JP2008122183A - Facility information processing apparatus and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a facility information processing apparatus capable of performing a worthy function of acquiring facility information from a plurality of facility information providers in comparison with conventional ones. <P>SOLUTION: In a step (S10), information meeting a condition is acquired from each of a local database, an external database A and an external database B. Then, in a step (S20), acquired facility data sets are converted into standard facility data sets respectively. Subsequently, a standard facility data set about the same facility is selected from them. In a step (S30), any one standard facility data set is selected, and in a step (S40), the standard facility data set about the same facility as this is searched. If the standard facility data set about the same facility is found, in a step (S40), the standard facility data selected in the step (S30) is compared with the standard facility data found in the step (S40) for every item (detailed facility data), and more reliable one is selected. In this way, search result data are generated. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

The present invention relates to a facility information processing apparatus that processes information about a facility.

  As one method for acquiring facility information for setting a destination or the like, there is a method for acquiring facility information from a recording medium (CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, HDD, etc.) built in the navigation device. In recent years, a method for acquiring and using facility information from a server via the Internet or the like is known. However, in the case where facility information is acquired from a built-in recording medium or a plurality of servers using the same conditions, a plurality of facility information regarding the same facility may be acquired. In this case, if facility information is not selected by any method, there is a problem that duplicate facility information is displayed on the display unit.

With respect to this problem, in Patent Document 1 below, the facility location information in the facility information acquired from each server is compared, and when the difference in the location is within a predetermined range, it is determined that they are the same facility. There has been proposed a method for solving the problem by causing the display unit to display only the facility information acquired from one server. In addition, the telephone numbers of the facilities in the facility information acquired from each server are compared. When the telephone numbers are the same, it is determined that the facilities are the same, and only the facility information acquired from any one server is displayed on the display unit. A method for solving this problem has also been proposed.
JP 2005-227117 A

  However, in the technique described in Patent Document 1, only facility information from a single facility information provider (storage medium or server) is used as a result. That is, the information (information constituting the facility information) that is not included in the selected facility information but is included in the facility information that is not selected is not used. Therefore, it is considered that the value of acquiring facility information from a plurality of facility information providing destinations is not sufficiently exhibited.

  The present invention has been considered in view of such problems, and provides a facility information processing apparatus and the like that can exhibit the value of acquiring facility information from a plurality of facility information providing destinations more than conventional ones. With the goal.

  The facility information processing apparatus according to claim 1, which has been made to solve the above-described problem, includes facility information acquisition means for acquiring facility information from a plurality of facility information databases, input means for inputting conditions relating to the facility, Control means for executing processing steps and generating search results. Each facility information acquired by the facility information acquisition unit includes at least one detailed facility information (detailed information about the facility).

  The first step executed by the control means is a step of inputting conditions related to the facility through the input means. The second step is a step of obtaining two or more facility information about one facility that satisfies the conditions input in the first step by connecting to a plurality of facility information databases through the facility information acquisition means. is there. In the third step, one detailed facility information is selected from the two or more facility information acquired in the second step for each item constituting the search result, and the search result is configured by the selected detailed facility information. The “items constituting the search result” in the third step is a concept corresponding to individual information (detailed facility information selected later) constituting the search result. Further, the “items constituting the search result” may be fixedly set or may be designated from the outside each time.

  Therefore, the search result obtained by the facility information processing apparatus according to claim 1 can be configured from detailed facility information acquired from a facility information database that is different for each item. Therefore, it can be said that this is an information processing apparatus in which the significance of acquiring facility information from a plurality of facility information providing destinations has been demonstrated more than conventional ones.

  By the way, when there are a plurality of facilities that satisfy the conditions, in the second step, the identity of the facility indicated by each facility information is determined from the facility information group for the plurality of facilities obtained from the plurality of facility information databases. It is preferable that two or more pieces of facility information about one facility are obtained by selecting a plurality of pieces of facility information about one facility.

  If it is in this way, even if the conditions regarding the facility to which a plurality of facilities correspond are set, it is possible to obtain two or more pieces of facility information about one facility in the second step. Accordingly, conditions to be set are widened, and usability of the facility information processing apparatus is improved.

  By the way, the control means may perform the selection in the third step based on the reliability of the detailed facility information (claim 3). Thus, if selection is performed based on the reliability of each detailed facility information, a search result constituted by highly reliable detailed facility information can be obtained.

  The specific “reliability of detailed facility information” may be performed using the reliability of the facility information database itself that has acquired the facility information including the detailed facility information, for example (claims). 4). As a specific example, if facility information including detailed facility information named a is acquired from a facility information database named A, and facility information including detailed facility information named b is acquired from a facility information database named B, In selecting a or b, the reliability of A and the reliability of B are compared, and the comparison result is used.

  If it is in this way, since detailed facility information acquired from the highly reliable facility information database is selected, the search result comprised from more reliable detailed facility information can be obtained.

  If the reliability of the facility information database is fixed, the reliability may be handled in the third step as well. However, if the reliability of the facility information database changes, or the facility information database of the acquisition destination However, if the number of facility information databases is huge each time, it is difficult to handle reliability in a fixed manner. Therefore, the facility information processing apparatus may be configured to further include reliability information acquisition means for acquiring database reliability information that is information related to the reliability of the facility information database. And it is good for the control means to judge the reliability of a facility information database from the database reliability information acquired by the reliability information acquisition means (Claim 5).

  If it becomes like this, since detailed facility information is selected according to the change of the reliability of a facility information database, etc., the search result comprised from more reliable detailed facility information can be obtained.

  Further, if the facility information has a generation date or an update date, the control means may use the generation date or the update date as “reliability of detailed facility information”. ). In addition, when the facility information processing apparatus according to claim 6 cites the facility information processing apparatus according to claim 4 or claim 5, in addition to the reliability of the facility information database from which the facility information is acquired, the facility information It is preferable that the reliability of the detailed facility information is determined using the generation date or the update date.

Even if it becomes like this, the search result comprised from the detailed facility information with higher reliability can be obtained.
In addition, as the “reliability of detailed facility information” used in the third step by the control means, the reliability determined based on the number of identical detailed facility information included in the facility information obtained in the second step is used. (Claim 7). Specifically, for example, when selecting detailed facility information corresponding to the item α of the search result, among the three facility information obtained in the second step, two detailed facility information called A and detailed facility information called B Is included. In this case, it is determined that the detailed facility information A is more reliable, and A is selected as the detailed facility information corresponding to the search result item α.

  When the facility information processing device according to claim 7 refers to the facility information processing device according to any of claims 4 to 6, the reliability of the facility information database, the date of generation of the facility information, In addition to the date of update, etc., it is preferable that the reliability of the detailed facility information is determined using the reliability information according to the method described in claim 7.

Even if it becomes like this, the search result comprised from the detailed facility information with higher reliability can be obtained.
By the way, the facility information processing apparatus may discard the search results after outputting the configured search results to an external device or the like, but may store the search results. That is, after executing the third step, the control means, for the search result configured in the third step, the condition used when configuring the search result and the information regarding the expiration date corresponding to the search result. In addition, the fourth step of storing in the storage means is further executed. Then, when the second step is executed after that, the search result for the facility that satisfies the condition input in the immediately preceding first step and the search result within the expiration date is stored in the storage means before the execution. If it is stored and stored, the search result stored in the storage means is used as the search result corresponding to the condition without executing the processing after the second step. (Claim 8).

  If it becomes like this, when a search result will be comprised by the conditions same as the conditions used in the past, a search result can be provided, without acquiring information from a facility information database. At that time, since the expiration date is considered, it is possible to prevent providing old inappropriate search results.

  Further, the function as the control means described above may be realized by a program (claim 9). If such a program is executed by a computer built in the facility information processing apparatus, the facility information processing apparatus has the same operations and effects as the facility information processing apparatus of the present invention described above. Further, the program can be distributed using a network or the like, and the replacement of the program in the facility information processing apparatus is easier than the replacement of parts. Therefore, it is possible to easily improve the function of the facility information processing apparatus.

  Embodiments to which the present invention is applied will be described below with reference to the drawings. The embodiments of the present invention are not limited to the following embodiments, and various forms can be adopted as long as they belong to the technical scope of the present invention.

[Description of configuration]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration and a general connection relationship of a navigation device 20, an external communication device 31, a communication network 33, a first server 35, and a second server 37 in which the function of the facility information processing device of the present invention is incorporated. It is.

  The navigation device 20 is mounted on a vehicle, and a position detector 21 that detects the current position of the vehicle, an operation switch group 22 for inputting various instructions from a user, and various instructions as with the operation switch group 22 are input. A remote control terminal (hereinafter referred to as a remote control) 23a that is possible and separate from the navigation device 20, a remote control sensor 23b that inputs a signal from the remote control 23a, and an external communication device 31 for communication. An external communication interface 24 to perform, a map data input device 25 for inputting data from a map storage medium in which map data, audio data, and the like are recorded, a display unit 26 for displaying a map and various information, and various guides A voice output unit 27 for outputting voice and the like, and a microphone 28 for outputting an electrical signal based on the voice spoken by the user The above-described position detector 21, operation switch group 22, remote control sensor 23b, external communication interface 24, map data input device 25, and various processes are executed in response to inputs from the microphone 28, and the external communication interface 24 and display unit 26 are executed. , And a control unit 29 for controlling the audio output unit 27.

  The position detector 21 receives a radio wave from a GPS (Global Positioning System) artificial satellite via a GPS antenna (not shown) and outputs a received signal, and a magnitude of rotational motion applied to the vehicle. A gyroscope 21b for detecting the distance and a distance sensor 21c for detecting a distance traveled from the longitudinal acceleration or the like of the vehicle are provided. And the control part 29 calculates the position, direction, speed, etc. of a vehicle based on the output signal from these sensors 21a-21c. Although there are various methods for obtaining the current position based on the output signal from the GPS receiver 21a, either a single positioning method or a relative positioning method may be used.

  The operation switch group 22 includes a touch panel configured integrally with the display surface of the display unit 26, mechanical key switches provided around the display unit 26, and the like. The touch panel and the display unit 26 are laminated and integrated. There are various types of touch panels such as a pressure-sensitive method, an electromagnetic induction method, a capacitance method, or a combination of these methods. It may be used.

  The remote controller 23a is composed of a plurality of buttons. When any one of the buttons is pressed, a signal corresponding to the type of the button reaches the remote control sensor 23b via short-range wireless communication such as infrared rays. ing.

The remote control sensor 23 b receives a signal sent from the remote control 23 a and outputs the received signal to the control unit 29.
The external communication interface 24 is an interface for communicating with the external communication device 31 by wire.

  The map data input device 25 is a device for inputting various data stored in a map data storage medium (not shown) (for example, a hard disk or a DVD-ROM). The map data storage medium includes map data (node data, link data, cost data, background data, road data, name data, mark data, intersection data), facility data (facility name data, facility address data, facility telephone number data) , Facility genre data, etc.), voice data for guidance, voice recognition data, etc. are stored as a database (hereinafter referred to as “local database”). The facility data has a generation date or an update date.

  The display unit 26 includes a liquid crystal display, an organic EL display, and the like. The display screen of the display unit 26 includes a current position of the vehicle detected by the position detector 21 and map data input from the map data input unit 25. Additional data such as a mark indicating the identified current location, a guide route to the destination, a name, a landmark, and a mark of various facilities can be displayed in an overlapping manner. Also, facility guides can be displayed.

  The microphone 28 outputs an electric signal (voice signal) based on the inputted voice to the control unit 29 when the user inputs (speaks) voice. The user can operate the navigation device 20 by inputting various sounds to the microphone 28.

  The control unit 29 is configured around a well-known microcomputer including a CPU, ROM, RAM, SRAM, I / O, and a bus line connecting these components, and is based on a program stored in the ROM and RAM. Various processes. For example, the current position of the vehicle is calculated as a set of coordinates and traveling directions based on each detection signal from the position detector 21, and a map or the like near the current position read via the map data input device 25 is displayed on the display unit 26. Based on the current location display processing, the map data stored in the map data input device 25, and the destination set in accordance with the operation of the operation switch group 22 or the remote controller 23a, the optimum route from the current position to the destination is determined. A route calculation process for calculating the route, a route guidance process for guiding the route by displaying the calculated route on the display unit 26 or outputting the sound as a voice to the voice output unit 27, and the like are executed.

  The external communication device 31 is a communication device that communicates with the first server 35 and the second server 37 via the communication network 33, and is connected to the communication network 33 via wireless communication.

The communication network 33 is a packet communication network such as the Internet or a circuit exchange type public communication network such as a telephone line.
The first server 35 and the second server 37 are servers having a database in which various types of facility data are stored. The first server 35 and the second server 37 retrieve facility data that matches a condition requested via the communication network 33 from the database, and The search result is transmitted to the request source via Hereinafter, the database possessed by the first server 35 is referred to as “external database A”, and the database possessed by the second server 37 is referred to as “external database B”.

[Description of operation]
Next, the process which the control part 29 of the navigation apparatus 20 performs is demonstrated. Note that description of well-known processing such as processing for calculating a route to a point designated by the user and processing for performing guidance based on the calculated route will be omitted.

(1) Overview First, an overview of processing executed by the control unit 29 will be described with reference to an explanatory diagram of FIG.
The control unit 29 acquires facility data that matches the conditions from each of the local database, the external database A, and the external database B (S10). Then, each acquired facility data is converted into standard facility data (S20). This standard facility data is data in a unified data format so as not to require processing considerations due to differences in data formats. Subsequently, the standard facility data for the same facility is selected from among them. First, any one standard facility data is selected (S30), and the standard facility data for the same facility is searched (S40). ).

  Then, when the corresponding standard facility data is found, the standard facility data selected in S30 and the standard facility data found in S40 are compared for each item (for each detailed facility data), and the one with higher reliability is compared. Select (S50). The selected items are collected to generate (synthesize) search result data.

In this way, the navigation device 20 generates search result data based on facility data acquired from a plurality of databases.
Hereinafter, this series of processing will be described in detail.

(2) Facility Data Acquisition Process Next, the facility data acquisition process, which is a specific process executed by the control unit 29 of the navigation device 20, will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The facility data acquisition process is started when a command that indicates the execution of the process is input by the user. Specifically, the execution is started when the user operates the operation switch group 22 or the remote controller 23a associated with the facility data acquisition process.

  When starting the execution of the facility data acquisition process, the control unit 29 of the navigation device 20 first receives a facility search condition (S105). This means that the user operates the operation switch group 22 or the remote controller 23a to input facility search conditions and receives the input facility search conditions. The voice of the facility search condition may be input to the microphone 28 and the voice may be analyzed. The facility search conditions mentioned here are designation of Kana name, Kanji name, address, telephone number, genre, data generation date, etc. Specific examples include “Suzuki Shoten” (in case of Kana name), “Suzuki” “Shop” (in the case of Kanji name), “Showacho, Kariya City, Aichi Prefecture” (in the case of address), “0566-25-xxxx” (in the case of telephone number), etc.

  Subsequently, the control unit 29 simultaneously executes two systems. Specifically, there are processing for searching the local database (S110 to S120) and processing for searching the external database (S125 to S135).

In the process of searching the local database, first, data corresponding to the facility search condition received in S105 is searched from the local database and acquired (S110).
Subsequently, the search result data obtained in S110 is stored in a temporary storage area provided in the control unit 29 (S115). Then, the search result data stored in the temporary storage area is converted into standard facility data in a predetermined format (S120). The purpose of this conversion is to facilitate data processing in the control unit 29 by converting individual search result data having different formats depending on the acquisition destination (database) into a common data format.

A specific example of this conversion will be described with reference to the explanatory diagram of FIG.
FIG. 5A is a list showing the basic configuration of standard facility data. Standard facility data is divided into “Name”, “Phone number”, “Address”, “Latitude / Longitude”, “Business hours”, “Parking”, “Menu”, and “Evaluation” items. Is the item name, and the right side is the detailed facility data.

  FIG. 5B is an example of search result data obtained from the local database. In this example, the search result data is in csv format, and is composed of data (detailed facility data) of “name”, “phone number”, “address”, “latitude”, and “longitude”. Since this order is fixed, the control unit 29 can grasp which item indicates what data.

  FIG. 5C shows standard facility data generated by converting the search result data shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 5C, detailed facility data corresponding to each item name is set. For items that do not exist in the search result data, no detailed facility data is set (detailed facility data of “business hours”, “parking lot”, “menu”, “evaluation”).

Returning to FIG. 3, when the conversion in S120 is completed, the control unit 29 shifts the process to S140.
On the other hand, in the process of searching the external database, first, the facility search condition accepted in S105 is transmitted to the first server 35 and the second server 37 via the external communication device 31, and the search result data is received from each (S125). ).

  Subsequently, the search result data obtained in S125 is stored in a temporary storage area provided in the control unit 29 (S130). Then, the search result data stored in the temporary storage area is converted into standard facility data in a predetermined format (S135). The purpose of this conversion is to facilitate data processing in the control unit 29 by converting individual search result data having different formats depending on the acquisition destination (database) into a common data format.

A specific example of this conversion will be described with reference to FIG. 6 and FIG.
FIG. 6A is an example of search result data obtained from the external database A. In this example, the search result data is HTML data displayed in a tabular format in which item names and contents (detailed facility data) are paired. Since they are paired in this way, the control unit 29 can grasp what items the detailed facility data indicates.

  FIG. 6B is standard facility data generated by converting the search result data shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 6B, detailed facility data corresponding to each item name is set. For items that do not exist in the search result data, no detailed facility data is set (“telephone number”, “latitude / longitude”, “menu”, “evaluation” detailed facility data).

  FIG. 7A is an example of search result data obtained from the external database B. FIG. In this example, the search result data is XML format data. For this reason, the control part 29 can grasp | ascertain what item each detailed facility data has shown with the tag name.

  FIG. 7B shows standard facility data generated by converting the search result data shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 7A, detailed facility data corresponding to each item name is set. For items that do not exist in the search result data, no detailed facility data is set (“telephone number”, “latitude / longitude”, “business hours”, “parking” detailed facility data).

Returning to FIG. 3, when the conversion in S135 is completed, the control unit 29 shifts the process to S140.
In S140, it is determined whether or not there is unprocessed standard facility data (however, S140 is executed after finishing both S120 and S135). The “unprocessed standard facility data” referred to here is standard facility data stored in the temporary storage area of the control unit 29 and is not subject to processing in S145 to S165 described later. Means. In S140, when it is determined that there is unprocessed standard facility data (S140: Yes), the process proceeds to S145, and when it is determined that there is no unprocessed standard facility data (S140: No), this The process (facility data acquisition process) is terminated.

In S145, which proceeds when it is determined that there is unprocessed standard facility data, one unprocessed standard facility data stored in the temporary storage area of the control unit 29 is selected.
Subsequently, the standard facility data for the same facility corresponding to the standard facility data selected in S145 is retrieved from the temporary storage area of the control unit 29 (S148). Here, a method for determining whether or not the two standard facility data are for the same facility will be described. For example, character strings representing names included in the standard facility data are compared with each other, and when the character strings completely match, it can be determined that these standard facility data are for the same facility. The same applies when a character string representing a telephone number is compared instead of a character string representing a name.

  However, it is considered that the detailed facility data included in the standard facility data has fluctuations in expression. For example, in terms of “name”, the expression is different, such as “ABC Inc.” and “ABC Inc.”, but the same facility. In general, fluctuations in expression often have regularity. Therefore, it is only necessary to consider the regularity. In the above example, “ABC” is certified as the main part of “ABC Co., Ltd.”, “ABC” is certified as the main part of “ABC”, and they are compared.

  Further, it may be determined whether or not it is standard facility data of the same facility because a plurality of detailed facility data are very similar. Further, it may be determined whether or not it is standard facility data of the same facility by determining the identity of the location using the latitude route information.

  In subsequent S150, the processing branches depending on the processing result in S148. If the standard facility data search for the same facility is successful (S150: Yes), the process proceeds to S160. If the standard facility data search for the same facility fails (S150: No), S153 Transfer processing to.

  In S153, which proceeds when it is determined that the standard facility data search for the same facility has failed, the standard facility data selected in S145 is configured as search result data. The search result data in this case is exactly the same as the standard facility data selected in S145, and the data name is simply changed.

  In S155, a search result list is created based on the search result data configured in S153 and displayed on the display unit 26. If the search result list is already displayed on the display unit 26, a new record is added to the end of the list to redisplay the search result list. This search result list will be described later. When displaying the search result list, the control unit 29 returns the process to S140.

  On the other hand, the standard facility data integration process is executed in S160 that is performed when it is determined that the retrieval of the standard facility data for the same facility is successful. This standard facility data integration process will be described later.

  When the execution of the standard facility data integration process is completed, the process proceeds to S165, a search result list is created based on the search result data configured by the standard facility data integration process, and is displayed on the display unit 26. If the search result list is already displayed on the display unit 26, a new record is added to the end of the list and the search result list is displayed again. Then, the process returns to S140.

  Here, an example of the search result list displayed in S155 and S165 will be described with reference to the explanatory diagram of FIG. As shown in FIG. 8, the record of the search result list is composed of detailed facility data of “name”, “phone number”, “address”, “business hours”, and “evaluation”. In the example of FIG. 8, the record is composed of only detailed facility data of some items constituting the search result data. However, the record may be composed of detailed facility data of all items.

(2) Standard Facility Data Integration Processing Next, standard facility data integration processing executed by the control unit 29 of the navigation device 20 will be described using the flowchart of FIG. The standard facility data integration process is a process that is invoked and started in S160 of the above-described facility data acquisition process.

  When starting the execution of the standard facility data integration process, the control unit 29 determines whether or not all items defined in the standard facility data have been processed (S205). “Whether or not processing has been performed” means whether or not the processing of S210 to S225 described later has been performed for each item.

  If it is determined that all items defined in the standard facility data have been processed (S205: Yes), this processing (standard facility data integration processing) is terminated, and all items defined in the standard facility data are not processed. (S205: No), the process proceeds to S210.

  In S205, which proceeds when it is determined that all items have not been processed, one unprocessed item is selected. Then, it is determined whether or not the detailed facility data corresponding to the selected item exists (is set) in any standard facility data (S215). The “any standard facility data” here means each standard facility data determined to be the standard facility data of the same facility in S150 of the facility data acquisition process. The reason why S215 is performed is that, as illustrated in FIGS. 5 to 7, each standard facility data has different detailed facility data. Therefore, it is assumed that detailed facility data corresponding to the item selected in S210 does not exist in any standard facility data.

  In S215, when it is determined that the detailed facility data corresponding to the selected item exists (set) in any standard facility data (S215: Yes), the process proceeds to S220, and the selected item is supported. If it is determined that the detailed facility data to be included is not in any standard facility data (S215: No), the process returns to S205.

  In S220, which proceeds when it is determined that the detailed facility data corresponding to the selected item exists in any of the standard facility data, each facility detailed information corresponding to the selected item is evaluated. Various methods can be considered as the evaluation method. For example, the following methods are possible.

(I) Method 1
A method of uniformly using the reliability of each database determined in advance as an evaluation of detailed facility data is conceivable.

Example:
・ Evaluation of detailed facility data acquired from local database → High ・ Evaluation of detailed facility data acquired from external database A → Medium ・ Evaluation of detailed facility data acquired from external database B → Low (ii) Method 2
The standard facility data illustrated in FIGS. 4 to 7 does not have detailed facility data indicating the generation date or update date of the facility data, but these data are attached to the facility data acquired from each database. If the data is also added to the standard facility data, a method of evaluating based on the information can be considered.

Example:
・ Evaluation of detailed facility data included in standard facility data whose generation date or update date is less than half a year from now → High ・ Evaluation of detailed facility data included in standard facility data whose generation date or update date is less than one year from now → Medium ・ Evaluation of detailed facility data included in standard facility data whose generation date or update date is one year or more from now → Low (iii) Method 3
A method of highly evaluating detailed facility data having a large amount of the same detailed facility data can be considered.

Example: Assume that there are three standard facility data for the same facility, all of which are “phone numbers”
・ Evaluation of detailed facility data A whose “phone number” is “0566-25-1234” → High ・ Evaluation of detailed facility data B whose “phone number” is “0566-25-1234” → High ・ Evaluation of detailed facility data C whose “phone number” is “0566-63-9876” → Low After the evaluation by these methods, the control unit 29 selects the detailed facility data with the highest evaluation. The search result data is configured as data corresponding to, and stored in the temporary storage area (S225). In addition, when there are a plurality of standard facility data with the highest evaluation and the detailed facility data corresponding to the selection items are different from each other, for example, any one may be selected at random.

After storing the detailed facility data included in the standard facility data with the highest evaluation in the temporary storage area, the control unit 29 returns the process to S205 described above.
The content of the standard facility data integration process has been described above. Here, an example of search result data configured by completing the execution of the standard facility data integration process is shown. FIG. 7C is an example of the search result data. The detailed facility data corresponding to each item is the standard facility of any of FIGS. 5C, 6B, and 7B. It can be confirmed that it is detailed facility data included in the data.

[Effect of the embodiment]
Next, effects of the navigation device 20 of the above embodiment will be described. The control unit 29 of the navigation device 20 acquires facility data satisfying a predetermined condition from each of the local database and the external databases A and B (S110, S125), and converts it into standard facility data (S120, S135). Then, standard facility data for the same facility is searched from among them (S148), detailed facility data is selected from the standard facility data for the same facility based on reliability, and search result data is selected based on the selected detailed facility data. (S225).

  Therefore, the configured search result data can be composed of detailed facility data acquired from a different database for each item. Therefore, the significance of acquiring facility data from a plurality of facility information databases is exhibited more than the conventional one.

  Further, as illustrated, the control unit 29 uses a method of using reliability of each predetermined database as an evaluation of detailed facility data, based on information on a generation date and an update date added to standard facility data. The reliability of the detailed facility data is judged by a method of performing evaluation, a method of highly evaluating detailed facility data having a large amount of the same detailed facility data (S220).

  If reliability is judged in this way, highly reliable detailed facility data can be selected, and information displayed on the display unit 26 based on the configured search result data is also highly reliable. .

[Correspondence with Claims]
The correspondence between the terms used in the description of the embodiment and the terms described in the claims is shown.
The control unit 29 corresponds to the control means, and the map data input device 25 and the external communication interface 24 correspond to the facility information acquisition means. The operation switch group 22, the remote controller 23a, and the microphone 28 correspond to input means. Further, facility data and standard facility data correspond to facility information, detailed facility data corresponds to detailed facility information, and search result data corresponds to a search result.

[Other Embodiments]
(1) In the description of the above embodiment, as one of the detailed facility data evaluation methods, a method of using the reliability of each database determined in advance as the detailed facility data evaluation is illustrated (Method 1). In this case, it is preferable that information regarding the reliability of each database (particularly the reliability of the external database) is acquired from an external server. That is, when performing the evaluation, the control unit 29 holds information related to the reliability of a database that is a server connected to the communication network 33 via the external communication device 31 and that the other server has. Information about reliability is obtained from the server. This acquisition process corresponds to the function as the reliability information acquisition means described in the claims.

If such a function is provided, it is possible to flexibly cope with changes in the reliability of the database and the like, and the reliability of the search result data is increased.
(2) In the navigation device 20 of the above embodiment, the obtained search result data is displayed in a list format on the display unit 26, but a storage unit (for example, hard disk or flash memory) having a data storage function The search result data and the search condition may be stored in the storage unit. Then, when it becomes necessary to search the database again with the same search condition, whether or not the search result data corresponding to the storage unit is stored instead of searching the database via the external communication device 31. If it is stored, the stored search result data may be used.

If this is the case, the number of accesses to the database can be reduced.
In addition, when storing the search result data in the storage unit in this way, information regarding the expiration date may be added to the search result data or some detailed facility data. Hereinafter, specific examples will be described.

  For example, when the detailed facility data is a gasoline price at a gas station, the gasoline price generally changes in units of several days. Therefore, the expiration date may be set to one day, for example. In addition, when the detailed facility data is vacant information of a pay parking lot, such information changes in units of several minutes, so the expiration date may be set to 1 minute or 0 minutes, for example. Setting 0 minutes means that the database is always searched, so that search result data including the detailed facility data may not be stored in the storage unit.

  In this way, if the search result data or some detailed facility data is added and stored with information related to the expiration date, the expiration date can be set when checking whether the search data is stored. Since it can be considered, use of uncertain information can be prevented. In this case, the storage unit corresponds to the storage means described in the claims.

  (3) In the description of the above embodiment, the method of using the generation date and the update date for the facility data is exemplified as the method for determining the reliability of the detailed facility data (Method 2). In addition, the reliability of detailed facility data may be determined in addition to the information about the above.

If it becomes like this, the reliability of detailed facility data can be judged more correctly.
(4) In the above embodiment, the navigation apparatus 20 incorporating the function of the facility information processing apparatus of the present invention has been described. However, the function of the facility information processing apparatus may be incorporated in a server that communicates with the navigation apparatus. For example, the server receives the search condition from the navigation device, performs the same processing as the navigation device 20 (except S155 and S165), and then returns the search result data to the navigation device. In this case, the server includes at least a CPU and an external communication interface. The CPU corresponds to the control means described in the claims, and the communication interface is the facility information acquisition means described in the claims. It corresponds to communication means. It goes without saying that the server itself may have a database relating to facility data.

  Even if comprised in this way, there exists an effect similar to embodiment mentioned above.

It is a flowchart which shows schematic structure of the navigation apparatus of embodiment. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the outline of the process which a navigation apparatus performs. It is a flowchart for demonstrating a facility data acquisition process. It is a flowchart for demonstrating search result data integration processing. It is a figure for demonstrating an example of facility data. It is a figure for demonstrating an example of facility data. It is a figure for demonstrating an example of facility data. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating an example of a search result list.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 20 ... Navigation apparatus, 21 ... Position detector, 21a ... GPS receiver, 21b ... Gyroscope, 21c ... Distance sensor, 22 ... Operation switch group, 23a ... Remote control, 23b ... Remote control sensor, 24 ... External communication interface, 25 ... Map data input device, 26 ... display unit, 27 ... voice output unit, 28 ... microphone, 29 ... control unit, 31 ... external communication device, 33 ... communication network, 35 ... first server, 37 ... second server.

Claims (9)

Facility information acquisition means for acquiring facility information from a plurality of facility information databases;
An input means for inputting conditions related to the facility;
Control means for executing predetermined processing steps to generate search results;
With
Each facility information acquired by the facility information acquisition means includes at least one detailed facility information,
The control means includes
A first step of inputting the condition via the input means;
A second facility that obtains two or more pieces of facility information about one facility that satisfies the condition input in the first step by connecting to the plurality of facility information databases through the facility information acquisition means. Steps,
For each item constituting the search result, one detailed facility information is selected from the two or more facility information acquired in the second step, and the search result is configured by the selected detailed facility information. Three steps,
Performing the
A facility information processing apparatus. The facility information processing apparatus according to claim 1,
In the second step, the control means determines the identity of the facility indicated by each facility information from among the facility information groups for the plurality of facilities obtained from the plurality of facility information databases. Obtaining two or more facility information for one facility by selecting a plurality of the facility information;
A facility information processing apparatus. In the facility information processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,
The control means performs the selection in the third step based on the reliability of each of the detailed facility information;
A facility information processing apparatus. The facility information processing apparatus according to claim 3,
The control means uses the reliability of the facility information database itself that acquired the facility information including the detailed facility information as the reliability of the detailed facility information,
A facility information processing apparatus. The facility information processing apparatus according to claim 4,
Furthermore, it comprises a reliability information acquisition means for acquiring database reliability information which is information related to the reliability of the facility information database,
The control means determines the reliability of the facility information database based on the database reliability information acquired by the reliability information acquisition means;
A facility information processing apparatus. In the facility information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 3 to 5,
The facility information has a date of generation or update of the facility information,
The control means uses the generation date or update date of the facility information including the detailed facility information as the reliability of the detailed facility information,
A facility information processing apparatus. In the facility information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 3 to 6,
When the control means obtains three or more pieces of facility information in the second step, the same detailed facility included in the facility information obtained in the second step is used as the reliability of the detailed facility information. Using reliability determined based on the number of information,
A facility information processing apparatus. In the facility information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7,
Furthermore, the storage means for storing the search results constituted by the control means,
The control means includes
After executing the third step, to the search result configured in the third step, the condition used when configuring the search result and information on the expiration date corresponding to the search result are added. And further executing a fourth step of storing in the storage means,
Thereafter, when the second step is executed, before the execution, the search result for the facility that satisfies the condition input in the immediately preceding first step and the search result within the expiration date is the search result. It is checked whether or not it is stored in the storage means, and if it is stored, the search result stored in the storage means corresponds to the condition without executing the processing after the second step. Used as a search result,
A facility information processing apparatus.   The program for functioning a computer as the said control means of the facility information processing apparatus in any one of Claims 1-8.

Images