JP2007114886A - Region information calculation method and device and system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide valid region information in a fixed level to a user even when incomplete identification information is input. <P>SOLUTION: A receiving part 202 receives the prescribed section of a desired telephone number (S501). The telephone number including the number of the predetermined section is retrieved from an information database 104, and the matched telephone number is extracted (S502). Then, a table 211 is retrieved by using the extracted telephone number as a key, and an address is acquired as a portion of the associated position information (503). The maximum value and minimum value of the latitude and longitude of the acquired position information are decided (S504). The maximum value and minimum value of the latitude and longitude calculated as above are transmitted to a user terminal 101 as region information (S505). <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an area information calculation method, apparatus, and system, and more particularly, to an area information calculation method, apparatus, and system for calculating area information based on specific identification information.

  Conventionally, map display data is transmitted to a user device such as a personal computer via the Internet, a map in which various related information is embedded is displayed, information is displayed based on a user instruction, or a predetermined web A service for accessing a site is provided (for example, see Patent Document 1). These services not only display a map, but also provide information at the same time to enhance the added value of a map system using a computer. On the contrary, a technique for providing a map desired by a user based on predetermined information, for example, a technique for designating a fixed telephone number and displaying the location of the telephone on the map has been proposed.

  On the other hand, a technique has been proposed in which a part of a telephone number, for example, an area code or a part of a postal code is input and the corresponding area is displayed on a map (for example, see Patent Document 2). Such technology basically utilizes the characteristics of the fixed telephone numbering system. In other words, since the area code is assigned to each specific area, it is possible to store area information indicating an area corresponding to the area code in advance. Since postal codes are originally assigned by geographical division, they are easy to use with such techniques.

JP 2002-63196 A JP 11-133852 A

  However, in the system such as Patent Document 1, it is necessary that the telephone number to be searched and the address where the telephone is located exist in the database, but a telephone number that is not registered is input. There is a problem that the location cannot be displayed. In fact, in the phone number database, there are usually only certain numbers such as company representative numbers and store phone numbers, so if a personal phone number or a number other than the representative is specified in the company, it is located. The address cannot be displayed. In this case, it is possible to perform a constant display using a technique such as Patent Document 2, but the range becomes too wide to be used for the user.

  Similarly, such a problem also occurs when the user does not remember the phone number accurately or knows only a part of the phone number.

  The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and can be used by searching for a region that can be specified within a certain range even if a user inputs incomplete information and providing the region information. An object of the present invention is to provide a region information calculation method, apparatus, and system that can acquire map information that can be used by a person.

  In order to achieve such an object, the invention according to claim 1 is an area information calculation device, comprising an information database for storing identification information for identifying a terminal in association with position information of the terminal, and a network. The identification information receiving means for receiving the desired identification information and the identification information contained in the same information database in which a predetermined part is the same as the desired identification information received by the identification information receiving means. Control means for obtaining location information of a terminal stored in association with information, calculating region information indicating a region where a terminal having desired identification information exists based on the location information, and the calculated region information via a network Region information transmitting means for transmitting the information.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the region information calculation apparatus according to the first aspect, the control means calculates region information indicating a region including all the acquired position information.

  Furthermore, the invention according to claim 3 is the area information calculation device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the position information includes the latitude and longitude of the associated terminal, and the control means acquires the acquired position. The region information is calculated based on latitude and longitude information included in the information.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the area information calculation device according to the first or second aspect, the position information includes the latitude and longitude of the associated terminal, and the control means acquires the acquired position. It is characterized in that position information including a predetermined number of terminals is acquired from the information, and area information is calculated based on latitude and longitude information included in the acquired position information.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the area information calculation device according to the third or fourth aspect, the area information is a maximum value and a minimum value of latitude and longitude included in the acquired position information. Features.

Further, the invention according to claim 6 is the area information calculation device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the identification information is a telephone number, and the predetermined part of the information is a predetermined upper order of the telephone number. It is characterized by the number of digits.
Further, according to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the region information calculation apparatus according to any one of the first to sixth aspects, the control means focuses on the position information as the region information when the acquired position information is one. And calculating information indicating a region in a predetermined range.

  According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the region information calculation apparatus according to any one of the first to seventh aspects, the desired identification information includes only a part of the identification information.

  Furthermore, the invention according to claim 9 is the region information calculation device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, which receives the user action information including the position where the user exists and the traveling direction via the network. User operation information receiving means is further provided, and the control means includes a terminal that matches a predetermined condition based on the position and traveling direction of the user included in the user action information from the acquired position information. Area information indicating the area is calculated.

  In addition, in the tenth aspect of the present invention, in the region information calculation apparatus according to the ninth aspect, the predetermined condition is included in a direction within a predetermined angle range from the position of the user around the user's traveling direction. It is characterized by being.

  Further, the invention according to claim 11 is an area information calculation system, wherein an information database for storing identification information for identifying a terminal in association with position information of the terminal, and receiving desired identification information via a network The identification information receiving means, the desired identification information received by the identification information receiving means and the predetermined part of the identification information included in the same information database are searched and stored in association with the searched identification information. Control means for obtaining location information of the terminal and calculating region information indicating the region where the terminal having the desired identification information is present based on the location information, and region information transmission means for transmitting the calculated region information via the network Area information calculation server, map information database including map display information, and map display from map information database upon user request A map information providing server for acquiring information and transmitting it via a network; and an identification information transmitting means for receiving input of identification information for which a user desires to acquire area information and transmitting it to the area information providing server via the network; Information receiving means for receiving map display information and area information via a network, and display means for displaying a corresponding map on the map displayed by area information while displaying a map corresponding to the map display information And a user device.

  The invention described in claim 12 is the area information calculation system according to claim 11, wherein the map information database further includes terrain information corresponding to the map display information, and the control means receives the terrain information from the map information database. And calculating area information indicating an area including a terminal that satisfies a predetermined condition based on the terrain information from the acquired position information.

  The invention according to claim 13 is an area information calculation method for calculating area information in an area information calculation server including an information database for storing identification information for identifying a terminal in association with position information of the terminal. An identification information receiving step for receiving desired identification information via the network by the identification information receiving means, and an information database in which a predetermined part is the same as the desired identification information received by the identification information receiving means by the control means The identification information contained in the search is retrieved, the location information of the terminal stored in association with the retrieved identification information is obtained, and the region information indicating the region where the terminal having the desired identification information exists is calculated from the location information And a region information transmission step of transmitting the calculated region information via the network by the region information transmitting means. Characterized by comprising and.

  The invention according to claim 14 is a program for executing a region information calculation method, wherein the computer includes an information database for storing identification information for identifying a terminal in association with location information of the terminal. A region information calculation method for calculating region information in a server, wherein the identification information receiving unit receives the desired identification information via the network, and the control unit receives the identification information receiving unit. The identification information contained in the same information database with a predetermined part of the desired identification information is searched, and the terminal location information stored in association with the searched identification information is obtained. Calculated by a control step for calculating area information indicating an area in which a terminal having identification information is present, and an area information transmission unit Characterized by comprising an area information transmitting step of transmitting the frequency information over the network.

  Furthermore, the invention according to claim 15 is an area information calculation system, and is a presumed desired out of identification information included in an information database that stores identification information for identifying a terminal in association with position information of the terminal. Search for identification information that is identical in part to the identification information of the terminal, acquire the location information of the terminal stored in association with the searched identification information, and there is a terminal having the desired identification information based on the location information The area information database indicating the area to be calculated is calculated, the area information database stored in association with the expected desired identification information, the map information database including the map display information, and the map display from the map information database upon user request. A map information providing server that acquires information and transmits it via a network, and a network that receives input of identification information that the user desires to acquire area information. Identification information transmitting means for transmitting to the area information providing server via the network, information receiving means for receiving the map display information and area information via the network, and displaying the corresponding map by the map display information, and displaying by the area information A user device including display means for displaying a corresponding area on the map, identification information receiving means for receiving identification information desired to be acquired, and identification desired for acquisition obtained by searching the area information database An area information calculation server including area information transmission means for acquiring area information corresponding to the information and transmitting the acquired area information via a network is provided.

  According to a sixteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an area information calculation system comprising: an information database that stores identification information for identifying a terminal in association with position information of the terminal; and a map information database that includes map display information. An area information calculation method for calculating the area information, wherein the area information calculation server receives the identification information receiving step for receiving desired identification information via the network by the identification information receiving means, and received by the identification information receiving means by the control means. Search for identification information that is included in the same information database with a predetermined portion identical to the desired identification information that has been obtained, and obtain the location information of the terminal stored in association with the retrieved identification information. A control step for calculating area information indicating an area in which a terminal having the identification information of In the map information providing server, the map information providing server acquires map display information from the map information database and transmits the map information via the network. The map information providing step for transmitting the information, and the identification information transmitting step for receiving the input of the identification information for which the user desires to acquire the region information by the identification information transmitting means and transmitting it to the region information providing server via the network. And an information receiving step of receiving map display information and area information via the network by the information receiving means, and displaying a corresponding map by the map display information by the display means and corresponding to the map displayed by the area information. User device control step including a display step for displaying an area Characterized by comprising a.

  As described above, according to the present invention, the desired identification information received by the identification information receiving means and the identification information whose predetermined part is the same are retrieved from the information database and associated with the retrieved identification information. And the control means for calculating the area information indicating the area where the terminal having the desired identification information exists based on the position information is acquired, so that incomplete information is input. It is also possible to provide a certain level of useful information to the user.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
(First embodiment)
In the system of this embodiment, the configuration of the Internet system shown in FIG. 1 is used. First, when the user device 101 requests map information, map display information can be received and displayed from the map information providing server 105 via the Internet 102 which is a network. At this time, the map information providing server 105 is connected to the map information database 106 to obtain various information. In addition, when a telephone number, which is identification information of a terminal that wants to know the location, is input from the user using the user apparatus 101, it is transmitted to the area information calculation server 103 via the map information providing server 105. An information database 104 is connected to the area information calculation server 103, and various information can be searched. Here, although the area information calculation server 103 is connected to the map information database in FIG. 1, it can be a system that is directly connected from the user device 101 as described later.

  Here, the user device 101 is a device or device including a personal computer, an input device such as a keyboard, a display device, a communication function connected to the Internet, and a control unit that controls the above devices and performs various processes. Any can be used. For example, such an apparatus or device includes, but is not limited to, a handheld computer, an in-vehicle navigation system, and a mobile phone having a certain display function. In addition, what is collectively referred to as a server in the present embodiment can include not only a normal server but also any data processing apparatus that can be connected to various networks, such as a mainframe or a general-purpose or dedicated computer. Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the Internet 102 is used to connect the user apparatus 101 and each server, but the present invention is not limited to this and can achieve the object of the present invention such as an intranet, a wireless LAN, or a dedicated line. Any possible connection method and protocol can be used.

  FIG. 2 shows details of the area information calculation server 103. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing details of the area information calculation server 103. The area information calculation server 103 receives a request transmitted from the user device 101 via the Internet 102 and the map information providing server 105. A control unit 201 that calculates the region information by accessing the information database 104 based on the received request, and a transmission unit 203 that transmits the calculated result to the user device 101. The information database 104 includes a table 211 that stores a telephone number, which is terminal identification information, and an address indicating a location in association with each other. This table 211 is the same as that registered in a normal telephone directory or the like, and the telephone number of the fixed telephone is stored in association with the address where the fixed telephone is installed. The location information of the present embodiment includes the latitude and longitude of the location where the telephone is installed, but this latitude and longitude can be stored on the same table, for example, by using an address as a key. It is also possible to manage with this table.

  Here, in general, telephone numbers that are publicized or databased on the premise of publication are registered because the company or individual that owns the telephone is actively showing public intentions. It can be understood that it is a part of things. Accordingly, since only a part of the registered telephone numbers is stored in the telephone directory or telephone number table 211 used in the present embodiment, the telephone number owned by an individual or a telephone other than the representative number of the company is used. Numbers are not stored and cannot be searched. However, if it is a part of the phone number, the matching phone number exists to some extent depending on the number of digits. For example, if the table 211 is searched by area code + local area code (03-xxxx in the case of Tokyo 23 wards), a large number of telephone numbers including the local area number xxx can be retrieved. Generally, if the number of digits is increased, the number of phone numbers that can be searched decreases, and if the number of digits is decreased, the number of phone numbers that can be searched increases.

  To further explain the relationship between such a telephone number system and the area where the telephone is installed, it is well known that the area code is associated with a specific area (for example, the area code 03 is Tokyo). In the 23 wards and a part of the surrounding area, the city code is also associated with a certain place. For example, if the same area code is used, the area where the telephone is almost installed can be identified, but it is also known that the areas where the telephones with the nearby area code are installed are close to each other. Accordingly, it is recognized that not only the number of telephone numbers searched as described above changes depending on the number of digits, but also the size of the area where the telephones are present changes regularly. In addition, the numbers below the local station number are generally not necessarily related to the area where the telephone exists, but for example, if the number is within the same building, the possibility that a nearby number is assigned becomes high.

  The system of the present invention is realized by utilizing the relationship between such a telephone number and the area where the telephone exists. That is, some of the area code and city code are originally associated with the area where the terminal with that number is installed, so if such a number is entered as part of the desired phone number, The installation area of the terminal having the telephone number can be specified. In addition, even in the lower digits, the area cannot be completely specified, but location information with certain characteristics such as uneven distribution in specific buildings and areas can be obtained, and by statistically processing these, Alternatively, there is a case where such a characteristic can be made apparent by expressing the existing density as a shade as shown in FIG. 11 and allowing the user to browse the density. By providing such information to the user, it is possible to display a landmark existing in the area indicated by the area code, such as a city hall, or to provide a user with no information at all. This makes it possible to provide extremely effective services.

  In the present embodiment, a telephone number is used as the identification information. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and any identification information having a system having a certain characteristic as described above may be used as the identification information of the present invention. Can do. For example, as long as the location of a terminal identified by an e-mail address is specified by a certain rule, the identification information of the present invention can be used. In the present invention, only a search using a telephone number as a key is described, but in addition to a telephone number, a next-generation Juki code, a next-generation zip code, an area code used in a company, a telephone pole It goes without saying that a similar function can be realized by using a management number or the like.

  In addition, although a fixed telephone is used as a terminal in this embodiment, the present invention is not limited to this, and other telephones or general-purpose and dedicated terminals including personal computers can be linked to a certain area. The terminal of the present invention can be used as much as possible.

  In the present embodiment, the obtained position information is basically provided without any statistical processing or the like, and the area information indicating the area including all the acquired position information is provided to the user. That is, as described above, all the telephone numbers including a predetermined part of the numbers are extracted, and an area including all the telephone installation locations of the telephone numbers is specified and provided to the user. Specifically, the maximum value and the minimum value of the latitude and longitude of all the acquired position information are determined, and the region information indicates the region corresponding to these values. In the present embodiment, the maximum and minimum values of latitude and longitude are used as region information, but it should be noted that various region information can be defined in the present invention as described later.

  Further, in the present embodiment, an incomplete phone number, that is, a case where only some digits of the original phone number are input has been described, but the characteristics of the phone number used in the present embodiment also when all digits are input. Can be used. That is, if the input telephone number exists in the table 211, there is no problem, and if it does not exist, the service is provided to the user using the system of this embodiment by processing as shown in FIG. Can do.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a process that utilizes the principles of the present invention based on a complete telephone number. First, a search is performed with a complete telephone number (S401 to S402). Next, the telephone number including the number of the upper digit remaining after removing the digit of the digit from the lowest digit is searched from the table 211 (S403 to S404). Therefore, if several telephone numbers (and associated position information) can be obtained, position information is acquired based on the information (S405 → S408). If the telephone number does not exist, a telephone number including the number excluding the lowest digit is further searched from the table 211 (S406). If the telephone number still does not exist, the same processing is continued (S407).

  Here, it has been described that the processing ends when there is a telephone number in the table 211 in each step. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a search is performed using a smaller number of digits to obtain more positional information. It is also possible to obtain it for use by the user. That is, for example, in step S405, if there is a telephone number including 03-xxx-xxx-xxx, no more digits are searched, but even if there is a telephone number acquired by this, it is a number. It is an individual, and the value to be provided may be low. Therefore, if the same processing is continued, for example, if a phone number including 03-xxx-xxx is reduced by one digit, normally ten or more pieces of location information can be obtained. Value may increase. Of course, it is also possible to search with 03-xxxx-xx which is one digit less.

  In the system as described above, the user first inputs a desired telephone number from the screen shown in FIG. 3 in the user apparatus 101 to obtain the corresponding area information. Specifically, a part of a desired telephone number is input in the input field 301. In this embodiment, a number having a predetermined number of digits is basically input from the upper digit. For example, if there are 4 digits from the top, XX-XX (Here, "-" is inserted as an ordinary telephone number for convenience, but it is not directly related to the present invention, so it is included in the number of digits. No. The left side of “-” means a combination of an area code and a part of a city code, for example. Therefore, in general, a part of the telephone number is a continuous number in the telephone number, and the area can be narrowed down to a certain range by using such a number.

  When a number is entered in the input field 301 in the user apparatus 101, for example, when the user clicks a button such as “Send”, the entered number is transmitted to the Internet 102 together with an area information calculation request command and the like. However, any protocol or format known in this technical field can be used as a specific transmission format or the like. The operation of the area information calculation server 103 that has received the number and the like will be described below with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of the area information calculation server according to the embodiment of the present invention. The receiving unit 202 receives the predetermined part of the desired telephone number transmitted as described above (S501). This information is transferred from the receiving unit 202 to the control unit 201, and a telephone number including the predetermined part number is searched from the information database 104, that is, the table 211 is searched to extract a matching telephone number (S502). . Next, the table 211 is searched using the extracted telephone number as a key, and an address is acquired as part of the associated position information (S503). Here, based on the acquired address, the latitude and longitude of the address can also be acquired by another table (not shown). However, the table 211 also includes information on the latitude and longitude in advance. It can also be made possible.

  Since there are a plurality of telephone numbers searched in this way, the position information acquired is generally a plurality, and depending on the number of digits, the number is considerably large. Based on the above-described principle, the maximum and minimum values of latitude and longitude are determined from the acquired position information (S504). Any method known in this technical field can be used for this determination processing. The maximum and minimum values of latitude and longitude determined in this way are transmitted as area information to the user apparatus 101 (S505).

  The user apparatus 101 that has received the area information provides information to the user by an appropriate method. Generally, the user apparatus 101 obtains data from the map display information providing server in advance, for example, FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, a map of the area specified by the latitude and longitude of the area information can be displayed on the map display unit 302. In this embodiment, the server that provides the map display information and the server that provides the area information are described as being different from each other. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Or a system that includes a server. For example, the map information providing server 105 and the area information calculating server 103 are connected, a request for a desired telephone number and area information is transmitted from the user device 101 to the map information providing server 105, and the area information calculating server 103 The system can be configured such that the map information providing server 105 returns map display information of a specific area specified based on the calculated area information to the user apparatus 101.

  As described above, according to the system of the present embodiment, it is possible to provide a user with a certain level of useful information even if incomplete information is input. Conversely, when a user enters complete information, even when the database is incomplete, that is, when there is no data in the database that matches the information entered by the user, the user is at a certain level. It is possible to provide useful information.

  In the present embodiment, an area corresponding to the map display unit 302 of the display of the user apparatus 101 is specified by identifying a certain area from a user's desired (predetermined number of digits) telephone number by the method described above. If a desired number with a larger number of digits is input after that, the area specified due to the characteristics of the telephone number system is narrowed as shown in FIG. 8, so the displayed area is also narrowed. (If the display area is not changed, it is enlarged accordingly). FIG. 8 is a diagram schematically showing a state in which the area specified by the number is gradually narrowed down in the system of the present embodiment. For example, the first input number is 0, and then the local station numbers are sequentially included (that is, “0” → “03” → “03-3” → “03-366” → “03-3662”) ”→“ 03-3662-xxx ”), the map displayed as (a) → (f) changes as shown in FIG. Conversely, if the number of digits of the number to be input is reduced, the displayed map changes as (f) → (a).

  Also, as shown in FIG. 8D, after the last digit of “03-3662” is deleted, another number is added (ie, “03-3663”), which is different from (e). A map of the area is displayed (not shown). 6 and 7 are diagrams showing maps displayed when narrowing down is performed on an actual map. As can be understood from the figure, the area specified by “03-3” shown in FIG. 6 is narrowed down by inputting “03-36”, and the user apparatus 101 is narrowed down as shown in FIG. A map showing the selected area will be displayed.

  By increasing the number of digits of the number to be entered as described above, the area on the map can be displayed by gradually narrowing down the area on the map. It is possible to perceive sensuously whether it is installed in the building.

(Application examples)
In this embodiment, a telephone number is used as terminal identification information, and a map can be narrowed down to obtain certain useful information. In addition to this, a postal code can be combined and further narrowed down. In other words, at a stage where a certain narrowing has been performed (for example, the map when “03-366” is entered as described above), it has been narrowed down by further entering part or all of the zip code from the user device. The area can be specified by narrowing down the area where the map and the area indicated by the zip code overlap.

(Second Embodiment)
Also in this embodiment, the system via the network of FIG. 1 is used as in the first embodiment, but various systems can be used without being limited thereto.

  In the first embodiment described above, a maximum map and a minimum value of latitude and longitude are used as region information that is a calculation result, and a predetermined map is displayed on the user device. That is, the target area is basically an area that includes all position information associated with the extracted telephone number. However, especially when the number of digits increases, there is a possibility that it is not necessarily narrowed down to a certain area due to the characteristics of the telephone number system described above. In the present embodiment, a method of performing a narrowing effect by removing a certain percentage of the positional information associated with the extracted telephone number is executed. The area information calculation system of this embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings.

In the present embodiment, a technique is implemented in which the number of obtained position information is excluded as a whole and the number of positions is reduced to reduce the total number, thereby producing a region narrowing effect. In general, there are various methods for handling outliers. For example, the following methods can be used. That is, the centroid point in statistical processing is used for the position information, but any method known in this technical field can be used for calculating the centroid point. The position information associated with all the extracted telephone numbers is set as a position information set N ₀ as a set, and a set including only the position information to be finally obtained is set as a position information subset N. Further, a coefficient indicating how much the position information is reduced is a, and a decimal number such as 0.95 is set here. That is, when a = 0.95, 5% of the position information associated with the extracted telephone number is removed, and a region including position information corresponding to 95% is calculated and narrowed down. Meaning.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing of the system of this embodiment. As a premise of this process, it is assumed that all related position information has been acquired by the process of step S503 shown in FIG. A set including all of the acquired position information is set as a position information set N _0, and N ₀ is set as an initial value of the position information subset N (S901). The centroid point of the position information subset N is calculated (S902), and the position information located farthest from the centroid point is removed from the position information subset N (S903). If the number of pieces of position information included in the removed position information subset N is less than a times the number of pieces of position information included in the original position information set N _0. Repeats the processing of S902 to S903. As a result of performing the removal process until the condition of a times or less is satisfied, the position information subset N includes a desired number of pieces of position information. The maximum and minimum values are determined (S905).

  By performing the above processing, the number of position information can be accurately reduced, and narrowing down can be performed. Actually, when the position information is plotted on the latitude and longitude coordinates as shown in FIG. 11, when the processing of this embodiment is executed when the position information is plotted relatively concentrated on the central portion, the peripheral portion is not important. It is possible to obtain probable area information by removing the position information that seems to be.

(Third embodiment)
Also in this embodiment, the system via the network of FIG. 1 is used as in the first and second embodiments, but various systems can be used without being limited thereto.

  In the first embodiment described above, a maximum map and a minimum value of latitude and longitude are used as region information that is a calculation result, and a predetermined map is displayed on the user device. That is, the target area is basically an area that includes all position information associated with the extracted telephone number. However, as a result of taking map information into account, area information that is not worth providing, such as areas that are displayed insignificantly compared to areas where most of the desired objects can exist in the sea or mountains, etc. May be calculated.

  In this embodiment, after calculating a region that includes the acquired position information, the position information that cannot be the target object is removed by referring to the map information by various methods, and the position information is calculated and used again. To the user device 101. As a method for removing the position information, any method known in this technical field, which is not described in detail here, can be used. The other processes are the same as those in the first and second embodiments described above, and a description thereof will be omitted.

  By performing the above processing, the number of position information can be accurately reduced, narrowing down can be performed, and reliable region information can be obtained.

(Fourth embodiment)
Also in the present embodiment, the system via the network of FIG. 1 is used as in the first, second and third embodiments, but various systems can be used without being limited thereto.

  In the first embodiment described above, processing is performed on the assumption that a telephone number is input from the beginning as input data. However, depending on the user, a postal code may be input as information for identifying the place. When this is done in the system of the first embodiment, the postal code is assumed to have been input as a telephone number. There is a risk of erroneous extraction as a result of processing.

  In the present embodiment, a postal code database (not shown) that stores postal codes and area information for specifying the area indicated by the postal codes is provided.

  FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing of the system of this embodiment. This process is from when the area information calculation server 103 receives the data until it is determined that the telephone number has been input, and thereafter, the process after step S502 in FIG. 5 showing the process of the first embodiment is performed. Is called. That is, data input from the user apparatus 101 via the network is received (S1001). At this point in time, since it is unknown whether this data is a telephone number, a search is performed to determine whether there is received data in the zip code database (S1002). If received data exists in the zip code database, it is determined that the received data is a zip code, and the area information stored in the zip code database is read and transmitted to the user apparatus 101 (S1004).

  As a result of the search, if the received data does not exist in the zip code database, the received data is determined as a telephone number, and the process proceeds to step S502 in FIG.

  By performing the above processing, it is possible to automatically determine whether or not the user has input a zip code. When it is determined that the user has entered the zip code, appropriate area information corresponding to the zip code is displayed. Since it can transmit, the convenience of a user increases.

(Fifth embodiment)
Also in this embodiment, the system via the network of FIG. 1 is used as in the first embodiment, but the user device 1200 is used instead of the user device 101. Since the user apparatus 1200 is normally used in an outdoor mobile environment as shown in FIG. 12, it is connected to the Internet 102 by wireless communication via the base station 1210, and the configuration of each server thereafter is the first implementation. It is the same as the form.

  FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating a user device 1200 that is a user device according to the present embodiment. The user device 1200 includes an input unit 1202 and a display unit 1203 similar to those of the user device 101, and further detects the location of the communication unit 1206 and the user device 1200 that communicate with the base station 1210 and the traveling direction. A position / direction detection unit 1205 is provided.

  This embodiment is different from the other embodiments in that a user device 1200 is used instead of the user device in each of the above-described embodiments. The user device 1200 basically has a function of the user device 101, that is, a function of receiving a user input, displaying information, and communicating with a server via a network. It has the necessary functions. For example, the user device 1200 includes a storage device storing navigation information, the position / direction detection unit 1205 described above, and the like, but is not limited thereto. Further, the user device 1200 used in the present embodiment has a navigation function unlike the user device 101 of the first embodiment, but this is shown as a typical example and is the object of the present embodiment. Any device that does not have a navigation function can be used in the present embodiment as long as the device can use the correction of the region information according to the position of the device.

  Next, the process of this embodiment is demonstrated below. Basically, the processing of the area information calculation server 103 of this embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment until the position information is acquired (for example, until step S503 in FIG. 5). The feature of the present embodiment is that the area information is not simply calculated from the area including the obtained position information, but the position of the user device 1200 and the direction of travel are referred to and The point is to correct the region information so as to narrow the region within the range. In other words, location information in a direction different from the direction in which the user is heading and location information that is largely separated from the direction in which the user is traveling are removed, and region information that the user feels more valuable at the present time is calculated. To do.

  In this embodiment, the user apparatus 1200 first transmits a desired telephone number and requests acquisition of area information in the same manner as in the other embodiments described above. At this time or periodically, the user apparatus 1200 requests the area information calculation server 103. The position / direction information detected by the position / direction detection unit 1205 is transmitted. As described above, the area information calculation server 103 acquires position information based on a desired telephone number, and obtains position information to be removed based on the received position / direction information of the user device 1200, as in the first embodiment. . There are various methods for obtaining the position information to be removed from the position / direction information, and any method can be used as long as the object of the present embodiment can be achieved. For example, first, position information that exists on the opposite side of the direction of traveling from the position of the user device 1200 is removed, and then the position is deviated from a range formed by a certain angle, for example, 90 °, with the traveling direction as the center. A method of excluding location information is conceivable.

  As described above, since the area information calculation server 103 can narrow down the acquired position information using the position / direction information of the user device 1200, the maximum latitude and longitude of the narrowed down position information in this embodiment. The value and the minimum value are calculated as region information and transmitted to the user device 1200. Alternatively, the area information can be calculated by the method described in the first to fourth embodiments, and the calculated area information can be used by the user device 1200.

(Sixth embodiment)
Also in this embodiment, the system via the network of FIG. 1 is used as in the first and second embodiments, but various systems can be used without being limited thereto. In the present embodiment, the display density is changed according to the density in which the corresponding position information is included, so that a region that is more likely to be inferred from the input information can be shown with a high density.

  That is, when displaying possible distribution areas of the telephone numbers calculated in the present embodiment, not only by displaying them in a prescribed graphic area (for example, a rectangle) on the map, but also by using display colors and shades. It can be made easy for the user to visually judge.

  Various processing methods are conceivable for expressing the terminal distribution state by the density and the like. In the present embodiment, the following density distribution acquisition method is used, but the present invention is not limited to this. The processing of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining the density distribution acquisition according to the present embodiment. The area is divided into segments of a certain size as shown in FIG. Next, the number of terminal distributions of each segment is obtained by counting the number of the obtained location information for each segment obtained in any of the above-described embodiments. This can be visually shown in FIG. 13 (b).

  Next, the deviation value of the number of terminals present in each segment is obtained from the number of distributions using the total number of distributions. This is shown visually in FIG. By assigning the deviation values obtained in this way to several levels with a predetermined threshold and filling each segment with the corresponding level density, for example, a density distribution as shown in FIG. 13D can be obtained. . In this case, when the number of distributions is 0, the display shape can be made more characteristic by setting the density to 0 regardless of the deviation value.

  In this embodiment, it is possible to visually confirm the shape by giving shading so as to represent the number of distributions for each segment, but this rectangular segment can be further shaped by, for example, “scale2x”. By making it smoother, it is possible to prepare the user to grasp the shape.

(Seventh embodiment)
Also in this embodiment, the system via the network of FIG. 1 is used as in the first embodiment, but various systems can be used without being limited thereto. However, in this embodiment, the area information calculated by the area information calculation server 103 in the first embodiment is calculated in advance for the telephone number that is expected to be requested by the user and stored in the information database 104. That is, the area information devised by the method of the first embodiment basically does not change with time, so in this embodiment, a possible telephone number or a part thereof is calculated in advance, Create a database.

  In the first embodiment described above, the area information is calculated every time there is a request from the user device 101. Therefore, it takes time for the calculation, and the user is provided with information until the calculation is completed. could not. In the present embodiment, since the area information is calculated in advance, the area information calculation server 103 only needs to search the data stored in advance in the information server 104, and the waiting time of the user is greatly reduced. It will be. Note that the processing after the area information is acquired is the same as that in the first embodiment, and thus the description thereof is omitted.

  Further, by storing the concentration distribution obtained in the above-described sixth embodiment together, it is possible to avoid a delay caused by calculation at the time of display. In this case, examples of data stored in the information server 104 include, but are not limited to, the number of segment divisions, the division position, and the number of distributions (or deviation values).

  As described above, when there is a request from the user device, map information with a concentration distribution can be provided without calculating the distribution state each time.

It is a block diagram which shows the system of one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the detail of the area | region information calculation server of one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the screen which inputs the desired telephone number of one Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a process that utilizes the principles of the present invention based on a complete telephone number. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the area | region information calculation server of one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example which displays the map of the area | region specified with the latitude of the area | region information of one Embodiment of this invention, and a longitude on a map display part. It is a figure which shows the example which displays the map of the area | region specified with the latitude of the area | region information of one Embodiment of this invention, and a longitude on a map display part. It is a figure which shows typically a mode that the area | region specified by a number is narrowed down gradually in the system of this embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows an example of a process of the system of this embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows an example of a process of the system of this embodiment. It is the figure which expressed the area | region information obtained by one Embodiment of this invention with the light and shade. It is a figure which shows the detail of the user apparatus of one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating density distribution acquisition of this embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

101, 1200 User device 102 Internet 103 Area calculation server 104 Information database 105 Map information providing server 106 Map information database 201, 1201 Control unit 202 Reception unit 203 Transmission unit 211 Telephone number table 1202 Input unit 1203 Display unit 1205 Position / direction detection Unit 1206 communication unit 1210 base station

Claims (16)

An information database for storing identification information for identifying the terminal in association with the position information of the terminal;
Identification information receiving means for receiving desired identification information via a network;
The terminal stored in association with the searched identification information by searching for the identification information included in the information database that has the same predetermined part as the desired identification information received by the identification information receiving means. Control means for calculating the area information indicating the area where the terminal having the desired identification information is present based on the position information;
A region information calculating device comprising: region information transmitting means for transmitting the calculated region information via the network.   The area information calculation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit calculates area information indicating an area including all of the acquired position information. The location information includes latitude and longitude in which the associated terminal exists,
The region information calculation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit calculates the region information based on latitude and longitude information included in the acquired position information. The location information includes latitude and longitude in which the associated terminal exists,
The control means acquires position information including a predetermined number of terminals from the acquired position information, and based on latitude and longitude information included in the acquired position information The area information calculation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the area information is calculated.   The area information calculation apparatus according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the area information is a maximum value and a minimum value of latitude and longitude included in the acquired position information. The identification information is a telephone number;
6. The area information calculation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined part of information is a number having a predetermined number of digits higher than the telephone number.   7. The control unit according to claim 1, wherein when the acquired position information is one, information indicating a region in a predetermined range centered on the position information is calculated as region information. The region information calculation device according to any one of the above.   The region information calculation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the desired identification information includes only a part of the identification information. Further comprising user operation information receiving means for receiving user operation information including the position and traveling direction of the user via the network;
The control means calculates area information indicating an area including a terminal that satisfies a predetermined condition based on a position and a traveling direction of the user included in the user action information from the acquired position information. The area information calculation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the area information calculation apparatus is an area information calculation apparatus.   The region information calculation apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the predetermined condition is included in a direction within a range of a predetermined angle centering on a traveling direction of the user from the position of the user. An information database for storing identification information for identifying the terminal in association with the position information of the terminal;
An identification information receiving means for receiving desired identification information via a network, and searching for identification information included in the information database, the predetermined identification being identical to the desired identification information received by the identification information receiving means; Control means for acquiring location information of the terminal stored in association with the searched identification information, and calculating region information indicating a region where the terminal having the desired identification information exists based on the location information; An area information calculating server including area information transmitting means for transmitting the calculated area information via the network;
A map information database including map display information;
A map information providing server that acquires map display information from the map information database and transmits it via the network according to a user's request;
The identification information transmitting means for receiving the input of the identification information that the user desires to acquire the area information and transmitting to the area information providing server via the network, and the map display information and the area information via the network A user apparatus comprising: information receiving means for receiving; and display means for displaying a map corresponding to the map display information and displaying a corresponding area on the displayed map based on the area information. An area information calculation system characterized by The map information database further includes terrain information corresponding to the map display information,
The control means reads the terrain information from the map information database, and calculates area information indicating an area including a terminal that satisfies a predetermined condition based on the terrain information from the acquired position information. The area information calculation system according to claim 11, wherein: An area information calculation method for calculating area information in an area information calculation server including an information database for storing identification information for identifying a terminal in association with position information of the terminal,
An identification information receiving step of receiving desired identification information via the network by the identification information receiving means;
The control means searches for the identification information included in the information database that has the same predetermined part as the desired identification information received by the identification information receiving means, and stores the identification information in association with the searched identification information. A control step of acquiring location information of the terminal that has been performed, and calculating region information indicating a region where a terminal having the desired identification information is present based on the location information;
A region information calculation method comprising: a region information transmission step of transmitting the calculated region information via the network by a region information transmission unit. On the computer,
An area information calculation method for calculating area information in an area information calculation server including an information database for storing identification information for identifying a terminal in association with position information of the terminal,
An identification information receiving step of receiving desired identification information via the network by the identification information receiving means;
The control means searches for the identification information included in the information database that has the same predetermined part as the desired identification information received by the identification information receiving means, and stores the identification information in association with the searched identification information. A control step of acquiring location information of the terminal that has been performed, and calculating region information indicating a region where a terminal having the desired identification information is present based on the location information;
A program for executing a region information calculating method, comprising: a region information transmitting step for transmitting the calculated region information via the network by a region information transmitting unit. Among the identification information included in the information database that stores the identification information for identifying the terminal in association with the position information of the terminal, search for identification information that has a predetermined part of the desired identification information that is assumed in advance, Obtaining the location information of the terminal stored in association with the retrieved identification information, and calculating the region information indicating the region where the terminal having the desired identification information is present based on the location information, the assumed An area information database stored in association with desired identification information,
A map information database including map display information;
A map information providing server that acquires map display information from the map information database and transmits it via the network according to a user's request;
The identification information transmitting means for receiving the input of the identification information that the user desires to acquire the area information and transmitting to the area information providing server via the network, and the map display information and the area information via the network A user apparatus comprising: information receiving means for receiving; and a display means for displaying a corresponding map on the displayed map by the area information while displaying a map corresponding to the map display information;
Identification information receiving means for receiving the identification information desired to be acquired; and searching the area information database to acquire area information corresponding to the received identification information desired to be acquired; and acquiring the acquired area information in the network A region information calculation system comprising: a region information calculation server including a region information transmission means for transmitting via a region information. An area information calculation method for calculating area information in an area information calculation system comprising an information database for storing identification information for identifying a terminal in association with position information of the terminal and a map information database including map display information. And
In the area information calculation server, the identification information receiving step for receiving desired identification information via the network by the identification information receiving means, the desired identification information received by the identification information receiving means by the control means, and a predetermined part Search for the identification information included in the same information database, obtain the position information of the terminal stored in association with the searched identification information, and have the desired identification information based on the position information A region information calculation step including a control step of calculating region information indicating a region in which the region exists, and a region information transmission step of transmitting the region information calculated by the region information transmission unit via the network;
In the map information providing server, a map information providing step of acquiring map display information from the map information database and transmitting it via the network according to a user's request;
In the user apparatus, an identification information transmitting step in which the user receives input of identification information for which acquisition of area information is desired by the identification information transmitting means and transmits the identification information to the area information providing server via the network; and an information receiving means An information receiving step of receiving the map display information and the area information via the network, and displaying a corresponding map by the map display information by a display means, and corresponding to the displayed map by the area information And a user device control step including a display step for displaying the region.

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