JPH02295272A - Road traffic information display system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce congestion on trunk roads by informing automobile drivers of road traffic information automatically by using images so that detour roads are easily known. CONSTITUTION:This system consists of a traffic control instruction office 1, a transmitter 2, antennas 3 and 5, an automobile 4, and a road traffic information display device 6. The road traffic information display device 6 selects and displays road traffic information on only an area that an automobile driver requires together with a road map. Consequently, the driver can recognize road congestion areas, road under construction sections, etc., at a glance and find the distance from the current spot to a section where trouble occurs and courses by-passing the trouble section. Consequently, the driver can easily take a proper countermeasure according to the road traffic information and utilizes non-congestion roads effectively to eliminate the congestion on the trunk roads.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Object of the Invention] (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to a road traffic information notification system for notifying car drivers of road traffic information in the form of images.

(Prior Art) It has been well known that road traffic information such as traffic congestion on each road is notified to car drivers through radio broadcasts or the like. However, even if an ordinary car driver is informed of a traffic jam on a main road only by voice, he or she rarely knows the surrounding roads to detour around the congested main road, so in the end, he or she will not be able to avoid the congested main road. There was a drawback that the road traffic information could not be used effectively as the only option was to pass through the road. Moreover, since arterial roads are often congested, while surrounding roads are often empty, the conventional method of reporting road traffic information has the disadvantage that roads cannot be used effectively. Furthermore, since the above-mentioned audio notification of road traffic information usually provides information about roads in a wide area, there are disadvantages in that necessary information cannot be heard immediately and may be missed.

Therefore, in order to avoid the above-mentioned inconvenience, if it is possible to inform the car driver of the traffic congestion situation on each road using video information shown on a map, the driver can take a detour around the congested road by looking at the map. This means that you can easily find your destination and take the open road to your destination. However, the current situation is that a practical system for notifying car drivers of such road traffic information in the form of images has not yet been developed.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) As mentioned above, the conventional system that informs car drivers of road traffic information such as the congestion status of each road through radio broadcasts, etc. However, there is an inconvenience in that it is not possible to easily inform people of empty roads to detour around congested roads.

Further, since the above-mentioned audio notification of road traffic information usually provides information regarding roads in a wide area, there is a problem that necessary information cannot be heard immediately or may be missed. Therefore, the present invention is intended to eliminate the above-mentioned drawbacks, and is capable of notifying car drivers of road traffic information in the form of images that allow them to easily see detour roads, etc.
To provide a road traffic information notification system capable of selectively receiving only road traffic information of a necessary area.

[Structure of the Invention] (Means for Solving the Problem) The road traffic information notification system of the present invention includes an input means for inputting road traffic information, a memory for storing image data,
an image data creation means for creating image data by writing the road traffic information input from the input means onto a road map divided by region and stored in the memory; and by this image data creation means. an image data output means for reading and outputting the image data created on the memory with a region code assigned to each region; and a transmission for transmitting the image data output from the image data output means on radio waves. and a receiving means for receiving the radio waves transmitted from the transmitting means to obtain the image data, and an area code corresponding to the designated area code. information selection means for selecting only selected image data from the receiving means; storage means for storing the image data selected by the information selection means; and image display for reading out the image data from the storage means and displaying it as a video. and an area number setting means for setting an area number to the information selection means.

(Operation) In the road traffic information notification system of the present invention, the input means of the fixed station inputs road traffic information and outputs it to the ffJ & data creation means. #The image data creation means creates image data by writing the road traffic information input from the input means onto a road map divided into regions and stored in the memory. The image data output means reads out the image data created on the memory by the image data creation means with a region code attached for each region, and outputs this to the transmission means. The transmitting means transmits the image data outputted from the image data outputting means on radio waves. The receiving means of the automobile receives the radio waves transmitted from the transmitting means, obtains the image data, and outputs the image data to the information selecting means. The information selection means selects only the image data to which the area code corresponding to the set area number is attached from the receiving means and outputs it to the storage means. The storage means stores the image data selected by the information selection means.

The image display means reads image data from the storage means and displays it as an image. The area number setting means sets an area number in the information selection means.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the road traffic information notification system of the present invention. 1 is a traffic control command center that creates road traffic information, and includes an information input section 11 and a map information creation section 1.
2 and an output section 13. 2 is traffic control command center 1
3 is a transmitting antenna that radiates the radio waves output from the transmitter 2 to the outside world; 4 is a vehicle that receives road traffic information; 5 6 is a receiving antenna that receives radio waves radiated from the transmitting antenna 3; and 6 is a road traffic information display device that receives radio waves input from the receiving antenna 5 and displays a map on which road traffic information is written.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a detailed example of the road traffic information display device 6. A61 receives radio waves input from the antenna 5 and converts them into image data, and also converts only image data of a designated area code. A receiving section that selects and outputs it to the CPU 62, which includes a receiving circuit 611 and a selection circuit 612.
have. A CPLI that refines image data into the image storage unit 63, reads it out, outputs it to the display device @66, and performs processing such as setting the area code.
, 63 is an image storage unit that stores map image information;
64 is a keyboard on which information selection keys are operated by the driver; 65 is a reading section for reading the area code stored in the magnetic card 7 and inputting it to the CPU 62;
6 is a display device that displays a map with refined road traffic information and the like.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be explained. First, the traffic congestion situation of each road is inputted to the input unit 11 of the traffic control command center 1 shown in FIG. 1 from a separate computer (not shown) or the like. Further, the operator may input information such as road construction status directly into the input section from the keyboard.

It is assumed that the above-mentioned computer collects information such as "vehicle traffic" in real time using sensors installed along, for example, the Metropolitan Expressway. The input unit 11 outputs input road traffic information such as construction information and traffic congestion information for each road to the map information creation unit 12 for each region.

The map information creation unit 12 has an image memory for each of a plurality of areas under the jurisdiction of the traffic control command center 1, and furthermore,
It is assumed that each of these image memories stores a road map of the corresponding area. Therefore, for example, a road map around Hachioji is stored as image information in one image memory, and a road map around Ome City is stored as image information in another image memory. Therefore, the map information creation section 12 writes the road traffic information for each region input from the input section into the corresponding portion of the corresponding image memory. That is, if there is a traffic jam at the point where National Route 16 passing through Hachioji City intersects with Chuo Jidosha-dori, a symbol etc. indicating the traffic jam is written in the corresponding part of the image memory where the road map of this area is stored. In this way, when the road traffic information of each region is polished in the corresponding part of the image memory in the map information creation unit 12, the output unit 13 sequentially accesses the image memory of the map information creation unit 12 and outputs the contents. The area code corresponding to the image memory being accessed is added to create image data as shown in FIG. 3, and this is output to the transmitter 2. Here, the image data of FIG. 3 has a structure in which an image of an area code 31 is followed by image information 32 containing road traffic information for this area. The transmitting device 2 performs processing such as modulation on input image data, puts it on a carrier, and then transmits it to the outside world from an antenna 3. Here, as a method of transmitting the image data, it is possible to use an existing television broadcasting channel or the like and interrupt the main broadcasting in the same way as teletext transmission, or to allocate a new dedicated channel. good.

On the other hand, the automobile 4 receives the radio waves transmitted as described above through the receiving antenna 5, receives them through the road traffic information display device 6 mounted on the vehicle, and performs the operations desired by the driver as detailed below. Displays a road map of the area and road traffic information written on this map (congestion areas, road construction areas, accident locations, etc.). That is, as shown in FIG. 2, the received radio wave inputted from the receiving antenna 5 is demodulated by the receiving circuit 611 of the receiving section 61, becomes image data as shown in FIG. 3, and is inputted to the selection circuit 612. Ru. On the other hand, a driver who wants to know road traffic information inputs the area code of the area in which the automobile 4 is currently traveling into the CPU 62 by operating keys on the keyboard 64, for example. The CPU 62 sets the input area number in the selection circuit 612. As a result, the selection circuit 612 takes in from the CPU 62 only the image data to which the area code corresponding to the set area number is attached, and outputs this to the CPU 62. C.P.U.
62 writes the image data input from the receiving section 61 into the image storage section 63, reads out the image data from the image storage section 63, and provides it to the display device 66. The display device 66 processes the input image data into a displayable form and then displays it on the screen.

FIG. 4 is an operation flowchart of the CPU 62. At step 401, wait for input of area code,
A selection circuit 61 selects the area number input in step 402.
Set to 2. Next, in step 403, the selection circuit 6
After writing the image data input from 12 into the image storage section 63, in step 404, the image data inputted from the image storage section 63 is written.
The image data is read out from and output to the display device 66.

Finally, in step 405, it is determined whether or not an area number has been input. If not, the process returns to step 403; if it has been input, the process returns to step 402.

FIG. 5 is an example of a road map on which the road traffic information displayed on the screen is written. The solid line indicates the road, and the broken line drawn in Toni's section indicates that the road in this section is congested.
The solid lines labeled B, C, and D indicate main roads. Here, the driver drives the car 4 for the purpose of passing through the road, and when he sees this image, he knows that there is a traffic jam between the roads. However, you can see from the image that the Chili section is not crowded, so if you change your driving route to Tochirinu, you can bypass the congested section. In this way, when the driver passes through Tochirinu and arrives at Nu, he inputs the area number that includes the driving section beyond Ha into the CPU 62 from the keyboard 64.
62 repeats the same operation as above to display a map of the newly input area number on the display device 66. However, CPU
62 writes the image data input from the selection circuit 612 in a constant cycle into the image storage section 63 unless the set area code is changed, so the latest traffic information is always written on the display device 66. A map will be displayed. Incidentally, if a color CRT or the like is used as the display device 66, the congested areas on the map can be clearly indicated by color coding. Further, in the above description, the case where the driver inputs the area number into the C P LI 62 using the keyboard 64 has been described, but the magnetic card (an IC card may be used) 7 with the area number stored in the reading section 65 is also described. Insert
It may also be input to c p U 62. In this case, when the reading unit 65 detects the insertion of the magnetic card 7, it reads the area code stored in this card and reads the area code stored in the card.
Enter 2. From then on, perform the same operation as above,
The area code can also be entered using a plug or the like.

According to this embodiment, the traffic control command center 1 can cyclically transmit road traffic information of a plurality of regions as video information, while the road traffic information display device 6 can transmit road traffic information of a plurality of regions as video information. You can select only road traffic information and display it together with the road map. Therefore, the driver can recognize road congestion sections, road construction sections, etc. at a glance, and can also easily find the distance from the current location to the section where the obstacle is occurring, a route to bypass the obstacle section, etc. . Therefore, the driver can easily take appropriate measures based on the road traffic information, making effective use of empty roads and eliminating congestion on arterial roads.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing another embodiment of the present invention. The configuration of this example is the same as that of the previous example shown in FIG. 1, but the image storage unit has a capacity that can store image information (map information including road traffic information) of nine areas at one time, for example. 631 to 63. CPU
62 is the desired area number, for example 105 is the keyboard 64
When input from , the area numbers 101, 102, 103, 10 of surrounding areas centering on this area number 105 are entered.
4, 106, 107, 108, and 109 are set in the selection circuit 612 of the receiving section 61. Therefore, the selection circuit 612 sequentially outputs image information to which the area code corresponding to the set area number is attached to the CPU 62. C P
The LI 62 writes input image information for each region in the order of, for example, image memories 63, 632, . By creating image information and providing it to the display device 66, the image information shown in FIG.
A road map with extensive road traffic information including area 105 as shown in A) is displayed. By looking at this road map, drivers can learn about the road conditions surrounding the area they need, and can also decide whether they really want to know road traffic information for area 105. , if there is no mistake, keyboard 64
Press the specified key. CP who received this. The U62 reads the image information of the area 105 from the image storage unit 635 and outputs it as it is to the display device 66, as shown in FIG.
As shown in B), only images of area 105 are displayed. Further, if the driver determines that area 108 is required based on the display image shown in FIG.
P U 62 is displayed as one screen. In addition, C P
When region 10B is input, U 62 inputs region 108 and surrounding regions 104, 105, 10B,
107, 109, 110, 111, and 112 are set in the selection circuit 612, and the image information of these areas is input and written into the image storage units 631-639. In addition, when the driver operates a specific key on the keyboard 64 with only one area displayed, the C P
The LJ 62 reads out all the image information from the image storage units 631 to 639, reduces it to 179, and displays it on the display device 66, creating an image as shown in FIG. 7(A).

According to this embodiment, first, a wide range of road traffic information and a map including the area set by the driver are displayed, so the driver can first understand the road conditions surrounding the area he or she wants to see, and check whether the area selected is correct. In addition, when a car is located near the boundary between two regions, road traffic information for both regions can be viewed on one screen, allowing appropriate measures to be taken in a shorter time than in the previous example. You can choose to do so.

In addition, in the above embodiment, an example was explained in which the display image is switched between 9 regions and 1 region, but it is also possible to switch the display image in multiple stages, and there is also a function to scroll the screen etc. It can be easily realized using existing technology.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the road traffic information transmission and reception system of the present invention, road traffic information can be reported to car drivers in the form of images that allow them to easily see detour roads, etc. You can select and receive only the road traffic information for the area you want to receive.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the road traffic information transmitting/receiving system of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a detailed example of the road traffic information display device shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. A diagram showing an example of image data output from the output unit shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 4 is an operation flowchart of the CPU shown in FIG. 2, and FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a display displayed on the display device shown in FIG. 6. . 1...Traffic control command center 2...Transmission device 3,
5... Antenna 4... Car 6... Road traffic information display device 61... Receiving section 62... CPU 6
3... Image storage section 64... Keyboard 65... Reading section 66... Display device agent Patent attorney Takashi Motoda Figure 4

Claims (1)

[Claims] an input means for inputting road traffic information; a memory for storing image data; and writing the road traffic information inputted from the input means on a road map divided into regions and stored on the memory. an image data creation means for creating image data in the memory; and an image data output means for reading and outputting the image data created on the memory by the image data creation means with a region code attached for each region. and transmitting means for transmitting the image data output from the image data output means on radio waves, the fixed station is provided with: a receiving means for obtaining data; an information selection means for selecting from the receiving means only image data to which an area code corresponding to a set area number is attached; and a memory for storing image data selected by the information selection means. The present invention is characterized in that the vehicle is equipped with an image display means for reading out image data from the storage means and displaying it as an image, and an area number setting means for setting an area number in the information selection means. A road traffic information notification system.