JP2005017206A - Navigation apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a navigation apparatus for guiding via a position satisfying the desired conditions of a user and for creating a driving course satisfying the desired conditions of a user. <P>SOLUTION: Notable sights in the area designated by the user are extracted from the data base stored in an outer memory 9, the notable sights to visit for sight seeing are selected by considering sight seeing condition which are designated by the user. The route for visiting the selected notable sights in order is created by a route planning, then the route guidance is performed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a technique for selecting a waypoint that satisfies a condition specified by a user, automatically creating a guide route (drive course) that satisfies the condition, and guiding the route.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventional navigation devices allow a user to specify a specific point, and search for a nearby landmark, historic site, vacation spot, sightseeing spot, etc. (hereinafter collectively referred to as a famous place) from the database and introduce it to the user There is a function to do. However, the user must set the destination as the destination at any time in consideration of the use of the sights provided, the time required for sightseeing, the travel time around each sight, the type of sight, the location of the sight, etc. It is necessary to perform complicated operations. Therefore, there is one that selects a drive course stored in advance in a database and provides route guidance (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
[0003]
[Patent Document 1]
JP-A-2002-372429 ([0046] to [0048], FIG. 1).
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the above navigation device, it is not possible to set a route around the sights that satisfy the conditions desired by the user among the introduced sights, or the user desires in an existing drive course. There may be no one that satisfies the conditions.
[0005]
The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a navigation device that can create a drive course that satisfies the conditions selected by the user and perform route guidance.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, according to the first aspect of the present invention, in the navigation device for creating a route passing through a famous place, the condition acquisition means acquires a predetermined selection condition from the user, and stores the detailed information of the point The selecting means selects from the database a landmark that satisfies at least the selection condition as a transit point, and creates a route through which the selected transit point is routed based on the selection condition.
[0007]
Therefore, it is possible to create a drive course that satisfies the conditions desired by the user by specifying the information about the points stored in the database and the selection conditions by the user. In other words, the user can go around the sights he wants to visit on the drive course of the desired form.
[0008]
According to the second aspect of the present invention, in the navigation device for creating a route passing through a point, an area (region) is acquired from the user by the area acquiring unit, and a predetermined selection from the user is performed by the condition acquiring unit. The conditions are acquired, and a point that satisfies the selection condition existing in the area acquired from the user by the selection means is selected as a transit point from the database that stores the detailed information of the point. Then, a route through which the transit point selected by the creation unit is routed based on the selection condition is created. Thereby, it becomes possible to select an arbitrary point satisfying the selection condition from the area acquired by the area acquisition means and create a route.
[0009]
The invention according to claim 3 is characterized in that the area acquisition means acquires the administrative district name selected by the user or the area based on the selected point, so that the user can respond to the purpose and request. By changing the area selection method, a desired area can be specified relatively easily and reflected in route creation.
[0010]
Furthermore, in the invention according to claim 4, the selecting means calculates the evaluation value of each point using the selection condition acquired from the user and the detailed information of the point stored in the database, and based on the calculated evaluation value. It is characterized by selecting a waypoint. Therefore, a route reflecting the user's request can be created by selecting a waypoint based on the evaluation value reflecting the user's request and creating the route.
[0011]
Further, in the invention according to claim 5, the selecting means selects the evaluation value of each point existing in the area acquired by the area acquiring means, the selection condition acquired from the user, and the detailed information of the spot stored in the database. And a transit point is selected based on the calculated evaluation value. That is, by calculating an evaluation value of a point in an area designated by the user and selecting a waypoint based on the evaluation value, a route reflecting the user's request can be created.
[0012]
According to the invention described in claim 6, in the navigation device according to claim 4 or 5, the selection condition includes at least a route completion time indicating a time required to complete the created route, It is characterized by comprising any one or a combination of a route type representing the type, a route name representing the name of the selected point, a route traveling season representing the route traveling season. This makes it possible to create a route that more closely reflects the user's request.
[0013]
In the invention according to claim 7, the digitizing means compares the type of the waypoint with the type of each point stored in the database, assigns a numerical value according to the coincidence mismatch, Compared with the degree of visibility of each point stored in the database, assign a numerical value according to the coincidence mismatch, compare with the effective season of each point stored in the database for the driving season of the route, depending on the inside and outside of the effective season And assigning numerical values, and calculating an evaluation value for each point based on at least these assigned numerical values. That is, by comparing the selection condition acquired by the condition acquisition means with the information stored in the database, a numerical value is assigned and the selection condition is digitized. Therefore, it is possible to calculate an evaluation value based on the digitized selection conditions, and it is possible to easily select a stopover by indicating numerically the points that satisfy or do not satisfy the tourism condition by the user. It becomes possible.
[0014]
Furthermore, according to the invention described in claim 8, in the invention described in any one of claims 1 to 3, a route completion time representing a time required for completing the created route at least as the selection condition, The type of waypoint indicating the type of point to be selected, the name of waypoint representing the degree of visibility of the point to be picked, the traveling season of the route representing the season driving the route, and the conditions for determining the first waypoint during route search It is characterized by comprising either one or a combination of the route start point selection criteria, the route route number specifying the number of route points to be routed. This makes it possible to create a route that more closely reflects the user's request.
[0015]
Further, according to the invention described in claim 9, in the invention described in any one of claims 6 to 8, after the first waypoint is determined, the shortest distance from the first place is usually set. Search for a route to another stop in the route, and then create a route by searching for a route to the other stop that is at the shortest distance from the stop at the forefront of the route. When specified by the user, the route to the other stop is searched considering the travel time from the first stop and the evaluation value. In consideration of the evaluation value, a route to another waypoint is further searched and a route is created.
[0016]
As a result, it is possible not only to create a route that efficiently passes through the selected waypoint, but also to create a route that satisfies the selection condition specified by the user. Furthermore, when the route completion time is specified, it is possible to create a route that satisfies the selection condition more accurately by creating a route that takes the travel time into consideration.
[0017]
According to the invention described in claim 10, the database is included in the navigation device, receives the latest detailed information regarding the point from the outside by communication means capable of communication with the outside, and updates the database as appropriate. It is characterized by doing. Therefore, by using communication with the outside, it is possible to update to the latest database, and it is possible to create a route using more accurate information.
[0018]
Furthermore, in the invention described in claim 11, the selection condition acquired from the user by the communication means capable of communication with the outside is transmitted to the outside, and information on the waypoint satisfying the selection condition is received from the outside to receive the route. It is characterized by creating. Therefore, it is not necessary to provide a storage medium for storing a large amount of information in the database, and it is possible to obtain necessary transit point information by communication.
[0019]
According to the invention described in claim 12, the acquired selection condition is transmitted to the outside by the communication means capable of communication with the outside, and information on the waypoints and routes satisfying the selection condition is received from the outside. Is possible. As a result, information on the waypoints and routes that satisfy the selection conditions desired by the user can be received by the communication means, and it becomes possible to receive routes along more precise and detailed conditions.
[0020]
Further, according to the invention described in claim 13, since the guide means guides the route created by the creation means, the user moves by receiving guidance along the created route. It becomes possible to move via a transit point that satisfies a desired selection condition.
[0021]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
In the following, an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a vehicle navigation apparatus and a drive course around a famous place is created will be described with reference to FIGS.
[0022]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of the vehicle navigation device of the present embodiment. The vehicle navigation device includes a current position detection device 1, a map data storage device 2, a voice confirmation device 3, an input operation device 4, a remote control sensor 5, a remote control terminal (hereinafter abbreviated as “remote control”) 6, a control device 7, and a notification. It comprises a device 8 and an external memory 9. Each of the current position detection devices 1 includes a known GPS receiver, gyroscope, vehicle speed sensor, and the like, and these are configured to detect the current position of the vehicle while interpolating each other. The map data storage device 2 includes a storage medium such as a DVD-ROM or HDD, and displays various maps such as map data, map matching data, and facility data, and searches and guides routes. Data to do is stored.
[0023]
The input operation device 4 has various input keys operated by the user, and outputs various input signals necessary for navigation. As for operation input by the user, in addition to input from the input operation device 4, voice input by the voice confirmation device 3 or remote operation input from the remote control 6 via the remote control sensor 5 may be performed. The control circuit 7 is configured to have computer means, and includes a well-known CPU, ROM, RAM, I / O and a bus line for connecting these configurations. The control circuit 7 performs various control processes in the in-vehicle navigation device such as route search and map display, and notifies the processed information by the notification device 8.
[0024]
The notification device 8 includes a display device (not shown) provided in the instrument panel section of the vehicle, a sound generation device (not shown) that generates sound in the vehicle, and the like, and corresponds to the guide means in the present invention. It has a function and outputs notifications to users. Here, the display device displays a current location of the vehicle and a road map, and a liquid crystal display device, a CRT display device, or the like can be used.
[0025]
The external memory 9 is composed of a writable non-volatile storage medium such as an HDD or a flash ROM, and in this embodiment, a database of detailed information on sights and tourism conditions desired by the user (corresponding to selection conditions in the present invention). Used as a storage medium.
[0026]
In the above configuration, when the user designates desired sightseeing conditions by the input operation device 4, a driving course (route) that selects the sights that satisfy the sight-seeing conditions based on the information in the database and can sequentially tour the selected sights. ). And it searches and guides based on the set drive course. The driving course guidance guides the vehicle to a final destination (the last famous place) through a plurality of waypoints (famous places) using the set driving course as a route, similarly to the conventional route guidance.
[0027]
In such a vehicle navigation apparatus, the configuration of a database for storing detailed information of sights used for creating the drive course and the processing performed when creating the drive course will be described below with reference to FIGS. In creating a drive course, as tourist conditions, a tourist area that specifies the range of the area to visit the sights, a tourist time that specifies the time required to complete the drive course, a category that specifies the type of sight, and the famousness of the sights There are designated names, seasons for sightseeing, seasons for specifying date and time, etc., which can be designated by the user selecting from a menu or the like. And for the tourist area, you can select and specify a place name, or specify an arbitrary point (may be the current position), and the area inside the circle formed by the radius (or diameter) centered on the specified point Can be designated as a tourist area. Here, the shape for specifying the range is not particularly limited to a circle.
Further, the tourist area referred to here is the area in the present invention, the sightseeing time corresponds to the route completion time, the category corresponds to the type of the waypoint, the name recognition corresponds to the name recognition of the waypoint, and the season corresponds to the route travel season.
[0028]
Further, in a database stored in the external memory 9 (hereinafter referred to as a sights database), information on sights such as those mentioned in the tourist conditions is converted into numerical values and stored. The required time is memorized in minutes for the time required to tour the sights. Categories are classified and registered with arbitrary numbers for each category (for example, 1: play, 2: sports, 3: attractions, 4: museums, 5: historic sites, historic sites, 6: walks, 99 : Leave it to me etc.) The degree of familiarity is expressed as a numerical value with the maximum degree of familiarity being 100 and the minimum degree of familiarity being 1, and stored. As for the season, the season in which the sights can be used or sightseeing is stored at the start time and the end time (for example, bathing: start = 7/1, end = 8/31, etc.). In addition, the number of votes from users, the number of magazines, and the like are stored as numerical values from 100 to 1 as recommended degrees. The evaluation value of each sight is calculated based on the numerical value stored in the sight database and the sightseeing conditions specified by the user (a calculation method will be described later).
[0029]
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the structure of the sights database. The association information of the location and the sights (FIG. 2a) associates the place name number and the location information with the sights, and is used to extract the sights existing in the tourist area designated by the user. Here, the place name number is an arbitrary value representing the place name (for example, 1: Chigasaki, 2: Fujisawa City, 3: Kamakura, etc.), and the position information indicates the position of a famous place in latitude, longitude, coordinates, etc. is there. The landmark number is an arbitrary value representing the landmark.
[0030]
The detailed information on the sights (FIG. 2b) stores the detailed information of each sight point, and is used for selecting the sights extracted from FIG. 2a. Although only the required time is shown in FIG. 2b, the tourism conditions and the degree of progress are also stored in the same manner, and are used for calculating the evaluation value.
[0031]
Next, drive course creation processing using the above-mentioned famous place database will be described. First, in FIG. 3, a tourist condition is designated by a user in step (hereinafter abbreviated as S) 100. Note that the user does not need to specify all the tourist conditions described above, but selects and specifies desired conditions. In this embodiment, a case where the user designates a sightseeing area will be described as an example.
[0032]
When the tourist condition is designated in S100, the process proceeds to S101, and it is determined whether or not the tourist area is designated by a place name. When it is determined that the tourist area is designated by the place name (S101: Yes), the sights (fauna numbers) for the corresponding place name numbers are extracted from the sights database. Here, the case where the user designates Chigasaki City 21 and Kamakura City 22 from the map 20 displayed on the display device which is the notification device 8 as shown in FIG. 4A will be described as an example. When the place name number of Chigasaki City is 1 and the place name number of Kamakura City is 3, the place name number 1 and the place name number 3 as shown in FIG. The landmark numbers A to F and M to Q are extracted.
[0033]
On the other hand, when it is determined that the tourist area is designated not by the place name but by the range designation (S101: No), the sights (the famous place number) existing in the relevant area are extracted from the famous place database. Here, as shown in FIG. 5, a case where a range 32 centered on a designated point 31 is designated as a tourist area from a map 30 displayed on a display device that is the notification device 8 will be described as an example. As shown in FIG. 6a, n1 based on the location information (latitude / longitude, etc.) based on the location information (latitude / longitude, etc.) from the association information (FIG. 2a) of the location and the sights stored in the sights database. , N8, n12, n17 are extracted (FIG. 6b).
[0034]
Next, an evaluation value for the sights extracted in S103 is calculated (a method for calculating the evaluation value will be described later with reference to FIG. 9), and the process proceeds to S104. In S104, it can be determined that the larger the evaluation value is, the more the user's tourism conditions are satisfied. Therefore, based on the evaluation value calculated in S103, a predetermined number (for example, 10 places) of sights are selected for sightseeing. To do. Note that the number of sights to be selected here may also be specified by the user (corresponding to the number of route points in the present invention). When the sightseeing time is designated, the time required for the famous place is added every time the famous place is selected for sightseeing, and the famous place is selected until the designated sightseeing time is reached. For example, as in the case of S102, when the landmark numbers A to F and M to Q are extracted and the sightseeing time is specified as 520 minutes, the landmark numbers M, F, P, O, B, C, and N are selected for sightseeing.
[0035]
When a sightseeing target is selected in S104, a route (drive course) for sequentially visiting the sightseeing target is searched in S105. The first sightseeing spot is determined by the criteria specified by the user, such as the closest spot to the highway IC, the closest spot to the main highway, the highest rated spot, and the closest spot from the current position of the vehicle. This corresponds to the selection criterion in the invention and is hereinafter referred to as a selection criterion). Then, a sight that is close to the determined sight is determined as a sight to be visited next, and in the same manner, a route around the sights selected as all the sights is created. If the user does not specify the selection criteria, sightseeing is started from a sight with the highest evaluation value. For example, when the landmark numbers M, F, P, O, B, C, and N are selected as tourist objects and the selection criterion is designated as the landmark having the largest evaluation value as in the example of S104, the first evaluation value Sightseeing will start from a large landmark M. If there are sights as shown in FIG. 8a, the sights P next to the sights M next to the sights M, and similarly the sights F, sights O, B, C, N are listed in this order. A route is searched for.
[0036]
If the sightseeing time is specified, after determining the first sightseeing spot based on the selection criteria, add the travel time from the current position to the first sightseeing spot and the time required for that spot. Sightseeing time. Then, every time the next sightseeing spot is determined based on the evaluation value and time, the travel time from the sightseeing spot that precedes the determined sightseeing spot to the determined spot and the time required for that spot are added as the sightseeing time. I will do it. When the added sightseeing time reaches the designated sightseeing time, the route search is terminated. Here, the travel time is calculated in the same manner as the calculation method used when the conventional navigation apparatus calculates the estimated arrival time.
[0037]
As in the example of S104, the landmark numbers M, F, P, O, B, C, and N are selected as sightseeing targets, the selection criterion is designated as the landmark with the highest evaluation value, and the sightseeing time is designated as 520 minutes. A case will be described with reference to FIG. First, the landmark M with the highest evaluation value is determined as the landmark to be visited first. Then, the travel time from the current position 50 to the sights M (60 minutes) and the time required for the sights M (180 minutes) are added to obtain the sightseeing time of the searched route. Next, the landmark to be visited next to the landmark M is determined as the landmark P based on the evaluation value and the required time, and the travel time from the landmark M to the landmark P (40 minutes) and the required time of the landmark P (60 minutes) are determined. It is added to the sightseeing time of the searched route. In this way, when the sightseeing time of the search route is added, the sightseeing time becomes 520 minutes specified by the user when the sightseeing spot F is visited. This completes the search for a drive course that goes around the three landmarks and sets the route.
[0038]
Next, the evaluation value calculation process performed in S103 of FIG. 3 will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 9, the category of each famous place is compared with the category designated by the user in S200, and a variable (category) is set. If the categories match, category = 1, if different, category = 0.3, and if the category is not specified by the user, category = 1. In S201, the famous degree of each famous place is compared with the famous degree designated by the user, and a variable (famous) is set. The database stores numerical values (100 to 1) representing the name recognition, and the user specifies five kinds of name recognition: large, medium, small, large and medium, medium and small. Therefore, a high degree of popularity is assigned as 100 to 61, a medium degree of publicity as 60 to 31 and a low degree of popularity as 30 to 1. If they coincide with each other, famous = 1, and if they differ, famous = 0.3. If it is not specified, then it is assumed that “famous = 0.3”.
[0039]
In S202, the date and time is extracted from the calendar built in the navigation device, it is determined whether or not each landmark is in a touristable season, and a variable (season) is set.
The variable (season) is set to season = 1 if the specified day is a season in which sightseeing is possible, and season = 0 if it is not in a season in which sightseeing is possible. And in S203, the evaluation value of each famous place is calculated based on Formula 1.
[0040]
[Equation 1]
Evaluation value = category × famous × season × recommendation level or more As described above, according to the vehicle navigation device of the present embodiment, information on the sights stored in the sights database and the user's specification of the tourist conditions are desired by the user. It is possible to create a drive course that satisfies the conditions and provide route guidance along the created drive course. Therefore, the user can go around the sights by a desired drive course in the area where he / she wants to go. Here, S100 in FIG. 3 is the condition acquisition means in the present invention, S104 is the selection means, S105 is the creation means, and S200, S201, and S202 in FIG. It is.
[0041]
In this embodiment, the navigation device alone performs various processes such as creating a drive course based on a database stored in the external memory 9 of the navigation device. However, the navigation device has a communication function (not shown). (Corresponding to the communication means in the present invention), information relating to sights and the like may be obtained from an external server via the Internet or the like. For example, the sights database stored in the external memory 9 can be appropriately updated from the outside, the tourist conditions set by the user are transmitted, the relevant sights are selected from the sights database stored in the external server, the drive The course may be created externally and the drive course may be received. In other words, by enabling communication with the outside, it is possible to create a drive course reflecting information such as the latest sights. Moreover, if communication is possible, it is not necessary to store a database in the external memory 9, and a sight database may be provided outside. Then, the same effect can be obtained without providing a storage medium for storing a large database.
[0042]
Further, in any of the cases described above, the navigation device mounted on the vehicle is shown, but not only the vehicle but also other mobile objects (bicycles, motorcycles, people, etc.) or map data is stored. The present invention can be similarly applied to portable terminals such as portable telephones and PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants). At that time, the route, guidance, and the like are suitable for the moving object.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a navigation device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a data structure of a sights database. a) Association information between location and famous place. b) Sightseeing Detailed Information FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a flowchart of drive course creation processing.
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a display example (a) when a sightseeing area is designated by a place name and an example of selecting information in a sights database (b).
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a display example when a sightseeing area is designated as a designated area.
FIG. 6 is a diagram (a) symbolizing the landmark extraction in FIG. 5 and an example (b) of selecting information in the landmark database.
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a selection example of a sight in consideration of a user's sightseeing conditions in a sights database.
FIG. 8A is a diagram showing priorities of sights extracted in FIG. 7 and FIG. 8B is a diagram showing a searched route;
FIG. 9 is a flowchart of evaluation value calculation processing.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Current position detection device 2 ... Map data storage device 3 ... Voice confirmation device 4 ... Input operation device 5 ... Remote control sensor 6 ... Remote control 7 ... Control device 8 ... .Notification device 9 ... external memory

Claims (13)

In a navigation device that creates a route through a famous place,
Condition acquisition means for acquiring a predetermined selection condition from a user;
Based on the selection condition, a selection means for selecting a sight that satisfies at least the selection condition acquired by the condition acquisition means as a stopover from a database that stores detailed information of the point, and a stopover selected by the selection means A navigation device, comprising: creation means for creating a route via the route. In a navigation device that creates a route via a point,
Area acquisition means for acquiring an area from the user;
Condition acquisition means for acquiring a predetermined selection condition from a user;
A selection means for selecting a point that exists in the area specified by the area acquisition unit and satisfies the selection condition acquired by the condition acquisition unit as a transit point from a database that stores detailed information of the point;
A navigation device, comprising: a creation unit that creates a route through the transit point selected by the selection unit based on the selection condition. The navigation apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the area acquisition unit acquires an area based on an administrative division name or a selected point selected by a user. The selection means calculates an evaluation value for each point using the selection condition and detailed information of the points stored in the database,
The navigation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a transit place is selected based on the evaluation value. The selection means calculates an evaluation value for each point existing in the area acquired by the area acquisition means, using the selection condition and detailed information of the points stored in the database,
The navigation device according to claim 2 or 3, wherein a transit point is selected based on the evaluation value. The navigation apparatus according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the selection condition includes at least one of a route completion time, a route type, a name recognition degree, a route traveling season, or a combination thereof. . Compared with the type of each point stored in the database for the type of the waypoint, assigns a numerical value according to the coincidence mismatch, and the degree of familiarity of each point stored in the database with respect to the degree of popularity of the waypoint Comparing, assigning numerical values according to coincidence / non-coincidence, comparing with the effective season of each point stored in the database with respect to the travel season of the route, and quantifying means for assigning numerical values according to inside and outside the effective season ,
7. The navigation apparatus according to claim 6, wherein an evaluation value for each point is calculated based on at least these numerical values assigned by the digitizing means. The selection condition includes at least one of route completion time, route type, route name visibility, route travel season, route start location selection criterion, route route number, or a combination thereof. The navigation device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The creation means determines the first waypoint, usually searches for a route from the first waypoint to the other waypoint that is at the shortest distance, and then sequentially goes to the shortest distance from the waypoint that is at the forefront of the route. Search for routes to some other waypoints and create routes,
When the route completion time is specified as the selection condition,
Search for a route to another waypoint in consideration of the travel time from the first waypoint and the evaluation value, and then take into consideration the travel time and the evaluation value from the waypoint at the leading edge of the route sequentially. The navigation device according to any one of claims 6 to 8, wherein a route is created by searching for a route to another waypoint. The database has the navigation device,
Having communication means capable of communication with the outside,
Receiving the latest detailed information about the point from the outside by the communication means, updating the database as appropriate,
The navigation device according to claim 1, wherein: Has communication means that can communicate with the outside,
10. The method according to claim 1, wherein the selection unit transmits the selection condition to the outside, receives information on a waypoint satisfying the selection condition from the outside, and generates a route by the generation unit. 11. The navigation device described in one. Has communication means that can communicate with the outside,
The navigation device according to claim 1, wherein the selection condition is transmitted to the outside by the communication unit, and information regarding a route satisfying the selection condition is received from the outside. The navigation apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 12, further comprising guide means for guiding a route created by the creation means.

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