in industries that manufacture automobiles that can be equipped with in-vehicle navigation devices, and can also be used in industries that provide road traffic information to in-vehicle navigation devices.

It is a block diagram for demonstrating the structure and function of one Embodiment of the portable information communication apparatus which concerns on this invention, the external input / output unit for portable information communication apparatuses, and the vehicle-mounted information communication system comprised by connecting both. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the exchange of information between one Embodiment of the portable information communication apparatus which concerns on this invention, and the web server connected to the internet. It is an image figure for demonstrating the self-location map image displayed on the attached display panel of one Embodiment of the portable information communication apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is an external view for demonstrating the structure of one Embodiment of the vehicle-mounted information communication system comprised by connecting the portable information communication apparatus which concerns on this invention, and the external input / output unit for portable information communication apparatuses. An embodiment of an in-vehicle information communication system configured by connecting a portable information communication device according to the present invention and an external input / output unit for a portable information communication device, and a web server connected to the Internet. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the function and explaining the function of one Embodiment of the road traffic information provision system which concerns on this invention. In one embodiment of the in-vehicle information communication system configured by connecting the portable information communication device according to the present invention and the external input / output unit for the portable information communication device, the own position displayed on the display screen of the external input / output unit It is an image figure for demonstrating a map image.

Explanation of symbols

1 ... Mobile phone
10A ... Central processing circuit
10B ･ ･ ･ ･ Graphic controller
10C …… VRAM
11 ……………… Baseband Processor
111B ………… RF transceiver
112A ... TV reception antenna
112B ... TV tuner
112C ..... AD / DA converter 1
113A ･ ･ ･ ･ Common antenna
113B ･ ･ ･ ･ GPS down converter
113C ..... AD / DA converter 2
113D ･ ･ ･ ･ Shared device
13A TMDS transmitter
13D ………… External connection terminal A
14A ………… Flash memory
14B ... RAM
15A LCD panel
15B LCD driver
16A key operation section
16B …… Key input controller
17 ………… Built-in rechargeable battery
18A ………… Microphone
18B ………… Speaker
18C ... CODEC
19 ………… Bus
2 ... Connection cable
3 ... External I / O unit
33 ... Interface part B
33D External connection terminal B
33D1 ………… Insertion slot
34 ... HDD
35B External LCD driver
35D ･ ･ ･ ･ TMDS receiver
356 ... External LCD touch panel
361 ... External key operation section
37A ... External battery
38A ... External microphone
38B ... External speaker
38C ... External CODEC
39 ... Interface part C
4 ･ ･ ･ ･ Dashboard
41 Speedometer
5 ‥‥‥ Internet
51 ………… Base station
52 ... Web server (general)
53 ... Web server (for road traffic information provision system)

Claims (26)

Radio communication means for receiving a radio wave signal (hereinafter abbreviated as GPS signal) transmitted from a GPS (Global Positioning System) satellite, converting it into a digital signal, and transferring it to a data processing means described later;
A program for operating the postscript data processing means and a storage means for storing a data file that can be processed by the postscript data processing means;
Based on the program stored in the storage means, the digital GPS signal received from the wireless communication means and the map information data are processed to superimpose own current position (hereinafter abbreviated as own position) information. Data processing means for generating a digital display signal of a map image to be displayed (hereinafter abbreviated as self-location map image) and transmitting it to the display control means A described later;
A display panel A for displaying an image by driving each pixel constituting the screen; a display control means A for driving each pixel of the display panel A based on a digital display signal received from the data processing means; Display means comprising:
A portable information communication device comprising:
Peripheral devices including external display means and / or peripheral devices to which external display means are connected are connected, and external display signals are transmitted to the peripheral devices based on digital display signals received from the data processing means. A portable information communication apparatus comprising an interface unit A1 for performing 2. The portable information communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the data processing unit and the interface unit A1 combine to realize a function of transmitting a high-resolution external display signal from the interface unit A1. . The storage means has a function of storing a data file including map information data (hereinafter abbreviated as a map information data file),
The data processing means has a function of generating a digital display signal of a self-location map image by accessing the storage means, reading the map information data file, and processing the file together with the digital GPS signal. The portable information communication device according to claim 1 or 2. The wireless communication means receives a wireless signal other than a GPS signal, converts it into a digital signal, transmits it to the data processing means, and converts the digital signal received from the data processing means into a wireless signal for transmission. Has function,
Together with the wireless communication means and the data processing means, by receiving a wireless signal compliant with the Internet protocol, to realize a function of acquiring a map information data file from a web server connected to the Internet,
The data processing means processes the map information data file in real time together with the digital GPS signal and / or temporarily stores the map information data file in the storage means, and then reads the digital information after reading it. The portable information communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the portable information communication device has a function of generating a digital display signal of the self-location map image by processing together with the signal. An interface means A2 for connecting a peripheral device including an external storage means and / or a peripheral device to which the external storage means is connected, and exchanging data with the external storage means in the peripheral device;
5. The portable device according to claim 1, wherein the data processing unit has a function of writing data and / or a function of reading data by accessing an external storage unit in the peripheral device. 6. Information communication device. Audio output means for converting the digital audio signal received from the data processing means into sound and outputting the sound;
The portable information communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the data processing unit has a function of generating a digital audio signal and transmitting the digital audio signal to the audio output unit. A peripheral device including an external audio output unit and / or a peripheral device to which the external audio output unit is connected is connected, and the external audio output unit in the peripheral device is converted into a digital audio signal received from the data processing unit. 7. The portable information communication apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising an interface unit A3 for transmitting an external audio signal. The wireless communication means receives a radio signal including road traffic information such as traffic jam information (hereinafter abbreviated as road traffic information radio signal) received from the road traffic information providing system and converted into a digital signal. It has a function to transmit to the data processing means,
The data processing means processes the digital road traffic information signal received from the wireless communication means, thereby superimposing and displaying the road traffic information included in the digital road traffic information signal, and / Alternatively, it has a function of generating a digital audio signal of voice explaining road traffic information included in the digital road traffic information signal and transmitting it to the display control means A and / or the voice output means. Item 8. The portable information communication device according to any one of Items 1 to 7. Manual input means for transmitting data such as character data input by the user by manual operation to the data processing means,
9. The portable information communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the data processing unit has a function of processing data transmitted from the manual input unit. Peripheral devices including external manual input means and / or peripheral devices to which external manual input means are connected are connected, data input by the external manual input means in the peripheral devices is received, and necessary processing is performed. Comprising interface means A4 for transmitting to the data processing means above,
10. The portable information communication apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the data processing means has a function of processing data received from the interface means A4. Comprising voice input means for receiving voice uttered by a user, converting the digital voice signal into a digital voice signal, and transmitting the digital voice signal to the wireless communication means and / or the data processing means;
11. The data processing unit has a function of processing a digital audio signal received directly from an audio input unit or via the wireless communication unit. The portable information communication device according to item. Peripheral devices including external audio input means and / or peripheral devices to which external audio input means are connected are connected, and audio data input by the external audio input means in the peripheral devices is received and necessary processing is performed. And an interface means A5 for transmitting to the data processing means,
12. The portable information communication apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the data processing means has a function of processing audio data received from the interface means A5. The data processing means includes
When the user inputs data that can specify the destination (hereinafter abbreviated as destination data) by the manual input means and / or the voice input means,
A function for calculating an optimum route from its current position to the destination based on the destination data, map information data, and a program stored in the storage means;
A digital display signal of a map image (hereinafter abbreviated as a navigation image) for displaying the information related to the optimum route superimposed on the self-location map image and / or a digital voice signal for voice guiding the optimum route is generated. Function and;
The portable information communication apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the portable information communication apparatus includes: The wireless communication means has a function of receiving a road traffic information wireless signal and converting it into a digital signal and transmitting it to the data processing means,
The data processing means has a function of calculating an optimum route from its current position to a destination in consideration of road traffic information included in a digital road traffic information signal received from the wireless communication means. The portable information communication device according to claim 13. Audio output means for converting the digital audio signal received from the data processing means into sound and outputting the sound;
Voice input means for receiving voice, converting it into a digital voice signal, and transmitting it to the wireless communication means and / or the data processing means;
With
The data processing means has a function of generating a digital audio signal and transmitting it to the audio output means,
The wireless communication means includes
A function of receiving a radio signal converted from sound and converting it to a digital signal and transmitting it to the data processing means and / or the sound output means;
A function of converting a digital audio signal received from the data processing means and / or the audio input means into a radio signal and transmitting the radio signal;
The portable information communication device according to claim 1, further comprising: A peripheral device including an external audio output unit and / or a peripheral device to which the external audio output unit is connected is connected, and the external audio output unit in the peripheral device is converted into a digital audio signal received from the data processing unit. Based on interface means A3 for transmitting external audio signals;
Peripheral devices including external audio input means and / or peripheral devices to which external audio input means are connected are connected, and audio data input by the external audio input means in the peripheral devices is received and necessary processing is performed. And interface means A5 for transmitting to the data processing means;
With
16. The portable information communication apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the data processing means has a function of processing data received from the interface means A5. An external output unit for use with the portable information communication device according to claim 7,
A display panel B that displays an image by driving each pixel constituting the screen, and a display control unit B that drives each pixel of the display panel B based on an external display signal received via the interface unit B1 described later. An external display means comprising:
An external audio output means for converting an external audio signal received via interface means B3, which will be described later, into sound and outputting it;
Interface means B1 for connecting the interface means A1 of the portable information communication device and the display control means B;
Interface means B3 for connecting the interface means A3 of the portable information communication device and the external audio output means;
An external output unit characterized by comprising: An external input / output unit for use with the portable information communication device according to claim 10,
A display panel B that displays an image by driving each pixel constituting the screen, and a display control unit B that drives each pixel of the display panel B based on an external display signal received via the interface unit B1 described later. An external display means comprising:
An external manual input means for the user to input data such as character data by manual operation;
Interface means B1 for connecting the interface means A1 of the portable information communication device and the display control means B;
Interface means B4 for connecting the interface means A4 of the portable information communication device and the external manual input means;
An external input / output unit characterized by comprising The circuit that constitutes the interface means B1 and the circuit that constitutes the interface means B4 are housed in an integral housing,
Display panel B is arranged on the top surface of the housing,
On the side surface or bottom surface of the housing, an external terminal constituting the interface means B1 and an external terminal constituting the interface means B4 are arranged,
19. The external input / output unit according to claim 18, wherein a key constituting external manual input means is arranged on a frame portion of the display panel B on the top surface of the casing. An external input / output unit for use with the portable information communication device according to claim 12,
A display panel B that displays an image by driving each pixel constituting the screen, and a display control unit B that drives each pixel of the display panel B based on an external display signal received via the interface unit B1 described later. An external display means comprising:
External voice input means for receiving voice, converting it into a digital voice signal, and transmitting it to interface means B5 described later;
Interface means B1 for connecting the interface means A1 of the portable information communication device and the display control means B;
Interface means B5 for connecting the interface means A5 of the portable information communication device and the external voice input means;
An external input / output unit characterized by comprising An external input / output unit for use with the portable information communication device according to claim 16,
A display panel B that displays an image by driving each pixel constituting the screen, and a display control unit B that drives each pixel of the display panel B based on an external display signal received via the interface unit B1 described later. An external display means comprising:
An external audio output means for converting an external audio signal received via interface means B3, which will be described later, into sound and outputting it;
External voice input means for receiving voice, converting it into a digital voice signal, and transmitting it to interface means B5 described later;
Interface means B1 for connecting the interface means A1 of the portable information communication device and the display control means B;
Interface means B3 for connecting the interface means A3 of the portable information communication device and the external audio output means;
Interface means B5 for connecting the interface means A5 of the portable information communication device and the external voice input means;
An external output unit characterized by comprising: 17. The portable information communication device according to claim 7, 10, 12, or 16, external input / output together with a portable information communication device comprising an interface means A2 for exchanging data with an external storage means in a peripheral device. A unit,
An external storage means B in which the data processing means in the portable information communication device writes and / or reads data via the interface means A2 and the interface means B2 described later;
Interface means B2 for connecting the interface means A2 of the portable information communication device and the external storage means B;
The external input / output unit according to any one of claims 17 to 21, further comprising: (1) A combination of the portable information communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 22 and a peripheral device including external display means (2) The portable information communication device according to claim 7 and claim 17 (3) Combination of the portable information communication device according to claim 10 and the external input / output unit for portable information communication device according to claim 18 or 19 (4) A combination of the portable information communication device according to item 12 and the external input / output unit for the portable information communication device according to claim 20 (5) The portable information communication device according to claim 16 and the portable information according to claim 21 Consists of any one of the combinations with the communication device external input / output unit,
The peripheral device, the external output unit or the external input / output unit is mounted in such a range that the self-location map image displayed on the external display means can be viewed from the driver's seat of the vehicle. In-vehicle information communication system. Traveling state detection means for acquiring data indicating the traveling state of the vehicle, converting the data into a digital signal, and transmitting the data to the wireless communication means and / or the data processing means in the portable information communication device;
Interface means B6 for connecting the running state detecting means and the portable information communication device;
With
The wireless communication means in the portable information communication device is:
A function of receiving a road traffic information radio signal, converting it to a digital signal and transmitting it to the data processing means;
A function of converting a digital running state signal received from the running state detecting unit via the interface unit B6 or via the interface unit B6 and the data processing unit into a wireless signal and transmitting the radio signal; ;
Have
The data processing means in the portable information communication device processes the digital road traffic information signal received from the radio communication means, thereby superimposing and displaying the road traffic information included in the digital road traffic information signal. A function of generating a display signal and / or a digital audio signal of audio explaining the road traffic information included in the digital road traffic information signal and transmitting it to the display control means A and / or the audio output means; The in-vehicle information communication system according to claim 23, characterized in that it is characterized in that A combination of any one of (3) to (5) in claim 24,
The external input / output unit is mounted in a range where the self-location map image displayed on the external display means in the external input / output unit is visible from the driver's seat of the vehicle,
Traveling state detection means for acquiring data indicating the traveling state of the vehicle, converting it into a digital signal, and transmitting the data to the wireless communication means and / or the data processing means in the portable information communication device;
Interface means B6 for connecting the running state detecting means and the portable information communication device;
With
The wireless communication means in the portable information communication device is:
A function of receiving a road traffic information radio signal, converting it to a digital signal and transmitting it to the data processing means;
A function of converting a digital running state signal received from the running state detecting unit via the interface unit B6 or via the interface unit B6 and the data processing unit into a wireless signal and transmitting the radio signal; ;
Have
The data processing means in the portable information communication device is:
When the user inputs destination data by the manual input means and / or voice input means,
A function for calculating an optimum route from its current position to the destination based on the destination data, map information data, and a program stored in the storage means;
A function for generating a digital display signal of a navigation image and / or a digital audio signal of audio for guiding an optimum route;
An in-vehicle information communication system characterized by comprising: A road traffic information providing system for providing road traffic information to a plurality of in-vehicle information communication systems according to claim 24 or 25,
From the in-vehicle information communication system (s), a driving state radio signal is received, converted into a digital signal, transmitted to the post-congestion situation estimation means, and the digital signal received from the post-congestion situation estimation means is transmitted to the road traffic information radio Base station means for converting to a signal and transmitting;
A traffic condition estimation unit that estimates the traffic condition of the road by processing the digital driving condition signal received from the base station means, and then transmits the digital signal including information on the traffic condition to the base station means;
A road traffic information providing system characterized by comprising: