Patent ID: 7788029

Claim:
A traveled link identifying system, comprising: a communication device that receives information representing current positions of probe vehicles, the information acquired from each probe vehicle at predetermined distance intervals or at predetermined time intervals; a memory that stores map data in a plurality of hierarchical levels and connection relationships between links included in the map data for each of the plurality of hierarchical levels, each level defined based on the detail of road information within the map data; and a controller that: acquires position information from the communication device; detects links traveled by a probe vehicle on the basis of the acquired position information by using the map data in a first level having the most detail of road information; determines, based on the stored connection relationships indicating relationships among the links included in the map data in the first level, whether there is only one connection between the detected traveled links, the connection composed of one link or a combination of links; and identifies, if there is only one connection between the detected traveled links, the link or combination of links composing the connection as a link or links traveled by the probe vehicle.