JP2014089551A - Information communication system, in-vehicle device, server, information processing method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve the problem that a lighting color of a signal apparatus is not effectively utilized, even when the lighting color is acquired.SOLUTION: A first in-vehicle device 1 acquires a signal apparatus identifier for identifying a signal apparatus and a lighting color of the signal apparatus to transmit them to a server 2. The server 2 receives the signal apparatus identifier and the lighting color transmitted from the first in-vehicle device 1 to accumulate them in a storage unit. Also, the server 2 transmits signal apparatus information which includes the signal apparatus identifier and the lighting color of the signal apparatus identified by the signal apparatus identifier, to a second in-vehicle device 3. The second in-vehicle device 3 receives the signal apparatus information transmitted from the server 2 to perform an output associated with the signal apparatus information. Therefore, the lighting color of the signal apparatus acquired by the first in-vehicle device 1 is utilized by the second in-vehicle device 3.

Description

  The present invention relates to an information communication system and the like for transmitting and receiving traffic signal information, which is information related to traffic signals.

  Conventionally, it has been performed to detect the position and lighting color of a traffic light from a captured image of the traffic light (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2012-173879 A

  As in the conventional example, the lighting color of the traffic light can be acquired. There has been a request to use the acquired lighting color information effectively.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide an information communication system and the like that can effectively use the lighting color of a traffic light.

In order to achieve the above object, an information communication system according to the present invention is an information communication system including a server and first and second in-vehicle devices capable of communicating with the server, wherein the first in-vehicle device is a traffic light. A map information storage unit that stores map information that is information relating to a map including the location of the current location, a current location acquisition unit that acquires the current location, and the current location acquired by the current location acquisition unit using the map information A traffic signal identifier acquisition unit for acquiring a traffic signal identifier for identifying a traffic signal, a lighting color acquisition unit for acquiring a lighting color of the traffic signal, a traffic signal identifier acquired by the traffic signal identifier acquisition unit, and a lighting color of the traffic signal identified by the traffic signal identifier An in-vehicle transmission unit for transmitting to the server, the server receiving a signal identifier and a lighting color transmitted from the first in-vehicle device, and a signal received by the server reception unit. The traffic signal information including the traffic signal identifier and the lighting color of the traffic signal identified by the traffic signal identifier is stored using the storage unit that stores the traffic signal identifier and the lighting color in association with each other, and the traffic signal identifier and the lighting color stored in the storage unit. The second vehicle-mounted device receives the traffic signal information transmitted from the server, and outputs the signal information received by the vehicle-mounted receiver. And a section.
With such a configuration, the second in-vehicle device can receive the lighting color acquired by the first in-vehicle device, and uses the lighting color in the vehicle in which the second in-vehicle device is installed. be able to. As a result, the user of the second in-vehicle device can know the lighting color of the traffic light in front of the vehicle, for example.

In the information communication system according to the present invention, the storage unit stores the traffic light identifier, the lighting color, and the time corresponding to the lighting color in association with each other, and the server uses the lighting color and time stored by the storage unit, A lighting color prediction unit for predicting a future lighting color is further provided, and the server transmission unit transmits traffic signal information including a traffic signal identifier and a future lighting color of the traffic signal identified by the traffic signal identifier to the second in-vehicle device. May be.
With such a configuration, the predicted future lighting color can also be used. As a result, for example, it is possible to output a warning that the red signal is almost reached.

In the information communication system according to the present invention, the lighting color acquisition unit includes a progress determination unit that determines whether the vehicle in which the first in-vehicle device is installed is traveling, and the current position acquired by the current position acquisition unit. A traffic light judging means for judging whether or not the vehicle is in the area corresponding to the traffic light, and a travel judgment means that the vehicle is moving when it is judged by the traffic light judging means that the current position is in the area corresponding to the traffic light. Acquisition means for acquiring a lighting color according to the progress when it is determined, and acquiring a lighting color according to the stop when the progress determination means determines that the vehicle is stopped. Good.
With such a configuration, the lighting color of the traffic light can be acquired according to the progress of the vehicle.

In the information communication system according to the present invention, the lighting color acquisition unit includes an image acquisition unit that acquires an image of the traffic light, and an acquisition unit that acquires the lighting color of the traffic signal using the image of the traffic signal acquired by the image acquisition unit. , May be provided.
With such a configuration, since an image of a traffic light is used, an accurate lighting color can be acquired.

Moreover, in the information communication system by this invention, an output part may perform the output regarding the lighting color contained in traffic signal information.
With such a configuration, the user of the second in-vehicle device can know the lighting color of the traffic light, and can be used for, for example, safe driving.

In the information communication system according to the present invention, the output unit may indicate that the lighting color of the traffic light ahead of the traveling direction of the vehicle in which the second in-vehicle device is installed corresponds to the stop by the traffic signal information. In addition, a control signal for stopping the vehicle may be output.
With such a configuration, for example, even when a red signal is overlooked, the vehicle can be safely stopped.

In the information communication system according to the present invention, the second in-vehicle device includes a second map information storage unit that stores map information that is information related to the map including the position of the traffic signal, and the traffic signal information received by the in-vehicle reception unit. And a route search unit that performs a route search so as to avoid a traffic light with a lighting color corresponding to a stop using the map information stored in the second map information storage unit, and the output unit The output related to the route searched by the route search unit may be performed.
With such a configuration, it is possible to perform a route search in consideration of the lighting color of the traffic light. For example, it is possible to search for a route that can reach the destination in a shorter time.

In the information communication system according to the present invention, the second in-vehicle device includes a second map information storage unit that stores map information that is information related to the map including the position of the traffic light, and a point that receives the departure place and the destination. A route search unit that searches for a route from the departure point to the destination attached by the point reception unit using the map information stored in the reception unit and the second map information storage unit, and the route search unit searches A travel time calculation unit that calculates a travel time according to the route using the traffic signal information according to the traffic signal present on the route, and the output unit outputs an output related to the travel time calculated by the travel time calculation unit. You may go.
With such a configuration, more accurate travel time can be calculated by taking into consideration the lighting color of the traffic light. The output related to the travel time may be, for example, an output of travel time, or may be information generated using the travel time, for example, an output such as a taxi fare.

In the information communication system according to the present invention, the second in-vehicle device includes a distance acquisition unit that acquires a distance according to the route searched by the route search unit, a taxi fare according to the distance acquired by the distance acquisition unit, and A fare acquisition unit that acquires a taxi fare according to the travel time calculated by the travel time calculation unit, and the output unit is a taxi according to the taxi fare according to the distance and travel time acquired by the fare acquisition unit A fee may be output.
With such a configuration, it is possible to calculate both the charge according to the distance and the charge according to the travel time. As a result, a more accurate charge prediction can be performed.

  According to the information communication system and the like according to the present invention, the lighting color of the traffic light obtained in one vehicle can be used in another vehicle. As a result, the lighting color of the traffic light can be used effectively.

The block diagram which shows the structure of the information communication system by Embodiment 1 of this invention. The block diagram which shows the structure of the 1st vehicle-mounted apparatus by the embodiment The block diagram which shows an example of a structure of the lighting color acquisition part by the embodiment The block diagram which shows an example of a structure of the lighting color acquisition part by the embodiment The block diagram which shows the structure of the server by the embodiment The block diagram which shows the structure of the 2nd vehicle-mounted apparatus by the embodiment The flowchart which shows operation | movement of the 1st vehicle-mounted apparatus by the embodiment The flowchart which shows an example of operation | movement of the 1st vehicle-mounted apparatus by the embodiment The flowchart which shows an example of operation | movement of the 1st vehicle-mounted apparatus by the embodiment The flowchart which shows operation | movement of the server by the embodiment The flowchart which shows operation | movement of the 2nd vehicle-mounted apparatus by the embodiment The figure which shows an example of the positional relationship of the 1st vehicle and traffic signal in the embodiment The figure which shows an example of a response | compatibility with the traffic signal identifier etc. in the embodiment The figure which shows an example of the display in the embodiment The figure for demonstrating an example of the route search in the embodiment The figure for demonstrating an example of the route search in the embodiment The block diagram which shows the structure of the 2nd vehicle-mounted apparatus by Embodiment 2 of this invention. The flowchart which shows operation | movement of the 2nd vehicle-mounted apparatus by the embodiment The schematic diagram which shows an example of the external appearance of the computer system in each said embodiment The figure which shows an example of a structure of the computer system in each said embodiment

  Hereinafter, an information communication system according to the present invention will be described using embodiments. In the following embodiments, components and steps denoted by the same reference numerals are the same or equivalent, and repetitive description may be omitted.

(Embodiment 1)
An information communication system according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The information communication system according to the present embodiment transmits the lighting color of the traffic light obtained by the first in-vehicle device to the second in-vehicle device via the server.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an information communication system 100 according to the present embodiment. The information communication system 100 according to the present embodiment includes a first in-vehicle device 1, a server 2, and a second in-vehicle device 3 that are communicably connected via a wired or wireless communication line 500. The communication line 500 is, for example, the Internet, an intranet, a public telephone line network, or the like. The first and second in-vehicle devices 1 and 3 are devices installed in a vehicle, and may be, for example, a navigation device, a PND (Portable Navigation Device), a PDA, a PC, or the like. The vehicle is a moving body that travels on the road, and proceeds or stops according to the lighting color of the traffic light. For example, the vehicle may be an automobile such as a passenger car, a bus, a truck, etc. Etc. In the present embodiment, the case where the first and second vehicle-mounted devices 1 and 3 are car navigation devices will be mainly described. Hereinafter, a vehicle in which the first in-vehicle device 1 is installed may be referred to as a first vehicle, and a vehicle in which the second in-vehicle device 3 is installed may be referred to as a second vehicle. In addition, FIG. 1 shows a case where there is one each of the first and second in-vehicle devices 1 and 3, but this is an example, and the information communication system 100 according to the present embodiment has 2 The first in-vehicle device 1 described above may be provided, or two or more second in-vehicle devices 3 may be provided.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the first in-vehicle device 1 according to the present embodiment. The first in-vehicle device 1 according to the present embodiment includes a map information storage unit 11, a current position acquisition unit 12, a lighting color acquisition unit 13, a traffic light identifier acquisition unit 14, and an in-vehicle transmission unit 15.

  The map information storage unit 11 stores map information that is information about the map. The map includes the position of the traffic light. Therefore, it is assumed that it is possible to know whether there is a traffic light at a certain position, for example, a certain intersection, by this map information. The traffic signal identifier for identifying the traffic signal whose position is included in the map may or may not be included in this map information. The map information may be map image information, for example. This image information may be raster data (bitmap data) or vector data, for example. When the image information is raster data, the map information may include image information corresponding to a plurality of scales. For example, map information may include large-scale image information, medium-scale image information, and small-scale image information for the same region. Moreover, map information shows the map divided | segmented into the tile shape, The map of various area | regions can be displayed now by combining suitably. Here, the “map” may be a topographic map, a topographic map, a geological map, a land use map, a house map, a route map, a road map, a guide map, or the like. When the first in-vehicle device 1 is a car navigation device, the map information may be a road map. Moreover, the map information may be capable of route search. That is, the map information may indicate the position of the road, for example. In addition, the map information may be information that allows the user to know road attributes (for example, speed limit, main road, side road, etc.). For example, this map information may be in the KIWI format used in car navigation. In addition, the “map” may be an aerial photograph or satellite photograph in which the topography, roads, etc. can be grasped, or those in which symbols or characters are entered. In the map information, it is assumed that the correspondence between each point on the map and the coordinates (position) can be known. The coordinates may be coordinates with an origin at a certain reference point (the coordinates may be distances, for example), may be latitude / longitude, or may be information that can identify other positions. . This is the same for other coordinates described later. The coordinates themselves may be included in the map information. In the present embodiment, a case where the coordinates are latitude / longitude will be described. In addition, the map information may include character information related to place names and topography such as mountains and rivers. In the map information, it may be set which is a specific direction such as north. The map information is known as a two-dimensional online map, an electronic map, etc., and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  The process in which map information is memorize | stored in the map information storage part 11 is not ask | required. For example, map information may be stored in the map information storage unit 11 via a recording medium, and map information transmitted via a communication line or the like is stored in the map information storage unit 11. Alternatively, the map information input via the input device may be stored in the map information storage unit 11. The storage in the map information storage unit 11 may be temporary storage in a RAM or the like, or may be long-term storage. The map information storage unit 11 can be realized by a predetermined recording medium (for example, a semiconductor memory, a magnetic disk, an optical disk, etc.).

  The current position acquisition unit 12 acquires the current position of the first in-vehicle device 1. The acquisition of the current position may be performed using, for example, a GPS (Global Positioning System) or an autonomous navigation device such as a gyro, and both may be used to compensate each other's drawbacks. May be. Needless to say, the acquisition method of the current position is not limited to these. For example, the current position may be acquired using a base station nearest to the mobile phone. Further, the current position acquired by the current position acquisition unit 12 may be, for example, coordinates indicating latitude and longitude, or may be other coordinates. Further, the current position acquisition unit 12 may acquire the current position including the direction (direction) of the first in-vehicle device 1. The direction may be indicated by, for example, an azimuth angle measured clockwise with north as 0 degree, or may be indicated by information indicating other directions. When the first vehicle-mounted device 1 is a car navigation device, the direction of the first vehicle-mounted device 1 is, for example, the traveling direction, that is, the direction in front of the vehicle on which the first vehicle-mounted device 1 is installed. There may be. The current position acquisition unit 12 may include an electronic compass or a geomagnetic sensor in order to acquire the orientation of the first in-vehicle device 1. The current position acquired by the current position acquisition unit 12 may be stored on a recording medium (not shown). The current position acquisition unit 12 may have a GPS or the like, a gyro, or the like, or may receive a current position from a GPS or the like or a gyro.

  The lighting color acquisition unit 13 acquires the lighting color of the traffic light. The traffic signal is a traffic signal that instructs the vehicle to proceed or stop. The lighting color of the traffic light includes, for example, a lighting color corresponding to the progress and a lighting color corresponding to the stop. The lighting color may be the lighting color immediately before the lighting color corresponding to the stop is reached. In the present embodiment, the lighting color corresponding to the progress is “blue”, and the lighting color corresponding to the stop is “red”. The lighting color immediately before the lighting color corresponding to the stop may be “yellow”. A method for acquiring the lighting color will be described later. Moreover, the lighting color acquisition part 13 may acquire the time at the time of acquiring a lighting color from the clock part which is not shown in figure. The time may or may not include the date. Further, the time may indicate minutes and seconds, or may indicate hours, minutes and seconds. The same applies to other times described later. Moreover, the lighting color and time which the lighting color acquisition part 13 acquired may be memorize | stored with the recording medium which is not shown in figure.

  The traffic signal identifier acquisition unit 14 acquires a traffic signal identifier for identifying a traffic signal corresponding to the current position acquired by the current position acquisition unit 12 using the map information stored in the map information storage unit 11. The traffic light corresponding to the current position is a traffic light close to the current position, and is a traffic light for which the lighting color acquisition unit 13 acquires the lighting color. The traffic light may be, for example, a traffic light that is closest to the current position among the traffic lights existing ahead of the first vehicle in the traveling direction. The traffic signal identifier may be, for example, a string of characters or numbers assigned to each traffic signal, that is, a symbol string, or a coordinate of a position where the traffic signal exists. The traffic signal identifier may or may not be able to identify the direction. The direction is a direction related to the lighting color indicated by the traffic light, and may be a traveling direction of the vehicle indicating the lighting color, for example. Specifically, the traffic signal identifier of the traffic signal at the intersection where the road in the east-west direction and the road in the north-south direction may be different for each traffic signal for the vehicle traveling in each direction in the east-west, north-south direction. That is, the traffic signal identifier of a traffic signal at a certain intersection may be different for each direction entering the intersection. Here, at a certain intersection, the lighting color of the traffic light in a certain direction and the lighting color of the traffic signal in the reverse direction are usually the same. Therefore, the traffic signal identifiers for identifying these traffic signals may be the same. The traffic signal identifier acquired by the traffic signal identifier acquisition unit 14 is a traffic signal identifier that identifies the traffic signal from which the lighting color acquisition unit 13 acquires the lighting color. As will be described later, the lighting color acquisition unit 13 normally acquires the lighting color of the traffic light in front of the vehicle on which the first in-vehicle device 1 is installed. Therefore, the traffic signal identifier acquisition unit 14 may also acquire the traffic signal identifier of the traffic signal in front of the vehicle in which the first in-vehicle device 1 is installed. Therefore, the traffic signal identifier acquisition unit 14 uses the current position acquired by the current position acquisition unit 12 to specify the position of the vehicle on the map indicated by the map information, and exists 1 ahead of the specified position in the traveling direction. A traffic signal identifier for identifying the traffic signal and identifying the traffic signal may be obtained. Specifically, when the traffic signal identifier is a symbol string and the symbol information is included in the map information, the traffic signal identifier acquisition unit 14 may acquire a traffic signal identifier that is a symbol string corresponding to the specified traffic signal. Good. On the other hand, when the traffic signal identifier is a coordinate, the traffic signal identifier acquisition unit 14 may acquire a coordinate indicating the position of the specified traffic signal. In addition, when the traffic signal identifier of the traffic signal which exists in a certain intersection changes for every advancing direction of a vehicle, the traffic signal identifier acquisition part 14 has the identifier which identifies the intersection, and the identifier which identifies direction and direction. May be obtained. In this embodiment, this case will be mainly described.

  The in-vehicle transmission unit 15 transmits the traffic signal identifier acquired by the traffic signal identifier acquisition unit 14 and the lighting color of the traffic signal identified by the traffic signal identifier to the server 2. The lighting color is acquired by the lighting color acquisition unit 13. Normally, the lighting color acquisition unit 13 acquires the lighting color of the nearest traffic light ahead of the first vehicle, and the traffic light identifier acquisition unit 14 also acquires the traffic light identifier of the nearest traffic light ahead of the first vehicle. Therefore, the lighting color acquisition unit 13 acquires the lighting color of the traffic signal identified by the traffic signal identifier acquired by the traffic signal identifier acquisition unit 14. In addition, in-vehicle transmission part 15 may transmit to server 2 also the time when lighting color acquisition part 13 acquired lighting color in addition to them. The time may be acquired by the lighting color acquisition unit 13 as described above, or may be acquired from a clock unit (not shown) by other components. Moreover, it is suitable for the vehicle-mounted transmitter 15 to transmit to the server 2 the traffic signal identifier to be transmitted, the lighting color of the traffic signal identified thereby, and the time when the lighting color is acquired in association with each other. The transmission in association with the traffic signal identifier or the like may be, for example, transmission of the traffic signal identifier or the like in one packet, transmission of the traffic signal identifier or the like continuously, or traffic signal An identifier or the like may be associated with another identifier and transmitted.

  The in-vehicle transmission unit 15 may directly transmit the traffic signal identifier or the like to the server 2 or may indirectly transmit it via another server or the like. Further, the in-vehicle transmission unit 15 may perform transmission by using the address of the server 2 held by a recording medium (not shown) as a transmission destination, or a server received from another component or another server before transmission. Transmission may be performed with the address of 2 as the transmission destination. Further, the in-vehicle transmission unit 15 may or may not include a transmission device (for example, a modem or a network card) for performing transmission. The in-vehicle transmission unit 15 may be realized by hardware, or may be realized by software such as a driver that drives a transmission device.

  Here, a method of acquiring the lighting color by the lighting color acquisition unit 13 will be described. The lighting color acquisition unit 13 may, for example, (1) acquire a lighting color according to the progress of the vehicle, (2) acquire a lighting color using an image of a traffic light, and (3) a traffic light. The lighting color transmitted from may be acquired. Hereinafter, each of the three lighting color acquisition methods will be described.

(1) When obtaining a lighting color according to the progress of the vehicle FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the lighting color acquisition unit 13 that acquires a lighting color according to the progress of the vehicle. The lighting color acquisition unit 13 includes a progress determination unit 16, a traffic light determination unit 17, and an acquisition unit 18.

  The progress determination means 16 determines whether or not the first vehicle on which the first in-vehicle device 1 is installed is traveling. For example, when the first vehicle is at a speed equal to or higher than the first threshold value, the progress determination means 16 determines that the first vehicle is moving, and the first vehicle has the second threshold. When the speed is equal to or lower than the value, it may be determined that the first vehicle is stopped. Usually, the first threshold value is a value equal to or greater than the second threshold value. Further, the first threshold value and the second threshold value may be the same or different. The second threshold value may be 0. That is, the progress determination means 16 may determine that the first vehicle is stopped only when the first vehicle is completely stopped. The progress determination means 16 may determine, for example, whether or not the first vehicle is advancing using the time change of the current position acquired by the current position acquisition unit 12, and is installed in the first vehicle. It is possible to determine whether the first vehicle is traveling using a speedometer (not shown), or to determine whether the first vehicle is traveling by other methods.

  The traffic light determination means 17 determines whether or not the current position acquired by the current position acquisition unit 12 is in an area corresponding to the traffic signal. The traffic signal determining means 17 normally makes the determination using the map information stored in the map information storage unit 11. The area corresponding to the traffic light is usually an area from the position of the traffic light to a position advanced in a direction opposite to the traveling direction by a predetermined distance from the position. The distance is that when the traffic light is blue, the vehicle is traveling in that area, and when the traffic light is red, the vehicle appears to stop in that area. It is preferable to set to. The distance may be 50 meters or 100 meters, for example. In order to make such a determination, the traffic signal determination means 17 may determine whether there is a traffic signal within a range from the current position to a position advanced by a predetermined distance in the traveling direction, for example. Good. If there is a traffic light within the range, it is determined that the current position is in an area corresponding to the traffic signal. If not, it is determined that the current position is not in an area corresponding to the traffic signal. Good.

  The acquisition means 18 lights up in accordance with the progress when the traffic judgment means 17 judges that the vehicle is moving when it is judged by the traffic light judgment means 17 that the current position is in an area corresponding to the traffic light. The color “blue” is acquired, and when the progress determination unit 16 determines that the vehicle is stopped, the lighting color “red” corresponding to the stop is acquired. If the traffic light determining means 17 determines that the current position does not exist in the area corresponding to the traffic light, or if the progress determining means 16 determines that the vehicle is not moving and has not stopped, The acquisition unit 18 does not acquire the lighting color. Here, the case where the vehicle is not progressing and is not stopped is, for example, a case where the vehicle is slowing down. In that case, it is not possible to determine whether the vehicle is slowing down according to the lighting color corresponding to the stop or whether the vehicle is slowing down due to traffic congestion or the like, and thus the lighting color is not acquired. Thus, the lighting color acquisition part 13 can acquire the lighting color according to whether the 1st vehicle is drive | working.

(2) When a lighting color is acquired using an image of a traffic light FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a lighting color acquisition unit 13 that acquires a lighting color using an image of a traffic light. The lighting color acquisition unit 13 includes an image acquisition unit 19 and an acquisition unit 20.

  The image acquisition means 19 acquires an image of the traffic light. For example, the image acquisition means 19 may be a digital camera that captures a still image or a moving image ahead of the first vehicle in the traveling direction, or may receive an image captured by such a camera. Good. Even if the image is a still image, it is preferable that the image is captured at a time interval that can acquire the lighting color of the traffic light according to the progress of the first vehicle. . The time interval may be 0.5 seconds or 1 second, for example. In addition, the image of the traffic light is usually an image of the traffic signal in the traveling direction of the first vehicle, but may be an image of the traffic signal in a direction intersecting with the traveling direction. The acquired image may be stored in a recording medium (not shown).

  The acquisition means 20 acquires the lighting color of the traffic light using the traffic light image acquired by the image acquisition means 19. The lighting color of the traffic light acquired by the acquisition means 20 is normally the lighting color of the traffic light ahead of the first vehicle in the traveling direction. As a method for acquiring the lighting color, for example, the method disclosed in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1 can be used. For example, the acquisition unit 20 acquires the lighting color by specifying the signal light region in the acquired signal image and specifying the lighting color corresponding to the signal light that is lit in the specified signal light region. Also good. In addition, when specifying a lighting color according to the color of the lighted signal lamp, it is preferable that the image of the traffic light acquired by the image acquisition unit 19 is a color image. On the other hand, when the lighting color is specified according to the position of the lit signal lamp, the image of the traffic light acquired by the image acquisition means 19 may be a color image or a black and white image. Further, when the image acquisition means 19 acquires an image of the traffic light in the direction crossing the traveling direction of the first vehicle, the acquisition means 20 is a traffic light having a lighting color opposite to the lighting color acquired using the image. The lighting color of may be acquired. This is because the lighting color of the traffic light ahead of the first vehicle in the traveling direction can be acquired. The lighting color opposite to a certain lighting color is red when a certain lighting color is blue, blue when a certain lighting color is red, and red when a certain lighting color is yellow. is there.

(3) When the lighting color transmitted from the traffic signal is acquired When the traffic signal has a function of transmitting the lighting color of the traffic signal, the lighting color acquisition unit 13 receives the transmitted lighting color. Can get the lighting color. The lighting color may be transmitted together with a traffic signal identifier for identifying a traffic signal displaying the lighting color. In that case, the lighting color acquisition part 13 may acquire the lighting color transmitted with the traffic signal identifier of a desired traffic signal. The lighting color may be transmitted by a radio beacon, an optical beacon, roadside communication, or the like, or may be transmitted by other communication methods.
In addition, although the case of (1)-(3) which acquires a lighting color was demonstrated here, it cannot be overemphasized that the lighting color acquisition part 13 may acquire a lighting color by the method of other than that.

  FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the server 2 according to the present embodiment. The server 2 according to the present embodiment includes a server reception unit 21, a storage unit 22, a storage unit 23, a lighting color prediction unit 24, and a server transmission unit 25.

  The server reception unit 21 receives the traffic signal identifier and the lighting color transmitted from the first in-vehicle device 1. In addition, when the time is also transmitted from the 1st vehicle-mounted apparatus 1, the server receiving part 21 also receives the time. The server reception unit 21 may receive other information. For example, the server reception unit 21 may receive a transmission request transmitted from the second in-vehicle device 3. The transmission request is information for requesting transmission of traffic signal information that is information regarding the traffic signal. The transmission request may or may not include information identifying the traffic light. The information specifying the traffic signal may be, for example, a traffic signal identifier or information indicating a position or a region. The information indicating the position may be coordinates, for example. The information indicating the area may be, for example, two or more coordinates indicating the outer edge of the area, may be coordinates indicating the center of the area and information indicating the radius, or other information indicating the area. There may be. The transmission request may include information indicating whether or not to transmit the predicted lighting color, or may not. Signal information and lighting color prediction will be described later. The server reception unit 21 may or may not include a wired or wireless reception device (for example, a modem or a network card) for reception. The server reception unit 21 may be realized by hardware, or may be realized by software such as a driver that drives the reception device.

  The storage unit 22 stores the traffic signal identifier and lighting color received by the server reception unit 21 in association with each other in the storage unit 23. The storage unit 22 may store the signal identifier, the lighting color, and the time corresponding to the lighting color in the storage unit 23 in association with each other. The time corresponding to the lighting color may be the time when the server receiving unit 21 receives the time together with the traffic signal identifier or the like, otherwise the time when the traffic signal identifier or the like is received or accumulated. It may be time to be done. In the latter case, the time may be acquired by the server reception unit 21 or the storage unit 22 from a clock unit (not shown). In the present embodiment, the case where the storage unit 22 also stores time is mainly described. Also, storing a plurality of information in association with each other means storing the information so as to be associated with each other. Specifically, the storage unit 22 may store the information in one record or the like, or may store the information in association with a pointer or the like. In addition, the storage unit 22 stores the traffic signal identifier and the lighting color in association with each other in the storage unit 23 as a result of the storage unit 23 storing the information in association with each other. Therefore, as long as it becomes as a result, it does not matter how the storage unit 22 stores the traffic signal identifier or the like. For example, when the traffic signal identifier is stored in the storage unit 23 in advance, the storage unit 22 may store only the lighting color in association with the traffic signal identifier.

  In the storage unit 23, the traffic signal identifiers accumulated by the accumulation unit 22 are stored. Of the traffic signal identifiers stored in the storage unit 23, the old ones may be sequentially deleted. However, when the lighting color prediction unit 24 performs the prediction of the lighting color, the time, the lighting color, or the like used for the prediction may be left. Specifically, in the storage unit 23, only the latest information for about one hour may be left. The storage in the storage unit 23 may be temporary storage in a RAM or the like, or may be long-term storage. The storage unit 23 can be realized by a predetermined recording medium (for example, a semiconductor memory or a magnetic disk).

  The lighting color prediction unit 24 predicts a future lighting color using the lighting color and time stored in the storage unit 23 by the storage unit 22. Usually, since a traffic light changes a lighting color regularly, the lighting color prediction part 24 can perform prediction using the regularity. This prediction method will be described later.

  The server transmission unit 25 uses the traffic signal identifier and the lighting color accumulated by the accumulation unit 22 to transmit the traffic signal information including the traffic signal identifier and the lighting color of the traffic signal identified by the traffic signal identifier to the second in-vehicle device 3. To do. The traffic signal information may or may not include a time corresponding to the lighting color included in the traffic signal information. Further, the lighting color included in the traffic signal information may be the latest lighting color or a predicted future lighting color. Therefore, transmitting the traffic signal information using the accumulated lighting color may be transmitting directly using the lighting color, that is, transmitting the traffic signal information including the lighting color. The lighting color may be transmitted indirectly, that is, the lighting color predicted using the lighting color may be transmitted. When a future lighting color is included in the traffic light information, a time corresponding to the future lighting color or a duration corresponding to the future lighting color may be included in the traffic signal information. The time according to the future lighting color is the future time when the lighting color predicting unit 24 predicts the lighting color at the future time. Further, the duration corresponding to the future lighting color is the time until the future time when the lighting color prediction unit 24 predicts that a certain lighting color will continue to a certain time in the future. Specifically, it may be “20 seconds”, which is the time for which the lighting color “red” continues. Moreover, the server transmission part 25 may transmit the traffic signal information regarding a specific traffic signal, or may transmit the traffic signal information regarding all the traffic signals stored in the storage unit 23. The specific traffic signal may be, for example, a traffic signal identified by information identifying the traffic signal included in the transmission request received by the server reception unit 21. For example, when the information specifying the traffic signal is a traffic signal identifier, the traffic signal identified by the traffic signal identifier may be a specific traffic signal. Further, when the information specifying the traffic signal is information indicating the position or area, the traffic signal existing in the position or area may be a specific traffic signal. In this case, map information similar to the map information stored in the map information storage unit 11 is stored in a storage unit (not shown) of the server 2, and the server transmission unit 25 uses the map information, You may specify the traffic signal which exists in a position or an area | region. The server transmission unit 25 may transmit the traffic signal information to all the second in-vehicle devices 3 registered in advance, or may transmit the signal information to a specific second in-vehicle device 3. In the latter case, the server transmission unit 25 may transmit the traffic signal information of the traffic signal existing in the area to the second in-vehicle device 3 existing in a certain area, and the second in-vehicle apparatus that transmitted the transmission request You may transmit to the apparatus 3 the traffic signal information of the traffic signal specified by the transmission request, or the traffic signal information of all the traffic signals. Moreover, the server transmission part 25 may transmit signal information by the means which can transmit signal information only to the 2nd vehicle-mounted which exists in specific areas, such as a radio wave beacon and an optical beacon. For example, the server transmission part 25 may transmit the traffic signal information of the traffic signal existing ahead of the point at a certain point on the road. Moreover, the server transmission part 25 may transmit corresponding signal information with respect to the transmission apparatus which transmits signal information to the 2nd vehicle which exists in a specific area | region with a radio beacon etc. The traffic signal identifier included in the traffic signal information may be the traffic signal identifier itself stored in the storage unit 23, or may be another identifier linked to the traffic signal identifier. In the latter case, for example, when transmitting traffic signal information in response to a transmission request including a traffic signal identifier, traffic signal information including an identifier associated with the transmission request and a lighting color may be transmitted. The identifier may be, for example, information for identifying communication between the second in-vehicle device 3 and the server 2, such as a session ID. In the present embodiment, the case where the server transmission unit 25 transmits the traffic signal information of the traffic signal identified by the traffic signal identifier included in the transmission request will be mainly described. In the present embodiment, when the transmission request includes a future time, the server transmission unit 25 transmits the traffic signal information including the future lighting color according to the future time. A case where signal information including a lighting color is transmitted will be mainly described.

  In addition, the server transmission part 25 may transmit signal apparatus information directly to the 2nd vehicle-mounted apparatus 3, or may transmit indirectly via another server etc. Further, the server transmission unit 25 may or may not include a transmission device (for example, a modem or a network card) for performing transmission. The server transmission unit 25 may be realized by hardware, or may be realized by software such as a driver that drives the transmission device.

Here, a method for predicting a future lighting color by the lighting color prediction unit 24 will be briefly described. The lighting color prediction unit 24 performs processing as follows using the time and lighting color history of a certain traffic light stored in the storage unit 23.
(Processing 1) Identification of lighting color change time The lighting color prediction unit 24 identifies the lighting color change time using the time of a certain traffic light and the lighting color history. Specifically, when the lighting colors adjacent to each other are different in time and the difference in time corresponding to each of the different lighting colors is within a predetermined period, the change in the lighting color The change time that is the point in time is specified. The shorter the predetermined period, the more accurate the change time, but the change is less likely to be specified. Therefore, it is preferable to set a predetermined period in which the change time can be specified and the change time is accurate to some extent. The predetermined period may be, for example, 3 seconds or 5 seconds. Further, the lighting color predicting unit 24 may specify a change time that is a time corresponding to the lighting color before the change related to the specified change, or a time corresponding to the lighting color after the change related to the specified change. You may specify the change time which is. For example,
Time Lighting color 10:15:20 Blue 10:15:24 When the color is red, the lighting color prediction unit 24 may specify the change time “10:15:20” for the change from blue to red. The change time “10:15:24” may be specified. It is preferable that whether the time before the change is the change time or whether the time after the change is the change time is determined. In addition, the intermediate time between the time before the change and the time after the change, in the case of the above example, “10:15:22” may be set as the change time. In this embodiment, this case will be mainly described. The lighting color prediction unit 24 may specify the change time using all the times stored in the storage unit 23 when specifying the change time for a certain traffic light, or may be the latest predetermined The change time may be specified using the time of the period. In the latter case, for example, the change time may be specified using the latest 1 hour or 30 minute time.

(Process 2) Acquisition of period candidates for each lighting color The lighting color prediction unit 24 uses the change time specified in Process 1 to respond to the change time between a certain change time and the next change time. It is determined whether there is a change in lighting color other than the change in lighting color. When there is no change in other lighting colors, the lighting color predicting unit 24 sets a time from the change time to the next change time as a lighting color period candidate corresponding to the time. The lighting color corresponding to the time is the lighting color after the change in the change corresponding to the previous change time in time, that is, the lighting color before the change in the change corresponding to the change time later in time. The lighting color predicting unit 24 performs this process for all change times that are temporally adjacent.

(Processing 3) Identification of the period of each lighting color The lighting color prediction unit 24 identifies the period of each lighting color using the candidate period of each lighting color acquired in the process 2. For example, the lighting color predicting unit 24 may calculate the period of each lighting color by calculating the average of the period candidates for each lighting color, and by specifying the median value of the period candidates for each lighting color. Alternatively, the period of each lighting color may be specified by other methods. When a certain lighting color period candidate is twice or more as long as another period candidate, the period candidate may be discarded to specify the lighting color period. For example, when the traffic volume is low at night or the like, even if the lighting color changes from red → blue → red, the lighting color during the blue period may not be acquired. Since it is not appropriate to specify the period of the lighting color using the period candidate acquired in such a situation, the lighting color prediction unit 24 may discard such a period candidate.

(Processing 4) Prediction of lighting color The lighting color prediction unit 24 predicts the lighting color using the period of each lighting color specified in the processing 3. When predicting a lighting color corresponding to a certain predicted time, the lighting color predicting unit 24, for example, sequentially adds the specified lighting color period from the latest change time until the predicted time reaches the predicted time. The lighting color according to the can be specified. When predicting the duration of the current lighting color, the lighting color prediction unit 24 subtracts the current time from the time obtained by adding the current lighting color period to the latest change time, for example. The duration of the current lighting color can be specified. Needless to say, the lighting color prediction unit 24 may perform the lighting color prediction by other methods using the period of each lighting color specified in the process 3.

  FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the second in-vehicle device 3 according to the present embodiment. The second in-vehicle device 3 according to the present embodiment includes a map information storage unit 31, a current position acquisition unit 32, a request transmission unit 33, an in-vehicle reception unit 34, a point reception unit 35, and a route search unit 36. And an output unit 37.

The map information storage unit 31 stores map information that is information related to the map including the position of the traffic light. Note that the map information storage unit 31 is the same as the map information storage unit 11 included in the first in-vehicle device 1 and will not be described in detail. In addition, it is suitable that the map information memorize | stored in the map information storage part 31 can perform a route search.
The current position acquisition unit 32 acquires the current position of the second in-vehicle device 3. Note that the current position acquisition unit 32 is the same as the current position acquisition unit 12 included in the first in-vehicle device 1, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  The request transmission unit 33 transmits a transmission request for requesting transmission of traffic signal information to the server 2. The transmission request is as described above. For example, the request transmission unit 33 may transmit a transmission request including a traffic signal identifier of a desired traffic signal to the server 2. The desired traffic light may be, for example, a traffic light that is present forward in the traveling direction from the current position acquired by the current position acquisition unit 32, or may be a traffic signal on a route searched by the route search unit 36. When the lighting color prediction is requested, the request transmission unit 33 may transmit a transmission request including a future time when the prediction is requested to the server 2. Further, when transmission of the duration of the lighting color is requested, that fact may be included in the transmission request. Moreover, the request transmission part 33 may transmit a transmission request directly to the server 2, or may transmit indirectly via another server etc. Further, the request transmission unit 33 may perform transmission by using the address of the server 2 held by a recording medium (not shown) as a transmission destination, or a server received from another component or another server before transmission. Transmission may be performed with the address of 2 as the transmission destination. In addition, the request transmission unit 33 may or may not include a transmission device (for example, a modem or a network card) for performing transmission. The request transmission unit 33 may be realized by hardware, or may be realized by software such as a driver that drives the transmission device.

  The in-vehicle receiving unit 34 receives the traffic signal information transmitted from the server 2. The received traffic signal information may be stored in a recording medium (not shown). The in-vehicle receiving unit 34 may or may not include a wired or wireless receiving device (for example, a modem or a network card) for receiving. Further, the in-vehicle receiving unit 34 may be realized by hardware, or may be realized by software such as a driver that drives the receiving device.

  The point reception unit 35 receives a departure place and a destination. This starting point is used for route search. The point receiving unit 35 may receive the starting point and the destination input by the user, or may receive the destination input by the user and the starting point that is the current position acquired by the current position acquiring unit 32. Good. The point input by the user may be, for example, a selected point, a search result point, or another input point.

  The point receiving unit 35 may receive, for example, a destination input from an input device (for example, a keyboard, a mouse, a touch panel, etc.) and receive a destination transmitted via a wired or wireless communication line. Alternatively, a destination read from a predetermined recording medium (for example, an optical disk, a magnetic disk, or a semiconductor memory) may be received, or a destination may be received from another component. Note that the point reception unit 35 may or may not include a device (for example, a modem or a network card) for reception. Further, the point receiving unit 35 may be realized by hardware, or may be realized by software such as a driver that drives a predetermined device.

  The route search unit 36 uses the map information stored in the map information storage unit 31 to search for a route from the departure point received by the point reception unit 35 to the destination. The route searching unit 36 uses the traffic signal information received by the in-vehicle receiving unit 34 and the map information stored in the map information storage unit 31 so as to avoid the traffic light with the lighting color corresponding to the stop. A search may be performed. Avoiding a traffic light that is lit in response to a stop may be that it does not pass completely through the position of the traffic light, or it is less likely to pass through the position of the traffic light, i.e., in practice. There may be a possibility of passing. The route searched in this way does not stop at a red light or has a short stop time. A method for searching for such a route is, for example, as follows. The route search unit 36 searches for a route from the departure point to the destination as usual. Then, the route search unit 36 calculates the time to reach the first traffic light in the route of the search result. In addition, the route search unit 36 instructs the request transmission unit 33 to transmit a transmission request including the time and the traffic signal identifier of the traffic signal. And it is judged whether the lighting color according to the time is blue using the traffic signal information received according to transmission of the transmission request. If it is blue, the same processing is repeated for the traffic light closest to the departure point for which the lighting color has not yet been determined. On the other hand, if it is red, the route search is performed again by setting so as not to pass the position of the traffic light or to hardly pass the position of the traffic light. Then, the same processing is repeated for the traffic light closest to the departure place where the lighting color is not determined in the re-searched route. In this way, by performing processing up to the last traffic signal on the route, it is possible to perform a route search that avoids a red signal. Note that this route search method is an example, and route search may be performed by other methods so as to avoid a red light. For example, when performing the route search, the route search unit 36 may adjust the score of an intersection that is a red signal so that the route search unit 36 does not pass through the intersection of the red signal as much as possible.

  Note that the route search unit 36 may acquire route information indicating the route by route search. The route information may be information indicating a number of points constituting the route from the departure point to the destination. In addition, the route information may include an image indicating a route from the departure place to the destination, or may include information relating to a travel time from the departure place to the destination. Further, the route information may be stored in a recording medium (not shown). In addition, the route search unit 36 searches for a route using the map information so that the score of the route from the start point to the end point is minimized. In the route search, for example, Dijkstra method may be used, A * algorithm may be used, Bellman-Ford method may be used, Warsal-Floyd method may be used, and other algorithms may be used. Also good. This route search method is already known and will not be described in detail. For example, in an online map, when a latitude / longitude of a start point and a latitude / longitude of an end point are input, a route from the start point to the end point is displayed (for example, “http://maps.google.co. jp / maps ").

  The output part 37 performs the output regarding the traffic signal information which the vehicle-mounted receiving part 34 received. The output related to the traffic signal information is not particularly limited as long as it is an output related to the traffic signal information. The output may be a direct output of traffic signal information or an indirect output. The direct output of the traffic signal information is, for example, directly outputting information included in the traffic signal information. On the other hand, indirect output of traffic signal information is, for example, outputting information generated using information included in traffic signal information. For example, the output unit 37 may perform output related to the lighting color included in the received traffic signal information. Specifically, the output unit 37 may output a lighting color included in the traffic signal information, reads out and displays the map information stored in the map information storage unit 31, and on the displayed map, You may perform the display which shows the lighting color contained in the traffic signal information in the position of the traffic signal identified by the traffic signal identifier contained in the traffic signal information. The display indicating the lighting color may be, for example, a text display such as “red” or “blue”, or may be a display of a traffic light figure corresponding to the lighting color. The figure of the traffic light corresponding to the lighting color is the figure of the traffic light that lights up the lighting color. As described above, the output unit 37 may perform output for informing the user of the second in-vehicle device 3 of the lighting color included in the traffic signal information. The output may be a display or an audio output. For example, when the lighting color included in the traffic signal information is “red”, the output unit 37 may output a warning that the traffic signal ahead is red. Moreover, when the traffic signal information including the lighting color and the duration is received, the output unit 37 may output the lighting color and also the duration. By doing so, the user can know the timing when the lighting color of the traffic light changes from red to blue and vice versa. For this reason, for example, it is possible to avoid a red signal when entering an intersection in a traffic jam. Further, for example, when the second vehicle is decelerating to stop, if the traffic light information indicating that the green signal is made a little more (for example, about 2 or 3 seconds later) is output, the second vehicle Can perform a rolling start and improve fuel efficiency. The rolling start is to perform acceleration without stopping completely after decelerating. In addition, the output unit 37 is a speed at which the traffic light can be appropriately stopped when it is known that the second vehicle arrives at the traffic light at the time when the second vehicle arrives at the traffic light position when the output unit 37 is red. May be output. The driver of the second vehicle can decelerate the second vehicle according to the output speed. Note that the speed may be set to be slower as the distance to the traffic light is shorter. Further, the output unit 37 performs output related to the route searched by the route search unit 36. The output related to the route may be, for example, reading out and displaying the map information and displaying the route on the map. The searched route may be a route searched to avoid a red light. In that case, the output of the route is considered to be an output related to the traffic signal information. In addition, the output unit 37 outputs a control signal for stopping the second vehicle when the traffic light information indicates that the lighting color of the traffic signal ahead of the second vehicle is in response to the stop. It may be output. The control signal may be output to, for example, a control unit (not shown) that controls the travel of the second vehicle. The control signal may be, for example, a control signal for operating the brake of the second vehicle, a control signal for loosening the accelerator of the second vehicle, or the other for stopping the second vehicle. It may be a control signal for controlling the above. In the control using the control signal, the speed may be controlled to be slower as the distance from the current position to the traffic signal is shorter.

  Here, the output by the output unit 37 may be, for example, display on a display device (for example, a CRT or a liquid crystal display), transmission via a communication line to a predetermined device, or sound output by a speaker. It may be stored in a recording medium or delivered to another component. The output unit 37 may or may not include a device (for example, a display device or a communication device) that performs output. The output unit 37 may be realized by hardware, or may be realized by software such as a driver that drives these devices.

  The time may be obtained from the first and second in-vehicle devices 1 and 3 of the information communication system 100 and the clock unit (not shown) in the server 2. It is preferable that they are synchronized so that Therefore, for example, the clock unit may be a radio clock, and may be synchronized using an NTP (Network Time Protocol) server or the like.

Next, operation | movement of the 1st vehicle-mounted apparatus 1 is demonstrated using the flowchart of FIG.
(Step S101) The current position acquisition unit 12 determines whether a new current position has been acquired. If a new current position is acquired, the process proceeds to step S102. If not, the process of step S101 is repeated until a new current position is acquired. For example, when the current position acquisition unit 12 determines that a new current position has been acquired, the current position is temporarily stored in a recording medium (not shown), and the latest current position is temporarily stored. If the current position is different from the current position, it may be determined that a new current position has been acquired, and the new current position may be overwritten and stored in a recording medium (not shown).

  (Step S102) The traffic signal identifier acquisition unit 14 uses the map information stored in the map information storage unit 11 and the current position acquired by the current position acquisition unit 12, and the traffic signal identifier of the traffic signal according to the current position. To get.

  (Step S103) The lighting color acquisition part 13 performs the process which acquires a lighting color. In addition, although a lighting color may be acquired by this process, it may not be acquired. Details of this processing will be described later with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 8A and 8B.

  (Step S104) The lighting color acquisition unit 13 determines whether the lighting color has been acquired. If the lighting color can be acquired, the process proceeds to step S105. If the lighting color cannot be acquired, the process returns to step S101. When the lighting color can be acquired, the lighting color acquisition unit 13 also acquires the time at that time.

  (Step S <b> 105) The in-vehicle transmission unit 15 transmits to the server 2 the latest traffic signal identifier acquired by the traffic signal identifier acquisition unit 14, the latest lighting color acquired by the lighting color acquisition unit 13, and the time at the time of acquisition. . Then, the process returns to step S101.

  In the flowchart of FIG. 7, the process ends when the power is turned off or the process ends. If the traffic signal identifier cannot be acquired in step S102, that is, if there is no traffic signal corresponding to the current position, the process may return to step S101.

FIG. 8A is a flowchart showing details of the process of acquiring the lighting color (step S103) in the flowchart of FIG. 7, particularly the process of acquiring the lighting color according to the progress of the vehicle.
(Step S201) The traffic light determination means 17 determines whether or not the current position acquired by the current position acquisition unit 12 exists in an area corresponding to the traffic signal. And when it exists in the area | region, it progresses to step S202, and when that is not right, it returns to the flowchart of FIG. The traffic signal is usually a traffic signal identified by the traffic signal identifier acquired by the traffic signal identifier acquisition unit 14.

  (Step S202) The progress determination means 16 determines whether or not the first vehicle is traveling. And when progressing, it progresses to step S203, and when that is not right, it progresses to step S204.

  (Step S203) The acquisition means 18 acquires the lighting color according to progress. And it returns to the flowchart of FIG.

  (Step S204) The progress determination means 16 determines whether or not the first vehicle is stopped. And when it has stopped, it progresses to step S205, and when that is not right, it returns to the flowchart of FIG.

  (Step S205) The acquisition unit 18 acquires the lighting color corresponding to the stop. And it returns to the flowchart of FIG.

  FIG. 8B is a flowchart showing details of the process of acquiring the lighting color (step S103) in the flowchart of FIG. 7, particularly the process of acquiring the lighting color using the image of the traffic light.

  (Step S206) The image acquisition means 19 acquires an image.

  (Step S207) The acquisition unit 20 acquires the lighting color of the traffic light using the image acquired by the image acquisition unit 19. In addition, when the traffic light is not included in the image acquired by the image acquisition unit 19, the lighting color is not acquired. And it returns to the flowchart of FIG.

  In addition, when acquiring the lighting color transmitted from the traffic light, the lighting color acquisition unit 13 receives the lighting color transmitted from the traffic signal identified by the traffic signal identifier acquired by the traffic signal identifier acquisition unit 14, You may acquire the lighting color of the signal.

Next, the operation of the server 2 will be described using the flowchart of FIG.
(Step S301) The server reception unit 21 determines whether a lighting color or the like has been received. If it has been received, the process proceeds to step S302. If not, the process proceeds to step S303.

  (Step S302) The storage unit 22 stores the lighting color received by the server reception unit 21 in the storage unit 23 in association with each other. Then, the process returns to step S301.

  (Step S303) The server reception unit 21 determines whether a transmission request has been received. If a transmission request is received, the process proceeds to step S304. If not, the process returns to step S301.

  (Step S304) The server transmission unit 25 determines whether or not the prediction of the lighting color is requested by the received transmission request. If the request is made, the process proceeds to step S305; otherwise, the process proceeds to step S306. For example, when a future time is included in the transmission request, or when information indicating that the duration is requested is included in the transmission request, it may be determined that the prediction of the lighting color is requested.

  (Step S305) The lighting color prediction unit 24 predicts the lighting color. For example, the lighting color prediction unit 24 may specify a lighting color according to a future time, and may acquire the duration of the lighting color.

(Step S306) The server transmission unit 25 transmits the traffic signal information including the traffic signal identifier stored in the storage unit 23 and the lighting color of the traffic signal identified by the traffic signal identifier, which is the second transmission source of the transmission request. It transmits to the in-vehicle device 3. Note that the lighting color included in the traffic light information is the one predicted by the lighting color prediction unit 24 when the prediction in step S305 is performed, and the storage color stored in the storage unit 22 otherwise. is there. Then, the process returns to step S301.
In the flowchart of FIG. 9, the process is terminated by power-off or a process termination interrupt.

Next, operation | movement of the 2nd vehicle-mounted apparatus 3 is demonstrated using the flowchart of FIG.
(Step S401) The current position acquisition unit 32 determines whether a new current position has been acquired. If a new current position is acquired, the process proceeds to step S402. If not, the process proceeds to step S406. For example, when the current position acquisition unit 32 determines that a new current position has been acquired, the current position is temporarily stored in a recording medium (not shown), and the latest current position is temporarily stored. If the current position is different from the current position, it may be determined that a new current position has been acquired, and the new current position may be overwritten and stored in a recording medium (not shown).

  (Step S <b> 402) The request transmission unit 33 uses the map information stored in the map information storage unit 31 to determine whether there is a traffic light corresponding to the current position acquired by the current position acquisition unit 32. If there is a traffic light, the process proceeds to step S403. If not, the process returns to step S401. The request transmission unit 33 may determine that there is a traffic signal corresponding to the current position when there is a traffic signal ahead of the second vehicle in the traveling direction. The request transmission unit 33 may determine that there is no traffic signal corresponding to the current position when there is no traffic signal within a predetermined range (for example, within a radius of 500 meters) from the current position. Further, the request transmission unit 33 may determine whether there is a traffic light ahead of the route searched by the route search unit 36 instead of forward in the traveling direction.

  (Step S403) The request transmission unit 33 transmits a transmission request to the server 2. It is assumed that the transmission request includes a traffic signal identifier that identifies the traffic signal determined to exist in step S402. The signal identifier may be one, or may be two or more when it is determined in step S402 that there are two or more signals according to the current position.

  (Step S <b> 404) The in-vehicle receiving unit 34 determines whether the traffic signal information has been received from the server 2. If the traffic signal information is received, the process proceeds to step S405. If not, the process of step S404 is repeated until it is received. Note that if the traffic signal information is not received even after a predetermined time has elapsed since the transmission request is transmitted in step S403, it may be determined that a timeout has occurred and the process may return to step S401.

  (Step S405) The output part 37 performs the output regarding the traffic signal information received by step S404. This output may be, for example, outputting information indicating the lighting color of the traffic light. When the lighting color included in the traffic signal information corresponds to the stop, the output is for stopping the second vehicle. The control signal may be output. Then, the process returns to step S401.

  (Step S406) The point receiving unit 35 determines whether a departure place and a destination have been received. If the departure place or the like is accepted, the process proceeds to step S407. If not, the process returns to step S401. The reception of the departure place may be reception from the current position acquisition unit 32 as described above.

  (Step S <b> 407) The route search unit 36 searches for the route from the departure place to the destination received by the point receiving unit 35 using the map information stored in the map information storage unit 31. In addition, when returning to step S407 from step S411, the route search part 36 sets so that it may not pass through the position of a specific signal apparatus, or a score so that it may be difficult to pass through the position of a specific signal apparatus. Adjust the route search.

  (Step S408) The route search unit 36 determines whether there is a traffic light that has not transmitted a transmission request on the searched route. When there is a traffic light that has not transmitted a transmission request, the route search unit 36 is the traffic light that is on the searched route and that has not yet transmitted a transmission request. The traffic signal identifier for identifying the near traffic signal and the time of arrival at the traffic signal position are specified, and the process proceeds to step S409. Otherwise, the process proceeds to step S412. When the route search is performed twice or more, it is determined that the transmission request has already been transmitted for the traffic signal that has transmitted the transmission request on the previous route. That is, this determination may be made only for the area newly set by re-search.

  (Step S409) The request transmission unit 33 transmits a transmission request including the traffic signal identifier and time specified by the route search unit 36 in step S408 to the server 2.

  (Step S <b> 410) The in-vehicle receiving unit 34 determines whether signal information has been received from the server 2. If signal information is received, the process proceeds to step S411. If not, the process of step S410 is repeated until it is received. Note that, if the traffic signal information is not received even after a predetermined time has elapsed since the transmission request is transmitted in step S409, it may be determined that a time-out has occurred and the process may return to step S401.

  (Step S411) The route search unit 36 determines whether the lighting color included in the received traffic signal information is a lighting color corresponding to the progress. If the lighting color corresponds to the progress, the search again is unnecessary, and the process returns to step S408. If the lighting color corresponds to the stop, the search returns to step S407 because the search is necessary. When returning to step S407, it is set not to pass the position of the traffic signal identified by the traffic signal identifier included in the transmission request transmitted in step S409, or it is difficult to pass the position of the traffic signal. The route search is performed by adjusting the score.

(Step S412) The output unit 37 outputs the route searched by the route search unit 36. This route has been searched to avoid a lighting color corresponding to a stop. Moreover, this output may be a display of a route on a map, for example. Then, the process returns to step S401.
In the flowchart of FIG. 10, the process ends when the power is turned off or the process ends. In addition, after the search route is output in step S412, navigation using the route may or may not be performed. When the second vehicle is moving according to the searched route, in step S402, the request transmission unit 33 determines whether there is a traffic signal on the route from the current position to the destination. May be. Then, if present, the request transmission unit 33 may transmit a transmission request for requesting transmission of the lighting color of the traffic light existing on the route from the current position to the destination in step S403.

  Next, the operation of the information communication system 100 according to the present embodiment will be described using a specific example. In this specific example, a case will be described in which the first in-vehicle device 1 acquires a lighting color according to the progress of the vehicle. Further, the progress determination means 16 determines that the vehicle is moving when the speed of the first vehicle is 20 km / h or higher, and determines that the vehicle is stopped when the speed of the first vehicle is 0 km / h. In addition, when the current position is within 80 m from the traffic signal, the traffic signal determination means 17 determines that the current position is in an area corresponding to the traffic signal. In this specific example, when the current position is acquired, the traveling direction is also acquired together with the current position. It is assumed that the traveling direction is an azimuth angle that increases clockwise with north as 0 degree.

  In this specific example, it is assumed that the first vehicle is at the position shown in FIG. In FIG. 11, the triangle is a graphic showing the current position of the first vehicle. In FIG. 11, the upper part of the figure is assumed to be north. At that position, it is assumed that the current position acquisition unit 12 of the first in-vehicle device 1 acquires a new current position (X101, Y101) and the traveling direction “0 degree” (step S101). The acquired current position and the like are passed to the traffic signal identifier acquisition unit 14 and the lighting color acquisition unit 13.

  When the traffic signal identifier acquisition unit 14 receives the current position, the traffic signal identifier acquisition unit 14 uses the map information stored in the map information storage unit 31 to identify an intersection with a traffic signal ahead on the road in the traveling direction from the current position. . Assume that the identifier for identifying the intersection is SIG201. Further, it is assumed that the traveling direction at the intersection is “north”. Then, the traffic signal identifier acquisition unit 14 acquires the traffic signal identifier “SIG201_N” using the intersection identifier “SIG201” and “N” indicating north, and passes the signal identifier to the in-vehicle transmission unit 15 (step S102).

  Further, when the lighting color acquisition unit 13 receives the current position or the like, the lighting color acquisition unit 13 performs a process of acquiring a lighting color (step S103). Specifically, the traffic light determination unit 17 of the lighting color acquisition unit 13 uses the map information stored in the map information storage unit 11 to advance 80 m in the traveling direction from the current position received from the current position acquisition unit 12. It is determined whether or not there is a traffic light before the position (step S201). In this case, since there is a traffic light as shown in FIG. 11, the traffic light determination means 17 determines that the current position is in an area corresponding to the traffic light, and gives an instruction to make a determination regarding the progress. 16 When receiving the instruction, the progress determination means 16 acquires the speed of the first vehicle at that time from a speed measurement unit (not shown). The speed is assumed to be 0 km / h. Then, since the speed at that time is less than 20 km / h, the progress determination means 16 determines that it is not progressing (step S202). Further, since the speed is 0 km / h, it is determined that the vehicle is stopped, and the fact that the vehicle is stopped is passed to the acquisition unit 18 (step S204). When receiving the fact that the vehicle is stopped from the progress determining means 16, the acquiring means 18 acquires “R” indicating the lighting color of the stop, and the time “10:16:33” at that time is not shown. (Step S203). The time indicates 10:16:33. Further, since the lighting color acquisition unit 13 has acquired the lighting color “R”, the lighting color acquisition unit 13 determines that the acquisition of the lighting color has succeeded (step S104), and the lighting color “R” and the time “10:16:33”. To the in-vehicle transmission unit 15. Upon receiving the lighting color or the like, the in-vehicle transmission unit 15 sends a packet having the signal identifier “SIG201_N”, the lighting color “R”, and the time “10:16:33” received in the payload to the server 2. (Step S105).

  A packet having the payload of the lighting color or the like transmitted from the first in-vehicle device 1 is received by the server reception unit 21 of the server 2 (step S301). Then, the lighting color and the like included in the payload of the packet are passed to the storage unit 22. When receiving the lighting color or the like, the storage unit 22 stores them in association with each other in the storage unit 23 (step S302). FIG. 12 is a diagram showing the lighting color and the like accumulated in the storage unit 23 in this way. In FIG. 12, a traffic signal identifier, a time, and a lighting color are associated with each other. Note that “SIG201_N” and “SIG201_E” are traffic signal identifiers for identifying traffic signals having different directions at the same intersection. The traffic signal identifier “SIG201_N” corresponds to a traffic signal for vehicles traveling in the north direction, and the traffic signal identifier “SIG201_E” corresponds to a traffic signal for vehicles traveling in the east direction. The lighting color “R” is the lighting color “red” corresponding to the stop, and the lighting color “G” is the lighting color “blue” corresponding to the progress. In FIG. 12, the records having the same traffic signal identifier are grouped, but it goes without saying that the records need not be. In this manner, transmission of the lighting color and the like from the first in-vehicle device 1 and accumulation of the lighting color and the like are repeatedly performed. Usually, since there are a plurality of first in-vehicle devices 1 instead of one, the lighting colors of the traffic lights at each intersection can be collected in the server 2.

  It is assumed that the second vehicle is traveling behind the first vehicle. The current position acquisition unit 32 of the second in-vehicle device 3 installed in the second vehicle acquires the new current position (X201, Y201) and the traveling direction “0 degree”, and the request transmission unit It is assumed that the data is passed to 33 (step S401). When the request transmission unit 33 receives the current position and the like, the request transmission unit 33 uses the map information stored in the map information storage unit 31 to determine whether there is a traffic light ahead on the road in the traveling direction from the current position. In this case, since there is a traffic signal identified by the traffic signal identifier acquired by the first in-vehicle device 1, the request transmission unit 33 determines that the traffic signal exists, and determines the traffic signal identifier “SIG201_N” as the traffic signal identifier acquisition unit. 14 in the same manner as in step 14 (step S402). Then, the request transmitting unit 33 transmits a transmission request packet including the acquired traffic signal identifier “SIG201_N” in the payload to the server 2 (step S403).

  The transmission request packet is received by the server reception unit 21 of the server 2, and the transmission source address included in the header of the transmission request packet and the traffic signal identifier “SIG201_N” included in the payload are transmitted to the server transmission unit 25. (Step S303). Upon receiving the address or the like, the server transmission unit 25 determines that the prediction of the lighting color is not requested because the received information does not include a future time (step S304), and the received traffic signal identifier “SIG201_N”. Is used as a search key to search the storage unit 23 to obtain the lighting color corresponding to the latest time among the hit records. In this case, it is assumed that the lighting color is “R”. Then, the server transmission unit 25 transmits the packet having the traffic signal information including the traffic signal identifier and the lighting color “R” in the payload, with the address received from the server reception unit 21 as the transmission destination (step S306).

  The signal information packet is received by the vehicle-mounted receiving unit 34 of the second vehicle-mounted device 3, and the signal identifier “SIG201_N” and the lighting color “R” included in the payload of the packet are passed to the output unit 37 ( Step S404). Upon receiving the traffic signal identifier or the like, the output unit 37 displays a graphic in which the lighting color of the traffic signal identified by the traffic signal identifier “SIG201_N” in the displayed map is “red” (step S405). As a result, the display shown in FIG. 13 is performed. In FIG. 13, the triangle is the current position of the second vehicle, and the traffic signal ahead is a traffic signal identified by the traffic signal identifier “SIG201_N”. It is assumed that red is displayed on the signal lamp on the right side of the traffic light. The driver or the like of the second vehicle who has seen this display can know that the traffic light ahead is red, and can take measures such as decelerating, for example. As a result, safe driving can be performed.

  Next, when the second vehicle is present at the position shown in FIG. 13, the user operates the second vehicle-mounted device 3 to input a destination and search for a route from the current position to the destination. Suppose that an instruction is input. Then, the point reception unit 35 receives the departure point (X301, Y301) that is the latest current position acquired by the current position acquisition unit 32 and the destination (X401, Y401) input by the user (step S406), It passes to the route search part 36. Upon receiving the departure place and the like, the route search unit 36 performs a route search using the map information stored in the map information storage unit 31 (step S407). As a result, a route indicated by a broken line in FIG. 14 is searched. Then, the route search unit 36 determines that there is a traffic signal that has not transmitted a transmission request on the route (step S408), and arrives at the traffic signal identifier “SIG201_N” of the traffic signal closest to the departure point and the position of the traffic signal. The predicted time to be specified is specified. It is assumed that the predicted time is “10:16:51”. The predicted time and the traffic signal identifier are passed to the request transmission unit 33. Upon receiving the traffic signal identifier and the like, the request transmission unit 33 transmits a transmission request packet including them to the server 2 (step S409).

  The transmission request packet is received by the server reception unit 21 of the server 2, and the transmission source address included in the header of the transmission request packet, the traffic signal identifier “SIG201_N” included in the payload, and the predicted time “10:16”. : 51 "is passed to the server transmitter 25 (step S303). Upon receiving the address or the like, the server transmission unit 25 determines that the prediction of the lighting color is requested because the received information includes the predicted time (step S304). The identifier “SIG201_N” and the predicted time “10:16:51” are passed. When the lighting color prediction unit 24 receives the traffic signal identifier or the like, the lighting color prediction unit 24 searches the storage unit 23 using the traffic signal identifier “SIG201_N” as a search key, and among the hit records, all records having a time corresponding to the latest one hour. Is read. Then, the lighting color prediction unit 24 first identifies the lighting color change time. In the case of the time shown in FIG. 12, for example, change times “10:15:33”, “10:16:00”, “10: 16: 30.5”, and the like are specified. Next, the lighting color prediction unit 24 acquires a blue period candidate “30.5” and the like, a red period candidate “27” and the like. The unit of the period candidate is second. Thereafter, the lighting color predicting unit 24 specifies the blue period and the red period using the acquired period candidates. In this specific example, the blue period is “30” seconds and the red period is “29” seconds. Then, the lighting color prediction unit 24 determines that the red period is up to “10: 16: 59.5” obtained by adding the red period “29” seconds to the latest change time “10: 16: 30.5”. To do. Therefore, since the predicted time “10:16:51” is a red period, the lighting color prediction unit 24 acquires the lighting color “R” corresponding to the prediction time and passes it to the server transmission unit 25 (step S305). ). When the predicted lighting color “R” is received, the server transmission unit 25 receives the address received from the server reception unit 21 of the packet having the traffic signal information including the traffic signal identifier and the predicted lighting color “R”. It transmits as a transmission destination (step S306).

  The signal information packet is received by the vehicle-mounted receiving unit 34 of the second vehicle-mounted device 3, and the signal identifier “SIG201_N” included in the payload of the packet and the predicted lighting color “R” are the route search unit 36. (Step S410). Since the predicted lighting color is the lighting color “R” corresponding to the stop, the route search unit 36 determines that re-searching is necessary (step S411), and avoids the traffic signal having the traffic signal identifier “SIG201_N”. Thus, the route search is performed again (step S407). As a result, it is assumed that the broken line route shown in FIG. 15 is searched. Then, the route search part 36 performs transmission etc. of a transmission request again about the traffic light nearest to the departure place which has not yet predicted the lighting color (steps S408 to S411). By repeating such processing, a route avoiding the red signal is searched and displayed as shown in FIG. 15 (step S412). As a result, the driver of the second vehicle can know the route to the destination avoiding the red signal and can reach the destination earlier. In this specific example, when the route search is performed again, the route search is performed so as to avoid the traffic signal identified by the traffic signal identifier “SIG201_N”.

  As described above, according to the information communication system 100 according to the present embodiment, the second in-vehicle device 3 can receive the lighting color acquired by the first in-vehicle device 1 via the server 2. Therefore, for example, the driver of the second vehicle can acquire in advance the lighting color of the traffic light ahead in the traveling direction, can perform safe driving, and can effectively use the acquired lighting color. . Moreover, when the lighting color of the traffic light ahead of the second vehicle in the traveling direction is a red signal, control for stopping the second vehicle can be performed, which is useful for safe driving. Further, by performing a route search using the lighting color, for example, it is possible to search for a route that avoids a red signal.

Note that a method for searching for a route so as to avoid a red light may be a method other than that described above. For example, as will be described in the following second embodiment, the travel time corresponding to various route candidates from the departure point to the destination is calculated in consideration of the lighting color of the traffic light, and among the calculated travel time, The route candidate corresponding to the shortest travel time may be the final route.
In the present embodiment, the case where the server 2 includes the lighting color prediction unit 24 has been described. However, when the lighting color prediction is not performed, the server 2 does not include the lighting color prediction unit 24. Good.

  Moreover, although the time according to the lighting color is managed by the server 2 and the traffic signal information including the time is transmitted to the second in-vehicle device 3 in the present embodiment, it may not be so. The server 2 may only manage the traffic signal identifier and the lighting color of the traffic signal identified by the traffic signal identifier. In that case, the storage unit 22 may store the traffic signal identifier and the lighting color in the storage unit 23 so that the latest received lighting color can be specified. That is, for example, the storage unit 22 may store the latest lighting color by overwriting, or may store the latest lighting color so that the latest lighting color can be specified by a flag or the like. And the server transmission part 25 may transmit the traffic signal information containing the newest lighting color.

(Embodiment 2)
A second in-vehicle device 3 according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The second in-vehicle device 3 according to the present embodiment performs prediction of distance and time using signal information. Note that the configuration and operation of the information communication system 100 other than the second in-vehicle device 3 are the same as those in the first embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted.

  FIG. 16 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the second in-vehicle device 3 according to the present embodiment. The second in-vehicle device 3 according to the present embodiment includes a map information storage unit 31, a current position acquisition unit 32, a request transmission unit 33, an in-vehicle reception unit 34, a point reception unit 35, and a route search unit 36. , A distance acquisition unit 38, a travel time calculation unit 39, a fee acquisition unit 40, and an output unit 41. The configurations and operations other than the distance acquisition unit 38, the travel time calculation unit 39, the fee acquisition unit 40, and the output unit 41 are the same as those in the first embodiment, and detailed description thereof is omitted. Here, unlike the route search unit 36 according to the first embodiment, the route search unit 36 according to the present embodiment may not perform a route search that avoids the lighting color according to the stop. That is, the route search unit 36 may perform a route search from the departure point to the destination attached by the point receiving unit 35 using the map information stored in the map information storage unit 31. In the present embodiment, the second vehicle on which the second in-vehicle device 3 is set is a taxi.

  The distance acquisition unit 38 acquires a distance according to the route searched by the route search unit 36. For example, the distance acquisition unit 38 may calculate the distance from the departure point to the destination using the information indicating the route searched by the route search unit 36, or the route search unit 36 may calculate the route during the route search. If the corresponding distance is acquired, the distance may be acquired from the route search unit 36. Note that a method for obtaining a distance according to a route is already known on an online map or the like, and the description thereof is omitted.

  The travel time calculation unit 39 calculates the travel time according to the route using the traffic signal information according to the traffic signal existing on the route searched by the route search unit 36. In other words, the travel time calculation unit 39 calculates the travel time considering the time when the second vehicle is stopped by the lighting color corresponding to the stop. The lighting color used in the calculation of the travel time is the lighting color predicted by the lighting color prediction unit 24. The travel time calculation unit 39 may refer to the map information stored in the map information storage unit 31 in order to know the position of the traffic signal and the travel time between points, or the route search unit 36 has searched. When the route includes information such as a traffic signal and travel time, information such as the traffic signal may be used. Further, the travel time calculation unit 39 may calculate the travel time using traffic jam information or the like when calculating the travel time between traffic lights. The traffic jam information may be provided by, for example, VICS (registered trademark) (Vehicle Information and Communication System), or may be provided by the Internet, or other methods. It may be provided by. A method for calculating the travel time will be described later using a flowchart.

  The fee acquisition unit 40 acquires a taxi fee according to the distance acquired by the distance acquisition unit 38. The fee acquisition unit 40 also acquires a taxi fee corresponding to the travel time calculated by the travel time calculation unit 39. Usually, the taxi fare according to the distance is a fare that increases as the distance increases. In general, the taxi fare according to the travel time is a fare that increases as the travel time increases. The fare acquisition unit 40 may calculate a taxi fare according to the distance or a taxi fare according to the travel time by using an increasing function with the distance or the travel time as an argument. A taxi fare according to the distance and travel time may be acquired using information that associates with, for example, a table.

  The output unit 41 outputs the taxi fee according to the distance and the taxi fee according to the travel time acquired by the fee acquisition unit 40. Moreover, the output part 41 may perform the other output regarding the traffic signal information which the vehicle-mounted receiving part 34 received similarly to the output part 37 by Embodiment 1. FIG. Here, this output may be, for example, display on a display device (for example, a CRT or a liquid crystal display), transmission via a communication line to a predetermined device, audio output by a speaker, or recording to a recording medium. May be stored, or delivered to other components. The output unit 41 may or may not include a device that performs output (for example, a display device or a communication device). The output unit 41 may be realized by hardware, or may be realized by software such as a driver that drives these devices.

  Next, operation | movement of the 2nd vehicle-mounted apparatus 3 by this Embodiment is demonstrated using the flowchart of FIG. In the flowchart of FIG. 17, steps S401 to S405 are the same as the flowchart of FIG. 10 in the first embodiment, and the description thereof is omitted.

  (Step S501) The point reception unit 35 determines whether a departure place and a destination have been received. If the departure place is accepted, the process proceeds to step S502. If not, the process returns to step S401.

  (Step S <b> 502) The route search unit 36 searches for the route from the departure place to the destination received by the point receiving unit 35 using the map information stored in the map information storage unit 31. The searched route may be stored in a recording medium (not shown).

  (Step S503) The distance acquisition unit 38 acquires a distance according to the searched route. The acquired distance may be stored in a recording medium (not shown).

  (Step S504) The movement time calculation unit 39 determines whether there is a traffic light that has not transmitted a transmission request on the searched route. When there is a traffic signal that has not transmitted a transmission request, the travel time calculation unit 39 is a traffic signal that is on the searched route and that has not yet transmitted a transmission request. A traffic signal identifier that identifies the traffic signal closest to the is identified. Then, the process proceeds to step S505. On the other hand, if there is no traffic signal that does not transmit a transmission request, the process proceeds to step S509.

  (Step S505) The travel time calculation unit 39 calculates the travel time from the position closest to the departure place to the position of the traffic signal that has identified the traffic signal identifier in Step S504, among the range of routes for which travel time has not been calculated so far. The travel time is calculated and added to the travel time calculated so far.

  (Step S506) The request transmission unit 33 transmits to the server 2 a transmission request including the traffic signal identifier specified in step S504 and the predicted time obtained by adding the travel time calculated in step S505 to the current time. Note that the predicted time is the time when the second vehicle arrives at the position of the traffic light identified by the traffic light identifier specified in step S504.

  (Step S507) The in-vehicle receiving unit 34 determines whether or not the traffic signal information has been received from the server 2. If the traffic signal information is received, the process proceeds to step S508. If not, the process of step S507 is repeated until the signal information is received. Note that if no traffic signal information is received even after a predetermined time has elapsed since the transmission request was transmitted in step S506, it may be determined that a time-out has occurred and the process may return to step S401. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the traffic light information includes the lighting color corresponding to the predicted time and the duration of the lighting color.

  (Step S508) When the lighting color included in the received traffic signal information is red, the travel time calculation unit 39 adds the duration of the lighting color included in the traffic signal information to the travel time. On the other hand, the travel time calculation unit 39 does not add the travel time when the lighting color included in the received traffic signal information is blue. In addition, when the lighting color is blue, it may be considered that 0 is added to the travel time. Then, the process returns to step S504.

  (Step S509) The travel time calculation unit 39 calculates the travel time up to the destination, that is, the travel time until the destination, and calculates the travel time so far. Add to travel time. The travel time after this addition is the travel time of all routes, that is, the final travel time.

  (Step S510) The fee acquisition unit 40 acquires a taxi fee corresponding to the distance acquired in step S503 and a taxi fee corresponding to the travel time calculated in step S509.

(Step S511) The output unit 41 outputs the taxi fare according to the distance acquired at Step S510 and the taxi fare according to the travel time. Then, the process returns to step S401.
In the flowchart of FIG. 17, the process ends when the power is turned off or the process ends. In step S511, only the higher of the two charges may be output.

  Next, the operation of the information communication system 100 according to the present embodiment will be described using a specific example. In this specific example, as described above, it is assumed that the lighting color prediction unit 24 predicts the lighting color corresponding to the prediction time and the duration of the lighting color.

  Assume that the second vehicle, which is a taxi, places a passenger at a position indicated by a triangle in FIG. Then, the taxi driver operates the second in-vehicle device 3 and inputs the destination heard from the customer. Then, the point reception unit 35 receives the departure point that is the latest current position acquired by the current position acquisition unit 32 and the destination input by the driver (step S501), and passes them to the route search unit 36. When the route search unit 36 receives a departure place or the like, the route search unit 36 performs a route search using the map information stored in the map information storage unit 31 (step S502). As a result, a route indicated by a broken line in FIG. 14 is searched. The route search unit 36 passes the searched route to the distance acquisition unit 38 and the travel time calculation unit 39. When receiving the route, the distance acquisition unit 38 acquires the distance from the departure point of the route to the destination, and passes it to the fee acquisition unit 40 (step S503). When the travel time calculation unit 39 receives the route, the travel time calculation unit 39 determines that there is a traffic signal that does not transmit a transmission request on the route (step S504), and identifies the traffic signal identifier “SIG201_N” of the traffic signal closest to the departure point. Then, the travel time from the current position to the position of the traffic light is calculated. It is assumed that the movement time is 15 seconds. Then, the travel time calculation unit 39 substitutes the travel time of 15 seconds for the total travel time (step S505). As a result, the total travel time to the traffic signal identified by the traffic signal identifier “SIG201_N” is 15 seconds. It is assumed that the current time at that time is 10:16:36. Then, the travel time calculation unit 39 passes the predicted time “10:16:51” obtained by adding the total travel time to the current time and the traffic signal identifier “SIG201_N” to the request transmission unit 33. Upon receiving the predicted time and the like, the request transmission unit 33 transmits a transmission request packet including the traffic signal identifier and the like to the server 2 (step S506).

  The process in which the lighting color is predicted in response to the transmission of the transmission request packet and the traffic signal information including the predicted lighting color is transmitted from the server 2 is the same as the specific example of the first embodiment. Description is omitted. In this specific example, as described above, the duration, that is, 8.5 seconds obtained by subtracting the predicted time “10:16:51” from “10: 16: 59.5” which is the end point of the red period. Are also included in the traffic signal information.

The traffic signal information packet transmitted from the server 2 is received by the in-vehicle receiver 34, and the traffic signal identifier “SIG201_N”, the predicted lighting color “R”, and the duration “8.5” included in the traffic signal information are moved. It is passed to the time calculation unit 39 (step S507). When the traffic light identifier or the like is received, the travel time calculation unit 39 adds the duration time to the total travel time because the predicted lighting color is R (step S508). As a result, the total travel time is 23.5 seconds. Thereafter, the travel time calculation unit 39 determines that there is a next traffic signal on the route (step S504), calculates the travel time from the traffic signal identified by the traffic signal identifier “SIG201_N” to the next traffic signal, The travel time is added (step S505). By repeating such processing, the total travel time to the last traffic signal on the route is calculated (steps S504 to S508). When the total travel time to the last traffic signal on the route is calculated, the travel time calculation unit 39 calculates the travel time from the position of the last traffic signal to the destination and adds it to the total travel time ( Step S509). The total travel time after the addition is the final travel time from the departure place to the destination. Then, the final travel time is passed to the fee acquisition unit 40. When the travel time is received, the fee acquisition unit 40 acquires the taxi fee according to the distance received so far and the taxi fee according to the travel time, and passes them to the output unit 41 (step S510). The output unit 41 displays each taxi fare received from the fare acquisition unit 40 (step S511). In this specific example, for example, the following display is performed.
Fee according to distance: 1200 yen Fee according to time: 1000 yen Therefore, in this case, if there is no traffic jam etc., passengers will see that 1200 yen which is a distance according to distance will be the final taxi fare I can know.

  In this specific example, the case where the output unit 41 displays both the taxi fee according to the distance and the taxi fee according to the time has been described, but this need not be the case. Of the two charges, only the higher one may be displayed as a charge prediction result.

  Moreover, the taxi fare according to the distance and the taxi fare according to the travel time may be acquired and updated again according to the movement of the second vehicle that is a taxi. For example, when the second vehicle passes through a route other than the route searched by the route search unit 36, the charge according to the distance can change accordingly. In addition, the prediction of travel time may be shifted due to a red light that has failed to be predicted or an unexpected traffic jam. Therefore, even between the departure point and the destination, the actual travel distance and actual travel time up to that point and the predicted travel distance and predicted travel time from the destination to the destination are used. By acquiring the distance and the travel time up to, it becomes possible to acquire a more accurate distance and time. Therefore, even if the distance acquisition unit 38 is between the departure point and the destination, the actual movement distance from the departure point to the current position and the predicted movement distance according to the route search result from the current position to the destination May be used to update the distance according to the route from the departure point to the destination. In addition, the travel time calculation unit 39 can calculate the actual travel time from the departure location to the current location and the predicted travel time according to the route search result from the current location to the destination, even between the departure location and the destination. And the travel time according to the route from the departure place to the destination may be updated. Further, the fee acquisition unit 40 may acquire a new taxi fee using the distance and travel time updated in this manner. And the output part 41 may update a taxi fare by outputting the taxi fare newly acquired in that way.

  As described above, according to the information communication system 100 according to the present embodiment, when the second vehicle is a taxi, it is possible to output both a fee according to distance and a fee according to time. . Therefore, for example, a taxi passenger can know a more accurate predicted fee. In addition, for example, when both a charge according to distance and a charge according to time are displayed, the taxi stops at a red light near the destination, and the charge according to time is more Passengers can also save on taxi fare by getting off at that location if it is predicted to be higher than the fare depending on

  In the present embodiment, the case where the second vehicle is a taxi and the second vehicle-mounted device 3 obtains a taxi fee has been described, but this need not be the case. The second vehicle may not be a taxi. In this case, the second in-vehicle device 3 may not include the charge acquisition unit 40, and the output unit 41 may perform output related to the travel time calculated by the travel time calculation unit 39, and the distance acquisition unit You may perform the output regarding the distance which 38 acquired. Further, when the output unit 41 performs output related to only one of the distance and the travel time, the second in-vehicle device 3 does not include one of the distance acquisition unit 38 or the travel time calculation unit 39. Also good.

  Moreover, in each said embodiment, although the case where the 1st vehicle-mounted apparatus 1 and the 2nd vehicle-mounted apparatus 3 were a different structure was demonstrated, it may not be so. Even if the 1st vehicle-mounted apparatus 1 and the 2nd vehicle-mounted apparatus 3 are equipped with both the structure which transmits lighting color etc. to the server 2, and the structure which receives signal information and performs the output regarding the signal information. Good. The in-vehicle device having the configuration of both devices may be a combination of the configuration of the first in-vehicle device 1 and the configuration of the second in-vehicle device 3, but the map information storage units 11, 31 and the current position acquisition unit 12. , 32, etc., one configuration may be used for the configuration common to both apparatuses.

  In each of the above embodiments, the communication between the first in-vehicle device 1 and the server 2 and the communication between the second in-vehicle device 3 and the server 2 are realized by any communication. Good. For example, it may be realized by DSRC (Dedicated Short Range Communications), visible light communication, or other communication.

  In each of the above embodiments, each processing or each function may be realized by centralized processing by a single device or a single system, or distributed processing by a plurality of devices or a plurality of systems. May be realized.

  In each of the above embodiments, the information exchange performed between each component is, for example, when two components that perform the information exchange are physically different from each other. Information may be output by the other component and acceptance of the information by the other component, or if the two components that pass the information are physically the same, one component The process may be performed by moving from the process phase corresponding to the element to the process phase corresponding to the other component.

  Also, in each of the above embodiments, information related to processing executed by each component, for example, each component received, acquired, selected, generated, transmitted, or received Information and information such as threshold values, mathematical formulas, addresses, etc. used by each component in processing are held temporarily or over a long period of time on a recording medium (not shown) even if not specified in the above description. Also good. Further, the storage of information in the recording medium (not shown) may be performed by each component or a storage unit (not shown). Further, reading of information from the recording medium (not shown) may be performed by each component or a reading unit (not shown).

  In each of the above embodiments, when information used by each component, for example, information such as a threshold value, an address, and various setting values used by each component may be changed by the user Even if not specified in the above description, the user may be able to change the information as appropriate, or it may not be. If the information can be changed by the user, the change is realized by, for example, a not-shown receiving unit that receives a change instruction from the user and a changing unit (not shown) that changes the information in accordance with the change instruction. May be. The change instruction received by the receiving unit (not shown) may be received from an input device, information received via a communication line, or information read from a predetermined recording medium, for example. .

  Moreover, in each said embodiment, when two or more components contained in the 1st vehicle-mounted apparatus 1, the server 2, and the 2nd vehicle-mounted apparatus 3 have a communication device, an input device, etc., two or more components May have a physically single device, or may have separate devices.

  In each of the above embodiments, each component may be configured by dedicated hardware, or a component that can be realized by software may be realized by executing a program. For example, each component can be realized by a program execution unit such as a CPU reading and executing a software program recorded on a recording medium such as a hard disk or a semiconductor memory. At the time of execution, the program execution unit may execute the program while accessing the storage unit or the recording medium. In addition, the software which implement | achieves the 1st vehicle apparatus 1 in each said embodiment is the following programs. In other words, this program uses a computer that can access a map information storage unit in which map information, which is information about a map including the position of a traffic light, is stored. A traffic signal identifier acquisition unit that acquires a traffic signal identifier for identifying a traffic signal according to the current position acquired by the position acquisition unit, a lighting color acquisition unit that acquires a lighting color of the traffic signal, a traffic signal identifier acquired by the traffic signal identifier acquisition unit, and a traffic signal identifier It is a program for making it function as a vehicle-mounted transmission part which transmits the lighting color of the traffic light identified by 1.

  Moreover, the software which implement | achieves the 2nd vehicle apparatus 3 in each said embodiment is the following programs. In other words, this program causes the computer to output the signal information received by the in-vehicle receiving unit and the in-vehicle receiving unit that receives the signal information including the signal identifier for identifying the signal and the lighting color of the signal identified by the signal identifier. This is a program for causing an output unit to function.

  In the program, the functions realized by the program do not include functions that can be realized only by hardware. For example, the above program is a function that can be realized only by hardware such as a modem or an interface card in an acquisition unit that acquires information, an output unit that outputs information, a transmission unit that transmits information, and a reception unit that receives information. It is at least not included in the functions to be realized.

  Further, this program may be executed by being downloaded from a server or the like, and a program recorded on a predetermined recording medium (for example, an optical disk such as a CD-ROM, a magnetic disk, a semiconductor memory, or the like) is read out. May be executed by Further, this program may be used as a program constituting a program product.

  Further, the computer that executes this program may be singular or plural. That is, centralized processing may be performed, or distributed processing may be performed.

  FIG. 18 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of an external appearance of a computer that executes the program and realizes the first in-vehicle device 1, the server 2, and the second in-vehicle device 3 according to each of the above embodiments. Each of the above embodiments can be realized by computer hardware and a computer program executed thereon.

  18, a computer system 900 includes a computer 901 including a CD-ROM drive 905 and an FD (Floppy (registered trademark) Disk) drive 906, a keyboard 902, a mouse 903, and a monitor 904.

  FIG. 19 is a diagram showing an internal configuration of the computer system 900. In FIG. 19, in addition to the CD-ROM drive 905 and the FD drive 906, a computer 901 is connected to an MPU 911, a ROM 912 for storing a program such as a boot-up program, and the MPU 911, and temporarily commands the application program. And a RAM 913 that provides a temporary storage space, a hard disk 914 that stores application programs, system programs, and data, and a bus 915 that interconnects the MPU 911, ROM 912, and the like. The computer 901 may include a network card (not shown) that provides connection to a LAN, WAN, or the like.

  A program for causing the computer system 900 to execute the functions of the first in-vehicle device 1, the server 2, and the second in-vehicle device 3 according to each of the above embodiments is stored in the CD-ROM 921 or the FD 922, and the CD-ROM drive 905 or FD drive 906 may be inserted and transferred to hard disk 914. Instead, the program may be transmitted to the computer 901 via a network (not shown) and stored in the hard disk 914. The program is loaded into the RAM 913 when executed. The program may be loaded directly from the CD-ROM 921, the FD 922, or the network.

  The program does not necessarily include an operating system (OS) or a third-party program that causes the computer 901 to execute the functions of the first in-vehicle device 1, the server 2, and the second in-vehicle device 3 according to the above embodiments. It does not have to be. The program may include only a part of an instruction that calls an appropriate function or module in a controlled manner and obtains a desired result. How the computer system 900 operates is well known and will not be described in detail.

  Further, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications are possible, and it goes without saying that these are also included in the scope of the present invention.

  As described above, according to the information communication system and the like according to the present invention, the second in-vehicle device can receive information related to the lighting color of the traffic light and can use the information. For example, the second in-vehicle device includes a car navigation device. This is useful as a system.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 1st vehicle-mounted apparatus 2 Server 3 2nd vehicle-mounted apparatus 11, 31 Map information storage part 12, 32 Present position acquisition part 13 Lighting color acquisition part 14 Traffic signal identifier acquisition part 15 Car-mounted transmission part 16 Progress determination means 17 Traffic signal determination means 18, 20 Acquisition means 19 Image acquisition means 21 Server reception unit 22 Storage unit 23 Storage unit 24 Lighting color prediction unit 25 Server transmission unit 33 Request transmission unit 34 In-vehicle reception unit 35 Point reception unit 36 Route search unit 37, 41 Output unit 38 Distance acquisition unit 39 Travel time calculation unit 40 Charge acquisition unit 100 Information communication system

Claims (15)

An information communication system comprising a server and first and second in-vehicle devices that can communicate with the server,
The first in-vehicle device is
A map information storage unit for storing map information which is information relating to the map including the position of the traffic light;
A current position acquisition unit for acquiring the current position;
Using the map information, a traffic signal identifier acquisition unit that acquires a traffic signal identifier that identifies a traffic signal according to the current position acquired by the current position acquisition unit;
A lighting color acquisition unit for acquiring the lighting color of the traffic light;
An in-vehicle transmission unit that transmits to the server the traffic signal identifier acquired by the traffic signal identifier acquisition unit and the lighting color of the traffic signal identified by the traffic signal identifier;
The server
A server receiver that receives the traffic signal identifier and the lighting color transmitted from the first in-vehicle device;
An accumulation unit that accumulates the traffic signal identifier and lighting color received by the server reception unit;
A server transmission unit that transmits the traffic signal information including the traffic signal identifier and the lighting color of the traffic signal identified by the traffic signal identifier to the second in-vehicle device using the traffic signal identifier and the lighting color accumulated by the storage unit; With
The second in-vehicle device is
An in-vehicle receiver that receives the traffic signal information transmitted from the server;
An information communication system comprising: an output unit that performs output related to traffic signal information received by the in-vehicle reception unit. The storage unit stores a traffic signal identifier, a lighting color, and a time corresponding to the lighting color in association with each other,
The server
A lighting color prediction unit that predicts a future lighting color using the lighting color and time accumulated by the accumulation unit,
The information communication system according to claim 1, wherein the server transmission unit transmits signal information including a signal identifier and a future lighting color of the signal identified by the signal identifier to the second in-vehicle device. The lighting color acquisition unit
Progress determination means for determining whether or not the vehicle in which the first in-vehicle device is installed is traveling;
A traffic light determining means for determining whether or not the current position acquired by the current position acquisition unit exists in an area corresponding to a traffic light;
When it is determined by the traffic light determining means that the current position is in an area corresponding to the traffic light, a lighting color corresponding to the progress is acquired when the vehicle determining means determines that the vehicle is moving. The information communication system according to claim 1, further comprising: an acquisition unit configured to acquire a lighting color corresponding to the stop when the progress determination unit determines that the vehicle is stopped. The lighting color acquisition unit
Image acquisition means for acquiring an image of the traffic light;
The information communication system according to claim 1, further comprising: an acquisition unit configured to acquire a lighting color of the traffic signal using an image of the traffic signal acquired by the image acquisition unit. The information communication system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the output unit performs output related to a lighting color included in the traffic signal information. The output unit is configured to stop the vehicle when the traffic light information indicates that the lighting color of the traffic signal ahead of the traveling direction of the vehicle in which the second in-vehicle device is installed corresponds to the stop. The information communication system according to claim 1, wherein the control signal is output. The second in-vehicle device is
A second map information storage unit for storing map information which is information relating to the map including the position of the traffic signal;
A route search that uses the traffic signal information received by the in-vehicle reception unit and the map information stored in the second map information storage unit to perform a route search so as to avoid a traffic light with a lighting color corresponding to a stop. And further comprising
The information communication system according to claim 2, wherein the output unit performs output related to the route searched by the route search unit. The second in-vehicle device is
A second map information storage unit for storing map information which is information relating to the map including the position of the traffic signal;
A point reception unit for receiving a departure place and a destination,
Using the map information stored in the second map information storage unit, a route search unit for performing a route search from the departure place to the destination attached by the point reception unit;
A travel time calculation unit that calculates a travel time according to the route using traffic signal information according to a traffic signal present in the route searched by the route search unit;
The information communication system according to claim 2, wherein the output unit performs output related to the travel time calculated by the travel time calculation unit. The second in-vehicle device is
A distance acquisition unit that acquires a distance according to the route searched by the route search unit;
A taxi fare according to the distance acquired by the distance acquisition unit, and a fare acquisition unit for acquiring a taxi fare according to the travel time calculated by the travel time calculation unit,
The information communication system according to claim 8, wherein the output unit outputs a taxi fee according to a distance and a taxi fee according to a travel time acquired by the fee acquisition unit. A map information storage unit for storing map information which is information relating to the map including the position of the traffic light;
A current position acquisition unit for acquiring the current position;
Using the map information, a traffic signal identifier acquisition unit that acquires a traffic signal identifier that identifies a traffic signal according to the current position acquired by the current position acquisition unit;
A lighting color acquisition unit for acquiring the lighting color of the traffic light;
A vehicle-mounted device comprising: a traffic signal identifier acquired by the traffic signal identifier acquisition unit; and a vehicle-mounted transmission unit that transmits a lighting color of the traffic signal identified by the traffic signal identifier. A server capable of communicating with the first and second in-vehicle devices,
A server receiver for receiving a traffic signal identifier for identifying a traffic signal and a lighting color of the traffic signal identified by the traffic signal identifier transmitted from the first in-vehicle device;
An accumulation unit that accumulates the traffic signal identifier and lighting color received by the server reception unit;
A server transmission unit that transmits the traffic signal information including the traffic signal identifier and the lighting color of the traffic signal identified by the traffic signal identifier to the second in-vehicle device using the traffic signal identifier and the lighting color accumulated by the storage unit; A server with An in-vehicle receiver that receives traffic signal information including a traffic signal identifier for identifying a traffic signal and a lighting color of the traffic signal identified by the traffic signal identifier;
An in-vehicle device comprising: an output unit that performs output related to traffic signal information received by the in-vehicle reception unit. In the server communicable with the first and second in-vehicle devices, there is an information processing method processed using a server reception unit, a storage unit, and a server transmission unit,
A server receiving step in which the server reception unit receives a traffic signal identifier for identifying a traffic signal and a lighting color of the traffic signal identified by the traffic signal identifier transmitted from the first vehicle-mounted device;
An accumulation step in which the accumulation unit associates and accumulates the traffic signal identifier and the lighting color received in the server reception step;
The server transmission unit transmits the traffic signal information including the traffic signal identifier and the lighting color of the traffic signal identified by the traffic signal identifier to the second in-vehicle device using the traffic signal identifier and the lighting color accumulated in the accumulation step. An information processing method comprising: a server transmission step. A computer that can access a map information storage unit in which map information that is information about a map including the position of a traffic light is stored,
A current position acquisition unit for acquiring the current position;
Using the map information, a traffic signal identifier acquisition unit that acquires a traffic signal identifier that identifies a traffic signal according to the current position acquired by the current position acquisition unit,
Lighting color acquisition unit that acquires the lighting color of traffic lights,
The program for functioning as a vehicle-mounted transmission part which transmits the traffic signal identifier which the said traffic signal identifier acquisition part acquired, and the lighting color of the traffic signal identified with the said traffic signal identifier. Computer
A vehicle-mounted receiving unit that receives traffic signal information including a traffic signal identifier for identifying the traffic signal and a lighting color of the traffic signal identified by the traffic signal identifier;
The program for functioning as an output part which performs the output regarding the traffic signal information which the said vehicle-mounted receiving part received.

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