KR20060035512A - Method and system for providing traffic information - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method and system for providing traffic information to a mobile communication terminal. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method and system for providing a traffic information to a mobile communication terminal. The present invention relates to a traffic information providing method and a system capable of selectively providing only traffic information.

According to an aspect of the present invention, a method for providing traffic information to a mobile communication terminal in a traffic information providing system, the method comprising: maintaining map information and traffic information for each region in a traffic information database, a current location and movement of the mobile communication terminal; Determining a speed based on the determined current position, the determined moving speed, or the period of providing the traffic information, and extracting traffic information corresponding to the area by referring to the traffic information database And transmitting the extracted traffic information to the mobile communication terminal according to the traffic information providing period.

Traffic information, zones, moving speeds, mobile communication terminals.

Description

METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR PROVIDING TRAFFIC INFORMATION}

1 is a diagram illustrating a network connection of a traffic information providing system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a flowchart illustrating a process of providing traffic information based on a current position and a moving speed of a mobile communication terminal in a traffic information providing method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a view showing an example of a traffic information database that can be used to perform the traffic information providing method according to the present invention.

4 is a diagram for describing a method of determining a predetermined area based on a current position and a moving speed of a mobile communication terminal according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a process of providing traffic information selected by considering a route on which a user is driving in a traffic information providing method according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for describing a process of dividing an area including a path into predetermined sections according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a view illustrating a traffic information providing method according to another embodiment of the present invention, in which map information is divided into predetermined unit zones, and includes a unit zone including a current location of a mobile communication terminal, or a traffic in an adjacent unit zone; A flowchart illustrating a process of providing information only.

FIG. 8 is a diagram for describing a process of determining a unit zone including a current location of a mobile communication terminal or an area including an adjacent unit zone according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a process of determining whether to transmit traffic information according to contents of traffic information associated with a road in a traffic information providing method according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

10 is an internal block diagram of a general purpose computer device that may be employed to perform the traffic information providing method according to the present invention.

The present invention relates to a method and system for providing traffic information to a mobile communication terminal. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method and system for providing a traffic information to a mobile communication terminal. The present invention relates to a traffic information providing method and a system capable of selectively providing only traffic information.

Today, along with the development of information and communication, the traffic information providing system that informs the information of the surrounding roads has made rapid progress. The current traffic information providing system may provide traffic information to the user at the request of the user or periodically.

However, the current traffic information providing system, when providing traffic information, transmits traffic information corresponding to a wide area to a user's mobile communication terminal, and transmits necessary traffic information at the current location among the traffic information transmitted from the mobile communication terminal. He chooses to search and guide the user.

Therefore, according to the related art, since the traffic information of the region desired by the user is limited, all traffic information corresponding to a wide area must be downloaded to the mobile communication terminal. 1) The transmission time until the download of the traffic information is completed is long. 2) the system load for downloading and storing unnecessary traffic information is high in the mobile communication terminal, and 3) a large amount of traffic information must be stored in a plurality of mobile communication terminals in the traffic information providing system. The system load is high, and 4) there is a problem in that the burden of the packet transmission fee is high in the process of downloading traffic information when the transmission fee is charged for each packet.

The present invention has been made to improve the prior art as described above, and an object of the present invention is to provide a traffic information providing method and system capable of selectively providing only the traffic information necessary for the user of the mobile communication terminal.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a traffic information providing method and a system capable of objectively selecting the traffic information required by the user.                         

In addition, the present invention provides a traffic information providing system and a system capable of minimizing the load on the traffic information providing system and the mobile communication terminal in the process of transmitting or storing the traffic information by selectively providing only the traffic information necessary for the user. to provide.

In addition, the present invention provides a traffic information providing method and system capable of minimizing the user's packet transmission charges generated in the process of providing traffic information by selectively providing only the traffic information necessary for the user.

In order to achieve the above object and to solve the problems of the prior art, according to an aspect of the present invention, in a method for providing traffic information from a traffic information providing system to a mobile communication terminal, the map information and area in the traffic information database Maintaining each traffic information, determining a current location and a moving speed of the mobile communication terminal, determining a predetermined area based on the determined current location, the determined moving speed, or a traffic information providing period; Extracting traffic information corresponding to the area by referring to the traffic information database, and transmitting the extracted traffic information to the mobile communication terminal according to the traffic information providing period; A provision method is provided.

Hereinafter, a method and a system for providing traffic information according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a diagram illustrating a network connection of a traffic information providing system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The mobile communication terminal 110 may be connected to a mobile communication company system 120 including a system of a plurality of base stations and a plurality of exchanges through a wireless communication network. The mobile telecommunication company system 120 may identify the base station system to which the mobile telecommunication terminal 110 is connected to identify a current position of the mobile telecommunication terminal 110 within a predetermined error range.

The mobile telecommunication company system 120 may identify a base station to which the mobile communication terminal 110 is connected to determine the location of the mobile communication terminal 110 within a predetermined error range, and may provide information about the identified location as described above. It is a system that can be transmitted to the traffic information providing system 130 and used in the traffic information providing system 130.

The traffic information providing system 130 receives information about the current location of the mobile communication terminal 110 from the mobile communication terminal 110 or from the mobile communication company system 120. In addition, the traffic information providing system 100 is a system that provides the user with traffic information related to a moving area where the user of the mobile communication terminal 110 is currently moving, based on the information about the current location.

2 is a flowchart illustrating a process of providing traffic information in a traffic information system as shown in FIG. 1 based on a current position and a moving speed of a mobile communication terminal in a traffic information providing method according to an embodiment of the present invention. One flow chart.

First, the traffic information providing system 130 maintains a traffic information database (step 201). The traffic information database includes map information, speed limit of roads, traffic jams, traffic jams, lanes, area information, and types of roads. An internal configuration of the traffic information database according to the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG.

3 is a view showing an example of a traffic information database that can be used to perform the traffic information providing method according to the present invention.

As shown in Figure 3, the traffic information database according to an embodiment of the present invention includes traffic information for each road.

Road information, which is a kind of map information, is information for identifying each road and is represented by a node. The traffic information database of FIG. 3 illustrates a case where road information is expressed in a vector manner. In the vector method, the road information includes an intersection node, a link, and an interpolation point, and the road may be represented by a link composed of two intersection points (or interpolation points). For example, the traffic information database of FIG. 3 includes road information represented by links A and B identified by node A and node B. FIG.

The area information includes the official name of the road or a name commonly recognized by users. For example, road information such as link (A, B), link (B, C) is about "road around COEX Mall in Samseong-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul."

In addition, the traffic information database includes traffic information for each road. For example, in connection with road information represented by links A and B, the road identified by the road information is a first 8-lane road and the limited speed is 60 km. Generally well-changed second traffic information is included in the traffic information database.

The traffic information providing system 130 may receive traffic information from a predetermined traffic information collection system that collects traffic information and update traffic information of the traffic information database. The traffic information collection system may collect traffic information from the speed detection equipment by installing speed detection equipment such as CCTV, Loop Detector, location tracking terminal Beacon, GPS, etc. on a main road. In addition, the traffic information providing system 130 may receive the traffic information from the traffic information collection system in real time or periodically.

Next, the traffic information providing system 130 determines the current position and the moving speed of the mobile communication terminal 100 (step 202). First, a process of determining the current position of the mobile communication terminal 110 will be described. The current location of the mobile communication terminal 110 may be determined in various ways.

For example, the mobile communication terminal 110 including the global positioning system (GPS) receiver may receive a GPS satellite signal and analyze the GPS satellite signal to determine a current position within a few meter error range.

When the mobile communication terminal 110 is connected to the GPS receiver, the current position of the mobile communication terminal 110 may be determined based on the signal received from the GPS receiver. Current GPS includes 24 GPS satellites, and a GPS receiver is used to receive signals from the GPS satellites and measure the current position, current speed, time, and the like.

In addition, according to another embodiment of the present invention, the current position of the mobile communication terminal may be determined by triangulating a signal between the base station and the neighboring base station of the mobile communication company system with which the mobile communication terminal is currently communicating.

In addition, according to another embodiment of the present invention, the current location of the mobile communication terminal 110 is determined by receiving an area name, an address, or a famous building name near the current location from a user of the mobile communication terminal 110. You may.

Hereinafter, a process of determining the moving speed of the mobile communication terminal 110 will be described. When a GPS receiver is connected to the mobile communication terminal 110, the movement speed may be calculated using a GPS signal received from the GPS receiver. The mobile communication terminal 110 transmits the calculated current speed to the traffic information providing system 130.

In addition, according to another embodiment of the present invention, instead of determining the moving speed of the actual mobile communication terminal 110, the traffic information providing system 130 limits the road on which the user of the mobile communication terminal 110 is currently driving. The speed may be estimated as the moving speed.

In this case, the traffic information providing system 130 identifies the road including the current location determined as described above with reference to the traffic information database. In addition, the traffic information providing system 130 may search for the speed limit associated with the identified road with reference to the traffic information database, and determine the retrieved speed limit as the moving speed of the mobile communication terminal 110.

In addition, the traffic information providing system 130 determines a predetermined area including the current location based on the current location and the moving speed of the mobile communication terminal 110 (step 203). FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a method of determining the area based on a current position and a moving speed of a mobile communication terminal according to the present embodiment.

In FIG. 4, an area indicated by a dotted line indicates an area within a distance within which the mobile communication terminal 110 is located, that is, within a distance that can be moved for a predetermined time at the movement speed determined based on the current location. Reference numeral 410 denotes a road on which the user of the mobile communication terminal 110 is driving.

According to an embodiment, the predetermined time may be determined by an operator of the traffic information providing system 130 or a user of the mobile communication terminal 110. For example, if the user wants to know traffic information within a distance that can be reached within 30 minutes from his current location, the predetermined time may be set to 30 minutes. In this case, the mobile communication terminal 110 may transmit the set time to the traffic information providing system 130 to determine the area based on the set time.

”와 같이 결정할 수 있다. In addition, the predetermined time may be determined in consideration of a period in which the traffic information providing system 130 provides traffic information to the mobile communication terminal 110. For example, when the traffic information providing system 130 provides traffic information to the mobile communication terminal 110 every 30 minutes, the predetermined time is “30 minutes.

Can be determined as follows.

km = (50

)km”를 갖고, 이동 통신 단말기의 현재 위치를 중점으로 하는 원 형태로 결정될 수 있다. 상기

또는

는 필요 한 교통 정보를 충분히 제공하기 위해 운영자에 의해 적절히 선택될 수 있는 값이다. 도 4에서는

=0으로 선택한 경우, 즉 반지름이 50km인 경우를 도시하고 있다. For example, assuming that the predetermined time is set to 30 minutes and the moving speed of the mobile communication terminal 110 determined in step 202 is 100 km / h, the area is “radius = 0.5 hx 100 km / h.

km = (50

) km ”, and may be determined in the form of a circle focusing on the current position of the mobile communication terminal. remind

or

Is a value that can be appropriately selected by the operator to provide sufficient traffic information. In Figure 4

The case where 0 is selected, that is, the radius is 50 km is illustrated.

In addition, in FIG. 4, the case of determining the area in the form of a circle is taken as an example. However, the area may be determined as a rectangular area in consideration of the current position and the moving speed. It is not limited by the shape.

The traffic information providing system 130 refers to the traffic information database and extracts traffic information corresponding to the determined area (step 204). The traffic information providing system 130 identifies a road (one or more links) that includes all or part of the determined area with reference to road information as shown in FIG. 3. In addition, the traffic information providing system 130 searches for traffic information associated with the identified road for each road by referring to the traffic information database.

For example, when the road included in the determined area is a road identified by road information, (A, B), (B, C), and (B, E), the traffic information is “road information (A, B). Roads identified by) may include information such as "conversation is currently active."

In operation 205, the traffic information providing system 130 transmits the retrieved traffic information to the mobile communication terminal 110.

In addition, the traffic information providing system 130 provides new traffic information to the mobile communication terminal 110 before the determined current location changes and the current location of the mobile communication terminal 110 leaves the area. Referring to FIG. 4, when the traffic information providing system 130 arrives at a point within 5 km from the area shown in FIG. 4, that is, when it arrives at the point 420, the traffic information providing system 130 has a radius of 50 km. Traffic information corresponding to the area is transmitted to the mobile communication terminal 110 again.

According to the above configuration, the user of the mobile communication terminal 110 can be provided only traffic information within a distance that can be reached for a predetermined period. That is, a situation in which the traffic information necessary for the user is not transmitted without unnecessary traffic information, such as traffic information for a road that the user does not travel or is not going to travel, to the mobile communication terminal 110. You can prevent it.

Therefore, the user can be provided with only necessary traffic information, so that the information providing fee for the traffic information or the packet fee can be saved when the traffic information is transmitted for each packet.

또는

의 값을 적절히 선정하여 이를 예방할 수 있다. 또한, 도심에서 사용자는 해당 도로의 제한 속도 이내의 속도로 주행하기 마련이므로, 제한 속도를 이동 통신 단말기(110)의 이동 속도로 결정하는 경우에도 역시 필요한 교통 정보를 충분히 제공하는 것을 보장할 수 있다. In addition, according to the present embodiment, since the traffic information is provided according to the movement of the mobile communication terminal 110 as described above, when the user determines the area by setting the movement speed of the mobile communication terminal 110 small, the user is determined. It may also happen that they do not provide sufficient traffic information. Therefore, the traffic information providing system 130 is as described above

or

This can be prevented by appropriately selecting the value of. In addition, since the user is required to drive at a speed within the speed limit of the road in the city, even when determining the speed limit as the movement speed of the mobile communication terminal 110, it is possible to ensure that sufficient traffic information is provided. .

Hereinafter, a traffic information providing method according to another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6.

In step 501 the traffic information providing system 130 maintains a traffic information database. Since the traffic information providing database has been described in detail with reference to FIG. 3, the description thereof will be omitted.

In step 502, the traffic information providing system 130 determines the user's starting point and destination. The user may input the name of the starting point and the destination into the mobile communication terminal 110 and transmit the name of the starting point and the destination to the traffic information providing system 130, thereby informing the traffic information providing system 130 of the starting point and the destination. In addition, when the traffic information providing system 130 also provides route information to the mobile communication terminal, the departure point and the destination may be input from the user before searching for the route. In addition, the traffic information providing system 130 may determine the current location of the mobile communication terminal 110 as a starting point.

The scope of the present invention provides a method for providing traffic information to the mobile communication terminal 110 by searching for a route by the traffic information providing system 130 or searching for a route in a navigation system installed in the mobile communication terminal 110 itself. Although not limited according to a method of providing route information such as a route guidance method, the following description will be given by taking a case in which the traffic information providing system 130 also provides route information.

In operation 503, the traffic information providing system 130 searches for a route from the determined starting point to the determined destination with reference to the traffic information database including the map information. In this case, when a plurality of routes are searched from the starting point to the destination, the traffic information providing system 130 selects predetermined paths such as a path of the shortest distance, a path of the shortest time required, or a path including two or more roads. The searched route is selected according to the criteria.

The traffic information providing system 130 provides the selected route to the mobile communication terminal 110 so that the user can select a route to be driven. For example, the user can select the path of the shortest distance.

In operation 504, the traffic information providing system 130 determines a predetermined area based on the route selected by the user. The traffic information providing system 130 according to the present exemplary embodiment provides traffic information based on a route on which the user is traveling or is going to travel, and the traffic information providing system 130 directly searches for a route to obtain route information. For example, the traffic information providing system 130 may receive and use route information from the mobile communication terminal 110 or another route search server (not shown).

A process of determining the region will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. 6. Reference numeral A in Fig. 6 denotes a starting point, and reference numeral B denotes a destination. If the selected route from the origin A to the destination B is marked as the route A-B, the traffic information providing system determines an area including the route A-B and its surrounding area.

For example, the area may be determined as an area within 5 km of the vertical distance from the path. In addition, as illustrated in FIG. 6, the region may be a set of rectangular regions including each link of a path divided by each node or interpolation point.

In operation 505, the current location of the mobile communication terminal 110 of the traffic information providing system 130 is determined. Since the specific process of determining the current position has been described in detail in the above-described embodiment, the description thereof will be omitted.

In operation 506, the traffic information providing system 130 determines a section including the determined current location in the region. The section is used as a unit for providing traffic information. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, a part of a route (for example, a road of about 30 km) may be divided into a rectangular section. At this time, the distance of the road included in the section may be automatically selected in consideration of the moving speed of the mobile communication terminal 110 as in the above-described embodiment, or the operator or mobile communication terminal of the traffic information providing system 130 It may be a value selected by the user of 110.

When the section is determined in step 507, the traffic information providing system 130 searches for traffic information associated with a road including all or part of the section by referring to the traffic information database.

In operation 508, the traffic information providing system 130 provides the searched traffic information to the mobile communication terminal 110 so that the traffic information is guided to the user.

In addition, the section is sequentially changed as the current position of the mobile communication terminal 110 is changed, for example, when the mobile communication terminal 110 moves to a location 605 of 5 km before leaving the section 603. The traffic information providing system 130 determines a next section 604 and transmits the traffic information of the section 604 to the mobile communication terminal 110 (ie, steps 505 to 508). The task is repeated until the destination is reached.

In general, the user of the mobile communication terminal 110 is highly likely to travel along a path selected in advance. Once the route for the user is determined, traffic information on a road unrelated to the route may be unnecessary traffic information for the user. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, by selectively providing only traffic information associated with a route, the load on the traffic information providing system 130 or the mobile communication terminal 110 in the case of transmitting a large amount of traffic information is reduced, The transmission time until the traffic information is provided is reduced, and the packet transmission fee borne by the user is also reduced.

Hereinafter, a traffic information providing method according to another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8.

7 is a diagram illustrating a process of transmitting traffic information retrieved based on the unit zone to the mobile communication terminal 110 by dividing the area into predetermined unit zones according to the present embodiment.

In step 701, the traffic information providing system 130 maintains a traffic information database. The traffic information database according to the present embodiment includes map information and traffic information. In particular, the traffic information is maintained in association with road information among the map information. In addition, road information and traffic information included in the traffic information database are maintained for each predetermined unit zone. For example, the unit zone may be determined as one grid when the area is divided into grids.

The traffic information providing system 130 determines a current location of the mobile communication terminal 110 in step 702, and determines a unit area including the determined current location by referring to the traffic information database in step 703. do.

In operation 704, the traffic information providing system 130 determines an area including the unit area. Referring to FIG. 8, the unit zone including the determined current location is a fifth unit zone, and the traffic information providing system 130 may determine a set of nine unit zones including the fifth unit zone as the region. have. According to an embodiment, only the fifth unit zone may be determined as the area, or a set of 25 unit zones including the fifth unit zone may be determined as the area.

In operation 705, the traffic information providing system 130 refers to the traffic information database to identify a road composed of a link including all or part of the determined area, and retrieves traffic information associated with the identified road.

In operation 706, the traffic information providing system 130 transmits the retrieved traffic information to the mobile communication terminal 110 so that the traffic information is guided to the user.

In addition, in the case where the current position of the mobile communication terminal 110 fluctuates and the user wants to move out of the area, for example, the unit includes a new current location when moving to a position within about 5 km from the boundary point of the area. The process of re-determining the area based on the zone and providing traffic information (steps 702 to 706) is repeated.

Hereinafter, a traffic information providing method according to another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 9.

In step 901 the traffic information providing system 130 maintains a traffic information database. The traffic information database includes map information and traffic information. The map information includes road information, and the traffic information is maintained in association with road information.

The traffic information providing system 130 determines the current location of the mobile communication terminal 110 in step 902, and determines a road including the determined current location with reference to the traffic information database in step 903. . On the other hand, if the determined current location is not located on the road identified by the road information included in the traffic information database, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that a map matching technique according to the prior art can be used. Do.

In operation 904, the traffic information providing system 130 searches for traffic information associated with the determined road by referring to the traffic information database. In operation 905, the traffic information providing system 130 determines whether to transmit the traffic information according to the content of the retrieved traffic information.

For example, when the user is moving the road at a speed of 58 km on a road with a speed limit of 60 km, or when a construction / event does not proceed in the road or the vicinity of the road, there is a delay / congestion phenomenon on the road. If this does not occur, such as if the contents contained in the traffic information does not need to be provided to the user, it may be determined that the corresponding traffic information is not transmitted to the mobile communication terminal (110).

That is, according to the configuration as described above, the traffic information providing system 130 may provide only the corresponding traffic information to the user in the case of unusual occurrence (step 907). In addition, the traffic information providing system 130 may transmit only traffic information on a road including a specific item among the traffic information associated with the area when transmitting the information in a predetermined unit, such as when transmitting the traffic information for each area. have. On the other hand, the area may be determined in consideration of the moving speed, the path or the current grid of the mobile communication terminal 110 as in the above-described embodiment.

For example, if the road included in the area consists of the links B and C shown in FIG. 3 and the links B and E, the traffic information “communication desired” associated with the links B and C is mobile communication. Instead of being transmitted to the terminal 110, the traffic information “delay / congestion, road extension construction” associated with the links B and E may be transmitted to the mobile communication terminal 110. In this case, the mobile communication terminal 110 does not provide any traffic information to the user before driving the road corresponding to the links B and C, in which no separate traffic information is provided, and links to the links B and E. Before driving on the road, you may be able to voice the traffic information, such as "Long delay due to road extension."

In general, traffic information that interests users who want to receive traffic information is delayed or delayed, and reasons for delayed traffic jams. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, by classifying the types of traffic information that users are interested in by content and determining whether to transmit traffic information, only users can selectively transmit traffic information. Therefore, the data size of the traffic information can be reduced and transmitted quickly, and the packet transmission fee borne by the user can also be reduced.

In addition, in the above, the method for efficiently providing traffic information according to various embodiments has been described, respectively, but it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the embodiments may be used in combination with each other. For example, the traffic information providing system according to the present invention may determine an area in consideration of the path of the mobile communication terminal, and the area may be divided into predetermined sections in consideration of the moving speed of the mobile communication terminal. Among the corresponding traffic information, only traffic information including unusual matters of interest to the user may be transmitted to the mobile communication terminal.

Traffic information providing method according to the present invention is implemented in the form of program instructions that can be executed by various computer means may be recorded on a computer readable medium. The computer readable medium may include program instructions, data files, data structures, etc. alone or in combination. Program instructions recorded on the media may be those specially designed and constructed for the purposes of the present invention, or they may be of the kind well-known and available to those having skill in the computer software arts. Examples of computer-readable recording media include magnetic media such as hard disks, floppy disks, and magnetic tape, optical media such as CD-ROMs, DVDs, and magnetic disks, such as floppy disks. Magneto-optical media, and hardware devices specifically configured to store and execute program instructions, such as ROM, RAM, flash memory, and the like. The medium may be a transmission medium such as an optical or metal wire, a waveguide, or the like including a carrier wave for transmitting a signal specifying a program command, a data structure, or the like. Examples of program instructions include not only machine code generated by a compiler, but also high-level language code that can be executed by a computer using an interpreter or the like. The hardware device described above may be configured to operate as one or more software modules to perform the operations of the present invention, and vice versa.

10 is an internal block diagram of a general purpose computer device that may be employed to perform the traffic information providing method according to the present invention.

The computer device 1000 includes one or more processors 1010 connected to a main memory device including a random access memory (RAM) 1020 and a read only memory (ROM) 1030. The processor 1010 is also called a central processing unit (CPU). As is well known in the art, the ROM 1030 serves to transfer data and instructions to the CPU unidirectionally, and the RAM 1020 typically transmits data and instructions bidirectionally. Used to. RAM 1020 and ROM 1030 may include any suitable form of computer readable media. Mass storage 1040 is bi-directionally coupled to processor 1010 to provide additional data storage capability, and may be any of the computer readable recording media described above. The mass storage device 1040 is used to store programs, data, and the like, and is typically an auxiliary memory device such as a hard disk which is slower than the main memory device. Certain mass storage devices such as CD ROM 1060 may be used. The processor 1010 may include one or more input / output interfaces such as video monitors, trackballs, mice, keyboards, microphones, touchscreen displays, card readers, magnetic or paper tape readers, voice or handwriting readers, joysticks, or other known computer input / output devices. 1050 is connected. Finally, the processor 1010 may be connected to a wired or wireless communication network through the network interface 1070. Through this network connection, the procedure of the method described above can be performed. The apparatus and tools described above are well known to those skilled in the computer hardware and software arts.

The hardware device described above may be configured to operate as one or more software modules to perform the operations of the present invention.

While specific embodiments of the present invention have been described so far, various modifications are possible without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Therefore, the scope of the present invention should not be limited to the described embodiments, but should be defined not only by the claims below, but also by the equivalents of the claims.

According to the present invention, there is provided a traffic information providing method and system for selectively providing only traffic information necessary for a user of a mobile communication terminal.                     

In addition, according to the present invention, there is provided a traffic information providing method and system capable of objectively selecting the traffic information required by the user.

In addition, according to the present invention, by selectively providing only the traffic information necessary for the user, a traffic information providing method and a traffic information providing method that can minimize the load on the traffic information providing system and the mobile communication terminal during the transmission or storage of traffic information A system is provided.

In addition, according to the present invention, by selectively providing only the traffic information necessary for the user, there is provided a traffic information providing method and system that can minimize the user's packet transmission charges generated in the process of providing traffic information.

Claims (15)

In the traffic information providing system for providing traffic information to a mobile communication terminal, The traffic information providing system, Maintaining map information and regional traffic information in a traffic information database; Determining a current position and a moving speed of the mobile communication terminal; Determining a predetermined area based on the determined current location, the determined moving speed, or the traffic information providing period; Extracting traffic information corresponding to the area by referring to the traffic information database; And Transmitting the extracted traffic information to the mobile communication terminal according to the traffic information providing period Traffic information providing method, characterized in that for performing. The method of claim 1, The determining of the area based on the determined current position, the determined moving speed and the traffic information providing period may include: Receiving information on a current position and a moving speed of the mobile communication terminal from the mobile communication terminal; Traffic information providing method comprising a. The method of claim 1, The traffic information included in the traffic information database includes a speed limit for each road, The determining of the area based on the determined current position, the determined moving speed or the traffic information providing period may include: Receiving information on a current location of the mobile communication terminal from the mobile communication terminal; Determining a road on which the mobile communication terminal is located with reference to the traffic information database based on the information on the current location; Searching for the speed limit of the determined road by referring to the traffic information database; And Determining the retrieved speed limit as a moving speed of the mobile communication terminal Traffic information providing method comprising a. The method of claim 1, The determining of the area based on the determined current position, the determined moving speed or the traffic information providing period may include: Calculating a moving distance of the mobile communication terminal during the traffic information providing period based on the determined moving speed; And Determining an area within a distance determined based on the movement distance based on the determined current position; Traffic information providing method comprising a. In the traffic information providing system for providing traffic information to a mobile communication terminal, The local traffic information providing system, Maintaining map information and regional traffic information in a traffic information database; Transmitting a route search result from a predetermined starting point to a predetermined destination to the mobile communication terminal at the request of the user of the mobile communication terminal; Determining an area containing the searched path; Determining a current location of the mobile communication terminal; Determining a section included in the determined region based on the determined current position; Searching for traffic information corresponding to the determined section by referring to the traffic information database; And Transmitting the retrieved traffic information to the mobile communication terminal Traffic information providing method, characterized in that for performing. The method of claim 5, The searching of the traffic information corresponding to the section associated with the determined current location by referring to the traffic information database may include: Retrieving traffic information corresponding to a section including the determined current location or a section located in a moving direction of the mobile communication terminal among sections adjacent to the section; Traffic information providing method comprising a. In the traffic information providing system for providing traffic information to a mobile communication terminal, The traffic information providing system, Maintaining a traffic information database including traffic information and map information for each unit area when the area is divided into at least one unit zone; Determining a current location of the mobile communication terminal; Determining an area associated with a unit zone that includes the determined current location; Searching for traffic information corresponding to the area by referring to a traffic information database; And Transmitting the retrieved traffic information to the mobile communication terminal Traffic information providing method, characterized in that for performing. The method of claim 7, wherein The determining of the area associated with the unit area in which the determined current location is included, Determining a unit zone including the determined current location and a unit zone adjacent to the unit zone as the area; Traffic information providing method comprising a. In the traffic information providing system for providing traffic information to a mobile communication terminal, The traffic information providing system, Maintaining map information and regional traffic information in a traffic information database, the traffic information including a speed limit per road; Determining a current location of the mobile communication terminal; Determining a road on which the mobile communication terminal is located based on the determined current location with reference to map information of the traffic information traffic information database; Searching for traffic information associated with the road determined by referring to traffic information for each region of the traffic information traffic information database; Determining whether to transmit the traffic information according to the type of the retrieved traffic information; And Transmitting the traffic information to the mobile communication terminal according to the determination result Local traffic information providing method characterized in that for performing. The method of claim 9, The transmission status is the number of lanes where the user is currently located in the lane where the user is to be located after a predetermined distance when the current moving speed of the user is out of a predetermined range based on the speed limit, when a road jam / congestion occurs. If different from the above, if the speed change by section occurs after a predetermined distance movement, the transmission is allowed when there is a traffic accident in the predetermined section and whether or not the event / construction is in progress. Traffic information providing method characterized in that. The method according to any one of claims 1, 5, 7, or 9, The traffic information for each region included in the traffic information database is updated in real time, periodically or repeatedly. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, The mobile communication terminal is a communication terminal including a cellular phone, a PCS, a PDA, a smart phone, a laptop, and the traffic information is local traffic information providing method characterized in that updated at predetermined time intervals. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, The traffic information includes at least one of a speed limit, a road jam / congestion situation, lane information, section speed, a traffic accident, and information on whether an event / construction is in progress. In the traffic information providing system, A traffic information providing system for providing traffic information to a mobile communication terminal using any one of claims 1 to 10. A computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon a program for executing the method of any one of claims 1 to 10.

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