CENTER-SIDE SYSTEM AND VEHICLE-SIDE SYSTEM

• US 20140207362A1
• Filed: 12/28/2011
• Published: 07/24/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 12/28/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
• Inventors: Shimotani, Mitsuo, Ohki, Hidehiko, Mikuriya, Makoto
• Granted Patent: US 9,478,127 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/119
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/00 Traffic control systems for road vehicles arrangement of road signs or traffic signals E01F9/00 ; automatic vehicle control B62D
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096716 where the received information does not generate an automatic action on the vehicle control
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/13 the indicator being in the form of a map

Abstract

An object of the present invention is to provide a technology capable of estimating a waiting time at an energy refilling facility for each of drive types. A center-side system includes a center-side receiver that receives, from a vehicle-side system, probe vehicle position information and drive type information that is information regarding a drive type of a probe vehicle. Then, the center-side system includes: a traffic condition estimation unit that estimates a traffic condition, which includes a drive type-classified number of vehicles, based on the probe vehicle position information and the drive type information, which are received by the center-side receiver; and a center-side transmitter that transmits, to an outside, the traffic condition estimated by the traffic condition estimation unit.

Claims

1. A center-side system in a probe information system, the center-side system receiving upload of traffic information from a vehicle-side system mounted on a probe vehicle, comprising:

a receiver that receives, from said vehicle-side system, vehicle position information that is information regarding a position of said probe vehicle, and drive type information that is information regarding a drive type of said probe vehicle;

a traffic condition estimation unit that estimates a traffic condition, the traffic condition including a drive type-classified number of vehicles, which is the number of vehicles for each of said drive types of said probe vehicles on each of roads, based on said vehicle position information received by said receiver and on said drive type information received by said receiver; and

a transmitter that transmits, to an outside, said traffic condition estimated by said traffic condition estimation unit, or a browsing unit that makes it possible to browse the traffic condition by an access from the outside.

2. The center-side system according to claim 1, wherein

said traffic condition estimation unit, to which said receiver inputs probe information from imperfect vehicles, which does not include said drive type information, adapts a vehicle drive type ratio of said probe vehicles to said imperfect probe vehicles, and estimates said drive type-classified number of vehicles on each of the roads.

3. The center-side system according to claim 1, wherein

said traffic condition estimation unit estimates said drive type-classified number of vehicles for each of possible traveling distances based on said drive type-classified number of vehicles estimated by said traffic condition estimation unit, and on a distribution of said drive type-classified number of vehicles with respect to the possible traveling distances, and has said drive type-classified number of vehicles for each of the possible traveling distances included in said traffic condition.

4. The center-side system according to claim 3, wherein

said traffic condition estimation unit estimates an energy refilling facility, from which each of the vehicles tries to receive energy refilling, based on said drive type-classified number of vehicles for each of the possible traveling distances, and has the energy refilling facility included in said traffic condition.

5. The center-side system according to claim 4, wherein

said receiver receives, from said vehicle-side system, vehicle speed information that is information regarding a speed of said probe vehicle, and

said traffic condition estimation unit estimates a waiting time of said probe vehicle at said energy refilling facility based on said energy refilling facility estimated by said traffic condition estimation unit, and on said vehicle speed information received by said receiver, and has the waiting time included in said traffic condition.

6. The center-side system according to claim 1, wherein

said receiver receives, from said vehicle-side system, energy residual quantity information that is information regarding an energy residual quantity of said probe vehicle, and

said traffic condition estimation unit estimates said drive type-classified number of vehicles for each of possible traveling distances based on said drive type-classified number of vehicles estimated by said traffic condition estimation unit, and on energy residual quantity information received by said receiver, and has said drive type-classified number of vehicles for each of the possible traveling distances included in said traffic condition.

7. The center-side system according to claim 6, wherein

said traffic condition estimation unit estimates an energy refilling facility, from which each of the vehicles tries to receive energy refilling, based on said drive type-classified number of vehicles for each of the possible traveling distances, and has the energy refilling facility included in said traffic condition.

8. The center-side system according to claim 7, wherein

said receiver receives, from said vehicle-side system, vehicle speed information that is information regarding a speed of said probe vehicle, and

said traffic condition estimation unit estimates a waiting time of said probe vehicle at said energy refilling facility based on said energy refilling facility estimated by said traffic condition estimation unit, and on said vehicle speed information received by said receiver, and has the waiting time included in said traffic condition.

9. A vehicle-side system comprising:

a vehicle-side receiver that receives a drive type-classified number of vehicles, which is the number of vehicles for each of drive types of vehicles and is transmitted from an outside of a vehicle;

an information output unit that performs display or notification; and

a controller that performs control for said vehicle or said information output unit based on said drive type-classified number of vehicles for each of said drive types of said vehicles, said drive type-classified number of vehicles being received by said vehicle-side receiver.

10. The vehicle-side system according to claim 9, wherein

said vehicle-side receiver receives, from the outside of the vehicle, said traffic condition including said drive type-classified number of vehicles for each of possible traveling distances, and

said controller performs said control based on said drive type-classified number of vehicles for each of said possible traveling distances of said drive types of said vehicles, said drive type-classified number of vehicles for each of said possible traveling distances being received by said vehicle-side receiver.

11. The vehicle-side system according to claim 10, further comprising:

an own vehicle traveling information estimation unit that estimates a traveling route of each of said vehicles and a position of each of said vehicles after a predetermined time,

wherein said controller estimates a waiting time at an energy refilling facility, from which each of said vehicles tries to receive energy refilling, based on said drive type-classified number of vehicles for each of said possible traveling distances of said drive types of said vehicles, said drive type-classified number of vehicles for each of said possible traveling distances being received by said vehicle-side receiver, and on the position of each of said vehicles after said predetermined time, the position being estimated by said own vehicle traveling information estimation unit.

12. The vehicle-side system according to claim 11, wherein

said controller estimates said waiting time for each of a plurality of said energy refilling facilities, or receives said waiting time for each of said plurality of energy refilling facilities from an outside of each of said vehicles, estimates said energy refilling facility, from which said vehicle should receive the energy refilling, based on a result of the estimation or information received from the outside of the vehicle, and performs said control based on a result of the estimation.

13. The vehicle-side system according to claim 9, wherein

said vehicle-side receiver receives a reliability of said drive type-classified number of vehicles from the outside of the vehicle, and

said controller performs said control by taking account of said reliability received by said vehicle-side receiver.

14. A vehicle-side system in a probe information system, the vehicle-side system being mounted on a probe vehicle and uploading traffic information to a center-side system, comprising:

a position detector that detects vehicle position information that is information regarding a position of said probe vehicle; and

a vehicle-side transmitter that transmits, to said center-side system, said vehicle position information detected by said position detector, and drive type information that is information regarding a drive type of said probe vehicle.

15. The vehicle-side system according to claim 14, further comprising:

a speed detector that detects vehicle speed information that is information regarding a speed of said probe vehicle,

wherein said vehicle-side transmitter transmits, to said center-side system, said vehicle speed information detected by said speed detector.