Method of presuming traffic conditions by using floating car data and system for presuming and presenting traffic conditions by using floating data

• US 6,546,330 B2
• Filed: 09/20/2001
• Issued: 04/08/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 02/23/2001
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Fushiki, Takumi, Yamane, Kenichiro, Yokota, Takayoshi, Inoue, Takeshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Black, Thomas G.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Mancho, Ronnie
• Application Number:
  US09/956,090
• Publication Number:
  US 20020120389A1
• Time in Patent Office: 565 Days
• Field of Search: 701/24, 701/117, 701/118, 701/119, 701/200, 701/213, 701/215, 342/454, 342/461, 246/167.R, 246/187.C, 340/932, 340/903, 340/905, 340/934, 340/910, 340/995, 455/456
• US Class Current: 701/118
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0104 Measuring and analyzing of parameters relative to traffic conditions
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/20 Monitoring the location of vehicles belonging to a group, e.g. fleet of vehicles, countable or determined number of vehicles

Abstract

A method of presuming traffic conditions for implementing a forecast and a presumption of traffic jam situation in an area where probe cars are not traveling currently, in which the probe cars send floating car data that is times and positions of traveled areas to center facilities, and the center accumulates the floating car data in a floating car data database by traffic conditions presumption means and also presumes forecast traffic jam information in the forward areas of the probe cars and presumed traffic jam information in the backward areas thereof by using the current floating car data and the floating car data database accumulated from the past to the present.

Claims

1. A method of presuming traffic conditions by using floating car data, comprising time information and positional information on a passing route, gathered by a first movable body, comprising:

storing a group of floating car data accumulated from the past to the present including the data gathered by other movable bodies; and

using said floating car data gathered by said first movable body and said group of floating car data to presume a traffic jam situation at a position ahead of the movable body currently gathering said floating car data over which the movable body has not yet traveled but is predicted to travel.

2. A method of presuming traffic conditions by using floating car data obtained from a probe car, comprising

using said floating car data to presume a traffic jam situation at locations from a location measured backwards to a location measured forward with respect to the probe car.

3. The method of presuming traffic conditions according to claim 2, and further including using sensors installed on a road are used to presume said traffic jam situation.

4. A system for presuming and presenting traffic conditions, comprising:

a first movable body to obtain floating car data;

a floating car data database storing a group of the floating car data including data gathered by other movable bodies accumulated from the past to the present;

a traffic conditions presumption unit for, by using the floating car data and the group of the floating car data including data gathered by other movable bodies accumulated from the past to the present, presuming a traffic jam situation at a position ahead of the movable body currently gathering said floating car data over which the movable body has not yet traveled but is predicted to travel;

communications means for receiving the floating car data sent from said movable body; and

means for presenting the traffic jam situation presumed to a user as presented traffic jam information.

5. A system for presuming and presenting traffic conditions according to claim 4,

wherein a traffic jam situation is presumed by the traffic conditions presumption unit according to claim 4, and a reliability in a section where said traffic jam situation is presumed is calculated so as to present to a user the presumed traffic jam situation and the reliability as presented traffic information.

6. A system for presuming and presenting traffic conditions according to claim 5 wherein said communication system transmits presented traffic information that is a traffic jam situation or surrounding traffic conditions presumed by said traffic conditions presumption means.

7. A system for presuming and presenting traffic conditions according to claim 4 comprising:

an on-vehicle terminal to be mounted on a probe car in the system for presuming and presenting traffic conditions, having position detecting means for measuring floating car data and further communication means for sending the floating car data to the communication means.

8. A system for presuming and presenting traffic conditions according to claim 4 wherein said communication system transmits presented traffic information that is a traffic jam situation or surrounding traffic conditions presumed by said traffic conditions presumption means.

9. A system for presuming and presenting traffic conditions according to claim 4 including a user terminal, comprising:

further communication means for receiving as presented traffic jam information a traffic jam situation presumed by the traffic conditions presumption means; and

presentation means for presenting the presented traffic jam information to a user.

10. A system for presuming and presenting traffic conditions, comprising:

a plurality of probe cars providing floating car data;

traffic conditions presumption means for presuming a traffic jam situation at locations from a location measured backwards to a location measured forward with respect to at least one of said probe cars by using the floating car data;

communication means for receiving the floating car data sent from said plurality of probe cars; and

a floating car data database storing a group of floating car data accumulated from the past to the present,

means for presenting the traffic jam situation presumed to a user as presented traffic jam information.

11. A system for presuming and presenting traffic conditions according to claim 10,

wherein a traffic jam situation is presumed by the traffic conditions presumption means, and reliability in a section where said traffic jam situation is presumed is calculated so as to present to a user the presumed traffic jam situation and the reliability as presented traffic information.

12. An on-vehicle terminal to be disposed on a vehicle, comprising:

communication means for receiving surrounding traffic conditions provided from central facilities, and

a traffic conditions presumption means for forecasting a traffic jam situation in a location measured forward of said vehicle by using the received traffic conditions and floating car data gathered by said vehicle.

13. A system for presuming and presenting traffic conditions comprising:

the on-vehicle terminal according to claim 12, and

communication means for sending surrounding traffic conditions to the on-vehicle terminal.

14. A system for presuming and presenting traffic conditions according to claim 13,

wherein the surrounding traffic conditions comprises a group of floating car data accumulated from the past to the present by a plurality of probe cars.

15. A system for presuming and presenting traffic conditions according to claim 14,

wherein a traffic jam situation is presumed by the traffic conditions presumption means, and reliability in a section where said traffic jam situation is presumed is calculated so as to present to a user the presumed traffic jam situation and the reliability as presented traffic information.

16. A system for presuming and presenting traffic conditions according to claim 13,

wherein a traffic jam situation is presumed by the traffic conditions presumption means, and reliability in a section where said traffic jam situation is presumed is calculated so as to present to a user the presumed traffic jam situation and the reliability as presented traffic information.

17. A system for presuming and presenting traffic conditions according to claim 12,

wherein a traffic jam situation is presumed by the traffic conditions presumption means, and reliability in a section where said traffic jam situation is presumed is calculated so as to present to a user the presumed traffic jam situation and the reliability as presented traffic information.

18. A system for presuming and presenting traffic conditions comprising:

communication means for receiving floating car data gathered by individual probe cars, and

means to forecast, using floating car data sent by one of said individual probe cars and surrounding traffic conditions, a traffic jam situation at a location measured forward of said one of said individual probe cars having sent the floating car data and presenting said forecast to a user as presented traffic jam information.

19. A system for presuming and presenting traffic conditions according to claim 18,

wherein the surrounding traffic conditions comprise floating car data accumulated from the past to the present.

20. A system for presuming and presenting traffic conditions according to claim 19,

wherein a traffic jam situation is presumed by the traffic conditions presumption means, and reliability in a section where said traffic jam situation is presumed is calculated so as to present to a user the presumed traffic jam situation and the reliability as presented traffic information.

21. A system for presuming and presenting traffic conditions according to claim 19 comprising:

an on-vehicle terminal to be mounted on a probe car in the system for presuming and presenting traffic conditions, having position detecting means for measuring floating car data and further communication means for sending the floating car data to the communication means.