Probe-car system using beacon and apparatus therefore

• US 20060047414A1
• Filed: 09/02/2004
• Published: 03/02/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 09/02/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Adachi, Shinya
• Application Number:
  US10/932,435
• Publication Number:
  US 20060047414A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/201
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/26 specially adapted for navigation in a road network
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096716 where the received information does not generate an automatic action on the vehicle control
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096783 where the origin of the information is a roadside individual element

Abstract

The present invention provides a probe-car system in which beacons are used to efficiently collect measurement data from an FCD on-vehicle apparatus. There are provided an on-board unit of a probe-car 121 which selects one of second information (1) of measurement information measured during running and road section reference data indicating a measurement section of the measurement information and first information (3) of the measurement information, and uploads it to a beacon 123, and a center apparatus which collects the measurement information from the on-board unit of a probe-car 121 through the beacon 123. In this system, when the probe-car 121 runs along an installation route of beacons 122 and 123 and passes through under the downstream side beacon 123, only the measurement information is transmitted, so that the data amount of the measurement information can be increased, and the detailed measurement information can be transmitted. When the probe-car 121 runs along a bypass, the swept path of the bypass and the measurement information are uploaded to the downstream side beacon 123, so that the center apparatus can utilize it as the measurement information of the bypass.

Claims

1. A probe-car system comprising:

an on-board unit of a probe-car;

a first beacon; and

a center apparatus,

wherein said on-boar unit uploads at least one of;

first information including measurement information measured while the probe-car is moving; and

second information including said measurement information and road section reference data indicating a measurement section of the measurement information,

to said first beacon, and

wherein said center apparatus collects the measurement information from the on-board unit of a probe-car through the beacon.

2. The probe-car system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a second beacon in upstream side, which the probe-car last passed,

wherein said on-board unit compares a travel distance or a driving time from said second beacon with a previously set threshold,

if the travel distance or the driving time exceeds the threshold, said on-board unit uploads the second information to the first beacon, and

if the travel distance or the driving time is not larger than the threshold, said on-board unit uploads the first information to the first beacon.

3. The probe-car system according to claim 2,

wherein said first information further includes the beacon number of said second beacon and the travel distance from said second beacon, and

wherein said center apparatus compares a road distance between said first beacon and said second beacon with the travel distance, and determines whether or not the measurement information in the first information is adopted.

4. The probe-car system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a third beacon in a downstream side,

wherein said on-board unit downloads a distance between said first beacon and said third beacon from said first beacon, and compares the downloaded distance with a travel distance to said third beacon,

if said downloaded distance is approximately same to said travel distance, said on-board unit uploads the first information to said first beacon, and

if said downloaded distance is not approximately same to said travel distance, said on-board unit uploads the second information to said first beacon.

5. The probe-car system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a third beacon in a downstream side,

wherein said on-board unit downloads road section reference data indicating a road section to a downstream side beacon from said first beacon, and compares the downloaded road section reference data with a swept path to said third beacon,

if the probe-car run along the road section indicated by the road section reference data, said on-board unit uploads said first information to the first beacon, and

if the probe-car run along a road section other than the road section indicated by the road section reference data, said on-board unit uploads said second information to said first beacon.

6. The probe-car system according to claim 1,

wherein said on-board unit uploads, as the road section reference data, coded data obtained by coding position information on a swept path at every regular distance, and

wherein said center apparatus decodes the coded data, restores the position information, and specifies the measurement section of the measurement information.

7. The probe-car system according to claim 5,

wherein said on-board unit downloads coded data obtained by coding position information on the road section at every regular distance, as the road section reference data indicating the road section to the third beacon, restores the position information by decoding said coded data, and compares the position information with the swept path.

8. The on-board unit of a probe-car comprising:

a communication unit for communicating with a beacon;

an own vehicle position judgment unit for detecting own vehicle position;

a sensor information collection unit for collecting measurement information of a sensor;

a storage unit for storing the measurement information collected by the sensor information collection unit and a swept path made of a set of the own vehicle position detected by the own vehicle position judgment unit;

a coding processing unit for transforming the measurement information and the swept path stored in the is storage unit into coded data;

an information transmission unit for transmitting the coded data of the one of a first information including said measurement information and a second information including said measurement information and the swept path, to the beacon, when passing through the beacon; and

an instruction information reception unit for receiving instruction information including instructions of a measurement method of the measurement information and a coding method of the coded data from the beacon.

9. The on-board unit of a probe-car according to claim 8,

wherein the information transmission unit compares a travel distance or a driving time from a last passed upstream side beacon with a previously set threshold,

if the travel distance or the driving time exceeds the threshold, transmits the second information, and

if the travel distance or the driving time is not larger than the threshold, transmits the first information.

10. The on-board unit of a probe-car according to claim 8,

wherein the instruction information reception unit receives, as the instruction information, instruction information including information of a distance to a downstream side beacon,

wherein the information transmission unit compares the distance included in the instruction information with a travel distance to the downstream side beacon,

if said received distance is approximately same to said travel distance, transmits said first information, and

if said received distance is not approximately same to said travel distance, transmits said second information.

11. The on-board unit of a probe-car according to claim 8,

wherein said instruction information reception unit receives, as the instruction information, instruction information including information indicating a road section shape to a downstream side beacon,

wherein the information transmission unit compares the road section shape to the downstream side beacon included in the instruction information with the swept path,

if said probe-car ran a road section indicated by the road section shape, transmits the first information, and

if said probe-car ran a road section other than the road section indicated by the road section shape, transmits the second information.