JP2009058468A - Route guidance system and method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To perform route retrieval that uses a means of transportation; taking into consideration the influence received according to weather. <P>SOLUTION: This route guidance system carries out steps of receiving the retrieval request for a travel route (S11), retrieving the travel route, based on the received retrieval request to extract one or more travel routes using the means of transportation (S13); acquiring information on weather forecast (S14); selecting the travel route, taking into consideration the weather forecast at the arrival scheduled date and time at a transfer station of the means of transportation or a destination in one or more extracted travel routes, when a weather corresponding mode is specified (S15); and outputting the selected travel route, when the weather corresponding mode is specified (S17). <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for performing a route search using a transportation facility, and more particularly to a technology for performing a route search while taking into consideration the influence of the route according to the weather.

Patent Document 1 describes that a travel route is optimized according to the weather, such as guiding an underpass during rainy weather.
JP 2003-97969 A

  Here, when moving using a transportation facility, the moving distance may become longer. In that case, the weather at the transfer station and destination is often different from the departure place.

  However, Patent Document 1 does not consider that the weather is different in each place or that the weather changes while moving.

  In addition, some people do not want to use an umbrella when changing trains even if they travel a little, while others want to move in the shortest time even if they put an umbrella. Therefore, it is convenient if the mode can be arbitrarily selected as to whether or not to consider the influence of weather in route guidance.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to select a mode that considers the weather, and when the mode is selected, a route search using a transportation system is performed in consideration of the influence of the weather that changes every moment in each place. Is to do.

  A route guidance system according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a designation regarding a departure place, a destination, a date and time, and a designation as to whether or not a weather-compatible mode is considered in consideration of the influence depending on the weather. Means for accepting a search request for a travel route using the transport means up to, and a transport means from the departure place to the destination according to the designation relating to the date and time by performing a search of the travel route based on the accepted search request Means for extracting one or more travel routes using, means for obtaining information relating to weather forecasts, and when the weather support mode is designated, in the one or more extracted travel routes, transportation means Means for selecting a moving route in consideration of the weather forecast at the scheduled arrival date and time of each transfer station or the destination, and the weather support mode is designated. Time, and means for outputting the travel route selected by said selecting means.

  In a preferred embodiment, the weather handling mode is a rain avoidance mode in which priority is given to a travel route that is not affected by rain in rainy weather, and the selection means includes a travel route that does not include outdoor walking, or an outdoor When walking movement is included, a movement route in which the weather forecast at the scheduled arrival date and time of the walking movement point is not rain may be preferentially selected.

  In a preferred embodiment, the selection means determines the priority of the movement route according to the precipitation probability at the scheduled arrival date and time of the walking movement point for the movement route including the outdoor walking movement. A high movement route may be selected.

  In a preferred embodiment, when the weather support mode is designated, the movement route extraction means selects an indoor route when there are an outdoor route and an indoor route as a walking route at the transfer place. You may make it extract the movement path | route containing.

  In a preferred embodiment, when the weather handling mode is designated, the movement route extraction unit further designates a date and time in the vicinity of the date and time designated in the designation relating to the date and time included in the search request. The travel route is searched to extract one or more other date / time travel routes using transportation, and the selection means further includes the transfer location or the purpose in the one or more other date / time travel routes. The travel route may be selected in consideration of the weather forecast at the scheduled arrival date and time, and the output unit may further output another travel date and time selected by the selection unit.

  Hereinafter, a route guidance system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a route guidance system according to the present embodiment.

  In this system, a route guidance server 1 and a plurality of user terminal devices 3 are connected via a network 9.

  Each of the route guidance server 1 and the plurality of user terminal devices 3 is configured by, for example, a general-purpose computer system, and individual components or functions in the route guidance server 1 and the plurality of user terminal devices 3 described below are as follows. For example, it is realized by executing a computer program. Further, the user terminal device 3 may be, for example, a personal computer, a mobile phone, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistants), and the network 9 may be either wired or wireless.

  The route guidance server 1 includes a communication processing unit 11, a route extraction unit 13, a weather handling mode processing unit 15, and a route information database 19.

  The communication processing unit 11 communicates with each user terminal device 3 via the network 9.

  The route information database 19 stores route information necessary for specifying the travel route from the departure point to the destination and the transportation facility to be used. For example, it includes routes for transportation such as railways and buses, timetables, fares, and stations that can be transferred. Further, for the stations that can be transferred, the distance between stations to be transferred (movement distance by walking), the movement route by walking, and the distinction between indoor and outdoor for each movement route, etc. are included.

  The route extraction unit 13 extracts a travel route in response to a travel route search request from the user terminal device 3. For example, the request from the user terminal device 3 includes a search condition such as a designation regarding a departure place, a destination, and a date (for example, a departure date or an arrival date). For example, the route extraction unit 13 extracts one or more travel routes when traveling using a railway in accordance with a search condition included in the route search request.

  Here, the search condition further includes a selection as to whether or not the “weather support mode” is selected in which the travel route is extracted in consideration of the weather information. In addition, the search conditions include “rate-oriented mode” that gives priority to the travel route with the cheapest charge, “time-oriented mode” that minimizes travel time, and “shortest walk mode” that minimizes walking movement. But it ’s okay. When a plurality of modes are selected at the same time, priorities among the modes may be determined.

  The route extraction unit 13 extracts a movement route according to each mode when the “price emphasis mode”, “time emphasis mode”, or “shortest walking mode” is selected.

  The weather handling mode processing unit 15 acquires weather information from the external weather information providing system 5. The weather information acquired here includes, for example, weather forecast information such as weather for each date and time, temperature, precipitation probability, and actual conditions (current weather) at various locations.

  The weather handling mode processing unit 15 selects a travel route in consideration of weather information when the “weather handling mode” is designated. For example, as an example of “weather support mode”, when “rain avoidance mode” is set, the weather support mode processing unit 15 does not put an umbrella out of the travel route extracted by the route extraction unit 13 during rainy weather. Select the route that can move to. It should be noted that even when another mode is simultaneously selected together with the “weather support mode”, the priority order between the “weather support mode” and the other selected mode may be determined.

  For example, when the route corresponding to the outdoor route is included in a certain travel route when passing through an outdoor travel route, the weather handling mode processing unit 15 is based on the weather forecast at the transit date and time around the transit station. Thus, it is determined whether or not to present this movement route to the user. That is, if the weather forecast at the transfer station is rainy or the probability of precipitation is greater than or equal to a predetermined value at the transfer station point, the weather handling mode processing unit 15 does not adopt the movement route and moves outside on foot. When a travel route that does not include rain or an outdoor walk is included, a travel route in which the weather forecast at the scheduled arrival date and time of the walk travel point is not rainy or has a precipitation probability of a predetermined value or lower is preferentially selected.

  The selection of the movement route performed by the weather handling mode processing unit 15 may be performed as follows, for example. That is, the weather handling mode processing unit 15 scores the rain avoidance degree for each travel route. For example, each moving route is ranked in five stages according to the possibility of being affected by rain (need to put an umbrella). For example, when the probability of precipitation is 0% in a travel route that does not pass outdoors and in weather forecasts, the rain avoidance degree of that travel route is “1” that is least likely to be affected by rain, and conversely, a transfer station If the travel route of the vehicle passes outdoors and the weather forecast of the arrival date and time of the transfer station has a 100% precipitation probability, the rain avoidance level of the travel route is most likely to be affected by rain. And The weather handling mode processing unit 15 selects a moving route based on the ranking based on the rain avoidance degree.

  When “weather support mode” is designated, “weather support mode” may be prioritized over other modes.

  Hereinafter, selection of a movement route performed by the weather handling mode processing unit 15 will be described using a specific example.

(Example 1) There are the following two powerful routes from JR Tokyo Station to Kashimada on the JR Nambu Line.
Route 1: “Go from Tokyo Station to Shin-Kawasaki Station on the JR Yokosuka Line, and then walk to Kashimada Station”
Route 2: “From Tokyo Station, go to Kawasaki by JR Tokaido Line, then change to Nanbu Line at Kawasaki Station and go to Kashimada Station”
Here, when “rain avoidance mode” is selected, the weather handling mode processing unit 15 determines the route 2 that does not include the outdoor travel route if the precipitation probability near the Kashimada station is equal to or greater than the arrival date and time of the Kashimada station. Prioritize.

(Example 2) To go to Haneda Airport from JR Kashimada Station, the route of transfer at the transfer station (Kawasaki Station) includes an indoor route where all or most of the route is indoor, There is an outdoor route including parts.
Route 1 (outdoor route): "From Kashimada Station, go to JR Kawasaki Station on the JR Nanbu Line, then walk outside and change to Keikyu Kawasaki Station on the Keikyu Line, Haneda Airport Station"
Route 2 (indoor route): From Kashimada Station, go to JR Kawasaki Station on the JR Nambu Line, move on the underground street (indoor) and change to Keikyu Kawasaki Station on the Keikyu Line, then change to Haneda Airport Station (change) (Time is 2 minutes longer than route 1)

  Here, when “rain avoidance mode” is selected, the weather handling mode processing unit 15 takes a long time to change if the precipitation probability of the weather forecast in the vicinity of Kawasaki Station is greater than or equal to the date and time of arrival at Kawasaki Station. Even if it becomes, the route 2 which does not include the outdoor moving route is prioritized.

  In addition, some users may want to avoid the influence of the weather even if the departure date / time or arrival date / time is shifted. Therefore, if the influence of rain is unavoidable at the departure date / time or the arrival date / time specified by the user, a route search may be automatically performed when departure / arrival at a date / time different from the specified date / time. .

  For example, when it is determined that the travel route extracted by the route extraction unit 13 according to the initial search condition is affected by rain, the weather handling mode processing unit 15 instructs the route extraction unit 13 to specify the departure date and time. When the departure place departs at a different date and time, or when the arrival date arrives at a different date and time from the specified arrival date and time, the movement route is further extracted, from among the extracted movement routes, A route that is not affected by rain may be selected.

  For example, when moving from Tokyo to Osaka on the first bullet train, if the weather forecast for the estimated arrival date and time of the destination Osaka is rain, the route extraction unit 13 obtains the route information when traveling on the last bullet train on the previous day. Extract. And the weather corresponding | compatible mode process part 15 determines whether this route is selected based on the weather forecast in the arrival time of Osaka at the time of moving on the last bullet train of the previous day. Here, even when moving on the last bullet train on the previous day, if it is affected by rain, a route search may be performed at another date and time.

  This makes it possible to perform a route search with the highest priority on avoiding the influence of rain.

  2 and 3 show an example of a route search input screen in the user terminal device 3. FIG.

  The input screen 100 shown in FIG. 2 includes an input area 110 for moving date / time, an area 120 for selecting whether the moving date / time is a departure date / time, an arrival date / time, a designation area 130 for the number of routes to be answered, and a route not affected by rain. A selection area 140 for determining whether or not priority is given to rain avoidance, a selection area 150 for other modes, and an input area 160 for a departure point and a destination.

  The user can input a desired search condition on the input screen 100. Upon receiving this input, the user terminal device 3 sends a route search request to the route guidance server 1.

  The input screen 190 shown in FIG. 3 is a modification of FIG. 2, and in the mode priority order selection area 180, the priority order of all modes including the rain avoidance mode can be determined.

  FIG. 4 shows an example of a route search result display screen in the user terminal device 3.

  That is, the search result display screen 200 includes a weather display 210 that shows a weather forecast at the arrival date and time of a departure place, a transfer station, and a destination, and a display area 220 for extracted route information. The weather display 210 may be an image (pictogram) such as a rain mark or a cloudy mark.

  The route guidance server 1 notifies the user terminal device 3 by e-mail or the like when the weather forecast is changed between the departure date and time or the arrival date and time after providing the search result to the user. Anyway. For example, levels such as (1) when the weather is changed, (2) when the weather forecast is changed, (3) when the weather forecast is changed and the route priority is changed as a result, the level is changed in advance. It may be defined and a level desired by the user may be registered as a sending trigger.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure when performing route guidance processing in the route guidance system having the above-described configuration.

  First, the user inputs search conditions on the input screen 100 in the user terminal device 3 (S11). The user terminal device 3 requests a route search to the route guidance server 1 according to the input search condition.

  When the route guidance server 1 receives this request, it determines whether or not the rain avoidance mode is selected (S12).

  When the rain avoidance mode is selected (S12: Yes), the route extraction unit 13 extracts a route from the departure place to the destination according to the mode priority order designated by the user (S13).

  The weather corresponding mode processing unit 15 acquires, from the weather information providing system 5, the respective weather forecasts for each date and time of the departure point, the destination, and the transfer station for one or more travel routes extracted by the route extraction unit 13 (S14). ). And the weather corresponding | compatible mode process part 15 calculates the rain avoidance degree for every movement path | route, and selects the path | route whose rain avoidance degree is more than predetermined (S15).

  Here, the weather handling mode processing unit 15 determines whether or not the selected travel route is equal to or more than the requested number of responses (S16). If the selected travel route has not reached the requested number of answers (S16: No), the process returns to step S13 to repeat the process. On the other hand, when there are more than the number of requested responses for the travel route with the rain avoidance degree equal to or greater than the predetermined (S16: Yes), the route guidance server 1 selects the travel routes with the requested number of responses in descending order of the rain avoidance degree. It outputs with respect to the user terminal device 3 of the request origin of a request, and the search result screen 200 is displayed by the user terminal device 3 (S17).

  When the rain avoidance mode is not selected in the request from the user terminal device 3 (S12: No), the route extraction unit 13 extracts the route from the departure point to the destination according to the mode priority specified by the user. Perform (S18). The weather handling mode processing unit 15 acquires, from the weather information providing system 5, the weather forecast for each date and time of the departure point, the destination, and the transfer station for one or more travel routes extracted by the route extraction unit 13 (S19). ). Then, weather information is added to the travel route of the requested number of responses and output to the requesting user terminal device 3, and the search result screen 200 is displayed on the user terminal device 3 (S20).

  According to the present embodiment, when the user selects the rain avoidance mode, a movement route that is not affected by rain can be preferentially provided to the user. For example, according to the present embodiment, even in the route search for the same departure place and destination on the same day, the results may differ between Mr. A who does not care about the weather and Mr. B who cares about the weather. In addition, for route search for the same departure point and destination on a specific day, if the search execution date is different, the weather or weather forecast may be different even if the same person searches. Results may vary. Of course, even if the same person performs a route search on the same day, if the departure date / time and arrival date / time are different, the results are also different.

  The above-described embodiments of the present invention are examples for explaining the present invention, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention only to those embodiments. Those skilled in the art can implement the present invention in various other modes without departing from the gist of the present invention.

  For example, the route guidance server 1 and the user terminal device 3 of the above-described embodiment may be realized by a common computer machine. Furthermore, the user terminal device 3 may execute some functions of the route guidance server 1.

  In the above-described embodiment, the “rain avoidance mode” in consideration of the influence of rain has been described as an example of the “weather support mode”. However, the present invention can also be applied to other modes. For example, “Typhoon mode” that gives priority to routes that do not use airplanes during typhoons, “Snow mode” that avoids using taxis when snowing, and “Rain avoidance mode” when temperatures are extremely high or low There are a “temperature mode” that gives priority to indoor movement and a “sun avoidance mode” that gives priority to indoor movement in the same way as the “rain avoidance mode” when the sun is extremely strong. In addition, the “Umbrella-free mode” that gives priority to routes that are indoors only when the outdoors are sunny or rainy weather, the most widely excluded route that is affected by rain, and the “hate-hate mode” that completely eliminates it, “Rain hate mode” with a moderate level of exclusion, “rain hate mode” with a low level of exclusion, and when there are indoor and outdoor routes at transfer stations, give preference to indoor routes and only outdoor routes If you don't have it, you can use “rainy and dislike mode” that adopts the route.

  Moreover, when providing a movement route to the user, the position information of the weakly-cooled vehicle or the position information of the women-only vehicle may be provided according to the user's request.

  Alternatively, when there are a plurality of travel routes at the transfer station, a mode that prioritizes a travel route with little up / down or a mode that prioritizes a travel route with an elevator or an escalator may be provided. Furthermore, you may make it display the calorie consumption for every movement route and congestion information.

  Also, in combination with the event database, it may be possible to avoid routes that are expected to be crowded on large event dates, and it is linked to personal information (employee code and information such as preferred mode and home nearest station). You may let them.

1 is an overall configuration diagram of a route guidance system according to an embodiment of the present invention. An example of the input screen of the route search in the user terminal device 3 is shown. An example of the input screen of the route search in the user terminal device 3 is shown. An example of the display screen of the route search result in the user terminal device 3 is shown. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence when the route guidance system which concerns on this embodiment performs a route guidance process.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Route guidance server 3 User terminal device 5 Weather information provision system 9 Network 11 Communication processing part 13 Route extraction part 15 Weather corresponding mode processing part 19 Route information database

Claims (7)

A request for a search for a travel route using the transportation from the departure place to the destination is included, including designation regarding the departure place, destination, date and time, and designation of whether or not it is a weather compatible mode that takes into account the influence of the weather. Means to accept,
Means for performing a search of a travel route based on the received search request, and extracting one or more travel routes using the transportation from the departure place to the destination according to the designation related to the date and time;
Means for obtaining information about the weather forecast;
When the weather support mode is specified, the travel route is selected in consideration of the weather forecast at the arrival date and time of the transfer station or the destination in the one or more extracted travel routes. Means to do,
A route guidance system comprising: means for outputting the travel route selected by the selection means when the weather handling mode is designated. The weather support mode is a rain avoidance mode in which priority is given to a travel route that is not affected by rain during rainy weather,
The selection means preferentially selects a movement route that does not include outdoor walking movement, or, when outdoor walking movement is included, a movement route in which the weather forecast at the scheduled arrival date and time of the walking movement point is not rainy. The route guidance system according to claim 1.   The selection means determines the priority of the travel route according to the precipitation probability at the scheduled arrival date and time of the walk travel point for the travel route including the outdoor walk movement, and selects a travel route having a high priority. The route guidance system according to claim 2, wherein:   When the weather support mode is designated, the movement route extraction means extracts a movement route including an indoor route when there are an outdoor route and an indoor route in the walking route at the transfer place. The route guidance system according to any one of claims 1 to 3. When the weather support mode is specified, the movement route extraction means further performs a search for the movement route when a date and time near the date and time specified in the specification related to the date and time included in the search request is specified. To extract one or more different date and time travel routes using transportation,
The selection means further selects a travel route in consideration of a weather forecast at the scheduled arrival date and time of the transfer location or the destination in the one or more other travel dates and times,
5. The route guidance system according to claim 1, wherein the output unit further outputs another date and time travel route selected by the selection unit. Computer
A request for a search for a travel route using the transportation from the departure place to the destination is included, including designation regarding the departure place, destination, date and time, and designation of whether or not it is a weather compatible mode that takes into account the influence of the weather. Accepting steps,
Performing a search for a travel route based on the received search request, and extracting one or more travel routes using the transportation from the departure place to the destination according to the designation regarding the date and time;
Obtaining information about the weather forecast;
When the weather support mode is specified, the travel route is selected in consideration of the weather forecast at the arrival date and time of the transfer station or the destination in the one or more extracted travel routes. Steps to do,
A route guidance method for performing the step of outputting the selected travel route when the weather support mode is designated; A computer program for performing route guidance,
A request for a search for a travel route using the transportation from the departure place to the destination is included, including designation regarding the departure place, destination, date and time, and designation of whether or not it is a weather compatible mode that takes into account the influence of the weather. Accepting steps,
Obtaining information about the weather forecast;
Performing a search for a travel route based on the received search request, and extracting one or more travel routes using the transportation from the departure place to the destination according to the designation regarding the date and time;
When the weather support mode is specified, the travel route is selected in consideration of the weather forecast at the arrival date and time of the transfer station or the destination in the one or more extracted travel routes. Steps to do,
A computer program for causing a computer to execute the step of outputting the selected travel route when the weather handling mode is designated.

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