JP2010277575A - Route search system, route search method, and computer program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To search for a route in consideration of station premises. <P>SOLUTION: On receipt of input of a place of departure and a destination, a route search tool 110 acquires information on one or a plurality of station entrances/exits available in the place of departure and information on ticket gates leading to the respective station entrances/exits and platforms accessible from the ticket gates, from station information DB 131 to generate a condition for a place of departure instead of the place of departure on the basis of the information acquired. In the same way, a condition for the destination instead of the destination is generated. A route search engine 113 accesses an operation information DB 132 and searches for routes by including the condition for the place of departure and the condition for the destination into each node constituting a network of transportation, to search for an optimal route candidate that leads to the destination from the place of departure. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a route search technique for searching for a route from an arbitrary departure point to a destination by using a public transportation network such as a foot and a train.

  As for the search technology for the optimum operation route in public transportation networks such as trains, since the operation route search software “Electrical Spatial” (registered trademark, non-patent document 1) developed by the present applicant, a plurality of company technologies Many improvements have been attempted by the hands of those skilled in the art. As one of the route search technologies, considering the walking route from the departure point to the departure station and from the destination to the destination station, the station closest to the departure point and the destination (the nearest station) is used as the departure station and the destination station. In addition, after the identification, if the departure station and the destination station have a plurality of entrances, there is a route search method for identifying the entrance / exit closest to the departure place and the destination (the nearest entrance).

However, there is a case where the optimum route is not searched in the above method of specifying the nearest station and then identifying the nearest entrance / exit of the nearest station and searching for the route.
For example, when searching from Roppongi Hills to Shin-Koenji Station using the above method, the nearest route to Roppongi Hills is “Roppongi Station on the Hibiya Line” and the nearest entrance is “Exit 1c”. (0 minute walk) → Roppongi Station [Exit 1c] → (Hibiya Line) → Kasumigaseki → (Marunouchi Line) → Shin Koenji>, and the average time required is 39 minutes.

However, if it is a candidate for a departure station other than the nearest station, “Roppongi Station (Exit 5) on the Oedo Line” is also a candidate, and the route is <Roppongi Hills → (4 minutes on foot) → Roppongi Station [Exit 5] → (Large Edo Line) → Nakano Sakaue → (Marunouchi Line) → Shin Koenji> The average travel time is 34 minutes, so this route is the optimal route with a short total travel time.
In addition, since “Roppongi Station on the Hibiya Line” and “Roppongi Station on the Oedo Line” cannot be visited, once the nearest station “Roppongi Station on the Hibiya Line” is identified as the departure station, Routes departing from “Roppongi Station on the Oedo Line” will not be searched.

  As described above, there may be an optimum route that does not use the nearest station as the departure station. As described above, when the route search is performed after the nearest station is identified, such an optimum route is searched. Will not be.

  On the other hand, when one or more stations are set as departure station candidates or destination station candidates, and the departure station candidate or destination station candidate has a plurality of entrances, the exit that can be reached the earliest on foot from the departure place and destination is determined. An optimum route searching apparatus that searches for an optimum route after identifying the position of the entrance and exit as the position of a departure station candidate or a destination station candidate has also been proposed (see Patent Document 1).

  In the optimum route search device described in Patent Document 1, since the station other than the nearest station is not excluded from the departure station candidates in the initial stage, the optimum route that does not use the nearest station as the departure station can also be searched. it can. In addition, for departure station candidates or destination station candidates that have multiple entrances and exits, in order to identify the nearest entrance, the optimal route that takes into consideration the walking route from the departure point to the departure station and the walking route from the destination station to the destination Search can be performed.

JP 2003-182578 A

"Electrical Spa" Fuunroku Amagasaki and others Nikkei Business Publications, Inc. March 20, 2006

  The route search method using the device described in Patent Document 1 is convenient in that it can perform a route search that takes into consideration a walking route from the departure point to the departure station and a walking route from the destination station to the destination. is there.

  However, the station premises are different for each station, and there are various entrances and gates that cannot be used depending on the day of the week. Depending on the factors, the route from the doorway to the platform where the desired train arrives and departs varies, and the required time varies greatly.

  For example, on the same route, there are entrances (ticket gates) on each of the up platform and down platform, and the station that cannot go between the up platform and the down platform is the departure station, and the nearest entrance from the departure location is When the train to be boarded at the entrance / exit on the upstream platform is a descending train, the route entering from the nearest entrance / exit (the entrance / exit on the upstream platform side) is not necessarily the optimal route. In spite of this, the device described in Patent Document 1 considers the walking route from the departure point to the entrance of the station when searching for the route, but within the station premises, that is, from the entrance to the ticket gate and the platform. The walking route of was not considered.

  The main object of the present invention is to provide a technique for searching for an optimum route in consideration of a route from a station premises, that is, from a station entrance to a ticket gate or a platform.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a route search system, a route search method, and a computer program.
The route search system of the present invention includes a specifying means for specifying a starting point and a destination specified by a user, and a station information DB (DB is an abbreviation of a database, the same applies hereinafter) that stores information on stations of transportation facilities. Obtain information on one or more station entrances and exits that can be used at the specified departure point, and information on at least one of the ticket gates connected to each station entrance and the platform that can be reached from the ticket gates, and based on the obtained information A condition generating means for generating a starting point condition in place of the starting point, and an operation information DB for route search are accessed, and the generated starting point condition and the specified destination are each configured as a route network for transportation. Route search means for searching for an optimum route candidate from the departure point to the destination by performing a route search included in the node.

Another route search system according to the present invention is used at the specified destination from the specifying means for specifying the starting point and the destination specified by the user and the station information DB storing the information on the station of transportation. Obtain information on one or more possible station entrances and at least one of the ticket gates connected to each station entrance and the home that can be reached from the ticket gates, and based on the obtained information, destination conditions that replace the destination are obtained. By generating a condition generation means for generating and a route search operation information DB and performing a route search including the destination condition and the specified departure place in nodes constituting the route network of the transportation facility, Route search means for searching for an optimum route candidate from the departure place to the destination.
Since the route search is performed using the station entrance / exit, the ticket gate, and the home as nodes, the route search can be performed in consideration of the movement route within the station premises.

In one embodiment, the condition generation unit obtains position information of the station entrance, a first movement cost required for movement from the station entrance to the ticket gate, and a second movement cost required for movement from the ticket gate to the home. In addition, the obtained travel cost is added as a new condition, and the route search means is provided for each searched route to the available station entrance calculated based on the position information. The total movement cost of the entire route is calculated by adding the third cost required for the movement, the first movement cost, and the second movement cost, and the optimal route candidates are sorted in ascending order of the total movement cost. To do. In this case, it is possible to select a route with a particularly low total movement cost from the search result.
The travel cost is, for example, travel time information.

  In another embodiment, the condition generating means is further configured to acquire the use restriction information of the station entrance / exit, the ticket gate or the home, and output the obtained use restriction information, and the route Based on the use restriction information, the search means operates to exclude, from the search results, optimum route candidates including a station entrance / exit, a ticket gate, or a platform that are restricted in use among the searched routes.

In another embodiment, the route search means has one of the starting point and the destination fixed, and one of a station entrance, a ticket gate, and a platform associated with the fixed starting point or destination. If there are multiple stations, compare the travel cost required to move to the ticket gate or the travel cost required to move to the ticket gate-home for each combination including the station entrance and exit, and the travel cost is relatively high. Optimization processing for excluding combinations from the nodes is performed before route search. From the viewpoint of further simplifying the configuration, the route search means further includes landmark holding means for holding the starting place or the destination as a landmark from which the combination having a relatively large movement cost is excluded. Performs a route search using the held landmark as the starting point or the destination.
As a result, the optimization process is executed only by using the landmark, so that the performance is further improved.

  According to the route search method of the present invention, a computer that can access a station information DB that stores information on a station of transportation and an operation information DB for route search is based on the departure point designated by the user from the station information DB. Information on one or more available station entrances and gates connected to each station entrance and information on at least one of the platforms that can be reached from the ticket gates are obtained, and departure place conditions that replace the departure place based on the obtained information And at least one information on one or more station entrances and exits that can be used at the destination designated by the user, and information on at least one of the ticket gates connected to each station entrance and the platform that can be reached from the ticket gates, Based on the acquired information, a process for generating a destination condition to replace the destination, and the departure information and the destination condition are obtained by accessing the operation information DB. A process for searching for an optimum route candidate from the departure place to the destination by performing a route search included in a node constituting a route network of each transportation facility, and This is a route search method.

  The computer program of the present invention uses a computer that can access a station information DB that stores information on a station of transportation and an operation information DB for route search from the station information DB at a departure point designated by a user. Obtain information on one or more possible station entrances and at least one of the ticket gates connected to each station entrance and the home that can be reached from the ticket gates. Based on the obtained information, the departure place conditions that replace the departure place are obtained. Generate and acquire information on one or more station entrances and exits that can be used at the destination specified by the user, and information on at least one of the ticket gates connected to each station entrance and the platform that can be reached from the ticket gates. Condition output means for generating a destination condition in place of the destination based on the information obtained; access to the operation information DB and the departure place And a route search means for searching for an optimum route candidate from the starting point to the destination by performing a route search including the destination condition in nodes constituting a route network of a transportation facility. A computer program for searching.

According to the present invention, the route search is performed by including at least one of the ticket gate and the platform in addition to the station name and station entrance / exit of the transportation facility, so that it is possible to perform an accurate route search including the walking route in the station premises. The effect is obtained. It is also possible to add usage restriction information such as ticket gates and station entrances as search conditions. In this case, it is possible to actually use by excluding unusable entrances and routes via ticket gates from the search results. Since a search result of only the route can be obtained, a route search that is more realistic can be performed.
In the configuration in which the route search means performs the node optimization processing, the number of search loops is reduced, so that the performance during route search is improved.

1 is an overall configuration diagram of a route search system according to a first embodiment. It is a figure which shows the outline | summary of the conventional route search process. It is a figure which shows the outline | summary of the route search process by the route search tool of this embodiment. It is structure explanatory drawing of a ticket gate / entrance / entrance table. It is structure explanatory drawing of the movement time table between an entrance / exit and a ticket gate. It is structure explanatory drawing of the movement time table between a ticket gate and a home. It is a processing procedure figure of a route search tool. In the route search system of 2nd Embodiment, it is explanatory drawing in the station yard in the case of performing an optimization process.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment in the case where the present invention is applied to a network type route search system that enables a route search service for portable terminals will be described.

<First Embodiment>
FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a route search system according to this embodiment, in which characteristic portions are posted. The route search system includes a route search server 10 connected to a digital network N such as the Internet, one or a plurality of information terminal service servers 20 (one in the illustrated example), and information on a station of transportation such as a station. Location information (latitude, longitude, etc.) of the entrances and exits (north exit, south exit, exit A, exit B, etc .: “station entrance”, hereinafter simply referred to as entrance / exit), ticket gates connected to the entrance, homes reachable from the ticket gates, usage restrictions Station information DB 131 that stores data such as, and operation information DB 132 that stores data such as route search operation information, such as a route network of a transportation facility (railway / bus), a timetable, and map information around the station. Consists of.
In addition to the portable terminal 50, a mail server 60 and a PC (personal computer) 70 as an example of an information terminal can be connected to the digital network N.

  The portable terminal 50 and the PC 70 can be connected to the digital network N directly when having a data communication and data processing function, and via the mail server 60 when having a mail function.

[Route search server]
The route search server 10 is realized by the cooperation of the server body and the computer program of the present invention. That is, the server body reads and executes the computer program, thereby causing the server body to function as the data communication interface 100 and the route search tool 110 and to execute information processing for route search.

  The data communication interface 100 enables bidirectional communication with the portable terminal 50 and the PC 70 having data communication and data processing functions, and provides a hierarchical page screen that can be browsed by these information terminals. This hierarchical page screen is for performing a route search Web service. The route search satisfying the user is performed by interactively specifying the route search condition interactively between the system side and the user. Provide the environment. The route search result information can also be displayed on this page screen.

  The route search tool 110 includes a search condition reception unit 111, a condition generation unit 112, and a route search engine 113.

The search condition receiving unit 111 receives a route search condition including a departure place and a destination. About at least one of the starting point and the destination, what is directly input (specified) by the user may be specified as it is as the route search condition, or may be specified by presenting and selecting a pre-registered one. It may be.
The condition generation unit 112 generates a departure point condition from the departure point and a destination condition from the destination point, and adds use restriction information on entrances and gates as necessary.
The route search engine 113 includes the entrance / exit, the ticket gate, the platform, and the transit station in the nodes constituting the route network of the transportation facility, and repeats the link from the departure point to the destination in order to repeatedly connect the nodes. One or a plurality of route candidates according to the search conditions are searched for, and the best match with the route search conditions is determined as the optimum route candidate.

The route search engine 113 is also equipped with a known inference engine, and when it is found that the required time becomes unrealistic during the route search, that is, in the process of pasting the link, for example, in the memory in advance. If it becomes larger than the stored threshold, the search for the next node and subsequent nodes for that route candidate is stopped at that time.
The route search engine 113 also calculates the total travel cost from the departure point to the destination for each of a plurality of route candidates, for example, the total required time from the viewpoint of considering the time as the travel cost. Sort multiple routes in ascending order of required time. Further, when there is an entrance or a ticket gate whose use is restricted in the route, the route candidate is specified after the route is excluded.

  The basic function portion of the route search engine 113 can use route search software “Electric Spatial” (registered trademark) provided by the present applicant.

  Next, an outline of the search in the case of performing the most general route search processing by the route search tool 110, that is, specifying the optimum route candidate between the departure place and the destination will be described. Here, it is assumed that the departure point and the departure station are different from each other and the destination and the destination station are different.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an overview of a conventional route search process, and FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an overview of a route search process by the route search tool 110 of the present embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 2, the conventional route search tool identifies the nearest one or more departure station candidates near the departure place, and then walks the most from the departure place on the basis of the position information of the entrance / exit of each departure station candidate. One gateway that can be reached quickly was searched, and that gateway was used as the starting point of the route search. The same procedure was performed for the destination to search for a route. However, the conventional route search tool does not consider the walking route from the doorway to the home via the ticket gate, so the original optimal route candidate is searched, for example, the exit ticket gate may exist on the opposite platform side. Not always.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3, the route search tool 110 according to the present embodiment performs a route search by including, in a node, an entrance, a ticket gate in the station connected to the station entrance, and a home that can be reached from the ticket gate. It is possible to search for the optimum route candidate in consideration of the route from the entrance to the home via the ticket gate and the required time as an example of the movement cost.

  The station information DB 131 stores a ticket gate / entrance / exit table, a travel time table between the entrance / exit and a ticket gate, and a travel time table between the ticket gate and the home. 4 to 6 show an outline of each table.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a structure example of a ticket gate / entrance / exit table.
In the ticket gate / entrance / entrance table 115, the position of the entrance / exit, the position of the ticket gate, usage restriction information of the entrance / exit / ticket gate, and the like are recorded.
Specifically, the name of each station is recorded as a character string in the station name 115a as index data. In the station code 115b, a code (numerical value) for identifying each station is recorded. In the name type 115c and the name 115d, in addition to the home, the ticket gate, the entrance / exit, a numerical value and a character string indicating where the bus stop as another transportation is located are recorded. In the name authenticity 115e, a numerical value (0 or 1) indicating whether the name is a genuine name or a management name is recorded. A code (numerical value) for linking the data to another data is recorded in the code 115f, and a code (numerical value) that is valid only when the entrance / exit data is input is recorded in the guidance code 115g. Yes. In the field of position 115h, numerical values representing the latitude, longitude, and altitude of the home, ticket gate, entrance / exit, or bus stop are recorded as an example of position information. The use restriction condition 115i is assigned a numerical value (0 or 1) indicating whether there is a use restriction condition for the platform, ticket gate, entrance or bus stop, and the use restriction condition 115j is only used when boarding or getting off. The usage restriction conditions such as unusable and only available on weekdays and allocation of available time are recorded.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the structure of a travel time table between an entrance and a ticket gate.
The travel time table 116 between the doorway and the ticket gate records the required time from the doorway to the ticket gate. Specifically, the name of each station is recorded as a character string in the station name 116a as index data, and a code (numerical value) for identifying each station is recorded in the station code 116b. In the entrance / exit code 116c, a code (numerical value) for identifying the entrance / exit is recorded, and in the ticket gate code 116d, a code (numerical value) for identifying the ticket gate is recorded. In the movement time 116e, the movement time from the doorway to the ticket gate is recorded as a numerical value (seconds).

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the structure of a travel time table of travel time between the ticket gate and the home.
The travel time data 117 between the ticket gate and the home records the required time from the ticket gate to the home.
Specifically, the name of each station is recorded as a character string in the station name 117a as index data, and a code (numerical value) for identifying each station is recorded in the station code 117b. In the ticket gate code type 117c, for example, a gate code (10H) is recorded as a fixed value. In the ticket gate name 117d, the name of the ticket gate is recorded as a character string as index data. In the ticket gate code 117e, a code (numerical value) for identifying the ticket gate is recorded. In the ticket gate code direction attribute 117f, a numerical value (for example, 0) indicating that it can be used in both upward and downward directions is recorded as a fixed value. The home side code type 117g includes numerical values for indicating the type of home (for example, all (0H), route code (1H), transportation code (4H), company code (8H), gate code (10H), etc.) Is recorded. In the home name 117h, the name of each home is recorded as index data. In the home side code 117i, a code (numerical value) for identifying the home is recorded. The home-side code direction attribute is 117j, and a numerical value (0, 1, or 2) for identifying whether the home is for the up direction, the down direction, or both directions. Is recorded. In the transfer time 117k, the transfer time (required time from the ticket gate to the home) is recorded in numerical values (seconds).

[Information Terminal Service Server]
The information terminal service server 20 is mainly for responding to a route search request by e-mail from the portable terminal 50 or the like, and includes an information terminal interface 200, a service control unit 210, and a search condition input unit 220. Composed. When the route search server 10 directly receives an input of route search conditions from the portable terminal 50 or the like without using mail, this information terminal service server may not be provided.

  The information terminal interface 200 enables two-way communication by electronic mail with the portable terminal 50 or the PC 70 via the mail server 60 connected to the digital network N. It is distinguished from the data communication interface 100 in that only e-mail is accepted.

  The service control unit 210 controls various operations in the entire information terminal service server. For example, when the information terminal interface 200 detects that an e-mail has been received from the mobile terminal 50, the search condition input unit 220 is controlled to extract a portion including the route search condition from the request text in the e-mail, The extracted route search condition is input to the route search tool 110 without requiring any operation by the user. That is, it is an automatic input / automatic execution request. When the optimum route candidate is specified by the route search tool 110, it is received from the route search tool 110, and the received optimum route candidate is edited into electronic information having a size that can be displayed on the display of the portable terminal 50 by the editing unit 211. . Then, by controlling the portable terminal interface 220, the edited electronic information is returned to the portable terminal 50 that is the transmission source of the electronic mail via the mail server 60 and displayed.

  The search condition input unit 220 is for receiving a search condition in natural language transmitted by e-mail from the portable terminal 50 or the like, and includes a rule table 221, a natural language processing tool 222, and a conversion tool 223.

  The rule table 221 records correspondence rules between words or phrases and route search conditions that can be recognized by the route search tool 110. Further, the natural language processing tool 222 extracts words or phrases from the request sentence composed of natural language received through the information terminal interface 200. Further, the conversion tool 223 converts the word or phrase extracted by the natural language processing tool 222 into a route search condition according to the rule table 221.

[Operational form]
Next, an operation mode example of the route search system according to the present embodiment will be described focusing on processing by the route search tool 110. An example will be described in which the user searches for a route with a short total cost, particularly a short total required time, as a route candidate from the departure point to the destination using the mobile terminal 50 as an optimum route candidate. FIG. 7 is a processing procedure diagram of the route search tool 110.

  The user requests a route search by inputting route search conditions directly from the display screen of the portable terminal 50 or by e-mail. At this time, in order to simplify the condition input, the current position acquired using the GPS reception function of the portable terminal 50 may be automatically set for the departure place in the route search conditions. In addition, when the portable terminal 50 has a map display function, the departure point and the destination may be selected from the map.

  The route search tool 110 receives a route search condition including a departure place and a destination, which are input by the user (step S101). When the route search is requested by e-mail written in a natural language, the route search tool 110 once sets the route search condition described in the natural language in the search condition input unit 220 of the information terminal service server 20. This is converted into a recognizable route search condition, and the converted route search condition is accepted. The route search conditions include the starting time and the destination, as well as the current time, a transit station, and the like. Here, for the sake of convenience, it is assumed that only the starting point and the destination are accepted.

  The route search tool 110 obtains, from the station information DB 131, information on a plurality of entrance candidates found from the entrances existing near the departure point by the condition generation unit 112 using the departure point as a key (step S102). . For example, the entrance / exit candidates that can be used are specified on the basis of a 10-minute walk, a radius within 300 m, or the like from the departure point. Next, information about a plurality of entrance candidates searched out of entrances existing near the destination is acquired from the station information DB 131 using the destination as a key (step S103). For example, the entrance / exit candidates that can be used are specified on the basis of a 10-minute walk, a radius within 300 m, or the like from the destination. Then, based on the acquired information, a departure place condition replacing the accepted departure place and a destination condition are generated instead of the accepted destination.

  The departure point condition and the destination condition are created for the number of combinations of nodes such as entrance / exit candidates, the ticket gates of the stations where the entrance / exit candidates exist, and homes reachable from the ticket gates. For example, if the station near the departure point is Mita Station (Tokyo), there are 10 entrances, four ticket gates, and one platform, all 40 combinations are set as departure point conditions. The same applies to destination conditions.

  The route search tool 110 searches for a route from the departure point to the destination using the departure point condition and the destination condition including the entrance, the ticket gate, and the home as nodes (step S104). The route search is performed by referring to the station information in the station information DB 131 and the operation information in the operation information DB 132 and following the combination of nodes and links.

  For each route searched in this way, all the entrances and exits included in the route can be used by referring to the use restriction condition presence / absence 115i and use restriction condition 115j recorded in the ticket gate / entrance table 115 of the station information DB 131. It is determined whether or not (step S105). As a result of the determination, when an unusable entrance / exit or ticket gate is included in the route (step S105: No), the route is excluded from the search result, and the process proceeds to step S107 (step S106). On the other hand, if all the entrances or gates included in the route are available, the process immediately proceeds to step S107 (Yes in step S105).

In step S107, the total required time of the link is calculated for each route, and after sorting the routes in the order of the minimum required time, one or a predetermined number of routes are output to the user as optimum route candidates. .
The total time required for the link is calculated, for example, from the map information in the operation information DB 132 and the station entrance / exit position information in the station information DB 131 to calculate the time required for walking between the departure point and the destination / exit. The time required for walking between the entrance and the platform is calculated from the travel time data 116 between the entrance and the entrance of the train and the travel time data 117 between the entrance and the entrance of the ticket gate. From the timetable of the operation information DB 113, the traffic between the stations is calculated. Calculate the time required by the institution and add them together.

As described above, in the route search system of the present embodiment, instead of the departure place and destination input by the user, the departure place condition and the destination condition are respectively set for the number of combinations of the entrance / exit of the station, the ticket gate and the platform. By generating, it is possible to perform a route search including the entrance / exit of a station, a ticket gate, and a platform as nodes constituting a route network of a transportation facility.
This makes it possible to search for routes that include walking routes within the station premises.Therefore, an optimal route that does not use the nearest station as the departure station as the departure station or the destination station as the destination station is searched, or the same route is used. When there is an entrance / exit (ticket gate) on each of the home side and the down platform side, the user is not mistakenly guided, and a route search service that is very convenient for the user can be provided.

  In addition, entry / exit and ticket gate usage restriction conditions are recorded in advance, and routes that pass through gates and gates that cannot be used depending on the time are excluded from the search results. Even if it is possible to go back and forth between the up platform and the down platform on the same route, it is possible to correctly transmit to the user the required time considering that.

Although the present embodiment is as described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made as follows.
(1) In the present embodiment, an example in which both the ticket gate and the home are included in the node has been described, but only one of them may be used.
(2) In this embodiment, the case of the departure place and the destination is taken as an example to be included in the route search conditions input by the user, but time information such as the scheduled departure time, the estimated arrival time, and the usage time zone May be a mandatory input. In order to make the search result in consideration of the available time zone of the doorway more accurate, it can be a preferable mode.
(3) Although the present embodiment has been described on the assumption that the station information DB 131 and the operation information DB 132 exist independently, they may be replaced with one integrated DB. Further, one station information DB 131 may exist independently for generating the departure point condition and the destination condition, and another one for the route search together with the operation information DB 132.
(4) In the present embodiment, the route search condition input by the user is accepted through the information terminal service server 20, and the route search server 10 generates and uses the departure point condition and the destination condition based on the route search condition. Although it has been described that the restriction information is added to the route search condition, the optimum route candidate is searched and output to the user, the route search condition including the departure place and the destination is accepted, and the departure place condition based on this Until the destination condition is generated by another service server, the route search tool 110 may perform a route search based on the departure point condition and the destination condition, and output the search result to the service server.
(5) In the present embodiment, an example in which both the starting point condition and the destination condition are used for the route search has been described. However, the starting point input by the user and the generated destination condition or generated The route search condition may be a combination of the departure place condition and the destination input by the user.

<Second Embodiment>
In the route search, as the network that is a collection of branches and leaves (moving routes) connecting a plurality of nodes becomes more complex, the number of search loops increases and the performance tends to decrease. On the contrary, the performance can be significantly improved by dropping useless branches and leaves of the network, that is, by optimizing the branches and leaves. Therefore, in the second embodiment, an example will be described in which the route search engine 113 is provided with a function for performing optimization processing, thereby improving the performance during route search.

The route search conditions and the like are the same as in the first embodiment. Here, as an example, the landmarks are used to optimize branches and leaves including the entrance / exit of the nearest station, the ticket gate, and the platform from the location, facility, etc. (referred to as “landmark” for convenience) registered by the user. Give examples of cases. “Landmark function” refers to a station that uses a landmark as a starting point or destination, and associates the nearest station from that point, the route to that point, the moving cost (time required), etc., with the identification information of the facility. This is a function held in the information DB 131. The landmark is treated as one of the nodes when the route search engine 113 searches for a route.
In addition to indicating the location of a pin point such as an x (natural number) line, the home may indicate a zone-like location where a plurality of lines are bundled depending on the station. The use restriction condition is, for example, admission / exhibition depending on the day of the week and the time of day, and it is possible to determine whether or not the use can be used by determining whether the departure side or the destination side.

  FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of the station premises associated with the station information DB 131 as the nearest station of the landmark. In FIG. 8, it is assumed that the length of the line represents a relative distance (time cost). In the illustrated example, there are three ticket gates such as a central ticket gate, a north ticket gate, and an east ticket gate. The home is associated with attribute information such as route type, train traveling direction (Tokyo direction / Takao direction), and the like. For example, the first home is for "AAA line", the second home is for "BBB line", the third home is for "CCC line", and the fourth home is for "DDD line". The first to third homes are connected to the central ticket gate and the north ticket gate, and the fourth home is connected to the central ticket gate and the north ticket gate as well as the east ticket gate. The entrances close to the central ticket gate are the first to fourth entrances, the entrances close to the north ticket gate are the fifth and sixth entrances, and the entrance close to the east ticket gate is the seventh entrance. The entrances / exits with usage restriction conditions are the second entrance / exit and the seventh entrance / exit. In other words, both the seventh doorway leading to the east ticket gate have usage restriction conditions.

The route search engine 131 performs the optimization process according to the following procedure.
= Procedure 1 =
First, for each nearest station connected to the landmark, the entrance / exit and ticket gate groups of the station are classified into four patterns according to the presence / absence of each use restriction condition.
・ First pattern: Entrance (no)-ticket gate (no)
・ Second pattern: Entrance (existing)-ticket gate (existing)
・ Third pattern: Entrance (no)-ticket gate (present)
・ Fourth pattern: Entrance (existing) to ticket gate (no)

The reason for this classification is as follows.
Generally, there are many stations where there are no usage restrictions on the ticket gates when there are usage restrictions on the entrances and exits, but there are usage restrictions on each ticket gate, such as a station with a wide campus and many ticket gates. There is also a station. In addition, since the entrances and exits of department stores and facilities are directly connected to the ticket gates of the stations, there are some stations that have no usage restriction conditions at the entrances but have usage restriction conditions at the ticket gates. At a station with a large number of doorways or ticket gates, searching for a combination of the two in a crushed manner will significantly reduce the performance (more than 200 combinations at Shinjuku Station in Tokyo). On the other hand, when attention is paid only to the presence / absence of the use restriction conditions for the entrance and exit, there are only four combination patterns, and the processing target is simplified. Therefore, in this embodiment, the above four patterns are classified.

= Procedure 2 =
When the pattern classification is finished, any pattern, for example, all combinations of the first pattern entrance and exit gates are extracted. Since the first pattern is a combination having no use restriction condition, the following combinations are extracted in the example of FIG.
-1st entrance-Central ticket gate-3rd entrance-Central ticket gate-4th entrance-Central ticket gate-5th entrance-North ticket gate-6th entrance-North ticket gate

= Third procedure =
Of the pairs extracted as described above, the travel cost of the route using the same ticket gate from the landmark via different entrances, for example, the required time is compared. Then, the entrance / exit where the required time is excessive is excluded, and the remaining entrance / exit is stored as a pair with the ticket gate. This process is focused on the fact that if the ticket gate is the same even after passing through different entrances and exits from the landmark, all the routes from the ticket gate to the home are generally the same.
In the first pattern, of the three entrances (first, third, and fourth entrances) connected to the central ticket gate, the set with the third and fourth entrances is excluded. In addition, of the two entrances (5th and 6th entrances) connected to the north ticket gate, the 6th entrance set is excluded. As a result, in the first pattern, only the following sets are stored.
・ First Exit-Central ticket gate ・ Fifth Exit-North ticket gate

= Fourth procedure =
Next, in the case of using different ticket gates from landmarks through different gateways among the stored gateway / ticket gate pairs, the travel costs of all routes from landmarks to gateways to ticket gates to homes are compared. To do. Then, all routes other than routes that are unrealistic to compare whether there are any comparison targets, routes that have the same cost, or routes that have a low travel cost are excluded. For example, the comparison is made as follows, and four combinations with high movement costs are excluded.
-1st entrance-Central ticket gate-1st home <5th entrance-North ticket gate-1st home-1st entrance-Central ticket gate-2nd home <5th entrance-North ticket gate-2nd home-1st entrance-center Ticket Gate-Third Home <Fifth Exit-North Gate-Third Home / First Gate-Central Ticket Gate-Fourth Home> Fifth Door-North Gate-Fourth Home

  In addition, “a route that is not realistic to be compared” is, for example, a route that takes extra time for 10 minutes or more to a preset threshold, for example, a target home if it is excluded Is. Save the remaining entry / exit pairs.

= Fifth procedure =
When the process for the first pattern is finished, the processes of steps 2 to 4 are performed for the second pattern. Thereby, for the second pattern, only the following sets having usage restriction conditions are stored.
・ East ticket gate-Exit 7

  When the process for the second pattern is finished, the processes of procedure 2 to procedure 4 are performed for the third pattern. The third pattern is a combination of an entrance / exit with no use restriction condition and a ticket gate with use restriction. In the example of FIG. 8, such a combination does not exist. Does not exist.

When the process for the third pattern is finished, the processes of steps 2 to 4 are performed for the fourth pattern. The fourth pattern is a combination of an entrance / exit with a use restriction condition and a ticket gate without a use restriction condition. In the example of FIG. 8, only the following set exists in this combination. Is saved.
・ Second Exit-Central ticket gate

Through the above processing, the following sets are stored.
・ Exit 1 (No)-Central ticket gate (No)
・ Exit 5 (No)-North Gate (No)
・ Second Exit (Yes)-Central Gate (No)
・ Exit 7 (existing)-East ticket gate (existing)

  The stored information is updated as the information related to the nearest station of the landmark as optimized station information, and is used as one of the nodes in the route search.

  As described above, in the second embodiment, when there are a plurality of entrances or ticket gates of the nearest station of the departure point or destination associated as the landmark, the combination of the entrance / exit / ticket gate / home movement route is dynamically changed. Since the optimization process is performed in consideration of the use restriction condition of the entrance / exit or the ticket gate that changes to, the number of search loops is reduced as compared with that before the optimization process, and the performance degradation can be suppressed.

Suppressing the decrease in performance is regarded as the performance improvement of the route search server 10, and the degree of this performance improvement (performance improvement rate) is quantified by Amdahl's law as follows.
P is the ratio of the portion affected by the optimization process, that is, the ratio of tasks excluding data access to the station information DB 131 and the operation information DB 132 in the route search, the improvement ratio by the optimization process (= total number of entrances / exits) 100) is S,
The performance improvement rate can be expressed by an expression “1 ÷ (1−P) + P ÷ S”.
P = 60%
S = 175% (= 7 ÷ 4 × 100)
Then, the performance improvement rate is 1.59 times.

  Ideal for route search using a station with a lot of movement patterns (ex. Shinjuku Station, Tokyo Station, etc.), and a route search using a station with very few movement patterns (Meguro Station, etc.). There is a large difference in the performance improvement rate between when the process is performed and when it is not performed, and this is noticeable as a difference in processing speed.

In the second embodiment, an example in which the landmark function is used has been described. However, one of the departure point and the destination is fixed, and an entrance / exit and a ticket gate associated with the fixed departure point or destination are described. Since there is a demand for optimization processing when there are a plurality of homes and homes, the landmark function is not essential.
In the second embodiment, the example of the optimization process in the case where use restriction conditions are set for some of the plurality of entrances / exits has been described, but also for a station having a plurality of entrances / exit gates that have no use restriction conditions. The same applies. In short, for each entrance / exit, the travel cost required to move to the ticket gate or the travel cost required to move to the ticket gate-home is compared for all combinations including the entrance / exit, and a combination of relatively high travel costs is searched for a route. What is necessary is just to exclude from a search node before.
In the second embodiment, in the optimization process, the combination of the station entrance / exit and the ticket gate is classified into four patterns according to the presence / absence of each usage restriction condition. It can also be aggregated so as to leave a movement route.
In addition, a function of holding a departure place or a destination from which a combination having a relatively large movement cost is excluded as a landmark in, for example, the station information DB 131 is formed, and the route search engine 113 leaves the held landmark. By performing the route search for the place or the destination, it is not necessary to perform the optimization process each time, and the performance can be improved also by this.
In the second embodiment, the travel time has been described by taking the time required for travel as an example. However, a travel cost that quantifies the ease of travel, such as the presence or absence of an escalator or the size of a sidewalk, is used. May be.

10 route search server 20 information terminal service server 50 mobile terminal 60 mail server 70 PC
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Interface for data communication 110 Route search tool 111 Search condition reception part 112 Condition generation part 113 Route search engine 131 Station information DB
132 Operation information DB
200 Information Terminal Interface 210 Service Control Unit 220 Search Condition Input Unit 221 Rule Table 222 Automatic Language Processing Tool 223 Conversion Tool

Claims (8)

A specifying means for specifying the starting point and destination specified by the user;
At least one of information on one or a plurality of station entrances that can be used at the specified departure point, a ticket gate connected to each station entrance, and a home that can be reached from the ticket gate, from the station information DB that stores information on stations of transportation And condition generating means for generating a starting point condition in place of the starting point based on the acquired information,
By accessing the operation information DB for route search and performing the route search including the generated departure point condition and the specified destination in the nodes constituting the route network of the transportation facility, Route search means for searching for an optimum route candidate to reach the destination;
A route search system. A specifying means for specifying the starting point and destination specified by the user;
At least one of information on one or a plurality of station entrances that can be used at the specified destination, a ticket gate connected to each station entrance, and a home that can be reached from the ticket gate, from the station information DB that accumulates information on stations of transportation facilities And condition generating means for generating a destination condition in place of the destination based on the acquired information,
By accessing the operation information DB for route search and performing a route search including the destination condition and the specified departure point in the nodes constituting the route network of the transportation facility, the destination from the destination to the destination A route search means for searching for an optimal route candidate that leads to
A route search system. The condition generation means acquires the position information of the station entrance, the first movement cost required for movement from the station entrance to the ticket gate, the second movement cost required for movement from the ticket gate to the home, and obtained these It is configured to add travel costs as a new condition,
The route search means includes, for each searched route, a third cost required for movement to the available station entrance calculated based on the position information, the first movement cost, and the second movement cost. By adding up, the total travel cost of the entire route is calculated, and the optimal route candidates are sorted in ascending order of the total travel cost.
The route search system according to claim 1 or 2. The condition generating means is configured to acquire the use restriction information of the station entrance, the ticket gate or the home, and add the obtained use restriction information as a new condition.
The route search means, based on the use restriction information, excludes, from the search results, optimum route candidates including station entrances, ticket gates or platforms that are restricted in use among the searched routes.
The route search system according to claim 3. The route search means, when one of the starting point and the destination is fixed, and there are a plurality of station entrances, ticket gates, and platforms associated with the fixed starting point or destination. Compare the travel cost required to move to the ticket gate or the travel cost required to move to the ticket gate-home for each combination including the station entrance and exit, and select a combination with a relatively large travel cost before the route search. , Perform optimization processing to exclude from the node,
The route search system according to any one of claims 1 to 4. It further comprises a landmark holding means for holding the starting point or the destination as a landmark from which the combination having a relatively large moving cost is excluded,
The route search means performs a route search using the held landmark as the starting point or the destination.
The route search system according to claim 5. A computer that can access the station information DB that stores information on the stations of transportation and the operation information DB for route search.
From the station information DB, information on one or a plurality of station entrances that can be used at the departure place designated by the user, and information on at least one of the ticket gates connected to each station entrance and the platform that can be reached from the ticket gates are acquired. , Based on the acquired information, generating departure place conditions in place of the departure place, information on one or a plurality of station entrances available at the destination designated by the user, ticket gates connected to each station entrance, and the relevant ticket gates And at least one information of a home that can be reached from, and generating a destination condition in place of the destination based on the acquired information;
Optimal route candidates from the departure point to the destination by accessing the operation information DB and performing a route search including the departure point condition and the destination condition in the nodes constituting the route network of the transportation facility. And a process of searching for
Route search method by computer. A computer that can access the station information DB that stores information on the stations of transportation and the operation information DB for route search.
From the station information DB, information on one or a plurality of station entrances that can be used at the departure place designated by the user, and information on at least one of the ticket gates connected to each station entrance and the platform that can be reached from the ticket gates are acquired. , Based on the acquired information, generating departure place conditions in place of the departure place, information on one or a plurality of station entrances and exits usable at the destination designated by the user, ticket gates connected to each station entrance and the relevant ticket gates Condition output means for acquiring at least one information of a home that can be reached from and generating a destination condition instead of the destination based on the acquired information;
Optimal route candidates from the departure point to the destination by accessing the operation information DB and performing a route search including the departure point condition and the destination condition in the nodes constituting the route network of the transportation facility. Function as a route search means for searching for
A computer program for route search.

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