JP2003004472A - Guide-information providing system and generation method of guide map - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a guide map and a guide sentence, in a short time at a request from a user. SOLUTION: A storage device 100 comprises map information 101, which is composed of road network information, road information or the like, landmark information 102 which is used as a mark on a map, and storage-area information 103, in which route information in a decided region and the guide sentence are contained. A guide-information generation server 105 comprises a storage-area-information data acquisition part 108, which acquires data from the storage-area information on the basis of position information to be input by the user, a route calculation part 109 which finds a route between two points, a guide-map generation part 110 which generates the guide map from the found route, and a guide-statement generation part 11 which generates the guide statement.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a pedestrian guidance information providing system which provides a guidance map indicating a route to a destination input by a user and a guidance sentence indicating a route to the destination. In particular, the generated guide map and guide text can be used.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a conventional technique for inputting a user's current position information and destination position information, calculating a route to a destination, and generating and providing a guide map, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-29200 is known.
-319839.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-271068 is a conventional technique for generating a guide map by calculating a route to a destination using existing map information.

Further, as a conventional technique for providing a guide map and a guide sentence to a destination by using the generated guide map and guide sentence, there are Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 2000-2556 and 2001.
There is -4391.

[0006] Further, the provider of advertisements or the advertisement agency has created the map information originally created for store advertisements. In addition, the map and guide text that were created independently are limited to areas including fixed starting points such as stations and destinations.

[0006]

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION Problems to be Solved by the Invention
-319839 and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-271068 calculate the route from the current point to the target point at the time when the user requests. However, this method has a problem that it is not possible to provide the guide map at high speed because the route calculation takes time. In addition, for example, when a plurality of users make a request for “a route from the station south exit to the concert venue” at the same time, the calculation of the same route is performed for each of the requesting users.
There is a problem that the load on the PU increases.

Further, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-271068, a schematic map to a destination is generated using existing map information including road network information, but a map created independently without road network information is created. Information is unavailable.

Further, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 2000-2556 and 20-25
In 01-4391, it is possible to reuse the pre-generated guide map and guide text, but since the starting point and the destination are determined, the route from any starting point or the route to any destination There is a problem in that it is not possible to provide a guide map or guide text indicating "."

[0009] Further, since map information for store advertisements and the like is created independently by the providers of advertisements, advertisement agencies, etc., it is a map that makes it easy to understand the destination. Limited to areas containing fixed starting points and destinations.

An object of the present invention is to reduce the load on the CPU. Also, be able to provide guidance information that uses the map information that was created independently. It is also an object of the present invention to be able to provide a guide map and a guide sentence to a route of an arbitrary starting point and an arbitrary destination with respect to the guide map and the guide sentence generated in advance.

[0011]

The present invention saves pre-generated routes between two points, guide texts, storage area information in which road network information in the area is stored, and road information in a wide area. A storage device that stores the map information that is displayed and the landmark information that stores the position information and names of landmarks that serve as landmarks; the position information input means that inputs the position information of the current location and the destination; The location information acquisition unit that acquires the location information of the current location and the destination input by the location information input unit, and the data stored in the storage area information such as the corresponding route or guide text and road network information from the storage area information. The storage area information data acquiring unit for acquiring and the guide map generating unit for generating a guide map from the route information acquired by the storage area information data acquiring unit are provided, and are generated in advance. By using the route, it is possible to provide a guide statement with the guide map is guidance information at a high speed without route calculation.

Further, as a result of the judgment by the position judging means,
If either the current location or the destination does not exist in the storage area information, it passes near a location (for example, the current location) that does not exist in the storage area information and passes through the location (destination) in the storage area information. A storage area information data acquisition unit that acquires a route between two points, and a route calculation unit that obtains a route from a point that does not exist in the storage area information to the middle of the route acquired by the storage area information data acquisition unit or a nearby point. A guide map generating means for generating a guide map by combining the route obtained by the route calculating means with the route obtained by the storage area information data obtaining means; and a guide corresponding to the route obtained by the route calculating means. A guide sentence generating unit that generates a guide sentence by combining the sentence and the guide sentence acquired by the storage area information data acquisition unit is provided, and the range for route calculation is always displayed. Rather than the range of from the ground to the destination,
By using the route that has already been generated and performing the route calculation within a small range until getting on the route, the time required for the route calculation can be shortened and the load on the CPU can be reduced. .

The position information input means, the position information acquisition means, the position determination means, the unique map information acquisition means, the map area calculation means, the route calculation means, the map transformation means, and the guide map generation means. By including the map synthesizing means and the guide text generating means, and using the property of the map information created by the client side for the purpose of guiding to the event venue, the store, the tourist resort, the company, etc. On the client side, it is possible to provide a guide map with a high advertising effect together with detailed guide information. In addition, it becomes possible to provide guidance information from points other than the limited area at high speed.

With respect to the route requested by the user, the access frequency management unit manages access to the route within a certain period, and the area information data storage / deletion unit stores the route according to the access frequency. , The deletion speeds up the route search time and effectively utilizes the limited resources of the storage device.

[0015]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a pedestrian guidance information providing system according to the present invention.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 100 denotes map information 101 necessary for generating guide information and storage area information 103.
And the landmark information 102 and the unique map information 117. The map information 101 stores feature information including road network information, road information, building information, railroad information, and river information, and landmark information 102 is the ID of a landmark that serves as a guide for the guide information.
The location information, the character string, the symbol, the category, the address, and the telephone number are stored, and the storage area information 103 stores a plurality of predetermined points between the points (for example, at the station exit). Between specific facilities, routes between subway exits and public facilities, routes between bus stops and tourist attractions, etc., point-to-point information indicating pairs of departure points and destination points, and two points Area route information (FIG. 4) including the distance of the route between the two points, the guidance text between the two points, and the landmark ID of the landmark used in the guidance text, the area rectangle information of the storage area, and the storage area. Area rectangle information (Fig. 5) including the name of each area, road network information and road information in the save area, map vector information in the save area (Fig. 6), and landmark information in the save area (Fig. 7) and It is. Save area information 1 here
The road network information stored in 03 is a road having a name, a road passing through a route between two predetermined points, and a road having a certain width (for example, two lanes or more).
Further, the map vector information may or may not be deformed such as road thinning and angle correction. The unique map information 117 is map information for advertisement created by an advertisement client or the like, and stores names of stores, event venues, and the like, map areas thereof, map information, and character string information. Here, the unique map information 117 may be not only the map information for advertisement created by the advertisement client etc., but also the character string data indicating the vector graphic data and the landmark.

Reference numeral 104 denotes a position information input section for inputting the user's current position information and destination position information. GPS can be used to input the current position information, but latitude and longitude may be input, or a station name, a building name, or a store name may be input. In addition, the destination position information may be input by a building name, a station name, a store name, an address, or a telephone number.

Reference numeral 105 serves as a function of a server for generating guidance information, and includes a position information acquisition unit 106 for acquiring the position information input by the position information input unit 104, and a current location and purpose acquired by the position information acquisition unit 106. The position determination unit 107 that determines whether the ground is included in the area of the area rectangle information that belongs to the storage area information 103 and whether the point exists at the point of the area route information, and the storage area information 10
If the route between the two areas acquired by the storage area information data acquisition unit 108 that acquires the stored data from the storage area information acquisition unit 106 does not exist in the area route information that belongs to the storage area information 103, two points A route calculation unit 109 that calculates a route between them, a guide map generation unit 110 that generates a guide map from the route between the two points acquired by the position information acquisition unit 106, and two points acquired by the position information acquisition unit 106. 2 acquired by the guide sentence generation unit 111 that generates a guide sentence corresponding to the route between the two and the position information acquisition unit 106.
An access frequency management unit 112 that manages the access frequency of a route between two points in a certain period, and an access frequency management unit 1
When the route between two certain points is accessed more than a certain number in a certain period in 12 or the access to the route between two certain points is less than the certain number in a certain period, the storage area information 103 is displayed. An area information data storage / deletion unit 113 that stores or deletes route information between two points and other information, and a unique map information acquisition unit 118 that acquires map information and character information of a unique map from unique map information. ,
The map area calculation unit 114 that calculates the range of the unique map information acquired by the unique map information acquisition unit 118, and the map information 101.
The map information acquired from the map information or the map vector information acquired by the storage area information data acquisition unit 108 is transformed according to the unique map information, and the map vector information acquired by the storage area information data acquisition unit 108 is unique. The guide map generation unit 11 for generating a guide map by synthesizing the map information and the map information transformed by the map transformation unit 115.
It consists of zero.

Reference numeral 116 is a guide information display section for displaying guide information generated by the guide information server 105 and consisting of guide maps and guide sentences. The guide information display unit may be not only a mobile phone or PHS, but also a personal digital assistant (PDA) or a personal computer.

FIG. 2 shows a processing flow for providing guidance information in the pedestrian guidance information providing system of the present invention.

In FIG. 2, in step 201, the user's current position information and destination position information input by the position information input unit 104 are acquired. In step 202, area rectangle information indicating the area of the storage area is acquired from the storage area information 103. In Step 203, Step 20
It is determined from the area rectangle information input in 2 whether the current area and the destination acquired in step 201 are included in the storage area. If the determination result in step 203 is within the storage area, it is determined in step 204 whether the current location and the destination are included in one storage area. When the determination result of step 204 is included in one storage area, it is determined in step 205 whether the current location and the destination acquired in step 201 are included as points in the storage area information. When the determination result of step 205 is included, the area route information, the map vector information, and the landmark information stored in the storage area information 103 are acquired in step 206. Step 207, Step 20
Area route information acquired in 6 and map vector information,
A guide map is generated using the landmark information and returned to the user along with the guide text.

If the determination result of step 205 is not included, in step 208, the area route information stored in the saved data information is searched for route information passing near the out-of-route point, and the saved area information is retrieved. The area route information, the map vector information, the road network information, and the landmark information are acquired, the intersection that reaches the corresponding route from the out-of-route point is determined, and the route from the out-of-route point to the intersection is obtained by route calculation. In step 209, route data and guide text for the route obtained in step 208 are generated. In step 210, a guide map and guide text are generated from the route data and guide text generated in step 209 using the route information and guide text of the area route information, map vector information, and landmark information, and returned to the user. .

If the result of the determination in step 204 extends over two storage areas, then in step 211, the area route information in the two storage areas is searched for a route having a short distance from the current location to the destination obtained in step 201. From the storage area information, the corresponding area route information, map vector information, landmark information, and road network information are acquired. In step 212, a route connecting the acquired two routes is obtained. In step 213, route data and guide text for the route obtained in step 212 are generated. In step 210, the route data and guide text generated in step 213, the route information stored in the storage area information,
A guide map and guide text are generated using the guide text, map vector information, and landmark information, and returned to the user.

If the result of the determination in step 203 is outside the area of the storage area, it is determined in step 214 whether either the present location or the destination exists in the area of the storage area as a point of the storage area information. If the determination result of step 214 is present, in step 215, an in-area point close to the out-of-area point is searched from the point pair information. In step 216, a route from the point outside the area to the point within the area of the route obtained in step 215 is obtained. In step 217, route data and guide text for the route obtained in step 216 are generated. In step 210, a guide map and a guide text are generated using the route data and the guide text generated in step 216, the area route information stored in the storage area information, the map vector information, and the landmark information. Return to.

If both of the judgment results in step 214 are outside the storage area, in step 218, step 20
Obtain the route from the current location acquired in 1 to the destination. In step 219, a guide map and guide text corresponding to the route obtained in step 218 are generated and returned to the user.

In step 220, the current position and the destination position acquired in step 201 and the route search date and time for the area rectangular area including the point are passed to the access frequency management unit 112, and the route frequency between the two points is set. Saves / deletes routes according to access frequency.

An example of the case where the current position and the destination position exist as points of the storage area information will be described with reference to FIGS. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 in association with the processing flow of FIG. .

In the example of FIG. 3, the routes between the two points which have already been generated are four routes between A-E, B-E, C-E, and D-E. 4 shows the area route information of the storage area information corresponding to the route of FIG. 3, FIG. 5 shows the area rectangle information of the storage area, FIG. 6 shows the map vector information in the area of the storage area, and FIG. The landmark information in the storage area is shown.

At step 201, the current position information and the destination position information defined by the user are acquired. In this example, the current position is A and the destination position is E. Next, in step 202, the area rectangle information shown in FIG. 5 is acquired from the storage area information, and in steps 203 and 204, the storage area (area-1) including the current location and the destination is searched. Next, in step 205, it is determined whether or not the current location and the destination point exist in the point-to-point information of the area route information corresponding to the storage area. At this time, it is difficult for the current position to be exactly the position of the point A. Therefore, a certain degree of error (for example, 20 m) is provided for the current location, and if it is within the range of the error, it is treated as the point of the storage area information. In step 206, the corresponding point-to-point information is acquired from the area route information shown in FIG. Step 207
Then, using the map vector information shown in FIG. 6 and the landmark information shown in FIG. 7, a guide map between points A and E shown in FIG. 8 is generated and returned to the user together with the guide sentence extracted in step 206.

Thus, the guide information can be provided at high speed in response to a request from the user without performing route calculation.

Next, a case where the present location and the destination are included in the area of one storage area and neither the present location nor the destination exists at the point of the area route information belonging to the storage area information will be described with reference to FIGS. , 12, 13 will be described. Here, an example in which the current location is not at the point of the area route information will be described in association with the processing flow of FIG.

Steps 201 to 204 have already been described and will be omitted. At step 205, the current position is not included in the points of the area route information as a result of determination, so at step 208, a route near the current position is searched by the following procedure.

First, as shown in FIG. 9, the storage area is divided into four areas with the destination 902 as the center. In this division, the route from the point in the area (area A) including the current position 901 to the point (E) of the destination 902 is set as the search target path. In this example, the route between points A-E, the route between points C-E, and the route between points D-E are the targets. Next, as shown in FIG. 10, a line segment 1001 from the current position 1002 to the destination 1003 is generated.
The route crossing 01 (route between points A and E) and the route path P3 are searched, and the corresponding information of the point-to-point information from the saved area information to the area route information, map vector information, landmark information, road network information. To get. Next, as shown in FIG. 11, the route calculation is performed within the range 1101 surrounding the current position 1102 and the start point side of P3,
A route from the current location to an intersection on the way between points A and E is obtained. The route calculation is performed using the road network information of the relevant area acquired from the storage area information. In step 209, the route data and the landmark guidance sentence of the landmark information 102 are generated from the route obtained in step 208 (FIG. 12). In step 210, the route data and guide text generated in step 209, and step 20
A guide map and guide text are generated from the area route information, map vector information, and landmark information stored in the storage area information acquired in 8 (FIG. 13) and returned to the user. Contrary to this example, if the destination does not exist at the point of the storage area information, when dividing the storage area into four, the current location is the center of the division and the processing part for the current location is changed to the destination. , And then the same procedure.

Next, a case where one of the present location and the destination is stored as a point of the storage area information and the other is outside the area of the storage area is shown in FIG.
4, 15, 16, and 17 will be described. Here, an example in which the current location is outside the storage area area will be described in association with the processing flow of FIG.

A description of steps 201 and 202 will be omitted. If either or both of the current location and the destination are outside the storage area as a result of the determination in step 203, it is determined in step 214 whether one or both of them are outside the storage area. In step 215, an in-area point close to the out-of-area point is obtained by the following procedure.

First, as shown in FIG. 14, a destination 1403
The storage area is divided into two areas. In this division, the route from the point in the area (area A) including the current position 1402 to the destination 1403 is set as the search target path. In this example, the route between points A-E, the route between points C-E, and the route between points D-E are the targets.

Next, from the present location to the point A in the storage area information,
The distances to C and D are measured, the distances from each point to the destination are combined, and the point (D) with the shortest distance is obtained.

Information corresponding to point-to-point information (FIG. 14B), map vector information, landmark information, and road network information is acquired from the storage area information from the area route information.

In step 216, as shown in FIG. 14, route calculation is performed within the range shown by the area 1401 surrounding the current position 1402 and the point D, and the route from the current position to the point D is obtained. At this time, the road network information stored in the map information 101 is used for the route calculation. Step 217
Then, the route data and the guide text are generated from the route obtained in step 216 (FIG. 15). The guide text is generated using the road information stored in the map data 101 and the landmark name stored in the landmark information 102. In step 210, a guide map and guide text are generated from the generated route data and the area route information, map vector information, and landmark information acquired in step 215 (FIG. 16) and returned to the user.

When the guide map is generated in step 210, the map vector information of the storage area information may not be matched with the road data of the map information outside the storage area as shown in FIG. is there.
For such a case, the node information of the road network information stored in the storage area information stores the phase with the arc (road) outside the area for the end point node of the area. If this phase (Δxnl, Δynl) is within a predetermined error range, the arc P1 inside the storage area area and the arc P3 outside the storage area area are treated as a connected arc, and the route data generated outside the area is treated. Deform according to the map vector data in the area.

Contrary to this example, if the destination is outside the storage area, the storage area is divided with the current location as the center, and the processing for the current location is changed to the destination.

When the storage area is divided, the following method is used. When there is a point outside the area within the area a shown in FIG. 18, the area is divided by a dividing line parallel to the X axis, and the area b is divided.
When it is in the range of, the line is divided by a dividing line parallel to the Y axis, and when it is in the other range, it is divided into four with the point in the area as the center.

Next, the case where the storage area where the present location is present and the storage area where the destination is present are different is shown in FIG.
This will be described using 9, 20, 21, and 22. Here, an example of a case where the storage area extends over two storage areas will be described in association with the flow of FIG.

A description of steps 201 to 203 will be omitted. In step 211, acquisition of a route having a shorter distance from the routes in the two storage areas is performed by the following procedure.

First, as shown in FIG. 19, the present position 190
A straight line 1901 connecting 2 and the destination 1903 is generated. Next, the storage area (area-1) where the current location 1902 exists
A point having a short distance between the point and the point of the storage area (area-2) where the destination 1903 exists is connected. In this example, it is connected to A-C and B-D. Next location →
Point A → Point C → Destination distance and current location → Point B → Point D → Measure the distance to the destination and select the shorter one (current location → Point B → Point D → Destination) as the route and save area From the information, area route information corresponding to the searched route,
Acquire map vector information, landmark information, and road network information. In step 212, a route between the two storage areas is obtained within the range 2001 shown in FIG. 20 surrounding the points B and D. Map information 1 for route calculation
The road network stored in 01 is used. In step 213, route data and guide text are generated from the route obtained in step 212 (FIG. 21). The guide text is generated by using the landmark name stored in the road information and the landmark information stored in the map information 101. In step 210, a guide map and guide text are generated from the route information and guide text generated in step 213 and the area route information, map vector information, landmark information, and road network information acquired in step 211 (FIG. 22), and the user Return to.

As described above, by reducing the range for route calculation, the time required for route calculation can be shortened and the guide information can be provided at high speed in response to a request from the user.

Next, the case where the present location and the destination are outside the storage area will be described with reference to FIGS. 23 and 24 in association with the flow of FIG.

A description of steps 201 to 203 will be omitted. If the result of determination in step 214 is that both the current location 2302 and the destination 2303 are outside the storage area as shown in FIG. 23, first, in step 218,
A region 2301 surrounding the current position 2302 and the destination 2303 is obtained, and the route calculation is performed. The road network stored in the map information 101 is used for the route calculation. In step 219, a guide map and guide text are created from the route obtained in step 218, the road center line data stored in the map information 101, the road information, and the landmark name stored in the landmark information 102. It is generated (FIG. 24) and returned to the user.

Next, the addition and deletion of a route in the storage area information according to the access frequency of the route between two points will be described.

FIG. 2 shows pre-generated and registered storage area information.
5, shown in FIG. Further, FIG. 27 shows a route access frequency management table and an area access frequency management table.

The access frequency to the route stored in the storage area information is determined using the route access frequency management table and area access management table shown in FIG. The route access management table manages the route between two points, and the area access management table manages the access frequency to the storage area where the two points exist. If access above a certain value is not made within a certain fixed period (for example, one month), the route between the two points is deleted from the storage area information. FIG. 28 shows an example of graphing the daily access frequency. As shown in FIG. 28 (a), the access is concentrated only at a certain time and is hardly accessed after the period ends, or as shown in FIG. 28 (b), the access frequency is not so high, but the access is periodically performed. Access may occur. Therefore, the route is saved / deleted according to the access status distribution. In FIG. 28A, even if the access frequency exceeds a certain value, the access is concentrated for a period of time and there is no access thereafter, and thus the route is to be deleted. In FIG. 28B, the access frequency is not high, but since a fixed number of accesses occur regularly, even if the access frequency is below a certain value, it is not targeted for deletion.

With respect to the area route information shown in FIG. 25 and FIG. 26, for example, when the route between the points D and E is hardly accessed for a certain period, the area route information of the storage area information is changed to the point. The information whose pair information is DE is deleted. FIG. 29 shows the result of deletion.

Further, 2 which is not registered in the storage area information
When a route search for a route between two points is performed over a certain value during a certain period, the route between the two points is stored as storage area information. With respect to the storage area information shown in FIGS. 30 and 31, for example, when an access to a route between points F and E is performed for a certain period or more over a certain value, as shown in FIGS. Expand the area of area information to the extent that the route between points F and E can fit
-Save the route between E in the save area information. At this time, the position information of the area rectangle information is also updated. Also, the map vector information of the part where the area is expanded is generated and added. At this time, when a phase occurs as shown in FIG. 17, if the phase is within a predetermined error range, the road is regarded as one road and is connected. Also, the landmark information existing in the expanded area is added to the landmark information of the storage area information.

The size of the area is determined in advance, and if the size exceeds the size when the storage area is expanded, a new storage area is created and area route information, map vector information, and landmarks corresponding to the storage area are created. Information, road network information and road information are created and registered in the storage area information.

By managing the route and area stored in the storage area information according to the access frequency and deleting the information corresponding to the route with low access frequency, the resources can be effectively used. Further, for a route with a high access frequency, by storing the route in the storage area information, it is possible to provide the guidance information at high speed.

Next, the storage of a new route between two points in the storage area information according to the access frequency and the request from the client will be described.

This will be described with reference to FIGS. 47 to 51. Here, a case will be described where the current location is in front of the station and the destination is a hotel, and the area including the current location and the destination is not stored in the storage area information.

FIG. 47 shows the flow of the processing for storing the processing in the storage area information.

At step 4401, current position information and destination position information are acquired. In step 4402, the route is calculated from the area including the current position and the destination to obtain the route. The route is calculated in the range surrounded by 4501 in FIG. In addition, the route network information of the map information is used for the route calculation. In step 4403, the area including the route obtained in step 4402 and its surroundings is obtained. The area enclosed by 4601 in FIG. 49 is defined as area rectangle information. The range has a threshold value with respect to the area surrounding the route, and the range in which the area surrounding the route is widened by the value is used as the storage area. In step 4404, a guide sentence is generated from the route obtained in step 4402, and area route information is generated.
Further, landmark information is generated from the landmarks included in the range obtained in step 4403 (FIG. 50).
(C)). In step 4405, the map vector information is deformed. For deformation, a road without a road name or a width with a certain width is thinned out and corrected by the angle of the road. Due to the deformation, the road information of the road network information corresponding to the thinned roads is also deleted. FIG. 51 shows a diagram after the deformation. In step 4406, the generated area rectangle information, area route information, map vector information, landmark information, road network information in the area, and road information are stored in the storage area information.

When the current location and the destination are in the storage area, the road network information and the map vector information use the information of the corresponding area, and the area route information includes two points, the route information, and the route distance. , Register the land arc ID used for the guide text and the guide text.

Next, the flow of processing when the guide map is generated using the unique map created by the advertisement client or the agency will be described with reference to the flow of FIG. Regarding the process of guide text generation, step 218 of the flow shown in FIG.
The process is the same as 219.

In step 3101, the position information input unit 1
The user's current position information and destination position information input in 04 are acquired. In Step 3102, Step 310
The position information, map information, and character information of the corresponding unique map are acquired from the unique map information from the position information of the destination acquired in 1. In step 3103, it is determined whether the position information of the unique map information acquired in step 3102 has been calculated. If the determination result in step 3103 has been calculated, in step 3104, road network information and map vector information (referred to as an original map) in a range including the area of the unique map information and the current location acquired in step 3101, and landmark information are acquired. get. When the range including the current location is included in the storage area, the road network information and the map vector information of the storage area information are used as the original map. If it is not included in the storage area information, the road network information of the map information and the map vector information are used as the original map.

In step 3105, the current position is step 31.
It is determined whether it is within the area of the unique map information acquired in 02. When the determination result of step 3105 is within the map area, a guide map is generated from the map information of the unique map information acquired in step 3102 in step 3106.

If the result of determination in step 3105 is outside the map area, it is determined in step 3107 whether the current location acquired in step 3101 is near or far from the unique map information area. If the determination result in step 3107 is close to the map area, in step 3108, step 3102
The original map is transformed according to the unique map information acquired in.
In step 3109, the map information of the unique map information acquired in step 3102 and the original map transformed in step 3108 are combined to generate a guide map.

If the result of determination in step 3107 is far from the area of the map, in step 3113, step 3102
A guide map is generated and returned from the map information of the unique map information acquired in. At this time, an arrow is generated that indicates from which direction the generated guide map area is entered.

If the determination result of step 3104 is not calculated, the area of the unique map information acquired in step 3102 is obtained and registered in the position information in step 3111.

An example of the case where the current location is within the area of the unique map information will be described with reference to FIGS. 35, 36 and 37 in association with the processing flow of FIG.

FIG. 35 shows an original map created for hotel advertisement, and FIG. 36 shows the position information corresponding to the map.
Indicates map information and character information.

In step 3102, the current position information and the destination position information input by the user are acquired. In this example, the current location is in front of the station and the destination is a hotel. Next, step 31
In 02, the character information of the position information and the map information shown in FIG. 33 is acquired from the unique map information. Then, step 3103
Then, it is determined whether the area information of the position information acquired in step 3102 has been calculated. Next, in step 3104, the road network information of the area of the unique map information acquired in step 3102 and the range including the current location and the landmark information are acquired from the map information, and the landmark information is acquired from the landmark information. To do. Step 3
The road network information acquired in 104 may be road network information stored in the storage area information. When the road network information stored in the storage area information is used, the landmark information also uses the landmark information stored in the storage area information.

The road network information and the landmark information acquired in step 3104 are called an original map. Next, in step 3105, it is determined whether the current location is within the area of the unique map information. Next, in step 3106, a guide map (FIG. 37) is generated based on the map information.

An example of the case where the current position is near the area of the unique map information will be described with reference to FIGS. 38 to 42 in association with the processing flow of FIG. 34. 3601 in FIG. 39 and 37 in FIG.
01, 3801 in FIG. 41, and 3901 in FIG. 42 indicate the range of the unique map in FIG. 35, respectively.

A description of the processing of steps 3101 to 3105 will be omitted.

In step 3107, it is determined whether or not the current location is near the area of the unique map information. Next, in step 3108, in accordance with the map information of the unique map information, step 3104
Transform the map information acquired in. The process of transforming the map information will be described using the process flow of FIG.

FIG. 35 shows an original map created for hotel advertisement, and FIG. 39 shows the original map acquired in step 3104.

In step 3501, a position serving as a base point for combining the maps of FIGS. 35 and 39 is obtained. As a starting point,
There are stations and trains, named intersections and roads, named intersections and landmarks.

35 and 39, an example in which a station and a railway are used as base points will be described.

At step 3501, since the unique map information acquired at step 3102 includes a station and a railway, the station and the railway are set as base points. In step 3502, the positions of the stations of FIGS. 35 and 39 are aligned, and the lines of the railway are rotated together. The rotation result is shown in FIG. In step 3503, the original map rotated in step 3502 is deformed according to FIG. When transforming, first, of the intersections of named roads and other roads, overlap when maps are overlapped,
Alternatively, the road near the point is deformed and the road connected to the road is moved. Next, a road having no road name is also deformed by the same method. The transformed result is shown in FIG.

Next, in step 3109, step 31
A map is generated from the map information acquired in 02, and then only the roads on the original map of the original map transformed in step 3108 are added to the map to generate a guide map. The generated guide map is shown in FIG.

FIG. 43 shows a display example of the guide map when the current location is far from the area of the unique map information. If your current location is far,
An arrow indicating from which direction the map area is coming is added to the guide map.

An example of determining whether or not the current position is near the area of the unique map information in step 3107 will be described with reference to FIG.

Reference numeral 4101 denotes an area for unique map information, 4102.
Is an area to be displayed on the guide information display section.

It is judged that the distance is near to the area, and the present position is 4103.
A determination is made based on the ratio between the area 4102 including the area and the area 4101 of the unique map information. For the area 4102, the area 41
When 01 is smaller than the predetermined value of the area 4102,
Judge that it is far, and if it is longer, it is closer. For example, when the predetermined value is 60%, it is determined to be close when the area 4101 (area) occupies a ratio of 60% or more of the area 4102 (area), and far when the ratio is less than 60%. To determine.

The processing of step 3111 is shown in FIG.
5, 46 will be described.

In step 4201, a character string arrangement relation table is generated from the character information stored in the unique map information. FIG. 46 shows an arrangement relation table. The positional relationship of the position of another character string 2 with respect to the character string 1 is shown. 1 is on the right side, 2 is on the upper right side, and 3 or 4 in the counterclockwise direction ... It becomes 8. The map of FIG. 35 will be described as an example. Based on Bank A 3201, Bank B 3
Since the position of 202 is diagonally below and to the left, the value of the flag is 6. Based on Bank B 3202, Bank A 320
The position of 1 becomes 2. A positional relationship table is similarly created for the original map. In step 4202, the original map is searched for a portion having the same positional relationship as that of the characters in the positional relationship table of the unique map created in step 4201, and the range including all the landmarks of the character information of the unique map is set as an area. Ask as.

By generating the guide map and the guide text by using the original map created by the above-mentioned advertisement client or agency, the guide text from the current position is not the guide text determined for the guide map. Can be added automatically. In addition, the area can be automatically expanded using a unique map. By installing this on the Internet environment, it will be possible to cultivate new customers. Furthermore, since the unique map is created so as to stand out in the vicinity of the store to be guided, it is possible to cooperate with a company near the store of the advertisement client and obtain an information providing fee from the partner.

[0087]

As described above, the guidance information providing system of the present invention can generate guidance information starting from an arbitrary position using a unique map that does not have road network information. .

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a guidance information providing system of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a flow of guide information generation processing of the guide information providing system of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a route stored in storage area information.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the content of area route information stored in storage area information.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the contents of area rectangle information stored in storage area information.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the contents of map vector information stored in storage area information.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the contents of “landmark information” stored in the storage area information.

FIG. 8 is a diagram of an example of a generated guide map and guide text.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a route search method.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a route search method.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an area in which route calculation is performed.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a route obtained by route calculation, route information, and a guidance message.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a generated guide map and guide text.

FIG. 14A is a diagram showing a route search method and a region for performing route calculation. (B) It is a figure which shows the content of the area route information of the selected route.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a route obtained by route calculation, route information, and a guidance sentence.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a generated guide map and guide text.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a connection with a road outside the area.

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing a method of area division when dividing an area.

FIG. 19 is a diagram showing the contents when the current location and the destination extend over two areas.

FIG. 20 is a diagram showing an area for route calculation.

FIG. 21 is a diagram showing a route obtained by route calculation, route information, and a guidance sentence.

FIG. 22 is a diagram showing a generated guide map and guide text.

FIG. 23 is a diagram showing an area in which route calculation is performed when the current location and the destination are outside the area.

FIG. 24 is a diagram showing a generated guide map and guide text.

FIG. 25 is a diagram showing an example of information stored in storage area information.

FIG. 26 is a diagram showing an example of information stored in storage area information.

FIG. 27 is a diagram showing the contents of a management table for performing access management.

FIG. 28 is a diagram showing an example of distribution of access frequencies.

FIG. 29 is a diagram showing an example in which a route is deleted from the storage area information.

FIG. 30 is a diagram showing an example of a state before addition when adding a route to the storage area information.

FIG. 31 is a diagram showing an example of a state before addition when adding a route to the storage area information.

FIG. 32 is a diagram showing an example in which a route is added to the storage area information.

FIG. 33 is a diagram showing an example in which a route is added to the storage area information.

FIG. 34 is a diagram showing a flow of processing for generating a guide map using a unique map.

FIG. 35 is a diagram showing an example of an original map.

FIG. 36 is a diagram showing the content of unique map information.

FIG. 37 is a diagram showing a guide map generated using a unique map.

FIG. 38 is a diagram showing a flow of processing for transforming a map in accordance with a unique map.

FIG. 39 is a diagram showing an original map corresponding to an area of a unique map.

FIG. 40 is a diagram showing a state in which the original map is rotated according to the unique map and a region of the unique map.

FIG. 41 is a diagram showing a state in which an original map is transformed according to an original map and an area of the original map.

FIG. 42 is a diagram showing a guide map using a unique map.

FIG. 43 is a diagram showing a guide map displayed when the current location is far.

FIG. 44 is a diagram showing a relationship between a unique map and the current location.

[Fig. 45] Fig. 45 is a diagram illustrating a flow of a process for obtaining a region of a unique map.

FIG. 46 is a diagram showing an arrangement relationship of character strings.

FIG. 47 is a diagram showing a flow of processing for saving a route in a saving area.

FIG. 48 is a diagram showing an area for route calculation.

FIG. 49 is a diagram showing an area to be saved in a save area.

FIG. 50 is a diagram showing information stored in a storage area.

FIG. 51 is a diagram showing map vector information stored in a storage area and the information thereof.

[Explanation of symbols]

100 storage device 101 map information 102 Landmark information 103 Storage area information 104 Position information input section 105 Guide information generation server 106 Location information acquisition unit 107 Position determination unit 108 Storage area information data acquisition unit 109 Route calculator 110 Guide map generator 111 Guidance sentence generator 112 Access Frequency Management Department 113 Area information data storage / deletion unit 114 Map area calculator 115 Map Transformation Department 116 Guidance information display section 117 Unique map information 118 Unique map information acquisition section

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI theme code (reference) G08G 1/005 G08G 1/005 1/137 1/137 G09B 29/00 G09B 29/00 AF G 29 / 10 29/10 A H04Q 7/20 H04Q 7/04 Z (72) Inventor Hitoshi Ishida 5030 Totsuka-cho, Totsuka-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa Prefecture, Ltd. Software Division, Hitachi, Ltd. (72) Shigeru Shimada Tokyo Kokubunji, Tokyo 1-280, Higashi Koigakubo 1-chome, Hitachi Ltd. Central Research Laboratory F-term (reference) 2C032 HB11 HC11 HC27 HD16 HD21 2F029 AA07 AB07 AB13 AC02 AC09 AC14 AC16 AC20 5B075 KK07 KK13 KK33 KK37 ND06 ND20 ND22 ND23 ND34 PP22 P12Q32 P32 PQQ32QQ PR04 UU14 UU16 5H180 AA21 BB04 BB05 CC12 EE01 EE02 FF05 FF13 FF22 FF35 FF38 5K067 BB04 FF03

Claims (13)

[Claims] 1. In a system for providing information necessary for pedestrian route guidance, which is provided with a storage device for storing map information and landmark information, route information and a destination generated in advance assuming a starting point and a destination. Guide text to guide to,
The point information indicating the starting point and the destination, the map information in the surrounding area and the storage area information holding the coordinates for specifying the area are stored in the storage device, and the current location input using the position information input means. Location information acquisition means for obtaining location information and destination location information, location determination means for determining whether or not the current location and destination are included in the storage area information based on the obtained location information, and storage area Search the route of the destination from the current location from the information, route information corresponding to the route, guidance text, save area information data acquisition means to obtain map information, one or both of the current location and the destination in the area If it does not exist, the route calculation means for performing route calculation, the route information acquired by the storage area information data acquisition means, or the route calculated by the route calculation means and the storage area A guide map generating means for combining the route information acquired by the information data acquiring means to generate a guide map, a guide sentence generating means for generating and synthesizing a guide sentence for a route from the present location to a destination, and between two points. A pedestrian guidance information providing system comprising: an access frequency management unit that manages the access frequency of a route; and a guidance information display unit that displays one or both of a generated guidance map and guidance text. 2. The storage area information includes a name for the area information, area rectangle information indicating coordinates for specifying the area, point pair information indicating a pair of a starting point and a destination point, and point pair information. Route information indicating the route between points, the route distance, and the ID of a landmark existing in the route
, Area route information with guide text, road center line in the area, highway, railway, station building, map vector information with feature information such as rivers, and landmarks included in the area. Having an ID, a name, landmark information having position information, and road network information and road information (road name and width information, etc.) consisting of node information indicating connections between roads at road end points and intersections. A pedestrian guidance information providing system characterized by. 3. The system according to claim 1, wherein the current position information and the destination position information acquired by the position information acquisition unit are acquired, and the current position and the destination are determined by the position determination unit based on the acquired position information. If the current position and the destination are included in one route as a result of the determination made by the position determining means as to whether or not they are included in the area route information belonging to the storage area information, the storage area information data obtaining means Pedestrian guidance characterized in that area route information and map vector information of the corresponding area are acquired from the storage area information, and a guide map is generated by the guide map generation means from the route information acquired by the storage area information data acquisition means. Information provision system. 4. The system according to claim 1, wherein an area where the current location and the destination belong to the storage area information is determined by the position determination means based on the current location information and the destination location information acquired by the location information acquisition means. It is determined whether or not it is included in the route information, and if either the current location or the destination does not exist in the area route information of the storage area information, the storage area information data acquisition means causes the area route information belonging to the storage area information. A route closer to the current location or destination point (referred to as an out-of-route point) that does not exist in the area route information is searched for and the corresponding area route information and map vector information are acquired. Next, a map obtained by determining the intersection from the out-of-route point to reach the relevant route and using the route calculation means to obtain the route between the two points in order to reach the relevant route from the out-of-route point by the storage area information data obtaining means Obtained using the road network information included in the information. Next, for the route obtained by the route calculation unit, a guide sentence corresponding to the guide sentence is generated by the guide sentence generation unit, and further combined with the guide sentence corresponding to the route included in the storage area information to generate a guide sentence, The route information included in the storage area information by the guide map generation unit and the route obtained by the route calculation unit are combined to generate a guide map, and the guide sentence corresponding to the area route information included in the storage area information and the route calculation. A pedestrian guidance information providing system comprising: a guidance sentence generating unit that synthesizes a guidance sentence corresponding to the route obtained by the means to generate a new guidance sentence. 5. The system according to claim 1, wherein an area indicated by the area rectangle information of the storage area information by the position determination means based on the current location information and the destination location information acquired by the location information acquisition means. It is determined whether or not there is a current location or destination within the area, and if either one is outside the area as a result of the determination, an area point near the current location or destination outside the area (referred to as an out-of-area point) From the point pair information. Next, the route from the in-area point to the destination or the current location in the area is searched, and the storage area information data acquisition means acquires the area route information and the map information corresponding to the in-area point. The route calculation means uses the road network information included in the map information to calculate the route from the current location or destination outside the area to a nearby point in the area, and the guide map generation means calculates the route calculation means. A route and the route information acquired by the storage area information data acquisition means are combined to generate a guide map. Further, the guide sentence generating means generates a guide sentence corresponding to the route obtained by the route calculating means, and synthesizes the guide sentence with the guide sentence acquired by the storage area information data obtaining means to generate a guide sentence. Guidance information provision system. 6. The system according to claim 1, wherein an area of area information included in the storage area information by the position determination means is based on the current location information and the destination location information acquired by the location information acquisition means. It is determined whether or not the current position or the destination is included in the rectangular information, and if the result of the determination is that they belong to two different areas, a route with a short distance between the points is searched for, and storage area information data acquisition means is obtained. so,
The area route information retrieved by the position determining means is acquired from the stored area information. When the two regions are apart from each other, the road network information included in the map information is used for the route connecting the two acquired routes, and when the two regions overlap, the road network information included in the storage area information is used. The guide map generating means combines the route calculated by the route calculating means with the route acquired by the storage area information data acquiring means to generate a guide map.
Further, the guide sentence generating means generates a guide sentence corresponding to the route obtained by the route calculating means, and synthesizes the guide sentence with the guide sentence acquired by the storage area information data acquisition section to generate a guide sentence. Guidance information provision system. 7. The system according to claim 1, wherein based on the current location information and the destination location information acquired by the location information acquisition means, the location determination means creates area rectangle information included in the storage area information. If the current position and the destination do not exist in the area as a result of determining whether the current position and the destination exist and the position determining unit determines that the current position and the destination do not exist, the route calculating unit uses the road network information included in the map information. The route is obtained, and the guide sentence generating means generates a round-trip guide sentence for the route between the two points by using the landmark information for the route obtained by the route calculating means. The area surrounding the route and its periphery by the route calculation means is used as area rectangle information, and the route information obtained by the route calculation means, the guidance sentence created by the guidance sentence generation means, the landmark ID used for the guidance sentence, and between the two points Area information is saved by using the distance as area route information and deforming the map information in the area for which the route is obtained, and combining the road network information and the landmark information included in the area rectangular information area as map vector information.・
A pedestrian guidance information providing system characterized in that the deleting unit saves the saved area information and registers a new area in the saved area information. 8. The system according to claim 1, wherein a route between two points included in the storage area information and an area including the point are accessed by an access frequency management unit at a certain two points during a certain period. It manages the number of times guide information is requested, and leaves it in the storage area information for routes that have been accessed a certain number of times (requests for guide information). When the number of accesses falls below a predetermined criterion, A guidance map information providing system comprising area information data storage / deletion means for deleting a corresponding route and guidance text. 9. A request for guide information between two points which is not included in the storage area information is managed by an access frequency managing means to manage how many requests for a guide map between two points are within a certain period. A pedestrian guidance information providing system characterized by storing data such as area route information in the storage area information by the method according to claim 7 when the access is made a certain number of times or more within a certain period. 10. An area route is stored in the storage area information according to the method of claim 7 when the client requests a registration between two points for the purpose of guiding to an event venue, a store, a tourist spot, a company, etc. A pedestrian guidance information providing system characterized by storing data such as information. 11. A system for providing information required for pedestrian route guidance, which is provided with a storage device for storing map information and landmark information, for the purpose of providing guidance to event venues, shops, sightseeing spots, companies, etc. A position where the original map information composed of vector information and character information created by an advertisement client or an agency is stored in the storage device and the current position information and the destination position information input using the position information input means are acquired. Information acquisition means, route calculation means for calculating a route from the current location to the destination, guidance sentence generation means for generating a guidance sentence for the route from the current location to the destination obtained by the route calculation means, and the storage device. Original map acquisition means for acquiring the original map information from, and rectangular area calculation means for obtaining the rectangular area of the original map information acquired by the original map acquisition means, and the original map Map deforming means for superimposing information and road network information of the map information and deforming the road network information in accordance with the map information; unique map information acquired by the unique map acquisition means; and map generated by the map deforming means A guide map generation means for synthesizing information to generate a guide map, and a means for displaying one or both of the generated guide map and guide text are provided with a guide information display section, and are created by an advertisement client or an agency. A pedestrian guide map providing system that uses an original map as part of the guide map. 12. A system for providing information necessary for pedestrian route guidance, comprising a storage device for storing map information and landmark information, and route information and a destination generated in advance assuming a starting point and a destination. The guide text for guiding to, the point information indicating the starting point and the destination, the map information in the surrounding area and the storage area information holding the coordinates for specifying the area are stored in the storage device, and the position is stored. Position information acquisition means for acquiring the current position information and destination position information input using the information input means, searching the route of the destination from the current position from the storage area information, route information corresponding to the route, and guidance text And storage area information data acquisition means for acquiring map information, and guide map generation means for combining the route information acquired by the storage area information data acquisition means to generate a guide map. A pedestrian characterized by comprising a guide sentence generating means for generating and synthesizing a guide sentence for a route from the present location to a destination, and a guide information display section for displaying the generated guide map and / or guide sentence. Guidance information provision system. 13. A recording medium storing a program that realizes the functions described in claims 1 to 12.