JP5237163B2 - Traffic information management device, traffic information management method, and traffic information management program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a traffic information management device, a traffic information management method, and a traffic information management program.

  Conventionally, when a traffic information acquisition instruction is given by a user of a navigation device, or when a predetermined timing set in advance is reached, a route along a travel route set as a target of route guidance processing is set. A system that transmits traffic information in a predetermined range or a predetermined range around the vehicle position is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Further, a technique disclosed in Patent Document 2 is known as a technique for distributing various types of information to a navigation device.

JP 2002-286469 A JP 2002-277268 A

In the conventional technology, the traffic information can be arbitrarily received. For example, every time a user using the navigation device makes a request, the traffic information is transmitted from the server device. Therefore, even if the information stored on the navigation device side and the information transmitted from the server device are the same, communication is performed, resulting in excessive communication costs.
The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to prevent the occurrence of useless communication.

  In order to achieve the above object, in the present invention, in the configuration in which traffic information with a valid period is determined by the vehicle, the range of the traffic information used by the vehicle is specified based on the position information, To do. In this configuration, when transmission of traffic information is requested, position information about traffic information to be transmitted (hereinafter referred to as requested traffic information) is set as requested position information. Further, position information regarding traffic information (hereinafter referred to as retained traffic information) that has not expired and is retained in the recording medium is assumed to be existing position information.

  In the present invention, the requested position information and the existing position information are acquired, and based on the requested position information and the existing position information, the requested traffic information and the retained traffic information are duplicated. Determine whether. Furthermore, when it is determined that the requested traffic information and the retained traffic information do not overlap, the predetermined communication unit is controlled to transmit the traffic information within the requested range. When it is determined that the requested traffic information and the held traffic information overlap, the transmission of traffic information by a predetermined communication unit is not executed.

  Therefore, even when a traffic information transmission request is made, if the existing traffic information can be diverted, the traffic information according to the transmission request is not transmitted, and the existing traffic information cannot be diverted. At some point, traffic information is transmitted in response to the transmission request. As a result, useless communication can be prevented from occurring.

  Here, the transmission request acquisition unit only needs to acquire the requested position information together with the traffic information transmission request. The traffic information may be information related to traffic, may be information indicating the state of the vehicle on the road such as traffic jam information, or information that affects the vehicle on the road such as regulation information or weather information. Also good. The traffic information only needs to have a valid period, and the traffic information may include information including the valid period. A predetermined valid period may be set in advance as a period during which the traffic information can be used. It may be decided. When the valid period of traffic information has passed, the traffic information is not referenced.

  The transmission request may be information for recognizing that a traffic information transmission start instruction has been made. The requested position information may be position information for specifying the range of requested traffic information, and the requested range of traffic information is specified based on a rule determined in advance based on the position indicated by the position information. If you can. Since the traffic information is composed of information associated with a position such as traffic jam information associated with a road and local weather information, the range of the traffic information is defined by the position.

The existing position information acquisition means is position information for specifying the range of the traffic information held when the traffic information whose valid period has not passed has been held in the recording medium mounted on the vehicle. It is only necessary that the existing position information can be acquired. In other words, the traffic information stored in the recording medium only needs to have a range of traffic information determined based on the location information, and is based on information equivalent to the requested location information acquired together with the transmission request when requesting the traffic information. The existing position information may be configured, or the existing position information may be configured by other position information.
It only has to be.

  The existing information determination unit only needs to be able to determine whether the requested traffic information and the retained traffic information overlap based on the requested position information and the existing position information. That is, the requested position information indicates the range of requested traffic information, and the existing position information indicates the range of retained traffic information. Therefore, if the requested position information and the existing position information are compared, the information is duplicated. It can be determined whether or not. Here, the range of the traffic information indicated by the requested position information and the existing position information may be specifically identified to determine whether or not they overlap, or indirectly by comparing the positions indicated by the position information. Alternatively, it may be determined whether or not they overlap.

  The traffic information transmission control means executes or does not execute the transmission of the traffic information within the required range based on the determination as to whether the requested traffic information and the held traffic information overlap. As long as the predetermined communication unit can be controlled as described above. The traffic information management apparatus according to the present invention may be provided in a vehicle or a traffic information management center. When the traffic information management device is provided in the vehicle, a predetermined communication unit controlled by the traffic information transmission control unit is also provided in the vehicle, and the traffic information transmission control unit controls the communication unit to manage the traffic information. Communication with the center is realized, and a series of processing related to transmission of traffic information is executed. When the traffic information management apparatus is provided in the traffic information management center, the predetermined communication unit controlled by the traffic information transmission control means is also provided in the traffic information management center, and the traffic information transmission control means includes the communication unit. To realize communication with the vehicle and execute a series of processes related to transmission of traffic information.

  In addition, when the traffic information transmission request is made, the first reference position on the map displayed on the display unit mounted on the vehicle is used as the requested position information, and automatically transmitted to the retained traffic information. In addition, when traffic information whose range is specified based on the position of the vehicle is included, a configuration in which the position of the vehicle is acquired as the existing position information may be employed. In this configuration, when the distance between the first reference position and the vehicle position is equal to or less than the first threshold value, it is determined that the requested traffic information and the retained traffic information overlap.

  That is, the traffic information to be transmitted is defined in advance so that a predetermined range including the first reference position becomes the traffic information range. Furthermore, in a system in which traffic information is automatically transmitted, the traffic information that is automatically transmitted is defined in advance so that a predetermined range including the position of the vehicle becomes the range of the traffic information. In this configuration, the width and shape of the range of the traffic information correspond to the first reference position and the position of the vehicle, and whether or not both ranges overlap based on the distance between the first reference position and the position of the vehicle. It is possible to evaluate. Therefore, a first threshold value serving as a reference for the distance between the first reference position and the vehicle position is set in advance, and is required when the distance between the first reference position and the vehicle position is equal to or less than the first threshold value. It is determined that the traffic information and the traffic information held are overlapping.

  The first threshold may be an index for determining whether or not the range of traffic information specified from the first reference position and the range of traffic information specified from the position of the vehicle overlap. For example, in a configuration in which the range of traffic information can vary depending on the first reference position and the position of the vehicle (for example, the range of traffic information transmitted varies depending on the region to which the vehicle belongs) The first threshold value may be defined as an index for determining whether or not the range of traffic information being overlapped with a certain probability or more. More specifically, a first threshold value is defined as an index for determining that the first reference position exists with a certain probability or more outside the range of the traffic information acquired corresponding to the position of the vehicle. Also good. According to this configuration, it is possible to determine whether or not the existing traffic information and the requested traffic information overlap with an extremely simple configuration, and the determination result can be configured to be correct with a certain probability. Is possible.

  Furthermore, the present invention can be applied to various types of traffic information. For example, wide-area traffic information in which the range of information transmitted in response to a single transmission request is determined in units of regions, The present invention may be applied to a configuration that handles narrow area traffic information in which a range of information transmitted in response to a transmission request is determined in units of a predetermined area narrower than the area. In this configuration, since the wide area traffic information is traffic information in a relatively wide area unit, it is preferably information that has a high possibility of being regularly used, is automatically transmitted, and is based on the position of the vehicle. It is preferable that the traffic information has a specified range.

  On the other hand, since the narrow area traffic information is traffic information in a relatively narrow predetermined area unit, it is preferably information used when requested by the user. Moreover, since the traffic information in the range corresponding to the temporarily displayed map is highly likely to be temporarily used, it is preferable that the narrow area traffic information is specified based on the first reference position. As described above, in the configuration in which the range of the wide area traffic information is specified based on the position of the vehicle and the range of the narrow area traffic information is specified based on the first reference position, the position of the vehicle and the first reference position If it is determined whether the distance is equal to or less than the first threshold, it is possible to determine whether the requested narrow area traffic information overlaps with the existing wide area traffic information.

  In addition, if the traffic information that was stored includes traffic information that was transmitted in response to the previous transmission request, the map displayed on the display unit mounted on the vehicle when the previous transmission request was made. It is good also as a structure which uses the said 2nd reference position when making the 2nd reference position in in the existing position information and determining duplication of traffic information. Here, the previous transmission request is a transmission request made at a time before the certain time when the transmission request is acquired at a certain time by the transmission request acquisition means. Therefore, if traffic information is transmitted in response to a transmission request at a certain time, the traffic information transmitted in response to the previous transmission request is held in the recording medium. In this configuration, the required traffic when the distance between the vehicle position and the first reference position is greater than the first threshold value and the distance between the first reference position and the second reference position is equal to or less than the second threshold value. It is determined that the information and the retained traffic information overlap. In this configuration, when the traffic information that is automatically transmitted and whose range is specified based on the position of the vehicle does not overlap with the required traffic information, the map displayed on the display unit is further displayed. It is determined whether or not the existing traffic information whose request range is specified based on the second reference position overlaps the range of the requested traffic information.

  The second threshold may be an index for determining whether or not the range of traffic information specified from the first reference position and the range of traffic information specified from the second reference position overlap. For example, the second threshold value may be defined as an index for determining whether or not the first reference position exists with a certain probability or more outside the range specified from the second reference position. According to this configuration, it is possible to determine whether or not the existing traffic information and the requested traffic information overlap with an extremely simple configuration, and the determination result can be configured to be correct with a certain probability. Is possible.

  If the position of the vehicle is not acquired as the existing position information, the position of the vehicle is determined by determining whether the distance between the first reference position and the second reference position is equal to or less than the second threshold value. It is possible to make a determination based on the second threshold value after determining by a very simple method that there is no traffic information whose range is specified based on. The first reference position and the second reference position described above may be positions corresponding to the map displayed on the display unit mounted on the vehicle, and correspond to coordinates set in advance on the screen of the display unit. Any position is acceptable.

  Note that, as in the present invention, the method of transmitting traffic information when requested traffic information and stored traffic information do not overlap can be applied as a method or program for performing this processing. Further, the traffic information management device, method, and program as described above may be realized as a single device or may be realized as a plurality of devices. Moreover, it may be realized using parts shared with each part provided in the vehicle, or may be realized in cooperation with each part not mounted on the vehicle, and includes various aspects. Further, some changes may be made as appropriate, such as a part of software and a part of hardware. Furthermore, the invention is also established as a recording medium for a program for controlling the traffic information management device. Of course, the software recording medium may be a magnetic recording medium, a magneto-optical recording medium, or any recording medium to be developed in the future.

It is a block diagram which shows a traffic information management apparatus. It is a flowchart which shows a transmission request process. It is a flowchart which shows a traffic information management process. (4A) and (4B) are diagrams schematically showing a map. (5A) and (5B) are diagrams schematically showing a map. It is a flowchart which shows a traffic information management process.

Here, embodiments of the present invention will be described in the following order.
(1) Configuration of traffic information management system:
(1-1) Configuration of navigation device:
(1-2) Transmission request processing:
(1-3) Configuration of the traffic information management device:
(1-4) Traffic information management processing:
(2) Other embodiments:

(1) Configuration of traffic information management system:
(1-1) Configuration of navigation device:
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a system including a navigation device 100 provided in a vehicle C and a traffic information management device 10 installed in a traffic information management center. The navigation device 100 is mounted on a plurality of vehicles C traveling on a road. The navigation device 100 includes a control unit 200 including a CPU, a RAM, a ROM, and the like, and a recording medium 300. The recording medium 300 and the ROM Can be executed by the control unit 200. In the present embodiment, the navigation program 210 can be executed as one of the programs, and the control unit 200 can perform a route search based on the map information 300a recorded on the recording medium 300 by the navigation program 210. In addition, the control unit 200 can acquire and guide traffic information of each place.

  The map information 300a is recorded in the recording medium 300. The map information 300a includes node data indicating nodes set on the road on which the vehicle travels, and shape interpolation for specifying the shape of the road between the nodes. Data, link data indicating connection between nodes, facility data indicating facilities that can be the destination of the planned travel route, and the like are included. Therefore, the control unit 200 specifies a road section corresponding to the link based on the node data and link data indicated by the map information 300a, displays a map for each road section, and also displays the vehicle on each road section. The position can be specified. The traffic information 300b is recorded on the recording medium 300. In the present embodiment, the traffic information 300b is traffic jam information (for example, a traffic jam degree) indicating traffic jam for each road section specified by node data and link data. Therefore, it is possible to guide traffic jams in each road section based on the traffic information 300b.

  In order to perform this process, the vehicle C includes a communication unit 220 configured with a circuit for communicating with the traffic information management device 10. The control unit 200 can communicate with the traffic information management apparatus 10 by the processing of the navigation program 210, and a traffic information transmission request and traffic information reception are performed via the communication unit 220. In the present embodiment, the communication unit 220 supports two types of communication methods, a free communication method (for example, transmission of information by FM multiplex broadcasting) and a pay communication method (for example, communication by a mobile phone). doing.

  Further, the vehicle C includes a GPS receiving unit 410, a vehicle speed sensor 420, and a user I / F unit 430. The GPS receiving unit 410 receives radio waves from GPS satellites, and the vehicle C via an interface (not shown). Outputs information for calculating the current position. The control unit 200 acquires this signal and acquires the current position of the vehicle. The vehicle speed sensor 420 outputs a signal corresponding to the rotational speed of the wheels provided in the vehicle C. The control unit 20 acquires this signal via an interface (not shown) and acquires the speed of the vehicle C. The vehicle speed sensor 420 is used to correct the current position of the vehicle C specified from the output signal of the GPS receiver 410. Further, the current position of the vehicle C is corrected as appropriate based on the travel locus of the vehicle C. Various other configurations can be adopted as a configuration for acquiring information indicating the operation of the vehicle, and a configuration, sensor, or camera that corrects the current position of the vehicle C based on an output signal from a gyro sensor or the like. It is possible to adopt a configuration that acquires the operation information of the vehicle C by a configuration specified by GPS, a signal from GPS, a vehicle trajectory on a map, vehicle-to-vehicle communication, road-to-vehicle communication, and the like.

  The user I / F unit 430 is an interface unit for a user to input an instruction or provide various kinds of information to the user, and includes a display unit, buttons, speakers, and the like (not shown). The navigation program 210 includes a navigation processing unit 210a (including a map display unit 210b) and a transmission request unit 210c. The control unit 200 receives the input of the destination via the user I / F unit 430 and acquires the planned travel route by the processing of the navigation processing unit 210a. In addition, the control unit 200 specifies the current position of the vehicle C based on the output signals of the GPS receiving unit 410 and the vehicle speed sensor 420 and the map information 300a by the processing of the navigation processing unit 210a, and the vehicle C follows the planned travel route. Guidance through the user I / F unit 430.

  In this process, the control unit 200 displays a map on the display unit of the user I / F unit 430 and displays the position of the vehicle and the planned travel route on the map. The user I / F unit 430 includes a scroll instruction button for the map displayed on the display unit. The user can instruct the control unit 200 to switch the display range of the map displayed on the display unit by the scroll instruction button, and the control unit 200 responds to the instruction by processing of the map display unit 210b. Switch the range of the map displayed on the display.

FIG. 4A is a diagram schematically showing a map. In FIG. 4A, the road is indicated by a solid line, and the display range R _{d of the} map displayed on the display portion is indicated by a one-dot chain line. When the control unit 200 switches the display range of the map displayed on the display unit in accordance with the instruction of the scroll instruction button, for example, the position to be displayed in the display range _Rd is changed as indicated by a white arrow in FIG. 4A. And the map display is switched. Of course, it is possible to change the scale of the map in the display unit, and the size of the display range R _d varies according to the change of the scale.

  Further, the user I / F unit 430 includes a transmission request button for requesting transmission of traffic information. The user can instruct the control unit 200 to output a traffic information transmission request using a transmission request button. The control unit 200 performs a process for newly transmitting traffic information according to the instruction by the process of the transmission request unit 210c. That is, the control unit 200 outputs requested position information, which is position information for specifying a range of requested traffic information, together with a traffic information transmission request via the communication unit 220. The transmission request is received by the traffic information management device 10 and traffic information is appropriately returned according to a determination to be described later in the traffic information management device 10. In the present embodiment, since the traffic information 300b is defined for each road section, the range of the traffic information 300b corresponds to a range in which there is a road section for which traffic jam information is specified. Further, a transmission request that is output in response to an instruction by the transmission request button is output by a pay communication method in the communication unit 220.

  The requested position information output together with the transmission request corresponding to the transmission request button depends on the map displayed on the display unit described above. That is, coordinates for specifying the reference position (for example, center coordinates of the display screen) are set in advance on the display unit, and are displayed on the display unit when a transmission request for traffic information is made by the transmission request button. In the map, the position (latitude and longitude) on the map corresponding to the coordinates described above is the position indicated by the requested position information. The position indicated by the requested position information corresponds to the range of traffic information requested by the transmission request button.

For example, it is a square centered on the position indicated by the requested position information, and the square including the map display range is regarded as the requested range of traffic information, and the road section included in the square in response to a single transmission request. The traffic information may be regarded as being requested. Here, the position indicated by the requested position information is referred to as a first reference position P ₁ . In FIG. 4A, the first reference position P ₁ corresponding to the display range R _d after changing the display corresponding to the white arrow is a black circle, and the range of traffic information specified by the first reference position P ₁ . R ₁ is indicated by a two-dot chain line.

  On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the control unit 200 automatically performs a traffic information reception process at a predetermined timing without depending on the operation by the transmission request button. That is, traffic information is automatically transmitted from a traffic information center (not shown), and the control unit 200 periodically performs communication using a free communication method at a predetermined timing by processing of the transmission request unit 210c. Then, the traffic information automatically transmitted is acquired. In communication using the free communication method, the position information for specifying the range of traffic information is information indicating the position of the vehicle. That is, the control unit 200 specifies the position of the vehicle when the traffic information is acquired based on the output signals of the GPS receiving unit 410 and the vehicle speed sensor 420, and sets the area including the vehicle position as the range of the traffic information. .

In the present embodiment, the range of traffic information acquired by the paid communication method is narrower than the range of traffic information acquired by the free communication method. Here, the traffic information acquired by the pay communication method is called narrow area traffic information, and the traffic information acquired by the free communication method is called wide area traffic information. That is, the wide area traffic information is automatically acquired by a free communication method, and the narrow area traffic information is acquired in accordance with a user instruction by a pay communication method. In the example shown in FIG. 4, the range of narrow area traffic information is indicated by a range R ₁ , the range of wide area traffic information is indicated by a range surrounded by a broken line, and the former is narrower than the latter. . Since the wide area traffic information is traffic information in a relatively wide area unit, in this embodiment, information that is highly likely to be regularly used around the position of the vehicle is the wide area traffic information. On the other hand, when a user requests, information in an excessively wide range is often not required, and in this embodiment, narrow area traffic information, which is traffic information in a relatively narrow predetermined area unit, is responded to by a user request. It is configured to acquire.

  When the control unit 200 acquires traffic information, the acquired traffic information is recorded in the recording medium 300 (traffic information 300b). Since the traffic congestion degree indicated by the traffic information 300b changes with time, an effective period is associated with the traffic information 300b in advance as a period during which the reliability of the information can be maintained. In the present embodiment, the control unit 200 determines whether or not the valid period has elapsed for the traffic information 300b recorded on the recording medium 300, and deletes the traffic information 300b that has passed the valid period from the recording medium 300. . Therefore, if the traffic information 300b is held in the recording medium 300 in the present embodiment, the traffic information 300b becomes the traffic information 300b whose valid period has not elapsed.

  Since the traffic information 300b may be acquired by a paid communication method or a free communication method, the traffic information 300b acquired by any one of the communication methods is held in the recording medium 300. It can become a state. In the traffic information 300b held in the recording medium 300, the existing position information that is position information for specifying the range of the traffic information is recorded in association with each other.

  For example, when the automatically transmitted traffic information 300b is acquired, information indicating the position of the vehicle is held in association with the traffic information 300b (vehicle position information 300c shown in FIG. 1). Further, when the traffic information 300b whose range is specified based on the first reference position is acquired, the position information indicated by the first reference position is set as the second reference position, and the second reference position information indicating the second reference position. Is stored in association with the acquired traffic information 300b. In the present embodiment, since the requested position information at the time of the transmission request is defined as the first reference position, the position information associated with the traffic information 300b held in the recording medium 300 is referred to as the second reference position for distinction. To do.

  In the present embodiment, when the traffic information 300b transmitted in response to an operation with the transmission request button is newly acquired, the control unit 200 transmits and records the traffic information 300b according to the operation with the transmission request button before that. The traffic information held in the medium 300 is discarded. Therefore, in this embodiment, if the traffic information transmitted in response to the operation by the transmission request button is retained in the recording medium 300, the retained traffic information is the traffic information acquired in response to the previous transmission request. It is.

  In the above configuration, the traffic information 300b may be held in the recording medium 300 or may not be held depending on the communication environment and the transmission request timing. For example, if the traffic information 300b whose range is specified based on the position of the vehicle is not held, the vehicle position information 300c is not recorded in the recording medium 300. If the traffic information 300b whose range is specified based on the reference position on the map is not held, the second reference position information 300d is not recorded in the recording medium 300. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the control unit 200 transmits information for causing the traffic information management apparatus 10 to determine whether or not the requested traffic information and the traffic information that is held overlap. That is, the control part 200 transmits the information which shows the 1st reference position which shows the range of the traffic information requested | required with the transmission request | requirement of traffic information. Furthermore, if the traffic information 300b is held in the recording medium 300, either or both of the vehicle position information 300c and the second reference position information 300d corresponding to the held traffic information 300b are transmitted.

(1-2) Transmission request processing:
FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing processing when the transmission request is made. In the process in which the navigation program 210 is executed, the control unit 200 repeatedly executes the transmission request process shown in FIG. 2 every predetermined period (for example, every 100 ms). In the transmission request process, the control unit 200 determines whether or not an instruction has been given by the transmission request button (step S100). If it is not determined that the instruction has been given, the transmission request process ends.

When it is determined in step S100 that an instruction has been given by the transmission request button, the control unit 200 determines the position on the map displayed at the center coordinates of the display unit by the processing of the map display unit 210b as the first reference position described above. (Step S105). That is, the control unit 200 specifies the display range R _d of the map being displayed on the display unit, and the position (latitude and longitude) on the map displayed at the coordinates of the center of the display range R _d is the first reference. Position. Then, the control unit 200 sets the first reference position as a transmission target (step S110).

  Next, the control unit 200 refers to the recording medium 300 by the processing of the transmission request unit 210c, and determines whether or not the traffic information 300b for which the valid period has not passed is held (step S115). In step S115, when it is not determined that the traffic information 300b whose valid period has not elapsed is retained, the control unit 200 skips steps S120 to S135 and executes step S140. In step S140, the control unit 200 transmits information set as a transmission target to the traffic information management apparatus 10 together with the transmission request. Therefore, when step S140 is executed after skipping steps S120 to S135, information indicating the first reference position is transmitted together with the transmission request. That is, in this case, since the traffic information 300b that is a target for determining whether or not they are overlapping is not held, information for determining whether or not they are overlapping is not transmitted, and the first information indicating the request range is shown. A reference position is transmitted.

  On the other hand, when it is determined in step S115 that the traffic information 300b for which the valid period has not elapsed is retained, the control unit 200 specifies the range based on the position of the vehicle by the processing of the transmission request unit 210c. It is determined whether or not the traffic information 300b exists (step S120). That is, the control unit 200 determines whether or not the traffic information 300b associated with the vehicle position information 300c is held in the recording medium 300.

  When it is determined in step S120 that the traffic information 300b whose range is specified based on the position of the vehicle is present, the control unit 200 refers to the recording medium 300 and displays information indicating the position of the vehicle (vehicle position information 300c). ) Is set as a transmission target (step S125). In step S120, when it is not determined that the traffic information 300b whose range is specified based on the position of the vehicle exists, step S125 is skipped.

  Next, the control unit 200 determines whether or not the traffic information 300b whose range is specified based on the second reference position exists by the process of the transmission request unit 210c (step S130). That is, the control unit 200 determines whether or not the traffic information 300b associated with the second reference position information 300d is held in the recording medium 300.

  When it is determined in step S130 that the traffic information 300b whose range is specified based on the second reference position is present, the control unit 200 refers to the recording medium 300 and indicates information indicating the second reference position (second The reference position information 300d) is set as a transmission target (step S135). In step S130, when it is not determined that the traffic information 300b whose range is specified based on the second reference position exists, step S135 is skipped.

  When it is not determined in step S130 that the traffic information 300b whose range is specified based on the second reference position exists, or after executing step S135, the control unit 200 executes step S140. In this case, since either or both of the vehicle position and the second reference position are set as transmission targets, either the vehicle position or the second reference position or both are transmitted together with the transmission request. That is, in this case, information indicating either or both of the position of the vehicle and the second reference position is transmitted as information for specifying the traffic information 300b that is a target for determining whether or not they overlap.

(1-3) Configuration of the traffic information management device:
The traffic information management device 10 includes a control unit 20 including a CPU, a RAM, a ROM, and the like and a recording medium 30, and the control unit 20 can execute a program stored in the recording medium 30 and the ROM. In the present embodiment, the control unit 20 can execute the traffic information management program 21 as one of the programs. The traffic information management program 21 determines whether the control unit 20 should transmit the traffic information in response to the transmission request. The traffic information is transmitted as necessary.

  The traffic information management program 21 includes a transmission request acquisition unit 21a, an existing position information acquisition unit 21b, an existing information determination unit 21c, and a traffic information transmission control unit 21d. In addition, the traffic information management device 10 includes a communication unit 22 configured with a circuit for communicating with the vehicle C. The transmission request acquisition unit 21a is a module that causes the control unit 20 to realize a function of acquiring requested position information for specifying a range of requested traffic information together with a transmission request for traffic information. That is, the control unit 20 determines whether or not a transmission request has been received via the communication unit 22 by the processing of the transmission request acquisition unit 21a, and when the transmission request is received, requested position information transmitted together with the transmission request. The first reference position is acquired.

  The existing position information acquisition unit 21b acquires the existing position information for specifying the range of the traffic information 300b that is held when the recording medium 300 holds the traffic information 300b that has not expired. This is a module that causes the control unit 20 to realize the function to be performed. That is, the control unit 20 performs the process of the existing position information acquisition unit 21b, and the second reference and the vehicle position that is the existing position information for specifying the range of the traffic information 300b held in the recording medium 300 of the vehicle C. Get either or both of the location.

  Based on the requested position information and the existing position information, the existing information determination unit 21c overlaps the traffic information requested by the instruction of the transmission request button and the traffic information 300b held in the recording medium 300. This is a module that causes the control unit 20 to realize the function of determining whether or not there is. That is, the control unit 20 determines whether or not there is an overlap based on the relationship between the position of the vehicle, the presence or absence of the second reference position, and the first reference position. Details of the determination will be described later.

  The traffic information transmission control unit 21d is a module that causes the control unit 20 to realize a function of transmitting traffic information. That is, the traffic information management device 10 creates traffic information corresponding to each road section by analyzing probe information acquired from a plurality of vehicles C, and responds to changes in traffic information over time. The traffic information is updated sequentially. The traffic information is stored in the recording medium 30 (traffic information 30a), and when it is determined in the above-described determination that the traffic information is not duplicated, the control unit 20 specifies a range of requested traffic information, Traffic information is extracted from the traffic information 30a. Then, the control unit 20 controls the communication unit 22 to transmit the extracted traffic information. On the other hand, when it determines with overlapping, the control part 20 does not perform transmission of traffic information.

  According to the above processing, when the range of traffic information for which a transmission request is made and the traffic information 300b for which the validity period held in the recording medium 300 of the vehicle C has not expired do not overlap, the traffic information is transmitted. Is done. On the other hand, traffic information is not transmitted if they overlap. Therefore, even when a traffic information transmission request is made, if the existing traffic information can be diverted, the traffic information according to the transmission request is not transmitted, and the existing traffic information cannot be diverted. At some point, traffic information is transmitted in response to the transmission request. As a result, communication is performed when transmission of traffic information is necessary, and communication is not performed when transmission of traffic information is not necessary, so that useless communication can be prevented.

(1-4) Traffic information management processing:
Next, the traffic information management process executed by the traffic information management apparatus 10 in the above configuration will be described in detail. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a traffic information management process executed by the traffic information management apparatus 10. The control unit 20 repeatedly executes the traffic information management process shown in FIG. 3 every predetermined period (for example, every 100 ms). In the traffic information management process, the control unit 20 determines whether or not the transmission request is received by the communication unit 22 (step S200). If it is not determined that the transmission request is received, the traffic information management process is performed. finish.

  When it is determined in step S200 that a transmission request has been received, the control unit 20 determines whether information indicating the position of the vehicle (vehicle position information 300c) is received as existing position information together with the transmission request (step S200). S205). If it is determined in step S205 that information indicating the position of the vehicle has been received, the traffic information 300b whose range is specified based on the position of the vehicle is stored in the recording medium 300.

Therefore, the control unit 20 executes Step S210 in order to determine whether or not the traffic information 300b whose range is specified based on the position of the vehicle overlaps the requested traffic information. That is, the control unit 20, in step S210, the distance between the position and the first reference position of the vehicle is determined whether a first threshold value D ₁ following predetermined. Further, in step S210, if the distance between the position and the first reference position of the vehicle is determined to be the first threshold value D ₁ following a predetermined, and traffic information 300b a range is specified based on the position of the vehicle required It is considered that the traffic information is duplicated. In this case, the control unit 20 ends the process shown in FIG. 3 without transmitting traffic information after step S210.

In the present embodiment, the first threshold value D ₁ is an index for determining whether or not the range of traffic information specified from the first reference position and the range of traffic information specified from the position of the vehicle overlap. is there. In the present embodiment, an index for determining whether or not the range of traffic information specified from the first reference position and the range of traffic information 300b held in the recording medium 300 overlap with a certain probability. As a first threshold value D ₁ is defined. The range of the traffic information specified based on the position of the vehicle is determined for each area, and the size of the area is almost common in each area (for example, an area of several tens to several hundred kilometers), The area to which the vehicle belongs belongs to the traffic information range. Further, the range of traffic information specified based on the first reference position is determined in advance as a range within a square centered on the first reference position.

Therefore, the smaller the distance between the vehicle position and the first reference position, the higher the probability that the requested traffic information range and the traffic information 300b range stored in the recording medium 300 overlap. FIG. 4B is an enlarged view of a part of FIG. 4A. In Figure 4B, the position P _c, 2 kinds of the first reference position P _11, P ₁₂ and a range R ₁₁ of the traffic information specified by each of the first reference position P _11, P _12, R ₁₂ of the vehicle Show. In the figure, an example in which the distance L ₁₁ between the vehicle position P _c and the first reference position P ₁₁ is equal to or less than the first threshold value D ₁ is shown. In this case, there is a high possibility in which the range R ₁₁ regional and traffic information position of the vehicle is surrounded by a broken line belongs as shown in FIG. 4B overlap. On the other hand, the figure shows an example in which the distance L ₁₂ between the vehicle position P _c and the first reference position P ₁₂ is larger than the first threshold value D ₁ . In this case, there is a high possibility in which the range R ₁₂ regional and traffic information position of the vehicle is surrounded by a broken line belongs as shown in FIG. 4B do not overlap.

Therefore, in this embodiment, it defines a first threshold value D ₁ as an indicator for determining that the first reference position with a probability over a certain outside the area where the position of the vehicle belongs is present, in step S210 the vehicle the distance between the position and the first reference position is decided to determine whether a first threshold value D ₁ following predetermined. According to this configuration, it is possible to determine whether or not the existing traffic information 300b and the required traffic information overlap with each other with a very simple configuration, and the determination result is configured to be correct with a certain probability or more. Is possible.

On the other hand, in step S210, if the distance between the position and the first reference position of the vehicle is not determined to be the first threshold value D ₁ following a predetermined, and the requested traffic information 300b a range is specified based on the position of the vehicle It is considered that there is no duplication with traffic information. In this case, in order to further determine whether or not the traffic information 300b whose range is specified based on the second reference position overlaps with the requested traffic information, the processes after step S215 are performed. If it is not determined in step S205 that the position of the vehicle has been received, the traffic information 300b whose range is specified based on the position of the vehicle does not overlap with the requested traffic information. The process after S215 is performed.

  In step S215, the control unit 20 determines whether or not information indicating the second reference position (second reference position information 300d) has been received. If it is not determined in step S215 that the information indicating the second reference position has been received, the traffic information 300b whose range is specified on the recording medium 300 based on the second reference position is not retained. Therefore, it is assumed that the traffic information 300b that overlaps the traffic information requested to be transmitted is not held in the recording medium 300, and the control unit 20 specifies and transmits the traffic information in the requested range (step S225). That is, the control unit 20 specifies a range of traffic information based on the first reference position, and extracts the traffic information in the specified range with reference to the traffic information 30a of the recording medium 30. Then, the control unit 20 transmits the traffic information via the communication unit 22. In the vehicle C, the transmitted traffic information is received, recorded on the recording medium 300, and used.

On the other hand, when it is determined in step S215 that the information indicating the second reference position has been received, the traffic information 300b whose range is specified based on the second reference position is held in the recording medium 300. Therefore, the control unit 20, the distance between the first reference position and the second reference position is determined whether or not the second threshold D ₂ following a predetermined (step S220).

In step S220, if the distance between the first reference position and the second reference position is determined to be the second threshold D ₂ following a predetermined, traffic information 300b and request a range is specified based on the second reference position It is considered that the traffic information is duplicated. In this case, the control unit 20 ends the process shown in FIG. 3 without transmitting traffic information after step S220.

In step S220, if the distance between the first reference position and the second reference position is not determined to be the second threshold value D ₂ following a predetermined, and the requested traffic information 300b a range is specified based on the second reference position It is considered that there is no duplication with traffic information. In this case, the control part 20 performs the process of step S225, and transmits traffic information.

In the present embodiment, the second threshold D ₂ is an index for determining whether or not the range of traffic information specified from the second reference position overlaps with the range of traffic information specified from the first reference position. It is. In the present embodiment, an index for determining whether or not the range of traffic information specified from the first reference position and the range of traffic information 300b held in the recording medium 300 overlap with a certain probability. As a second threshold D ₂ is defined. The range of the traffic information specified based on the first reference position is determined in advance as a square range centered on the first reference position (for example, a range of several kilometers square).

Therefore, the smaller the distance between the first reference position and the second reference position, the higher the probability that the requested traffic information range and the traffic information 300b range stored in the recording medium 300 overlap. 5A and 5B are enlarged views of a part of FIG. 4A. In Figure 5A, the position P _c of the vehicle, the first reference position P _13, the range R ₁₃ of the traffic information specified by the first reference position P _13, the second reference position P _21, identified by the second reference position P ₂₁ A range R _{21 of} traffic information to be transmitted is shown. In Figure 5B, the position P _c of the vehicle, the first reference position P _13, the range R ₁₃ of the traffic information specified by the first reference position P _13, the second reference position P _22, identified by the second reference position P ₂₂ A range R _{22 of} traffic information to be transmitted is shown.

FIG. 5A shows an example in which the distance L ₂₁ between the first reference position P ₁₃ and the second reference position P ₂₁ is equal to or less than the second threshold value D ₂ . In this case, it is likely that the range R ₁₃ of the traffic information specified by the first reference position P _13, as shown in FIG. 5A and the range R ₂₁ of the traffic information specified by the second reference position P ₂₁ overlap . FIG. 5B shows an example in which the distance L ₂₂ between the first reference position P ₁₃ and the second reference position P ₂₂ is greater than the second threshold value D ₂ . In this case, as shown in FIG. 5B, there is a high possibility that the traffic information range R ₁₃ specified by the first reference position P ₁₃ and the traffic information range R ₂₂ specified by the second reference position P ₂₂ do not overlap. .

Therefore, in this embodiment, defines the second threshold D ₂ as an indicator for determining that the first reference position with a probability over a certain outside the range specified there from the second reference position, step the distance between the first reference position and the second reference position is decided to determine whether a second threshold value D ₂ following the predetermined at S220. According to this configuration, it is possible to determine whether or not the existing traffic information 300b and the required traffic information overlap with each other with a very simple configuration, and the determination result is configured to be correct with a certain probability or more. Is possible.

(2) Other embodiments:
The above embodiment is an example for carrying out the present invention, and various other implementations are possible as long as traffic information is transmitted when requested traffic information and stored traffic information do not overlap. A form can be adopted. For example, some or all of the functions realized by the transmission request acquisition unit 21a, the existing position information acquisition unit 21b, the existing information determination unit 21c, and the traffic information transmission control unit 21d are realized by the control unit 200 of the vehicle C. Also good.

  FIG. 6 shows a flowchart in a case where these functions are realized by the control unit 200 of the vehicle C. In this process, the control unit 200 determines whether or not to transmit traffic information, and controls the communication unit 220 when the traffic information should be transmitted so that the traffic information management device 10 transmits the traffic information. When it is not necessary to transmit the traffic information, the process for causing the traffic information management device 10 to transmit the traffic information is not executed. Moreover, this process should just be performed by the control part 200 in the vehicle provided with the structure similar to the vehicle C shown in FIG. In the embodiment described below, a configuration that can be stored in the recording medium 300 even when the traffic information 300b has passed is described. Furthermore, the traffic information management device 10 in the following example holds the traffic information 30a in the recording medium 30, and when the traffic information should be transmitted, that is, in response to an instruction from the communication unit 220, the communication unit 22 is Traffic information may be transmitted via

  Specifically, the control unit 200 repeatedly executes the traffic information management process shown in FIG. 6 every predetermined period (for example, every 100 ms). In this process, the control unit first determines whether or not an instruction has been given by the transmission request button (step S300). If it is not determined that the instruction has been given, the transmission request process ends. When it is determined in step S300 that an instruction has been given by the transmission request button, the control unit 200 determines whether the first reference position is either the position of the vehicle or the position after scrolling the map ( Step S305).

  That is, the display unit of the user I / F unit 430 displays a map while displaying the position of the vehicle at a specific position in a normal state, and displays a map when an instruction is given by a scroll instruction button. The range is switched. Therefore, in step S305, the control unit 200 acquires the position of the vehicle as the first reference position when the vehicle is displayed on the display unit of the user I / F unit 430, and the vehicle is displayed on the display unit. If not, the reference position of the display unit after scrolling is acquired as the first reference position.

  When it is determined in step S305 that the first reference position is the position of the vehicle, the control unit 200 is the traffic information 300b whose range is specified based on the position of the vehicle and the valid period has not elapsed. It is determined whether or not the traffic information 300b exists (step S310). In step S310, when it is determined that there is traffic information 300b whose range is specified based on the position of the vehicle and whose valid period has not elapsed, the valid period that overlaps with the requested traffic information is determined. It is assumed that there is traffic information 300b that has not elapsed, and the processing shown in FIG. In step S310, when it is not determined that there is traffic information 300b whose range is specified based on the position of the vehicle and whose valid period has not elapsed, the valid period that overlaps with the requested traffic information has elapsed. It is assumed that there is no traffic information 300b that has not been made. In this case, the control unit 200 controls the communication unit 220 so that traffic information in a range specified by the position of the vehicle that is the first reference position is transmitted from the traffic information management device 10 (step S315).

On the other hand, when it is determined in step S305 that the first reference position is a position after scrolling the map, the control unit 200 determines whether the current position of the vehicle and the first reference position (position after scrolling). distance is determined whether a first threshold value D ₁ or less (step S320). In step S320, when the distance between the current position and the first reference position of the vehicle is determined to be the first threshold value D ₁ or less, the position of the vehicle indicated by the vehicle position information 300c (traffic information position acquisition time of the vehicle) The control unit 200 executes step S310 assuming that it is only necessary to determine whether or not the traffic information 300b whose range is specified based on the range and the range of traffic information specified from the first reference position overlap.

Further, in step S320, when the distance between the current position and the first reference position of the vehicle is not determined to be the first threshold value D ₁ or less, the control unit 200, the range is specified based on the second reference position Transport It is determined whether or not there is traffic information 300b that is information 300b and whose valid period has not elapsed (step S325). In step S325, if it is not determined that there is the traffic information 300b whose range is specified based on the second reference position and the valid period has not elapsed, the valid traffic information overlaps with the requested traffic information. The processing shown in step S315 is executed assuming that there is no traffic information 300b whose period has not elapsed. That is, the control unit 200 controls the communication unit 220 so that traffic information in a range specified by the position after scrolling, which is the first reference position, is transmitted from the traffic information management device 10.

In step S325, when it is determined that there is traffic information 300b whose range is specified based on the second reference position and whose valid period has not expired, the range of the traffic information 300b is requested. Step S330 is executed to determine whether or not the range of traffic information overlaps. That is, the control unit 200, the distance between the first reference position and the second reference position, it is determined whether or not the second threshold D ₂ following a predetermined, distance between the first reference position and the second reference position If it is determined that the predetermined second threshold value D ₂ below, and ends the processing shown in FIG. 6 without performing transmission processing of the traffic information. If the distance between the first reference position and the second reference position is not determined to be the second threshold value D ₂ following a predetermined, control unit 200 executes step S315. That is, the control unit 200 controls the communication unit 220 so that traffic information in a range specified by the position after scrolling, which is the first reference position, is transmitted from the traffic information management device 10.

  Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the communication unit 220 is configured to acquire the wide area traffic information and the narrow area traffic information by different communication methods, but of course, the wide area traffic information and the narrow area traffic are obtained by a single communication method. It is good also as a structure which acquires information. In this case, it is preferable that the traffic information in the transmission request range is acquired while avoiding duplication of both the wide area traffic information and the narrow area traffic information.

  Further, the traffic information may be information related to traffic, and may be information that affects vehicles on the road such as regulation information and weather information. In addition, in order to specify the effective period of the traffic information, information including the effective period may be included in the traffic information, or a predetermined effective period is determined in advance as a period in which the traffic information can be used. May be.

  Whether or not the range of the traffic information indicated by the requested position information and the existing position information overlaps is determined by specifically specifying the range of the traffic information indicated by the requested position information and the existing position information. May be performed by directly comparing.

  The first reference position, the vehicle position, and the second reference position may be any information that can specify the range of traffic information, and can be configured to specify the range of traffic information based on various rules. For example, it is possible to adopt a configuration defined in advance so that a predetermined range including the first reference position, the vehicle position, and the second reference position is the range of the traffic information. The width and shape of the predetermined range are not particularly limited and may be determined in advance. The width and shape of the predetermined range may vary according to the first reference position, the vehicle position, and the second reference position. For example, in a configuration for transmitting traffic information for each region to which the vehicle position belongs, a configuration in which the range of traffic information transmitted for each region is different can be adopted.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Traffic information management apparatus, 20 ... Control part, 21 ... Traffic information management program, 21a ... Transmission request acquisition part, 21b ... Existing position information acquisition part, 21c ... Existing information determination part, 21d ... Traffic information transmission control part, 22 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS Communication part 30 ... Recording medium 30a ... Traffic information 100 ... Navigation device 200 ... Control part 210 ... Navigation program 210a ... Navigation processing part 210b ... Map display part 210c ... Transmission request part 220 ... Communication , 300 ... Recording medium, 300 a ... Map information, 300 b ... Traffic information, 300 c ... Vehicle position, 300 d ... Second reference position, 410 ... GPS receiver, 420 ... Vehicle speed sensor, 430 ... User I / F part

Claims (5)

Along with a transmission request for transmitting traffic information with a determined validity period to the vehicle, when a transmission request for the requested traffic information is made, the map displayed on the display unit mounted on the vehicle a first reference position, a transmission request acquisition means for acquiring a request position information is position information for specifying the requested range of the traffic information,
The traffic information for which the valid period has not elapsed has been retained in a recording medium mounted on the vehicle, and is automatically transmitted to the traffic information that has been retained, and based on the position of the vehicle Includes the existing position information acquisition means for acquiring the position of the vehicle as the existing position information that is position information for specifying the range of the traffic information that is held;
Based on said request location information and the existing location information, and the traffic information held and requested the traffic information is an existing information judging means for judging whether or not overlap, the first When the distance between the reference position and the position of the vehicle is equal to or less than a first threshold, the existing information determination unit that determines that the requested traffic information and the traffic information held are duplicated ;
When it is determined that the requested traffic information and the retained traffic information do not overlap, the predetermined communication unit is controlled to transmit the requested traffic information in the range, When it is determined that the requested traffic information and the traffic information held are duplicated, the traffic information transmission control means for not transmitting the traffic information by the predetermined communication unit;
A traffic information management device comprising:   The existing position information acquisition means displays on the display unit when the previous transmission request is made when the traffic information held includes the traffic information transmitted in response to the previous transmission request. The second reference position on the map that has been obtained is acquired as the existing position information,
  The existing information determining means includes a range of traffic information in which a distance between the position of the vehicle and the first reference position is specified from the first reference position and a range of traffic information specified from the position of the vehicle. A range of traffic information that is greater than the first threshold value that is an index for determining whether or not they overlap, and the distance between the first reference position and the second reference position is specified from the first reference position And the traffic information range specified from the second reference position is stored as the requested traffic information when it is less than or equal to the second threshold value, which is an index for determining whether or not the range of traffic information specified from the second reference position overlaps. It is determined that the traffic information is duplicated.
The traffic information management device according to claim 1.   The existing information determination means is requested when the position of the vehicle is not acquired as the existing position information, and when the distance between the first reference position and the second reference position is equal to or less than a second threshold value. It is determined that the traffic information and the traffic information held are overlapping.
The traffic information management device according to claim 2.   Along with a transmission request for transmitting traffic information with a determined validity period to the vehicle, when a transmission request for the requested traffic information is made, the map displayed on the display unit mounted on the vehicle A transmission request acquisition step of acquiring the first reference position as requested position information which is position information for specifying the requested range of the traffic information;
  When the traffic information for which the validity period has not elapsed has been retained in the recording medium mounted on the vehicle, the traffic information is automatically transmitted to the retained traffic information, and based on the position of the vehicle Existing position information acquisition step for acquiring the position of the vehicle as existing position information that is position information for specifying the range of the traffic information being held,
  An existing information determination step for determining whether the requested traffic information and the held traffic information overlap based on the requested position information and the existing position information, If the distance between the reference position and the vehicle position is equal to or less than the first threshold, the existing information determination step for determining that the requested traffic information and the traffic information held are duplicated;
  When it is determined that the requested traffic information and the retained traffic information do not overlap, the predetermined communication unit is controlled to transmit the requested traffic information in the range, When it is determined that the requested traffic information and the traffic information held are duplicated, the traffic information transmission control step of not executing the transmission of the traffic information by the predetermined communication unit;
Traffic information management method including   Along with a transmission request for transmitting traffic information with a determined validity period to the vehicle, when a transmission request for the requested traffic information is made, the map displayed on the display unit mounted on the vehicle A transmission request acquisition function for acquiring a first reference position as requested position information that is position information for specifying the requested range of the traffic information;
  When the traffic information for which the validity period has not elapsed has been retained in the recording medium mounted on the vehicle, the traffic information is automatically transmitted to the retained traffic information, and based on the position of the vehicle Existing position information acquisition function for acquiring the position of the vehicle as existing position information that is position information for specifying the range of the traffic information being held,
  An existing information determination function for determining whether or not the requested traffic information and the held traffic information overlap based on the requested position information and the existing position information, An existing information determination function for determining that the requested traffic information and the retained traffic information overlap if the distance between the reference position and the vehicle position is equal to or less than a first threshold;
  When it is determined that the requested traffic information and the retained traffic information do not overlap, the predetermined communication unit is controlled to transmit the requested traffic information in the range, When it is determined that the requested traffic information and the held traffic information overlap, a traffic information transmission control function that does not perform transmission of the traffic information by the predetermined communication unit;
Traffic information management program that realizes computer.

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