JP2001272246A - Road traffic information notification device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Problem] To provide a traffic information notification device capable of further reducing a mental burden on a driver. A navigation device (10) having a function of detecting a position of a host vehicle, reproducing the detected position together with information on a planned traveling route to a designated destination, and displaying the information on a visualized map. And a route traffic information extracting means (20, 30, 40, 50, 60) for receiving a broadcast related to road traffic information, extracting and holding the route traffic information on the planned traveling route, and the route traffic information extracting means. Means for notifying the driver of the held route traffic information at a predetermined timing regarding the relationship with the location included in this information and attenuating the volume of the other audio output device (RV, ST, SW, SP) at the time of this notification ( 70,8
0,90).

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a road traffic information notification device mounted on an automobile, and more particularly to a method for selecting only necessary road traffic information from a broadcast source to notify a driver. The present invention relates to a road traffic information notification device having a function of performing

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In order to provide traffic information to a driver who is driving a vehicle, private radio broadcasting, VICS, ATI
S and various types of broadcasting, such as radio broadcasting provided by the Highway Public Corporation, are performed. Drivers can use only the traffic information, such as obstacles, that have occurred at locations related to the planned driving route of their vehicle from the broadcasted traffic information. We are choosing. A traffic information receiving apparatus configured to reduce the driver's effort of selecting traffic information is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 7-250,000. That is, this traffic information receiving device discloses a configuration in which a part for receiving a broadcast of traffic information and a navigation system are operated in cooperation to automatically recognize only relevant traffic information and notify the driver. ing.

[0003] That is, according to the traffic information receiving apparatus of the prior application, the location of the failure included in the audio broadcast coincides with the name of the road or point on the planned course determined by the navigation system. Only in such a case, the broadcast portion is selected as traffic information related to the traveling of the own vehicle, and is switched to a sound output from another sound output device and notified to the driver.

[0004]

The traffic information receiving apparatus of the prior application switches traffic information relating to obstacles to voice output from another voice output device such as a stereo, thereby achieving
Notifying the driver. This is to prevent the driver from missing traffic information when the sound output from another device such as a stereo is large. As a result, the driver may miss audio output from other audio output devices, such as a radio, which may be more important than traffic information. Therefore, the object of the present invention is to
It is an object of the present invention to provide a road traffic information notifying device that does not miss such important voice output by a driver.

[0005] Further, the traffic information receiving apparatus of the prior application notifies the driver as soon as it automatically recognizes the broadcast portion of the relevant trouble occurrence location. For this reason, the driver has to pay attention to the fault information until the notified fault location is reached.
In addition, the obstacle selected from the broadcast and notified to the driver may be resolved before the vehicle reaches the location, which may result in the driver being paid unnecessary attention. is there. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a road traffic information notification device that can further reduce the mental burden on a driver.

[0006]

A road traffic information notifying apparatus according to the present invention which solves one of the above-mentioned problems of the prior art detects a position of a host vehicle and designates the detected position of the host vehicle as a designated position. A navigation device for displaying on a map reproduced and visualized together with information on the planned traveling route to the target point,
Route traffic information notifying means for receiving a broadcast related to road traffic information, extracting route traffic information such as traffic congestion on the planned traveling route, and notifying the extracted information by voice output. And
The route traffic information notifying means, when notifying the above route information,
By providing a means for attenuating the volume of other audio output devices, it is possible to reduce the volume of the output of other audio output devices that may be more important than traffic information for the driver, without interrupting the output of other vehicles. It is configured to notify the driver of the road traffic information by voice output.

A road traffic information notifying apparatus according to the present invention for solving the above-mentioned other problems of the prior art temporarily stores the extracted route traffic information such as traffic congestion, and stores a portion included in the stored route traffic information. By providing a route traffic information notifying means for notifying the driver by voice output at a predetermined timing related to the relationship, the extracted traffic information is not immediately notified to the driver, but is determined according to the content and nature of the traffic information. By notifying at a predetermined timing, the mental burden on the driver is reduced. Further, the route traffic information notifying means includes a means for attenuating the volume of another voice output device when notifying the route information, so that the other traffic output device may be more important than the traffic information for the driver. The apparatus is configured to notify the driver of the road traffic information related to the traveling of the vehicle by voice output without interrupting the voice output of the vehicle.

[0008]

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the predetermined timing for notifying the driver of the held route traffic information is based on the position of the own vehicle included in the route traffic information. It is set at a point in time when the vehicle reaches a predetermined distance or a point in time before the expected arrival time at this point, and according to a further preferred embodiment, there is provided a means for allowing the driver to select which of these is to be set. ing.

According to another preferred embodiment of the present invention,
The predetermined timing for notifying the driver of the path failure information is set differently according to the significance of the path failure information.

According to another preferred embodiment of the present invention,
A type code indicating the severity is added to the held path failure information. In addition, based on the content of the broadcast on road traffic information received after holding this route obstacle information,
If the broadcast related to the held route fault information is not repeated within a predetermined period, the type code added to the held route fault information is changed, or if the route fault recovery is broadcast, There is an erasing means for erasing the held route fault information without notifying the driver.

According to still another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the predetermined traffic information is notified to a driver according to whether the traffic information is route fault information or normal route information. Means for setting the timing differently is provided.

[0012]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of the road traffic information notification device according to one embodiment of the present invention. The road traffic information notification device of this embodiment includes a navigation device 10, a broadcast receiving unit 20 for receiving a broadcast including road traffic information, a voice recognition unit 30, a message extraction unit 40, a keyword registration memory 50, a message registration memory 60, a message A notification control unit 70, a sound output unit 80, and a volume attenuator 90 are provided.

The navigation device 10 has substantially the same configuration as a general-purpose navigation device, and includes a navigation control unit 11, a GPS receiver 12, a sensor group 13,
CD / ROM driver 14, map CD / ROM 15,
A display panel 16 and a key input unit 17 are provided.

The GPS receiver 12 receives GPS signals (navigation data) from a plurality of GPS positioning satellites, detects the GPS receiver, that is, the current position of the host vehicle from the received signals, and transmits the detected position to the navigation control unit. Notify 11 The detection of the vehicle position by the GPS receiver 12 is interrupted in places where GPS radio waves cannot be received, such as in a tunnel. For this reason, the traveling speed of the vehicle detected by a sensor group 13 including various instruments such as a speedometer, a trip meter (cumulative distance meter), and a direction sensor such as a gyro, the accumulated traveling distance, the traveling direction, and the like. The GPS data is complemented or corrected using this information.

The navigation control unit 11, which has detected the current position in this manner, issues a command to the CD / ROM driver 14 to read a road map near the current position of the vehicle from the map CD / ROM 15 and transfer it. Let it. The navigation control unit 11 superimposes a symbol indicating the current position of the vehicle on the road map transferred from the driver 14 and causes the display panel 16 to display the symbol. In parallel with the control operation for the display, the navigation control unit 11 searches for an optimal traveling route to a target point designated by a key input from the key input unit 17 or the like, and specifies this as a planned traveling route. Guidance is provided to the driver, for example, by displaying on a road map by coloring, or by notifying the next course change location and the course change content by voice output.

When the planned traveling route is determined, the navigation control unit 11 determines the name of the road existing on the planned traveling route between the current position and the target point, the type of the lane, and the name of the facility on the road (the name of the highway). Interchage, tollgate name, etc.) are extracted from the road map read from the map CD / ROM 15 and are transferred to the message notification control unit 70 together with the current position of the vehicle. The navigation control unit 11 also transfers the detected current position of the own vehicle and the accumulated running distance received from the sensor group 13 to the message notification control unit 70 as data indicating the running condition of the own vehicle. Further, the navigation control unit 11 determines whether a road name and a lane exist on the planned travel route transferred to the message notification control unit 70,
Among the facility names on the road, those that have left behind the current position with the travel of the own vehicle are detected, and the registration of these names is instructed to the message notification control unit 70.

The message notification control unit 70 writes the names of the roads on the planned travel route and the names of the facilities on the roads transferred from the navigation control unit 11 into the keyword registration memory 50, and also registers the names of the registrations from the navigation control unit 11. When a data deletion instruction is received, the corresponding data is deleted from the keyword registration memory 50. As described above, the key registration memory 50 always holds the names of the roads existing on the scheduled traveling route between the current position of the vehicle and the target point, which change every moment, and the names of the facilities on the roads. .

The broadcast receiving section 20 receives a broadcast including road traffic information transmitted from a broadcast source (not shown). This broadcast may be an ordinary radio broadcast such as a commercial broadcast including road traffic information as a part of the broadcast content, a special radio broadcast that broadcasts only road traffic information, VICS, ATIS, or the like. One of the special broadcasting sources may be a system that broadcasts road traffic information uttered by a specific speaker and in a fixed phrase on a radio wave. The specific speaker need not necessarily be a human, but may be a mechanically synthesized speech source. Alternatively, the content of the broadcast may be digital data that cannot be heard by the human ear and can be identified only by a machine.

If the specific channel and the broadcast time zone in which traffic information is broadcast in general radio broadcasting are known in advance, the channel number and the broadcast time zone data are registered in a memory in advance, and the broadcast start time is set. If it is configured to automatically select the channel and start reception at the time, the traffic information can be collected efficiently.

In this embodiment, for the sake of simplicity, the broadcast received by the broadcast receiving unit 20 is broadcast by a specific speaker and a sound signal in which road traffic information uttered in a fixed phrase is carried on a radio wave. Shall be. The broadcast receiving unit 20 receives a high-frequency radio wave of road traffic information transmitted from a broadcast source by an antenna, performs high-frequency amplification and intermediate-frequency amplification, demodulates the signal, and converts the signal into a low-frequency audio signal.

The speech recognition section 30 performs speech recognition of the speech signal output from the broadcast receiving section 20, and converts the speech signal into language data (character string data). In this embodiment, a voice pattern corresponding to a specific speaker of a broadcast is registered in the voice recognition unit 30, and voice recognition for the specific speaker is enabled.

The failure message extracting unit 40 extracts a necessary message by performing language analysis on the language data generated by the speech recognition unit 30 at the preceding stage. In this embodiment, the road traffic information broadcast from the broadcast source is a fixed phrase, for example, “△△ road down lane ▽▽ xx km traffic from toll gate” or “「 km traffic from interchange ”And the names of expressways, lanes, names of facilities on the road (names of interchanges, toll booths, etc.) and traffic conditions at this location (how many kilometers of traffic, smooth traffic, etc.) It is stated in order.

The message extracting unit 40 has a language analysis function for understanding the grammatical system in the fixed phrase, which indicates smoothness such as the above-mentioned obstacle or "normally flowing". The message extraction unit 40 registers the names of expressways, lanes (up or down), service areas, tollgates, interchanges, and the like included in the voice-recognized road traffic information in the keyword registration memory 50. A function is provided for searching using the names of facilities such as roads, interchanges, service areas, etc. existing on the middle scheduled travel path as keywords.

That is, when language data is output from the voice recognition unit 30, the message extraction unit 40 fetches them temporarily (temporarily stores them in a built-in memory), and outputs the keyword registered in the keyword registration memory 50. Against
If there is a matching word, it is extracted. Expressway names, lane classifications, facility names on roads, and the like extracted by such keyword searches are used as names of places (hereinafter, referred to as “target places”) that are targets of traffic condition information.
Further, the following words (for example, the words “how many kilometers of traffic jam” and “the air is flowing smoothly”) are recognized as information representing the traffic situation.

The message extracting unit 40 creates a sentence by combining the place name and the traffic condition of the target place recognized in this way, and this sentence includes an “identification code”, a “type code”,
A message having a data format illustrated in FIG. 2 to which "creation time" is added is created. The “type code” added to this statement includes “failure information”, “normal information”,
"Error recovery information" is distinguished, and in the case of failure information, its severity is displayed. For example, in the case of normal information indicating that the information is flowing smoothly, “0” is used as the identification code.
"0" is added. In addition, “0” is added as an identification code to the recovery information indicating that the fault location has been recovered (the fault status has been resolved). Further, "1" is added as an identification code to the serious trouble information of closing the road,
For obstacle information such as congestion, an additional code of "2" is used when the number of "how many kilometers" indicating the length is large, "3" when the number is medium, and "4" when the number is small. Will be added.

The message extractor 40 writes the message created as described above into the message registration memory 60, and writes this new message into the memory registration memory 60.
Is notified to the message notification control unit 70. Upon receiving this notification, the message notification control unit 70 reads out the message just registered in the message registration memory 60 from the memory 60, and reads the type code added thereto.

If the type code added to the message read from the registration memory 60 is “0” indicating normal information, the message notification control unit 70 immediately transfers this message to the voice output unit 80. . In the voice output unit 80, the sentence portion of the message transferred from the message notification control unit 70 is converted into voice by a voice synthesizer and output from the speaker. As a result,
The normal traffic information indicating that the vehicle is flowing smoothly in the target location is received by the broadcast receiving unit 20, and the message extracting unit 40
As soon as it is extracted, the driver is notified by audio output. The reason for this is that even if such positive normal information is notified early, it does not impose any mental burden on the driver, but rather reduces the burden on the driver.

On the other hand, the message notification control unit 70
If "1" to "4" indicating that the type code added to the read message is fault information, determine the timing of outputting the corresponding message by voice according to the type code. Then, the message notification control unit 70 adds the information indicating the determined timing to the corresponding message and causes the message holding unit 60 to hold the message, and reads the message from the message registration memory 60 according to the timing added to the message. The data is transferred to the audio output unit 80 and output as audio.

There are two types of timings for notifying the driver of the above-mentioned trouble message by voice output. One of them is when the own vehicle reaches a location a predetermined distance before the target location included in the message. The other is a point in time at which a predetermined time is left for the expected arrival time of the vehicle at the target location included in the message. The driver can specify which of the above two is selected by key input from the key input unit 17.

When the notification timing is specified by the distance as described above, the message notification control unit 70
The navigation control unit 11 is inquired about the distance from the current position of the vehicle to the target location. The navigation control unit calculates the distance to the target location based on the map data,
The calculated value is returned to the message notification control unit 70. The message notification control unit 70 calculates the cumulative added distance of the target location by adding the current running cumulative distance to the distance to the target location answered by the navigation control unit 11.

Finally, the message notification control unit 70 subtracts a constant value from the cumulative addition distance of the target location in accordance with the type code of “1” to “4”, thereby calculating the cumulative travel distance of the notification position. The calculated message is added to the corresponding message, and a message obtained by adding the accumulated running distance of the notification position is stored in the message registration memory 60. When the type code is “1”, the failure is more serious than when the type code is “4”. Therefore, when the type code is “1”, a larger value than in the case of “4” is set so that the driver is notified of the message earlier than in the case of “4”. The difference is subtracted and a message is sent to the driver before the target area. Intermediate "2", "3"
In the case of, the mutual relationship is similar.

If the notification timing is specified by the time, the message notification control unit 70 inquires the navigation control unit 11 about the time required to reach the destination. The navigation control unit 11 calculates the estimated required time to the target location based on the distance to the target location detected based on the map data and the average running speed of the vehicle so far, and notifies the calculated value to a message. Reply to control unit 70. The message notification control unit 70 calculates the expected arrival time at the target location by calculating the current time at the estimated required time to the target location.

It should be noted that the calculated expected arrival time may be shifted due to resting in the service area before reaching the expected arrival time. In such a case, such a state of rest is detected because the state of zero vehicle speed has continued for a certain period of time, and the expected arrival time is determined based on the distance between the point at which the vehicle has started running again and the point of failure. It is recalculated.

Finally, the message notification control unit 70 calculates the notification time by subtracting a certain value from the expected arrival time at the target location in accordance with the type code of “1” to “4”, respectively. The message in which the notification time is added to the message is stored in the message registration memory 60. When the type code is “1”, the fault is heavier than when the type code is “4”. Therefore, when the type code is “1”, a longer time is subtracted than in the case of “4” so that the driver is notified earlier than in the case of “4”. The driver is notified shortly before the target area. The same applies to the intermediate cases of “2” and “3”. Since the distance and the time are subtracted by the type code, the driver can specify the distance and the time by key input from the key input unit 17.

When a message is being registered in the message registration memory 60, the driver is visually notified of the fact in a manner corresponding to the type code. For example, if a message of type code "1" is being registered,
This is indicated by the red light of the lamp L (FIG. 1) installed at one corner of the display panel 16 of the navigation device. If the message of the type code "2" to "4" is being registered, the yellow light is also used. Is displayed and "1" ~
If the message of "4" is not registered, the fact is similarly displayed by lighting in blue. Alternatively, a bar graph having a length that expands and contracts according to the type code of “1” to “4” may be displayed at one corner of the display screen instead of displaying with different emission colors.

The message notification control unit 70 stores the registered message in the message registration memory 60 in parallel with the process of registering the message in the message registration memory 60.
, And periodically determines whether the current running distance has exceeded the notification position added thereto or whether the current time has passed the notification time. The message notification control unit 70 returns the message read from the message registration memory 60 to the message registration memory 60 when the determination result is negative, and reads the message from the registration memory 60 when the determination result is positive. The message is transferred to the audio output unit 80 and output as audio. If necessary, a warning sound may be output together so that the driver's attention can be further raised.

The message notification control unit 70, when outputting the audio of all the above-mentioned messages, uses the switch SW and the speaker of the other audio output device OD including the broadcast receiver RV, the stereo ST, the switch SW, and the speaker SP. SP
By controlling the volume attenuator 90 provided between the audio output device OD and the audio output device OD, the volume of the audio output from the audio output device OD is attenuated.

By the operation of attenuating the volume, the audio output unit 8
While the driver can easily listen to the message related to the road traffic information output from the speaker 82 of No. 0, the voice output from the voice output device OD which may be considered by the driver to be more important than the road traffic information is interrupted. Continued without. The driver concentrates his attention on the voice output that he / she considers to be more important, so that he / she does not miss the voice output of the side that he / she thinks is important.

If the message newly registered in the message registration memory 60 by the message extraction unit 40 is a message relating to restoration of a failure, the message notification control unit 70 stores the failure in the target location in the message registration memory 60. Search whether the corresponding message to be notified is registered. If the corresponding failure notification message has not been registered in the message registration memory 60 because it has already been output as voice, the message notification control unit 70 immediately transfers the failure recovery message to the audio output unit 80 and outputs the message. . If the notification of the failure occurrence corresponding to the target location has not been output yet and is being registered, the message notification control unit 70 deletes both the corresponding failure occurrence information and the failure recovery information from the message registration memory 60. .

Some broadcast sources repeatedly broadcast traffic information at a substantially constant cycle. In this case, if the previously broadcasted fault has been restored (the fault has been resolved), instead of broadcasting the fact that the fault has been recovered, the content related to the fault will be deleted from the subsequent broadcast content, or even if the fault recovery is broadcast In some cases, registration in the message registration memory is not performed because the message extraction unit 40 failed to extract a message.

Assuming such a case, the message notification control unit 70 determines, for each message registered in the message registration memory 60, the time after the message is registered in the memory 60 based on the respective creation time and current time. Detect elapsed time. If the elapsed time after registration detected for each of the above messages is longer than the period of the repetitive broadcast of the same traffic information (with a certain margin), the message notification control unit 70 adds the message to this message. The type code is increased by “1”. The message notification control unit 70 deletes this message for the path failure information that has become a predetermined value, for example, “5” as a result of the change of the type code.

The message notification control unit 70 does not update the registration time or change the type code as described above.
It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which a process for immediately deleting an old message that has passed a predetermined time or more from the registration is performed. If the fault has been recovered, there is no need to notify the driver of this fault, so there is no harm in deleting this old fault message, and if this fault has not yet been recovered, the same as this old message This is because the failure notification message having the content should be registered in the memory 60 as a new failure notification message to which a new creation time is added.

As described above, the message notification control unit 70
Checks the elapsed time since the registration of each of the registered messages, and performs an operation of changing the type code and deleting the path failure information for an old message after a predetermined time has elapsed from the registration in the message registration memory 60. Do. In order to further easily and surely delete the old message by the message notification control unit 70, the message extracting unit 40 determines the sameness of the contents of the newly extracted message and the registered message and determines the same. For messages, the new message is overwritten on the corresponding old message being registered, so that for the same message that is repeatedly broadcast, extracted and registered, the content and notification timing are saved. It is also possible to add a function of updating only the creation (registration) time as it is.

In this way, even if a fault notification message is registered once and is not updated by the same content included in the subsequent broadcast, the fault is considered to have been recovered from the fault, and the registration memory 60 Will be erased. If the deletion of the failure occurrence message from the message registration memory 60 is performed before the completion of the notification timing to the driver set by the message notification control unit 70, the failure message that imposes a mental burden on the driver is wasted. Is avoided.

In order to simplify the processing contents of the message notification control unit 70 and the message extraction unit 40 and to reduce the cost of the apparatus, the above-described registration message deletion processing by the message notification control unit 70 and the message extraction unit 40 is omitted. You can also. Alternatively, a configuration may be adopted in which the driver is inquired of whether or not the failure occurrence message can be deleted, and the message is deleted after waiting for the driver's response.

As described above, the message registration memory 60
By notifying the driver visually of the presence of the message being registered in the form according to the type code, the possibility that the driver misses the message can be reduced. When the driver who is worried about this display operates a predetermined button, the message being registered is output to the audio output unit 80 before the scheduled notification timing comes.
It is also possible to configure so that a request can be made for audio output from the. As described above, since the existence of the obstacle is displayed by a ramp or a bar graph instead of being displayed on the road map, it is possible to avoid a situation in which writing on the road map increases and the reading becomes difficult. Further, it is also possible to configure so that the driver can select whether to display the data by a lamp or a bar graph or directly on a road map.

As described above, the configuration in which the volume of the other voice output device is attenuated when outputting voice messages of all traffic information messages has been illustrated. However, there is no problem even if the driver misses the notification of the positive traffic information that notifies that the traffic is flowing smoothly.
For this reason, when outputting a sound of such a positive message, the volume of another sound output device may not be attenuated.

When road traffic information is broadcast by a specific speaker from a broadcast source, music and keywords unique to the speaker are broadcast immediately before the broadcast, and the voice recognition unit 20 transmits these music and keywords to the speaker. It is desirable that data on the correspondence with the speaker is stored in advance. With such a configuration, the voice recognition unit 20 can identify the speaker of the subsequent broadcast at the time when the music or keyword is broadcast, so that the accuracy of voice recognition can be further improved.

Further, the broadcast receiving unit 20 converts the received radio wave into an audio signal, and converts it into an audio signal as it is.
The configuration for outputting to the above is exemplified. However, a configuration in which the broadcast receiving unit 20 amplifies the audio output with an amplifier and outputs the amplified audio output with a speaker like a general radio may be used. In this configuration, the voice recognition unit 30 includes a device (microphone) that converts an acoustic signal output from a speaker into an electric signal.

Also, the audio output unit 80 in the above embodiment
Can be shared with a general radio audio output unit. In this case, a general radio broadcast is usually output as voice, and when the required notification timing of the road traffic information comes, the output is switched to the voice output of the traffic information transferred from the message notification control unit 70.

Further, only for the purpose of increasing the success rate of voice recognition and message extraction, as a broadcast source of traffic information, road traffic information uttered in a fixed phrase by a specific speaker is broadcast on radio waves. The case of using the above is exemplified. However, the traffic information notifying apparatus of the present invention is not limited to such a special broadcast form, but may be a normal radio broadcast such as a commercial broadcast including road traffic information as a part of the broadcast content, or the content of the broadcast may be a human broadcast. Digital data that cannot be heard by the ear and can be identified only by a machine may be used.

Further, the configuration in which the driver is immediately notified of normal information indicating that the flow is normal is exemplified. However, since it is conceivable that a failure may occur after notification at that point, the notification is delayed until a point determined at a predetermined timing, and if a failure occurs at that point during this time, this normal notification is deleted. You can also.

Further, the configuration has been exemplified in which the driver is notified not only of the route failure notification but also of the normal route notification. However, it is also possible to exclude such route normal information from the notification targets and notify the driver of only the route fault notification at a predetermined timing.

[0054]

As described above, according to the road traffic information notifying device of the present invention, when the route information is notified by the route traffic information notifying means, the volume of another sound output device is attenuated. Because of this, it is possible to notify the driver of road traffic information related to the driving of the vehicle by voice output without interrupting voice output from other voice output devices that may be more important than traffic information for the driver. Is played.

Further, according to the road traffic information notifying device of the present invention, the road traffic information extracted from the broadcast source is transmitted at a predetermined timing such as how many kilometers before the location or how many hours before the expected arrival time at the location. Therefore, since the driver is notified after being delayed, there is an effect that the mental burden on the driver is reduced.

Further, since the notification to the driver is usually not immediately performed but is delayed, the failure occurrence location may be recovered while the notification is delayed. In this case, it is possible to effectively avoid a situation in which the useless notification puts an unnecessary mental burden on the driver.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram illustrating a configuration of a traffic information notification device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a data format diagram showing an example of a configuration of a message registered in a message registration memory 60 of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Navigation device 20 Broadcast receiving unit 30 Voice recognition unit 40 Message extraction unit 50 Keyword registration memory 60 Message registration memory 70 Message notification control unit 80 Voice output unit

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Claims (17)

[Claims] 1. A navigation device for detecting a position of an own vehicle, and displaying the detected position of the own vehicle together with information of a planned traveling route to a designated target point on a reproduced and visualized map. A route traffic information notifying unit that receives a broadcast related to road traffic information, extracts route traffic information on the scheduled traveling route, and notifies the route traffic information by voice output; A means for attenuating the volume of another audio output device. 2. A navigation device for detecting the position of the own vehicle, and displaying the detected position of the own vehicle on a reproduced and visualized map together with information on a planned traveling route to a designated target point. Route traffic information extracting means for receiving a broadcast related to road traffic information and extracting and storing route traffic information on the scheduled traveling route; and storing route traffic information held by the route traffic information extracting means,
Route traffic information notifying means for notifying the driver by voice output at a predetermined timing relating to the location included in the information, and the route traffic information notifying means outputs another voice output when notifying the route information. A road traffic information notification device comprising means for attenuating the volume of the device. 3. The road traffic information notification device according to claim 1, wherein the extracted route traffic information notified to the driver by voice output includes traffic jam and other route obstacle information. 4. A navigation device for detecting the position of the own vehicle, and displaying the detected position of the own vehicle on a reproduced and visualized map together with information on a planned traveling route to a designated target point. A traffic information notifying unit that receives a broadcast related to various road traffic information, extracts and holds the route traffic information on the planned traveling route, and notifies the driver by voice output at a predetermined timing; and the held route traffic. A road traffic information notification device, comprising: means for notifying a driver of the presence of route failure information relating to a failure among information by displaying on a display. 5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the means for attenuating the volume of another audio output device when notifying the route information functions only when the route information is traffic congestion or other route fault information. A road traffic information notification device characterized by the above-mentioned. 6. The vehicle according to claim 2, wherein the predetermined timing for notifying the driver of the held route traffic information reaches a position before the position of the vehicle included in the route traffic information by a predetermined distance. A road traffic information notification device, which is set at the time when the traffic information is set. 7. The method according to claim 2, wherein the predetermined timing for notifying the driver of the held route traffic information is a time point that is a predetermined time before an expected arrival time at a location included in the route traffic information. A road traffic information notification device characterized by being set to: 8. The vehicle according to claim 2, wherein the predetermined timing for notifying the driver of the held route traffic information reaches a position a predetermined distance before the position of the host vehicle included in the route traffic information. A road traffic information notification device, which is set at a point in time or at a point in time that is a predetermined time before an expected arrival time at this point, and further comprising means for allowing a driver to select which of the two points is to be set. 9. In each of claims 2 to 4, when the stored route traffic information is route obstacle information,
The road traffic information notification device is characterized in that the predetermined timing for notifying the driver of the route failure information is set earlier as the route failure information becomes more significant. 10. The road traffic information notification device according to claim 9, wherein a type code indicating the severity is added to the stored route fault information. 11. The identification code change according to claim 10, wherein the type code added to the stored route fault information is changed based on the content of the broadcast related to the road traffic information received after storing the route fault information. A road traffic information notification device comprising a means. 12. The broadcast according to claim 11, wherein the content of the broadcast for changing the type code added to the held route fault information is that the broadcast related to the route fault is not repeated within a predetermined period. Characteristic road traffic information notification device. 13. The method according to claim 11, wherein when the changed type code becomes a predetermined type code, the route fault information to which the type code is added is deleted before the driver is notified by voice output. A road traffic information notification device comprising an erasing means. 14. The method as claimed in claim 2, wherein based on the contents of the broadcast related to the road traffic information received after the holding of the route fault information, the route fault information being held is notified to the driver by voice output. A road traffic information notification device comprising an erasing means for erasing the information. 15. The road traffic information notification device according to claim 14, wherein the content of the broadcast for deleting the held route fault information relates to restoration of a location where the route fault has occurred. 16. A predetermined timing for notifying a driver of said route traffic information is set differently according to whether or not said route traffic information is said route obstacle information. A road traffic information notification device comprising a means. 17. The broadcasting station according to claim 1, wherein a broadcast channel and a time zone related to the road traffic information to be received are registered in a memory, and when the registered broadcast start time comes, the channel is automatically set. A road traffic information notifying device, comprising: means for selecting and starting reception.