Route information processing system

Abstract

In the present invention, an information processing system comprises: a route search unit that acquires information about a route R on which a vehicle travels from a starting point to an end point; an information acquisition unit that acquires weather information and road surface state information regarding at least a road surface material in a prescribed area including said route R; and a display control unit that synthesizes and displays the route R, the road surface state information, and the weather information. The display control unit displays the route R by using an inner line segment R1 that is indicated in a color corresponding to a road surface material among a plurality of preset first line colors, and outer line segments R2 that are each indicated in a color corresponding to the weather information among a plurality of preset second line colors and that extend on both sides of the inner line segment R1.

Description

Route Information Processing System

[0001] The present invention relates to a route information processing system.

[0002]

[0003] A conventional technique for a route information processing system that displays a route along which a vehicle is traveling and additional information related to the route has been known. For example, Patent Document 1 (JP-A-2005-102666) describes a navigation device that displays weather information for points related to the current position of the vehicle on a map by superimposing it on the map.

[0003] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-121377

[0004] Incidentally, additional information related to a route may include not only weather information but also road surface condition information related to the road surface material. When weather information and the like are displayed in a large size on a target area of ​​a map as described in Patent Document 1, additionally displaying the road surface condition information may result in an excessive amount of information, making the screen difficult to read. Another method for displaying additional information is to display the line segments representing the route in a color corresponding to the additional information. However, as described above, displaying both road surface condition information and weather information requires a large number of color combinations. This makes it difficult for users to understand which colors correspond to which information, and displaying color descriptions may result in excessive information on the screen.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of these problems, and its purpose is to provide a route information processing system that can present routes, road surface materials related to the routes, and weather information to users in an easy-to-understand manner.

[0006] In order to achieve the above object, the route information processing system of the present invention comprises a route search unit that acquires information on a route from a start point to an end point along which a vehicle is traveling, an information acquisition unit that acquires road surface condition information and weather information relating to at least the road surface material within a predetermined area including the route, and a display control unit that combines and displays the route, the road surface condition information, and the weather information, and the display control unit displays the route composed of an inner line segment that is displayed in a color corresponding to the road surface material from among a plurality of preset first line colors, and outer line segments that extend on both sides of the inner line segment and are displayed in a color corresponding to the weather information from among a plurality of preset second line colors.

[0007] According to the route information processing system of the present invention, it is possible to present a route, road surface materials and weather information related to the route in an easy-to-understand manner to the user.

[0008] 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a route information processing system of an embodiment; FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a route; FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a route display; FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing another example of a route display; FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing an example in which a part of the route is displayed using only a second line color; and FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a route display when part of the weather information cannot be acquired.

[0009] An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a route information processing system according to the embodiment. Fig. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a route R. The route information processing system 1 is mounted on a vehicle, and is a system that acquires a route R from a start point SP to an end point EP input by a user in the vehicle, and displays the route R on a display device mounted on the vehicle. As shown in Fig. 2, the route R is configured by connecting a plurality of segments SG on a map from the start point SP to the end point EP.

[0010] The route information processing system 1 includes an input device 2, a display device 4, and a control unit 10. The route information processing system 1 may be configured as, for example, a navigation device. The input device 2 may be, for example, a touch panel type, a voice input type, or any other device for a user to input various information. The user uses the input device 2 to input location information for a start point SP where the trip begins and an end point EP where the trip ends. The user also uses the input device 2 to input at least a portion of search conditions. The search conditions include, for example, the road category the user wishes to use (e.g., a general road or an expressway) and the category of roads that are passable depending on the vehicle being used. The search conditions may also include predefined conditions such as road categories with passable time periods set depending on the vehicle being used. The display device 4 is a display or monitor that displays images such as a map and a route searched for on the map. The input device 2 and the display device 4 are not limited to those installed in the vehicle, but may also be included in a mobile information terminal owned by the user, such as a smartphone or tablet computer, that can communicate with the route information processing system 1 via an external network.

[0011] The control unit 10 includes a central processing unit (CPU) and a storage device including a ROM, a RAM, a non-volatile RAM, etc. The control unit 10 has a location information acquisition unit 12, a route search unit 14, a road surface condition information acquisition unit 16, a weather information acquisition unit 18, and a display control unit 20. The road surface condition information acquisition unit 16 and the weather information acquisition unit 18 constitute the information acquisition unit 15 of the embodiment.

[0012] The location information acquisition unit 12 acquires information about the current location of the vehicle from a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver 6 mounted on the vehicle, and outputs the information to the route search unit 14, the road surface condition information acquisition unit 16, and the weather information acquisition unit 18. The GPS receiver 6 and the location information acquisition unit 12 may be included in a mobile information terminal such as a smartphone or tablet computer owned by the user.

[0013] The route search unit 14 acquires information on the start point SP, end point EP, and search conditions input by the input device 2, as well as information on the current location of the vehicle from the location information acquisition unit 12, and transmits these to the route search server 30. The route search server 30 is a server used by an external route search service that can search for a route R on a map based on the information on the start point SP, end point EP, search conditions, and the current location of the vehicle. The route search unit 14 receives and acquires information on the route R, such as that shown in FIG. 2 , as a search result from the route search server 30, and outputs the acquired information on the route R to the road surface condition information acquisition unit 16, the weather information acquisition unit 18, and the display control unit 20.

[0014] The road surface condition information acquisition unit 16 receives and acquires road surface condition information as additional information about the route R from the road surface condition information providing server 32. The road surface condition information includes information on the road surface material (e.g., asphalt, dirt, gravel, etc.) on which the vehicle is currently traveling, and information on the road surface condition related to whether the road is drivable or not (e.g., presence or absence of unevenness, degree of snow or ice, flooding of the road surface due to rain, etc.). This road surface condition information is detected by various detection devices, such as cameras (imaging devices) mounted on the vehicles that can photograph the road surface, acceleration sensors, various speed sensors, and wheel speed sensors that detect vehicle movement, and is transmitted to the road surface condition information providing server 32. The road surface condition information provided by each vehicle is stored in the road surface condition information providing server 32 in association with the position information of each vehicle. As a result, road surface condition information for each road surface is accumulated and compiled into a database.

[0015] The road surface condition information acquisition unit 16 acquires information on a predetermined region including the route R from the road surface condition information stored in the database and outputs the information to the display control unit 20. The predetermined region can be defined, for example, as shown in FIG. 2 , by a plurality of meshes MS divided into a grid pattern on a map by latitude lines (solid lines extending horizontally in the figure) and longitude lines (solid lines extending vertically in the figure). Note that the predetermined region is not limited to the plurality of meshes MS illustrated in FIG. 2 , as long as it is defined as an area from which various information can be acquired from the road surface condition information providing server 32 or the weather information providing server 34 (described later). The predetermined region may also be defined, for example, as a plurality of meshes divided into a grid pattern at predetermined lengths in the direction along the route R (each segment SG). Note that these meshes do not need to be included in the image displayed on the display device 4.

[0016] The weather information acquisition unit 18 receives and acquires weather information about the road surface in a predetermined area (e.g., within each mesh MS in FIG. 2 ) including the route R from the weather information providing server 34 as additional information about the route R, and outputs the acquired information to the display control unit 20. The weather information providing server 34 is a server used by an external service that provides weather information operated by a government agency or a private company, and has an API (Application Programming Interface) function. The weather information providing server 34 may also be a server used by a service that provides images captured by public photography devices installed around roads or on the streets. Furthermore, the weather information may be information included in the road surface condition information. In other words, information acquired as road surface condition information, such as the snow accumulation level and degree of freezing on the road surface, and the flooding status of the road surface due to rainfall, can be considered to be information equivalent to weather information. The weather information acquisition unit 18 may acquire information equivalent to this weather information from the road surface condition information acquisition unit 16.

[0017] The display control unit 20 acquires the current position of the vehicle from the position information acquisition unit 12, the route R from the route search unit 14, road surface condition information as additional information for the route R from the road surface condition information acquisition unit 16, and weather information as additional information for the route R from the weather information acquisition unit 18. The display control unit 20 then generates an image combining these pieces of information and displays it on the display device 4. The following describes the processing of the display control unit 20 of this embodiment for combining and displaying the route R, road surface condition information, and weather information.

[0018] Fig. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the display of route R, and Fig. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing another example of the display of route R. As shown in the figure, the display control unit 20 generates route R using line segments consisting of an inner line segment R1 and two outer line segments R2. The inner line segment R1 is a line segment located at the center of the route R in the width direction (the up-down direction in the figure). On the other hand, the outer line segment R2 is a line segment located on both sides of the inner line segment R1 in the width direction of the route R. The outer line segment R2 extends in contact with the inner line segment R1.

[0019] These inner line segment R1 and outer line segment R2 are displayed in different colors using a plurality of first line colors and a plurality of second line colors as shown in Table 1. The plurality of first line colors are preset color types associated with each road surface material information in the road surface condition information. If the road surface material is asphalt, the color is defined as black; if it is dirt, the color is defined as brown; and if it is cobblestone, the color is defined as gray. The plurality of second line colors are preset color types associated with each weather condition. If the weather condition is "none," that is, if weather information could not be obtained for some reason, the color is defined as "none," if the weather condition is rain, the color is defined as blue, and if the weather condition is snow, the color is defined as white. Note that the types and numbers of road surface materials and weather conditions in Table 1 are merely examples.

[0020]

[0021] The display control unit 20 selects a color from the plurality of first line colors corresponding to information about road surface material and sets the color of the inner line segment R1. The display control unit 20 also selects a color from the plurality of second line colors corresponding to weather conditions and sets the color of the outer line segment R2. For example, assume that the road surface material and weather conditions are different for each of the consecutive routes RA, RB, and RC shown in FIG. 3 . Here, as an example, assume that the road surface material is asphalt and the weather condition is clear (not shown in Table 1) for route RA, the road surface material is earth and the weather condition is rain for route RB, and the road surface material is cobblestone and the weather condition is snow for route RC. In this case, as schematically shown by changing the pattern in the figure, the inner line segments R1 for each of routes RA, RB, and RC are all set to different first line colors, and the outer line segments R2 are all set to different second line colors. This allows the user to be informed of both the road surface material and weather conditions using only route R.

[0022] On the other hand, Figure 4 shows an example in which the weather condition is "none." Specifically, assume that weather information could not be obtained within the range of route RB for some reason. In this case, the display control unit 20 sets the second line color within that range to "none" and omits the outer line segment R2 itself from the line segments of route R. This makes it possible to clearly present to the user that weather information could not be obtained.

[0023] Next, FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing an example in which a portion of a route R is displayed using only the second line color. In this example, both the inner line segment R1 and the outer line segment R2 of the route RC are set to the second line color (here, a color corresponding to snow, as an example). When the display control unit 20 determines, based on the acquired weather information, that a predetermined condition for displaying weather information with priority over road surface material is met, the display control unit 20 displays both the inner line segment R1 and the outer line segment R2 in the second line color corresponding to the weather information. The predetermined condition for displaying weather information with priority over road surface material is a condition in which changes in road surface conditions due to weather conditions contribute significantly to drivability compared to the road surface material. For example, when snow accumulation is so great that the road surface is completely obscured, when most of the road surface is frozen, or when heavy rain causes a large amount of water to flood the road surface, the predetermined condition is determined to be met when the drivability can be determined solely based on the road surface conditions affected by weather conditions, regardless of the road surface material. Whether or not the predetermined condition is met may be determined based on weather information acquired by the weather information acquisition unit 18. As described above, the weather information here includes information acquired as road surface condition information, such as the amount of snow and ice on the road surface, the degree of flooding of the road surface due to rain, etc. In this way, by omitting the display of road surface materials and displaying the route RC with only information on weather conditions that have a significant impact on driving, it is possible to present information that is important to the user in an emphasized manner.

[0024] Next, FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the display of route R when some weather information could not be acquired. While FIG. 4 above shows an example in which the outer line segment R2 itself is omitted from the line segments of route R when weather information could not be acquired for some reason, FIG. 6 shows another display example. As shown by route RD in the figure, when weather information could not be acquired for some reason, the display control unit 20 may display the outer line segment R2 in a specific color (included in the second line color) indicating this. This makes it possible to notify the user that weather information could not be acquired.

[0025] Furthermore, if the display control unit 20 is unable to acquire weather information for some reason, it checks whether or not there is road surface condition information for the oncoming lane (not shown) of the lane on which the vehicle is traveling. That is, the display control unit 20 checks whether or not there is information equivalent to weather information among the road surface condition information for the oncoming lane stored in the road surface condition information providing server 32, and if there is, acquires the information equivalent to the weather information. Then, as shown in the route RE in FIG. 6 , only one of the outer line segments R2 located on the oncoming lane side (here, the lower line segment in the figure) is displayed in a second line color (here, a color indicating rain, as an example) corresponding to the acquired weather information. This allows the user to be informed that weather information has been acquired based on the road surface condition information for the oncoming lane.

[0026] Furthermore, the route information processing system 1 is configured to be switchable between a detailed mode (professional mode) and a simple mode (normal mode) that has fewer types of first line colors and second line colors than the detailed mode. Specifically, the control unit 10 includes a mode selection unit 22 ( FIG. 1 ). The mode selection unit 22 is connected to the input device 2, allowing the user to select either the detailed mode or the simple mode from the input device 2. The mode selection unit 22 outputs to the display control unit 20 whether the detailed mode or the simple mode has been selected. The display control unit 20 sets the first line color and the second line color to be used for the route R depending on the selected mode. Table 2 shows the differences between the detailed mode and the simple mode.

[0027]

[0028] As shown in Table 2, in the detailed mode, a different first line color is set for each type of road surface material, such as black for asphalt, purple for concrete, yellow for brick, and gray for cobblestones. Similarly, in the detailed mode, a different second line color is set for each type of weather information, such as "none" for weather information "none," light blue for ice (frozen), and white for snow. On the other hand, in the simple mode, the number of different first line colors corresponding to road surface materials is reduced compared to the detailed mode, such as black for asphalt and concrete, and yellow for brick and cobblestones. Similarly, in the simple mode, the number of different second line colors corresponding to weather information is reduced compared to the detailed mode, such as light blue for ice (frozen) and snow. In this way, in the simple mode, colors of similar road surface materials and weather information are combined. Note that the above-mentioned Table 1 is an example corresponding to the detailed mode.

[0029] In this way, by presenting the user with as much detailed information as possible about road surface materials and weather, sufficient information can be presented to users who wish to drive in accordance with the situation. On the other hand, by reducing the number of types of first and second line colors in the simple mode, it is possible to avoid presenting an unnecessarily large amount of information to general users who do not wish to receive such detailed information. This reduces the number of types of line colors that the user needs to memorize in advance.

[0030] As described above, according to the embodiment of the route information processing system 1, both the road surface material and weather conditions can be represented by route R alone, making it possible to present route R, the road surface material and weather information related to route R in an easy-to-understand manner to the user.

[0031] Although the description of the embodiment has been completed, aspects of the present invention are not limited to this embodiment. For example, the simple mode may be a mode in which the number of first line colors and / or the number of second line colors are reduced from the detailed mode. Furthermore, the mode selection unit 22 may be configured to automatically select the detailed mode if the user's driving technique is higher than a predetermined level, and the simple mode if the user's driving technique is lower than the predetermined level, based on the user's driving operation history. The method for determining whether the driving technique is higher or lower than the predetermined level may be based on the history of braking, accelerating, steering, longitudinal acceleration, lateral acceleration, etc.

[0032] REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Route information processing system 2 Input device 4 Display device 10 Control unit 14 Route search unit 15 Information acquisition unit 16 Road surface condition information acquisition unit 18 Weather information acquisition unit 20 Display control unit 22 Mode selection unit EP End point R, RA, RB, RC, RD, RE Route R1 Inside line segment R2 Outside line segment SP Start point

Claims

1. A route information processing system comprising: a route search unit that acquires information on a route from a start point to an end point along which a vehicle travels; an information acquisition unit that acquires road surface condition information and weather information relating to at least the road surface material within a predetermined area including the route; and a display control unit that combines and displays the route, the road surface condition information, and the weather information, wherein the display control unit displays the route composed of an inner line segment that is displayed in a color corresponding to the road surface material from among a plurality of preset first line colors, and outer line segments that extend on both sides of the inner line segment and are displayed in a color corresponding to the weather information from among a plurality of preset second line colors.

2. The route information processing system of claim 1, wherein the display control unit, when determining based on the weather information that a predetermined condition for displaying the weather information in priority over the road surface material is met, displays both the inner line segment and the outer line segment in the second line color corresponding to the weather information.

3. The route information processing system of claim 1, wherein, when the weather information cannot be obtained, the display control unit displays the outer line segment in a specific color indicating that the weather information cannot be obtained, or does not display the outer line segment.

4. The route information processing system of claim 3, wherein the road surface condition information includes information equivalent to the weather information, and when the display control unit acquires information equivalent to the weather information from the road surface condition information for the oncoming lane of the lane in which the vehicle is traveling, it displays only one of the outer line segments located on the oncoming lane side in the corresponding second line color.

5. A route information processing system as described in any one of claims 1 to 4, configured to be switchable between a detailed mode and a simple mode in which the number of types of at least one of the plurality of first line colors and the plurality of second line colors is reduced compared to the detailed mode.

Images