Abstract: A system for providing a vehicle with traffic information reflecting the real traffic condition in each traveling direction is provided, even if the vehicle travels in either branch direction in a branch point area including the branch point. A traffic information server collects information on the time required for traveling in the branch point area from an information providing vehicle and generates information on the time required for traveling in each traveling direction in the branch point area on the basis of the information. Upon receiving a request for providing the traffic information from a navigation system of a vehicle the traffic information server transmits the information on the time required for traveling in each traveling direction or the information on the time required for traveling on each route in the branch point area generated from the above information.

Abstract: A system for providing an information-provided vehicle equipped with a navigation system with traffic information, the system capable of providing the vehicle with the traffic information reflecting the real traffic condition in each traveling direction even if the vehicle travels in either branch direction in a branch point area including the branch point. It comprises a traffic information server 1 and the traffic information server 1 includes a means 21 for collecting information on the time required for traveling in the branch point area, which is composed of an pre-branch route and a plurality of post-branch routes branching off from the pre-branch route at the branch point, from an information providing vehicle 3b and a means 22 for generating information on the time required for traveling in each traveling direction in the branch point area on the basis of the information.

Abstract: In a method of treating heavy oil, in which a gas and a volatile oil fraction produced by thermally decomposing petroleum heavy oil are distilled off, a thermal decomposition residue withdrawn in the liquid state is brought into contact with a part of the volatile oil fraction as a solvent to extract the solven-soluble component in the thermal decomposition residue, and then an extraction residue is separated as solid particles from the solvent, an improvement is disclosed which comprises fractionating the volatile oil fraction used as the solvent into two or more sub-fractions having different boiling points from each other on condensing the volatile oil fraction in a fractionating column, and contacting the sub-fractions thus-fractionated with the thermal decomposition residue progressively from the highest boiling to the lowest boiling of the fractions to extract a solvent-soluble component.