JP2005032275A - Mobile information processing apparatus and method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a mobile information apparatus and method for efficiently processing information accumulated in a mobile station, such as a car. <P>SOLUTION: A transceiver 21 receives a plurality of mobile positional information, showing the position of a mobile station and time when the mobile station is located there, while a traveling log processor 27 recognizes the traveling direction, to which the mobile station is going out of a prefixed mobile segment deciding from the mobile positional information received by the transceiver 21 and prescribed positional information specifying the mobile segment of the mobile station; and information combined by corresponding the traveling direction information showing the recognized traveling direction with mobile information of the mobile station in the prefixed mobile segment is stored in a united road travel time database 28. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a mobile information processing apparatus and a mobile information processing method, and more particularly, to a mobile information processing apparatus and a mobile information processing method for efficiently processing movement information such as the movement position and movement time of a moving body.

  In recent years, car navigation systems have become widespread. The car navigation system searches for a route to a destination by referring to map data or the like, and measures the position of the vehicle using GPS (Global Positioning System) or the like and displays it on a map.

  Also, in recent car navigation systems, FM traffic etc. are received to acquire road traffic jam information, etc., route search avoiding traffic jam locations, and measured vehicle position is stored in time series as travel trajectory data In addition, there are some that can check the traveling locus of the vehicle.

In addition, there are various techniques for collecting movement information of vehicles and the like (see, for example, Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2).
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-11688 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-245853

  As described above, many techniques for collecting movement information of a moving body such as a vehicle such as a car navigation system have been proposed. However, the collected movement information often has a huge amount.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a mobile information processing apparatus and a mobile information processing method that can efficiently process information accumulated in a moving body such as a vehicle.

  In order to achieve the above-described object, the invention of claim 1 receives the mobile body position information indicating the position of the mobile body and the time information indicating the time when the mobile body is located at the position indicated by the mobile body position information. A moving segment terminal position specifying unit for specifying a moving segment terminal position that is a terminal of a moving segment in which the moving object moves, and the moving unit terminal position information and time information received by the receiving unit. Travel direction recognition means for recognizing the travel direction of the moving body at the movement section end position specified by the position specification means, travel direction information indicating the travel direction recognized by the travel direction recognition means, and movement in the movement section And storing means for storing the movement information of the body in association with each other.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided generating means for generating moving body position information indicating a position of the moving body, time information indicating a time when the moving body is positioned at a position indicated by the moving body position information, The moving section end position specifying means for specifying the moving section end position which is the end of the moving moving section, and the moving section end position specifying means specified by the moving section end position specifying means from the moving body position information and time information generated by the generating means. Traveling direction recognition means for recognizing the traveling direction of the moving body at the end position of the moving section, traveling direction information indicating the traveling direction recognized by the traveling direction recognition means, and movement information of the moving body in the moving section Transmission means for transmitting in association with each other.

  Further, the invention of claim 3 is the invention of claim 1 or 2, further comprising classification means for classifying movement information of the moving body in the movement section for each traveling direction recognized by the traveling direction recognition means. Features.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the moving body is moved by receiving the moving body position information indicating the position of the moving body and the time information indicating the time when the moving body is located at the position indicated by the moving body position information. The mobile section end position that is the end of the section is specified, the moving direction of the moving body at the specified moving section end position is recognized from the received moving body position information and time information, and the recognized moving direction is determined. The traveling direction information shown and the movement information of the moving body in the movement section are stored in association with each other.

  Further, the invention according to claim 5 generates moving body position information indicating the position of the moving body and time information indicating the time when the moving body is positioned at the position indicated by the moving body position information. The mobile section end position that is the end of the section is specified, the moving direction of the moving body at the specified moving section end position is recognized from the generated moving body position information and time information, and the recognized traveling direction is determined. The traveling direction information shown and the movement information of the moving body in the movement section are transmitted in association with each other.

  The invention of claim 6 is characterized in that in the invention of claim 4 or 5, the movement information of the moving body in the moving section is classified for each recognized traveling direction.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to classify the movement information of the moving body for each traveling direction of the moving body at the moving section end position, and it is possible to more accurately predict the moving time in the moving section.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of a mobile information processing apparatus and a mobile information processing method according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following embodiments, a table of contents is shown first, and the following description will be made along the table of contents.

[table of contents]
1. Outline 2. System configuration 2.1. Travel log collection center 2.2. 2. Collection of running logs Construction of travel log database 3.1. Construction flow 3.2. Travel log and unit travel log 3.3. Provider attribute 3.4. Combined road 3.5. Calculation of intersection passage date and time 3.6. Error removal 3.7. 3. Construction of combined road travel time database Collecting travel logs 4.1. Flow of collection 4.2. Travel log compression 4.3. Transmission of intersection passing date / time list 4.4. Transmission after statistical processing for each combined road 4.5. Transmission after statistical processing on characteristics of combined roads 4.6. Use of personal computer 5. Travel log and provider 5.1. Protection of privacy 5.2. Setting of protection level 5.3. Benefit provision 6. Use of data in car navigation system 6.1. Car navigation configuration example 6.2. Route search 6.3. Route search by weather 6.4. Route search considering irregular events 6.5. 6. Arrival date and time specified route search Other usage examples of travel log database 7.1. Route search for Web 7.2. Traffic jam forecast 7.3. Road traffic statistics 7.4. consulting

[1. Overview]
In Chapter 1, an outline of a travel data processing system to which the present invention is applied will be described.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an outline of a travel data processing system. As shown in the figure, in the travel data processing system, a travel log collection center 10 collects travel locus data (hereinafter also referred to as a travel log) 1 and a content business 2 based on the collected travel logs.

  The travel log collection 1 is performed in cooperation with a car navigation user 3 who uses a car navigation system (hereinafter sometimes abbreviated as “car navigation”), and the car navigation user 3 is provided with benefits such as consideration.

  The content business 2 generates various information based on the collected travel log, and provides the generated information.

  For example, information (however, excluding accident traffic jams) for performing route search taking into account traffic jam prediction based on the travel log is provided to the car navigation maker 4. The car navigation maker 4 uses the information for provision to the car navigation user 3. Information provided to the car navigation maker 4 is separately provided as a Web service 5 for performing a route search using the Internet, provided as a database sales 6 for selling the information itself, or a traffic jam forecast for predicting traffic jams. It can be provided as distribution 7.

  Moreover, since it is possible to estimate the traffic volume and the like of each road from the travel log, this can be used for the road traffic statistics 8 and the store opening plan 9.

[2. System configuration]
Chapter 2 describes the configuration of the travel data processing system.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of the travel data processing system. As shown in the figure, in the travel data processing system, the travel log collection center 10 collects travel logs from the car navigation vehicles 11-1 to 11-n equipped with car navigation via the Internet 12.

  Therefore, the configuration of the travel log collection center 10 will be described in Section 2.1 and the configuration for traveling log collection will be described in Section 2.2.

[2.1. Travel log collection center]
In section 2.1, the configuration of the travel log collection center 10 will be described.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of the travel log collection center 10. As shown in the figure, the travel log collection center 10 includes a transmission / reception unit 21 and provider information 22, a travel log acquisition unit 23, a travel log processing unit 24, a map database 25, a travel log database 26, a travel log processing unit 27, A combined road required time database 28 is provided.

  The transmission / reception unit 21 transmits / receives information to / from the Internet 12 and receives a travel log as one of the information. The provider information database 22 stores information on the provider who provided the travel log, and provides benefits such as consideration based on the provider information stored here. However, provider information may be managed in a different form from the viewpoint of protecting the privacy of the provider (details will be described in Chapter 5).

  The travel log acquisition unit 23 acquires a travel log from the information received by the transmission / reception unit 21, and the travel log processing unit 24 converts the travel log acquired by the travel log acquisition unit 23 into a predetermined format and travel log database 26. To store. At this time, the travel log processing unit 24 refers to the map database 25 as necessary. The map database 25 stores map data. The usage of map data will be explained in Chapter 3. The travel log database 26 stores and manages a travel log.

  Based on the travel log stored in the travel log database 26, the travel log processing unit 27 calculates an average time or the like passing through the combined road (the combined road will be described in Chapter 3), and the calculation result is calculated. The data is stored in the combined road required time database 28. The combined road required time database 28 stores and manages information such as the time required for passing through the combined road.

  The processing in each part of the travel log collection center 10 will be described in Chapter 3.

  Incidentally, in the configuration example of the travel log collection center 10 shown in FIG. 3, the information finally stored and managed is stored in the travel log stored in the travel log database 26 and the combined road required time database 28. Such as transit time. However, the traveling log collection center 10 can manage more types of information, and the configuration in that case is different. Therefore, another configuration example of the travel log collection center 10 will also be described.

  FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing another configuration example of the travel log collection center 10. As shown in the figure, the travel log collection center 10 includes a transmission / reception unit 21, a provider information database 22, a map database 25, a travel log database 26, a combined road required time database 28, a data processing unit 29, and an irregular event exclusion combination. A road required time database 30, an irregular event correction value database 31, a weather database 32, and an irregular event database 33 are provided.

  The transmission / reception unit 21, the provider information database 22, the map database 25, the travel log database 26, and the combined road required time database 28 are the same as those shown in FIG.

  The data processing unit 29 includes all the functions of the travel log acquisition unit 23, the travel log processing unit 24, and the travel log processing unit 27 illustrated in FIG. 3 and is based on a travel log stored in the travel log database 26. To generate various data.

  The irregular event-excluded combined road required time database 30 stores the average time passing through the combined road and the like excluding the date and time when the irregular event occurred. Irregular events include construction, accidents, horse racing, bicycle racing, boat racing, concerts, celebrity funerals, demonstrations, and so on. However, for horse racing, etc., events that are held every week are not treated as irregular events, but those that are particularly popular, such as GI races, are treated as irregular events.

  The irregular event correction value database 31 stores a value for correcting an average time or the like passing through the combined road when an irregular event occurs. By applying this to the average time stored in 30, the average time when the irregular event occurs can be obtained.

  The weather database 32 and the irregular event database 33 store data relating to the weather and irregular events, respectively. The weather database 32 and the irregular event database 33 are not necessarily arranged in the travel log collection center 10 and may be arranged in a place where data can be obtained via the Internet 12 or the like.

[2.2. Travel log collection]
Section 2.2 describes the configuration for collecting travel logs.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example for collecting a travel log. First, in the configuration shown in FIG. 5A, the car navigation system 40-1 is connected to the mobile phone 41. The travel log accumulated by the car navigation system 40-1 is transmitted to the travel log collection center 10 via the Internet 12 by the mobile phone 41.

  In the configuration shown in FIG. 5B, the car navigation system 40-2 stores the accumulated travel log in a storage medium such as the memory card 42. The travel log stored in the memory card 42 is read by the PC 43 installed at the home or office of the provider (owner of the car navigation system) and transmitted to the travel log collection center 10 via the Internet 12.

  In the configuration shown in FIG. 5C, the car navigation system 40-3 is connected to a LAN adapter 44 corresponding to a wireless LAN. Then, when the LAN adapter 44 is connected to a home access point 45 installed in the provider's home or office, the travel log accumulated by the car navigation system 40-3 is transmitted to the travel log collection center 10 via the Internet 12. Is done.

  Further, in the configuration shown in FIG. 5D, the car navigation system 40-3 is connected to the LAN adapter 44 corresponding to the wireless LAN, similarly to the configuration shown in FIG. When the LAN adapter 44 is connected to a street access point 46 installed in a convenience store, a gas station, a utility pole, a traffic light or the like, the travel log accumulated by the car navigation system 40-3 is stored in the travel log collection center via the Internet 12. 10 is transmitted.

  Next, the configuration of a car navigation system that accumulates travel logs will be described. FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a car navigation system that accumulates a travel log.

  As shown in the figure, the car navigation system 40 includes a map data 51, a route search unit 52, an input unit 53, a vehicle position measurement unit 54, a vehicle position determination unit 55, a display unit 56, a communication unit 57, and a date and time management unit. 58, a travel log acquisition unit 59, a travel log storage unit 60, and a travel log processing unit 61.

  The map data 51 is map data of a region where the car navigation system 40 is used. In the input unit 53, an operation instruction or the like is input by the user.

  The communication unit 57 controls communication with the Internet 12 or the like. For example, when the car navigation system 40 corresponds to the car navigation system 40-1 shown in FIG. 5A, the communication unit 57 controls connection and communication with the mobile phone 41, and FIG. ) Or the car navigation system 40-3 shown in FIG. 5D, the communication unit 57 controls connection and communication with the LAN adapter 44. If the car navigation system 40 corresponds to the car navigation system 40-2 shown in FIG. 5B, an adapter for the memory card 42 is provided instead of the communication unit 57.

  The route search unit 52 searches the recommended route to the destination input from the input unit 53 with reference to the map data 51. At this time, traffic jam information and the like may be acquired via the communication unit 57 as necessary.

  The vehicle position measurement unit 54 measures the latitude and longitude of the vehicle position using GPS or a gyro. The own vehicle position determination unit 55 determines the position of the own vehicle with reference to the map data 51 based on the latitude and longitude measured by the vehicle position measurement unit 54.

  The display unit 56 displays the route searched by the route search unit 52 and the position of the host vehicle determined by the host vehicle position determination unit 55 superimposed on the map data 51.

  The date and time management unit 58 manages the current date and time. The travel log acquisition unit 59 acquires the vehicle position determined by the vehicle position determination unit 55 at predetermined intervals, and generates a travel log together with the date and time managed by the date and time management unit 58. The travel log accumulation unit 60 accumulates the travel log generated by the travel log acquisition unit 59. The travel log processing unit 61 converts the travel log stored in the travel log storage unit 60 into a predetermined format and transmits the converted log to the travel log collection center 10 via the communication unit 57.

[3. Construction of travel log database]
In Chapter 3, a method of constructing the travel log database 26 in the travel log collection center 10 will be described. In this description, the entire flow is described in section 3.1, and details are described in section 3.2 and later.

[3.1. Construction flow]
In Section 3.1, the flow of construction of the travel log database 26 will be described. Here, two flows are described as an example. The processing described below can be performed using a manual or dedicated device, but it is appropriate to perform the processing using a computer and a program that causes the computer to execute the processing described below. Of course, there are no restrictions on the description of the computer or program to be used.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a flow (1) of construction of the travel log database 26.

  In the travel log collection center 10, when the transmission / reception unit 21 receives the travel log (step 200), the travel log processing unit 24 or the data processing unit 29 extracts the position and date from the received travel log (step 201). A travel log is generated (step 202). The travel log and unit travel log will be explained in section 3.2.

  Subsequently, the travel log processing unit 24 (data processing unit 29) adds a provider attribute to the generated unit travel log (step 203). The provider attribute is the age, sex, etc. of the provider who provided the travel log, and details thereof will be described in Section 3.3.

  Next, the travel log processing unit 24 (data processing unit 29) refers to the map data stored in the map database 25 (step 204) and identifies the first combined road (step 205). The combined road is one road that connects two intersections, and details thereof will be described in section 3.4.

  When the first combined road is specified, the travel log processing unit 24 (data processing unit 29) specifies the intersections at both ends of the combined road (step 206), and the distance from the specified intersection becomes the minimum at a certain value or less. The time is specified from the unit travel log (step 207), and this is set as the passing time of the intersection. In the case of the first combined road, since the car usually starts moving from the middle of the combined road, it passes only one of the intersections identified in step 206. In step 207, the vehicle passes through one of the intersections. Specify the time. However, if the first combined road passes both of the intersections at both ends, the process is performed assuming that the vehicle passes through the intersection with the later passage time.

  When the passage time of the intersection of the first combined road is specified (YES in step 208), the travel log processing unit 24 (data processing unit 29) specifies the intersection of the other end of the combined road sharing the intersection (step 209). ) The time at which the distance to the specified intersection is the minimum at a certain value or less is specified as the passing time of the intersection (step 207). These processes are repeated as long as the passage time of the intersection can be identified (YES in step 208). When the passage time cannot be identified (NO in step 208), the intersections identified so far and the list of the passage times are listed. Is generated (step 210). The reason why the passage time cannot be specified is that the car has stopped moving in the middle of the combined road.

  When a list of intersections and passage times is generated, the travel log processing unit 24 (data processing unit 29) stores the list in the travel log database 26 (step 211).

  The processing from step 203 to step 211 is performed for all the unit travel logs generated in step 202 (NO in step 212), and when the processing for all unit travel logs is completed (YES in step 212). Then, the process for one received travel log is terminated.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a flow (2) of constructing the travel log database 26.

  In the travel log collection center 10, when the transmission / reception unit 21 receives the travel log (step 220), the travel log processing unit 24 or the data processing unit 29 extracts the position and date / time from the received travel log (step 221), and the unit. A travel log is generated (step 222).

  Subsequently, the travel log processing unit 24 (data processing unit 29) adds a provider attribute to the generated unit travel log (step 223). Next, the travel log processing unit 24 (data processing unit 29) refers to the map data stored in the map database 25 (step 224) and identifies the first combined road from the unit travel log (step 225). Then, the traveling direction of the car on the combined road is specified (step 226).

  When the first combined road and the traveling direction are identified, the traveling log processing unit 24 (data processing unit 29) identifies from the unit traveling log the time at which the distance from the traveling destination intersection is a certain value or less and becomes the minimum (step 227). ), This is the passing time of the intersection.

  When the passage time of the destination intersection is identified (YES in step 228), the travel log processing unit 24 (data processing unit 29) identifies the combined road that has entered after passing the intersection (step 229), and the identified combination The time at which the distance to the intersection where the road travels is the smallest at a certain value or less is specified as the passing time of the intersection (step 227). These processes are repeated as long as the intersection passage time can be identified (YES in step 228). When the passage time cannot be identified (NO in step 228), the intersections identified so far and the list of the passage times are listed. Is generated (step 230). The reason why the passage time cannot be specified is that the car has stopped moving in the middle of the combined road.

  When a list of intersections and passage times is generated, the travel log processing unit 24 (data processing unit 29) stores the list in the travel log database 26 (step 231).

  The processing from step 223 to step 231 is performed for all the unit travel logs generated in step 222 (NO in step 232), and when the processing for all unit travel logs is completed (YES in step 232). Then, the process for one received travel log is terminated.

[3.2. Travel log and unit travel log]
In Section 3.2, a travel log collected from the car navigation system 40 and a unit travel log generated from the travel log will be described.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a travel log. The travel log is obtained by recording the position of the vehicle at a predetermined time interval together with the date and time in the car navigation system 40. In the travel log shown in FIG. 9, the position of the vehicle is represented by longitude (east longitude) and latitude (north latitude), and the date and time is the year / month / day (last 2 digits of the year + month + day) and time (hour (24-digit notation)). + Minutes + seconds), and these are recorded as a comma-delimited character string.

  In addition to the vehicle position, the travel log records events that have occurred in the vehicle, such as engine start and stop. In the travel log shown in FIG. 9, engine start (Power on) and engine stop (Power off) are recorded as events occurring in the vehicle. The car navigation system 40 normally stops its operation because the power is cut off while the engine is stopped. Since the car navigation system 40 cannot record the running log if the operation is stopped, the recording interruption may be omitted by regarding the interruption of the recording for a certain time or more as starting and stopping the engine. it can.

  Next, the unit travel log will be described. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the unit travel log. The unit travel log is obtained by dividing the travel log in units of one operation of the vehicle. One operation of the vehicle is from when the vehicle engine is started and the car navigation system 40 is turned on until the engine is stopped and the car navigation system 40 is turned off. Therefore, the unit travel log is generated by dividing the travel log by the time when the engine is started and stopped.

[3.3. Provider attribute]
Section 3.3 explains the provider attributes added to the unit travel log and the like.

  The provider attribute is the attribute of the car navigation user who provides the driving log, and includes various items such as gender, age, family structure, number of passengers, car verification items, main use of vehicles, hobbies, etc. Can be set. Further, the manufacturer name or model name of the car navigation system may be used as the provider attribute. This can be used when a combined road required time database 28 described later is created for each attribute, that is, for each sex, age, and type of automobile.

  For example, there are two types of sex, male and female, and the age may be entered directly in numbers, but the age is 19 years old or less, 29 years old or less, 39 years old or less, 49 years old or less, 50 years old or older. You may make it select a layer. The family structure includes the existence of spouses, the number of children and infants, and the like. The number of passengers is the number of passengers who were traveling with the vehicle. The items listed in the car verification are: automotive use, type, private / business classification, body shape, vehicle name format, passenger capacity, vehicle weight, total vehicle weight, prime mover type, vehicle length, width, high It is all or part of the total displacement, fuel type, and the like. The main uses are commuting and attending school, going out with family, traveling for business, carrying luggage for business, and riding for business.

  Most of these items can be set once and stored in the car navigation system, but it is necessary to input the number of passengers each time.

  Regarding the setting of provider attributes, information that can identify an individual may be avoided from the viewpoint of privacy protection described in Chapter 5.

[3.4. Combined road]
Section 3.4 explains the combined road.

  FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining a combined road. The combined road is one road that connects two intersections of the intersection as the first position and the intersection as the second position. In principle, there is no intersection on the combined road. For example, in the road shown in FIG. 11, the road connecting the intersection 100 and the intersection 101 is a combined road, and the road connecting the intersection 101 and the intersection 102 is another combined road.

  Therefore, a vehicle that has entered a certain combined road will leave the intersection at the other end of the combined road. However, this does not apply to cases where the vehicle has changed direction, such as when parking at a parking lot along the combined road.

  As mentioned above, combined roads do not include intersections on the way, but may be ignored in route searches by car navigation systems such as intersections with extremely narrow roads or intersections with roads that become congested roads. It may include an intersection with a certain road.

[3.5. Calculation of intersection passage date and time]
Section 3.5 explains how to calculate the intersection passage date and time.

  When calculating the intersection passage date and time of a vehicle, first, data in the vicinity of the target intersection is extracted from the unit travel log. The data in the vicinity of the intersection is that the latitude and longitude are within a certain range based on the latitude and longitude of the intersection, or the distance is calculated from the latitude and longitude, and the calculated distance is within a certain distance from the target intersection. Become.

  When data in the vicinity of the target intersection is extracted from the unit travel log, the date and time of the data closest to the intersection among the extracted data is set as the passage date and time of the intersection.

  In addition, when the position accuracy of the car navigation system is poor or the vehicle passes through the intersection at high speed, an error of several seconds may occur when the date and time of data closest to the intersection is set as the passage date and time of the intersection. In such a case, as shown in FIG. 12, the passing date and time of the intersection is obtained by an approximate expression using the data in the vicinity of the intersection as a function.

[3.6. Error removal]
3.6. In the section, the removal of errors mixed in the travel log will be described.

  An error may be mixed in the traveling log due to various causes. If the mixed error is left as it is, an error will naturally occur in the intersection passage date and time, and further an error will occur up to the time required for the combined road (described in the next section). Therefore, it is necessary to remove errors mixed in the travel log.

  One of the errors mixed in the travel log is a map matching error. A map matching error occurs when the measured vehicle position deviates from the actual position. When the vehicle is bent at an intersection or the like, it is interpreted as being bent at a position where there is no intersection on the map, and an error occurs.

  FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining a map matching error. It is assumed that the vehicle turns left at the intersection 110 as shown in FIG. 13, goes straight through the intersection 111 and the intersection 112, and then turns right at the intersection 113 as shown by the broken line arrows in the figure. At this time, if there is a shift in the position of the vehicle in the car navigation system, when the intersection 113 is turned to the right, as shown by the solid line arrow in the figure, it is interpreted that a right turn is made at a position without an intersection, resulting in an error.

  When a map matching error occurs, the car navigation system can correct the vehicle position, but cannot correct the travel log recorded so far. Therefore, when calculating the intersection passage date and time from the travel log, the data of the intersection where the vehicle has continued straight ahead from the adjacent intersection when the map matching error occurs is deleted. For example, in the example illustrated in FIG. 13, data from the intersection 113 to the intersection 110 is deleted. The reason why such processing is performed is that it is not known at which point the measured vehicle position has deviated if the vehicle continues straight.

  In order to perform such processing, in the car navigation system 40, when a map matching error occurs, the fact is described in the travel log, and the error is removed later when processing at the travel log collection center 10. It can be so. FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an example of a travel log when a map matching error occurs. As shown in the figure, in the travel log, “Error” is described at a location where a map matching error has occurred.

  Another cause of the error mixed in the travel log is parking / stopping of the vehicle by the driver's intention. This is a parking and stopping for store visits, loading / unloading of luggage, waiting for people, etc. on the connecting road.

  If the driver stops the engine when the vehicle is parked or stopped, the engine stop is recorded in the travel log, so the effect of parking or stopping is removed when generating the unit travel log, but the engine is stopped. If not, the travel log will be the same as when the vehicle normally passes through the combined road.

  Therefore, in order to remove the error caused by parking and stopping of the vehicle, the fact that the parking brake of the vehicle is used and the seat belt is detached is recorded in the travel log, and the unit travel log is generated when the unit travel log is generated. By processing the recording in the same manner as when the engine is stopped, it is possible to eliminate the mixing of errors due to parking and stopping of the vehicle. FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an example of a travel log when a vehicle is parked or stopped. As shown in the figure, in the travel log, “Parking break + Seat belt” is described at a location where the vehicle is parked or stopped.

  In addition to this, by further combining vehicle state changes such as opening and closing of doors, it is possible to more reliably remove errors.

[3.7. Construction of combined road travel time database]
Section 3.7 explains the construction of the combined road required time database 28. The combined road required time database 28 stores an average of the time required to pass through the combined road. Here, two flows will be described as an example.

  FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing a flow (1) of constructing the combined road required time database 28. When constructing the combined road required time database 28, first, data that meets the conditions is extracted from the travel log database 26 (step 240). The conditions are a target period and a target area. For example, the target period is one year from January 1, 2000 to December 31, 2000, and the target area is set as Tokyo.

  Next, on the basis of the data extracted from the travel log database 26, that is, the intersection passage date list, the required travel time for each combined road is calculated (step 241). The required time is calculated from the difference between the passage time at the entrance intersection of the combined road and the passage time at the exit intersection. And the advancing direction in an exit intersection is specified for every calculated required time (step 242).

  Subsequently, for each calculated required time, the month, day of the week, and hour are extracted from the corresponding intersection passage date list (step 243), and the weather database 32 is referenced (step 244). The weather is specified based on the date / time data and the position of the combined road (step 245).

  Then, the required time calculated in step 241 is classified by the corresponding combined road, direction of travel at the exit intersection, year, month, day of the week, time (time), and weather (step 246), and the average of the required time for each classification A standard deviation is obtained (step 247) and stored in the combined road required time database 28 (step 248).

  In the data classification process in step 246, it is not always necessary to classify the above items, and the items may be changed as appropriate. These items, in principle, indicate elements that may change the travel time of the vehicle. By appropriately changing these items, more appropriate data classification processing can be performed.

  FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing a flow (2) of construction of the combined road required time database 28. When constructing the combined road required time database 28, first, data that meets the conditions is extracted from the travel log database 26 (step 260). The conditions are a target period and a target area. For example, the target period is one year from January 1, 2000 to December 31, 2000, and the target area is set as Tokyo.

  Next, based on the data extracted from the travel log database 26, that is, the intersection passage date list, the required travel time for each combined road is calculated (step 261). The required time is calculated from the difference between the passage time at the entrance intersection of the combined road and the passage time at the exit intersection. And the advancing direction in an exit intersection is specified for every calculated required time (step 262).

  Next, for each calculated required time, the month, day of the week, and hour are extracted from the corresponding intersection passage date list (step 263), and the weather database 32 is referenced (step 264), and the corresponding intersection passage date list is displayed. The weather is specified based on the date / time data and the position of the combined road (step 265).

  Next, referring to the map database 25 (step 266), road features, regional features, peripheral facility features, etc. are specified (step 267). A road feature indicates the characteristics of a combined road as a road. The width, the number of lanes, and the type (intercity expressway, intracity expressway, other toll roads, national roads, prefectural roads, municipal roads, and other main roads) , Others), speed limit, gradient, etc. Regional characteristics indicate the characteristics of the area where the joint road exists. Commercial area, residential area, industrial area, mountainous area, coastal area, spring-style resort, summer-type resort, autumn-type resort, winter-type It is represented by a resort or other resort. Peripheral facility characteristics indicate the presence or absence of facilities that cause traffic congestion around the combined roads. Morning and evening congestion facilities (stations, etc.), holiday congestion facilities (amusement parks, etc.), morning congestion facilities (hospitals, etc.) ).

  Then, the required time calculated in step 261 is classified according to the corresponding connecting road, direction of travel at the exit intersection, month, day of the week, hour, and weather (step 268), and the average and standard deviation of the required time are obtained for each classification ( In step 269), the data is stored in the combined road required time database 28 (step 270).

  Next, the format of data stored in the combined road required time database 28 will be described. FIG. 18 is a diagram showing an example of a format of data stored in the combined road required time database 28.

  As shown in the figure, the data stored in the combined required time database 28 is based on the index 120 and the average required time 121, standard deviation 122, traveling direction 123, exit intersection 124, hour 125, day 126, month 127, and weather 128. Composed.

  Index 120 indicates the serial number of the combined road, and the average 121 of the required time is the condition indicated by the traveling direction 123, exit intersection 124, hour 125, day 126, month 127, and weather 128 on the combined road indicated by Index 120. The average transit time is shown. The standard deviation 122 is a standard deviation of an average 121 of required times.

  The advancing direction 123 indicates the advancing direction of the vehicle. For example, 1 indicates ascending and 2 indicates descending. The exit intersection 124 indicates the traveling direction of the vehicle at the exit intersection of the combined road. For example, 1 is a left turn, 2 is a straight advance, 3 is a right turn, and the like. However, this does not apply when the intersection is a three-way intersection.

  The hour 125 indicates the hour of the time when the vehicle passes, and the day of the week 126 indicates the day of the week when the vehicle passes. For example, 1 is the month, 2 is the fire, 3 is the water, Indicates a tree, 5 indicates a gold, 6 indicates a soil, and 7 indicates a day. The moon 127 indicates the month when the vehicle passes, and the weather 128 indicates the weather when the vehicle passes. For example, 0 is clear, 1 is clear, 2 is cloudy, and 3 is cloudy. 4 indicates light rain, 5 indicates rain, 6 indicates heavy rain, 7 indicates light snow, 8 indicates snow, and 9 indicates heavy snow.

  Therefore, the data shown as “009264, 49.9, 3.6, 1, 3, 16, 2, 9, 3” shows that the weather on the connecting road with serial number 009264 is Tuesday, September 16:00. It shows that the average time required for passing when turning right after traveling in the upward direction under cloudy conditions is 49.9 seconds, and the standard deviation is 3.6 seconds.

  Note that the format shown here is merely an example, and data can be configured in other formats. FIG. 19 is a diagram showing an example of another format.

  In the example shown in FIG. 19A, the data is composed of the entrance intersection position 130 and the exit intersection position 131, the average time 132 required, the standard deviation 133, the exit intersection 134, the hour 135, the day 136, the month 137, and the weather 138. Is done. This format is replaced with the index 120 and the traveling direction 123 of the format shown in FIG. 18 by specifying the entrance position and the exit position to the combined road by the entrance intersection position 130 and the exit intersection position 131.

  In the example shown in FIG. 19B, the data includes an index 140, an average speed average 141, a standard deviation 142, a traveling direction 143, an exit intersection 144, a time 145, a day 146, a month 147, and weather 148. In this format, the average 141 of average speeds obtained by averaging the average passing speeds of the vehicles passing through the combined road is replaced with an average 121 of required times in the format shown in FIG.

  When recorded at the passing average speed, there is a feature that the data length changes due to the length of the combined road, that is, the number of bytes does not change, and the appearance frequency is close to the normal distribution, which is suitable for statistical processing.

  In the example shown in FIG. 19C, the data includes the index 150 and the average 151 of the required time, the standard deviation 152, the traveling direction 153, the exit intersection 154, the hour 155, the day of the week 156, the month 157, the upper middle of the month 158, the holiday 159, fifty days 160, and weather 161. This format includes upper and middle 158 indicating whether the day of the date corresponds to the beginning, middle or late of the month, and holidays 159 and fifty days indicating whether the day is a holiday. The fifty day 160 indicating whether or not is added to the format shown in FIG. Furthermore, it is also possible to add whether the feature of the date such as consecutive holidays, the day before and the last day, and the approach to the combined road are due to straight travel, right turn or left turn at the entrance intersection.

  When data is stored in the combined road required time database 28 in such a format, for example, the format shown in FIG. 19A, the contents of the combined road required time database 28 are as shown in FIG.

[4. Travel log collection]
In Chapter 4, the process until the car navigation system 40 accumulates the travel log and transmits it to the travel log collection center 10 will be explained. First, the basic process of collecting the travel log is explained in section 4.1. . Section 2 and later will explain a modified example of running log collection.

[4.1. Flow of collection]
In section 4.1, basic processing for collecting travel logs by the car navigation system 40 will be described. Here, two flows will be described as an example.

  FIG. 21 is a flowchart showing a flow (1) of travel log collection by the car navigation system 40. Note that the processing flow shown here is when the travel log is transmitted to the travel log collection center 10 in a state where the vehicle is parked or stopped (FIGS. 5A, 5C, 5). d) etc.).

  When the vehicle engine is started, the car navigation system 40 starts collecting travel logs. First, the car navigation system 40 prompts the provider (driver) to input the provider attribute, and the input unit 53 inputs the provider attribute. Is received (step 300). Subsequently, in the car navigation system 40, the vehicle position determination unit 55 determines the vehicle position of the vehicle by referring to the vehicle position measured by the vehicle position measurement unit 54 and the map data 51 (step 301), and the travel log acquisition unit 59 Acquires the vehicle position determined by the own vehicle position determination unit 55 and acquires the date and time managed by the date and time management unit 58 and stores it in the travel log storage unit 60 (step 302).

  The processing in step 301 and step 302 is repeated until the vehicle engine is stopped (NO in step 303).

  On the other hand, when the vehicle engine is stopped (YES in step 303), if the communication unit 57 can communicate with the travel log collection center 10 (YES in step 304), the travel log processing unit 61 stores the travel log. The travel log that is currently accumulated in the unit 60 or the travel log that has been accumulated and has not been transmitted in the past is transmitted to the travel log collection center 10 via the communication unit 57 (step 305), and the process is terminated.

  If the communication unit 57 cannot communicate with the travel log collection center 10 (NO in step 304), the travel log is transmitted next time, and the process ends.

  FIG. 22 is a flowchart showing a flow (2) of travel log collection by the car navigation system 40. The processing flow shown here is an example in the case where the traveling log is transmitted to the traveling log collection center 10 while the vehicle is traveling (corresponding to FIGS. 5A and 5D). It is.

  When the vehicle engine is started, the car navigation system 40 starts collecting travel logs. First, the car navigation system 40 prompts the provider (driver) to input the provider attribute, and the input unit 53 inputs the provider attribute. Is received (step 320). Subsequently, in the car navigation system 40, the vehicle position determination unit 55 determines the vehicle position of the vehicle by referring to the vehicle position measured by the vehicle position measurement unit 54 and the map data 51 (step 321), and the travel log acquisition unit 59 Acquires the vehicle position determined by the own vehicle position determination unit 55, acquires the date and time managed by the date and time management unit 58, and accumulates it in the travel log accumulation unit 60 (step 322).

  Here, if the communication unit 57 can transmit to the travel log collection center 10 and there is a travel log that has been accumulated in the past and has not been transmitted to the travel log storage unit 60 (YES in step 323), the travel The log processing unit 61 transmits the travel log to the travel log collection center 10 via the communication unit 57 (step 324).

  Further, when communication with the travel log collection center 10 by the communication unit 57 is impossible or when there is no travel log to be transmitted (NO in step 323), the travel log is not transmitted.

  These processes are repeated until the engine of the vehicle is stopped (NO in step 325). When the engine is stopped (YES in step 325), the car navigation system 40 ends the travel log collection process.

[4.2. Travel log compression]
Section 4.2 will explain how to compress the travel log. As described above, the travel log is accumulated at regular intervals while the engine of the vehicle is operating. For this reason, a considerable amount of travel log is accumulated in the travel log accumulation unit 60 of the car navigation system 40 and transmitted to the travel log collection center 10, but between the capacity of the travel log accumulation unit 60 and the travel log 10. Considering the traffic, it is desirable that the travel log is as small as possible. Here, a description will be given of a case where the travel log accumulation amount and transmission amount are reduced by compressing the travel log.

  FIG. 23 is a flowchart showing a flow of travel log collection when the travel log is compressed. The processing flow shown here is in accordance with the processing shown in FIG. 21, but processing corresponding to FIG. 22 (description is omitted) is also possible.

  When the vehicle engine is started, the car navigation system 40 starts collecting travel logs. First, the car navigation system 40 prompts the provider (driver) to input the provider attribute, and the input unit 53 inputs the provider attribute. Is accepted (step 340). Subsequently, in the car navigation system 40, the vehicle position determination unit 55 determines the vehicle position of the vehicle by referring to the vehicle position measured by the vehicle position measurement unit 54 and the map data 51 (step 341), and the travel log acquisition unit 59 Acquires the vehicle position determined by the vehicle position determination unit 55, acquires the date and time managed by the date and time management unit 58, and compresses them (step 342). The compressed travel log is stored in the travel log storage unit 60 (step 343). The travel log compression method will be described later.

  The processes in steps 341 to 343 are repeated until the vehicle engine is stopped (NO in step 344).

  On the other hand, when the engine of the vehicle is stopped (YES in step 344), if the communication unit 57 can communicate with the travel log collection center 10 (YES in step 345), the travel log processing unit 61 stores the travel log. The travel log that has been accumulated in the unit 60 or the travel log that has been accumulated and has not been transmitted in the past is compressed (step 346) and transmitted to the travel log collection center 10 via the communication unit 57 (step 347). Exit. The travel log file compression uses what is normally used for communication between computers.

  If the communication unit 57 cannot communicate with the travel log collection center 10 (NO in step 345), the travel log is transmitted next time, and the process ends.

  Next, a travel log compression method in step 342 will be described. Here, three compression methods will be described. 24 to 26 are diagrams showing examples of compressed travel logs, respectively.

  First, in the first compression method, as shown in FIG. 24, the travel log acquisition unit 59, when the vehicle engine is started and the collection of the travel log is started, the date and time at that time and the subsequent travel log are recorded. Record the recording interval. Then, when the subsequent travel log is recorded, only the position of the vehicle is recorded.

  “Power on 010904, 162502, 1” shown in FIG. 24 has a date and time when the engine was started on September 4, 2001 at 16: 25: 2 and records a travel log at intervals of 1 second thereafter. It is shown that.

  In the second compression method, as shown in FIG. 25, the travel log acquisition unit 59, when the vehicle engine is started and the collection of the travel log is started, the vehicle position and date / time at that time, Record the run log recording interval. Thereafter, only the position of the difference from the first recorded position is recorded.

  "Power on 139.1500, 35.20810, 0.00001, 010904, 162502, 1" shown in FIG. 25 indicates that the position of the vehicle when the engine is started is 139.1500 degrees east longitude, 35.20810 degrees north latitude, This indicates that the travel log is recorded with a multiplier of the difference between the travel logs recorded thereafter of 0.00001, a date and time of 16:25:02 on September 4, 2001, and a subsequent recording interval of 1 second. In the travel log, “0, −1” indicates that the position of the vehicle is 139.13500 degrees east longitude and 35.20809 degrees north latitude.

  In the third compression method, as shown in FIG. 26, the travel log acquisition unit 59, when the vehicle engine is started and the collection of the travel log is started, the vehicle position and date / time at that time, Record the recording interval of subsequent travel logs. Thereafter, only the position of the difference from the position recorded immediately before is recorded.

  26, “Power on 139.1500, 35.20810, 0.00001, 010904, 162502, 1” indicates that the position of the vehicle when the engine is started is 139.1500 degrees east longitude, 35.20810 degrees north latitude, This indicates that the travel log is recorded with a multiplier of the difference between the travel logs recorded thereafter of 0.00001, a date and time of 16:25:02 on September 4, 2001, and a subsequent recording interval of 1 second. In the travel log, “0, −1” is a position that has moved to the south by 0.00001 degrees from 139.13500 degrees east longitude and 35.20810 degrees north latitude, which is the position indicated by “0, 0”. It is 139.13500 degrees east longitude and 35.20809 degrees north latitude.

[4.3. Send intersection crossing date list]
In section 4.3, the case where the car navigation system 40 processes and transmits the travel log to the intersection passage date list will be described. Although it is desirable to transmit the travel log in a small amount as described above, since the intersection passing date / time list includes only data in the vicinity of the intersection, the communication volume is often smaller than when the travel log is transmitted as it is. Therefore, a case will be described in which transmission to the travel log collection center 10 is performed after the car navigation 40 has processed the intersection passing date / time list.

  FIG. 27 is a flowchart showing a flow of traveling log collection when an intersection passing date / time list is generated by the car navigation system 40. The flow of the processing shown here is that the travel log is collected according to the processing shown in FIG. 21 and the processing to the travel log is performed according to the processing shown in FIG. The processing shown in FIG. 8 and the processing shown in FIG. 8, the processing shown in FIG. 22 and the processing shown in FIG. 7, the combination of the processing shown in FIG. 22 and the processing shown in FIG. is there.

  When the vehicle engine is started, the car navigation system 40 starts collecting travel logs. First, the car navigation system 40 prompts the provider (driver) to input the provider attribute, and the input unit 53 inputs the provider attribute. Is received (step 400). Subsequently, in the car navigation system 40, the vehicle position determination unit 55 determines the vehicle position of the vehicle by referring to the vehicle position measured by the vehicle position measurement unit 54 and the map data 51 (step 401), and the travel log acquisition unit 59 Acquires the vehicle position determined by the own vehicle position determination unit 55, acquires the date and time managed by the date and time management unit 58, and accumulates it in the travel log accumulation unit 60 (step 402).

  The processing in step 401 and step 402 is repeated until the vehicle engine is stopped (NO in step 403).

  On the other hand, when the vehicle engine is stopped (YES in step 403), the travel log processing unit 61 extracts the position and date from the travel log stored in the travel log storage unit 60 (step 404), and the unit travel log Is generated (step 405).

  Subsequently, the travel log processing unit 61 adds the provider attribute input in step 400 to the generated unit travel log (step 406), refers to the map data 51 (step 407), and the first combined road Is identified (step 408).

  When the first combined road is specified, the travel log processing unit 61 specifies the intersections at both ends of the combined road (step 409), and the time at which the distance from the specified intersection is a predetermined value or less is the minimum from the unit travel log. It is specified (step 410), and this is set as the passing time of the intersection.

  When the passage time of the intersection of the first combined road is identified (YES in step 411), the travel log processing unit 61 identifies the intersection at the other end of the coupled road sharing the intersection (step 412), and the identified intersection Is specified as the passing time of the intersection (step 410). These processes are repeated as long as the passage time of the intersection can be identified (YES in step 411). When the passage time cannot be identified (NO in step 411), the intersections identified so far and the list of the passage times are listed. And stored in the travel log storage unit 60 (step 413). When the list is stored in the travel log accumulation unit 60, file compression processing may be performed on the list.

  The processing from step 406 to step 413 is performed for all the unit travel logs generated in step 405 (NO in step 414).

  When the processing for all unit travel logs is completed (YES in step 414), if the communication unit 57 can communicate with the travel log collection center 10 (YES in step 415), the travel log processing unit 61 is processed. However, the intersection passing date / time list stored in the travel log storage unit 60 is transmitted to the travel log collection center 10 via the communication unit 57 (step 416), and the process is terminated. If the communication unit 57 cannot communicate with the travel log collection center 10 (NO in step 415), it is assumed that transmission of the intersection passage date / time list will be performed next time, and the process is terminated.

  Although the example in which the intersection passage date / time list is generated after the engine is stopped has been described above, the intersection passage date / time list may be generated during traveling.

  When the intersection log date / time list is received from the car navigation system 40, the travel log collection center 10 stores it in the travel log database 26 and does not perform the process shown in FIG. 7 or the process shown in FIG.

[4.4. Transmission after statistical processing for each combined road]
In Section 4.4, a case where the car navigation system 40 performs a statistical process such as a required time for each combined road on the traveling log and transmits the traveling log will be described. As described above, it is desirable to transmit the travel log in a small amount, but the statistical processing result for each combined road often has a smaller communication volume than when the travel log is transmitted as it is. Therefore, a case will be described in which transmission to the travel log collection center 10 is performed after performing statistical processing for each combined road by the car navigation system 40.

  FIG. 28 is a flowchart showing the flow of travel log collection when the car navigation system 40 performs statistical processing for each combined road. In the processing flow shown here, traveling logs are collected according to the processing shown in FIG. 21, and statistical processing for each combined road is performed according to the processing shown in FIG. The combination of the process shown in FIG. 16 and the process shown in FIG. 16 can be executed in the same manner.

  When the vehicle engine is started, the car navigation system 40 starts collecting the travel log, and after performing the same processing as the processing from step 400 to step 404 shown in FIG. 27, generates the unit travel log (step 420). ). Then, after performing the same processing as the processing from step 406 to step 412 shown in FIG. 27, an intersection passage date list is generated (step 421).

  Next, the travel log processing unit 61 calculates the required travel time for each combined road based on the intersection passage date list (step 422). The required time is calculated from the difference between the passage time at the entrance intersection of the combined road and the passage time at the exit intersection. And the advancing direction in an exit intersection is specified for every calculated required time (step 423).

  Subsequently, the travel log processing unit 61 extracts the month, day of the week, and hour from the corresponding intersection passing date / time list for each calculated required time (step 424), and weather data acquired via the communication unit 57 or With reference to the weather data input by the provider (driver) (step 425), the weather is specified based on the date / time data of the corresponding intersection passing date / time list and the position of the combined road (step 426).

  Then, the required time calculated in step 422 is classified according to the corresponding connecting road, direction of travel at the exit intersection, month, day of the week, hour, and weather (step 427), and the number of data used for calculation and the required time for each classification The average and standard deviation are obtained (step 428).

  The processing from step 421 (including processing similar to the processing from step 406 to step 412) to step 428 is performed for all unit travel logs generated in step 420 (NO in step 429).

  When the processing for all the unit travel logs is completed (YES in step 429), if the communication unit 57 can communicate with the travel log collection center 10 (YES in step 430), the travel log processing unit 61 However, the statistical information for each combined road stored in the travel log storage unit 60 is transmitted to the travel log collection center 10 via the communication unit 57 (step 431), and the process ends. If the communication unit 57 cannot communicate with the travel log collection center 10 (NO in step 430), the statistical information for each combined road is transmitted next time, and the process ends.

  When the travel log collection center 10 receives statistical information for each combined road from the car navigation system 40, it stores it in the combined road required time database 28 and does not perform the processing shown in FIG. However, when storing the statistical information for each combined road, the average required time for passing through the combined road, the standard deviation, and the like are calculated again.

[4.5. Sending after statistical processing on the characteristics of the combined road]
Section 4.5 describes a case where the car navigation system 40 performs statistical processing on the traveling log with the characteristics of the combined road and transmits the traveling log. The statistical process for the characteristics of the combined road is almost the same as the process described in Section 4.4, but the combined road is not identified in the end, so the privacy of the provider described in Chapter 5 is strongly protected. Suitable for cases.

  FIG. 29 is a flowchart showing a flow of travel log collection when the car navigation system 40 performs statistical processing on the characteristics of the combined road. In the processing flow shown here, travel log collection is performed according to the processing shown in FIG. 21, and statistical processing for each combined road is performed according to the processing shown in FIG. The combination of the process shown in FIG. 17 and the process shown in FIG. 17 can be executed in the same manner.

  When the engine of the vehicle is started, the car navigation system 40 starts collecting the travel log, and after performing the same processing as the processing from step 400 to step 404 shown in FIG. 27, generates the unit travel log (step 440). ). Then, after performing the same processing as the processing from step 406 to step 412 shown in FIG. 27, an intersection passage date list is generated (step 441).

  Next, the travel log processing unit 61 calculates the required travel time for each combined road based on the intersection passage date list (step 442). The required time is calculated from the difference between the passage time at the entrance intersection of the combined road and the passage time at the exit intersection. And the advancing direction in an exit intersection is specified for every calculated required time (step 443).

  Subsequently, the travel log processing unit 61 extracts the month, day of the week, and hour from the corresponding intersection passage date / time list for each calculated required time (step 444) and the weather data acquired via the communication unit 57 or With reference to the weather data input by the provider (driver) (step 445), the weather is specified based on the date / time data of the corresponding intersection passing date / time list and the position of the combined road (step 446).

  Next, the travel log processing unit 61 refers to the map data 51 (step 447), and identifies road features, regional features, surrounding facility features, and the like (step 448). Road features, regional features, surrounding facility features, etc. are as described above. Then, the required time calculated in step 442 is classified by road feature, regional feature, peripheral facility feature, month, day of the week, hour, and weather (step 449), and the number of data used for calculation and the average of the required time for each category, A standard deviation is obtained (step 450).

  The processing from step 441 (including processing similar to the processing from step 406 to step 412) to step 450 is performed for all unit travel logs generated in step 440 (NO in step 451).

  When the processing for all the unit travel logs is completed (YES in step 451), if the communication unit 57 can communicate with the travel log collection center 10 (YES in step 452), the travel log processing unit 61 However, the statistical information on the characteristics of the combined road accumulated in the travel log accumulation unit 60 is transmitted to the travel log collection center 10 via the communication unit 57 (step 453), and the process is terminated. If the communication unit 57 cannot communicate with the travel log collection center 10 (NO in step 452), the statistical information on the characteristics of the combined road is transmitted next time, and the process is terminated.

  When the travel log collection center 10 receives statistical information for each combined road from the car navigation system 40, it stores it in the combined road required time database 28 and does not perform the processing shown in FIG. However, when storing the statistical information for each combined road, the average required time for passing through the combined road, the standard deviation, and the like are calculated again.

  In addition, the combined road cannot be identified from the average required travel time or standard deviation transmitted by this process. However, in the process described with reference to FIG. Since the data including the characteristics is generated, the traveling log collection center 10 combines the data generated by the process shown in FIG. 29 with the data generated by the process shown in FIG. Can be used.

[4.6. Use of PC]
Section 4.6 describes a case where the traveling log accumulated by the car navigation system 40 is processed using a personal computer and the processed data is transmitted. In this case, the car navigation system 40 simply performs a process of accumulating the travel log, and the travel log accumulated by the car navigation system 40 is stored on a personal computer (PC 43 or the like) according to the configuration shown in FIG. 5B or 5C. Acquired travel log compression processing described in section 4.2, intersection crossing date / time list generation processing described in section 4.3, statistical processing for each combined road described in section 4.4, section 4.5 One of the statistical processing with the characteristics of the combined road described in the above is performed and transmitted to the travel log collection center 10.

  Note that the processing performed on a personal computer is basically the same as the processing described in Sections 4.2 to 4.5, so only an example of generating an intersection passing date / time list will be described here. A description of the processing is omitted.

  FIG. 30 is a flowchart showing a flow of collecting travel logs when an intersection passing date / time list is generated using a personal computer based on the travel logs accumulated by the car navigation system 40. The processing flow shown here is in accordance with the processing described with reference to FIG. 27, but other processing can be executed in the same manner.

  When the PC 43 acquires the travel log from the car navigation system 40 (step 460), the PC 43 extracts the position and date from the acquired travel log (step 461), and generates a unit travel log (step 462).

  Subsequently, the PC 43 adds a provider attribute separately acquired from the car navigation system 40 to the generated unit travel log (step 462), and acquires map data (not shown, via the Internet 12 even if held inside the PC 43). (Step 464), the first combined road is identified (Step 465).

  When the first combined road is specified, the PC 43 specifies the intersections at both ends of the combined road (step 467), and specifies the time at which the distance from the specified intersection is the minimum with a certain value or less from the unit travel log ( In step 468), this is the passing time of the intersection.

  When the passage time of the intersection of the first combined road is identified (YES in step 469), the PC 43 identifies the intersection at the other end of the coupled road sharing the intersection (step 470), and the distance from the identified intersection is constant. The minimum time below the value is specified as the passing time of the intersection (step 468). These processes are repeated as long as the passage time of the intersection can be identified (YES in step 469). When the passage time cannot be identified (NO in step 469), the intersections identified so far and the list of the passage times are listed. Is generated (step 471).

  The processing from step 463 to step 471 is performed for all unit travel logs generated in step 462 (NO in step 472).

  When the processing for all unit travel logs is completed (YES in step 472), the PC 43 transmits an intersection passage date list to the travel log collection center 10 via the Internet 12 (step 473). The process ends.

  When the intersection log date / time list is received from the PC 43, the traveling log collection center 10 stores it in the traveling log database 26 and does not perform the processing shown in FIG. 7 or the processing shown in FIG.

[5. Travel log and provider]
Chapter 5 describes processing related to a provider that provides a travel log.

[5.1. Privacy protection]
Section 5.1 explains how to protect the privacy of the provider. The travel log described so far includes advanced privacy information. For example, the travel log can easily find out where the provider's vehicle is located in what month, day, hour, minute, and second, and also includes the speed during operation of the vehicle. The existence of violations of laws and regulations will also be revealed. Therefore, if the privacy of the provider is not thoroughly protected, there is a possibility that there will be no travel log provider.

  In order to protect privacy, it is necessary not only to manage data at the travel log collection center 10 but also to prevent leakage of information on the Internet 12. To prevent leakage on the Internet 12, communication information is restricted or encrypted. Make it clear on the homepage etc. to the provider.

  In addition, the data management in the travel log collection center 10 basically requires the provider to trust the data management in the travel log collection center 10, but in addition to the travel log transmitted by the provider, Make it possible to limit the included information or to check the transmitted information by yourself.

[5.2. Protection level setting]
Section 5.2 explains how to set the privacy protection level of the provider. The privacy protection level is a restriction level of information included in the travel log, and allows the provider to set the protection level by himself / herself.

  FIGS. 31 to 33 are diagrams showing examples of protection level setting screens displayed on the display unit 56 of the car navigation system 40, respectively. The screen shown in FIG. 31 confirms the execution of automatic travel log transmission to the provider. The provider can select a level at which the travel log is transmitted without restriction, a level at which information is restricted, a level at which manual transmission is performed, and a level at which transmission is not performed.

  When the provider restricts information to be transmitted, a screen as shown in FIG. 32A is displayed on the display unit 56 of the car navigation system 40. On the screen, as information not to be transmitted, it is possible to select one or more details of date and time, position information per second, and position information of intersections that have passed. Here, “1 second” is an example, and may be 0.5 seconds, 2 seconds, or the like.

  In this screen, for example, as shown in FIG. 32 (b), when it is set not to transmit the position information of the intersection that has passed, the travel log is recorded in the travel log collection center by the method described in section 4.2. Sent to.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 32 (c), when it is set not to transmit the position information every second, the traveling log is transmitted to the traveling log collection center by the method described in section 4.3. .

  As shown in FIG. 33 (a), when it is set not to transmit the position information for every second and the position information of the passing intersection, the travel log is collected by the method described in section 4.5. Sent to the center.

  As shown in FIG. 33 (b), when it is set not to transmit the details of the date and time, the travel log is transmitted to the travel log collection center by the method described in section 4.4.

  Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 33 (c), when it is set not to transmit the details of the date and time, the position information per second, and the position information of the passing intersection, the traveling log is described in section 4.5. Is transmitted to the traveling log collection center by the above method.

  The setting shown here is an example. In addition to this, the date cannot be sent but the time can be sent (if you do not want to specify where and when) Can do.

[5.3. Benefiting]
Section 5.3 explains the provision of benefits to providers. As described above, even if privacy is thoroughly protected, if the provider does not benefit his / her own, it is usually impossible to provide the travel log until the communication cost is spent. For this reason, a certain benefit is provided to the provider. The provision of profit is performed based on the provision status of the provider's travel log stored in the provider information database 22, but it is needless to say that privacy must be thoroughly protected in this case as well.

  The profit provided to the provider can be simply money or equivalent. Further, since the provider is also a user who uses the car navigation system, it is conceivable to provide the combined road required time data generated based on the collected travel log as a benefit to be provided. As described in Chapter 6, the combined road required time data can be used for route search in consideration of road conditions such as traffic jams, and is also useful for providers. At this time, you may make it provide a provider the time required for the joint road of the area | region containing the travel log which self provided.

  Moreover, you may make it provide the irregular event schedule and weather forecast data used in combination with combined road required time data.

  In addition, when the map data 50 of the car navigation system 40 is updated in cooperation with the car navigation maker, the updated map or a part thereof may be provided to the provider.

  Furthermore, the use right of the route search for Web described in Chapter 7 can be given to the provider.

[6. Use of data in car navigation systems]
In Chapter 6, the travel log collected by the travel log collection center 10 and use of the combined road required time database 28 constructed based on the travel log in the car navigation system will be described.

[6.1. Car navigation configuration example]
Section 6.1 describes the configuration of a car navigation system that uses the combined road required time database 28 and the like.

  FIG. 34 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a car navigation system that accumulates travel logs. As shown in the figure, the car navigation system 70 includes a map data 71, a route search unit 72, an input unit 73, a vehicle position measurement unit 74, a vehicle position determination unit 75, a display unit 76, a communication unit 77, and a date and time management unit. 78, a travel log acquisition unit 79, a travel log storage unit 80, a travel log processing unit 81, a combined road required time database 82, an irregular event excluded combined road required time database 83, and an irregular event correction value database 84. Is done.

  In addition, map data 71, route search unit 72, input unit 73, vehicle position measurement unit 74, own vehicle position determination unit 75, display unit 76, communication unit 77, date and time management unit 78, travel log acquisition unit 79, travel log accumulation Unit 80 and travel log processing unit 81 are respectively map data 51, route search unit 52, input unit 53, vehicle position measurement unit 54, own vehicle position determination unit 55, and display unit of car navigation system 40 shown in FIG. 56, a communication unit 57, a date and time management unit 58, a travel log acquisition unit 59, a travel log storage unit 60, and a travel log processing unit 61.

  Further, the combined road required time database 82, the irregular event excluded combined road required time database 83, and the irregular event correction value database 84 are respectively connected to the travel log collection center 10 shown in FIG. 28, at least a part of the data stored in the irregular event exclusion combined road required time database 30 and irregular event correction value database 31 is stored.

  The combined road required time database 82, the irregular event excluded combined road required time database 83, and the irregular event correction value database 84 are used when the route search unit 72 searches for a route. The route search described in the next section is possible only with the combined road required time database 82, but by providing an irregular event excluded combined road required time database 83 and an irregular event correction value database 84 instead, a more advanced search is possible. Route search becomes possible.

[6.2. Route search]
In Section 6.2, route search in the car navigation system 70 will be described.

  35 and 36 are flowcharts showing the flow of route search processing in the car navigation system 70.

  In the car navigation system 70, when there is a route search instruction from the input unit 73, the route search unit 72 acquires the current location of the vehicle from the vehicle position determination unit 75 (step 500). When the destination is input from the input unit 73 by the provider (step 501), a route search is performed (step 502). Here, a plurality of route candidates are searched.

  Subsequently, when the departure date / time is input from the input unit 72 by the provider or the current time is acquired from the date / time management unit 78 (step 503), the route search unit 72 obtains the requirements for all candidate routes searched in step 502. A time estimate is calculated (step 504). The calculation of this estimate will be described later.

  When the route search unit 72 calculates the estimate of all candidate routes, based on the calculation result, the route search unit 72 displays the recommended route and the required time (prediction) (step 505), and ends the route search process. In displaying the recommended route, for example, two routes having the minimum average required time and two routes having the minimum time obtained by adding a value twice the standard deviation to the average required time are displayed. The minimum average time is about 50% of the arrival probability within the estimated required time, and the minimum time obtained by adding twice the standard deviation to the average required time is the estimated required time. The arrival probability is about 96%.

  Next, the required time estimation calculation process in step 504 will be described. In the estimation calculation process, first, the combined road of one candidate route searched in Step 502 is set as R1, R2,... Rn in the order from the departure point to the destination (Step 520). Then, the variable i is set to 1, and the variable t and the variable σ are set to 0 (step 521).

  Subsequently, the arrival date and time to the combined road Ri, that is, the combined road R1, is calculated. Since the combined road R1 is the first combined road from the departure place, the arrival date and time to the combined road R1 is determined in step 503. The input departure date is set (step 522). And the weather of the departure date of the area containing the joint road Ri is acquired (step 533). The acquisition of the weather may be performed via the Internet by the communication unit 77, or the provider may input the weather based on the weather forecast.

  Next, the route search unit 72 corresponds to the classification item used when the combined road required time database 82 (the combined road required time database 28) such as the day of the week or the weather of the combined road Ri is constructed from the combined road required time database 82. The average T of the required time and the standard deviation Σ are searched (step 524). Then, the variable i is incremented by 1, and the value T is added to the variable t, and the square of the standard deviation Σ is added to the square of the variable σ (step 525). Since the day of the week, the weather, and the like are factors that change the required time when the vehicle moves, it is possible to obtain a more appropriate required time by considering this.

  Subsequently, if the variable i is not n + 1 (NO in step 526), the process returns to step 522, and the arrival date and time to the combined road Ri, that is, the combined road R2 is calculated (step 522). The arrival date and time is calculated by adding the value of the variable t to the value of the departure date and time.

  Then, the processing in steps 522 to 525 is repeated until the variable i becomes n + 1, that is, until the processing for the combined road Rn near the destination is completed (NO in step 526), and when the variable i becomes n + 1 (step 526). And YES), the values of the variable t and the variable σ are output (step 527).

  With these processes, the estimate calculation process for one candidate route is completed. Subsequently, the estimate calculation process for another candidate route is performed (NO in step 528), and the estimate calculation process for all candidate routes is completed (step YES at 528), the estimate calculation process at step 504 is terminated.

[6.3. Route search by weather]
In Section 6.2, the car navigation system 70 acquired the weather on the departure date and searched for the route. In Section 6.3, the route search for all weathers was performed and displayed without acquiring the weather. The case will be described.

  37 and 38 are flowcharts showing the flow of route search processing for each weather in the car navigation system 70.

  In the car navigation system 70, when there is a route search instruction from the input unit 73, the route search unit 72 acquires the current location of the vehicle from the vehicle position determination unit 75 (step 540). When the destination is input from the input unit 73 by the provider (step 541), route search is performed (step 542). Here, a plurality of route candidates are searched.

  Subsequently, when the departure date / time is input from the input unit 72 by the provider or the current time is acquired from the date / time management unit 78 (step 543), the route search unit 72 determines the weather to be estimated (step 543). 544), the estimated time required for all candidate routes searched in step 542 with the determined weather is calculated (step 545). The calculation of this estimate will be described later.

  The route search unit 72 performs an estimate calculation process for all candidate routes for all weather (NO in step 546), and when the estimate calculation process is completed for all weather (YES in step 546), based on the calculation result, The recommended route and the required time (prediction) are displayed (step 547), and the route search process is terminated. In displaying the recommended route, for example, two routes having the minimum average required time and two routes having the minimum time obtained by adding a value twice the standard deviation to the average required time are displayed.

  Next, the required time estimation calculation process in step 545 will be described. In the estimation calculation process, first, the combined road of one candidate route searched in step 542 is set as R1, R2,... Rn in the order from the starting point to the destination (step 560). Then, the variable i is set to 1, and the variable t and the variable σ are set to 0 (step 561).

  Subsequently, the arrival date and time to the combined road Ri, that is, the combined road R1, is calculated. Since the combined road R1 is the first combined road from the departure place, the arrival date and time to the combined road R1 is determined in step 543. It is set as the input departure date (step 562).

  Next, the route search unit 72 searches the combined road required time database 82 for the departure date of the combined road Ri and the average T of the required time corresponding to the weather determined in step 544 and the standard deviation Σ (step 563). Then, the variable i is incremented by 1, and the value T is added to the variable t, and the square of the standard deviation Σ is added to the square of the variable σ (step 564).

  Subsequently, if the variable i is not n + 1 (NO in step 565), the process returns to step 562, and the arrival date and time to the combined road Ri, that is, the combined road R2 is calculated (step 562). The arrival date and time is calculated by adding the value of the variable t to the value of the departure date and time.

  The processes in steps 562 to 564 are repeated until the variable i becomes n + 1, that is, until the process for the combined road Rn near the destination is completed (NO in step 565). When the variable i becomes n + 1 (step 565). And YES), the values of the variable t and the variable σ are output (step 566).

  With these processes, the estimate calculation process for one candidate route is completed. Subsequently, the estimate calculation process for another candidate route is performed (NO in step 567), and the estimate calculation process for all candidate routes is completed (step YES at 567), the estimate calculation process at step 545 is terminated.

[6.4. Route search considering irregular events]
In Sections 6.2 and 6.3, the car navigation system 70 does not consider irregular events, that is, performs route search that does not use the irregular event exclusion combined road required time database 83 and irregular event correction value database 84. As described above, in Section 6.4, route search using the irregular event exclusion combined road required time database 83 and irregular event correction value database 84 will be described.

  First, the irregular event excluded combined road required time database 83 will be described. The irregular event excluded combined road required time database 83 is data of the irregular event excluded combined road required time database 30 arranged in the travel log collection center 10. Since at least a part of the information is stored, the construction process of the irregular event excluded combined road required time database 30 will be described.

  FIG. 39 is a flowchart showing the flow of the construction process of the irregular event excluded combined road required time database 30. When the irregular event exclusion combined road required time database 30 is constructed, first, the data processing unit 29 extracts data that meets the conditions from the travel log database 26 (step 600). The conditions are a target period and a target area. For example, the target period is one year from January 1, 2000 to December 31, 2000, and the target area is set as Tokyo.

  Next, the data processing unit 29 refers to the irregular event database 33, acquires the occurrence date and time of the irregular event within the target period (step 601), and the date and time affected by the irregular event from the extracted travel log. Minutes are excluded (step 602).

  Then, the data processing unit 29 determines the passage required for each combined road based on the data excluding the date and time affected by the irregular event, that is, the intersection passing date and time list excluding the date and time affected by the irregular event. Time is calculated (step 603). The required time is calculated from the difference between the passage time at the entrance intersection of the combined road and the passage time at the exit intersection. And the advancing direction in an exit intersection is specified for every calculated required time (step 604).

  Subsequently, for each calculated required time, the month, day of the week, and hour are extracted from the corresponding intersection passage date list (step 605), and the weather database 32 is referenced (step 606), and the corresponding intersection passage date list is displayed. The weather is specified based on the date / time data and the position of the combined road (step 607).

  Then, the required time calculated in step 603 is classified by the corresponding connecting road, the direction of travel at the exit intersection, the month, the day of the week, the hour, and the weather (step 608), and the average and standard deviation of the required time are obtained for each classification ( Step 609), and stored in the combined road required time database 28 (step 610).

  Next, the irregular event correction value database 84 will be described. The irregular event correction value database 84 stores at least a part of the data of the irregular event correction value database 31 distributed to the travel log collection center 10. Therefore, the construction process of the irregular event correction value database 31 will be described.

  FIG. 40 is a flowchart showing the flow of the process for constructing the irregular event correction value database 31. When constructing the irregular event correction value database 31, first, the data processing unit 29 extracts data on the day when the irregular event meeting the conditions is held from the combined road required time database 28 (step 620). The conditions are the target period and the target area, and the data extracted here is information (A).

  Next, the data processing unit 29 extracts data meeting the conditions from the irregular event exclusion combined road required time database 30 (step 621). And let the data extracted here be information (B).

  Subsequently, the data processing unit 29 calculates the difference or ratio between the information (A) and the information (B) for each data classification (step 622), and uses the calculated difference or ratio as a correction value for the irregular event. The periodic event correction value database 31 is stored (step 623), and the process is terminated.

  Next, route search using the irregular event excluded combined road required time database 83 and irregular event correction value database 84 will be described.

  The route search process using the irregular event exclusion combined road required time database 83 and the irregular event correction value database 84 is basically the same as the process flow shown in FIG. Since only the estimate calculation process in 504 is different, only the flow of the estimate calculation process will be described here.

  FIG. 41 is a flowchart showing the flow of the estimate calculation process in the route search process using the irregular event excluded combined road required time database 83 and the irregular event correction value database 84.

  In the estimation calculation process, first, the combined road of one candidate route searched in step 502 is set as R1, R2,... Rn in the order from the starting point to the destination (step 640). Then, the variable i is set to 1, and the variable t and the variable σ are set to 0 (step 641).

  Subsequently, the arrival date and time to the combined road Ri, that is, the combined road R1, is calculated. Since the combined road R1 is the first combined road from the departure place, the arrival date and time to the combined road R1 is determined in step 503. It is set as the input departure date (step 642). And the weather of the departure date of the area | region containing the joint road Ri is acquired (step 643). The acquisition of the weather may be performed via the Internet by the communication unit 77, or the provider may input the weather based on the weather forecast.

  Next, the route search unit 72 is used when the combined road required time database 82 (the combined road required time database 28) such as the day of the week or the weather of the combined road Ri is constructed from the irregular road excluded combined road required time database 83. The average T and the standard deviation Σ of the required time corresponding to the classification item are searched (step 644). Then, the event information of the area including the combined road Ri is acquired (step 645). The event information may be acquired via the Internet by the communication unit 77 or may be input by the provider.

  As a result of acquiring the event information, if there is an event that affects the combined road Ri on the departure date (YES in step 646), the irregular event correction value database 84 is searched to find the corresponding error on the combined road. The correction value of the periodic event is acquired, and the average T and the standard deviation Σ of the required time searched in step 644 are corrected (step 647). In the correction process, when the correction value is the difference between the information (A) and the information (B), the correction value is added, and the correction value is the ratio of the information (A) to the information (B). In the case of, correction value multiplication processing is performed.

  On the other hand, when there is no event that affects the combined road Ri on the departure date (NO in step 646), the average T of the required time and the standard deviation Σ are not corrected.

  Then, the variable i is incremented by 1, and T or the corrected T value is added to the variable t, and the standard deviation Σ or the corrected Σ square is added to the square of the variable σ (step 648).

  Subsequently, if the variable i is not n + 1 (NO in step 649), the process returns to step 642, and the arrival date and time to the combined road Ri, that is, the combined road R2 is calculated (step 642). The arrival date and time is calculated by adding the value of the variable t to the value of the departure date and time.

  The processes in steps 642 to 648 are repeated until the variable i becomes n + 1, that is, until the process for the combined road Rn near the destination is completed (NO in step 649). When the variable i becomes n + 1 (step 649). And YES), the values of the variable t and the variable σ are output (step 650).

  As a result of these processes, the estimate calculation process for one candidate route is completed. Subsequently, the estimate calculation process for another candidate route is performed (NO in step 651), and the estimate calculation process for all candidate routes is completed (step S1). 651), the estimate calculation process in the route search process using the irregular event excluded combined road required time database 83 and the irregular event correction value database 84 corresponding to the estimate calculation process in step 504 is terminated.

[6.5. Route search by arrival date and time]
In Section 6.5, the arrival date / time designated route search in the car navigation system 70 will be described.

  42 and 43 are flowcharts showing the flow of arrival date / time designation route search processing in the car navigation system 70. FIG.

  In the car navigation system 70, when there is a route search instruction from the input unit 73, the route search unit 72 acquires the current location of the vehicle from the vehicle position determination unit 75 (step 660). When the destination is input from the input unit 73 by the provider (step 661), route search is performed (step 662). Here, a plurality of route candidates are searched.

  Subsequently, when the desired arrival date and time is input from the input unit 72 by the provider (step 663), the route search unit 72 calculates an estimate of the required time for all candidate routes searched in step 662 (step 664). The calculation of this estimate will be described later.

  When the route search unit 72 calculates the estimate of all candidate routes, based on the calculation result, the route search unit 72 displays the recommended route and the required time (prediction) (step 665), and ends the route search process. In displaying the recommended route, for example, two routes having the minimum average required time and two routes having the minimum time obtained by adding a value twice the standard deviation to the average required time are displayed.

  Next, the required time estimation calculation process in step 664 will be described. In the estimation calculation process, first, the combined road of one candidate route searched in step 662 is set as R1, R2,... Rn in the order from the starting point to the destination (step 680). Then, the variable i is set to n, and the variable t and the variable σ are set to 0 (step 681).

  Subsequently, the arrival date and time to the combined road Ri, that is, the combined road Rn is calculated. Since the combined road Rn is the closest combined road to the destination, the arrival date and time to the combined road Rn is determined in step 663. The inputted desired arrival date and time is set (step 682). And the weather of the departure date of the area containing the joint road Ri is acquired (step 683). The acquisition of the weather may be performed via the Internet by the communication unit 77, or the provider may input the weather based on the weather forecast.

  Next, the route search unit 72 is used when the combined road required time database 82 (the combined road required time database 28) such as the day of the week or the weather of the combined road Ri is constructed from the irregular road excluded combined road required time database 83. The average T and the standard deviation Σ of the required time corresponding to the classification item are searched (step 684). Then, event information on the area including the combined road Ri is acquired (step 685). The event information may be acquired via the Internet by the communication unit 77 or may be input by the provider.

  As a result of acquiring the event information, if there is an event that affects the combined road Ri on the departure day (YES in step 686), the irregular event correction value database 84 is searched to find the corresponding error on the combined road. The correction value of the periodic event is acquired, and the average T and the standard deviation Σ of the required time searched in step 684 are corrected (step 687). In the correction process, when the correction value is the difference between the information (A) and the information (B), the correction value is added, and the correction value is the ratio of the information (A) to the information (B). In the case of, correction value multiplication processing is performed.

  On the other hand, when there is no event that affects the combined road Ri on the departure date (NO in step 686), the average T of the required time and the standard deviation Σ are not corrected.

  Then, the variable i is decremented by 1, and T or the corrected T value is added to the variable t, and the standard deviation Σ or the corrected Σ square is added to the square of the variable σ (step 688).

  Subsequently, if the variable i is not 0 (NO in step 689), the process returns to step 682, and the arrival date and time to the combined road Ri, that is, the combined road R (n-1) is calculated (step 682). The arrival date and time is calculated by adding the value of the variable t to the value of the departure date and time.

  The processes in steps 682 to 688 are repeated until the variable i becomes 0, that is, until the process for the combined road R1 in the vicinity of the departure point is completed (NO in step 689), and when the variable i becomes 0 (step 689). And YES), the values of the variable t and the variable σ are output (step 690).

  With these processes, the estimate calculation process for one candidate route is completed. Subsequently, the estimate calculation process for another candidate route is performed (NO in step 691), and the estimate calculation process for all candidate routes is completed (step 691), the estimate calculation process in step 664 is terminated.

  Although the case where the irregular event excluded combined road required time database 83 and the irregular event correction value database 84 are used has been described here, processing using only the combined road required time database 82 is also possible. However, since the process can be inferred from the process shown in FIGS. 35 and 36 and the process shown in FIGS. 42 and 43, the description thereof will be omitted.

[7. Other examples of running log database]
In Chapter 7, an example of using the traveling log database 26 and the combined road required time database 28 other than the car navigation system will be described.

[7.1. Route search for the Web]
Section 7.1 describes route search for the Web. The route search for the Web provides a service that enables the Internet 12 to be used to search for a route similar to that of the car navigation system by a Web client such as a PC. This service is provided by a Web server, and the Web server operates in the same manner as the car navigation system 70 described above to perform route search. Note that the processing in the Web server can be inferred from the above description, and thus the description thereof is omitted here.

[7.2. Traffic jam forecast]
Section 7.2 explains the traffic jam forecast. The travel log collection center 10 has a combined road required time database 28 constructed based on travel logs collected from various vehicles. Since this combined road required time database 28 manages data classified by factors affecting the amount of traffic congestion such as time, day of the week, and weather, etc., the time required for each combined road is managed. Prediction becomes possible, and a traffic jam forecast can be provided as a service.

[7.3. Road traffic statistics]
Section 7.3 explains the use for road traffic statistics.

  FIG. 44 is a diagram for explaining the use of travel logs for road traffic statistics. In the road traffic statistics, it is assumed that the road traffic volume at the point of interest 172 between the intersection 170 and the intersection 171 as shown in FIG. In this case, as shown in FIG. 44 (b), the road where the measuring instrument installation point 182 exists between the intersection 180 and the intersection 181 is searched because the conditions are similar in the vicinity of the point of interest 172, and the processing described below is performed. By executing, the road traffic volume of the point of interest 172 can be estimated.

  FIG. 45 is a flowchart showing the flow of road traffic volume estimation processing at the point of interest 172.

  In the road traffic volume estimation process, first, a point of interest 172 and conditions such as date and time are designated (step 700). Subsequently, a combined road including the point of interest 172 is specified (step 701). Next, the data of the vehicle which passed the intersection 170 which is an entrance intersection are extracted from an intersection passage date list (step 702). Then, the extracted data is narrowed down according to specified conditions such as date and time (step 703), and further narrowing down to data whose traveling direction is the direction of the intersection 171 is performed (step 704). The number of data as a result of narrowing down is set to N1 (step 705).

  Next, the reference joint road including the measuring device installation point 182 is specified (step 706). Similarly, data of vehicles that have passed the intersection 180 that is the entrance intersection are extracted from the intersection passage date list (step 707). Then, the extracted data is narrowed down according to designated conditions such as date and time (step 708), and further narrowed down to data whose traveling direction is the direction of the intersection 181 (step 709). The number of data as a result of narrowing down is set to N2 (step 710).

  Subsequently, the traffic volume N3 measured by the measuring instrument installed at the measuring instrument installation point 182 is acquired (step 711), and the estimated traffic volume at the point of interest 172 is calculated from (N1 / N2) × N3. Note that (N1 / N2) × N3 can be expressed as N1 / (N2 / N3), but N2 / N3 is the penetration rate of the car navigation system that is the collection target of the travel log.

[7.4. consulting]
Section 7.4 explains the use of consulting services. The travel log collection center 10 also collects provider attributes when collecting travel logs. For this reason, by carrying out the processing shown in Section 7.3 separately for each provider attribute for each combined road, it is possible to know what amount of the target vehicle passes through. Therefore, these data can be used for consulting such as store opening plans.

It is the figure which showed the outline | summary of the driving | running | working data processing system. It is the figure which showed schematic structure of the driving | running | working data processing system. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a travel log collection center 10. FIG. FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating another configuration example of a travel log collection center 10. It is the figure which showed the example of a structure for collecting a driving log. It is a block diagram which shows the structural example of the car navigation system which accumulate | stores a driving log. It is a flowchart which shows the flow (1) of construction of the travel log database. It is a flowchart which shows the flow (2) of construction of the travel log database. It is the figure which showed an example of the driving log. It is the figure which showed an example of the unit travel log. It is a figure for demonstrating a joint road. It is a figure for demonstrating the calculation method of an intersection passage date. It is a figure for demonstrating a map matching error. It is the figure which showed an example of the travel log when a map matching error generate | occur | produces. It is the figure which showed an example of the travel log when there was parking and stopping of a vehicle. It is a flowchart which shows the flow (1) of construction of the joint road required time database 28. FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the flow (2) of construction of the joint road required time database 28. FIG. It is the figure which showed an example of the format of the data stored in the joint road required time database. It is the figure which showed the other example of the format of the data stored in the joint road required time database. It is the figure which showed the example of the content of the joint road required time database. It is a flowchart which shows the flow (1) of traveling log collection by the car navigation system. It is a flowchart which shows the flow (2) of the travel log collection by the car navigation system. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of a travel log collection in the case of compressing a travel log. It is the figure (1) which showed the example of the compressed travel log. It is figure (2) which showed the example of the compressed run log. It is figure (3) which showed the example of the compressed run log. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of a travel log collection in the case of producing | generating an intersection passage date list with the car navigation system. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of a travel log collection in the case of performing the statistical process for every joint road with the car navigation system. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of a driving | running | working log collection in the case of performing the statistical process by the characteristic of a combined road with the car navigation system. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of a travel log collection in the case of producing | generating an intersection passing date list using a personal computer based on the travel log which the car navigation system 40 accumulate | stored. FIG. 6A is a diagram (1) illustrating an example of a protection level setting screen displayed on the display unit 56 of the car navigation system 40; FIG. 6B is a diagram (2) illustrating an example of a protection level setting screen displayed on the display unit 56 of the car navigation system 40. FIG. 6C is a diagram (3) illustrating an example of a protection level setting screen displayed on the display unit 56 of the car navigation system 40. It is a block diagram which shows the structural example of the car navigation system which accumulate | stores a driving log. It is a flowchart (1) which shows the flow of the route search process in the car navigation system 70. It is a flowchart (2) which shows the flow of the route search process in the car navigation system 70. It is a flowchart (1) which shows the flow of the route search process for every weather in the car navigation system. It is a flowchart (2) which shows the flow of the route search process for every weather in the car navigation system. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of construction processing of the irregular event exclusion joint road required time database 30. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the construction process of the irregular event correction value database. 10 is a flowchart showing a flow of an estimate calculation process in a route search process using an irregular event excluded combined road required time database 83 and an irregular event correction value database 84. It is a flowchart (1) which shows the flow of the arrival date / time designation | designated route search process in the car navigation system. It is a flowchart (2) which shows the flow of the arrival date / time designation | designated route search process in the car navigation system. It is a figure for demonstrating the utilization to the road traffic statistics of a driving log. 10 is a flowchart showing a flow of road traffic volume estimation processing at a point of interest 172.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Travel log collection 2 Content business 3 Car navigation user 4 Car navigation maker 5 Web service 6 Database sales 7 Congestion forecast distribution 8 Road traffic statistics 9 Store opening plan 10 Travel log collection center 11-1 to 11-n Car navigation system equipped vehicle 12 Internnet 21 Transmission / reception unit 22 Provider information database 23 Travel log acquisition unit 24 Travel log processing unit 25 Map database 26 Travel log database 27 Travel log processing unit 28 Combined road required time database 29 Data processing unit 30 Uneven event excluded combined road required time database 31 Irregular event correction value database 32 Weather database 33 Irregular event database 40, 40-1 to 40-3 Car navigation system 41 Mobile phone 42 Memory card 43 PC
44 LAN adapter 45 Residential access point 46 Street access point 51 Map data 52 Route search unit 53 Input unit 54 Vehicle position measurement unit 55 Own vehicle position determination unit 56 Display unit 57 Communication unit 58 Date and time management unit 59 Travel log acquisition unit 60 Travel log Accumulation unit 61 Travel log processing unit 70 Car navigation system 71 Map data 72 Route search unit 73 Input unit 74 Vehicle position measurement unit 75 Own vehicle position determination unit 76 Display unit 77 Communication unit 78 Date and time management unit 79 Travel log acquisition unit 80 Travel log Accumulation unit 81 Travel log processing unit 82 Combined road required time database 83 Irregular event excluded combined road required time database 84 Irregular event correction value database 100 Intersection 101 Intersection 102 Intersection 110 Intersection 111 Intersection 112 Intersection 113 Intersection 120 Index
121 Average time required 122 Standard deviation 123 Direction of travel 124 Exit intersection 125 hour 126 Day of the week 127 Month 128 Weather 130 Entrance intersection position 131 Exit intersection position 132 Average time required 133 Standard deviation 134 Exit intersection 135 hour 136 Day 136 Month 138 Weather 140 Index
141 Average speed average 142 Standard deviation 143 Direction of travel 144 Exit intersection 145 hour 146 Day of week 147 Month 148 Weather 150 Index
151 Average time required 152 Standard deviation 153 Direction of travel 154 Exit intersection 155 hour 156 Day of the week 157 Month 158 Upper middle of the month 159 Holidays 160 Fifty days 161 Weather 170 Intersection 171 Intersection 172 Points of interest 180 Intersection 181 Intersection 182 Measuring point

Claims (6)

Receiving means for receiving mobile body position information indicating the position of the mobile body and time information indicating the time when the mobile body is positioned at the position indicated by the mobile body position information;
A moving section end position specifying means for specifying a moving section end position that is the end of the moving section in which the moving body moves;
Traveling direction recognition means for recognizing the traveling direction of the moving body at the moving section end position specified by the moving section end position specifying means from the moving body position information and time information received by the receiving means;
A mobile information processing apparatus comprising: a storage unit that stores travel direction information indicating a travel direction recognized by the travel direction recognition unit and movement information of a moving object in the movement section in association with each other. Generating means for generating mobile body position information indicating the position of the mobile body and time information indicating the time when the mobile body is positioned at the position indicated by the mobile body position information;
A moving section end position specifying means for specifying a moving section end position that is the end of the moving section in which the moving body moves;
Traveling direction recognition means for recognizing the traveling direction of the moving body at the moving section end position specified by the moving section end position specifying means from the moving body position information and time information generated by the generating means;
A mobile information processing apparatus comprising: transmission means for associating and transmitting travel direction information indicating a travel direction recognized by the travel direction recognition means and movement information of a moving object in the movement section.   The movement information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a classification unit that classifies movement information of the moving body in the movement section for each traveling direction recognized by the traveling direction recognition unit. Receiving mobile body position information indicating the position of the mobile body and time information indicating the time when the mobile body is positioned at the position indicated by the mobile body position information;
Identify the moving segment end position that will be the end of the moving segment where the moving object moves,
Recognize the traveling direction of the moving body at the specified moving section end position from the received moving body position information and time information,
A movement information processing method, wherein the traveling direction information indicating the recognized traveling direction and the movement information of the moving body in the movement section are stored in association with each other. Generating mobile body position information indicating the position of the mobile body and time information indicating the time when the mobile body is positioned at the position indicated by the mobile body position information;
Identify the moving segment end position that will be the end of the moving segment where the moving object moves,
From the generated moving body position information and time information, recognize the traveling direction of the moving body at the specified moving section end position,
A movement information processing method, wherein the direction-of-movement information indicating the recognized direction of movement and the movement information of the moving body in the movement section are transmitted in association with each other.   6. The movement information processing method according to claim 4, wherein movement information of the moving body in the movement section is classified for each recognized traveling direction.

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