JP2012164009A - Information distribution device, information distribution method, program, information transmitting/receiving device, and information distribution system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To appropriately distribute service information of adding a fee by time unit.SOLUTION: A center device 2 (an information distribution device) includes: a priority determining section that determines a priority of parking lot information to be distributed to an on-board unit 5 (an information transmitting/receiving device) according to information representing a use time to which a maximum use fee when using a parking lot is applied, and information representing a delimiter time when the use fee of the parking lot is newly reset; an information selecting section that selects the parking lot information according to the order of priority determined by the priority determining section; and an information transmission control section that transmits the parking lot information selected by the information selecting section, to the on-board unit 5.

Description

  The present invention relates to an information distribution apparatus, an information distribution method, a program, an information transmission / reception apparatus, and an information distribution system.

  2. Description of the Related Art A navigation device that displays parking lot information in accordance with a user's request in consideration of business hours, a vehicle type regulation condition, a fee, and the like for a parking lot is known (for example, see Patent Document 1). In the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1, the parking lot that matches the conditions of the parking lot that is open on the current date, day of the week, and time, the vehicle width, the vehicle height, or the vehicle type from the searched parking lots. A parking lot and a parking lot with a low charge per unit time are extracted, and the extracted parking lots are displayed in order of cheapness.

JP 2001-349740 A (summary etc.)

  However, the parking fee may be expensive depending on the balance between the parking fee system and the start time and parking time for using the parking lot. Such cases include the following cases.

  For example, a parking lot with a time fee system has a fixed daily maximum fee (for example, a fee is added every hour after parking, but a fee is not added for more than 12 hours, etc.) ) In addition, there are many cases where charges are added in units of one day from the second day after parking in the parking lot. By the way, it is a unit of “one day”, but it is a unit of a calendar day (24 hours from midnight), a unit of 24 hours from the time of parking, or until a predetermined time in the next morning after parking. Depending on the company that operates the parking lot, there are different interpretations.

  For this reason, for example, even if there are two parking lots that are set to have a maximum daily charge of up to 12 hours, use these parking lots from 6pm to 10am the next day. In such a case, one parking lot is treated as a calendar day unit, and the other parking lot is treated as a 24-hour unit from the parking start time regardless of the calendar day. The usage fee is calculated. In this case, in a parking lot that calculates one day in calendar days, 6 hours from 6:00 pm to midnight and 10 hours from midnight to 10:00 am are treated as separate addition targets. Even though it has been used for 12 hours or more, a total of 16 hours will be charged. On the other hand, in parking lots where the unit of 24 hours from the parking start time is set to 1 day regardless of the calendar day, there is an upper limit of 1 day even if it is used from 6 pm to 10 am the next day. You will be charged for 12 hours. That is, even if the parking lot has the same charge per unit time, there is a possibility that the optimal parking lot information for the user is not displayed.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made to solve the above-described problem, and an information distribution apparatus, an information distribution method, a program, an information transmission / reception apparatus, and information for appropriately distributing service information to which a charge is added in units of time An object is to provide a distribution system.

  The information distribution apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention includes information indicating a usage time to which a maximum usage fee when using a service is applied, and information indicating a delimiter time at which the service usage fee is newly reset. In response, a priority determining unit that determines the priority of service information to be distributed to the information transmitting / receiving device, an information selecting unit that selects service information according to the priority determined by the priority determining unit, and a selection by the information selecting unit And an information transmission control unit for transmitting the service information thus transmitted to the information transmitting / receiving device.

  In addition to the above-described configuration, the information distribution device according to one aspect of the present invention obtains information indicating a service usage time transmitted from the information transmission / reception device, and obtains information for each service information. It is determined whether the service usage time is longer than the usage time for which the maximum usage fee is applied, and if it is determined that the service usage time is longer than the usage time for which the maximum usage fee is applied, It is preferable to set a higher priority for the service information determined to include the break time and the service information determined to not include the break time.

  In addition to the above-described configuration, the information distribution apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention may further include whether the priority determination unit includes a break time at which a fee is newly reset within a service usage time. In the determination, if it is determined that the delimiter time is included, the service usage time is further divided into two by the delimiter time, and it is determined that one of the divisions exceeds the usage time for which the maximum usage charge is applied. The service information is preferably set to have a higher priority than the service information determined that none of the divided service information exceeds the usage time to which the maximum usage fee is applied.

  In addition to the above-described configuration, the information distribution device according to one aspect of the present invention cannot determine the service use end time from the information indicating the service use time transmitted from the information transmitting / receiving device. If the service usage start time is calculated by adding the usage time to which the maximum usage charge for the service is applied, the service information determined to be before the delimiter time is not before the delimiter time. It is preferable to set a higher priority than the service information determined to be.

  In addition to the above-described configuration, the information distribution apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention includes service information that is parking lot information, and is located from the information transmission / reception apparatus via a roadside wireless apparatus that can communicate with the information transmission / reception apparatus. And an information reception control unit that receives the parking lot information according to the information and the search request, and the priority determination unit preferably determines the priority based on the parking lot information received by the information reception control unit.

  An information distribution method according to an aspect of the present invention is based on information indicating a usage time to which a maximum usage charge when using a service is applied, and information indicating a separation time at which a charge is newly reset. The priority of service information distributed to the information transmitting / receiving apparatus is determined, the service information is selected according to the determined priority order, and the selected service information is transmitted to the information transmitting / receiving apparatus.

  A program according to an aspect of the present invention is based on information indicating a usage time to which a maximum usage charge when using a service is applied to a computer, and information indicating a separation time when a charge is newly reset. Priority determining means for determining the priority of service information distributed to the information transmitting / receiving device, information selecting means for selecting service information in accordance with the priority order determined by the priority determining means, and information selecting means This is to function as information transmission control means for transmitting the selected service information to the information transmitting / receiving apparatus.

  An information transmitting / receiving apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention transmits a search request for position information and service information to which a charge is added in time units to the information distribution apparatus described above, and responds to the position information and the search request. It has a transmission / reception control part which receives service information from an information delivery apparatus.

  An information distribution system according to one aspect of the present invention is an information distribution system including an information transmission / reception device that receives service information and an information distribution device that distributes service information. A transmission / reception control unit that transmits a location information and a search request for service information to which a charge is added in time units, and receives the location information and service information corresponding to the search request from the information distribution device, and the information distribution device Is service information distributed to the information transmitting / receiving device according to information indicating the usage time to which the maximum usage fee when using the service is applied, and information indicating a break time when the fee is newly reset A priority determination unit that determines the priority of the service, an information selection unit that selects service information according to the priority order determined by the priority determination unit, and an information selection unit Those having an information transmission control unit that transmits the-option service information to the information transmitting and receiving apparatus.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an information distribution apparatus, an information distribution method, a program, an information transmission / reception apparatus, and an information distribution system that appropriately distribute service information to which fees are added in units of time.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the whole information delivery system which concerns on embodiment of this invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the entire parking information distribution server shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the function implement | achieved when the parking lot information delivery program shown in FIG. 2 is performed by CPU. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the roadside radio apparatus shown in FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the whole onboard equipment shown in FIG. It is the figure which showed notionally the data group organized by the multi content format used with the information delivery system shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the example of a screen transition displayed based on the service information contained in the delivery data according to the multi content format shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the data format of the service information contained in the delivery data according to the multi content format shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the data format of ID = 50 shown in FIG. 8 among the data formats downlinked from the roadside apparatus shown in FIG. 1 to onboard equipment. It is a figure which shows the data format of ID = 51 shown in FIG. 8 among the data formats downlinked from the roadside apparatus shown in FIG. 1 to onboard equipment. It is a figure which shows the detail of the information contained in "parking lot ID" shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the data format of the uplink performed with respect to a roadside radio | wireless apparatus from the onboard equipment shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the transaction of the road-vehicle communication performed between the onboard equipment shown in FIG. 1 and a parking lot information delivery server via a roadside radio | wireless apparatus. It is a flowchart which shows the process of the uplink to the parking lot information delivery server which the onboard equipment shown in FIG. 1 performs. 3 is a flowchart showing a parking lot information distribution process performed by the parking lot information distribution server shown in FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the detail of the parking lot selection process included in the parking lot information delivery process shown in FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the detail of the priority determination process 1 included in the parking lot selection process shown in FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the detail of the priority determination process 2 included in the parking lot selection process shown in FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the detail of the priority order selection process contained in the parking lot selection process shown in FIG.

  An information distribution apparatus, an information distribution method, a program, an information transmission / reception apparatus, and an information distribution system according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In addition, although the parking lot information delivery system 1 is demonstrated as an example of the information delivery system of this invention, this invention is not limited to this. In the following description, the information distribution device, the information transmission / reception device, the information distribution method, and the program are also described in conjunction with the description of the parking lot information distribution system 1.

[Outline of parking lot information distribution system 1]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an overview of a parking lot information distribution system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The parking lot information distribution system 1 includes a center device 2, roadside wireless devices 3 </ b> A and 3 </ b> B, a wireless access point 3 </ b> C, and an in-vehicle device 5 mounted on the vehicle 4 as main components. In this parking lot information distribution system 1, the parking lot information etc. via the roadside radio devices 3 </ b> A and 3 </ b> B or the radio access point 3 </ b> C provided on the road etc. with respect to the vehicle-mounted device 5 in which the center device 2 is mounted on the vehicle 4. This information is distributed. Information is transmitted and received between the roadside apparatus 3A, 3B, the wireless access point 3C, and the vehicle-mounted device 5 provided in the vehicle 4 using DSRC (Dedicated Short Range Communications). ing.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the center device 2 includes a plurality of roadside wireless devices 3 </ b> A and 3 </ b> B installed on the streets, parking lots, roadside stations, etc. via the DSRC-dedicated network 6 </ b> A and the external network 6 </ b> B. Are connected to a plurality of wireless access points 3C. Further, the roadside apparatus 3A, 3B or the wireless access point 3C is configured to be able to communicate with the vehicle-mounted device 5 having a DSRC communication function by radio. The external network 6B includes a wireless communication network such as the Internet, a mobile communication network connected thereto, a wireless local area network (LAN), and WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access). Note that the center device 2 in FIG. 1 is illustrated as one server for convenience, but the number is not necessarily one, and a plurality of center devices 2 may be provided. The center device 2 is an example of the information distribution device of the claims, the roadside wireless devices 3A and 3B and the wireless access point 3C are examples of the roadside wireless device of the claims, and the vehicle-mounted device 5 is the information of the claims. It is an example of a transmission / reception apparatus. Hereinafter, each device will be described in detail.

[Configuration of center device 2]
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the entire center apparatus 2 shown in FIG. The center device 2 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 11 and a ROM (Read Only).
Mainly includes a memory (RAM) 12, a random access memory (RAM) 13, a hard disk drive (HDD) 14, an input unit 15, an output unit 16, a first communication control unit 17A, a second communication control unit 17B, and a system bus 18. As a component.

  The CPU 11 is a central processing unit that executes various arithmetic processes according to a program (not shown) stored in the ROM 12 or the HDD 14 and controls each unit of the apparatus. In addition, the function of each part of the information delivery apparatus of a claim is implement | achieved when CPU11 reads the parking lot information delivery program 12A for performing various operation | movement currently recorded on ROM12 to RAM13, and executes it. The parking lot information distribution program 12A is a program that can provide parking lot information that exists in an area desired by the user regardless of the area where the roadside wireless devices 3A and 3B or the wireless access point 3C are installed. The parking lot information distribution program 12A may be stored in the HDD 14 instead of the ROM 12.

  The ROM 12 is a program for performing various operations executed by the CPU 11 and is a semiconductor storage device that stores data (not shown) that does not need to be rewritten.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating functions realized when the parking lot information distribution program 12 </ b> A illustrated in FIG. 2 is executed by the CPU 11. As shown in FIG. 3, when the parking lot information distribution program 12A is executed by the CPU 11, the functions of the priority determination unit 12B, the information selection unit 12C, and the information transmission control unit 12D are realized. The priority determination unit 12B is extracted in order to deliver appropriate parking lot information in accordance with position information such as latitude information and longitude information transmitted from the vehicle-mounted device 5 and a search condition for parking lot information. The priority of parking lot information is set. The information selection unit 12C selects the parking lot information according to the priority set by the priority determination unit 12B. The information transmission control unit 12D transmits the parking lot information selected by the information selection unit 12C as data conforming to a multi-content format described later. Details of operations of the priority determination unit 12B, the information selection unit 12C, and the information transmission control unit 12D will be described together with the operation of the center device 2 described later.

  Returning to FIG. 2, the RAM 13 is a semiconductor storage device that temporarily stores a program executed by the CPU 11 and functions as a work area for performing arithmetic processing and the like. The HDD 14 stores a program such as an OS (Operating System) necessary for operation control of the entire center device 2 and data (not shown) necessary for navigation, and the roadside wireless devices 3A and 3B or wireless access. The parking lot DB 14 </ b> A storing parking lot information to be transmitted to the vehicle-mounted device 5 via the point 3 </ b> C is stored. In addition, the detail of the various information regarding the parking lot stored in this parking lot DB14A is demonstrated with the multi content format mentioned later.

  The input unit 15 includes a keyboard, a mouse, an input interface, and the like. An administrator of the center apparatus 2 can input various data and instructions using the input unit 15. The output unit 16 includes a display device and can display data, messages, and the like.

  The first communication control unit 17A and the second communication control unit 17B perform control to transmit various information to the roadside wireless devices 3A and 3B or the wireless access point 3C, or perform the control of the roadside wireless devices 3A and 3B or the wireless access point. 3C can perform control to collect information obtained by communication with the vehicle-mounted device 5 or the like. Also, the first communication control unit 17A and the second communication control unit 17B communicate with other external devices (not shown) via the network 6A or the external network 6B shown in FIG. 1 and acquire various information. Control can also be performed. The system bus 18 is a transmission path for transferring commands and data between the above-described units. In addition, the detail of the communication process between each apparatus of the parking lot information delivery system 1 mentioned above is mentioned later.

[Configuration of roadside devices 3A and 3B]
Next, the roadside wireless devices 3A and 3B will be described. 4 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the roadside apparatuses 3A and 3B illustrated in FIG. The roadside wireless devices 3A and 3B shown in FIG. 1 have a main body device 21 and an antenna 22 as main components like the roadside wireless device 3 shown in FIG. 4, and exchange information between the vehicle-mounted device 5 and the center device 2. It is a device that performs processing that mediates. The roadside apparatus 3 </ b> A communicates with the vehicle-mounted device 5 and the center apparatus 2 using a DSRC-specific protocol. On the other hand, the roadside apparatus 3B communicates with the vehicle-mounted device 5 and the center apparatus 2 by IP (Internet Protocol).

  As shown in FIG. 4, the roadside apparatus 3 radiates a DSRC radio wave having a limited reach distance from an antenna 22 installed on the side of the road, above the road, in a parking lot, a road station, etc. Area Z is formed. Bidirectional narrow area wireless communication is possible only with the vehicle-mounted device 5 of the vehicle 4 in the roadside area Z. DSRC is a communication method using radio waves in the 5.8 GHz band, and its communication range is, for example, several meters to several tens of meters. Since all the DSRC transmission outputs from the roadside apparatus 3 are set to the same level, the roadside area Z formed by each of the plurality of roadside apparatuses 3 is almost constant regardless of the installation location. Hereinafter, narrow area wireless communication between the roadside apparatus 3 and the vehicle-mounted device 5 may be referred to as “road-to-vehicle communication”.

  The main body device 21 is configured by a computer terminal including a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, an HDD (all not shown) and the like, and receives information received from the vehicle-mounted device 5 via the antenna 22 via the network 6A. Forward to. In addition, the main body device 21 transfers service information such as parking lot information transmitted from the center device 2 to the vehicle-mounted device 5. In the following description, the roadside wireless devices 3A and 3B and the wireless access point 3C will be described as the “roadside wireless device 3”.

[Configuration of OBE 5]
Subsequently, the vehicle-mounted device 5 will be described. FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of the vehicle-mounted device 5 shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 5, the vehicle-mounted device 5 includes a main control unit 31, a DSRC communication unit 32, and a navigation unit 33 as main components. Hereinafter, each structure of the onboard equipment 5 is demonstrated concretely.

  The main control unit 31 is realized by the CPU reading various programs and data stored in the HDD and ROM (not shown) to the RAM and calculating / controlling them. All of the DSRC communication unit 32 and the navigation unit 33, which will be described later, are realized. Control processing. The main control unit 31 is an example of a transmission / reception control unit of the information transmission / reception apparatus.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the DSRC communication unit 32 further includes a transmission / reception / modulation / demodulation unit 32A, a DSRC control unit 32B, a DSRC-ASL (Application Sub-Layer) processing unit 32C, a memory unit 32D, and a human machine interface unit 32F. It is possible to perform DSRC communication with the roadside apparatus 3. Hereinafter, each configuration of the DSRC communication unit 32 will be described.

  The transmission / reception / modulation / demodulation unit 32A can implement an interface corresponding to the physical layer of the DSRC protocol, and can digitally modulate / demodulate the received radio wave (ASK / QSPK). The DSRC control unit 32B mounts interfaces corresponding to the data link layer and application layer of the DSRC protocol, and can perform 5.8 GHz band wireless communication with the roadside apparatus 3. The DSRC control unit 32B can specify a corresponding application program (not shown) in the vehicle-mounted device 5 based on an identifier (EID) included in the frame of the transmitted data.

  The DSRC-ASL processing unit 32C implements a communication interface that provides basic application processing and a security platform, and uses DSRC-ASL between each application (not shown) installed in the vehicle-mounted device 5 and the roadside apparatus 3. Perform communication control. The DSRC-ASL serves as a bridge between the DSRC protocol stack and the application program in the physical layer, data link layer, and application layer described above, and is a connection for identifying the ASL-NCP on the ASL-ELCP. A point is provided to identify a specific application.

  The above-described transmission / reception / modulation unit 32A, DSRC control unit 32B, and DSRC-ASL processing unit 32C perform communication control using IP, so-called IP communication, and communication control using other communication protocols without using IP. A communication interface is provided for each of so-called non-IP communication.

  The memory unit 32D temporarily stores a program or data that is being calculated when the CPU executes a calculation process, such as a ROM or HDD (not shown) that stores basic programs executed by the CPU. RAM (not shown) or the like. Further, the memory unit 32D can record and store various service information transmitted from the roadside apparatus 3. The memory unit 32D stores an uplink information generation program 32E. The uplink information generation program 32E is information for acquiring information desired by the user in a specific storage area of the memory unit 32D (hereinafter, this specific storage area is referred to as an “uplink tag area”). Is stored, and the parking lot information is distributed from the center device 2 based on the information. The details of the information stored in the uplink information generation program 32E and the uplink tag area will be described later.

  The human machine interface unit 32F provides an interface corresponding to non-IP communication and IP communication. Specifically, an HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol) browser (for example, HTML 4.01, CSS1, CSS2, etc.) corresponding to a DSRC application service used for IP communication, a DSRC application service used for IP / non-IP communication Are equipped with a character codec (for example, JIS, UNICODE, etc.), a voice codec (for example, TTS, MP3, etc.), an image codec (for example, JPEG, GIF, etc.), a moving image codec (for example, MPEG4), and the like.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the navigation unit 33 includes a navigation data processing unit 33A, a human machine interface unit 33B, a high-precision positioning measurement unit 33C, a navigation data unit 33D, an operation unit 33E, and a display unit 33F as main components. Yes. The navigation unit 33 mainly functions as a car navigation system. Although illustration and detailed description are omitted in the navigation unit 33, the navigation unit 33 also has a general route guidance function and a route information creation function.

  The navigation data processing unit 33A has an information provision control function and an information collection function. The information provision control function is a function for controlling information provision such as priority display, information provision judgment, and information accumulation as a response to non-IP communication. The information collection function is a function of transmitting information in the vehicle 4 held or accumulated in the navigation unit 33 to the roadside apparatus 3 through the DSRC communication unit 32, that is, a function of performing uplink. Note that the human machine interface unit 33B has the same function as the human machine interface unit 32F described above, and a description thereof will be omitted.

  The high-accuracy positioning measurement unit 33C includes, for example, a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver, a gyro sensor, and the like, and has a function of performing positioning measurement using them and constantly grasping the position of the vehicle 4. Note that the high-accuracy positioning measurement unit 33C is not limited to GPS, and may use another system that uses a quasi-zenith satellite. The navigation data unit 33D has a function of providing map data of the current location that matches the position of the vehicle 4 by the high-accuracy positioning measurement unit 33C. Further, the navigation data unit 33D can provide navigation data and map data that can be guided to a destination or waypoint. The navigation data unit 33D corresponds to an example of a storage unit, but an external storage device (not shown) of the vehicle-mounted device 5 may be used as the storage unit.

  The navigation data included in the navigation data unit 33D includes, for example, a point data group, a link data group, a node data group, and a cost calculation condition list. The point data group has a plurality of records, and each record has data relating to one point, for example, the name of a building, a store, a facility, etc. at that point, and the position information of the point. is doing. A plurality of points in the point data group are points that can be selected as destinations, waypoints, or departure points. The link data group and the node data group are data used in vehicle route search and route guidance. The road on which the vehicle 4 moves has a branching point such as an intersection, and the branching point is handled as a node and the road between the two branching points is handled as a link. That is, both ends of the link are connected to the node, and one or more links are connected to the node.

  The map data is data used for displaying a map on the display unit 33F. Examples of such map data include two-dimensional or three-dimensional vector map data. The vector map data includes background data serving as a map background image and vector data drawn on the background image. The background image is image data obtained by color-coding a park, a river, a pond, and the like, for example. The vector data is, for example, drawing data for each road. In addition to this, the map data may include landmark three-dimensional polygon data, icon data associated with each point, and the like. Note that navigation data and map data are stored in an HDD or ROM (not shown).

[About multi-content format]
Next, the multi-content format exchanged on the parking lot information distribution system 1 will be described. The multi-content format is a composite format configured to be compatible with various services applying the DSRC communication method in one data format. The multi-content format is also a data format in which distribution service information can be configured with only necessary items (IDs) according to purposes. By using such a multi-content format, even in DSRC distributed using a PUSH communication method, individual distribution in accordance with individual hobbies / preferences is possible. Each information transmitted in this multi-content format is stored in the parking lot DB 14A shown in FIG. 2 or a DB (not shown) stored in the HDD 14. Is not necessarily a multi-content format.

  Service information provided in the multi-content format is stored once in the vehicle-mounted device 5 and is played back when a specific condition is satisfied. Specifically, in order to transmit / receive information by DSRC, it is not possible to stay within the specific communication area, but by storing and storing the received information, it is possible even outside the communication area. Information can be reproduced. Furthermore, by setting the reproduction timing of service information such as regional information and advertisement information, it is possible to distribute information that meets the needs of users. In addition, this multi-content format can reduce network traffic by reducing the amount of distribution data. In the following description, transmitting information from the vehicle-mounted device 5 to the center device 2 via the roadside wireless device 3 is referred to as “uplink”, and is transmitted from the center device 2 to the vehicle-mounted device 5 via the roadside wireless device 3. The transmission of information is referred to as “downlink”.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram conceptually showing a data group organized in a multi-content format used in the information distribution system 1 shown in FIG. 1 (hereinafter, this data group is referred to as “information group”). As shown in FIG. 6, data including a plurality of information groups from information group 1 to information group n is transmitted from the center device 2 to the vehicle-mounted device 5 via the roadside wireless device 3. Each of the plurality of information groups includes basic information. That is, it is composed of basic information such as ID = 00 and ID = 01 and information such as ID which is another classification item. These information groups do not necessarily include information of all the division IDs, but are transmitted including only necessary information. Therefore, in addition to reproducing data in the order in which it was distributed, this multi-content format allows service information to be reproduced at a specific location in conjunction with the car navigation function, and can be guided to a specific location. It has become.

  Further, since the in-vehicle device 5 can operate in consideration of the data distribution source, it is useful for preventing spam. The multi-content format can be uplinked from the vehicle-mounted device 5 to the center device 2. In addition, the multi-content format can also take action history and viewing history of distributed service information, including information on destinations and stopovers set in the vehicle-mounted device 5.

[Data structure of content information]
Next, the data structure of content information according to the multi-content format will be specifically described. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a screen transition example displayed based on content information included in distribution data in accordance with the multi-content format shown in FIG. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data format of content information included in distribution data in accordance with the multi-content format illustrated in FIG.

  Each of the screens D1 to D6 illustrated in FIG. 7 is a screen that is displayed based on one piece of content information. One piece of content information is configured by a file that can store necessary information out of information classified by ID = 00 to ID = 256 as shown in FIG. 8, and is necessary according to the content information provided. Information is stored. For example, the content information for displaying the screen D6 in FIG. 7 needs information of ID = 00, 01, 02, 04, 10 and therefore includes information of ID = 01, 02, 04, and 10. Will be sent. That is, as for the content information, different service information is stored in the HDD 14 of the center apparatus 2 according to the data format of ID = 00 to ID = 256 for each service provider.

  As described above, the information transmitted in the multi-content format can transmit various information other than the parking lot information. However, in the present embodiment, the information mainly relates to the parking lot. Information will be described.

  The “parking lot information” classified as ID = 50 shown in FIG. 8 mainly includes information related to various parking lots from parking lot 1 to parking lot 15 as shown in FIG. Specifically, the “parking lot information” includes the “latest parking lot information presence / absence flag” that indicates the presence / absence of the latest parking lot information, the “number of parking lot availability information” that can be registered up to 15 locations, and this parking lot. “Parking lot ID” that can uniquely identify the parking lot, business hours, entry / exit times, initial charges, additional charges added to the initial charges, maximum daily usage charges (hereinafter also referred to as maximum maximum charges), etc. "Parking information setting" that understands, up to 15 parking lot entrances, "parking lot availability information etc." that knows the number of vacant parking spaces at each entrance and update time, etc. Includes “separation time information” indicating the separation time to be reset. Needless to say, an embodiment can be adopted in which the “number of parking lot full / vacant information” can specify 14 or less locations, or 16 or more locations. In addition, the upper limit maximum charge included in the “parking lot information setting” is a charge corresponding to a unit other than one day (for example, a unit of 12 hours, a unit of 24 hours after warehousing). Also good.

  The “parking lot additional update information” classified into ID = 51 shown in FIG. 8 includes static information of the parking lot distributed with ID = 50 as shown in FIG. Specifically, this “parking lot additional update information” includes “third mesh number”, “third mesh 1”, “parking lot ID”, “parking center coordinates”, and “number of entrances”. “Entrances 1 to 15”, “name”, “accommodated number”, “parking lot type”, “vehicle restrictions”, “business hours”, “partner store”, “equipment status” And “settlement means” and “reservation” are included.

  Here, the tertiary mesh is, for example, a predetermined area associated with the area mesh code defined in JIS X0410. The tertiary mesh may be a predetermined area associated with a code defined other than JIS X0410. “The number of tertiary meshes” indicates the number of tertiary meshes and is expressed as “tertiary mesh 1, tertiary mesh 2. And for each of those tertiary meshes, “parking lot ID”, “parking lot center coordinates”, “number of entrances”, “entrances 1 to 15”, “name”, “accommodated number”, “ Information such as “parking lot type”, “vehicle restrictions”, “business hours”, “partner store”, “facility status”, “settlement means”, “reservation”, and the like are recorded. In the “parking lot ID”, a numerical value for uniquely identifying the parking lot is recorded. The details of this “parking lot ID” will be described later. In the “parking center coordinates”, information indicating latitude information, longitude information, and a tertiary mesh code (corresponding to the above-described JIS X0410 regional mesh code) is recorded.

  “Number of entrances” is information indicating the number of entrances of the parking lot, and “entrances 1 to 15” are stored according to the number of entrances. In “entrances 1 to 15”, information indicating whether or not a right turn can be entered, information indicating the latitude and longitude of the entrance, and the like are recorded. In “Name”, information indicating the name of the parking lot is recorded. In the “accommodated number”, information indicating the accommodated number of the parking lot is recorded. In the “parking lot format”, information indicating the parking lot structure (flat, solid, underground, rooftop, etc.) and style (self-propelled, machine, machine with turntable, two-stage, multistage) is recorded. ing. “Vehicle restrictions” includes “Vehicle restrictions”, which indicates whether there are restrictions on vehicles, and “Vehicle restrictions” on which values such as vehicle height restrictions, vehicle width restrictions, vehicle length restrictions, and vehicle weight restrictions are recorded. It is. “Business hours” includes information on the time available for entering and leaving the parking lot (start time, end time), information on whether or not to stay (information indicating whether or not parking is possible for one day or more), remarks information, information indicating holidays, etc. It is included. The “affiliated store” includes character string information of facilities with which the parking lot is affiliated, phonogram character string information for speech, and the like.

  “Equipment status” includes various types of parking, such as for disabled people, for women only, for RV vehicles, for motorcycles, etc., for barrier-free (with or without elevator, with or without slope, with or without steps), or with or without toilets. Parking information is included. The “settlement means” includes information on various settlement means such as IC credit card settlement, presence / absence information corresponding to various bills at the time of cash settlement, and the like. “Reservation” includes information indicating a flag indicating whether or not parking reservation is possible. As reservation means, there are a navigation browser, a mobile phone browser, a telephone reservation response, and the like prescribed in JEITA TT-6003A. In the case of a reservation reservation by telephone, the reservation dedicated telephone number information is included. Also good.

  FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of details of information included in the “parking lot ID” illustrated in FIG. 10. As shown in FIG. 11, the “parking lot ID” includes, for example, a 5-digit number composed of information indicating a “local government code” using a prefecture / city code set in JIS, When the parking lot information distribution system 1 is introduced in multiple districts within the same municipality, a one-digit number for indicating a “district code” for management by district and a type related to parking lot information ( For example, 0 = no information, 1 = private general, 2 = coin parking, 3 = on the road, 4 = hotel, 5 = large retail accessory, 6 = public, 7 = other, etc. ”, A three-digit number for indicating the“ operator code ”as unique identification information assigned to each operator, and a unique number sequentially added to the parking lot in the district “Sequence” as the parking lot number Identifies the difference between the 6-digit number used to indicate the "Le Code" and the type of parking lot (for example, the size of a car that can be parked and the parking fee setting for each floor) even in the same parking lot It consists of fixed-length data composed of a total of 17 digits and a 1-digit number for indicating the “branch number”.

[Information stored in the uplink tag area]
Then, the information memorize | stored in the uplink tag area in which the information which the vehicle equipment 5 transmits to the center apparatus 2 via the roadside radio | wireless apparatus 3 is stored is demonstrated. FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of information stored in the uplink tag area. Note that the uplink information shown in FIG. 12 is information that may be included when a distribution request for parking lot information is made, and that the service provider has signed a contract with the user according to the user setting. It is desirable to perform an uplink after confirmation.

  As shown in FIG. 12, the uplink information transmitted as a search request for parking lot information includes, for example, “member information”, “search position information”, “mesh code information”, “information update request”, “Latest information form flag”, “search condition” and the like are included. Note that the information shown in FIG. 12 is transmitted according to the information input as the user's search request, and not all of the information is always transmitted, but only a part of the information is the uplink information. May be sent.

  “Member information” includes this information when a contract with a business operator is required to obtain full parking space information. The “search position information” includes a geodetic system identification flag, latitude information that is the position of the search starting point, longitude information, and the like. The “search position information” is latitude information and longitude information that can be arbitrarily notified by the car navigation. For example, the vehicle position (current location), destination, etc., arbitrary latitude information set by the user, longitude information It is also possible. The “mesh code information” includes the tertiary mesh code included in the search position and the version information of the parking lot information included in the code. Thereby, it is also possible to request | require the provider of the newest parking lot information per mesh by a user's intention.

  The “information update request request” is information for determining whether or not there is a need to obtain the latest information. The “latest information form flag” is a flag for determining whether to update the entire parking lot or only the difference when acquiring the latest parking lot information. The latest static information is distributed by this flag. Later, it is possible to deliver full air information. “Search condition” specifies the parking lot ID specified by the user or the parking lot ID of the parking lot obtained from another information source, and searches for full / vacant information of the designated parking lot. It is possible to narrow down the parking lots that can be parked by inputting a search that can specify the “start time” and “end time” that the user wants to use the parking lot, and vehicle information. The “search condition” includes a “search condition presence / absence flag” that is a flag for determining whether or not the search condition is specified. The presence / absence of the flag can be used to determine the presence / absence of the search request. it can.

[About road-to-vehicle communication]
Next, a transaction performed in road-to-vehicle communication will be described. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a road-to-vehicle communication transaction performed between the vehicle-mounted device 5 shown in FIG. 1 and the center apparatus 2 via the roadside apparatus 3. In the transaction shown in FIG. 13, when the vehicle-mounted device 5 is turned on, the vehicle-mounted device 5 mounted on the vehicle 4 enters the communication area Z of the roadside apparatus 3 shown in FIG. This shows the communication processing of each part until the vehicle-mounted device 5 moves out of the communication area Z (hereinafter referred to as “area out”). Hereinafter, each step will be described.

  Step S1: The navigation unit 33 and the DSRC communication unit 32, which are a part of the vehicle-mounted device 5, write client information data from the navigation unit 33 to the DSRC communication unit 32 when the power of the vehicle-mounted device 5 is turned on. Here, the client information data includes information such as the type of service information that can be played back by the vehicle-mounted device 5 in the communication area Z, and the content playback application installed in the vehicle-mounted device 5. In addition, language information that the vehicle-mounted device 5 can handle, geodetic system information (navigation system information in Japan or the world) that the navigation unit 33 has, DRM (Digital Rights Management) that can be supported, and the display unit (display) that is installed The resolution, the amount of data that can be stored, etc. can be notified as supplement information together with the client information data.

  Step S2: When the vehicle 4 equipped with the vehicle-mounted device 5 is area-in, a DSRC connection process (for example, an authentication process in DSRC-SPF) is performed in order to establish individual PUSH communication between the roadside apparatus 3 and the vehicle-mounted device 5. Is done. The details of the DSRC connection process are omitted because they are not the gist of the present invention.

  Step S3: When the DSRC connection process is completed, the roadside apparatus 3 and the DSRC communication unit 32 perform DSRC connection notification to the center device 2 and the navigation unit 33, respectively.

  Step S4: The DSRC communication unit 32 transmits the client information data written by the navigation unit 33 to the roadside apparatus 3. The roadside apparatus 3 can notify the center apparatus 2 of the client information data described above. This step S4 corresponds to a client information notification command.

  Step S5: The center device 2 uses the ASL-ID that can uniquely identify the vehicle-mounted device 5 itself based on the client information data notified in Step S4, and the function information that the vehicle-mounted device 5 has. , And service information suitable for the vehicle-mounted device 5 is organized in a multi-content format and delivered to the roadside apparatus 3. Since the center device 2 knows the service information reproducible by the vehicle-mounted device 5 and the functions possessed by the vehicle-mounted device 5 from these client information data, it is possible to organize and distribute optimum service information. Moreover, since the center apparatus 2 can acquire the ID unique to the vehicle-mounted device 5 by using the vehicle-mounted device ID notification command or the like, the vehicle-mounted device 5 can be specified. Further, for example, in the center device 2 and / or the roadside device 3, the vehicle 4 in which the vehicle-mounted device 5 is mounted is specified by collating the customer DB (not shown) and the like with the unique ID of the vehicle-mounted device 5. Is also possible. The roadside apparatus 3 distributes the received service information to the DSRC communication unit 32 of the vehicle-mounted device 5. The DSRC communication unit 32 distributes the service information to the navigation unit 33. Note that the details of member discrimination based on ASL-ID and the like are not the gist of the present invention, and thus are omitted.

  Step S6: After the process of step S5, the center apparatus 2 confirms whether the information is written in the uplink tag area, which is a specific storage area, via the roadside apparatus 3 to the in-vehicle device 5 To poll regularly. If information is written in the uplink tag area by this polling, the information is acquired, and if not written, polling is further continued.

  Step S7: The navigation unit 33 discriminates the service provider from the service information received in Step S5, and uses the uplink tag area as a specific storage area of the DSRC communication unit 32 for the uplink data for the service provider. Write to. However, the navigation unit 33 does not write in the uplink tag area in principle when there is no uplink data for the service provider or when the data is not a member of the service provider.

  Step S8: When information is written in the uplink tag area as a specific storage area in step S7, the DSRC communication unit 32 notifies the information to the roadside apparatus 3 (hereinafter, processing in this step). Information to be referred to as “uplink information”). The roadside apparatus 3 delivers the uplink information to the center apparatus 2.

  Step S9: The center apparatus 2 periodically polls the uplink tag area as a specific storage area through the roadside apparatus 3 after the process of step S8 for information. If the information of the uplink tag area as a specific storage area is updated by this polling, the information is acquired, and if not updated, the polling is further continued.

  Step S10: When the center device 2 acquires the uplink information in step S8, based on the information, the center device 2 organizes service information suitable for the member preference in a multi-content format and distributes it to the roadside wireless device 3. The roadside apparatus 3 reversely distributes the distributed service information to the DSRC communication unit 32. The DSRC communication unit 32 analyzes the distributed service information and transmits data to the navigation unit 33 as appropriate.

  Step S11: When the distribution of the service information suitable for the preference data is completed, the center device 2 notifies the DSRC communication unit 32 to that effect and prompts area out. This is because when one vehicle occupies the communication area for a long time, it becomes impossible to provide services to other members. However, the notification for prompting the area out may not be performed.

[Uplink processing of OBE 5]
Next, an uplink process (corresponding to step S7 in FIG. 13) performed by the vehicle-mounted device 5 to the center device 2 will be described in detail. FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing an uplink process to the center device 2 performed by the vehicle-mounted device 5 shown in FIG.

  START: When the power of the vehicle-mounted device 5 is turned on, the main control unit 31 of the vehicle-mounted device 5 reads the uplink information generation program 32E stored in the memory unit 32D, and proceeds to the process of step S21. The following processing is executed according to the algorithm of the uplink information generation program 32E.

  Step S21: The main control unit 31 of the vehicle-mounted device 5 determines whether or not a search request for parking lot information is stored (saved) in the memory unit 32D of the vehicle-mounted device 5. The main control part 31 of the onboard equipment 5 transfers to the process of step S22, when the search request | requirement of parking lot information is memorize | stored in the memory part 32D of the onboard equipment 5 (it is YES at step S21). On the other hand, the main control part 31 of the onboard equipment 5 transfers to the process of step S23, when the search request | requirement of parking lot information is not memorize | stored in the memory part 32D of the onboard equipment 5 (step S21 NO). The main control unit 31 determines the presence / absence of a search request for parking lot information based on the “search condition presence / absence flag” described in FIG.

  Step S22: If the main control unit 31 of the vehicle-mounted device 5 determines that the search request for the parking lot information is stored in the memory unit 32D of the vehicle-mounted device 5, the uplink tag area that is a specific storage area of the memory unit 32D The information regarding the search request for the parking lot information is written in, and the process proceeds to step S23.

  Step S23: The main control unit 31 of the vehicle-mounted device 5 writes information other than the parking lot search request in the uplink tag area, which is a specific area of the memory unit 32D, and proceeds to the process of step S24. In addition, this step S23 may transfer to the process of step S24 as it is, when there is no information which should be written in an uplink tag area.

  Step S24: The main control unit 31 of the vehicle-mounted device 5 uplinks the information recorded in the uplink tag area to the center device 2 via the roadside wireless device 3, and ends the processing (END).

  By setting it as such a process, it becomes possible to acquire the parking lot information near the area which a user desires from the center apparatus 2. FIG. The parking lot information acquired from the center device 2 is stored in the memory unit 32E of the DSRC communication unit 32.

[Parking information distribution processing of center device 2]
A parking lot information distribution process (corresponding to step S10 in FIG. 13) performed by the center device 2 with respect to the vehicle-mounted device 5 will be described. FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing a parking lot information distribution process performed by the center device 2 shown in FIG. The process shown in FIG. 15 is started when the CPU 11 of the center apparatus 2 reads the parking lot information distribution program 12A into the RAM 13 and executes it (START). However, for convenience of explanation, the subject of these processes will be described as CPU 11. As a premise for the following processing, it is assumed that the main control unit 31 of the vehicle-mounted device 5 includes the above-described search request for the parking lot information in the uplink information in step S23 of FIG.

  Step S31: The CPU 11 determines a predetermined search range for acquiring parking lot information from the search position information (latitude / longitude information) included in the uplink information, and proceeds to the process of step S32.

  Step S32: The CPU 11 is the parking lot information included in the predetermined search range determined in step S31, and uses the parking lot DB 14A for the full / vacant information of the parking lot (information that the vehicle is full or vacant). The reference is searched for, and the process proceeds to step S33. Specifically, the CPU 11 refers to the parking lot DB 14A, and the parking lot information in which the information corresponding to the “parking center coordinates” at ID = 51 shown in FIG. 10 is within the search range acquired in step S31. And a parking lot with a space is searched from information corresponding to the “parking lot availability information presence / absence flag” at ID = 50 shown in FIG.

  Step S33: The CPU 11 determines whether or not there is a vacant parking lot from the parking lot full / vacancy information searched in step S32. That is, when a parking lot with a vacancy is searched from the parking lot availability information searched in step S32 (YES in step S33), the CPU 11 proceeds to the process of step S34 and is not searched. In (NO in step S33), the process proceeds to step S35.

  Step S34: The CPU 11 extracts the parking lot information that matches the search conditions for the parking lot included in the information uplinked from the vehicle-mounted device 5 from the parking lots searched for in step S33, The process proceeds to S36. For example, as shown in the uplink information shown in FIG. 12, the CPU 11 uses a search by specifying a parking lot ID, a search by specifying a parking start time and a parking end time, and a search by specifying other vehicle types as search conditions. If it is included, the parking lots that match this are narrowed down by referring to information corresponding to “parking lot type”, “vehicle restrictions”, and “facility status” at ID = 51 shown in FIG.

  Step S35: Since there is no vacant parking lot as a result of the search in step S33, the CPU 11 sets the number of parking lots of the downlink data transmitted to the vehicle-mounted device 5 to “0”, and proceeds to the processing of step S42.

  Step S36: The CPU 11 determines whether or not there is parking lot information that matches the parking lot search condition from the extraction processing in step S34, and if it exists (YES in step S36), the processing in step S37. If the process does not exist (NO in step S36), the process proceeds to step S35.

  Step S37: The CPU 11 has found that there is matching parking lot information by the determination processing in step S36, and therefore there is a predetermined number or more of matching parking lot information (16 or more in the example of FIG. 15). If it exists (YES in step S37), the process proceeds to step S38. If it does not exist (NO in step S37), the process proceeds to step S39. Needless to say, the “predetermined number” may be an embodiment adopting a numerical value other than the above 16 cases.

  Step S38: The CPU 11 has determined that there is more than a predetermined number of parking lot information by the determination process in step S37, and therefore, the predetermined parking lot information for the parking lot information more than the predetermined number is less than the predetermined number. The selection process is executed and the process proceeds to step S40. The predetermined parking lot selection process will be described later.

  Step S39: The CPU 11 determines that there is not a predetermined number or more of the parking lot information that matches the search condition by the determination in Step S37, and therefore transmits the number of parking lot information extracted in Step S34 to the vehicle-mounted device 5. The number of parking spaces is set as data, and the process proceeds to step S41.

  Step S40: The CPU 11 transmits the number of parking lot information selected in step S38 to the vehicle-mounted device 5 because the parking lot information matching the search condition is selected to be less than the predetermined number by the process of step S38. It sets as the number of parking lots of downlink data, and transfers to the process of step S41.

  Step S41: The CPU 11 generates downlink data to which the number of parking lots set in step S39 or step S40 and the related information of each of the set parking lots is added, and the process proceeds to step S42.

  Step S42: The CPU 11 transmits the downlink data generated in step S41 to the vehicle-mounted device 5 via the roadside apparatus 3 and ends the process (END).

[Details of parking lot selection process]
Details of the parking lot selection process shown in step S38 of FIG. 15 will be described. FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing details of a predetermined parking lot selection process included in the parking lot information distribution process shown in FIG.

  Step S51: The CPU 11 determines whether the information uplinked from the vehicle-mounted device 5 includes the parking lot use start time information (information indicating “start time” shown in FIG. 12). If yes (YES in step S51), the process proceeds to step S53. If not included (NO in step S51), the process proceeds to step S52.

  Step S52: The CPU 11 has determined in step S51 that the information uplinked from the vehicle-mounted device 5 does not include parking lot use start time information, so the current time is used as the parking lot use start time information. After setting, the process proceeds to step S53. However, in step S52, the CPU 11 uses the time information other than the current time (for example, the location information transmitted to the vehicle-mounted device 5 and the location information of the parking lot extracted in step S37 in FIG. A route that reaches the parking lot may be searched, and arrival time information predicted when moving to the parking lot along the searched route may be set as parking lot use start time information.

  Step S53: The CPU 11 determines whether the information uplinked from the vehicle-mounted device 5 includes use end time information of the parking lot (information indicating “end time” shown in FIG. 12). If yes (YES in step S53), the process proceeds to step S54. If not included (NO in step S53), the process proceeds to step S55.

  Step S54: When determining that the parking lot use end time information is included in the determination in step S53, the CPU 11 determines the priority for the predetermined number or more of the parking lots extracted in step S37 in FIG. (Hereafter, this process is referred to as “priority determination process 1”), and the process proceeds to step S56. Details of the “priority determination process 1” will be described later with reference to FIG.

  Step S55: When it is determined in step S53 that the parking lot use end time information is not included, the CPU 11 determines priority for the parking lots of the predetermined number or more extracted in step S37 in FIG. (Hereinafter, this process is referred to as “priority determination process 2”), and the process proceeds to step S56. The details of the “priority determination process 2” will be described later with reference to FIG.

  Step S56: The CPU 11 selects a predetermined number or more of the parking lot information set in the priority order by the priority determination process 1 in step S54 or the priority determination process 2 in step S55 in descending order of priority. Processing (hereinafter, this processing is referred to as “priority order selection processing”) is executed, and the parking lot selection processing is terminated (END). Details of this “priority order selection process” will be described later with reference to FIG.

[Details of priority determination process 1]
Details of the priority determination process 1 shown in step S54 of FIG. 16 will be described. FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing details of the priority determination process 1 in step S54 included in the parking lot selection process shown in FIG. The process shown in FIG. 17 is performed by the priority determination unit 22 realized by the CPU 11 reading the parking lot information distribution program 12A into the RAM 13 and executing it. However, for convenience of explanation, the CPU 11 will be described as a subject. In the processing shown in FIG. 17, the CPU 11 sets “1”, “2”, and “3” as the values indicating the priority of the priorities. The degree is set to be the highest, followed by “2”, “3” in order of priority. However, it is needless to say that an embodiment employing a method of setting the priority with other numerical values and symbols is also possible.

  Step S61: The CPU 11 calculates the user's parking lot usage time from the parking lot usage start time and usage end time, and proceeds to the processing of step S62.

  Step S62: The CPU 11 defines a variable n used for grasping the number of extracted parking lots, substitutes 1 as an initial value of the variable n, and proceeds to the process of step S63.

  Step S63: The CPU 11 refers to the parking lot DB 14A for the fee information of the n-th extracted parking lot (information corresponding to “initial charge”, “additional charge”, “maximum maximum charge” shown in FIG. 9). And the process proceeds to step S64.

  Step S64: The CPU 11 compares the parking time to which the upper limit maximum charge is applied in the n-th extracted parking lot with the user's parking lot usage time, and the user's parking lot usage time is greater. If it is determined whether or not it is long (YES in step S64), the process proceeds to step S65. If it is determined that it is not long (NO in step S64), the process proceeds to step S66. To do. Here, regarding the parking time to which the upper limit maximum charge is applied, a new item may be provided in the “parking lot information setting” shown in FIG. The unit of time set in the item “charge” may be acquired.

  Step S65: In step S64, the CPU 11 has found that the parking lot use time is longer than the parking time to which the upper limit maximum charge is applied in the n-th extracted parking lot. , It is determined whether or not the time when the usage fee is newly reset (information corresponding to the “separation time” shown in FIG. 9) is included in this parking lot usage time. If (YES in step S65), the process proceeds to step S66. If it is determined that the process is not included (NO in step S65), the process proceeds to step S68.

  Step S66: When the parking lot usage time is divided into two times at the separation time, the CPU 11 determines whether or not at least one of the parking lot usage times exceeds the parking time to which the upper limit maximum charge is applied. If (YES in step S66), the process proceeds to step S69. If not (NO in step S66), the process proceeds to step S67.

  Step S67: The CPU 11 sets the priority of the nth extracted parking lot to “3”, and proceeds to the process of step S70.

  Step S68: The CPU 11 sets the priority of the nth extracted parking lot to “1”, and proceeds to the process of step S70.

  Step S69: The CPU 11 sets the priority of the nth extracted parking lot to “2”, and proceeds to the process of step S70.

  Step S70: The CPU 11 determines whether or not the value of the variable n matches the number of parking lots that match the search condition. If they match (YES in step S70), the priority determination process 1 ends (Return). If they do not match (NO in step S70), the process proceeds to step S71, 1 is added to the value of the variable n, and the process returns to step S63.

[Details of priority determination process 2]
Details of the priority determination process 2 shown in step S55 of FIG. 16 will be described. FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing details of priority determination processing 2 included in the parking lot selection processing shown in FIG. The processing shown in FIG. 18 is performed by the priority determination unit 22 realized by the CPU 11 reading the parking lot information distribution program 12A into the RAM 13 and executing it. However, for convenience of explanation, the CPU 11 will be described as a subject.

  Step S81: The CPU 11 defines a variable n used for grasping the number of extracted parking lots, assigns 1 as an initial value of the variable n, and proceeds to the process of step S82.

  Step S82: The CPU 11 refers to the parking lot DB 14A for the fee information of the n-th extracted parking lot (information corresponding to the “initial fee”, “additional fee”, “maximum maximum fee” shown in FIG. 9). And the process proceeds to the process of step S83.

  Step S83: The CPU 11 calculates the time when the upper limit maximum charge is applied, and proceeds to the process of step S84. Specifically, the CPU 11 calculates a time obtained by adding the above-described parking time to which the upper limit maximum charge is applied to the use start time information in step S51 or step S52 in FIG. 16 as a time at which the upper limit maximum charge is applied. To do.

  Step S84: The CPU 11 determines whether or not the time when the upper limit maximum charge calculated in Step S83 is applied is before the time that is a unit of a day separation (information corresponding to the “separation time” shown in FIG. 9). If the time is before the delimiter time (YES in step S84), the priority is set to “1” (step S85), and if it is not before the delimiter time (NO in step S84), the priority is set. “2” is set (step S86), and the process proceeds to step S87.

  Step S87: The CPU 11 determines whether or not the value of the variable n matches the number of parking lots that match the search condition. If they match (YES in step S87), the priority determination processing 2 is terminated (Return). ), If they do not match (NO in step S87), the process proceeds to step S88, 1 is added to the value of the variable n, and the process returns to step S82.

[Details of priority order selection processing]
Details of the priority order selection processing shown in step S56 of FIG. 16 will be described. FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing details of the priority order selection process included in the parking lot selection process shown in FIG. The processing shown in FIG. 19 is performed by the information selection unit 12C realized by the CPU 11 reading the parking lot information distribution program 12A into the RAM 13 and executing it. However, for convenience of explanation, the CPU 11 will be described as a subject.

  Step S91: The CPU 11 has the priority set to “1” in the parking lots set with the priority by the priority determination process 1 shown in FIG. 17 or the priority determination process 2 shown in FIG. It is determined whether or not the number P1 of the parking lots is equal to or greater than a predetermined number (if the predetermined number is 15, whether P1 ≧ 15) or not (YES in step S91, that is, P1) If ≧ 15), the process proceeds to step S92. If not the predetermined number or more (NO in step S91, that is, if P1 <15), the process proceeds to step S93. Needless to say, the “predetermined number” may be an embodiment employing a numerical value other than 15 as described above.

  Step S92: The CPU 11 selects a predetermined number from the parking lots having the predetermined number or more of the priority set to “1”, and ends the priority order selection process.

  Step S93: Since the number P1 of the parking lots whose priority is set to “1” does not exist more than a predetermined number (that is, P1 ≦ 15), the number of parking lots whose priority is set to “2”. It is determined whether or not P2 is equal to or larger than the number obtained by subtracting the number of parking lots whose priority is set to “1” from the predetermined number (that is, whether or not P2 ≧ (15−P1)). When the number P2 of the parking lots set to “2” is greater or equal (YES in step S93, that is, P2 ≧ (15−P1) is established), the process proceeds to step S94. If the number obtained by subtracting the number of parking lots whose priority is set to “1” from the predetermined number is larger (NO in step S93, that is, P2 <(15−P1)), the process proceeds to step S96. To do.

  Step S94: The CPU 11 selects the number of parking lots with the priority set to “2” by subtracting the number of parking lots P1 with the priority set to “1” from the predetermined number, that is, P2. The number of (15-P1) is selected from the list, and the process proceeds to step S95.

  Step S95: The CPU 11 finally displays the parking lot information with the priority set to “1” and the parking lot information with the priority set to “2” for the number of parking lot information selected at step S94. Is selected as the parking lot information selected, and the priority order selection process is terminated.

  Step S96: The CPU 11 receives the determination in Step S93, and the priority is set to “3” because the parking lot information with the priority set to “1” and “2” alone is less than the predetermined number. From the parking lot information, the number corresponding to the shortage is selected, and the process proceeds to step S97. That is, in step S96, it is obtained by subtracting the number of parking lots P1 of priority 1 and the number of parking places P2 of priority 2 from the predetermined number 15 from the parking lot information whose priority is set to “3”. Only the number (15-P1-P2) of parking lot information is selected.

  Step S97: The CPU 11 sets all the parking lot information whose priority is set to “1”, all the parking lot information whose priority is set to “2”, and the priority is set to “3”. Of all the parking lot information, the parking lot information selected in step S96 is finally selected as the selected parking lot information, and the priority order selection process is terminated (END).

  As mentioned above, according to this center apparatus 2, the information which shows the usage time to which the maximum usage fee at the time of using the service called a parking lot is applied, and the information of the delimitation time when the maximum usage fee is newly reset (for example, The priority determination unit 12B that determines the priority of the parking lot information to be distributed to the vehicle-mounted device 5 (information transmission / reception device) according to the “separation time” shown in FIG. 9 and the priority determination unit 12B. Since the information selection unit 12C that selects the parking lot information according to the priority order and the information transmission control unit 12D that transmits the parking lot information selected by the information selection unit 12C to the vehicle-mounted device 5, The parking lot information that is downlinked to the vehicle-mounted device 5 is searched not only by the distance from its own location or the low price of a single usage fee, but also by considering the parking fee structure. Accordingly, it is possible to deliver the parking lot information of better conditions for the user. That is, the center apparatus 2 can appropriately distribute the parking lot information to which the fee is added in time units to the vehicle-mounted device 5.

  Moreover, the priority determination part 12B calculates (acquires) the usage time information of the parking lot transmitted from the onboard equipment 5 (step S61 of FIG. 17), and the maximum usage fee for every certain parking lot information is applied. If it is determined that the use time of the user's parking lot is longer than the parking time (YES in step S64 in FIG. 17), is the use time of this parking lot included a separation time at which the maximum use charge is applied? For the parking lot information that is determined not to include this separation time (determined NO in step S65 in FIG. 17), the above time is determined. The priority is set higher than the parking lot information determined to be included (the one determined as YES in step S65 in FIG. 17). As a result, for parking lots that are determined to include a delimiter time that is the unit of delimitation described above, the parking lot usage fee is calculated separately, and it can be seen that the parking fee is higher than the maximum usage fee. The parking lot information determined not to include the time is more easily presented by the user, and the parking lot information can be appropriately distributed to the vehicle-mounted device 5.

  In addition, the priority determination unit 12B determines that the delimiter time is included in the determination as to whether or not the delimiter time at which the maximum usage fee is newly reset is included within the parking lot usage time ( In step S65 of FIG. 17, the parking lot usage time is further divided into two at the separation time, and it is determined that one of the divisions exceeds the usage time for which the maximum usage charge is applied. The parking lot information (determined as YES in step S66 in FIG. 17) is the parking lot information (in FIG. 17) in which it is determined that none of the divided parking lots exceeds the usage time to which the maximum usage fee is applied. The priority is set higher than that determined as NO in step S66. As a result, in addition to determining whether or not a break time at which the maximum usage fee is newly reset is included, the maximum usage fee is also applied to each usage time divided into two at that time. By determining whether or not the usage time is exceeded, it is determined whether or not the parking fee is separately generated even within each divided usage time. Since the parking lot information is more easily displayed than the parking lot information determined to exceed, the parking lot information can be appropriately distributed to the vehicle-mounted device 5.

  Further, when the parking lot use time cannot be determined from the information transmitted from the vehicle-mounted device 5 (NO in step S51 of FIG. 16 and NO in step S53 of FIG. 16), the priority determination unit 12B parks the current time. It is regarded as the use start time of the parking lot, and the time obtained by adding the use time to which the maximum use charge in the parking lot is applied to the use start time is calculated (step S83 in FIG. 18). It is determined whether or not it is before the delimiter time (determination in step S84 in FIG. 18), and the parking lot information determined to be before the delimiter time (determined as YES in step S84 in FIG. 18) The priority is set higher than the parking lot information determined not to be before the time (determined as NO in step S84 in FIG. 18). Thereby, for example, even when the user does not specify the use start time and use end time, the use time of the parking lot can be easily estimated, and the maximum use charge is newly added within the estimated use time. By determining whether or not a delimiter time to be reset is included, it is determined whether or not a parking fee is separately generated within the estimated time of use. Therefore, the parking lot information determined not to include the separation time is more easily displayed than the parking lot information determined to be included, and therefore the parking lot information can be appropriately distributed to the vehicle-mounted device 5. It becomes possible.

  In addition, as for the information distribution method executed by the center device 2, the parking lot information downlinked to the vehicle-mounted device 5 is not only searched by the distance from the own position or the low price of a single usage fee, By searching in consideration of the charge system of the parking lot, it becomes possible to distribute parking lot information with better conditions for the user. That is, this parking lot information distribution method can appropriately distribute service information to which a charge is added in time units.

  Moreover, since the parking lot information distribution program 12A for functioning as the center apparatus 2 described above is installed in the computer, the center apparatus 2 can be realized. Downlink parking information can be searched not only by the distance from one's own location or by the low price of a single usage fee, but also by considering the parking fee structure and making it more convenient for the user. It becomes possible to deliver parking information of good conditions. That is, by installing this program in a computer, it is possible to realize the center apparatus 2 that appropriately distributes service information to which fees are added in units of time.

  Moreover, the onboard equipment 5 can transmit the search conditions which a user desires with respect to the center apparatus 2 mentioned above, can receive appropriate parking lot information, and can show it to a user.

  Moreover, since the information delivery system 1 has the center device 2 and the vehicle-mounted device 5 described above, the parking lot information downlinked to the vehicle-mounted device 5 is searched only by the distance from its own position. In addition, by searching in consideration of the charge system of the parking lot, it is possible to provide parking information with better conditions for the user.

  The above embodiment is an example of the embodiment of the present invention. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and various modifications and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, although the parking lot information is exemplified as the service information that the center device 2 delivers to the vehicle-mounted device 5 via the roadside wireless device 3, other charges such as accommodation information such as Internet cafes and hotels Other service information to which is added may be provided.

  In the above-described embodiment, a search for appropriate parking lot information is executed based on the use start time included in the search request from the user, and the priority order is set for the search result. In addition, if there is a possibility that the parking fee may be reduced by waiting for a while without stopping at the parking lot immediately (for example, the break time) If the parking lot usage fee is divided and obtained without being calculated), the user may be notified of this by a display screen or voice. For example, if the current time is 23:45 and the time that is the day break of the parking lot you are going to park is 0:00, if you wait for another 15 minutes, the parking fee will be less than if you park immediately. In a profitable parking lot, the user may be notified by outputting a display or voice saying “If you wait 15 minutes, you will get XX yen.” Thereby, the user can use the parking lot at a lower usage fee.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, the priority order is determined based on the usage time information to which the maximum usage fee is applied and the time information of the break for the charge system of each parking lot. In addition, a priority order determination method may be adopted in consideration of differences when coupon information or the like of each parking lot (for example, a “one hour free” discount service) is applied. For example, when subtracting the parking usage time of 2 hours, if parking from 15:00 on the 11th to 1 o'clock on the 12th, is it calculated from 15:00 on the 11th to 23:00 on the 11th? Since the usage fee varies depending on whether it is calculated up to 1 o'clock a day, the priority of the parking lot may be determined so that priority is given to the cheaper usage fee due to these differences.

  In the above-described embodiment, the center apparatus 2 and the roadside apparatus 3 are physically and functionally separated. In addition, for example, the roadside apparatus 3 has a function of the center apparatus 2. You may make it let. In the above-described embodiment, the vehicle-mounted device 5 serving as an information transmitting / receiving device is used. In addition to this, for example, a mobile phone having a DSRC communication function or a PDA may be mounted on the vehicle 4 as the information transmitting / receiving device. Further, the information transmitting / receiving device may be a device carried by the user without being mounted on the vehicle 4.

  Moreover, although the onboard equipment 5 as an information transmission / reception apparatus which concerns on embodiment mentioned above is comprised with the main control part 31, the DSRC communication part 32, and the navigation part 33, as shown in FIG. For example, an ETC (Electronic Toll Collection system) processing unit (not shown) capable of paying charges, such as an ITS on-board device, and an IC card interface unit (not shown) for inserting an IC card used at the time of charge settlement It is good. The information transmitting / receiving apparatus may be a terminal that does not have a navigation function or a portable terminal that is not always installed in the vehicle 4.

  Further, the DSRC communication unit 32 of the vehicle-mounted device 5 according to the above-described embodiment has a 5.8 GHz band DSRC communication function. In addition to this, for example, like an ITS vehicle-mounted device, an optical VICS interface, An FMVICS interface, an interface for communication in other frequency bands, and a communication interface with other media may be provided. Further, as a communication method, other communication methods such as 5.8 GHz band narrow communication and other wide communication methods may be adopted.

  Moreover, the function of each structural block which the parking lot information delivery system 1 which concerns on embodiment mentioned above has may implement | achieve all or one part by software, or implement | achieve at least one part by hardware. good. For example, all or a part of the processing in the CPU 11 of the center apparatus 2 may be realized on a computer by one or a plurality of programs, and at least a part thereof may be realized by hardware.

  Further, for example, a computer program for operating the center device 2 and / or the vehicle-mounted device 5 as all or a part of the device may be a memory card, a CD (compact disc), a DVD (digital versatile disc), an MO (magneto-optical). For example, a mobile phone, an audio device, an electronic watch, etc., and operate as the center device 2 and / or the vehicle-mounted device 5. Alternatively, the process performed by the center device 2 and / or the vehicle-mounted device 5 may be executed. Furthermore, the program may be stored in a disk device or the like included in a server device on the Internet, and may be downloaded to a computer serving as the center device 2 and / or the vehicle-mounted device 5 by being superimposed on a carrier wave, for example.

  The present invention includes, for example, a system capable of navigating a vehicle, a ship, or the like, or an information distribution system capable of providing service information to which a charge is added in units of time using a portable information processing apparatus, and the system includes The present invention can be used for an information distribution apparatus, an information distribution method, a program, and an information transmission / reception apparatus.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Parking lot information distribution system (an example of information distribution system), 2 center apparatus (an example of information distribution apparatus), 3, 3A, 3B roadside radio apparatus, 3C access point, 4 vehicle, 5 onboard equipment (an example of information transmission / reception apparatus) ), 6A network, 6B external network, 11 CPU, 12 ROM, 12A parking lot information distribution program, 12B priority determination unit, 12C information selection unit, 12D information transmission control unit, 13 RAM, 14 HDD, 14A parking lot DB, 15 input unit, 16 output unit, 17A first communication control unit, 17B second communication control unit, 18 system bus, 21 main unit, 22 antenna, 31 main control unit, 32 DSRC communication unit, 32A transmission / reception unit / modem Part, 32B DSRC control part, 32C DSRC-ASL processing part, 32D memory part, 2E Uplink information generation program, 32F human machine interface unit, 33 navigation unit (part of control unit of information transmitting / receiving device), 33A navigation data processing unit, 33B human machine interface unit, 33C high-precision positioning measurement unit, 33D navigation Data section, 33E operation section, 33F display section

Claims (9)

The information is transmitted to the information transmitting / receiving device according to information indicating a usage time to which a maximum usage fee when using the service is applied and information indicating a break time at which the service usage fee is newly reset A priority determination unit for determining the priority of service information;
An information selection unit that selects the service information according to the priority determined by the priority determination unit;
An information transmission control unit for transmitting the service information selected by the information selection unit to the information transmitting / receiving device;
An information distribution apparatus comprising: The information distribution device according to claim 1,
The priority determining unit
Obtaining information indicating the service usage time transmitted from the information transmitting / receiving device, and determining whether the service usage time is longer than the usage time to which the maximum usage fee for each service information is applied,
When it is determined that the usage time of the service is longer than the usage time to which the maximum usage fee is applied, it is determined whether or not the separation time is included in the usage time of the service, and the separation time is included. For the service information determined to be not, the priority is set higher than the service information determined to include the break time,
An information distribution apparatus characterized by that. The information distribution device according to claim 2,
The priority determining unit
In the determination of whether or not the separation time at which a fee is newly reset within the service usage time is included, if it is determined that the separation time is included, the service usage time is further set as the separation time. And determine whether any of the divisions exceeds the usage time to which the maximum usage fee applies,
The service information that has been determined that any one of the divided times exceeds the usage time to which the maximum usage fee is applied, and any of the divided information exceeds the usage time to which the maximum usage fee is applied Set a higher priority than the service information determined to be,
An information distribution apparatus characterized by that. The information distribution device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The priority determining unit
When the use end time of the service cannot be determined from the information indicating the use time of the service transmitted from the information transmitting / receiving device,
Calculating a time obtained by adding a usage time at which the maximum usage charge for the service is applied to a usage start time of the service;
Determining whether the calculated time is before the separation time;
The service information determined to be before the break time is set to have a higher priority than the service information determined not to be before the break time.
An information distribution apparatus characterized by that. The information distribution device according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The service information is parking lot information,
An information reception control unit that receives location information and parking information according to a search request from the information transmission / reception device via a roadside wireless device capable of communicating with the information transmission / reception device;
The priority determination unit determines the priority based on the parking lot information received by the information reception control unit;
An information distribution apparatus characterized by that. The service information distributed to the information transmitting / receiving device according to information indicating a usage time to which the maximum usage fee when using the service is applied, and information indicating a delimiter time at which the fee is newly reset Determine the priority,
Select the service information according to the determined priority order,
Transmitting the selected service information to the information transmitting / receiving device;
An information delivery method characterized by the above. Computer
The service information distributed to the information transmitting / receiving device according to information indicating a usage time to which the maximum usage fee when using the service is applied, and information indicating a delimiter time at which the fee is newly reset A priority determining means for determining the priority;
Information selection means for selecting the service information according to the priority order determined by the priority determination means;
Information transmission control means for transmitting the service information selected by the information selection means to the information transmitting / receiving apparatus;
Program to function as.   A location information and a search request for service information to which a charge is added in units of time are transmitted to the information distribution apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, and the location information and the search request An information transmission / reception apparatus comprising: a transmission / reception control unit that receives the service information according to the information from the information distribution apparatus. An information distribution system having an information transmission / reception device that receives service information and an information distribution device that distributes the service information,
The information transmitting / receiving device includes:
A location information and a search request for service information to which a charge is added in time units are transmitted to the information distribution device, and the location information and the service information corresponding to the search request are received from the information distribution device. A transmission / reception control unit,
The information distribution apparatus includes:
The service information distributed to the information transmitting / receiving device according to information indicating a usage time to which the maximum usage fee when using the service is applied, and information indicating a delimiter time at which the fee is newly reset A priority determination unit for determining priority;
An information selection unit that selects the service information according to the priority order determined by the priority determination unit;
An information transmission control unit for transmitting the service information selected by the information selection unit to the information transmitting / receiving device;
An information distribution system comprising:

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