Traffic-condition notifying device, its system, its method, its program and recording medium storing the program

• US 20050096839A1
• Filed: 10/20/2004
• Published: 05/05/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 11/04/2003
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Increment P Corporation, Pioneer Corporation
• Original Assignee: Increment P Corporation, Pioneer Corporation
• Inventors: Amano, Kouji, Nakano, Toshiaki
• Application Number:
  US10/968,173
• Publication Number:
  US 20050096839A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/200
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3694 Output thereof on a road map
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0969 having a display in the form of a map

Abstract

A navigation device (100) includes: a congestion-status recognizer for acquiring map information, traffic information about a traffic condition for a mobile body, and accuracy-level information about reliability of a traffic condition of the traffic information relative to an actual traffic condition; and a display controller for making a terminal display (140) display the map information with the accuracy-level information acquired by the congestion-status recognizer superimposed thereon. Therefore, since the navigation device (100) notifies not only the traffic conditions but also the accuracy-level information containing the reliability of the traffic condition, users can be informed of appropriate traffic conditions.

Claims

1. A traffic-condition notifying device comprising:

a map information acquirer for acquiring map information;

a traffic information acquirer for acquiring traffic information about a traffic condition for a mobile body;

an accuracy-level information acquirer for acquiring accuracy-level information about a reliability of a traffic condition of the traffic information relative to an actual traffic condition; and

a notification controller for controlling a notifier to notify the traffic information together with the accuracy-level information based on the map information.

2. The traffic-condition notifying device according to claim 1, wherein the notification controller controls a display section to display notification map information having a traffic condition superimposed and an indicator representing a reliability corresponding to each traffic condition superimposed on the map information on a screen for the notification thereof based on the traffic information, the map information and the accuracy-level information.

3. The traffic-condition notifying device according to claim 1, wherein the notification controller controls an audio section to output the traffic condition of the traffic information together with the accuracy-level information as sounds for the notification thereof.

4. The traffic-condition notifying device according to claim 1, further comprising a corrected-content information acquirer for acquiring corrected-content information about a corrected content that is set based on the actual traffic condition for the traffic condition of the traffic information,

wherein the notification controller controls the notifier to notify the traffic information together with the accuracy-level information based on the corrected-content information.

7. The traffic-condition notifying device according to claim 4, further comprising an accuracy-level changer for changing the reliability of the traffic information in the accuracy-level information based on the corrected-content information,

wherein the notification controller controls the notifier to notify the traffic information together with accuracy-level information about the reliability changed by the accuracy-level changer.

9. The traffic-condition notifying device according to claim 7, wherein the accuracy-level changer changes the reliability of the traffic information in the accuracy-level information according to frequency that the corrected-content information is set.

11. The traffic-condition notifying device according to claim 4, further comprising:

a travel-progress recognizer for recognizing travel progress of a mobile body; and

a traffic-condition recognizer for recognizing an actual traffic condition at a point where the mobile body travels based on the travel progress,

wherein the corrected-content information acquirer acquires corrected-content information about a corrected content that is set for the traffic condition of the traffic information based on the actual traffic condition recognized by the traffic-condition recognizer.

13. The traffic-condition notifying device according to claim 1, wherein the traffic information acquirer acquires at least either current traffic information about a current traffic condition or traffic prediction information about a transition of a traffic condition over time obtained by statistically processing past traffic conditions based on time factors as traffic information.

15. A traffic-condition notifying system comprising:

a server having a storage for storing map information; and

the traffic-condition notifying device according to claim 1 for acquiring the map information from the server over a network.

17. A traffic-condition notifying system comprising:

the traffic-condition notifying device according to claim 1;

and

a terminal unit that is connected to the traffic-condition notifying device over a network for communicating therewith and provided with a notifier for notifying the traffic information.

5. A traffic-condition notifying device comprising:

a map information acquirer for acquiring map information;

a traffic information acquirer for acquiring traffic information about a traffic condition for a mobile body;

a notification controller for controlling a notifier to notify the traffic information; and

a corrected-content information acquirer for acquiring corrected-content information about a corrected content that is set based on the actual traffic condition for the traffic condition of the traffic information,

wherein the notification controller controls the notifier to notify the traffic information with a content corrected in accordance with the corrected-content information based on the map information.

6. The traffic-condition notifying device according to claim 5, further comprising an accuracy-level information acquirer for acquiring accuracy-level information about a reliability of a traffic condition of the traffic information relative to an actual traffic condition based on the corrected-content information,

wherein the notification controller notifies the accuracy-level information together with the traffic information for notifying the traffic information with a content corrected in accordance with the corrected-content information.

8. The traffic-condition notifying device according to claim 6, further comprising an accuracy-level changer for changing the reliability of the traffic information in the accuracy-level information based on the corrected-content information,

wherein the notification controller controls the notifier to notify the traffic information together with accuracy-level information about the reliability changed by the accuracy-level changer.

10. The traffic-condition notifying device according to claim 8, wherein the accuracy-level changer changes the reliability of the traffic information in the accuracy-level information according to frequency that the corrected-content information is set.

12. The traffic-condition notifying device according to claim 5, further comprising:

a travel-progress recognizer for recognizing travel progress of a mobile body; and

a traffic-condition recognizer for recognizing an actual traffic condition at a point where the mobile body travels based on the travel progress,

wherein the corrected-content information acquirer acquires corrected-content information about a corrected content that is set for the traffic condition of the traffic information based on the actual traffic condition recognized by the traffic-condition recognizer.

14. The traffic-condition notifying device according to claim 5, wherein the traffic information acquirer acquires at least either current traffic information about a current traffic condition or traffic prediction information about a transition of a traffic condition over time obtained by statistically processing past traffic conditions based on time factors as traffic information.

16. A traffic-condition notifying system comprising:

a server having a storage for storing map information; and

the traffic-condition notifying device according to claim 5 for acquiring the map information from the server over a network.

18. A traffic-condition notifying system comprising:

the traffic-condition notifying device according to claim 5;

and

a terminal unit that is connected to the traffic-condition notifying device over a network for communicating therewith and provided with a notifier for notifying the traffic information.

19. A traffic-condition notifying system comprising:

a terminal unit provided with a request information generator for generating request information requesting a notification of a traffic condition, and a notifier for notifying traffic condition; and

a server that is connected to a terminal unit over a network for communicating therewith and provided with a storage storing map information, traffic information acquirer for acquiring traffic information about traffic information for a mobile body, an accuracy-level information acquirer for acquiring accuracy-level information about a reliability of a traffic condition of the traffic information relative to an actual traffic condition, a request information acquirer for acquiring the request information, and a notification controller for transmitting the traffic information and the accuracy-level information to the terminal unit over the network so that the notifier of the terminal unit can notify the traffic information together with the accuracy-level information when recognizing that the request information acquirer acquires the request information.

20. A traffic-condition notifying system comprising:

a terminal unit provided with a request information generator for generating request information requesting a notification of a traffic condition, and a notifier for notifying traffic condition; and

a server that is connected to a terminal unit over a network for communicating therewith and provided with a storage storing map information, traffic information acquirer for acquiring traffic information about a traffic condition for a mobile body, a corrected-content information acquirer for acquiring corrected-content information about a corrected content that is set based on the actual traffic condition for the traffic condition of the traffic information, a request information acquirer for acquiring the request information, and a notification controller for transmitting the traffic information to the terminal unit over the network so that the notifier of the terminal unit can notify the traffic information with contents corrected in accordance with the corrected-content information when recognizing that the request information acquirer acquires the request information.

21. A traffic-condition notifying method comprising:

acquiring map information, traffic information about a traffic condition for a mobile body, and accuracy-level information about a reliability of a traffic condition of the traffic information relative to an actual traffic condition; and

making a notifier notify the traffic information together with the accuracy-level information based on the map information.

22. A traffic-condition notifying method comprising:

acquiring map information, traffic information about a traffic condition for a mobile body, and corrected-content information about a corrected content that is set based on the actual traffic condition for the traffic condition of the traffic information; and

making a notifier notify the traffic information with contents corrected in accordance with the corrected-content information based on the map information.

23. A traffic-condition notifying program for executing a traffic-condition notifying method by a computer, the method comprising:

acquiring map information, traffic information about a traffic condition for a mobile body, and accuracy-level information about a reliability of a traffic condition of the traffic information relative to an actual traffic condition; and

making a notifier notify the traffic information together with the accuracy-level information based on the map information.

25. A recording medium storing the traffic-condition notifying program according to claim 23 in a manner readable by a computer.

24. A traffic-condition notifying program for executing a traffic-condition notifying method by a computer, the method comprising:

acquiring map information, traffic information about a traffic condition for a mobile body, and corrected-content information about a corrected content that is set based on the actual traffic condition for the traffic condition of the traffic information; and

making a notifier notify the traffic information with contents corrected in accordance with the corrected-content information based on the map information.

26. A recording medium storing the traffic-condition notifying program according to claim 24 in a manner readable by a computer.