ROAD INFORMATION SHARING METHOD, ROAD INFORMATION SHARING SYSTEM, ROAD INFORMATION SHARING DEVICE, AND ROAD INFORMATION SHARING PROGRAM

• US 20150116135A1
• Filed: 10/22/2014
• Published: 04/30/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 10/29/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: SOBUE, Tsuneo, OSAFUNE, Tatsuaki
• Granted Patent: US 9,454,903 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/995.12
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0112 from the vehicle, e.g. floating car data [FCD]
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0141 for traffic information dissemination
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096855 where the output is provided in a suitable form to the driver details on I/O arrangements for onboard navigation computers G01C21/36
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0969 having a display in the form of a map

Abstract

A road information sharing method according to the present invention is a road information sharing method for sharing the road information via a terminal device, the road information sharing method including the steps of storing sensor information acquired from a vehicle moving in accompaniment with the terminal device, detecting the road information from the sensor information on the basis of detection rules for detecting the road information, notifying a user about the road information detected, and prompting the user to make a judgment of necessity/unnecessity of registration about the detected road information, and storing the detected road information, if the detected road information is judged to be registration-necessary by the user.

Claims

1. A road information sharing method in a road information sharing system for sharing road information, comprising the steps of:

storing sensor information acquired from a terminal device or a vehicle moving in accompaniment with said terminal device;

detecting said road information from said sensor information on the basis of detection rules for detecting said road information;

notifying a user about said road information detected, and prompting said user to make a judgment of necessity/unnecessity of registration about said detected road information; and

storing said detected road information, or outputting said detected road information to the outside, if said detected road information is judged to be registration necessary by said user.

2. The road information sharing method according to claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

estimating a driving state of said vehicle from said sensor information on the basis of estimation rules for estimating said driving state of said vehicle moving in accompaniment with said terminal device; and

judging based on said driving state estimated whether or not said driving state is a state in which it is allowable to prompt said user to make said judgment of necessity/unnecessity of registration about said detected road information.

3. The road information sharing method according to claim 2, further comprising the step of:

if said driving state is said state in which it is allowable to prompt said user to make said judgment of necessity/unnecessity of registration, prompting said user to make said judgment of necessity/unnecessity of registration;

or

if said driving state is not said state in which it is allowable to prompt said user to make said judgment of necessity/unnecessity of registration, waiting for said driving state to become said state in which it is allowable to prompt said user to make said judgment of necessity/unnecessity of registration, and then prompting said user to make said judgment of necessity/unnecessity of registration.

4. The road information sharing method according to claim 2, further comprising the steps of:

notifying said user about said detected road information, if said road information is detected by a road information detecting unit; and

if said driving state is judged to be said state in which it is allowable to prompt said user to make said judgment of necessity/unnecessity of registration, prompting said user to make said judgment of necessity/unnecessity of registration;

or

if said driving state is judged not to be said state in which it is allowable to prompt said user to make said judgment of necessity/unnecessity of registration, notifying said user that said user will be prompted to make said judgment of necessity/unnecessity of registration later.

5. The road information sharing method according to claim 2, wherein

it is judged based on map information and said stored sensor information whether or not it should prompt said user to make said judgment of necessity/unnecessity of registration.

6. The road information sharing method according to claim 3, wherein

said road information sharing method is implemented so as to execute said notification to said user in plural times,

its first notification notifying said user about said detection of said road information by using a sound,

its second notification notifying said user about information by using pop-up or image information for prompting said user to make said judgment of necessity/unnecessity of registration about said detected road information.

7. The road information sharing method according to claim 2, wherein,

if said driving state changes from said state in which it is allowable to prompt said user to make said judgment of necessity/unnecessity of registration to said state in which it should not be performed to prompt said user to do so, an image is controlled so as not to be displayed, said image being displayed for prompting said user to make said judgment of necessity/unnecessity of registration.

8. The road information sharing method according to claim 1, wherein,

if said plural pieces of road information are detected, said user is notified about said detected plural pieces of road information in accordance with priority degrees being assigned on the basis of respective detection points-in-time or respective distances between detection locations and present positions.

9. A road information sharing system for sharing road information in a center server via a terminal device, wherein

said terminal device comprises:

a sensor information storage unit for storing sensor information acquired from said terminal device or a vehicle moving in accompaniment with said terminal device;

a road information detection-rules managing unit for managing detection rules for detecting said road information;

a road information detecting unit for detecting said road information from said sensor information on the basis of said detection rules;

a user notification unit for notifying a user about said road information detected, and prompting said user to make a judgment of necessity/unnecessity of registration about said detected road information; and

if said detected road information is judged to be registration-necessary by said user notification unit, a road information transmitting unit for transmitting said detected road information to said center server,

said center server comprising;

a road information storage unit for storing said road information received from said terminal device.

10. The road information sharing system according to claim 9, wherein said terminal device further comprises:

a driving state estimation-rules managing unit for managing estimation rules for estimating said driving state of said vehicle moving in accompaniment with said terminal device; and

a driving state estimating unit for estimating said driving state of said vehicle from said sensor information on the basis of said estimation rules,

said user notification unit judges based on said driving state whether or not said driving state is a state in which it is allowable to prompt said user to make said judgment of necessity/unnecessity of registration about said detected road information.

11. The road information sharing system according to claim 10, wherein

if said driving state is said state in which it is allowable to prompt said user to make said judgment of necessity/unnecessity of registration, said user notification unit prompts said user to make said judgment of necessity/unnecessity of registration;

or

if said driving state is not said state in which it is allowable to prompt said user to make said judgment of necessity/unnecessity of registration, said user notification unit waits for said driving state to become said state in which it is allowable to prompt said user to make said judgment of necessity/unnecessity of registration, and then prompts said user to make said judgment of necessity/unnecessity of registration.

12. The road information sharing system according to claim 10, wherein

said user notification unit

notifies said user about said detected road information, if said road information is detected by said road information detecting unit;

and

prompts said user to make said judgment of necessity/unnecessity of registration, if said driving state is judged by said driving state estimating unit to be said state in which it is allowable to prompt said user to make said judgment of necessity/unnecessity of registration;

or

notifies said user that said user will be prompted to make said judgment of necessity/unnecessity of registration later, if said driving state is judged by said driving state estimating unit not to be said state in which it is allowable to prompt said user to make said judgment of necessity/unnecessity of registration.

13. A road information sharing device for sharing road information, comprising:

a sensor information storage unit for storing sensor information acquired from a terminal device or a vehicle moving in accompaniment with said terminal device;

a road information detection-rules managing unit for managing detection rules for detecting said road information;

a road information detecting unit for detecting said road information from said sensor information on the basis of said detection rules;

a user notification unit for notifying a user about said detected road information via said terminal device in order to prompt said user to make a judgment of necessity/unnecessity of registration about said detected road information; and

a road information storage unit for storing said road information, if said detected road information is judged to be registration-necessary as a result of having notified said user about said detected road information.

14. The road information sharing device according to claim 13, further comprising:

a driving state estimation-rules managing unit for managing estimation rules for estimating said driving state of said vehicle moving in accompaniment with said terminal device; and

a driving state estimating unit for estimating said driving state of said vehicle from said sensor information on the basis of said estimation rules,

said user notification unit judges based on said driving state whether or not said driving state is a state in which it is allowable to prompt said user to make said judgment of necessity/unnecessity of registration about said detected road information.

15. The road information sharing device according to claim 14, wherein

if said driving state is said state in which it is allowable to prompt said user to make said judgment of necessity/unnecessity of registration, said user notification unit prompts said user to make said judgment of necessity/unnecessity of registration;

or

if said driving state is not said state in which it is allowable to prompt said user to make said judgment of necessity/unnecessity of registration, said user notification unit waits for said driving state to become said state in which it is allowable to prompt said user to make said judgment of necessity/unnecessity of registration, and then notifies said user that said user will be prompted to make said judgment of necessity/unnecessity of registration.

16. A road information sharing program for sharing road information, wherein

said road information sharing program causes a computer to execute steps of:

storing sensor information acquired from a terminal device or a vehicle moving in accompaniment with said terminal device;

detecting said road information from said sensor information on the basis of detection rules for detecting said road information;

notifying a user about said road information detected, and prompting said user to make a judgment of necessity/unnecessity of registration about said detected road information; and

storing said detected road information, or outputting said detected road information to the outside, if said detected road information is judged to be registration-necessary by said user.