JP2017058773A - Traffic information provision system, traffic information provision device, and car onboard communication device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a traffic information provision system with which it is possible to suppress the information volume of image information transmitted by wireless from a vehicle to a traffic information provision device that is a server, and provide information on traffic event based on the image information.SOLUTION: The traffic information provision system comprises: a car onboard communication device 2 for collecting information on the position and travel time of a vehicle C, and transmitting by wireless probe information including the collected information; and a traffic information provision device 1 for receiving the probe information transmitted from the car onboard communication device 2, and providing information pertaining to a traffic event specified on the basis of the received probe information. The traffic information provision device 1 estimates the occurrence of a prescribed traffic event on the basis of the probe information, and transmits request information for requesting video information pertaining to the estimated traffic event to the car onboard communication device 2. The car onboard communication device 2, collecting image information obtained by image-capturing the periphery of the vehicle, transmits by wireless the collected image information to the traffic information provision device 1 when the request information is received.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a traffic information providing system that provides traffic information, a traffic information providing device, and an in-vehicle communication device.

  In order to realize smooth traffic control and safe automatic driving of vehicles, technologies for providing traffic information such as the presence or absence of traffic jams and road surface freezing have been developed. Patent Document 1 discloses a system in which a mobile information terminal mounted on a vehicle wirelessly transmits the position information of the vehicle and user posted information to a server of a management center, and the server analyzes the posted information collected from each vehicle. Has been. The posted information includes vehicle speed, wiper status, sound information collected by a microphone, and the like. The server creates map information reflecting the analysis result of the posted information, and distributes the created map information.

Japanese Patent No. 5333673

  However, when the volume of information collected by the server is large, for example, when image information around the vehicle is wirelessly transmitted from the vehicle to the server, the load on the server becomes excessive, and there is a possibility that the operation may be hindered.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a traffic information providing system and a traffic information providing capable of suppressing information amount of image information wirelessly transmitted from a vehicle to a traffic information providing device as a server and providing information on a traffic event based on the image information. An object is to provide a device and an in-vehicle communication device.

  A traffic information providing system according to an aspect of the present invention collects information on the position and travel time of a vehicle, wirelessly transmits probe information including the collected information, and is wirelessly transmitted from the in-vehicle communication device. A traffic information providing system that receives the probe information and provides information related to a traffic event specified based on the received probe information, wherein the traffic information providing apparatus receives the received probe information. An estimation unit that estimates occurrence of a predetermined traffic event based on the information, and when the occurrence of the traffic event is estimated by the estimation unit, request information for requesting image information related to the traffic event A request information transmitting unit for transmitting to the in-vehicle communication device, wherein the in-vehicle communication device collects image information obtained by imaging the periphery of the vehicle, and the traffic information providing device. A request information receiving unit that receives the request information transmitted from the image, and an image that wirelessly transmits the image information collected by the image information collecting unit to the traffic information providing device when the request information receiving unit receives the request information An information transmission unit.

  A traffic information providing apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention receives traffic information including information on a vehicle position and travel time and provides traffic information specified based on the received probe information. An estimation unit that estimates the occurrence of a predetermined traffic event based on the received probe information, and when the occurrence of the traffic event is estimated by the estimation unit, image information relating to the traffic event is A request information transmission unit that transmits request information for requesting.

  An in-vehicle communication device according to an aspect of the present invention is an in-vehicle communication device that collects information on the position and travel time of a vehicle and wirelessly transmits probe information including the collected information, and based on the collected information, When the occurrence of the traffic event is estimated by the estimation unit that estimates the occurrence of a predetermined traffic event, the image information collection unit that collects image information obtained by imaging the periphery of the vehicle, and the estimation unit, the image An image information transmission unit that wirelessly transmits the image information collected by the information collection unit.

  In addition, this application is not only realizable as a traffic information provision apparatus provided with such a characteristic process part, but it implement | achieves as a traffic information provision method which makes this characteristic process a step, or such a step is a computer. Or can be realized as a program to be executed. Further, it can be realized as a semiconductor integrated circuit that realizes part or all of the traffic information providing apparatus, or can be realized as another system including the traffic information providing apparatus.

  According to the above, the traffic information providing system and the traffic information providing apparatus capable of suppressing the information amount of the image information wirelessly transmitted from the vehicle to the traffic information providing apparatus as a server and providing the information of the traffic event based on the image information In addition, an in-vehicle communication device can be provided.

It is a conceptual diagram which shows the example of 1 structure of the traffic information provision system which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the example of 1 structure of the traffic information provision apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a conceptual diagram which shows the example of a record layout of probe information DB. It is a block diagram which shows one structural example of the vehicle-mounted communication apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence of the traffic information provision which concerns on this Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence of the traffic information provision which concerns on this Embodiment 1. FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a traffic event estimation processing procedure according to the first embodiment. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a probe information and image information transmission processing procedure according to the second embodiment.

[Description of Embodiment of the Present Invention]
First, embodiments of the present invention will be listed and described. Moreover, you may combine arbitrarily at least one part of embodiment described below.

(1) A traffic information providing system according to an aspect of the present invention includes an in-vehicle communication device that collects information on a vehicle position and travel time, and wirelessly transmits probe information including the collected information, and the in-vehicle communication device. A traffic information providing system that includes wirelessly transmitted probe information and a traffic information providing device that provides information related to a traffic event specified based on the received probe information, the traffic information providing device comprising: An estimation unit that estimates the occurrence of a predetermined traffic event based on the received probe information, and a request for requesting image information relating to the traffic event when the occurrence of the traffic event is estimated by the estimation unit A request information transmitting unit that transmits information to the in-vehicle communication device, wherein the in-vehicle communication device collects image information obtained by imaging the periphery of the vehicle, and the traffic information A request information receiving unit that receives the request information transmitted from the providing device, and when the request information receiving unit receives the request information, the image information collected by the image information collecting unit is wirelessly transmitted to the traffic information providing device And an image information transmission unit.

According to this aspect, the in-vehicle communication device collects information on the position and travel time of the vehicle, and wirelessly transmits probe information including the collected information to the traffic information providing device. Here, the in-vehicle communication device basically does not wirelessly transmit large-capacity information such as image information to the traffic information providing device. The traffic information providing device receives the probe information transmitted from each of the plurality of vehicles, and estimates the occurrence of the traffic event based on the received probe information of the vehicle. And when generation | occurrence | production of a traffic event is estimated, a traffic information provision apparatus requests | requires the image information around a vehicle from a vehicle-mounted communication apparatus. The in-vehicle communication device wirelessly transmits image information obtained by imaging the periphery of the vehicle to the traffic information providing device in response to a request from the traffic information providing device. Therefore, according to this aspect, it is possible to suppress the information amount of the image information wirelessly transmitted from the vehicle to the traffic information providing device, and it is possible to provide information on the traffic event based on the image information.
The image information transmitted by the in-vehicle communication device may be image information obtained by imaging after a request from the traffic information providing device, or image information obtained by imaging before the request is made. May be.
In addition, the destination of the information related to the traffic event by the traffic information providing device is an in-vehicle communication device, a general user's computer, another server, or the like, but is not particularly limited.
Furthermore, the information that the in-vehicle communication device performs wireless transmission in response to a request from the traffic information providing device includes image information, but audio information or the like may be transmitted in addition to the image information.

(2) The traffic information providing device is configured to identify a traffic event based on the image information receiving unit that receives the image information transmitted from the in-vehicle communication device and the image information received by the image information receiving unit. The structure provided with a part is preferable.

  According to this aspect, the traffic information providing device can receive the image information transmitted from the in-vehicle communication device, and can perform definitive identification of the traffic event based on the received image information. Therefore, the traffic information providing apparatus can provide information related to a traffic event specified based on image information obtained by imaging the periphery of the vehicle.

(3) The estimation unit includes an occurrence position estimation unit that estimates an occurrence position of the traffic event based on the received probe information, and the request information transmission unit is an occurrence position estimated by the occurrence point estimation unit. The structure which requests | requires the image information which concerns on the said traffic event in is preferable.

  According to this aspect, the traffic information providing apparatus estimates the occurrence position of the traffic event and requests image information around the vehicle at the estimated occurrence position. Therefore, unnecessary image information transmitted wirelessly to the traffic information providing apparatus can be further reduced.

(4) The estimation unit includes an occurrence time estimation unit that estimates an occurrence time of the traffic event based on the received probe information, and the request information transmission unit is an occurrence time estimated by the occurrence time estimation unit. The structure which requests | requires the image information which concerns on the said traffic event in is preferable.

  According to this aspect, the traffic information providing apparatus estimates the occurrence time of a traffic event, and requests image information around the vehicle at the estimated occurrence time. Therefore, unnecessary image information transmitted wirelessly to the traffic information providing apparatus can be further reduced.

(5) The predetermined traffic event preferably includes a traffic jam, an obstacle on a road on which the vehicle travels, or an event related to road freezing.

  According to this aspect, the traffic information providing apparatus requests image information when the occurrence of a traffic event including a traffic jam, an obstacle on a road on which a vehicle runs, or a road surface freeze is estimated, and the traffic event The image information related to can be received.

(6) A traffic information providing apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention receives probe information including information on a vehicle position and travel time, and provides information related to a traffic event specified based on the received probe information. A traffic information providing apparatus that estimates an occurrence of a predetermined traffic event based on received probe information, and when the occurrence of the traffic event is estimated by the estimation unit, relates to the traffic event A request information transmission unit that transmits request information for requesting image information.

  According to this aspect, similarly to aspect (1), it is possible to suppress the information amount of the image information wirelessly transmitted from the vehicle to the traffic information providing apparatus, and it is possible to provide information on the traffic event based on the image information.

(7) The in-vehicle communication device according to one aspect of the present invention is an in-vehicle communication device that collects information on the position and travel time of a vehicle and wirelessly transmits probe information including the collected information. An estimation unit that estimates the occurrence of a predetermined traffic event, an image information collection unit that collects image information obtained by imaging the periphery of the vehicle, and the occurrence of the traffic event is estimated by the estimation unit And an image information transmitting unit that wirelessly transmits the image information collected by the image information collecting unit.

  According to this aspect, the in-vehicle communication device can transmit image information around the vehicle when the occurrence of a predetermined traffic event is estimated. Accordingly, the amount of image information transmitted from the vehicle to the traffic information providing device can be suppressed, and the processing load on the external device that receives and analyzes the image information, that is, the traffic information providing device can be reduced.

[Details of the embodiment of the present invention]
A specific example of a traffic information providing system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In addition, this invention is not limited to these illustrations, is shown by the claim, and intends that all the changes within the meaning and range equivalent to a claim are included.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing a configuration example of a traffic information providing system according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. The traffic information providing system according to the first embodiment identifies a traffic event such as road surface freezing based on probe information collected from a plurality of vehicles C traveling on a road R, and relates to the identified traffic event. This system provides traffic information. The probe information includes the position of the vehicle C, the speed of the vehicle C when traveling at the position, the traveling time of the vehicle C at the position, and other various types of information related to the behavior of the vehicle C.

  The traffic information providing system includes a traffic information providing device 1 connected to a communication network, and an in-vehicle communication device 2 arranged in each of a plurality of vehicles C. The in-vehicle communication device 2 transmits probe information including information such as the position, speed, and travel time of the vehicle C on which the vehicle is mounted to the traffic information providing device 1 via the communication network. The traffic information providing device 1 receives and accumulates probe information transmitted from the in-vehicle communication device 2. The traffic information providing apparatus 1 identifies a traffic event based on the accumulated probe information, and provides information related to the identified traffic event to each vehicle, a general user, or another information management server. The in-vehicle communication device 2 receives information related to the traffic event transmitted from the traffic information providing device 1 and executes processing such as warning using the received information. For example, the in-vehicle communication device 2 can perform a process of notifying the driver by displaying traffic information, road surface freezing information, falling object information on the road, or the like, and supporting smooth and safe driving. it can.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of the traffic information providing apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The traffic information providing apparatus 1 includes a control unit 11 that controls the operation of each component of the traffic information providing apparatus 1. The control unit 11 is a computer having a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM, a RAM, an interface, and the like. The ROM is a nonvolatile memory such as an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM) and stores a control program necessary for the initial operation of the computer. The RAM is a memory such as DRAM (Dynamic RAM), SRAM (Static RAM), etc., and a control program (not shown) read from the ROM and the storage unit 12 and a computer program to be described later, Various data generated by the arithmetic processing of the CPU are temporarily stored.
The traffic information providing device 1 is installed in, for example, a traffic control center. A storage unit 12, a communication unit 13, and a clock 14 are connected to the control unit 11 via a bus.

  The communication unit 13 is an interface for transmitting and receiving various types of information to and from the external in-vehicle communication device 2. Transmission and reception of various types of information by the communication unit 13 is controlled by the control unit 11. For example, the communication unit 13 receives probe information transmitted from the in-vehicle communication device 2 as information for estimating or specifying various traffic events. Further, the communication unit 13 transmits information relating to the identified traffic event to the in-vehicle communication device 2.

  The clock 14 measures the date and time. The clock 14 has calendar information, and the control unit 11 can acquire time information such as the current date, time and day of the week from the clock 14.

  The storage unit 12 is a nonvolatile memory such as a hard disk, an EEPROM, or a flash memory. The storage unit 12 stores a computer program for causing the computer to function as the traffic information providing device 1 by the control unit 11 controlling the operation of each component of the traffic information providing device 1. The computer program is a program for causing a computer to execute a process of estimating or specifying a traffic event based on accumulated probe information and transmitting traffic information related to the specified various traffic events to the in-vehicle communication device 2.

  The computer program according to the first embodiment may be recorded on a recording medium so as to be readable by a computer. The recording medium stores a computer program for estimating or identifying a traffic event based on the accumulated probe information and causing the computer to execute processing for transmitting the traffic information related to the identified various traffic events to the in-vehicle communication device 2. ing. The storage unit 12 stores a computer program read from a recording medium by a reading device (not shown). Recording media are CD (Compact Disc) -ROM, DVD (Digital Versatile Disc) -ROM, optical disc such as BD (Blu-ray (registered trademark) Disc), flexible disc, magnetic disc such as hard disc, magnetic optical disc, semiconductor memory, etc. It is. Further, the computer program according to the first embodiment may be downloaded from an external computer (not shown) connected to the communication network and stored in the storage unit 12.

  The storage unit 12 stores map information 12a and probe information DB (Data Base) 12b. The map information 12a includes image information representing the road R and buildings on which the vehicle C travels. Further, the map information 12a stores information in which the positions of nodes of a plurality of links corresponding to intersections, distances of each link, and various types of information such as average travel time in each link are associated with each other. A link is a road R section at two adjacent intersections, and logically constitutes a road R on which a vehicle C travels. Each link is connected by a node corresponding to an intersection, and logically constitutes a road R network. The average travel time is the time required to travel each link. Further, the map information 12a stores the identified traffic event and event occurrence time in association with the position on the map.

  FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram showing a record layout example of the probe information DB 12b. The probe information DB 12 b is a database that stores probe information transmitted from the in-vehicle communication device 2. The probe information DB 12b includes a probe information number (NO) assigned to each of the received plurality of probe information, an ID for identifying the vehicle C, position information of the vehicle C, speed information, time information, throttle opening information, brake Operation information, steering wheel steering angle information, yaw rate information, and image information obtained by imaging the periphery of the vehicle are stored in association with each other. In normal times, image information is not transmitted from the vehicle C as probe information, and the probe information DB 12b stores small-capacity information for identifying traffic events, excluding image information. Of course, when the image information transmitted from the in-vehicle communication device 2 is received, the image information is also stored in the probe information DB 12b.

  FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of the in-vehicle communication device 2 according to the first embodiment. The in-vehicle communication device 2 includes, for example, a control unit 21 that controls the operation of each component of the in-vehicle communication device 2. The control unit 21 is a computer having a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, an interface, and the like. A storage unit 22, a wireless communication unit 23, a clock 24, and an in-vehicle communication unit 25 are connected to the control unit 21 via a bus. The hardware configuration of the control unit 21, the storage unit 22, and the clock 24 is the same as that of the traffic information providing apparatus 1.

  The wireless communication unit 23 is an interface for wirelessly transmitting / receiving various types of information to / from the external traffic information providing apparatus 1. Transmission / reception of various types of information by the wireless communication unit 23 is controlled by the control unit 21. For example, the wireless communication unit 23 is an interface that transmits and receives various types of information through a mobile phone network and a wireless LAN, transmits probe information to the traffic information providing device 1, and receives traffic information transmitted from the traffic information providing device 1. To do. Note that the wireless communication unit 23 may transmit and receive information using an external mobile communication terminal that is wired or wirelessly connected. Moreover, the structure which transmits / receives various information via local vehicle-mounted communication apparatuses 2, such as an optical beacon, radio beacon, and DSRC (Dedicated Short Range Communications) installed in the roadside, may be sufficient as the radio | wireless communication part 23.

  A position detection unit 3, a vehicle speed detection unit 4, an engine ECU 5, a brake controller 6, a steering wheel steering angle sensor 7, a yaw rate sensor 8, and an imaging unit 9 are connected to the in-vehicle communication unit 25. This is an interface for inputting position information, time information, speed information, throttle opening information, brake operation information, steering wheel angle information, yaw rate information, and image information output from various sensors, ECUs, and the like.

  The position detection unit 3 includes a GPS receiver. The GPS receiver constitutes a GPS system together with an artificial satellite (GPS satellite), receives radio waves from the artificial satellite, and detects its own position information. Then, the position detection unit 3 outputs the detected position information of the vehicle C and time information at the time of position detection to the in-vehicle communication device 2.

  The vehicle speed detector 4 includes, for example, a magnetic pickup that transmits a signal proportional to the rotational speed of an axle provided in the vehicle C, a non-contact sensor that includes a hall element, and a counting circuit that measures the number of pulses from the non-contact sensor. And detecting the speed of the vehicle C by measuring the number of pulses. Then, the vehicle speed detection unit 4 outputs the detected speed information of the vehicle C to the in-vehicle communication device 2.

  The engine ECU 5 controls the operation of the engine, and outputs throttle opening information indicating the opening of the throttle to the in-vehicle communication device 2.

  The brake controller 6 controls the pressure of the hydraulic brake according to the brake operation, the running situation, etc., and outputs brake operation information indicating the content of the brake operation to the in-vehicle communication device 2.

  The steering angle sensor 7 detects the steering angle of the steering wheel of the vehicle C, and outputs steering angle information indicating the steering angle obtained by the detection to the in-vehicle communication device 2.

  The yaw rate sensor 8 is a sensor that detects the slip angle of the vehicle C, that is, the rotational angular velocity with respect to the traveling direction, and outputs yaw rate information indicating the rotational direction and angular velocity of the vehicle C obtained by detection to the in-vehicle communication device 2. The yaw rate sensor 8 includes, for example, a vibrator, and detects the rotational angular velocity of the vehicle C by detecting a change in the vibration mode of the vibrator by the Coriolis force generated by the rotation of the vehicle C.

  The imaging unit 9 includes an imaging element and a lens, images the periphery of the vehicle C, and outputs image data around the vehicle obtained by imaging to the in-vehicle communication device 2. The imaging unit 9 captures, for example, 30 frames of images per second, and outputs the image data to the in-vehicle communication device 2. The image captured by the imaging unit 9 may be a moving image or a stop image captured intermittently.

  The in-vehicle communication device 2 may be a dedicated device or a communication terminal such as a smartphone that realizes a car navigation function by executing application software. The in-vehicle communication device 2 may be portable or may be fixedly mounted on the vehicle C.

5 and 6 are flowcharts showing a traffic information provision processing procedure according to the first embodiment. The control unit 21 of the in-vehicle communication device 2 collects position information, time information, speed information, time information, throttle opening information, brake operation information, steering wheel steering angle information, yaw rate information, and image information of the vehicle C (step S11). ). Then, the collected various information is stored (step S12).
The in-vehicle communication device 2 collects image information and stores it in the storage unit 22 even when there is no transmission request for image information from the traffic information providing device 1. Here, an example is described in which time information is collected together with position information from the position detection unit 3, but time information may be acquired from the clock 24.

  Next, the control unit 21 collects the position information, speed information, time information, throttle opening information, brake operation information, steering wheel steering angle information and yaw rate information obtained in step S11, and probe information including its own ID. Is transmitted to the traffic information providing apparatus 1 by the wireless communication unit 23 (step S13). Here, the image information is not transmitted to the traffic information providing apparatus 1.

  The control unit 11 of the traffic information providing device 1 receives the probe information transmitted from the in-vehicle communication device 2 by the communication unit 13 (step S14), and stores the received probe information in the storage unit 12 (step S15). Specifically, the received probe information is stored in the probe information DB 12b. Next, the control unit 11 estimates the occurrence of traffic events such as traffic congestion and road surface freezing based on the probe information accumulated in the probe information DB 12b (step S16). By the traffic event estimation process, the type of traffic event, the occurrence position and the occurrence time of the traffic event are also estimated. Details of the traffic event estimation method will be described later.

  And the control part 11 determines whether the estimated traffic event exists (step S17). When it is determined that the estimated traffic event exists (step S17: YES), the control unit 11 generates request information for requesting image information around the vehicle at the estimated position and time of the estimated traffic event. The generated request information is transmitted to the in-vehicle communication device 2 by the communication unit 13 (step S18).

  The control unit 21 of the in-vehicle communication device 2 receives the request information transmitted from the traffic information providing device 1 by the wireless communication unit 23 (step S19). The control unit 21 that has received the request information specifies the target image information requested by the request information from the image information stored in the storage unit 22 (step S20). That is, the control unit 21 specifies image information in which the position and time of the vehicle C where the image information is captured correspond to the estimated occurrence position and time of the traffic event. And the control part 21 transmits the image information of the specified request | requirement object to the traffic information provision apparatus 1 in the radio | wireless communication part 23 (step S21).

  The control unit 11 of the traffic information providing device 1 receives the image information transmitted from the in-vehicle communication device 2 at the communication unit 13 (step S22). The received image information is stored in the probe information DB 12b. And the control part 11 specifies a traffic event based on the image information received in step S22, and the probe information accumulate | stored in probe information DB12b (step S23). Although the traffic event is estimated in the process of step S16, the traffic event estimated in step S16 is in an uncertain state. Therefore, the control unit 11 definitely identifies the presence or absence of a traffic event using the image information received in step S22 for the estimated traffic event (step S23).

  Next, the control unit 11 updates the map information 12a in which the identified traffic event, position, and time are associated (step S24). When the process of step S24 is completed or when it is determined that the estimated traffic event does not exist (step S17: NO), the control unit 11 uses the communication unit 13 to transmit the traffic information related to the traffic event to the in-vehicle communication device. 2 (step S25). The traffic information is, for example, map information indicating a point where a traffic event has occurred and the type of the traffic event. In addition, when it determines with the estimated traffic event not existing, the control part 11 transmits the conventional traffic information to the vehicle-mounted communication apparatus 2, without updating the map information 12a.

  The control unit 21 of the in-vehicle communication device 2 receives the traffic information transmitted from the traffic information providing device 1 by the wireless communication unit 23 (step S26), and notifies the driver in the vehicle of the received traffic information (step S26). S27), the process ends.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a traffic event estimation processing procedure according to the first embodiment. Based on the probe information stored in the probe information DB 12b, the control unit 11 estimates the occurrence position and time zone of the traffic event related to the traffic jam (step S51). Specifically, the control unit 11 specifies the behavior pattern of the vehicle C based on the position information, the speed information, the time information, the throttle opening information, and the brake operation information of the vehicle C among the probe information. Estimate the occurrence. When a traffic jam occurs, the vehicles C traveling on the road R are lined up and the speed of the vehicles C is low. Further, there is a certain feature in the pattern in which the vehicle C that is congested repeats starting and stopping, and the occurrence of the congested traffic can be estimated from these travel modes. Moreover, the start point and the end of the traffic jam can be estimated by estimating the point where the speed of the vehicle C is equal to or less than the threshold value.

  Next, the control unit 11 estimates the occurrence position and time zone of the traffic event related to the obstacle falling based on the probe information accumulated in the probe information DB 12b (step S52). Specifically, the control unit 11 estimates the occurrence of an obstacle drop based on the position information, time information, and steering angle information of the vehicle C. If there is a fallen object on the road R, a plurality of vehicles C tend to perform a sudden handle operation at the same point. Therefore, it is possible to estimate the occurrence of an obstacle fall by specifying the traveling mode of the vehicle C. .

  Next, the control unit 11 estimates the occurrence position and time zone of the traffic event related to road surface freezing based on the probe information stored in the probe information DB 12b (step S53), and ends the process. Specifically, the control unit 11 estimates road surface freezing based on speed information, time information, steering wheel angle information, and yaw rate information of the vehicle C. When the traveling vehicle C causes a side slip on a frozen road surface, the relationship between the steering angle of the steering wheel and the slip angle of the vehicle C tends to deviate. Road surface freezing can be estimated from the running mode.

  According to the traffic information providing system according to the first embodiment configured as described above, since the traffic information providing apparatus 1 requests the in-vehicle communication apparatus 2 to transmit image information as necessary, the in-vehicle communication apparatus 2 The amount of image information wirelessly transmitted to the traffic information providing apparatus 1 can be suppressed, and traffic event information can be provided based on the image information.

  In addition, when the traffic information providing apparatus 1 estimates the occurrence of a traffic event based on the probe information, the traffic information providing apparatus 1 requests image information from the in-vehicle communication device, and based on the image information transmitted from the in-vehicle communication device of each vehicle, Traffic events can be identified deterministically.

  Furthermore, it is possible to control so that the image information is wirelessly transmitted from the in-vehicle communication device, limited to the image information obtained by imaging the vehicle traveling at the position where the occurrence of the traffic event is estimated, and the traffic information is provided. Unnecessary image information wirelessly transmitted to the apparatus 1 can be reduced.

  Furthermore, it is possible to control the image information to be wirelessly transmitted from the in-vehicle communication device 2 only to the image information obtained by imaging the vehicle traveling at the time when the occurrence of the traffic event is estimated. Unnecessary image information wirelessly transmitted to the information providing apparatus 1 can be reduced.

  Furthermore, the traffic information providing apparatus 1 can estimate or identify the occurrence of a traffic event including a traffic jam, a fallen object on a road on which a vehicle travels, or a road surface freeze.

(Embodiment 2)
In the first embodiment, the traffic information providing apparatus 1 is configured to manage the necessity of transmission of image information. However, the in-vehicle communication apparatus 2 determines whether or not the transmission of image information is necessary by itself, and if necessary. It is also possible to transmit image information. Since the traffic information communication system according to the second embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that the in-vehicle communication device 2 determines the transmission timing of image information by itself, the following mainly describes the differences and describes the corresponding points. Are denoted by the same reference numerals and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a probe information and image information transmission processing procedure according to the second embodiment. The control unit 21 collects and stores position information, speed information, time information, and the like of the vehicle C, and transmits probe information in steps S211 to S213, as in steps S11 to S13 of the first embodiment. And the control part 21 estimates generation | occurrence | production of traffic events, such as traffic congestion and road surface freezing, based on the probe information which the memory | storage part 22 memorize | stored (step S214). The traffic event estimation method is the same as the processing performed by the traffic information providing apparatus 1 in the first embodiment.

  Next, the control unit 21 determines whether or not it is determined whether or not there is an estimated traffic event (step S215). When it determines with the estimated traffic event existing (step S215: YES), the control part 21 specifies the image information regarding a traffic event (step S216). Specifically, the control unit 21 specifies image information captured in the estimated traffic event occurrence position and time zone. And the control part 21 transmits the specified image information to the traffic information provision apparatus 1 in the wireless communication part 23 (step S217).

  When the process of step S217 is completed, or when it is determined that there is no estimated traffic event (step S215: NO), the wireless communication unit 23 receives the traffic information transmitted from the traffic information providing device 1. (Step S218), the received traffic information is notified to the driver in the vehicle (Step S219), and the process ends.

  According to the in-vehicle communication device 2 according to the second embodiment configured as described above, when the occurrence of a predetermined traffic event is estimated, image information around the vehicle is wirelessly transmitted to the traffic information providing device 1. The image information transmitted from each vehicle to the traffic information providing apparatus 1 can be reduced.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Traffic information provision apparatus 2 In-vehicle communication apparatus 3 Position detection part 4 Vehicle speed detection part 5 Engine ECU
6 Brake controller 7 Steering angle sensor 8 Yaw rate sensor 9 Imaging unit 11 Control unit 12 Storage unit 12a Map information 12b Probe information DB
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 13 Communication part 14 Clock 21 Control part 22 Memory | storage part 23 Wireless communication part 24 Clock 25 In-vehicle communication part R Road C Vehicle

Claims (7)

In-vehicle communication device that collects information on vehicle position and travel time, wirelessly transmits probe information including the collected information, and receives probe information wirelessly transmitted from the in-vehicle communication device, and based on the received probe information A traffic information providing system comprising a traffic information providing device that provides information related to a traffic event specified by
The traffic information providing device includes:
An estimation unit for estimating the occurrence of a predetermined traffic event based on the received probe information;
A request information transmitting unit that transmits request information for requesting image information relating to the traffic event to the in-vehicle communication device when the estimation unit estimates the occurrence of the traffic event;
The in-vehicle communication device is
An image information collecting unit for collecting image information obtained by imaging the periphery of the vehicle;
A request information receiving unit for receiving request information transmitted from the traffic information providing device;
A traffic information providing system comprising: an image information transmitting unit that wirelessly transmits image information collected by the image information collecting unit to the traffic information providing device when the request information receiving unit receives request information. The traffic information providing device includes:
An image information receiving unit for receiving image information transmitted from the in-vehicle communication device;
The traffic information providing system according to claim 1, further comprising: a specifying unit that specifies a traffic event based on the image information received by the image information receiving unit. The estimation unit includes
Based on the received probe information, comprising an occurrence position estimation unit that estimates the occurrence position of the traffic event,
The request information transmitter is
The traffic information providing system according to claim 1, wherein image information related to the traffic event at the generation position estimated by the generation point estimation unit is requested. The estimation unit includes
An occurrence time estimation unit for estimating the occurrence time of the traffic event based on the received probe information;
The request information transmitter is
The traffic information providing system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein image information relating to the traffic event at the occurrence time estimated by the occurrence time estimation unit is requested. The traffic information providing system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the predetermined traffic event includes a traffic jam, an obstacle on a road on which a vehicle travels, or an event related to road freezing. A traffic information providing device that receives probe information including information on a vehicle position and travel time, and provides information related to a traffic event specified based on the received probe information,
An estimation unit for estimating the occurrence of a predetermined traffic event based on the received probe information;
A traffic information providing apparatus comprising: a request information transmitting unit that transmits request information for requesting image information relating to the traffic event when the estimation unit estimates the occurrence of the traffic event. An in-vehicle communication device that collects information on the position and travel time of a vehicle and wirelessly transmits probe information including the collected information,
An estimation unit that estimates the occurrence of a predetermined traffic event based on the collected information;
An image information collecting unit for collecting image information obtained by imaging the periphery of the vehicle;
An in-vehicle communication device comprising: an image information transmission unit that wirelessly transmits image information collected by the image information collection unit when the estimation unit estimates the occurrence of the traffic event.

Images