JP2008286544A - System, server, terminal device, and method for displaying road traffic information - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To facilitate display of road traffic information of any direction type when displaying road traffic information related to a road having different direction types such as up and down lanes. <P>SOLUTION: The road traffic information display system 10 is equipped with a road traffic information database 39 storing road traffic information corresponding to direction types of a road having two direction types. The server 30 delivers road traffic information of each direction type such as up and down lanes together when delivering specified road traffic information to a terminal device 20. The terminal device 20 is equipped with a road traffic information editing means 28 and a display control means 26. The road traffic information editing means 28 edits road traffic information of each direction type of the road to be displayed on the display means. The display control means 26 displays road traffic information corresponding to one of the direction types on the display means 25 and further displays both an image indicating the direction type on display and a direction type selection image for changing direction types for selection on the display means 25. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a road traffic information display system, a server, a terminal device, and road traffic information for displaying road traffic information in a navigation system or a map display system for guiding a user by displaying a map or a guide route obtained by route search. In particular, when displaying road traffic information by specifying a desired road, road traffic information of both direction types is acquired from the server regardless of the direction type of the road, and the direction The present invention relates to a road traffic information display system, a server and a terminal device, and a road traffic information display method which can easily select a type and switch and display road traffic information corresponding to any desired direction type.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, navigation devices and navigation systems that guide a user by searching for a route from a desired departure point to a destination using map data and road data are known. Such navigation devices and navigation systems are known. As a car navigation device that is installed in an automobile and guides the route to the driver, a communication type that uses a mobile phone as a navigation terminal to send a route search request to the route search server, receives the result, and receives route guidance Navigation systems have been put to practical use.

  In particular, the communication-type navigation system is a system that uses a mobile terminal such as a mobile phone as a navigation terminal, and is also used as a navigation system for pedestrians. As a navigation system for pedestrians, it is preferable to add a route guidance function including transportation, and in addition to searching and guidance for walking routes, the route search server accumulates routes and operation time data of transportation, There is also a navigation system having a function of guiding a route from a desired departure station to a desired destination station (boarding candidate train) in addition to searching for a walking route and guidance. There is also a traffic guidance system that receives and displays information such as routes, timetables of transportation facilities, and trains that can be boarded from an information distribution server without searching for walking routes.

  A general navigation device, a route search device and a route search method used in a communication navigation system are disclosed in, for example, the following Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-165681). This navigation system is configured to send information on a departure point and a destination from a portable navigation terminal to an information distribution server, and the information distribution server searches and guides a route that matches a search condition from road network and traffic network data. Has been. As the search condition, there are means for moving from the departure place to the destination, for example, walking, automobile, combined use of railroad and walking, and the route is searched as one of the search conditions.

  The information distribution server has roads (routes) of map data as nodes and nodes as the positions of inflection points, links connecting the nodes as links, and cost information (distance and required time) of all links as a database. ing. Then, the information distribution server sequentially searches for a link from the departure node to the destination node with reference to the database, and traces the node and link with the smallest cost information of the link as a guide route. The shortest route can be guided to the portable navigation terminal. As such a route search method, a method called label determination method or Dijkstra method is used. Patent Document 1 also discloses a route search method using this Dijkstra method.

  In recent years, mobile terminals such as mobile phones are equipped with browsers and can access the Internet to receive desired information. In such a system, the user operates a mobile terminal, finds a desired site using a search engine provided in the server, downloads the content of the site, and browses the content with a browser. ing. The content includes information belonging to various categories, and includes information on stores and events, provision of railway timetables, and train transfer guidance.

  In providing information on stores and events, a user operates a mobile terminal to input a store or event category and an area to be searched for a search request. The server searches for stores and events that fall into the specified category and exist in the area, and the information is distributed to the mobile terminal device. In providing the timetable, when the user operates the mobile terminal to designate a route, the timetable of the route is presented on the screen of the display device of the mobile terminal. Further, in the transfer guidance, the recommended route is presented by the user specifying the departure place and the destination.

  In addition, connect to a map server on the Internet from a terminal device such as a personal computer or a mobile phone, and enter the desired location, facility, store address, name, telephone number, etc. to determine the location of the location, facility, or store. It is also possible to display a map image on a display device by downloading map data within a predetermined range. It is also possible to input a zip code and download and display the map data of the area.

  In the communication-type navigation system, map data for map display distributed from the map distribution server to a map display device as a terminal is configured as follows. That is, the map data stored in the map distribution server is composed of unit map data (mesh map data) divided into a mesh shape in a certain latitude range and longitude range. When distributing map data to the map display device, based on the position information of the map display device, the unit map adjacent in the vertical, horizontal, and diagonal directions is centered on the unit map including the position of the map display device. In total, nine unit map data are distributed. When the map display device moves and the unit map data is insufficient, the unit map data for the shortage is newly distributed.

  The map data for displaying the map image is generally composed of vector map data instead of bitmap data (raster map data) in order to suppress the amount of data during communication. The vector map data includes polygon data for displaying roads included in a map in mesh units in a state close to natural terrain, and road data expressing each road link as a vector. Road data expressed in vectors is used when drawing a guide route or route history on a map image. The current position of the map display device is drawn on the searched route and road data at the time of route guidance. The current position is calculated by satellite navigation using a GPS receiver provided in the map display device.

  A communication type navigation system using a mobile phone as a terminal device is mainly used for route guidance for pedestrians who travel on foot or by transportation, but pedestrians do not always move on foot, and taxis. It is preferable that a comprehensive route search can be performed including a section in which the vehicle moves using the road network data for the vehicle. Further, it is more preferable that the passenger who gets on the passenger seat can use the mobile phone and transmit the guidance route received from the server to the driver.

  In consideration of movement by automobile, if a traffic jam situation on a surrounding road can be known when a map is displayed, a route that avoids the traffic jam can be selected, which increases convenience. Recently, a road information distribution system has been realized that installs cameras on expressways and main trunk roads, etc., and measures traffic volume to provide traffic conditions. Roads that can monitor traffic volume are also greatly expanded. . This road traffic information can be received by an in-vehicle navigation device using FM broadcasting. It is also possible to receive road traffic data via a network. Such a road traffic information system is realized as VICS (registered trademark). In this system, traffic information of each road is updated at intervals of 5 minutes, and is distributed to various users and users through FM broadcasting or the Internet.

  There are also known map display devices and navigation devices that can display the traffic conditions of surrounding roads based on such road traffic information. For example, the following Patent Document 2 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-264082) discloses a navigation apparatus that displays a congested road link with lines and marks.

  The navigation device disclosed in Patent Document 2 draws a map around a reference position including a road, using a current position calculated by a current position calculation unit or a point designated by a scroll unit as a reference position, and receives FM broadcasts. Based on the traffic jam data received by the machine, a traffic jam mark of a predetermined color, that is, a traffic jam line, is drawn in parallel with the corresponding road on the map, and the traffic jam within a predetermined range from the reference position A traffic jam mark erasing unit that suppresses the display of the mark is provided, and the display of the traffic jam mark in the vicinity of the user's position is suppressed so that the visibility of the road or the like of the map image is not hindered.

  Patent Document 3 below (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-134297) discloses a map image, a road name and a vertical direction (traveling direction type) of the road, and congestion information corresponding to the traveling direction type of the road. Is disclosed as a road traffic information receiving apparatus.

JP 2001-165681 A (FIGS. 1 and 2) JP 2001-264082 A (FIG. 1, FIG. 3, [Solution means], paragraphs [0027] to [0031]) Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-134297 (FIG. 4, paragraph [0012])

  Generally, roads have different types of direction of travel such as up and down lines except for one-way traffic. Usually, a lane that travels toward Tokyo is defined as an up line, and a lane that travels away from Tokyo is defined as a down line. There are other road direction types that use definitions such as outward, inward, eastbound, westbound, southbound, and northbound. Therefore, when referring to road traffic information such as traffic jams, accidents, and construction for a specific road, specify the direction type of the road the vehicle is traveling on (upline, downline, etc.) and refer to the corresponding road traffic information Otherwise it has no meaning. It is a common daily experience that there is traffic on the up lane and no traffic on the down lane.

  According to the road traffic information receiving device disclosed in Patent Document 3 above, a map image is displayed with a distinction between a road name and a vertical direction (direction type) of the road, and traffic information according to the direction of travel direction of the road in text display. can do.

  By the way, there are cases where it is easy for the user to grasp the up line and down line of the road and cases where it is difficult to grasp. The roads heading for Tokyo such as expressways and main roads are relatively distinct from the upper and lower lines, but in other cases the upper and lower lines of the road are often unknown. Also, it is difficult to tell the difference between the upper and lower road lines in the center of Tokyo. In the road traffic information receiving apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 3, when road traffic information is referred to, road traffic information in a direction opposite to the traveling direction of the vehicle is obtained if the vertical line specification (road direction type designation) is mistaken. It will be displayed.

  When road traffic information in the reverse direction is displayed, there is a problem in that the operability is poor because the road must be specified again and the sequence of direction types such as up and down lines must be specified to specify the correct traveling direction. . Alternatively, if it is difficult to determine the direction type of the road on which the vehicle is traveling, it will not be noticed that the traveling direction of the vehicle is opposite to its own recognition, and it will be noticed that it is road traffic information in the opposite direction of recognition. The problem of believing in the information without it arises.

  The inventor of the present application has conducted various studies to solve the above problems, and as a result, when specifying a desired road by a road name or the like and displaying road traffic information, both of them are used regardless of the direction type of the road. If the road traffic information of the direction type is acquired from the server and the direction type can be easily selected and the road traffic information according to any desired direction type is switched and displayed, the above problem Thus, the present invention has been completed.

  That is, the present invention has an object to solve the above-described problems, and a road that can easily display road traffic information of a desired direction type when a desired road is specified and road traffic information is displayed. It is an object of the present invention to provide a traffic information display system, a server and a terminal device, and a road traffic information display method.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the invention according to claim 1 of the present application is
An operation input means for designating a desired road, a display means for displaying road traffic information, and a road traffic information database storing road traffic information, the road traffic information database for road traffic information relating to the designated road. In the road traffic information display system that is obtained from and displayed on the display means,
The road traffic information database accumulates road traffic information corresponding to the direction type for each road in a road having two direction types, and the road traffic information display system stores the display means for each direction type of the road. Road traffic information editing means for editing road traffic information to be displayed; and display control means for controlling display of the road traffic information.
Road traffic information corresponding to two direction types corresponding to the road specified by the operation input means is acquired from the road traffic information database, and based on the road traffic information, the road traffic information editing means The road traffic information to be displayed on the display means is edited for each type, and the display control means displays road traffic information corresponding to one of the direction types on the display means and an image indicating the direction type being displayed. And a direction type selection image for switching selection of the direction type is displayed on the display means.

  The invention according to claim 2 of the present application is the invention according to claim 1, wherein the image indicating the direction type being displayed and the direction type selection image are displayed on a tag, and the display control means includes the tag. The road traffic information is displayed in a frame, and the frame to be displayed is switched by operating the tag.

  The invention according to claim 3 of the present application is the invention according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the road traffic information display system includes direction type identification image data for identifying a direction type for each road, The road traffic information editing means adds direction type identification image data corresponding to the direction type when editing road traffic information to be displayed on the display means for each road direction type, and the display control means The road traffic information to which the type identification image is added is displayed on the display means.

  The invention according to claim 4 of the present application is the invention according to claim 3, wherein the direction type identification image data is an icon image or a land indicating each of a plurality of landmarks existing along the traveling direction of each road. It is a mark name, and is image data in which the icon image or landmark name is sequentially arranged along the direction type.

  The invention according to claim 5 of the present application is the invention according to claim 3, wherein the direction type identification image data is an icon indicating each of a plurality of service areas and parking areas existing along the traveling direction of each road. An image or name, which is image data in which the icon image or name is sequentially arranged along the direction type.

The invention according to claim 6 of the present application is
An operation input means for designating a desired road and a display means for displaying road traffic information are connected via a network to a terminal device provided with a road traffic information database for accumulating road traffic information. In a server that obtains road traffic information about a road from the road traffic information database and distributes it to the terminal device,
The road traffic information database accumulates road traffic information corresponding to the direction type for each road in a road having two direction types,
The terminal device includes road traffic information editing means for editing road traffic information to be displayed on the display means for each road direction type, and display control means for controlling display of the road traffic information, and the road The traffic information editing means edits road traffic information to be displayed on the display means for each road direction type, and the display control means displays the road traffic information corresponding to one of the direction types on the display means, An image indicating a direction type being displayed and a direction type selection image for switching selection of the direction type are displayed on the display unit.
The server acquires road traffic information corresponding to two direction types corresponding to the road specified by the terminal device from the road traffic information database, and distributes the traffic information to the terminal device.

  The invention according to claim 7 of the present application is the road according to the invention according to claim 6, wherein the server includes direction type identification image data for identifying a direction type for each road, and is specified by the terminal device. When the road traffic information corresponding to the two direction types corresponding to is acquired from the road traffic information database and distributed to the terminal device, the direction type identification image data corresponding to the road is added and distributed. Features.

  The invention according to claim 8 of the present application is the invention according to claim 7, wherein the direction type identification image data is an icon image or a land indicating each of a plurality of landmarks existing along the traveling direction of each road. It is a mark name, and is image data in which the icon image or landmark name is sequentially arranged along the direction type.

  The invention according to claim 9 of the present application is the invention according to claim 7, wherein the direction type identification image data is an icon indicating each of a plurality of service areas and parking areas existing along the traveling direction of each road. An image or name, which is image data in which the icon image or name is sequentially arranged along the direction type.

The invention according to claim 10 of the present application is
A road having two direction types is provided with a road traffic information database storing road traffic information according to the direction type for each road, and road traffic information related to the road designated by the terminal device is acquired from the road traffic information database. In the terminal device connected via a network to a server that delivers to the terminal device,
The terminal device includes an operation input means for designating a desired road, display means for displaying road traffic information, and road traffic information editing means for editing road traffic information to be displayed on the display means for each direction type of road. And display control means for controlling the display of the road traffic information,
Road traffic information corresponding to two direction types corresponding to the road specified by the operation input means is acquired from the road traffic information database, and based on the road traffic information, the road traffic information editing means The road traffic information to be displayed on the display means is edited for each type, and the display control means displays road traffic information corresponding to one of the direction types on the display means and an image indicating the direction type being displayed. And a direction type selection image for switching selection of the direction type is displayed on the display means.

  The invention according to claim 11 of the present application is the invention according to claim 10, wherein the image indicating the type of direction being displayed and the direction type selection image are displayed on a tag, and the display control means includes the tag. The road traffic information is displayed in a frame, and the frame to be displayed is switched by operating the tag.

  The invention according to claim 12 of the present application is the invention according to claim 10 or 11, wherein the terminal device includes direction type identification image data for identifying a direction type for each road, and the road traffic When editing the road traffic information to be displayed on the display means for each road direction type, the information editing means adds direction type identification image data corresponding to the direction type, and the display control means is a direction type identification image. The road traffic information to which is added is displayed on the display means.

  The invention according to claim 13 of the present application is the invention according to claim 12, wherein the direction type identification image data is an icon image or a land indicating each of a plurality of landmarks existing along the traveling direction of each road. It is a mark name, and is image data in which the icon image or landmark name is sequentially arranged along the direction type.

  The invention according to claim 14 of the present application is the invention according to claim 12, wherein the direction type identification image data is an icon indicating each of a plurality of service areas and parking areas existing along the traveling direction of each road. An image or name, which is image data in which the icon image or name is sequentially arranged along the direction type.

The invention according to claim 15 of the present application is
An operation input means for designating a desired road, a display means for displaying road traffic information, and a road traffic information database storing road traffic information, the road traffic information database for road traffic information relating to the designated road. In the road traffic information display method in the road traffic information display system that is obtained from and displayed on the display means,
The road traffic information database accumulates road traffic information corresponding to the direction type for each road in a road having two direction types, and the road traffic information display system stores the display means for each direction type of the road. Road traffic information editing means for editing road traffic information to be displayed; and display control means for controlling display of the road traffic information.
Acquiring from the road traffic information database road traffic information corresponding to two direction types corresponding to the road specified by the operation input means, and based on the road traffic information, the road traffic information editing means Editing the road traffic information to be displayed on the display means for each direction type, and the display control means displays the road traffic information corresponding to one of the direction types on the display means, and the direction being displayed. And a step of displaying on the display means an image showing the type and a direction type selection image for selecting and switching the direction type.

  In the invention according to claim 1, the road traffic information database accumulates road traffic information corresponding to the direction type for each road in a road having two direction types, and the road traffic information display system Corresponding to the road specified by the operation input means, comprising road traffic information editing means for editing road traffic information to be displayed on the display means for each type, and display control means for controlling the display of the road traffic information Road traffic information corresponding to the two direction types is acquired from the road traffic information database, and based on the road traffic information, the road traffic information editing means displays the road traffic information to be displayed on the display means for each road direction type. The display control means edits and displays the road traffic information corresponding to one of the direction types on the display means, and displays the direction type being displayed and the direction type switching. A direction type selection image for selecting, and displays on the display means.

According to such a configuration, the user of the terminal device can receive the road traffic information for each direction type only by specifying the road, and easily display the road traffic information corresponding to the desired direction type. Will be able to.
The road traffic information displayed on the display means is a direction type selection image for selecting one of the direction types (upline or downline), the direction type, and the other road direction type. When the user notices that the device is different from the direction type of traveling, the user can easily switch to and display the road traffic information of the other direction type.

  Further, in the invention according to claim 2, in the invention according to claim 1, the image indicating the type of direction being displayed and the direction type selection image are displayed on the tag, and the display control means is provided in the frame having the tag. The road traffic information is displayed, and the frame to be displayed is switched by the operation of the tag.

  According to such a configuration, the road traffic information displayed on the display means is one of the direction types (upline or downline), the direction type selection for selecting the direction type and the other road direction type. Since the image is displayed on the tag, when it is noticed that the terminal device is different from the traveling direction type, it is easy to operate the tag of the other direction type and display it by switching to road traffic information of the desired direction type. Will be able to.

  In the inventions according to claims 3 to 4, since the landmarks, service areas, and parking area names for identifying the direction types of the road traffic information being displayed are displayed together with the road traffic information, the terminal device travels. The direction type of the inside road can be easily identified.

In the inventions according to claims 6 to 9, claims 1 and 3, respectively.
A server constituting the road traffic information display system according to claim 5 can be provided. In the inventions according to claims 10 to 14, the road traffic information display system according to claims 1 to 5, respectively. Can be provided. Moreover, in the invention concerning Claim 15, the road traffic information display method for implement | achieving the road traffic information display system concerning Claim 1 can be provided now.

  Hereinafter, specific examples of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to examples and drawings. However, the embodiment shown below exemplifies a road traffic information display system for embodying the technical idea of the present invention, and is intended to specify the present invention as this road traffic information display system. Instead, the present invention is equally applicable to road traffic information display systems of other embodiments included in the scope of claims.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a road traffic information display system 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, a road traffic information display system 10 includes a terminal device 20 such as a mobile phone connected via a network 12 such as the Internet, a server 30 such as a route search server and a map distribution server, and a POI information distribution server 50. And a road traffic information distribution server 51 and the like.

  The server 30 includes a map database 36 in which vector map data is accumulated and a search network database 35 for route search. The server 30 is optimal for a route search request from the terminal device 20 with reference to the search network database 35. Search for routes and candidate routes and distribute the results along with map data. Further, when there is a map data distribution request by designating the current position of the terminal device 20 or a desired point, the map data 36 is referred to and the corresponding map data is distributed.

  The server 30 receives distribution of the latest road traffic information from the road traffic information distribution server 51 every time the road traffic information distribution server 51 updates the road traffic information. When the latest road traffic information is acquired, the road traffic information is stored in the road traffic information database 39. When the server 30 specifies a road from the terminal device and there is a request for distribution of the corresponding road traffic information, the server 30 reads the corresponding road traffic information from the road traffic information database 39 and distributes it.

  When there is a route search request by setting route search conditions such as a departure point and a destination from the terminal device 20, the server 30 refers to the search network database and finds an optimum route from the departure point to the destination or a plurality of candidates. The route is searched, and the guidance route data and guidance data are distributed to the terminal device 20. The guidance route data is distributed to the terminal device together with the map data, and the terminal device 20 displays a map and a guidance route, and can receive guidance on the traveling direction at a guidance point such as an intersection.

  Further, when there is a search request for a desired location of interest (POI) from the terminal device 20, the server 30 mediates the search request to the POI information distribution server 50, and the search result is received from the POI information distribution server 50. When received, the search result is distributed to the terminal device 20. Here, the POI is, for example, a hotel, restaurant, gas station, supermarket or public facility, and the terminal device 20 acquires POI information by specifying the name, telephone number, category, keyword, etc. of the POI. be able to. The terminal device 20 that has acquired the POI position information and the like can also request the POI location map from the server 30.

  The road traffic information display system 10 according to the present invention is not limited to the above configuration, and the server 30 may be a road traffic information distribution server that does not have a navigation service function or a POI search function, and a terminal device. 20 is not limited to a mobile phone, and may be a mobile device such as a PDA or a music player.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the server 30 in the road traffic information display system of FIG. In order to respond to various requests from the terminal device 20, the server 30 includes a map database 36 and a search network database 35 for route search. The map data stored in the map database 36 is vector map data. Such map data in vector format requires a small amount of data for communication, and can add data for drawing (displaying) an object image such as an icon on the map image displayed on the display means. Therefore, it is most suitable for a communication type road traffic information display system as in the present invention.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 4, the map data is divided into map areas in units of predetermined latitude and longitude, is composed of mesh unit map data M11 to M33, and is distributed to the terminal device 20, The sum of unit map data M21, M23, M12, M32, M11, M13, M31, and M33 adjacent to the unit map data M22 including the current position PP of the terminal device 20 in the vertical direction, the horizontal direction, and the diagonal direction. Nine unit maps are distributed. When the terminal device 20 moves and the map data is insufficient, the moving direction of the terminal device 20 is determined, and the server 30 delivers the insufficient unit map data. The same applies to the case where the terminal device 20 requests distribution of map data by designating a specific point or POI position.

  The search network database 35 for route search stores road network data 351 that is used when moving by walking or by car, and traffic network data 352 that is used when moving together with walking and transportation. The configuration of the road network data 351 and the traffic network data 352 is the same as that used in a normal navigation system.

  The server 30 also includes a control means 31, distribution data editing means 32, route search means 33, communication means 34, road traffic information acquisition means 37, road search means 38, and road traffic information database 39. The road traffic information database 39 stores road name data 391 and road traffic information data 392 for each road. Further, in the road traffic information data 392, when the road has a direction type such as an up and down line, the respective road traffic information is accumulated according to the direction type.

  The road traffic information distribution server 51 measures the speed and traffic volume of a vehicle traveling on a road link with cameras installed at various locations on each road, detects a traffic jam every 5 minutes (hereinafter referred to as a traffic jam link), and Update the degree of congestion and distribute it to each organization as road traffic information. In addition, information on road traffic accidents and construction is regularly updated and distributed to each organization along with information on the degree of traffic congestion. The road traffic information acquisition means 37 acquires the updated road traffic information from the road traffic information distribution server 51 and updates the information in the road traffic information database 39 to the latest data.

  When a search request such as a road name is received from the terminal device 20, the road search means 38 searches the road name corresponding to the road traffic information database 39. Further, the server 30 refers to the road traffic information database 39 and reads road traffic information related to the road.

  In the server 30, the control means 31 is a microprocessor having a RAM, a ROM, and a processor (not shown), and controls the operation of each unit by a control program stored in the ROM. The communication means 34 is an interface for communicating with the terminal device 20, the POI information distribution server 50 that provides various POI information, and the road traffic information distribution server 51 via the network 12.

  The distribution data editing means 32 is for editing the result of route search or POI search or map data into data for distribution to the terminal device 20. The server 30 can collect POI information from various POI information distribution servers 50 via the network 12 and update or expand the map data stored in the map database 36.

  The route search means 33 is a multimodal route search engine, and has a route search function using both walking and transportation. Such a route search engine is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-258184. A known so-called Dijkstra method is applied as a route search method, and route search conditions, map requests, POI search conditions, and the like are transmitted from the terminal device 20.

  The search network database 35 stores road network data for searching for a travel route by foot or car and traffic network data for searching for a travel route using public transportation. The route searching means 33 refers to the search network database 35 and searches for a route by walking or a car or a route using both walking and transportation.

  The road network data is structured as follows. For example, when the road is composed of roads A, B, and C as shown in FIG. 5, the end points, intersections, and bending points of the roads A, B, and C are used as nodes, and the roads connecting the nodes are directed links. Link cost data with node data (node latitude / longitude), link data (link number) and link cost of each link (link distance or time required to travel the link) as data Composed.

  That is, in FIG. 5, Nn (◯ mark) and Nm (◎ mark) indicate nodes, and Nm (◎ mark) indicates a road intersection. Directional links connecting the nodes are indicated by arrow lines (solid line, dotted line, two-dot chain line). As for the links, there are links facing in the upward and downward directions of the road, but in FIG. 5, only the links in the direction of the arrows are shown for the sake of simplicity.

  When route search is performed using such road network data as a route search database, links linked from the starting node to the destination node are traced to accumulate the link cost, thereby minimizing the accumulated link cost. Search and guide the route. That is, in FIG. 5, when a route search is performed with the departure point as the node AX and the destination as the node CY, the road travels from the node AX to the road A, turns right at the second intersection, enters the road C, and reaches the node CY. The link cost is accumulated sequentially, and a route that minimizes the accumulated link cost is searched for and guided.

  Although other routes from the node AX to the node CY are not shown in FIG. 5, there are actually other such routes, so a plurality of routes that can be reached from the node AX to the node CY are displayed. A search is performed in the same manner, and a route with the lowest link cost is determined as the optimum route. This method is performed by, for example, a known method called the Dijkstra method.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the terminal device 20 includes a control means 21, a GPS processing means 22, a processing request means 23, an operation input means 24, a display means 25, a display control means 26, a road specifying means 27, a road traffic information editing means. 28 etc. are comprised. In addition, direction type identification image data 29 for easily identifying the direction type of the road is provided. Although not shown, the control unit 21 is a microprocessor having a RAM, a ROM, and a processor, and controls the operation of each unit by a control program stored in the ROM.

  The operation input means 24 is for operation / input consisting of numeric keys, alphabet keys, cursor operation keys, other function keys, selection keys, scroll keys, etc., and can be selected from a menu screen displayed on the display means 25. The menu is selected or various input operations are performed by operating keys. Therefore, the display unit 25 also functions as a part of the operation input unit 24. Further, the operation input means 24 is provided with operation means such as a cursor.

  The GPS processing means 22 includes a GPS receiver, receives signals from a plurality of GPS satellites, and measures the position of the terminal device 20 using latitude and longitude. The processing request unit 23 is for transmitting a map request, a route search request, a POI search request, and the like to the server 30. The route request condition (departure point, destination, moving unit, etc.) input by the operation input unit 24 is used. ), A POI search condition or a map distribution request is transmitted to the server 30.

  The display means 25 is composed of a liquid crystal display unit or the like, and displays the road traffic information received from the server 30 when the server 30 specifies a desired road and requests road traffic information of the road. Further, when map data is requested from the server 30 by specifying a desired point or POI, the map image of the corresponding area received from the server 30 is displayed. On the map image, the current position measured by the GPS processing means 22 is drawn as a current position mark, and when a route search is requested, the guide route distributed from the server 30 is drawn on the map image.

  In the road traffic information display system 10 of the present invention, when the terminal device 20 specifies a desired road using a road name or the like and requests distribution or display of road traffic information, the road is an up line or down line. If there is a direction type such as, the corresponding road traffic information is distributed and displayed in the following procedure.

  First, the server 30 reads the road traffic information related to the road designated by the terminal device 20 with reference to the road traffic information database 39 and distributes it to the terminal device 20. At this time, if there is a direction type on the corresponding road, the road traffic information corresponding to both (upline and downline) direction types is read out and distributed to the terminal device 20 regardless of the direction type. To do.

  When the terminal device 20 receives the road traffic information of the up and down lines, the road traffic information editing means 28 edits the road traffic information for each direction type, and the road is set to one of the direction types selected by the terminal device 20. Only the traffic information is displayed on the display means 25. When the road control information edited by the road traffic information editing unit 28 is displayed on the display unit 25, the display control unit 26 displays the direction type of the road traffic information being displayed so that it can be recognized, and the terminal device 20 is used. A direction type selection image for the user to select the direction type of the other road is added and displayed.

If the road traffic information is displayed in such a procedure, the user of the terminal device 20 can receive the road traffic information for each direction type only by specifying the road, and easily set the desired direction type. The corresponding road traffic information can be displayed.
Further, since the road traffic information displayed on the display means 25 is a direction type selection image for selecting one of the direction types (upline or downline), the direction type, and the other road direction type, When it is noticed that the terminal device 20 is different from the traveling direction type, it is possible to easily switch to and display the road traffic information of the other direction type.

  FIG. 6 is a front view showing an appearance of the terminal device 20 using a mobile phone. The terminal device 20 (mobile phone) includes a display unit 25 including a liquid crystal display unit and an operation input unit 24 including keys and buttons. A menu screen, a map image, and the like are displayed on the display screen 251. As shown in FIG. 6, the scroll key 241 provided in the operation input means 24 is composed of up / down / left / right keys. When the scroll key 241 is operated, an image of a cursor (scroll cursor) is displayed on the display screen 251 and up / down / left / right. You can move the cursor to. By moving the cursor to an arbitrary position and operating the selection button 242, the image at the position where the cursor is superimposed can be selected.

  The initial position of the cursor is the center of the display screen 251, and a straight line connecting the initial position to the cursor movement position is displayed. When the cursor moves and reaches the end of the display screen 251, the map image is scrolled so that the cursor position at that time becomes the center of the display screen 251. Since the cursor position and the initial position are connected by a straight line, the cursor can be easily returned to the initial position by moving the cursor so as to return to the straight line. Further, the input operation and the like so far can be cleared by operating the clear key 243.

  In general, when a map image is first displayed on the display screen, the current position of the terminal device 20 or the position of the POI of interest is displayed at the center of the map image. Therefore, the initial position of the cursor matches the current position and the point of interest, and even if you move the cursor and scroll the map, you can easily return the cursor along a straight line and return to the initial map image. Convenience is improved. As such a scroll and cursor control technique, for example, a technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-208095 can be applied.

  When a road is specified by a road name or the like and the road traffic information is displayed, the road specifying means 27 in the terminal device 20 displays the road search screen shown in FIG. Is identified. A road search screen 71 shown in FIG. 7 is a search screen for searching for a highway, a display area 72 for searching from the name of the highway, a display area 73 for searching from a city name and an area name, a comment display area 74, a top menu It is comprised from the selection display area | region 75 for returning to. The road search function does not necessarily have to be provided in the terminal device 20, and may be configured to search from the road name search screen displayed by the road search means 38 through the browser screen of the server 30.

  When searching from a highway road name, the highway name is input in the name input field 721 and the search button 722 is operated. When a pull-down menu in the name input field 721 is operated, a recently searched road name is displayed and can be selected and input from the displayed road names. When searching by designating a city expressway or an area, one of the city expressways and areas displayed in the display area 73 is selected. When a city expressway or area is selected, a list of expressway names in the corresponding city expressway or area can be displayed, and a desired road name can be selected from the list.

  In the name input field 721, a part of the road name can be input to search for the road. When entered in hiragana, it is automatically converted and searched for kana-kanji. In the search, the input character string is searched with a front match, a back match, and a partial match. As a result of the search, a list is displayed on a candidate road name display screen (not shown) including the input character string, and a desired road name is selected from the list and searched. If there is no road name that includes the entered character string, “The applicable road cannot be found. Check that there are no typos or omissions in the input characters, and enter them again. You can also search hiragana. Etc. "message screen (not shown) is displayed.

  When the terminal device 20 searches for a road name using the road search screen shown in FIG. 7 and a desired road name is specified, the processing request unit 23 sends a distribution request for road traffic information to the server 30 together with the road name. Transmit (see FIG. 3). When the server 30 receives the road traffic information distribution request from the terminal device 20, the server 30 refers to the road name data 391 and reads the road traffic information on the corresponding road.

  At this time, when the identified road has two direction types such as an up line and a down line, the terminal device reads out the road traffic information corresponding to the two corresponding direction types from the road traffic information data 392. Deliver to 20. Even when the road name and the direction type of the road are specified in the road traffic information distribution request from the terminal device 20, the server 30 also distributes the road traffic information of other direction types to the terminal device 20. .

  When the terminal device 20 receives the road traffic information for each desired road direction type from the server 30, the road traffic information editing unit 28 causes the road traffic information editing unit 28 to advance the road traveling direction or the road direction in advance for each road direction type (for example, for each vertical line). Arrange and edit information according to the specified sort order. The display control means 26 displays the road traffic information edited for each vertical line in a frame with a tag, and either one for each vertical line is displayed and the other is not displayed. The road traffic information to be displayed is switched and displayed. The tag displays the direction type being displayed (up or down) and the direction type (down or up) for selecting the other direction type. The tag being displayed may be displayed in a different color from the other tag.

  FIGS. 8 and 9 are diagrams showing an example of the road traffic information display screen displayed on the display means 25 in this way. FIG. 8 shows an example of road traffic information related to a down line. FIG. The example which displayed the road traffic information regarding a line is shown.

  As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, road names 81 and tags 82 and 83 are displayed on this display screen, and different frames 803 (see FIG. 8) and 802 (see FIG. 9) tags corresponding to the tags 83 and 82, respectively. Road traffic information 84 is displayed. In the road traffic information, information on points where the information exists is displayed in the sort order together with the time when the road traffic information is updated (for example, 14:35 in the example of FIG. 8). If the display does not fit within the screen, desired information can be referenced by operating the scroll keys.

  The sort order may be the order of the points according to the traveling direction type (the order of latitude and longitude), or the user of the terminal device 20 specifies in advance such as the order of the degree of traffic congestion or the order of whether or not there is speed regulation. The order of the sorted codes may be used.

  The road traffic information shown in FIG. 8 displays the status of traffic jams, accidents, and speed regulation due to weather. When the user of the terminal device 20 wants to refer to the map, the map image including the corresponding point can be displayed on the display means 25 by clicking the text “Map”. In addition, a comment display area 85 is provided on the display screen, and comments to be added to road traffic information displayed on the screen, symbols used for display, legends such as colors, operation guidance, and the like are displayed. Further, a selection item 86 for returning to the top menu of the navigation (NAVI) function is displayed, and after referring to the road traffic information, it is possible to return to the top menu and make another processing request to the server.

  In addition, the icon image 87 can be displayed in FIGS. This icon image is, for example, an icon image indicating a landmark present along the road, or an icon image indicating each of the service area and the parking area. By sequentially displaying the icon image according to the direction type of the road, the display means 25 is displayed. It is possible to intuitively recognize which direction type the road traffic information displayed on is without identifying a tag. If such a display is performed, even if the display order of the road traffic information is not the order of the points according to the direction type, it becomes easy to recognize the traveling direction of itself.

  In addition, the effect similar to the display of an icon image can be acquired also by displaying the name of the landmark which exists along a road, and the name of each of a service area and a parking area easily, without using an icon image. . For this purpose, the terminal device 20 includes direction type identification image data 29. The direction type identification image data 29 may be downloaded once from the server 30 and stored.

  If the direction identification image data 29 is not stored in the terminal device 20, when the road traffic information is distributed from the server 30, the corresponding direction type identification image data 29 is added and received every time. It can also be configured.

  Further, when the designated road does not have a direction type such as one-way, the road is displayed in a general display format having no tag (in a simple display frame having no tags 82 and 83 in FIGS. 8 and 9). Display traffic information.

  FIG. 10 is a screen configuration diagram showing an example of a map image display screen when map display is selected on the road traffic information display screen shown in FIG. 8, FIG. 10A is a map display screen, and FIG. 10B is FIG. 10A. It is a figure which shows the state which called and displayed the menu screen on the map image display screen of.

  That is, when “map” reference is selected on the road traffic information display screen (see FIGS. 8 and 9), a map image including the current position of the terminal device 20 is displayed as shown in FIG. The position is displayed as the current position mark. When the terminal device 20 receives route guidance from the server 30 by the navigation function, the guidance route is displayed in a different color.

  When the menu input operation is performed by the operation input means 24, the screen transitions to the screen of FIG. 10B, and the selection items “(1) change the scale of the map” and “(2) close the map” are displayed. The scale of the map can be changed and the display of the map image can be terminated.

  As described above in detail, according to the present invention, it is possible to receive road traffic information for each direction type only by specifying a road, and easily display road traffic information corresponding to a desired direction type. Will be able to. Further, when it is noticed that road traffic information of a direction type different from the direction type in which the terminal device is traveling is displayed, it is possible to easily switch to and display the road traffic information of the other direction type.

  In the above embodiment, the server 30 acquires the latest road traffic information from the road traffic information distribution server 51 and updates the information accumulated in the road traffic information database. The configuration may be such that when a road traffic information distribution request is received from the user, the road traffic information distribution server 51 is accessed to obtain necessary road traffic information. In addition to the function of distributing road traffic information to the terminal device, the server 30 may be provided with a map distribution function, a navigation function, a POI search function, and the like as described in the above embodiment.

  Since the road traffic information display system according to the present invention handles traffic jam information, it can be effectively applied particularly to a communication type system.

1 is a system configuration diagram showing a configuration of a communication type road traffic information display system according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the server in the communication type road traffic information display system shown in FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the terminal device in the communication type road traffic information display system shown in FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the structure of the unit map (area) in general map data. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the concept of the route search using the network data for search. It is a front view which shows the external appearance of a terminal device at the time of setting a mobile telephone as a terminal device. It is a figure which shows an example of the screen structure of the road search screen for pinpointing a road when displaying road traffic information. It is a screen block diagram which shows an example of the display screen of the road traffic information displayed on the display means, and is a figure which shows the example which displayed the road traffic information regarding a down line. It is a screen block diagram which shows an example of the display screen of the road traffic information displayed on the display means, and FIG. 9 has shown the example which displayed the road traffic information regarding an up line. FIG. 10A is a screen configuration diagram showing an example of a map image display screen when map display is selected, FIG. 10A shows a map display screen, and FIG. 10B shows a state in which a menu screen is called and displayed on the map image display screen of FIG. FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Road traffic information display system 12 ... Network 20 ... Terminal device 21 ... Control means 22 ... GPS processing means 23 ... Processing request means 24 ... · Operation input means 25 ··· Display means 26 ··· Display control means 27 ··· Road identification means 28 ··· Road traffic information editing means 29 ··· Direction type identification image data 30 ··· ··· Server 31 ··· Control means 32 ··· Distribution data editing means 33 ··· Route search means 34 ··· Communication means 35 ··· Network database for search 351 ··· Road network data 352 ... traffic network data 36 ... map database 37 ... road traffic information acquisition means 38 ... road search means 39 ... road traffic information database 391 ... road It referred data 392 ... road traffic information data

Claims (15)

An operation input means for designating a desired road, a display means for displaying road traffic information, and a road traffic information database storing road traffic information, the road traffic information database for road traffic information relating to the designated road. In the road traffic information display system that is obtained from and displayed on the display means,
The road traffic information database accumulates road traffic information corresponding to the direction type for each road in a road having two direction types, and the road traffic information display system stores the display means for each direction type of the road. Road traffic information editing means for editing road traffic information to be displayed; and display control means for controlling display of the road traffic information.
Road traffic information corresponding to two direction types corresponding to the road specified by the operation input means is acquired from the road traffic information database, and based on the road traffic information, the road traffic information editing means The road traffic information to be displayed on the display means is edited for each type, and the display control means displays road traffic information corresponding to one of the direction types on the display means and an image indicating the direction type being displayed. And a direction type selection image for switching selection of the direction type is displayed on the display means.   The image indicating the direction type being displayed and the direction type selection image are displayed on a tag, and the display control means displays the road traffic information in a frame having the tag and displays a frame to be displayed by operating the tag. The road traffic information display system according to claim 1, wherein the road traffic information display system is configured to be switched.   The road traffic information display system includes direction type identification image data for identifying a direction type for each road, and the road traffic information editing means displays road traffic information to be displayed on the display means for each road direction type. The direction classification identification image data corresponding to the direction classification is added when editing, and the display control means displays road traffic information to which the direction classification identification image is added on the display means. The road traffic information display system according to claim 1 or 2.   The direction type identification image data is an icon image or landmark name indicating each of a plurality of landmarks existing along the traveling direction of each road, and the icon image or landmark name is sequentially arranged along the direction type. 4. The road traffic information display system according to claim 3, wherein the road traffic information display system is image data.   The direction type identification image data is an icon image or name indicating each of a plurality of service areas and parking areas that exist along the traveling direction of each road, and the icon images or names are sequentially arranged along the direction type. 4. The road traffic information display system according to claim 3, wherein the road traffic information display system is image data. An operation input means for designating a desired road and a display means for displaying road traffic information are connected via a network to a terminal device provided with a road traffic information database for accumulating road traffic information. In a server that obtains road traffic information about a road from the road traffic information database and distributes it to the terminal device,
The road traffic information database accumulates road traffic information corresponding to the direction type for each road in a road having two direction types,
The terminal device includes road traffic information editing means for editing road traffic information to be displayed on the display means for each road direction type, and display control means for controlling display of the road traffic information, and the road The traffic information editing means edits road traffic information to be displayed on the display means for each road direction type, and the display control means displays the road traffic information corresponding to one of the direction types on the display means, An image indicating a direction type being displayed and a direction type selection image for switching selection of the direction type are displayed on the display unit.
The server acquires road traffic information corresponding to two direction types corresponding to a road specified by the terminal device from the road traffic information database, and distributes the traffic information to the terminal device.   The server includes direction type identification image data for identifying a direction type for each road, and road traffic information corresponding to two direction types corresponding to the road specified by the terminal device is obtained from the road traffic information database. The server according to claim 6, wherein when acquiring and distributing to the terminal device, the direction type identification image data corresponding to the road is added and distributed.   The direction type identification image data is an icon image or landmark name indicating each of a plurality of landmarks existing along the traveling direction of each road, and the icon image or landmark name is sequentially arranged along the direction type. 8. The server according to claim 7, wherein the server is image data.   The direction type identification image data is an icon image or name indicating each of a plurality of service areas and parking areas that exist along the traveling direction of each road, and the icon images or names are sequentially arranged along the direction type. The server according to claim 7, wherein the server is image data. A road having two direction types is provided with a road traffic information database storing road traffic information according to the direction type for each road, and road traffic information related to the road designated by the terminal device is acquired from the road traffic information database. In the terminal device connected via a network to a server that delivers to the terminal device,
The terminal device includes an operation input means for designating a desired road, display means for displaying road traffic information, and road traffic information editing means for editing road traffic information to be displayed on the display means for each direction type of road. And display control means for controlling the display of the road traffic information,
Road traffic information corresponding to two direction types corresponding to the road specified by the operation input means is acquired from the road traffic information database, and based on the road traffic information, the road traffic information editing means The road traffic information to be displayed on the display means is edited for each type, and the display control means displays road traffic information corresponding to one of the direction types on the display means and an image indicating the direction type being displayed. And a direction type selection image for switching selection of the direction type is displayed on the display means.   The image indicating the direction type being displayed and the direction type selection image are displayed on a tag, and the display control means displays the road traffic information in a frame having the tag and displays a frame to be displayed by operating the tag. The terminal device according to claim 10, wherein the terminal device is configured to be switched.   The terminal device includes direction type identification image data for identifying a direction type for each road, and the road traffic information editing means edits road traffic information to be displayed on the display means for each road direction type. 11. The direction classification identification image data corresponding to the direction classification is added, and the display control means displays the road traffic information to which the direction classification identification image is added on the display means. Item 12. The terminal device according to Item 11.   The direction type identification image data is an icon image or landmark name indicating each of a plurality of landmarks existing along the traveling direction of each road, and the icon image or landmark name is sequentially arranged along the direction type. The terminal device according to claim 12, wherein the terminal device is image data.   The direction type identification image data is an icon image or name indicating each of a plurality of service areas and parking areas that exist along the traveling direction of each road, and the icon images or names are sequentially arranged along the direction type. The terminal device according to claim 12, wherein the terminal device is image data. An operation input means for designating a desired road, a display means for displaying road traffic information, and a road traffic information database storing road traffic information, the road traffic information database for road traffic information relating to the designated road. In the road traffic information display method in the road traffic information display system that is obtained from and displayed on the display means,
The road traffic information database accumulates road traffic information corresponding to the direction type for each road in a road having two direction types, and the road traffic information display system stores the display means for each direction type of the road. Road traffic information editing means for editing road traffic information to be displayed; and display control means for controlling display of the road traffic information.
Acquiring from the road traffic information database road traffic information corresponding to two direction types corresponding to the road specified by the operation input means, and based on the road traffic information, the road traffic information editing means Editing the road traffic information to be displayed on the display means for each direction type, and the display control means displays the road traffic information according to any one of the direction types on the display means, and the direction being displayed. A road traffic information display method comprising: displaying on the display means an image indicating a type and a direction type selection image for selecting a direction type to be switched.

Images