Travel support system, method thereof, program thereof, and recording medium containing the program

• US 8,126,644 B2
• Filed: 03/08/2007
• Issued: 02/28/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 03/10/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Increment P Corporation, Pioneer Corporation
• Original Assignee: Increment P Corporation, Pioneer Corporation
• Inventors: Amano, Kouji
• Primary Examiner(s): Zanelli, Michael J.
• Application Number:
  US12/282,227
• Publication Number:
  US 20090210145A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,818 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 701/211
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/36 Input/output arrangements for on-board computers
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096741 where the source of the transmitted information selects which information to transmit to each vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096775 where the origin of the information is a central station
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 29/007 using computer methods
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 29/10 Map spot or coordinate position indicators; Map reading aids optical projection apparatus per se G03B

Abstract

A PC of a travel support system displays running video of a predetermined route, and if a predetermined intersection is set as a warning point by a user, sends warning point setting information to a server. If the server acquires the warning point setting information from the PC, the server updates a user DB. A navigational device sends travel route related information of a travel route set by the user to the server. The server sends detailed guidance information of the warning point included in the traveling route set in the navigational device to the navigational device. Upon arrival at the warning point, the navigational device notifies detailed guidance, and upon arrival at an existing guidance point, the navigational device notifies existing guidance.

Claims

1. A travel support system, comprising:

a terminal; and

a server connected to the terminal in a manner capable of communicating information with the terminal via a network,

the server controlling the travel support system to notify information concerning an intersection through which a traveling body is allowed to travel,

the terminal comprising;

a location state information acquirer that acquires location state information concerning a state of a predetermined location;

a location state information display controller that controls a location state display to display the location state information having been acquired;

a detailed guidance intersection information generator that, when the detailed guidance intersection information generator recognizes that a predetermined one of the intersection indicated by the location state information is set, based on an input manipulation, as a first intersection for which detailed guidance information concerning detailed guidance is notified, generates detailed guidance intersection information telling that the predetermined one of the intersection is set as the first intersection and sends the detailed guidance intersection information to the server;

a current position information acquirer that acquires current position information concerning a current position of the traveling body;

a destination information acquirer that acquires destination information concerning a position of a destination to which the traveling body travels;

a traveling route related information acquirer that acquires traveling route related information concerning a traveling route including the current and the destination and sends the traveling route related information to the server;

a detailed guidance information acquirer that acquires the detailed guidance information of the first intersection sent from the server and included in the traveling route of the traveling route related information;

an existing guidance information acquirer that acquires existing guidance information concerning the guidance of a second intersection that is included in the traveling route of the traveling route related information and set in advance to notify a more simplified guidance than a guidance of the detailed guidance information;

a traveling state determining unit that determines a traveling state of the traveling body based on the current position information and the traveling route related information; and

a terminal notification controller that controls a terminal notifier to notify the detailed guidance information when the traveling state determining unit determines that the current position of the traveling body is in the vicinity of the first intersection, and controls the terminal notifier to notify the existing guidance information when the traveling state determining unit determines that the current position is in the vicinity of the second intersection, and the server comprising;

a first server information acquirer that acquires the detailed guidance intersection information sent from the terminal;

a second server information acquirer that acquires the detailed route related information sent from the terminal;

a server storage that stores the detailed guidance information; and

a detailed guidance information selector that, when the detailed guidance information selector recognizes that the first intersection that corresponds to the detailed guidance intersection information is included in the traveling route of the traveling route related information, selects the detailed guidance information of the first intersection from the server storage and sends the detailed guidance information of the first intersection to the terminal.

2. The travel support system according to claim 1, wherein

the detailed guidance intersection information generator interrelates user specifying information that specifies a user of the terminal with the detailed guidance intersection information and sends the user specifying information and the detailed guidance intersection information, which having been interrelated, to the server,

the traveling route related information acquirer interrelates the user specifying information with the traveling route related information and sends the user specifying information and the traveling route related information, which have been interrelated, to the server,

the first server information acquirer, when the first server information acquirer acquires the detailed guidance intersection information having been interrelated with the user specifying information, interrelates the detailed guidance information of the first intersection that corresponds to the detailed guidance intersection information with the user specifying information and stores the detailed guidance information of the first intersection and the user specifying information, which have been interrelated, in the server storage,

the second server information acquirer acquires the traveling route related information having been interrelated with the user specifying information, and

the detailed guidance information selector searches the user specifying information interrelated with the traveling route related information and selects and sends the detailed guidance information interrelated with the user specifying information having been searched.

3. The travel support system according to claim 1, wherein

the terminal further comprises:

a simulation starting point information acquirer that acquires simulation starting point information concerning a simulation starting point of the traveling body;

a simulation destination information acquirer that acquires simulation destination information concerning a simulation destination of the traveling body; and

a simulation route related information acquirer that acquires simulation route related information concerning a simulation route from the simulation starting point to the simulation destination, and

the location state information acquirer acquires the location state information concerning locations included in the simulation route of the simulation route related information, and

the location state information display controller controls the location state information to be displayed in a manner that the locations are in the same sequential order as on the simulation route.

4. The travel support system according to claim 1, wherein the terminal comprises

a non-notifying intersection information generator that, when the non-notifying intersection information generator recognizes that the second intersection of which the existing guidance information is not notified by the terminal notifier is selected based on an input manipulation, generates non-notifying intersection information telling that the second intersection is selected based on the input manipulation, and

the terminal notification controller controls the existing guidance information not to be notified when the traveling state determining unit determines that the current position is in the vicinity of the second intersection that corresponds to the non-notifying intersection information, and controls the existing guidance information to be notified when the traveling state determining unit determines that the current position is in the vicinity of the second intersection that does not correspond to the non-notifying intersection information.

5. The travel support system according to claim 1, wherein

the terminal comprises

a predetermined place terminal usable at a predetermined place and

a traveling body terminal provided to the traveling body,

the predetermined place terminal comprises the location state information acquirer, the location state information display controller, and the detailed guidance intersection information generator, and

the traveling body terminal comprises the current position information acquirer, the destination information acquirer, the traveling route related information acquirer, the detailed guidance information acquirer, the existing guidance information acquirer, the traveling state determining unit, and the terminal notification controller.

6. The travel support system according to claim 5, wherein

the predetermined place terminal comprises

a simulation starting point information acquirer that acquires simulation starting point information concerning simulation starting point of the traveling body;

a simulation destination information acquirer that acquires simulation destination information concerning a simulation destination of the traveling body; and

a simulation route related information acquirer that acquires simulation route related information concerning a simulation route from the simulation starting point to the simulation destination, wherein

the location state information acquirer acquires the location state information concerning locations included in the simulation route of the simulation route related information, and

the location state information display controller controls the location state information to be displayed in a manner that the locations are in the same sequential order as on the simulation route.

7. The travel support system according to claim 5, wherein

the predetermined place terminal comprises

a non-notifying intersection information generator that, when the non-notifying intersection information generator recognizes that the second intersection of which the existing guidance information is not notified by the terminal notifier is selected based on an input manipulation, generates non-notifying intersection information that specifies the second intersection having been selected and sends the non-notifying intersection information to the server,

the server comprises

non-notifying request information generator that, when the non-notifying request information generator acquires the non-notifying intersection information from the predetermined place terminal, generates non-notifying request information that requests not to notify the existing guidance information of the second intersection specified by the non-notifying intersection information and store the non-notifying request information in the server storage, and

a non-notifying request information selector that, when the non-notifying request information selector recognizes that the second intersection that corresponds to the non-notifying intersection information is included in the traveling route of the traveling route related information, selects the non-notifying request information of the second intersection from the server storage and sends the non-notifying request information of the second intersection to the traveling body terminal, and

the traveling body terminal comprises

a non-notifying request information acquirer that acquires the non-notifying request information from the server, and

the terminal notification controller controls the existing guidance information not to be notified when the traveling state determining unit determines that the current position is in the vicinity of the second intersection that corresponds to the non-notifying request information, and controls the existing guidance information to be notified when the traveling state determining unit determines that the current position is in the vicinity of the second intersection that does not correspond to the non-notifying request information.

8. The travel support system according to claim 7, wherein

the non-notifying intersection information generator interrelates user specifying information that specifies a user of the predetermined place terminal and/or the traveling body terminal with the non-notifying intersection information and sends the user specifying information and the non-notifying intersection information, which have been interrelated, to the server,

the traveling route related information acquirer interrelates the user specifying information with the traveling route related information and sends the user specifying information and the traveling route related information, which have been interrelated, to the server,

the non-notifying request information generator, when the non-notifying request information generator acquires the non-notifying intersection information having been interrelated with the user specifying information, interrelates the non-notifying request information of the second intersection that corresponds to the non-notifying intersection information with the user specifying information and stores the non-notifying request information of the second intersection and the user specifying information, which have been interrelated, in the server storage, and

the non-notifying request information selector searches the user specifying information interrelated with the traveling route related information and selects and sends the non-notifying request information interrelated with the user specifying information having been searched.

9. The travel support system according to claim 1, wherein

the detailed guidance intersection information generator, when the traveling state determining unit determines that the traveling body has deviated from the traveling route, generates the detailed guidance intersection information telling that the intersection of the deviation is set as the first intersection and sends the detailed guidance intersection information to the server.

10. The travel support system according to claim 9, wherein

the detailed guidance intersection information generator sends the detailed guidance intersection information when the traveling state determining unit determines that the traveling body has returned to the traveling route after deviating from the traveling route, and does not send the detailed guidance intersection information when the traveling state determining unit determines that the traveling body has not returned to the traveling route after deviating from the traveling route.

11. The travel support system according claim 1, wherein

the location state information is stored in the server memory,

the server comprises

a location state information selector that, when the location state information selector acquires location state request information that requests a predetermined one of the location state information to be sent, selects the location state information that corresponds to the location state request information from the server memory and sends the location state information, and

the location state information acquirer generates the location state request information of the location state information to be displayed on the location state display and sends the location state request information to the server, and acquires the location state information that is sent from the server and corresponds to the location state request information.

12. The travel support system according to claim 1, wherein

the location state information comprises location motion image information for displaying a motion image of a state of the location.

13. The travel support system according to claim 1, wherein

the location state information comprises location captured image information for displaying a captured image of the state of the location captured by a capturing device.

14. The travel support system according to claim 1, wherein

the detailed guidance information comprises detailed arrival information for notifying the detailed guidance of a way to the intersection as the detailed guidance of the intersection.

15. The travel support system according to claim 1, wherein

the terminal notifier comprises a terminal display, and

the detailed guidance information comprises the detailed display information for displaying the detailed guidance of the intersection on the terminal display.

16. The travel support system according to claim 15, wherein

the detailed guidance information comprises detailed captured image information for displaying a captured image of the detailed guidance of the intersection captured by a capturing device.

17. The travel support system according to claim 1, wherein

the terminal notifier comprises a terminal audio output unit, and

the detailed guidance information comprises detailed audio information for audibly outputting the detailed guidance of the intersection from the terminal audio output unit.

18. A travel support method by a computer with a terminal and a server connected to the terminal in a manner capable of communicating information therebetween via a network, the server controlling notification to a traveling body of information on an intersection through which the traveling body is allowed to travel, the method comprising steps instructed by the computer, the steps comprising:

instructing the terminal

to acquire location state information concerning a state of a predetermined location,

to control a location state display to display the location state information having been acquired

to generate, when it is recognized that a predetermined one of the intersection indicated by the location state information is set, based on an input manipulation, as a first intersection where detailed guidance information concerning detailed guidance is notified, detailed guidance intersection information telling that the predetermined one of the intersection is set as the first intersection and send the detailed guidance intersection information to the server,

to acquire current position information concerning a current position of the traveling body,

to acquire destination information concerning a position of a destination to which the traveling body travels,

to acquire traveling route related information concerning a traveling route including the current position and the destination and send the traveling route related information to the server,

to acquire the detailed guidance information of the first intersection sent from the server and included in the traveling route of the traveling route related information;

to acquire existing guidance information concerning the guidance of a second intersection that is included in the traveling route of the traveling route related information and set in advance to notify a more simplified guidance than a guidance of the detailed guidance information,

to determine a traveling state of the traveling body based on the current position information and the traveling route related information, and

to control a terminal notifier to notify the detailed guidance information when it is determined that the current position of the traveling body is in the vicinity of the first intersection, and control the terminal notifier to notify the existing guidance information when it is determined that the current position is in the vicinity of the second intersection; and

instructing the server

to acquire the detailed guidance intersection information sent from the terminal,

to acquire the traveling route related information sent from the terminal, and

to select, when it is recognized that the first intersection that corresponds to the detailed guidance intersection information is included in the traveling route of the traveling route related information, the detailed guidance information of the first intersection from the server storage and send the detailed guidance information of the first intersection to the terminal.

19. A computer program product for travel support, wherein the travel support program instructs the computer to execute the travel support method according to claim 18.

20. A traveling body terminal connected via a network to a travel support system that is configured to support a travel of a traveling body, the traveling body terminal comprising:

a current position recognizer that recognizes a current position of the traveling body;

a terminal notifier that notifies information on a traveling route to a destination of the traveling body;

a communicating section that sends to and receives from a server connected to the network traveling route related information concerning the traveling route;

a traveling state determining unit that determines a traveling state of the traveling body based on the current position and the traveling route related information; and

a terminal notification controller that controls the information to be notified by the terminal notifier based on determination results of the traveling state determining unit and the traveling route related information received from the server, wherein

when the traveling state determining unit determines that the current position of the traveling body is in a vicinity of a first intersection at which detailed guidance information is to be notified, the terminal notification controller notifies the detailed guidance information by the terminal notifier, and

when the traveling state determining unit determines that the current position of the traveling body is in a vicinity of a second intersection at which existing guidance information that provides a simpler guidance than the detailed guidance information is to be notified, the terminal notification controller notifies the existing guidance information by the terminal notifier.

21. A travel support method for supporting a travel of a traveling body by a traveling body terminal connected via a network to a travel support system that is configured to support the travel of the traveling body, the travel support method comprising:

recognizing a current position of the traveling body by the traveling body terminal;

sending to and receiving from a server connected to the network traveling route related information concerning a traveling route to a destination of the traveling body by the traveling body terminal;

determining a traveling state of the traveling body based on the current position and the traveling route related information by the traveling body terminal;

based on determination results of the traveling state and the traveling route related information received from the server, when it is determined that the current position of the traveling body is in a vicinity of a first intersection at which detailed guidance information is to be notified, notifying the detailed guidance information, and

when it is determined that the current position of the traveling body is in a vicinity of a second intersection at which existing guidance information that provides a simpler guidance than the detailed guidance information is to be notified, notifying the existing guidance information.