JPH08279094A - Traffic information communication device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To use information with a margin in period which is obtained once again without communicating with an information providing institution by storing traffic information with a margin in period as to received traffic information for a storage period and outputting the received traffic information or stored traffic information at a request. CONSTITUTION: The traffic information communication device 10 obtains the traffic information from an information provider 1 and outputs it at a request from a navigation device 100. Here, when an effective period is set for the traffic information provided by the information provider 1, the period is set as a storage period, but when the effective period is not set, a storage period is set according to the event kind; and the received traffic information is stored in a nonvolatile memory 15 together with the information in the set storage period. Then when the request for traffic information arrives from the navigation device 100, the stored information is outputted to the navigation device 100 on condition that the information is stored in the nonvolatile memory 15.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a traffic information communication device for receiving traffic information provided by an information provider.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, a navigation device for guiding a driver who is not geographically guided to a destination has been actively developed. With this navigation device, when a destination or departure point is input, the vehicle travel route between these two points is searched, and the travel route, the current position of the vehicle, and arrows indicating the direction of travel are displayed on the display together with the road map. While offering route guidance. On the other hand, a traffic information service that provides traffic information such as traffic jam information, required time for a specific section, regulation information, accident information, construction information, event information in real time is being put to practical use. This traffic information service includes ATIS (Attis), which provides traffic information to in-vehicle terminals, personal computer terminals, etc. via public lines and dedicated lines, and light and radio waves from beacons on the road. , VICS (Bix) which provides traffic information to a vehicle-mounted receiving device using FM multiplex broadcasting or the like. Therefore, more appropriate route guidance can be expected by using the above traffic information service with the navigation device.

[0003]

By the way, in the case of using the above traffic information service in the navigation device, when the same road is passed a plurality of times on the same day or different days, construction information, regulation information, event information, etc. ,
The same information may be provided in duplicate for information that varies over time. In such a case, there is a problem in that processing is time-consuming and inefficient if the information is acquired by communicating with the information providing organization each time.

[0004] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a traffic information communication device capable of using once-acquired information having a wide range of time without having to communicate with an information provider again. It is in.

[0005]

According to the first aspect of the present invention,
Receiving means for receiving traffic information provided by an external information providing organization, and traffic information received by this receiving means, for traffic information having a wide range at least in terms of time, set a storage period according to the content, The traffic information communication device is equipped with a storage means for storing during the storage period and an output means for outputting the traffic information received by the receiving means or the traffic information stored by the storage means in response to a request. To achieve. According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the traffic information communication device according to the first aspect, when the storage means differs from the traffic information already stored, the storage means stores the traffic information. It is configured to do. The invention according to claim 3 is the traffic information communication device according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising storage period changing means for arbitrarily changing the storage period of the traffic information stored by the storage means. is there. The invention according to claim 4 is the traffic information communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising erasing means for erasing arbitrary traffic information stored by the storage means. It is a thing.

[0006]

In the traffic information communication device according to the first aspect, the receiving means receives the traffic information provided by the external information providing organization, and the traffic information having at least a temporal range among the traffic information is: The storage means sets a storage period according to the contents, stores the storage period during the storage period, and the output means outputs the traffic information received by the receiving means or the traffic information stored by the storage means in response to a request. To be done. In the traffic information communication device according to the second aspect, the storage unit does not store the traffic information when the traffic information received by the receiving unit is the same as the already stored traffic information. In the traffic information communication device according to claim 3,
The storage period changing means arbitrarily changes the storage period of the traffic information stored in the storage means. In the traffic information communication device according to the fourth aspect, the erasing means erases any traffic information stored in the storage means.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A preferred embodiment of the traffic information communication device of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a system including a traffic information communication device according to an embodiment of the present invention. This system includes a traffic information communication device 10 that receives traffic information by communicating with an information provider 1 who provides traffic information services such as ATIS via a telephone, and an in-vehicle device connected to the traffic information communication device 10. Navigation device 100
It has and. The traffic information communication device 10 includes an input / output terminal 11 for inputting / outputting information to / from a telephone.
An analog mobile phone 2 can be connected to the input / output terminal 11, and a digital mobile phone 3 can be connected via the modem unit 4.

The traffic information communication device 10 includes a CPU (central processing unit) 12 and a ROM (read only memory) 1.
3, RAM (random access memory) 14, for example EEPROM (electrically erasable programmable RO)
Interface (I) for inputting / outputting information between the nonvolatile memory 15 using M) and the navigation device 100.
/ F) 16, communication control unit 1 connected to input / output terminal 11
7. Telephone type identification unit 18 for identifying the type of telephone connected to the input / output terminal 11 and timekeeping unit 1 for clocking time
9, which are connected to each other via an address bus 21, a control bus 22, and a data bus 23.

In this traffic information communication device 10, the CPU 1
2 executes the program stored in the ROM 13 using the RAM 14 as a working area, thereby obtaining traffic information from the information provider 1 and outputting the traffic information to the navigation device 100 in response to a request from the navigation device 100. . The ROM 13 stores a processing program and map data for receiving a traffic information service such as ATIS.

The CPU 12, the ROM 13, the RAM 14 and the communication control section 18 constitute the receiving means in the present invention. Also, the CPU 12, ROM 13, RAM 14
The non-volatile memory 15 constitutes the storage means in the present invention. Furthermore, CPU12, ROM13,
The RAM 14 and the interface 16 constitute the output means of the present invention, and include the CPU 12, ROM 13, RA.
The storage period changing means and the erasing means in the present invention are constituted by M14.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the navigation device 100. As shown in FIG. 2, the navigation device 100 includes a calculation unit 110. The calculation unit 110 includes a display unit 111 including a display 111a that functions as a touch panel and an operation switch 111b provided around the display 111a.
And the touch panel of the display unit 111 and the switch 111
switch input management unit 112 that manages the input from b.
The current position measuring unit 113, the speed sensor 114, the map information storage unit 115, the voice recognition unit 116, and the voice output unit 117 are connected to each other.

The current position measuring unit 113 detects the current position where the vehicle is currently traveling or stopped by detecting coordinate data based on latitude and longitude. The current position measuring unit 113 includes a GPS (Global Position System) receiver 121 that measures the position of a vehicle using an artificial satellite, a beacon receiving device 120 that receives position information from a beacon placed on the road, The azimuth sensor 122 and the distance sensor 123 are connected, and the current position measuring unit 113 measures the current position of the vehicle using the information from these.

The azimuth sensor 122 is, for example, a geomagnetic sensor that detects the geomagnetism to determine the azimuth of the vehicle, a gas rate gyro that detects the angular velocity of the vehicle and integrates the angular velocity to determine the azimuth of the vehicle, an optical fiber gyro, and vibration A gyro such as a gyro, a wheel sensor in which the left and right wheel sensors are arranged and the amount of displacement of the azimuth is calculated by detecting the turning of the vehicle based on the output pulse difference (difference in moving distance) between them is used. As the distance sensor 123, for example, various methods such as a method for detecting and counting the number of rotations of a wheel or a method for detecting acceleration and integrating twice are used. In addition, GPS
Although the receiver 121 and the beacon receiving device 120 can measure the position independently, in a place where the GPS receiver 121 and the beacon receiving device 120 cannot receive, the dead reckoning using both the direction sensor 122 and the distance sensor 123 is performed. It is designed to detect the current position.

The map information storage unit 115 stores road data and display data necessary for route search and route guidance. A microphone 124 for inputting voice is connected to the voice recognition unit 116. Audio output unit 117
Is a voice output IC 12 that outputs voice as an electric signal.
6, an amplifier 127 that amplifies the output of the audio output IC 126, and a D / A converter 128 that digital-analog converts the output of the amplifier 127. The speaker 12 is provided at the output end of the D / A converter 128.
9 is connected.

The calculation unit 110 includes a map data reading unit 131.
A map drawing unit 132, a map management unit 133, a screen management unit 134, an input management unit 135, and a voice output management unit 1.
36 and an overall management unit 137. A speed sensor 114 and a map information storage unit 115 are connected to the map data reading unit 131 to read the data stored in the map information storage unit 115. Further, the map drawing unit 132 draws a map using the data stored in the map information storage unit 115. And the map management unit 133
Manages the map data reading unit 131 and the map drawing unit 132.

The screen management unit 134 is connected to the map drawing unit 132 and the display unit 111 and manages the screen of the display 111a. The input management unit 135 is connected to the switch input management unit 112 and the voice recognition unit 116 and manages the input. Further, the audio output management unit 136 is connected to the audio output IC 126 of the audio output unit 117 and manages the audio output. The overall management unit 137 includes a map management unit 133, a screen management unit 134, and an input management unit 135.
The audio output management unit 136 is managed, and the audio output management unit 136 is connected to the traffic information communication device 10 shown in FIG.

The arithmetic unit 110 includes a CPU, a ROM, and a RAM.
Etc., the CPU uses the RAM as a working area for R
By executing the program stored in OM,
The respective configurations described above are realized.

Here, the outline of the operation of the navigation device 100 shown in FIG. 2 will be described. The user inputs the destination by hand using the touch panel of the display unit 111 or the switch 111b, or by voice using the microphone 124. Touch panel and switch 111
The information input using b is the switch input management unit 11
2. It is input to the overall management unit 137 via the input management unit 135. Information input by voice using the microphone 124 is recognized by the voice recognition unit 116, and is input to the overall management unit 137 via the input management unit 135. Overall management unit 137
Acquires the current position measured by the current position measurement unit 113 via the map management unit 133, searches for a route from the current position to the destination, controls the map management unit 133, and includes the searched route. The map drawing unit 132 is caused to draw a map of the range, and the screen management unit 134 is controlled to display this map on the display 111a.
The route guidance is provided according to the searched route by the voice guidance output from the device.

Further, the general control section 137 collects traffic information such as traffic jam information about roads involved in route search and route guidance, required time for a specific section, regulation information, accident information, construction information, event information, etc. 10 and uses the traffic information output from the traffic information communication device 10 to search for an optimum route, and at the time of route guidance, the traffic information can be easily understood by the user (characters, figures, Voice, etc.) and display 111a and voice output unit 1
Output from 17. Furthermore, the overall management unit 137 uses the touch panel of the display unit 111, the switch 111b, or the microphone 124 to output the traffic information even when the user requests the traffic information to be output.
The traffic information output from the traffic information communication device 10 is output from the display 111a or the voice output unit 117.

Next, the traffic information communication device 10 shown in FIG.
The operation of will be described. The telephone type identification unit 17 identifies whether the telephone connected to the input / output terminal 11 is the analog mobile telephone 2 or the digital mobile telephone 3 (modem unit 4). Then, the CPU 12 uses the interface 1
Necessary information is sent to the navigation device 100 through the display device 6a of the navigation device 100.
The voice output unit 117 is used to output the guidance of the operation method according to the type of the telephone. Furthermore, the CPU 12
Causes the communication control unit 18 to perform communication control according to the type of the identified telephone.

When a request for traffic information is input from the navigation device 10 via the interface 16, the CPU 12 stores the requested information in the non-volatile memory 15 if the requested information is stored in the non-volatile memory 15. The displayed information is output to the navigation device 100. On the other hand, when the requested information is not stored in the non-volatile memory 15, the CPU 12 acquires traffic information from the information provider 1 and outputs the information to the navigation device 100, as described later.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart showing the operation at the time of information acquisition in the traffic information communication device 10. The operation shown in FIG. 3 is repeatedly executed in the main routine. In this operation, the CPU 12 communicates with the information provider 1 via the communication controller 18 and the telephone to request traffic information from the information provider 1 (step 201), and the traffic transmitted from the information provider 1 is transmitted. The information is received and the traffic information is output to the navigation device 100 (step 20).
2). Next, the CPU 12 determines whether or not the received traffic information is the traffic information stored in the nonvolatile memory 15 (step 203). If the received traffic information is the stored traffic information (Y), the traffic information is stored in the nonvolatile memory. The process returns to the main routine without storing in the property memory 15.

If the received traffic information is not the traffic information stored in the non-volatile memory 15 (step 203; N), the CPU 12 determines that the traffic information is
It is determined whether or not a period during which the traffic information is valid is set (step 204). When the period is set (Y), the period is set as the storage period (step 205), and the received traffic information is stored in the non-volatile memory 15 together with the information of the set storage period (step 207). , Return to the main routine. If the time period during which the traffic information is valid is set not only at the date and time but also at the time, the storage period including the time is set.

On the other hand, in the received traffic information, if the period during which the traffic information is valid is not set (step 204; N), the storage period is set according to the event type (step 206). For example, the storage period is set to 2 weeks for information on construction and disasters and 1 day for accidents. Next, the received traffic information is stored in the non-volatile memory 15 together with the information on the set storage period (step 2
07) and returns to the main routine.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an operation of automatically deleting the traffic information stored in the non-volatile memory 15 in the traffic information communication device 10. The operation of FIG. 4 is repeatedly executed in the main routine. In this operation, the CPU 12 checks the storage period of the traffic information stored in the non-volatile memory 15 and compares it with the time measured by the clock unit 19 to determine whether there is information that has passed the storage period. Is determined (step 301). If there is no information that the storage period has passed (N), the process directly returns to the main routine. If there is information that has passed the retention period (Y), the information is stored in the nonvolatile memory 1
It erases from 5 (step 302) and returns to the main routine.

Next, an example of an operation for displaying traffic information on the display 111a of the navigation device 100 will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 5A, a map of a predetermined range around the current position is displayed on the display 1.
When the user wants to display traffic information within the displayed range while being displayed on 11a, the user selects "ATI" from the menu displayed on the display 111a.
Select "S". Then, as shown in FIG.
The display 111a displays menus such as "congestion information", "required time", "parking information", and "saved event". When the user selects "congestion information", "required time", and "parking information" using the cursor on the screen, the overall management unit 137 of the navigation device 100 requests the traffic information communication device 10 for these information. . If the information is stored in the nonvolatile memory 15, the traffic information communication device 10 outputs the stored information to the navigation device 100, and this information is displayed on the display 111a.

When the information requested by the navigation device 100 is not stored in the non-volatile memory 15, the traffic information communication device 10 uses the display 111a or the voice output unit 117 to notify the information provider 1 of the information. Let the user choose whether to request. When the user selects to request information from the information provider 1, the traffic information communication device 10 communicates with the information provider 1 by the operation shown in FIG. 3 to acquire traffic information and perform navigation. The information is output to the device 100 and this information is displayed on the display 111.
It is displayed in a.

When the user selects "save event" from the menu shown in FIG. 5A, the navigation device 1
The general management unit 137 of 00 requests the traffic information communication device 10 for the information stored in the nonvolatile memory 15. The traffic information communication device 10 outputs the information stored in the non-volatile memory 15 to the navigation device 100.

Further, on the display 111a, menus of "map display" and "list display" are further displayed.
When the user selects "display map", the general management section 137
The information output from the traffic information communication device 10 is displayed on the display 11 by an icon as shown in FIG.
Display on 1a. On the other hand, when the user selects "list display", the overall management unit 137 causes the display 111a to display the information output from the traffic information communication device 10 in a list format, as shown in FIG. In this case, the display 111a also displays a "delete" key and a "details" key.

When the user selects one of the information displayed in the list format with the cursor and touches the "Delete" key, an instruction to delete the selected information is issued from the general management section 137 to the traffic information communication. The information is sent to the device 10, and the traffic information communication device 10 stores the selected information in the nonvolatile memory 15
Erase more. When the user selects one of the information displayed in the list format with the cursor and touches the “Details” key, the overall management unit 137 displays the selected information as shown in FIG. 5D. The detailed content of is displayed on the display 111a. In this case, the display 111
Further, a "change date" key and a "return" key are also displayed in a.

In the display of FIG. 5 (d), when the user touches the "change due date" key and inputs the due date using the switch 111b, the entered due date information is displayed in the general management section 1.
37 is sent to the traffic information communication device 10, and the traffic information communication device 10 matches the input date with the nonvolatile memory 1
Change the retention period stored in 5. On the other hand, when the user touches the “return” key, the screen returns to the screen shown in FIG.

As described above, according to the traffic information communication device 10 of the present embodiment, when the traffic information provided by the information provider 1 is set for a period during which the traffic information is valid. Sets the storage period as the storage period, and if the valid period is not set, sets the storage period according to the event type and stores the received traffic information together with the information of the set storage period in a nonvolatile manner. When there is a traffic information request from the navigation device 100, the information stored in the memory 15 is stored in the non-volatile memory 15, and the information stored in the non-volatile memory 15 is stored in the navigation device 100. Since it is output, it is possible to use once acquired information with a wide range of time without communicating with the information provider 1 again. It is possible to shorten the.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment,
For example, in the screen shown in FIG. 5 (c), regarding the information that the user has instructed to delete using the "delete" key,
The output is prohibited without being erased from the non-volatile memory 15, and is erased from the non-volatile memory 15 after the storage period elapses by the operation shown in FIG. 4, and the same information is provided from the information provider 1 within the storage period. If received,
The information may not be stored in the non-volatile memory 15. Further, as the current time, the date and time associated with the information provided by the information provider 1 may be used. Further, the present invention can be applied not only to ATIS but also to the case where VICS or the like receives traffic information by another traffic information providing service. Further, the present invention is not limited to the case where it is used in combination with a vehicle-mounted navigation device, but can be applied to a case where traffic information is received using a personal computer terminal in an office or a home.

[0034]

As described above, according to the present invention, for the traffic information provided by an external information providing organization, which has at least a certain period of time, a storage period is set according to the contents of the traffic information. Then, since the information is stored during the storage period, it is possible to use the once acquired information having a wide range of time without communicating again with the information providing period.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a system including a traffic information communication device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a navigation device of the above.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an operation at the time of information acquisition in the traffic information communication device.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an operation of automatically deleting traffic information stored in a nonvolatile memory in the traffic information communication device.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of an operation for displaying traffic information on the display of the navigation device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Information Provider 10 Traffic Information Communication Device 11 Input / Output Terminal 12 CPU 13 ROM 14 RAM 15 Nonvolatile Memory 16 Interface 17 Communication Control Section 18 Telephone Type Identification Section 19 Timekeeping Section 100 Navigation Device

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Takashi Sugawara, 10 Takane, Fujii-cho, Anjo City, Aichi Prefecture, Aisin AW Co., Ltd. (72) Naoki Ushiki, 10 Takane, Fujii-cho, Anjo City, Aichi Prefecture Inside AW Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Yasuhiro Hama 10 Takane, Fujii-cho, Anjo City, Aichi Prefecture Inside AIN W Co., Ltd.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. Receiving means for receiving traffic information provided by an external information providing organization, and traffic information received by this receiving means, which is at least temporally wide, is stored according to its contents. A storage unit for setting a period and storing the storage period during the storage period; and an output unit for outputting the traffic information received by the receiving unit or the traffic information stored by the storage unit in response to a request. Traffic information communication device characterized by: 2. The storage means stores the traffic information when the traffic information received by the receiving means is different from the already stored traffic information.
Traffic information communication device described in. 3. The traffic information communication device according to claim 1, further comprising a storage period changing unit that arbitrarily changes a storage period of the traffic information stored by the storage unit. 4. The traffic information communication according to claim 1, further comprising an erasing unit that erases arbitrary traffic information stored by the storage unit. apparatus.