Aisin Aw Co., Ltd.

Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha

Takayasu Nakada

Kenji Nagase

Hiroki Ishikawa

Hiroshi Tomita

Kazutaka Yoshikawa

Toshio Inoguchi

Toshiaki Minami

A navigation system includes an information center and a navigation device installed in a probe vehicle. The information center stores limiting information for specifying a content of probe information in accordance with predefined factors, specifies a predefined factor corresponding to a navigation device, selects the limiting information based on the specified predefined factor, transmits the selected limiting information to the navigation device, and receives the corresponding probe information transmitted from a navigation device. The navigation device receives the limiting information from the information center, collects probe information, selects only the probe information specified by the received limiting information for transmission to the information center, and transmits the selected probe information to the information center.

Navigation system

In a case where a CPU provided in an information distribution center has received, from a navigation apparatus, vehicle information together with a request command for requesting traffic information such as current traffic information, the CPU sets a road category that serves as a distribution target of the traffic information, based on one of a distance and a required travel time from a vehicle position to a destination. The CPU then extracts the traffic information that corresponds to the set road category and distributes it to the navigation apparatus.

Traffic information distributing apparatus

In a case where a CPUprovided in an information distribution centerhas received a request command for requesting predicted traffic information transmitted from a navigation apparatusas well as vehicle information such as a navigator identifying ID, coordinate data of a vehicle position, or coordinate data of a destination, the CPUsearches a basic route based on update-purpose map informationA, and sets a distribution range serving as a transmission target of traffic informationA,B, andC. Then, the CPUgenerates the predicted traffic informationC such as congestion prediction information corresponding to the distribution range, extracts the predicted traffic informationC of each link having a difference in the generated predicted traffic informationC and the current traffic informationA, and distributes the extracted predicted traffic informationC to the navigation apparatustogether with a link ID of a corresponding link.

Traffic information distribution apparatus and traffic information distribution method

Systems, methods, and programs, store map data including a roadway network, detect a current position of the vehicle, and detect or receive at lest one of a distance to another vehicle, a speed of another vehicle, and traffic congestion information. The systems, methods, and programs determine whether the vehicle is within a predetermined distance of a passing lane, a climbing lane, or a lane for slower traffic based on the detected current vehicle position and the map data. If the vehicle is within the predetermined distance, the systems, methods, and programs provide guidance regarding the passing lane, the climbing lane, or the lane for slower traffic based on at least one of the distance to the other vehicle, the speed of the other vehicle, and/or the received traffic congestion information.

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Okazaki, Japan

Takayasu Nakada