JP4605762B2 - Car navigation system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a route search method using travel route information of other vehicles and a car navigation apparatus using the route search method.

In the route search method by the car navigation device, as the route search method using the travel route information of the other vehicle, the travel locus data acquired by the car navigation device is sent to the car navigation device of the other vehicle via the server, for example. Reference method (see Patent Document 1), route information from another vehicle to the destination via the communication device, and position information and travel route information of the other vehicle that is estimated that the destination matches the own vehicle There is also a method for obtaining and displaying (see Patent Document 2).
JP 2002-357439 A JP 2002-342888 A

  However, in the technique described in Patent Document 1, personal information that can be specified from each vehicle is known to the server because each vehicle directly sends travel route data when each vehicle travels to the server. There is a problem that it is easy to leak. Further, when the technique described in Patent Document 2 is used, there is a problem that travel route information that is desired to be referred to cannot be obtained when there is no vehicle that is actually set as a destination.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a route search technique capable of enhancing the possibility of obtaining desired travel route information and concealing personal information that may be leaked with information exchange.

  According to one aspect of the present invention, a communication device capable of communicating with an unspecified other vehicle via a network, an input device for inputting route search conditions for searching for travel route data, the communication device, and the network The search request including the route search condition is propagated through the search for another vehicle holding the travel route candidate data that matches the route search condition, and the travel route candidate data is obtained from the searched other vehicle. There is provided a travel route search device characterized by having a travel route calculation device that performs control.

  In addition, a communication device that can communicate with other unspecified vehicles via a network, a map database that holds map data, a position information specifying device that specifies current position information, and a route search for searching for travel route data By holding a search request including the current position information and the route search condition via an input device for inputting a condition, the communication device and the network, the travel route candidate data matching the route search condition is retained. A travel route calculation device that performs control for searching for other vehicles to perform and acquiring travel route candidate data from the searched other vehicles, and superimposing the travel route candidate data on the map data corresponding to the travel route data A car navigation device comprising a display device for displaying is provided.

  In the car navigation device, instead of acquiring travel route candidate data from a specific server or a specific vehicle, the travel route candidate data is acquired from an unspecified vehicle, so that the confidentiality of the side that provides the travel route data is improved. be able to.

  The travel route calculation device performs control to acquire the travel route candidate data from at least one unspecified other vehicle from a provider of the travel route candidate data. Thereby, since it is difficult for the requester to specify from which vehicle the travel route data is, it is possible to improve the secrecy regarding the side that provides the travel route data.

  The search request or the travel route candidate data is propagated in a peer-to-peer form. Furthermore, a travel route data storage device for storing travel route data is provided, and the travel route data storage device travels from another vehicle acquired when the travel route data of the host vehicle and the host vehicle are the request source. In addition to route data, a vehicle travel route data storage device that stores travel route data being propagated from another vehicle to another vehicle even when the host vehicle is not the request source is provided. Accordingly, various travel route data are accumulated in the car navigation device, and the database can be enhanced.

  In addition, when the travel route candidate that matches the route search condition cannot be searched, the travel route calculation device divides the search target route for each route unit, and re-searches the route for each of the divided route units. It is characterized by performing. Thereby, even when a complete route search cannot be performed, the possibility that at least a part of the route search result is obtained increases.

  The travel route data includes position information, time information, and a unique identifier indicating the travel route, and a search request from another vehicle is made based on the identifier. The identifier is an identifier specified by, for example, an intersection name. This facilitates the acquisition of travel route data from the search request vehicle.

  Further, the travel route data can include a trip name in the route search condition as an identifier that can identify the vehicle, and the travel route data of the vehicle specified by the trip name is preferentially searched. It is characterized by that. For example, by preferentially searching for a vehicle that provides excellent travel route data, the possibility of successful route search increases.

  Furthermore, a determination unit that determines whether a traffic regulation violation has occurred while referring to the map database with respect to travel route data acquired from another vehicle, and a means for generating a deletion or warning based on the determination result of the determination unit It is characterized by having. As a result, the travel route data of the vehicle causing the speed violation or the one-way violation can be excluded from the search target, and a more accurate result can be obtained.

  Further, the present invention includes a plurality of the car navigation devices, and a travel route data storage server having a database that collectively manages the plurality of the car navigation devices and records vehicle travel route data collectively. A route search system is provided. When traveling route data existing in any one of the car navigation devices is transmitted to the server device, control is performed so as to propagate through the car navigation device of another vehicle. Thereby, the confidentiality of the travel route data with respect to the travel route data storage server can be considered.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a route search method using a communication function, a travel route data storage server for storing travel route data, and a plurality of car navigation devices included therein, and requests travel route information. Receiving route search conditions for directly or indirectly searching for travel route data from the requesting car navigation device, and providing in the own car navigation device travel route data that matches the route search conditions. If the search is made in the travel route data storage server and the search is not made in the travel route data storage server, the route search condition is transmitted to another car navigation device, and the route is transmitted to the other car navigation device. Repeating the step of searching for travel route data that matches the search conditions; When travel route data matching the route search condition is found in the own travel route data storage server in the car navigation device, at least other travel route data in the searched travel route data storage server is specified. The route search method includes the step of transmitting to the request source via the car navigation device. A program for causing a computer to execute the above steps may be stored in each car navigation device.

  According to the present invention, when acquiring travel route data of another vehicle, the travel route data is obtained from an unspecified vehicle, so that the owner of the travel route data becomes difficult to be identified, and the privacy of the owner is protected. be able to. Furthermore, by obtaining the travel route data via an unspecified number of vehicles, it becomes possible to further consider privacy (personal information). In addition, when the travel route data is exchanged via an unspecified number of vehicles, the travel route data can be stored in the car navigation device of each vehicle, and thus has necessary travel route data. Even when the vehicle is not currently traveling on the route, it is possible to obtain necessary travel route data based on the already accumulated travel route data.

  Also, by providing a server device that accumulates travel route data transmitted from a large number of vehicles, travel route data different from the travel route data specified via a plurality of vehicles can be provided to the vehicle. The flexibility of selection can be increased. In addition, when acquiring travel route data from a server, the travel route data stored in the server is not directly transmitted from the owner of the travel route data, so the privacy of the owner is considered. It becomes possible to do. Therefore, the desire to participate in the navigation system increases, and a more accurate route search becomes possible.

  Hereinafter, a car navigation system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of a car navigation system according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the car navigation system according to the present embodiment includes a large number of vehicles, here car navigation devices 1A to 1D provided for four vehicles A to D as an example, and each vehicle. A travel route data storage server device 2 that stores travel route data from A to D as necessary, and a network 3 that interconnects the travel route data storage server 2 to each of the devices 1A to 1D. Have. With the above configuration, the travel route data is exchanged via the network 3 to the car navigation devices 1A to 1D provided in the vehicles A to D, respectively.

  An example of data exchange will be described in more detail. First, the car navigation apparatus 1A and the car navigation apparatus 1B communicate to exchange data, and then the car navigation apparatus 1B and the car navigation apparatus 1C communicate with each other. While exchanging data by performing peer-to-peer (one-to-one) communication between each car navigation system, a travel route acquisition command or searched travel route data is successively transmitted via the network. Propagate to. It is preferable that the network and the apparatus are always connected.

  FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing a configuration example of the car navigation device 1 mounted on the vehicle. A car navigation device 1A according to the present embodiment is mounted on a vehicle A as shown in FIG. 2 and acquires travel route data of the host vehicle A based on the same principle as that of a general car navigation system. Furthermore, the car navigation device 1A includes a host vehicle travel route data calculation device 11 that accumulates the travel route data, and a position detection device 12 such as a GPS, and travels of the host vehicle that includes, for example, a hard disk drive (HDD). A travel data storage device 13 for storing route data and travel route data of other vehicles, an input device 14 for inputting search conditions for retrieving travel route data of other vehicles, and other vehicles that meet the search conditions A route calculation device 15 for obtaining the travel route data of the vehicle, and a display control unit having an OSD function or the like capable of displaying the travel route data of other vehicles searched by the route computation device 15 on map data possessed by the vehicle (OSD function). (Not shown), a display device 16 including a display unit such as an LCD controlled by the display control unit, and another vehicle B D or a wireless communication device 17 that makes a search request for a travel route to the travel route data storage device 13 and can receive route data sent from other vehicles BD, road regulation information, intersection information, and the like are included. And a map database 18 to be configured.

  FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram illustrating a configuration example of the travel route data storage server 2. The travel route data storage server 2 shown in FIG. 3 is fixedly installed in an office, for example, and calculates whether there is duplication of travel route data transmitted from the multiple car navigation devices 1A to 1D or traffic regulation violations. Travel route data registration device 21 that performs the map, a map database 22 that stores map information including road regulation information and intersection information, a travel route data storage device 23 that stores travel route data, and a travel route search from the car navigation device. A travel route data search device 24 that performs a search for acquiring a travel route that meets the requirements, a billing device 25 that charges a vehicle equipped with a car navigation device as needed, and each vehicle And a communication device 26 provided for communication.

  Next, in the car navigation system according to the present embodiment, a travel route acquisition method in the host vehicle travel route data calculation device 11 (FIG. 2) of the car navigation device mounted on the vehicle will be described with reference to FIGS. To do. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the flow of the host vehicle travel route acquisition process according to the present embodiment. B in the figure is a buffer for temporarily storing a state in the middle of creating the travel route data indicated by reference numeral 53 in FIG. 5C, and b is the travel data indicated by reference numeral 51 in FIG. 5B. Is a buffer for temporary storage.

  There are three parameters in the processing of this flowchart, and one is a flag indicating whether or not to add a trip name to the travel route data. The trip name mentioned here is an identification name for identifying the user who created the travel route data, and is arbitrarily set by the user without depending on the vehicle or car navigation device. A distinguished name that can. The second parameter is a sampling interval that determines how often the travel data is acquired. In this embodiment, an example in which the sampling interval is set by time is shown, but it may be determined by a travel distance. The third parameter is the longest time for judging whether the vehicle has reached the destination when the engine has stopped, and storing the previous travel route as travel route data in the travel route data storage device 13. This is the engine stop time.

  These three parameters may be set in the system before the processing of this flowchart by an input screen (not shown), or may have specified values in the system. It is desirable that users who do not wish to be identified do not need to set trips. The trip name may be input directly from the input device by the user, or may be automatically generated from the individual identification number of the vehicle or the car navigation device. In addition, the trip name is preferably encrypted when it is stored in the travel route data in order to protect the privacy of the user.

  First, the contents of buffer B are cleared in S41. Next, it is determined whether or not the user is permitted to add a trip name to the travel route data (S42). If the addition of the trip name is permitted, the user-specific trip name is stored in the buffer B. (S43). If the assignment of the trip name is not permitted, only the trip name area is stored in the buffer B (S44). Next, the area of the number of times of adoption is additionally stored in the buffer B, and an initial value 0 is set (S45). Next, the travel data temporary storage buffer b is cleared (S46). Next, it is determined whether the vehicle is traveling (S47). If the vehicle is traveling, it is first determined whether the vehicle is passing an intersection (S51). Whether the vehicle has passed the intersection is determined using the coordinates of the current position observed by GPS and the intersection information in the map database 18 of FIG. When passing the intersection, the GPS coordinate value on the intersection, the time when passing the intersection, and the intersection identifier are shown as coordinates (x, y) 511, time 512, and intersection identifier 513 shown in FIG. It stores in b (S52). The intersection identifier can be acquired from the map database 18, and for example, the name of the intersection can be used. If the vehicle does not pass the intersection, it is determined whether a time equal to or longer than the sampling interval has elapsed since the previous travel data was acquired (S53). If not, the process returns to S47. If it is determined in S53 that the predetermined time has elapsed, the current coordinate value and time acquired from the GPS are stored in b as coordinates (x, y) 511 and time 512 shown in FIG. Nothing is stored in the area of the intersection identifier 513 (S54). As described above, the travel data is acquired when the vehicle has passed the intersection or a predetermined time has elapsed. Next, the contents of b are encrypted to obtain travel data (after encryption) 51 in FIG. 5B (S55). This encryption is intended to prevent the user from elucidating where the user is traveling even when the travel route data is stolen due to hacking or theft of the vehicle itself, which leads to protection of the user's privacy. Next, the encrypted travel data b is additionally stored in the travel route data buffer B (S56), and the process returns to S46 to clear the travel data buffer b. Returning to S47, if it is determined that the vehicle is not traveling, it is determined whether the engine is stopped (S48). If the engine is not stopped, it is considered that the destination has not yet been reached, and the process returns to S47. If the engine is stopped, it is determined whether the engine stop time is longer than the longest engine stop time (S49). If the engine stop time is not longer, it is determined that the destination has not yet been reached and the process returns to S47. When the engine is stopped longer than the longest engine stop time, it is determined whether or not a travel route data file including the travel route of the travel route data buffer B exists in the travel route data storage device 13. Returning to S41, the travel route data buffer B is cleared, and the processing from S42 is repeated. If not, the contents of the travel route data buffer B are stored in the travel route data storage device 13 with a unique name as a new travel route data file (S51). Then, the process returns to S41, the travel route data buffer B is cleared, and the processes after S42 are repeated.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a data structure when a travel route is stored in the travel route data storage device 13 of the car navigation device. FIG. 5A is a diagram in which a situation in which a vehicle moves along a road is displayed on a map. As shown in FIG. 5 (A), the travel data shown in FIG. 5 (B) is acquired for each of the points P10 to 17 on the route traveled by the vehicle. FIG. 5B is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the travel route data before encryption and the travel route data after encryption. As shown in FIG. 5B, the travel route data 51 before encryption has coordinates (x, y) 511, a time 512, and an intersection identifier 513. The unencrypted travel route data 51 is converted into encrypted travel route data 52 and stored in the travel route data shown in FIG. FIG. 5C is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of travel route data stored in the travel route data storage device. In the travel route data 52 of FIG. 5C, coordinates corresponding to the positions P10 to P17 shown in FIG. 5A, time, and intersection identifier are stored in time series. In FIG. 5C, these data are shown in an unencrypted state for easy understanding, but are actually stored as encrypted travel data 52. Trip name 54 is left blank if the user does not want to give a trip name. The number of times of adoption 55 is an initial value of 0 at the time when the travel route data 52 has just been created, and is 1 each time a part or all of this travel route is adopted as a travel route in the vehicle storing the travel route data. It will be counted up one by one. The reason why the time and the intersection identifier are acquired together with the coordinates representing the vehicle position (absolute coordinate value) and stored as a table is necessary when the vehicle travel route is searched using the time zone or the intersection name as a key. It is because it is said.

  In addition, the travel route data storage device 13 of the car navigation device stores the travel route data of the other vehicle as well as the travel route data of the own vehicle in the same data structure. Therefore, a route in which a trip name is designated as necessary. You can search. For example, in the case of finding out a trip that always delivers excellent travel route data based on the experience of using this car navigation device several times, it is possible to search using the trip name as a key.

  Useful data can also be obtained by specifying and retrieving data that has been frequently used.

  Next, a travel route search method using the car navigation apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a display screen displayed when a route search condition for a vehicle is designated. For example, as shown in FIG. 6 (A), when the section to be passed is defined as the start point P1 and the end point P2 with respect to the position of the vehicle, the input device 14 (FIG. 2) is used to In this case, the search path 60b-1 from the departure point to the destination is designated on the display screen 60b. In this case, a numerical value may be input, or a position may be designated on the map screen. The name of the intersection recorded in 18 may be used, or the name of an object such as a building name may be specified. It is also possible to input to the search destination 60b-2 and specify which travel route data storage device among other vehicles, the travel route data storage server device, or the host vehicle is the search destination. At the same time, if you want to refer to the time zone 60b-3 you want to refer to or a specific vehicle, specify the vehicle identifier trip name 60b-4, how many times you want to use the data, or 60b-5, etc. It can be done. The search route 60b-1 may be specified not only at the departure point and the destination, but also at a plurality of points that must be passed along the way. In particular, when the start point and the end point are too far apart, it is difficult to search for travel route data including both of them, so it is desirable to specify the route in detail so that the route for each part can be acquired. Also, a plurality of search destinations may be selected, or all the travel route data storage devices may be searched without specifying the search destination. In addition, it may be possible to specify how many routes to acquire.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the flow of candidate route selection processing in the route calculation device 15 (FIG. 2) of the car navigation device. When the route calculation device 15 (FIG. 2) acquires the search condition specified in FIG. 6 in step S71, a search ID is issued in step S72. This search ID is a unique ID generated based on the individual information of the car navigation device and the issue time. At this time, if the search condition specifies from the starting point to the destination divided into several sections, branch numbers are assigned to the same search ID, and IDs using the start point and end point of each section as search conditions are set. Issue. Also, if the section specified in the search condition is longer than the distance specified by the system as the longest section distance, the system automatically divides it into several sections, which is the same as when multiple sections are specified. A branch number may be assigned to the same search ID, and an ID may be issued with the start point and end point of each section as search conditions. For example, the shortest route from the departure place to the destination is obtained using known prior art, and the sections are divided so as to be shorter than the longest section distance. Further, the section division may be implemented so that it is performed when a search result is not obtained in the first search. Further, in this embodiment, when the start point and end point of the section are designated by the object name, the map database 18 is referred to, converted into the GPS coordinates of the object, the nearest intersection name, etc., and searched. I will make it a condition. Proceeding to step S73, the search destination is specified. In step S73, when the search target is the own vehicle, in step S731, the travel route data registered in the travel route data storage device 13 in the car navigation device in the own vehicle is retrieved. In S732, if travel route data including the start point and end point of the section specified by the search condition is found, it is registered in the travel route candidate list in S76. At this time, whether or not the start point and end point of the search section are included is determined within the allowable error range set in the system. Moreover, you may mount so that this tolerance may also be set by a user. If conditions such as time zone, trip name, number of times of employment are specified, refer to time 512 in FIG. 5 (B), trip name 54 in FIG. 5 (C), number of times of employment 55, etc. The travel route data satisfying the condition is searched. When the start point and end point of the section are designated by the intersection name, the travel route data is searched using the intersection identifier 513 in FIG. Note that when a plurality of routes matching the conditions are searched, a plurality of routes may be extracted. If the search target is another vehicle in step S73, the process proceeds to step S733, the search condition and the search ID are transmitted to the unspecified other vehicle, and the search processing result in the other vehicle is received in step S734.

  At this time, first, when a search is started, a search ID (search key) and a search condition are sent to a node (another vehicle) communicating with the own vehicle and transmitted to a node communicating with the node. As described above, the search ID and the search condition are propagated one after another. When a search route that matches the search condition is found, that is, when it is found that there is a search route at a node at a certain address, the search result returns to the request source through the same route or a different route. As another method, the search result exchange port and bandwidth may be secured in all vehicles, and transmitted directly to the request source address when a search target is found.

  By the way, in the first trial communication, when the network address of the other vehicle is not known, the access to the other vehicle may not be smoothly performed. Therefore, a user of this car navigation system or a volunteer within the user registers the network address of the vehicle in the travel route data storage server 2 in which the network address is disclosed as an initial node address list, The user may start communication with another vehicle by first obtaining and referring to the list. After communication with other vehicles is established, the address of other vehicles communicating with other vehicles can be acquired, and the network circle expands. In this way, the newly acquired address of the other vehicle is also stored in the host vehicle as a node address list together with the previous initial node address list and can be used when the next communication is established.

  In addition, between the nodes (including the travel route data storage server 2) with which communication is established in this way, regardless of whether there is a request from either node, each other can use the established communication route. The travel route data file to be held is automatically propagated. For example, the data is automatically transmitted to the travel route data storage device of the communication partner node in the order of the most frequently used travel route data held by the user or in descending order of the size of the travel route data file. Or, conversely, the travel route data file of the communication partner not in the travel route data storage device of the own node is automatically copied to the travel route data storage device of the own node. By doing so, there is an increased probability that data created by a vehicle far away on the communication path can be acquired from a nearby node. Even in this case, it is desirable not to send the route data created by the host vehicle to the travel route data storage server 2. That is, the travel route data created by a certain vehicle is always sent to the travel route data storage server 2 via another vehicle, so that which vehicle is created on the so-called management organization side that manages the travel route data storage server 2 It is desirable to be able to conceal whether it is the travel route data. This is because such a mechanism allows the user to disclose his / her travel route with peace of mind.

  Returning to the flowchart of FIG. 7, if it can be determined in step S73 that the search target is the travel route data storage server device, the search condition is transmitted to the server in step S735, and the server search result is received in step S736. . Here, when at least one travel route data including the start point and the end point specified by the search condition in at least one of the other vehicle and the travel route data storage server device within the allowable error is received in step 74, step S75 is performed. The candidate route is stored in the own travel route data storage device 13. As a result, the travel route information stored in the other vehicle is duplicated in the own vehicle, so that it is not necessary to issue a candidate route search request to the other vehicle in the next and subsequent searches (the search may be performed in the own vehicle). ). The travel route data searched in this way is registered in the candidate list in step S76, and the process ends. Note that the above series of processing may be executed a plurality of times.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing in which the route calculation device 15 (FIG. 2) of the car navigation device searches for a candidate route in response to a candidate route search request from another vehicle. In step S81, the search condition is received, and in step S82, it is compared with the search ID stored in the vehicle. At this time, if the same search ID already exists, an error is returned to the search request source vehicle in step S86. Thereby, it is possible to cope with the case where the same search request is transmitted from several vehicles. In this way, only when the received search condition is the first time, the process proceeds to step S83, and the travel route data including the start point and the end point specified by the search condition in the travel route data storage device 13 in the own vehicle within the allowable error. Search (multiple routes that meet the conditions may be searched). If the corresponding travel route data exists, the process proceeds to step S85, and the search result is returned to the requesting vehicle.

  If the travel route data corresponding to the above condition does not exist in the own vehicle in step S84, the process proceeds to step S841, and the search condition and the search ID are set for all other vehicles for which communication other than the requesting vehicle is established. Send. In step S842, if the received data received from another vehicle returns with an error, the process returns from step S843 to step S841, and if there is another newly established vehicle, a search request is made for that vehicle. . If the travel route data that meets the search conditions is returned from another vehicle in step S843, the travel route data is registered in the travel route data storage device in step S844. Thereafter, in step S845, the travel route data is transmitted to the travel route data storage server, and in step S85, the search result is returned to the requesting vehicle. As described above, the travel route data search process can propagate a plurality of vehicles and search for necessary travel route information from an unspecified number of people, and can also share a travel route between a plurality of vehicles.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a flow of a travel route sharing process between a plurality of vehicles. As shown in FIG. 9, when there is no corresponding travel route data in the car navigation device 1A that makes a route search request, the car navigation device 1B makes a search request L1 and passes through the car navigation device 1B. 1C (L2), and then, as shown in FIG. 9B, the route data 20c searched in the car navigation device 1C passes through the car navigation device 1B (L3) to the car navigation device 1A. Returned (L4), a copy of the route data 20c is shared between the car navigation device 1B and the car navigation device 1A.

  FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the flow of the travel route data storage process in the travel route data registration device 21 (FIG. 3) of the travel route data storage server device 2. When the process is started and travel route data from an unspecified vehicle is received in step S101, it is determined in step S42 whether or not it is already stored in the travel route data storage device 23. Here, if there is no overlap with the already registered, the process proceeds to step S103, and in step S103, it is evaluated whether or not the received data is illegal data. The unauthorized data is evaluated by referring to the map database 22 (FIG. 3) and using traffic regulation information such as one-way regulation included in the map database 22, for example. In step S103, those determined as appropriate travel route data are registered in the travel route data storage device 23 (FIG. 3) in step S104.

  FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a flow of a travel route data search process performed by the travel route data search device 24 of the travel route data storage server device 2 in response to a search request from the car navigation device. As shown in FIG. 11, when the process is started, search conditions are acquired from the car navigation device in step S111, and corresponding travel route data is searched from the travel route data storage device 23 in step S112. If the corresponding data is searched in step S113, the billing process shown in step S114 is performed as necessary, and the travel route data is returned to the requesting car navigation device in step S115. If no corresponding data is found in step S113, an error message is returned in step S116, and the process ends.

  FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing for displaying the candidate route search result extracted in the processing shown in FIG. 11 on the display device 16 in the car navigation device that has made the search request. When the process is started, route data is read from the route candidate list in step S121, and in step S122, the vehicle traveling speed is calculated based on the coordinate information and time information included in the route while referring to the map database. At this time, data that is clearly determined to exceed the speed (there is fraud) is excluded from candidates in step S113. At this time, the road type information included in the map database may be used to decide whether or not to exclude. In other words, it is necessary to determine the regulation such as legal speed and one-way traffic individually for each road and position.

  Further, as shown in step S124, the traffic regulation information (one-way traffic etc.) included in the map database is referred to and it is judged in step S125 whether the data is clearly considered to be a violation of the regulation. In step S126, it is excluded from candidates. If it is determined that it is not illegal, the process proceeds to step S127, and it is determined whether or not the route list has reached the end. If it is not the end, the process returns to step S121, and the above process is repeated for the candidates until the end is reached. If it is determined in step S127 that it is the end, the process proceeds to step S128, where sorting is performed according to the time required for each route, and candidate routes are displayed on the screen in step S129. This completes the process. Note that it may be possible to arbitrarily set whether or not the illegal data determination processing in S123 and S125 and the illegal data deletion processing in S126 are performed. This is because, for example, in an ambulance vehicle, such data can be used effectively.

  FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a route display example displayed based on the above processing. FIG. 13 shows two route candidates for the own vehicle 51 from the position P1 to the position P2. It can be seen that the first route M1 takes 15 minutes and the second route takes 20 minutes. Since the route actually traveled by another vehicle is displayed as a feature using the technique according to the present embodiment, the shortest route is not always displayed.

  FIGS. 14A to 14E are diagrams showing search result display examples when a route from a departure place to a destination is divided into a plurality of sections and searched. The first route candidate shown in FIG. 14 (A) is a route starting from the point P11 and passing through the points P12, P13, P14 to the point P15. The route P11-P12 is a route P12- P13 is obtained from the car navigation system of the vehicle E, the route P13-P14 is obtained from the own vehicle (A), and the route P14-P15 is obtained from the vehicle C. Similarly, the second route candidates shown in FIG. 14B are obtained in order from the vehicles B, E, D, and C. Similarly, the third route candidates shown in FIG. 14C are obtained in order from the vehicles B, E, D, and C. Similarly, the fourth route candidate shown in FIG. 14D is not obtained from the vehicle B, but from D and C, and no route candidate is obtained from any of the routes P12 to P13. In such a case, a route candidate regarding an unknown route can be obtained by giving a new point as a condition P21 or P22 and trying to search for a route from the point P2 to the new point P21 or P22. The possibility of being able to be increased.

  As described above, according to the car navigation system according to the embodiment of the present invention, in order to obtain travel route data from an unspecified vehicle when obtaining travel route data of another vehicle, It becomes difficult for the owner to be identified, and the privacy of the owner can be protected. In addition, by accumulating traveling route data exchanged between an unspecified number of vehicles in the car navigation device of each vehicle, when a vehicle having the necessary traveling route data is not traveling In addition, it is possible to obtain necessary travel route data from the travel route data stored in other vehicles.

  Also, by providing a server device that accumulates travel route data transmitted from a large number of vehicles, travel route data different from the travel route data specified via a plurality of vehicles can be provided to the vehicle. It becomes possible to increase the flexibility of selection. Furthermore, when acquiring the travel route data from the server, the travel route data stored in the server is not directly transmitted from the owner of the travel route data, and thus the privacy of the owner is protected. It becomes possible.

  In addition, when combining route candidates, it is easy to acquire a consistent series of routes by combining candidates that approximate time information (including date and time, day of the week, etc.) as shown in FIG. There is also a method of preferentially adopting such candidates.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration example of a car navigation system according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structural example of the car navigation apparatus in the car navigation system of FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the system structural example of the server apparatus in the car navigation system of FIG. It is a flowchart figure which shows the flow of the process which acquires the driving | running route data of the own vehicle, and accumulate | stores it. It is a figure which shows the example (A) of a travel route, the data structure example (B) of travel data, and the example (C) of the accumulated travel route data. It is a figure which shows the display example (A) of the map data in the case of request | requiring driving route data to another vehicle, and the example of a display screen (B) which inputs the item which sets search conditions. It is a flowchart figure which shows the flow of the process which acquires the other vehicle travel route in a car navigation apparatus. It is a flowchart figure which shows the flow of the process which acquires the own vehicle travel route data or requests | requires another vehicle to search according to the travel route data search request | requirement from the other vehicle in the car navigation apparatus of one embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows that common driving route data is accumulate | stored in each between several vehicles. It is a flowchart figure which shows the flow of the process which accumulate | stores the driving route data received from the car navigation apparatus in the server apparatus. It is a flowchart figure which shows the flow of the process which acquires travel route data according to the search request from a car navigation apparatus, charges, and transmits travel route data in a server apparatus. It is a flowchart figure which shows the flow of the process which displays the driving | running route data acquired from the other vehicle in a car navigation apparatus. It is a figure which shows the example of a screen which displays the driving route data acquired from the other vehicle in a car navigation apparatus. (A) to (D) are diagrams showing variations of an example in which one route is divided into a plurality of routes and a travel route is acquired for each divided route.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Car navigation apparatus, 2 ... Driving | running | working data storage server apparatus, 3 ... Communication line and the internet, 11 ... Own vehicle driving | running | working data calculating apparatus, 12 ... Position detection apparatus (GPS etc.), 13, 23 ... Traveling data storage apparatus, 14 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS ... Input device, 15 ... Route calculation device, 16 ... Display device, 17, 26 ... Communication device, 18, 22 ... Map database, 21 ... Travel route data registration device, 24 ... Travel route data search device, 25 ... Billing device.

Claims (10)

A server navigation system and a plurality of vehicles each store and share travel route data stored as continuous coordinates of the travel trajectory of each of the plurality of vehicles via a network,
The server device
Server-side communication means for communicating with the plurality of vehicles;
Server-side travel route data storage means for storing the travel route data of the plurality of vehicles received from the plurality of vehicles;
In response to a request for acquiring travel route data from the plurality of vehicles, the travel route data is searched from the travel route data storage means, and the travel route data that matches the request for acquiring the travel route data is the server side travel route. If found in the data storage means, travel route data search means for transmitting the travel route data to the requesting vehicle;
A node address list storing one or more network addresses of the plurality of vehicles to establish communication between the plurality of vehicles first;
With
Each vehicle of the plurality of vehicles is
The node address list is acquired from the server, communication with another vehicle is started using the node address list, and after communication is established, another vehicle that is communicating with the other vehicle that has established communication with the own vehicle. Acquiring the network address and adding it to the node address list for communication,
Communicates with the server device and other vehicles using the node address list, automatically receives travel route data possessed by other vehicles, and automatically transmits travel route data possessed by the own vehicle to other vehicles And automatically transmitting only the travel route data received from other vehicles among the travel data possessed by the host vehicle to the server device;
Vehicle side communication means for performing
Vehicle-side travel route storage means for storing travel route data of the host vehicle and travel route data received from other vehicles;
An input means for inputting a search condition for searching the travel route data;
A process for making a request for obtaining travel route data including the search condition to the host vehicle, another vehicle and / or the server device, and obtaining search route data suitable for the request for obtaining the travel route data, and others Route calculation means for performing processing for searching for travel route data suitable for a request for travel route data acquisition from the vehicle;
With
Car navigation system characterized by that. The travel route data is
Including an area for storing time information on which the vehicle has traveled along the travel route,
The route calculation means includes
Using the coordinate information and time information included in the travel route data, calculate the speed when the vehicle traveled on the travel route, determine whether the speed violates traffic rules, and violate If it exists, exclude the travel route data from the travel route candidates
The car navigation system according to claim 1. The route calculation means transfers a request for travel route data acquisition from another vehicle to another vehicle other than the request source.
The car navigation system according to claim 1. The route calculation means combines a plurality of travel route data to generate a travel route that meets the request for travel route data acquisition.
The car navigation system according to claim 1. The route calculation means includes
When it is not possible to search for travel route data that meets the request for acquiring the travel route data , the search target route is divided for each route unit, and the route is re-searched for each of the divided route units. The car navigation system according to claim 1 . The travel route data includes an area for storing an optionally added vehicle identifier,
By specifying the vehicle identifier in the search condition, the route calculation means acquires only the travel route data to which the vehicle identifier is added.
The car navigation system according to claim 1. The travel route data includes an area for storing the number of times of adoption that is counted up every time the vehicle is adopted as a travel route in any of the plurality of vehicles
By specifying the minimum value of the number of times of adoption in the search condition, the route calculation means acquires only the travel route data to which the number of times of adoption equal to or greater than the specified number of times of adoption is added.
The car navigation system according to claim 1. The travel route data includes an area for storing time information on which the vehicle traveled on the travel route,
By designating a time zone in the search condition, the route calculation means acquires only travel route data that holds the time information included in the designated time zone.
The car navigation system according to claim 1. The server device further includes:
A map database storing maps with traffic control information as attributes;
Traveling route data registration means;
With
The travel route data registration unit stores only travel route data acquired from the plurality of vehicles that does not violate traffic regulations in the server side travel route storage unit.
The car navigation system according to claim 1. The server device
When travel route data matching the travel route data search request from the vehicle is found in the server-side travel route data storage means, a charging means for charging the vehicle is provided.
The car navigation system according to claim 1.

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