JP2012189463A - Navigation device, navigation method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a navigation device that performs route searching in consideration of the number of buildings that a user desires.SOLUTION: The navigation device includes: a map information storage section 101 that stores map information which is information on a map and having road information which is information on roads that the map shows; a building-related information storage section 102 that stores building-related information which is information on buildings around each of the roads that the map information shows; a receiving section 103 that receives departure place information which is information indicative of a departure place and destination information which is information indicative of a destination; a condition receiving section 104 that receives building conditions which are conditions of buildings; a route searching section 105 that searches for a route from the departure place indicated by the departure place information to the destination indicated by the destination information, while allowing a route having a large number of buildings therearound which satisfy the building conditions to be easily found, using the road information, the building-related information and the building conditions; and an outputting section 107 that performs outputting according to result of the searching of the searching section.

Description

  The present invention relates to a navigation device for searching for a route.

  Conventionally, there has been an algorithm for determining the shortest path called Dijkstra's Algorithm (see, for example, Non-Patent Document 1). The Dijkstra method is a method in which the shortest route is checked while calculating distances in the order of short distances radially from the starting point. The Dijkstra method is an algorithm in which the route becomes the shortest route when a destination point is reached. Furthermore, in the Dijkstra method, the required memory amount and processing time increase in proportion to the number of links and nodes. The node here is a point on the map. A link is a line or the like connecting nodes.

  Conventionally, there has been an algorithm for determining the shortest path called an A * algorithm (see, for example, Non-Patent Document 2). The A * algorithm is an algorithm that efficiently solves the shortest path problem when the estimated value h * (n) of the distance from each vertex n to the goal is known. The A * algorithm is an idea in which a predicted distance is added to the Dijkstra method, and the arrival step to the destination point is shorter than the Dijkstra method. Further, in the A * algorithm, since the predicted distance is included, there is a possibility that the route will not be the shortest route when the destination point is reached. In the A * algorithm, priority is given to reaching the destination, and the memory capacity and processing time can be reduced.

"Dijkstra method (shortest path problem)", [online], [searched on February 17, 2011], Internet <URL: http://www.deqnotes.net/acmicpc/dijkstra/> "A *" [online], [Search February 17, 2011], Internet <URL: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A*>

  However, many of the conventional navigation devices search for the shortest route, and there is a problem that the route search considering the number of buildings desired by the user cannot be performed.

  For example, in a conventional navigation device, even when a user wants to reach a destination while shopping for groceries, the route is searched so that there are as many stores selling groceries as possible. I couldn't. In addition, for example, even if the user wants to eat at an arbitrary restaurant in the middle of the route until the destination arrives, a route in which there are as many restaurants as possible cannot be searched.

  The navigation device of the present invention is a map information storage unit that stores map information having road information that is information related to a map and is information related to a road indicated by the map, and surrounding buildings for each road indicated by the map information Building-related information storage unit that stores building-related information that is information about, starting point information that is information indicating the starting point, a receiving unit that receives destination information that is information indicating the destination, and conditions for the building The departure point indicated by the departure point information by using the condition reception unit for receiving the building condition, the road information, the building related information, and the building condition so that it is easy to find a route having many buildings that satisfy the building condition in the vicinity. A navigation device including a route search unit that searches for a route from a place to a destination indicated by destination information, and an output unit that performs output according to a search result of the search unit

  With this configuration, it is possible to search for an optimum route in consideration of the number of buildings desired by the user. For example, the route search can be performed such that the priority and evaluation value of a road with many buildings that satisfy the building condition are higher than those of a normal route search.

  Further, in the navigation device of the present invention, in the navigation device, the building related information stored in the building related information storage unit is information on a building whose category around the road is a store for each road indicated by the map information. The building condition received by the condition receiving unit is a condition for designating a building whose category is a store, and the route search unit is configured so that a route having a large number of buildings whose category is a store can be easily searched. It is a navigation device for searching for.

  With this configuration, it is possible to search for an optimal route in consideration of the number of stores.

  Further, in the navigation device of the present invention, in the navigation device, the building related information stored in the building related information storage unit is information on a building whose category around the road is a restaurant for each road indicated by the map information. The building condition received by the condition receiving unit is a condition for designating a building whose category is a store, and the route search unit is configured so that a route having a large number of buildings whose category is a store can be easily searched. It is a navigation device for searching for.

  With this configuration, it is possible to search for an optimum route in consideration of the number of restaurants.

  In the navigation device of the present invention, in the navigation device, the building-related information stored in the building-related information storage unit is information on a building whose category around the road is shopping for each road indicated by the map information. The building condition received by the condition receiving unit is a condition for designating a building whose category is shopping, and the route search unit is configured so that a route with a large number of buildings whose category is shopping is easily searched. It is a navigation device for searching for.

  With this configuration, it is possible to search for an optimum route in consideration of the number of buildings suitable for shopping.

  In the navigation device of the present invention, the navigation device further includes a scheduled time reception unit that receives a scheduled time until arrival at the destination, and the road information includes a movement time that is a time required for movement of each road. The route search unit is a navigation device that searches for a route within the scheduled time accepted by the scheduled time accepting unit using the travel time of the road included in the route.

  With this configuration, it is possible to output a route that can reach the destination within the scheduled time designated by the user. Thereby, it is possible to present a route that can be detoured according to the user's request.

  In the navigation device of the present invention, the navigation device further includes a usage time storage unit that stores a usage time that is information on a time required to use the building. The navigation device searches for a route within the scheduled time received by the scheduled time reception unit using the travel time and the use time of the building that satisfies the building condition corresponding to the road.

  With this configuration, it is possible to output a route that can be reached within the scheduled time in consideration of the use of a building that satisfies the building condition in the middle of the route.

  According to the navigation device or the like according to the present invention, it is possible to perform a route search in consideration of the number of buildings desired by the user.

The block diagram of the navigation apparatus in Embodiment 1 of this invention. Flow chart showing an example of operation of the navigation device Conceptual diagram of the navigation device The figure which shows an example of the map symbol information of the navigation apparatus The figure which shows the node management table of the same navigation device The figure which shows the link management table of the navigation device Schematic diagram with some of the nodes and links of the navigation device arranged on the map The figure which shows the figure which shows the building relevant information previously stored in the building relevant information storage part The figure which shows the figure which shows the example of a display of the navigation apparatus The figure which shows the weight value management information which manages the weight value stored in the weight value storage part The figure which shows the acquisition weight value management table of the navigation device A diagram schematically showing the relationship between the correction cost and the links and nodes of the navigation device The figure which shows the example of a display of the search result of the output part path | route of the navigation apparatus The figure which shows the modification of the building management information of the navigation apparatus The block diagram of the navigation apparatus in Embodiment 2 of this invention Flow chart showing an example of operation of the navigation device The figure which shows the link management table of the navigation device The figure which shows the example of a display of the navigation apparatus The figure which shows the some path | route which the navigation apparatus searched The figure which shows the utilization time management table of the navigation device The figure which shows the upper limit management table of the navigation device The figure which shows the example of a display of the navigation apparatus The figure which shows the example of a display of the navigation apparatus The figure which shows an example of the external appearance of the computer system in each embodiment of this invention The figure which shows an example of a structure of the computer system

  Hereinafter, embodiments of a navigation device and the like will be described with reference to the drawings. In addition, since the component which attached | subjected the same code | symbol in embodiment performs the same operation | movement, description may be abbreviate | omitted again.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a navigation device 1 in the present embodiment.

  The navigation device 1 includes a map information storage unit 101, a building related information storage unit 102, a reception unit 103, a condition reception unit 104, a route search unit 105, a weight value storage unit 106, and an output unit 107.

  The navigation device 1 is a device that outputs, for example, a map of a current location or a destination, or outputs a route from a departure location (current location) to a destination. The navigation device 1 is particularly preferably a portable navigation device, but may be a vehicle-mounted navigation device. The navigation device 1 may be a device dedicated to navigation, or may be a mobile terminal such as a mobile phone, a smartphone, or a camera that realizes a navigation function.

  The map information storage unit 101 stores map information. Map information is information relating to a map. The map information has road information. The road information is information regarding the road indicated by the map. The map information usually further includes map symbol information that is an image of a map. The map symbol information is, for example, bitmap data (raster data) or vector data constituting the map, or a combination thereof. The file format of the map symbol information is not limited to the GIF format, JPEG format, PNG format, or the like. The map information may be an ISO kiwi map data format. The map information may include character strings such as place names written on the map, names of buildings, scenic spots, and places.

  The map information includes, for example, positional information indicating absolute positions, such as coordinate information having longitude and latitude of the area displayed by the map information, and the positional relationship between the areas indicated by each map among the map information. It has or is associated with positional information indicating a relative position that can be understood. For example, you may have the information which defines the range and center point of the map which map information displays with the range of latitude and longitude. By using such position information, coordinates on the map and coordinates in the real space (for example, latitude and longitude) can be appropriately converted. Further, the map information may have position information that can specify a position such as an address in the map indicated by the map information. Moreover, the map information may have map symbol information for each scale, or map information may be prepared for each scale. Usually, map information is managed in association with a map scale. Specifically, the map information may include information on a map scale value output by the map information, or the map information may be stored in 101 in association with the map scale. . The scale of the map here may be considered as information indicating the value of the scale of the map.

  The road information is information related to the road. The road information includes, for example, node data and link data. The node indicates a point where roads are connected such as an intersection or a branch point. Node data is information related to the node. The node data may be considered as data indicating the connection relationship of the road network. An end point of a road network such as a dead end, that is, an end point of a road that is not connected to another road may be considered as a node. In addition, the node may be provided at any location on the road other than the point where the roads are connected. The node data includes, for example, identification information for identifying the node, coordinates on the map of the node, or coordinates in the real space. Further, the node data may include information indicating a link connected to the node. A link indicates a road connecting nodes. For example, the link may be considered as a road between nodes, or a line connecting nodes. The link data is data related to the link. The link data includes, for example, link identification information that is information for identifying a link, and information (for example, node identification information) indicating nodes to which the link is connected (for example, nodes at both ends). The link data may have coordinates on the map at the end of the link or in real space. In addition, each link data may have road identification information (for example, Keihin bypass, Karasuma-dori, National Highway No. 1, etc.) such as the name and road number of the road including the link indicated by the link data. . For example, if one road is composed of a plurality of links, the same road identification information is given to the ring data of each link. Note that the link does not necessarily have to be a road delimited by adjacent nodes, and may indicate a road delimited by a set of non-adjacent nodes on one road.

  For example, the link data includes information such as costs for a plurality of road characteristic parameters. The road characteristic parameters include distance, travel time, charge / free distinction, ease of passage, road width, etc. Costs (distance cost, travel time cost, etc.) are determined for each road characteristic parameter. . The cost is an evaluation value used when evaluating a road to be selected, for example, when searching for a route. The cost may be considered as, for example, a value indicating priority for route selection or an evaluation value indicating ease of selecting a road (link). The cost may be considered as a score. A route search such as the Dijkstra method is performed using, for example, one or more costs corresponding to each link. A single link may be associated with a total cost for a plurality of road characteristic parameters or one or more costs considering a plurality of road characteristic parameters. In this case, a route search may be performed using such total cost.

  The road information may include data indicating a road route in addition to the above node data and link data. The data indicating the road or link route is, for example, straight or curved line information along the road route or strip-like information (for example, spline curve or Bezier curve information) or arranged along the road. It may be a set of a plurality of coordinates, information on one or more vectors provided along the road, and the like. Data indicating the route of the road may be provided for each link data.

  Further, when the route search is performed without using a link or a node, the road information may include road information necessary for the route search instead of the node data or the link data. .

  The storage here is a concept including temporary storage. The map information storage unit 101 is preferably a non-volatile recording medium, but can also be realized by a volatile recording medium.

  The building related information storage unit 102 stores building related information that is information related to surrounding buildings for each road indicated by the map information. The building here may be a building for any purpose or purpose. In addition, floors and rooms used for different purposes and purposes in one building may be considered as individual buildings here. The building is, for example, a store, an office, a landmark, a museum, a movie theater, a hospital, or the like. Here, it may be considered that the building can be specified by the address. A building around a road is a building that is the closest road or a building that is the closest road to the entrance. Further, it may be considered as a building whose distance from one road is within a predetermined distance. Or you may think that it is the building which touches the one road (facing).

  The building related information is, for example, information indicating the total number for each road by category of buildings located in the vicinity. The information indicating the total number may be the total number (total number) itself, or a value (n is an integer of 2 or more) obtained by converting the total number into n values using a threshold value prepared in advance. Alternatively, it may be a value indexed by using an arithmetic expression prepared in advance. For example, when there are buildings belonging to a plurality of categories, when the number of buildings for each category is totaled, the buildings may be counted in duplicate in each category. The building category will be described later.

  The building related information is information on individual buildings located in the vicinity of each road. The information on each building is information including information indicating one or more categories to which each building belongs, for example. The information indicating a category is category identification information, for example, a category name. Information on individual buildings may be considered as category information on individual buildings. In addition, the information on each individual building may include identification information on each individual building. The building identification information is, for example, a building name, a name of a thing using the building, or a building address.

  The building related information may include identification information for each corresponding road. In the present embodiment, in particular, a case where each road indicated by the map information is considered as a road in link units and the building-related information has link identification information of each corresponding link will be described as an example. . For example, the building-related information is information including link identification information and information indicating the number of totals for each category of buildings located around the link indicated by the link identification information. Alternatively, the building-related information may be information having link identification information and information on individual buildings located around the link indicated by the link identification information. In addition, when the building related information is information related to a building around the road that is not a link unit, and this road has a plurality of links, the building corresponding to this road is used as the building related information of each of the plurality of links. Related information may be used.

  The building-related information may be considered as information that allows the number of buildings around each road to be acquired by category.

  The category of building is, for example, classification of the use or purpose of the building. You can think of a category as a genre. Each category of the building is associated with category identification information such as a category name, for example. Examples of the building category include a clothing store, a grocery store, a general store, a bookstore, a confectionery store, a store, a beauty salon, a hospital, a restaurant, a coffee shop, a movie theater, a museum, and an art gallery. Further, the category may be a classification that indicates actions or the like that the user can perform using the building. Such categories are, for example, shopping, leisure, sightseeing, art appreciation, date spots, and the like. In addition, the category of the building may be a category of services and articles provided in the building (for example, trimming, cleaning, food, miscellaneous goods, clothing, etc.), and the form of provision (for example, self-service, reservation system, 24 hours). Moreover, the categories of buildings may have a hierarchical relationship. For example, a category higher than categories such as a clothing store, a grocery store, a general store, and a bookstore may be a category called a store. In addition, the lower category of the category of shopping may be a clothing store, a general store, a shoe store, or the like. The hierarchical relationship between categories may be managed by, for example, information for managing the hierarchical relationship stored in the building related information storage unit 102 or the like. One building may belong to a plurality of categories. For example, one building may belong to the category of bookstores and miscellaneous goods. Further, a plurality of categories to which one building belongs may have a hierarchical relationship. For example, one store may belong to the categories of grocery stores and supermarkets.

  In the building related information storage unit 102, for example, building related information prepared in advance is stored. The building-related information stored in the building-related information storage unit 102 is, for example, information on a building whose category around each road is a store for each road indicated by the map information. The information on buildings is information indicating the number of buildings by category around each road as described above, and information on each store around each road. Further, the building related information stored in the building related information storage unit 102 is, for example, information related to a building whose category around each road is a restaurant for each road indicated by the map information. The building related information stored in the building related information storage unit 102 is, for example, information related to a building whose category around each road is fashion for each road indicated by the map information.

  The building related information storage unit 102 is preferably a non-volatile recording medium, but can also be realized by a volatile recording medium.

  The receiving unit 103 receives starting point information that is information indicating a starting point and destination information that is information indicating a destination. The accepting unit 103 is an instruction that includes departure point information and destination information, and may accept a route output instruction that is an instruction to output a route from the departure point to the destination. The route output instruction may have information specifying various conditions for route search. The departure place information is, for example, position information of (latitude, longitude), place name, and the like. The departure point information may be information indicating the starting point of the route search. Further, as the departure point information, information indicating a current position output by a GPS receiver (not shown) included in the navigation device 1 when a route search is started may be used. Note that the information indicating the current position may be acquired using a gyro, an acceleration sensor, or the like (not shown). A configuration for acquiring information indicating the current position is known as a technology of a navigation device. The destination information may be information indicating the destination such as (latitude, longitude) position information, place name, and the like. The destination information may be information indicating the end point of the route search. The starting point of the route search may be considered as the starting point and the destination may be considered as the ending point. It should be noted that as the departure point information and the destination information, the identification information of the node as the departure point and the destination and the identification information of the link may be received. The reception here includes reception of user input using an input device such as a touch panel, a keyboard, or a mouse of the navigation device, reception by voice input, reception from an external device, reading from a recording medium, and the like. The input means for starting point information and destination information may be anything such as a keyboard, mouse, numeric keypad, or menu screen. The accepting unit 103 can be realized by a device driver for input means such as a keyboard, control software for a menu screen, or the like.

  The condition receiving unit 104 receives a building condition that is a condition for a building. The building condition is a condition used when performing route search, for example. The building condition is, for example, a condition that is used to narrow down the buildings to be acquired when acquiring the number of surrounding buildings corresponding to each road when acquiring weight values for roads (for example, links). is there. The weighting value for the road is, for example, a value for weighting the evaluation value (cost) of the road. Building conditions are information for narrowing down buildings using, for example, building categories. The building condition is, for example, a condition for designating a building category as described above. For example, the building condition is information specifying a category such as a general store or a store. The building condition may be a condition having designation of a plurality of building categories. Further, the building condition may be a condition having a plurality of category designations and information indicating which conditions such as an AND condition, an OR condition, and a NOT condition are used for the category designations. Good. The building condition may be a group of designations of a plurality of categories. The building condition may be a condition for designating a category of one hierarchy other than the lower hierarchy among the hierarchized categories. Such a building condition may be treated as a condition that specifies all or some of the categories subordinate to this category. The building condition may be a keyword included in the category name of the building. The building condition may be a condition for designating a building belonging to one or more categories regardless of the category. Alternatively, the building-related information may be a condition for designating a building registered as a building around the road.

  The condition receiving unit 104 receives, for example, building conditions input by the user. Further, building conditions stored in advance in a storage medium (not shown) may be read. Reading from such a storage medium or the like may also be considered as acceptance of building conditions here. The building condition input means may be anything such as a numeric keypad, keyboard, mouse or menu screen. The condition receiving unit 104 can be realized by a device driver for input means such as a numeric keypad and a keyboard, control software for a menu screen, and the like.

  The route search unit 105 uses the road information to search for a route from the departure point indicated by the departure point information to the destination indicated by the destination information. The route search unit 105 performs a route search using, for example, node data and link data included in the road information stored in the map information storage unit 101. Then, for example, route information indicating the searched route is acquired. In particular, the route search unit 105 uses the building-related information and the building conditions, so that the route from the departure point to the destination can be easily searched so that it is easy to find a route having many buildings that satisfy the building condition. Explore. It may be considered that the use of a route search algorithm that facilitates searching for a route having many buildings satisfying the building condition in the vicinity facilitates searching for a route having many buildings satisfying the building condition in the vicinity. Further, it may be considered to search for a route so that roads that have many buildings that satisfy the building condition are easily selected.

  For example, if the building condition is a condition for designating a building whose category is a store, the route search unit 105 searches for a route so that a route with a large number of buildings whose category is a store can be easily searched. In addition, when only one or more categories in the lower hierarchy of the store category are prepared as categories for classifying buildings, all the buildings associated with any category are considered to be buildings whose categories are stores. May be.

  For example, if the building condition is a condition for designating a building whose category is a restaurant, the route search unit 105 searches for a route so that a route with a large number of buildings whose category is a restaurant can be easily searched. To do.

  For example, if the building condition is a condition for designating a building whose category is shopping, the route search unit 105 searches for a route so that a route with a large number of buildings whose category is shopping is easily searched. To do.

  For example, the route search unit 105 acquires a weighting value corresponding to the number of buildings that satisfy the condition indicated by the building condition for each road (for example, link), and uses the acquired weighting value for the route search of each road. A route search is performed by weighting a value (for example, cost) and using an evaluation value obtained by weighting.

  Hereinafter, the case where the road is a road in link units will be specifically described. First, the route search unit 105 uses the building-related information to determine the condition indicated by the building condition in the surrounding buildings for the road that is the target of the route search among the roads (links) indicated by the map information. Acquires information indicating the number of buildings that meet. For example, if the building-related information has information indicating the number of buildings by category around each road (link), and the building condition is a condition that specifies one or more categories, the building corresponding to this category Information indicating the number is acquired for roads (links). As a specific example, information “2” of the number of buildings whose category is a store is stored in the building related information in association with the link A which is one link, and the building whose category is a store is selected as the building condition. If the specified condition is received, the route search unit 105 acquires “2” as information indicating the number of buildings that satisfy the building condition for this link. If the building-related information is information on individual buildings around the road (link) (assuming that the information includes information indicating the category of the building), the building condition indicates from this building-related information. What is necessary is just to search the building which belongs to a category, count the number, and acquire the information which shows the building number of the building which satisfy | fills the conditions which building conditions show. Each road (link) that is the target of the route search is, for example, all the roads in the region that is the target of the route search including the departure point and the destination. The area to be a route search target may be determined in any way. For example, the area displayed on the map displayed by the output unit 107 for inputting the route search may be the target area for the route search. Further, for example, a rectangular area having a constant aspect ratio that has a starting point and a destination on opposite sides may be set as an area to be searched for a route. However, as long as the area includes the departure place and the destination, any area may be set as the area to be searched for, for example, all areas indicated by the map information stored in the map information storage unit 101 May be set as a route search target. The map information storage unit 101 stores a plurality of map information indicating a plurality of areas, and road information (for example, link data) in the area indicated by each map is associated with each map information. If there is an area indicated by one or more pieces of map information used for outputting a map including the departure place and the destination, the road information associated with each piece of map information is set as an area to be searched for a route. A road (link) indicated by (link data) may be determined as a road for a route search.

  Next, the route search unit 105 uses the information indicating the number of buildings of the building that satisfies the conditions indicated by the building conditions acquired for the road (link) in this way, and the information indicating the number of buildings for the road (link). The weight value corresponding to is obtained. The weighting value is, for example, a weighting coefficient used for weighting the road evaluation value. This weighting value may be calculated using an arithmetic expression designated in advance using information indicating the number of buildings as a variable, or a weighting value stored in advance in a weighting value storage unit 106, which will be described later, and the number of buildings. You may make it acquire the weighting value corresponding to the information which shows the acquired number of buildings from the weighting management information which matches and shows the information to show. Here, as an example, a case where a weight value is acquired for a road (link) from the weight value storage unit 106 will be described. The acquired weighting value is stored in a storage medium (not shown) in association with the road (link). For example, it is stored in a storage medium in association with link identification information. The storage medium may be a volatile storage medium such as a RAM or a non-volatile storage medium.

  Next, the route search unit 105 corrects the cost, which is the evaluation value of the road (link) used for the route search, using the weighted value acquired for the road (link). The correction here is weighting using a weighting value. For example, the cost of a road (link) is multiplied or added by a weighting value acquired for the road. Then, the route search is performed using the correction cost obtained by the correction. As the route search method and algorithm used for the route search here, for example, the Dijkstra method as described above, the A * algorithm, various other route search methods, route search algorithms, and the like can be used. As a route search method or algorithm used by the route search unit 105, it is preferable to use a method for searching for a route using an evaluation value (for example, cost) for a road (link). As a route search method, a method capable of searching for a plurality of routes can be used. In this case, a plurality of routes are searched. Note that the process for performing a route search using a correction cost corrected using a weighting coefficient or the like is a known technique, and thus detailed description thereof is omitted here. Then, for example, route information indicating the searched route is acquired.

  Here, the correction cost is acquired in advance for one or more roads (links) within the range of the route search. However, when each road (link) is traced by the route search algorithm, building related information is acquired. The building cost may be used to obtain a weighting value for each road (link) and calculate the correction cost.

  Further, no weighting may be performed on a road (link) having no weighting value.

  When a route search algorithm or the like that searches for a route with a low cost is used, as the weighting value, when the number of buildings that satisfy the building conditions increases, the cost of each road is increased stepwise or It is preferable that the route search unit 105 can acquire a weighting value that continuously decreases. This is the same as making it possible to obtain a weighting value that increases the cost of each road stepwise or continuously by weighting when the number of buildings that satisfy the building condition decreases. Then think.

  If the coordinates indicated by the departure point information and the destination information are not coordinates on the road, the route search unit 105, for example, the road (link) having the highest consistency with the coordinates indicated by the departure point information and the destination information. ) Or a position on the road (link) closest to the coordinates indicated by the departure point information and destination information may be set as the departure point and destination of the route search. Such a process for determining the position on the road is known as a technique such as map matching, and therefore detailed description thereof is omitted here. Further, when the destination information or the departure place information is a place name or an address, the route search unit 105 may acquire the coordinates corresponding to the place name, node identification information, link identification information, and the like from the map information.

  The route information acquired by the route search unit 105 may be information that can identify the searched route. For example, the route information is information indicating information indicating one or more roads, intersections, and branch points passing through the route in association with their passing order. The route information includes, for example, information (for example, node identification information, link identification information, and the like) indicating nodes and links that pass through each route searched by route search until reaching the destination. The route information may further include departure point information and destination information, or identification information thereof. The route information is, for example, information having departure point information, road information (node data or link data) passing from the departure point to the destination, and destination information in association with the passing order, or these This identification information is associated with the passing order. The information associated with the passage order may be information associated with information such as a number indicating the passage order, or is arranged or accumulated according to a rule specified in advance according to the passage order. May be. For example, the node and link identification information may be information stored in association with the number information indicating the passing order, or the node and link identification information may be arranged and stored in the order indicated by the passing order. It may be information. Further, the route information may be information indicating a route as a combination of one or more line segments expressed using coordinates or the like instead of the nodes and the links. Alternatively, the route may be information representing a spline curve or a Bezier curve. For the route information, route information obtained by a known route search technique can be used.

  The route search unit 105 can be usually realized by an MPU, a memory, or the like. The processing procedure of the route search unit 105 is usually realized by software, and the software is recorded in a recording medium such as a ROM. However, it may be realized by hardware (dedicated circuit).

  The weight value storage unit 106 stores in advance weight value management information including information indicating the number of buildings that satisfy the building condition acquired by the route search unit 105 and a weight value associated with this information. The weighting value is a value used for weighting the cost of the link during the route search. The weighting value is, for example, a coefficient for weighting. The information indicating the number of buildings may be information for setting a range of the number of buildings. When using a route search algorithm or the like that searches for a route with a low cost, for example, the weight value storage unit 106 has the same or the same information for the number of buildings indicating that the number of buildings is large. A weighting value for performing smaller weighting is stored in association with each other. The weight value storage unit 106 is preferably a nonvolatile recording medium, but can also be realized by a volatile recording medium.

  The output unit 107 performs output according to the search result of the route search unit 105. For example, the output unit 107 outputs the route information acquired by the route search unit 105. To output the route information may be to transmit the route information as it is to another device via a network or to store it in a recording medium or to output information indicating the route indicated by the route information. It may be to do. For example, the road name corresponding to each link included in the route information, the intersection name corresponding to the node, etc. may be displayed on the monitor in the order of the route indicated by the route information, or these road names and intersections may be displayed. A name or the like may be output as sound. Further, the map symbol information including the route indicated by the route information is read from the map information storage unit 101, and the display mode of the road corresponding to the route indicated by the route information on the map can be identified with respect to other roads. You may make it display the map made into the display mode. For example, a map image in which a line having a display attribute such as a color designated in advance on a road corresponding to the route may be generated and displayed. Moreover, you may produce | generate the image of the map which colored the road corresponding to this path | route with the color designated beforehand. When searching for a plurality of routes, it is preferable to display the routes in an identifiable manner. In addition, since the technique etc. which display the path | route which route information shows on a map are well-known techniques, detailed description is abbreviate | omitted here.

  Output described here includes display on a display, projection using a projector, sound output, transmission to an external device, storage in a recording medium, delivery of processing results to other processing devices or other programs, etc. It is a concept that includes The output unit 107 may or may not include an output device such as a display or a printer. The output unit may be realized by output device driver software, or output device driver software and an output device.

  FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the navigation device 1 of the present embodiment. Hereinafter, the operation of the navigation apparatus 1 will be described with reference to FIG. Here, as an example, a case where a weight value is acquired for each link indicated by link information included in road information will be described as an example.

  (Step S201) The receiving unit 103 determines whether or not the departure point information and the destination information are received. For example, the reception unit 103 receives departure point information and destination information input by the user. As for the departure place information, the current position may be received when a GPS receiver (not shown) acquires the current position in response to a user instruction. When the reception unit 103 receives the departure point information and the destination information, the process proceeds to step S202. When the reception unit 103 does not receive the departure point information and the destination information, the process returns to step S201.

  (Step S202) The condition receiving unit 104 determines whether a building condition has been received. The condition receiving unit 104 may receive a building condition input by the user, or may read a building condition stored in advance in a storage medium (not shown). If accepted, the process proceeds to step S203. If not accepted, the process returns to step S202.

  (Step S <b> 203) The route search unit 105 reads road information in an area that is a route search target. The area to be a route search target is, for example, an area indicated by a map that is displayed for the user to input departure point information and destination information. The road information to be read out is, for example, link data and node data. The read road information is temporarily stored in a memory or the like.

  (Step S204) The route search part 105 substitutes 1 to the counter n.

  (Step S205) The route search unit 105 determines whether or not there is n-th link information in the road information read in step S203. If there is, the process proceeds to step S206, and if not, the process proceeds to step S210.

  (Step S206) The route search part 105 acquires the information which shows the number of buildings which satisfy | fill the conditions which the building conditions received by step S202 about nth link using a building relevant information. The number of buildings satisfying the condition indicated by the building condition is, for example, the number of buildings belonging to the category indicated by the building condition. For example, when the building related information includes each link identification information and information on a category to which each building belongs for each building located around the link, the route search unit 105 includes the building related information. To the building corresponding to the link identification information of the n-th link and belonging to the category indicated by the building condition, and the number of detected buildings is counted and acquired. In addition, when the building-related information includes each link identification information, a category of a building located around the link, and information indicating the total number of the buildings around the link for each category, the route search unit 105 includes: Information indicating the total number corresponding to the link identification information of the nth link and the category indicated by the building condition is acquired. When the building condition includes a plurality of categories, information indicating the total number meeting the conditions indicated by the plurality of categories may be acquired.

  (Step S207) The route search unit 105 acquires a weighting value for the nth link using information indicating the total number of the acquired nth link. For example, the weight value corresponding to the information indicating the number of buildings acquired in step S206 is acquired from the weight value management information stored in the weight value storage unit 106.

  (Step S208) The route search unit 105 stores the acquired weighting value in association with the link identification information of the nth link in a storage medium (not shown).

  (Step S209) The route search unit 105 increments the value of the counter n by 1. Then, the process returns to step S205.

  (Step S210) The route search unit 105 performs a route search using the road data including the link data and node data read out in step S203 and the weighting value acquired in step S208. Specifically, using the correction cost obtained by multiplying the cost corresponding to each link by the weighting value corresponding to each link as the cost of each link, the departure value indicated by the departure value information received in step S201 The route from the place to the destination indicated by the destination information is searched.

  (Step S211) The route search unit 105 acquires route information that is a route search result in step S210.

  (Step S212) The route search unit 105 outputs route information. Then, the process returns to step S201.

  In the flowchart of FIG. 2, the process is terminated by powering off or a process termination interrupt.

  Hereinafter, a specific operation of the navigation device 1 in the present embodiment will be described. The conceptual diagram of the navigation apparatus 1 is FIG. Here, as an example, it is assumed that the navigation apparatus 1 includes a touch panel as an input device.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of map symbol information stored in the map information storage unit 101. The map information storage unit 101 stores a plurality of similar map symbol information, for example. Here, as an example, it is assumed that the latitude and longitude coordinates of the position indicated by the center position of the map symbol information are associated with the map symbol information in advance.

  FIG. 5 is a node management table for managing node data among road information stored in the map information storage unit 101. The node management table includes items such as “node ID” that is identification information of each node data, and “latitude and longitude” that are latitude and longitude indicated by the node.

  FIG. 6 is a link management table for managing link data among road information stored in the map information storage unit 101. The link management table includes “link ID” that is identification information of each link data, “end nodes” that are node IDs at both ends of the link data, “cost” that is the cost of the link, “road name”, and the like. Have items. The “cost” of the link is a value determined from one or more road characteristic parameters of the link. Here, for example, it is assumed that the smaller the cost value, the shorter the link is. Here, for the sake of explanation, the cost indicating the distance is used, but the cost for any road characteristic may be used, or a plurality of costs may be used. A process for performing a route search using a plurality of costs is known. “Road name” is road identification information. When a plurality of links are included in one road, as an example, the values of “road name” of these links are the same. However, a number indicating the connection order may be added to the end of the same road name.

  FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram in which a part of the nodes and links managed by the node management table and the link management table shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 are arranged on the map shown in FIG.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating building related information stored in advance in the building related information storage unit 102. The building related information includes items of “building ID”, “link ID”, and “category”. “Building ID” is information for identifying a building. Here, a unique identification number assigned to a building is used. However, as the “building ID”, a building name or a user name (company name, store name, store name, etc.) using the building may be used. good. The “link ID” is identification information of a road (here, a link) facing the building, and corresponds to the “link ID” in FIG. That is, each building is a building around the link indicated by the “link ID”. “Category” is a category name indicating the category to which the building belongs. In the case where one building belongs to a plurality of categories, the category names of the “category” items are shown here separated by “, (comma)”. Note that categories to which one building belongs may have a hierarchical relationship here.

  Here, first, it is assumed that the user operates the touch panel of the navigation device 1 to display a map of a desired scale around the current location on the output unit 107 in order to perform a route search. Then, it is assumed that the user operates the touch panel to specify the departure place S and the destination P on the displayed map. Here, specifically, if the departure point S and the destination P are tapped on the map display screen, the tapped points are designated as the departure point S and the destination P, respectively. . A tap is a tap on the touch panel. The departure place received by the GPS receiver or the like may be designated on the map as the departure place S in advance.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a display example of a state in which the departure place S and the destination P are designated on the map centered on the current location. This map is assumed to be a part of the map of FIG. For example, a mark 81 and a mark 82 specified in advance are displayed at the locations specified as the departure point S and the destination P. In addition, a plurality of buttons 91 to 93 for selecting building conditions and a “route search start” button 95 for starting a route search are arranged at the bottom of the map screen shown in FIG. .

  Next, it is assumed that the user presses a button 91 called “STORE” from the buttons for selecting the building conditions arranged at the lower part of the map screen shown in FIG.

  Assume that the user presses the route search start button 95. Thereby, the reception part 103 acquires the starting point information and the destination information which show the starting point S and the destination P which were designated on the map. Here, as an example, it is assumed that the reception unit 103 acquires “node ID” of the node closest to the departure point and the destination designated on the map as departure point information and destination information. Here, as an example, the node having the closest departure point S is the node having the “node ID” of “N1”, and the node having the closest destination P is the node having the “node ID” of “N7”. As a result, “N1” is acquired as the departure point information and “N7” is acquired as the destination information. Hereinafter, a node whose “node ID” is “A” (A is an arbitrary character string) is referred to as a node “A”. The departure point information and the destination information may be information that can specify the position on the road corresponding to the position designated as the departure point or the destination by the user. Such information indicating the position on the road may be link identification information indicating a link, or may be coordinates on the road. Note that this position information may be acquired in any way. In addition, when the route search unit 105 (to be described later) searches for a route by using the coordinates of the position designated by the user as the departure point information and the destination information, the road information corresponding to the departure point information and the destination information is displayed on the road. It is also possible to detect a position, a node, and a link, and use these to perform a route search.

  Further, the condition receiving unit 104 receives a condition for designating a building whose category is “store” because the button 91 has been pressed. Here, it is assumed that a building whose category is “store” is designated in advance as a building belonging to one of the categories that can be included in “category” of the building-related information. For this reason, the condition that the category is “store” is a condition for designating a building associated with one or more categories in the building-related information. That is, here, it can be considered as a condition for designating all categories by the OR condition.

  Next, the route search unit 105 performs route search processing. Here, first, link data regarding links in the area displayed on the current map is read out from the link management table shown in FIG. Here, link data with “link ID” “L1” to “L8” and the like is read. Similarly, node data for nodes in the area displayed on the current map is read out from the node management table shown in FIG. Note that the node data associated with the map information including the destination, the map information including the departure place, and the map information therebetween may be read. In this case, link data or the like associated with map information indicating a map including the destination and the departure place may be read out.

  Here, the route search unit 105 first performs a process of acquiring a weighting value for each link in the area displayed on the current map shown in FIG.

  The route search unit 105 extracts one “link ID” of the “link IDs” indicated by the link data read out above. Here, it is assumed that “L1” is first taken out. And the record of the building management information which has this "link ID" is read from the building management information shown in FIG. For example, here, one or more records whose “link ID” is “L1” are read from the building management information. Here, for example, it is assumed that the route search unit 105 reads 19 records having “building ID” from “600011” to “600029” as records having “link ID” “L1”.

  Next, the route search unit 105 detects a building satisfying the building condition from one or more records of the building management information whose “link ID” is “L1” and counts the number of detected buildings. . Here, since the building condition received by the condition receiving unit 104 is a condition for specifying “store”, that is, a condition for specifying all categories of buildings, the number of buildings included in the read building management information record is calculated. , “Building ID” is counted so that the same building is not counted repeatedly. It is assumed that the value obtained by counting is “19”. For this reason, the route search unit 105 acquires “19” as information indicating the total number of buildings that satisfy the building condition around the link “L1”.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating weight value management information for managing the weight values stored in the weight value storage unit 106. The weight value management information has items of “number of buildings” and “weight value”. “Number of buildings” is a value indicating the range of the number of buildings that satisfy the building condition. The “weighting value” is a weighting value. The weight management information may be prepared for each building condition.

  Next, the route search unit 105 acquires a weight value for the link “L1” using the information “19” indicating the total number acquired for the link “L1”. Here, from the weighting management information shown in FIG. 10, a record indicating a range in which the value of “number of buildings” includes “19” that is information indicating the acquired total number is detected, and the “weighting value” of the detected record is detected. To get. Here, since the total number “19” is in the range of “15 or more and less than 25” of the fifth record from the top, the route search unit 105 acquires the weight value “0.9” of this record. The acquired weight value “0.9” is stored in a storage medium (not shown) in association with “L1” that is the “link ID” of the link “L1”.

  Similarly, the route search unit 105 sequentially extracts the “link ID” from the link data whose “link ID” is not “L1” out of the link data read from the link management table as described above. The same processing is performed to obtain a weighting value, and the obtained information is stored in a storage medium value (not shown) in association with the “link ID”.

  FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an acquired weight value management table for managing the weight values acquired by the route search unit 105 for each link ID. The acquisition weight management table includes “link ID” and “weight value”. The “link ID” corresponds to the “link ID” in FIG. The “weighting value” is a weighting value acquired for the link indicated by each “link ID”.

  Next, the route search unit 105 uses the link data and the node data read from the link management table as described above to route from the node “N1” as the departure point to the node “N7” as the destination (here, Search for one route as an example. When searching for a route, the value of “cost” corresponding to each link in the link management table shown in FIG. 6 is set to the “weight value” corresponding to each link in the acquired weight value management table shown in FIG. By using the correction cost corrected by the value as the cost of each link, a search is made for a route with the lowest cost by the Dijkstra method or the like.

  For example, since the cost of the link “L1” is “14” from FIG. 6 and the “weighting value” corresponding to the link ID “L1” is “0.9” from FIG. 11, the correction cost is “12”. .6 ". Similarly, the cost of the link “L2” is “16” from FIG. 6, and the “weighting value” corresponding to the link ID “L2” is “0.8” from FIG. Becomes “12.6”. A route search is performed using such a correction cost. Since the route search processing using the correction cost is a known technique, detailed description thereof is omitted here.

  Here, as a result of the route search by the route search unit 105, for example, the node “N1”, the link “L1”, the node “N2”, the link “L2”, the node “N4”, the link “L5”, the node “N5”, It is assumed that route information indicating a route that follows the link and the node in the order of the link “L7” and the node “N7” is acquired.

  FIG. 12 is a diagram schematically showing the relationship between the link and node indicated by the road information and the correction cost. In the figure, the parentheses indicate the correction cost of each link. As shown in this figure, as the route from the node “N1” to the node “N7”, the total correction cost of the links used in the route indicated by the route information is the smallest.

  Then, the output unit 107 newly generates a map image in which lines of a predetermined color are arranged on the nodes and links indicated by the route information acquired by the route search unit 105 in the initially displayed map. Then, it is displayed on a monitor or the like as a route search result.

  FIG. 13 is a display example of a route search result by the output unit 107.

  In this way, the navigation device 1 can show the user a route with a relatively large number of stores on the way to the destination.

  Here, it is assumed that the user presses the button 92 “restaurant” instead of pressing the button 91 “store” among the plurality of buttons 91 to 94 for selecting the building condition. Assume that a condition specifying a building whose category is “restaurant” is received.

  In this case, the process in which the route search part 105 acquires the weighting value about each link of the area | region currently displayed on the present map is performed as follows, for example.

  Similarly to the above, it is assumed that the route search unit 105 extracts “L1” as “link ID” of “link ID” indicated by the link data read for each link displayed on the current map. Then, one or more records whose “link ID” is “L1” are read from the building management information shown in FIG. Here, it is assumed that 19 records whose “building ID” is “600011” to “600029” are read.

  Next, the route search unit 105 detects a building satisfying the building condition from one or more records of the building management information whose “link ID” is “L1” and counts the number of detected buildings. . Here, the building condition received by the condition receiving unit 104 is a condition for designating “restaurant”, and is not a predesignated condition for designating buildings of all categories like “stores”, and thus read out. From the building management information records, a record including a character string that matches “restaurant” in “category” is detected. For example, here, it is assumed that a record having “building ID” of “600011”, “600014”, and “600029” is detected. Then, the route search unit 105 counts the number of buildings included in the detected record so as not to count the same buildings having the same “building ID”. The value obtained by counting in this case is “3”. For this reason, the route search unit 105 acquires “3” as information indicating the total number of buildings that satisfy the building condition around the link “L1”.

  Similarly to the above, using the weight value management information shown in FIG. 10, “1.2” is acquired as the weight value for the link “L1”, and this weight value is used as “ The information is stored in a storage medium (not shown) in association with “L1” that is “link ID”.

  Thereafter, weight values are similarly obtained for other links in the area displayed on the current map. The subsequent processing for searching for a route using the correction cost obtained by multiplying the weighting values is the same as that when the building condition is “store”, and the description thereof is omitted here.

  In such a case, the navigation apparatus 1 can show the user a route with relatively many restaurants on the way to the destination.

  Further, instead of the user pressing the “restaurant” button 92 among the plurality of buttons 91 to 94 for selecting the building condition, the user presses the “shopping” button 93. The process performed by the route search unit 105 when the “condition for designating a building that is“ shopping ”is received, in the above, instead of detecting a record that includes a character string that matches“ restaurant ”in“ category ”, This is the same as when the “Restaurant” button 92 is pressed, except that a record including a character string that matches “Shopping” in “Category” is detected.

  In such a case, the navigation device 1 can show the user a route with many stores that are relatively suitable for shopping on the way to the destination.

  Instead of storing the building management information as shown in FIG. 8 in the building related information storage unit 102, the “link ID” is the link identification information of each link included in the map information as shown in FIG. ”, The“ category ”indicating the category name of the category to which the building around this link belongs, and the number of buildings belonging to the category indicated by the“ category ”around the link indicated by the corresponding“ link ID ” You may make it store the building management information which has "the total number" which is a value. “All categories” in the “Category” value is the total number of buildings belonging to one or more categories, and this record is used when the building condition is “Store”. This building management information includes, for example, the number of records having the same “link ID” and the same category name in “category” in the building management information shown in FIG. Can be obtained by counting for each combination. By using such building management information, for each link, when obtaining information indicating the total number of buildings that satisfy the building conditions around the link, the values of “link ID” and “category” are weighted values. It is only necessary to acquire the value of the “total number” of records that match the link identification information of the link to be acquired and the category indicated by the building condition. As a result, as in the case where the building management information as shown in FIG. 8 is used, the process of detecting and counting the building satisfying the building condition can be omitted, and the route search process can be speeded up.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, by using the building related information and the building condition, it is easy to search for a route having many buildings that satisfy the building condition in the vicinity, and the route is searched. An optimum route search can be performed in consideration of the number of buildings desired by the user.

  In this embodiment, instead of the building-related information as described above, building-related information having a weight value for each category of building for each road (for example, a route) indicated by the map information may be used. good. For example, the route search unit 105 uses the weight value storage unit 106 or the like for each piece of information indicating the number of buildings by category around each road prepared in advance. It can be acquired by performing the same process as the process of acquiring the weight value. By using such building-related information, it is possible to quickly obtain a weighting value corresponding to the category indicated by the building condition for each road. For example, this weighting value may be considered to be obtained by acquiring the weighting value managed by the acquisition weighting value management table shown in FIG. 11 in the above specific example for various categories. Or you may make it use the building relevant information which has the weighting value according to building conditions which the condition reception part 104 can accept instead of the weighting value according to category.

(Embodiment 2)
FIG. 15 is a block diagram of the navigation device 2 in the present embodiment.

  The navigation device 2 includes a map information storage unit 201, a building related information storage unit 102, a reception unit 103, a condition reception unit 104, a route search unit 205, a weight value storage unit 106, an output unit 107, a scheduled time reception unit 208, and a use A time storage unit 209 is provided.

  Since the structures of the building related information storage unit 102, the reception unit 103, the condition reception unit 104, the weight value storage unit 106, and the output unit 107 are the same as those in the first embodiment, detailed description thereof is omitted here.

  The scheduled time reception unit 208 receives a scheduled time from the departure place to the destination from the user or the like. The scheduled time reception unit 208 may receive the scheduled time as long as the scheduled time can be received as a result. For example, the scheduled time reception unit 208 may receive an input of a scheduled departure time and an estimated arrival time, and may receive a difference between these times as a scheduled time. Moreover, while receiving the input of estimated arrival time, the present time may be acquired from a clock etc., and the difference of this time may be received as scheduled time. The scheduled time accepting unit 208 here accepts, for example, acceptance from an input unit, reception of an input signal transmitted from another device or the like, reading of information from a recording medium, or the like. The scheduled time input means may be anything such as a numeric keypad, keyboard, touchpad, mouse, or menu screen. The scheduled time reception unit 208 can be realized by a device driver of an input unit such as a numeric keypad, a touch pad, or a keyboard, or control software for a menu screen.

  The usage time storage unit 209 stores usage time, which is information on the time required to use the building. The time required for using the building is, for example, the time that is considered to be required when the building is used for normal use. For example, in the case of a restaurant, the usage time is the time required for a meal. In the case of a clothing store or the like, it is time required for shopping. The usage time may be individually associated with a building, or may be associated with a building category. In this specific example, a case where the usage time is associated with the category of the building and stored in the usage time storage unit 209 will be described as an example. The usage time storage unit 209 is preferably a non-volatile recording medium, but can also be realized by a volatile recording medium.

  The map information storage unit 201 stores the same map information as the map information storage unit 101. However, the road information included in the map information stored in the map information storage unit 201 includes a travel time that is a time required for the travel of each road. For example, each link data included in the road information is associated with a travel time required for the movement of this link. For example, each link data may have this movement time. This travel time may be a cost for the time included in each link data described above, or may have a travel time separately from the cost. The moving time may be prepared for each moving means. Note that, in the present embodiment, it is considered that the travel time is stored even when a value that can be used to calculate the travel time is stored instead of the travel time. For example, in the case of distance information, if the movement speed can be acquired, the movement time can be calculated. Therefore, even when the distance information is associated with a link, it may be considered that the distance information is associated. Note that the moving speed may be, for example, an average moving speed of the moving means when using the navigation device 2, or movement acquired using a sensor such as an acceleration sensor (not shown) included in the navigation device 2. It may be speed. The other configuration of the map information storage unit 201 is the same as that of the map information storage unit 101.

  Similar to the route search unit 105 described above, the route search unit 205 uses the road information, the building-related information, and the building conditions to make it easier to search for a route with many buildings that satisfy the building conditions in the vicinity. A route from the departure point indicated by the destination information to the destination indicated by the destination information is searched. However, in particular, the route search unit 205 searches for a route within the scheduled time received by the scheduled time reception unit 208 by using the travel time of the road included in the route. Furthermore, the route within the scheduled time received by the scheduled time reception unit 208 is searched using the travel time of the roads included in the route and the use time of the building that satisfies the building conditions corresponding to these roads.

  For example, the route search unit 205 first searches for one route as a candidate, similar to the route search unit 105. Then, the required time from the departure point to the destination for the searched route is calculated. The required time is calculated using, for example, the total travel time of each road included in the route and the total use time of buildings that satisfy the building condition among the buildings corresponding to the road (link) included in the route. Is done. Alternatively, the total travel time of each road included in the route may be used as the required time. If the required time is within the scheduled time received by the scheduled time receiving unit 208, the candidate route is determined as the final route, and the route information is acquired. If the route is within the scheduled time, a route different from the current route is further searched as a candidate, and the route is searched by repeating the same processing until the route is determined. The building and the number of buildings associated with each road can be acquired using building-related information.

  Alternatively, the route search unit 205 first searches for a plurality of routes as candidates, similar to the route search unit 105. Then, for a plurality of route candidates, the required time is calculated in the same manner as described above in ascending order of the cost value obtained in the route search, and whether or not the required time is within the scheduled time is determined. A candidate that is within the scheduled time may be determined as a final route.

  Alternatively, the route search unit 205 searches for a plurality of routes as candidates in the same manner as the route search unit 105, and calculates the required time for each of the plurality of route candidates obtained in the same manner as described above. It may be determined whether the required time is within the scheduled time, and all or some of the candidates within the scheduled time may be determined as the final route.

  The travel time of each road can be acquired, for example, by reading the travel time corresponding to each road (link) from the road information.

  The usage time of each building can be acquired by, for example, reading the usage time corresponding to each building stored in the usage time storage unit 209 or the usage time corresponding to the category of each building. For example, the route search unit 105 may acquire the usage time associated with each building corresponding to the link or the usage time associated with the category corresponding to each building from the usage time storage unit 209. Further, as the usage time of the building corresponding to the category indicated by the building condition, the usage time stored in the usage time storage unit 209 in association with the category indicated by the building condition may be acquired. For example, if the building condition is a condition that specifies a category of “clothing store”, the usage time for each building that satisfies the building condition corresponding to the link is associated with the category indicated by the building condition. The usage time “15 minutes” stored in the usage time storage unit 209 may be acquired. In addition, it is not necessary to add up all the utilization times of the buildings that satisfy the building conditions corresponding to the roads included in the route. For example, the upper limit of the number of buildings for which usage time is acquired may be specified in advance for each category, and the building usage time may be acquired and totaled for the number of buildings in the specified range. For example, for the category “Restaurant”, the upper limit is set to “1”, and even if there are two or more buildings with the category “Restaurant” on the route, You may make it acquire utilization time, here, only utilization time about one building. Similarly, for the category “shopping”, for example, the upper limit is set to “5”, and even if there are five or more buildings with the category “shopping” on the route, the number up to the upper limit is set. You may make it acquire only the utilization time about a building, here, the utilization time about five buildings.

  The other configuration of the route search unit 205 is the same as the configuration of the route search unit 105, and thus detailed description thereof is omitted here.

  FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the navigation device 2 according to the second embodiment. Hereinafter, the operation will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 16, the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 2 indicate the same or corresponding steps.

  (Step S1601) The scheduled time reception unit 208 determines whether a scheduled time has been received. If accepted, the process proceeds to step S203, and if not accepted, the process returns to step S1601.

  (Step S1602) The route search unit 205 searches for a plurality of routes using the road data including the link data and node data read in step S203 and the weighting value acquired in step S208. Specifically, using the correction cost obtained by multiplying the cost corresponding to each link by the weighting value corresponding to each link as the cost of each link, the departure value indicated by the departure value information received in step S201 A plurality of routes from the place to the destination indicated by the destination information are searched.

  (Step S1603) The route search part 205 substitutes 1 to the counter m.

  (Step S1604) The route search unit 205 determines whether there is an m-th route with a low cost of the entire route in the plurality of routes searched in Step S1602. If there is, the process proceeds to step S1605, and if not, the process proceeds to step S1609.

  (Step S1605) The route search unit 205 calculates the required time from the departure point to the destination for the m-th route. For example, the total time of travel corresponding to each link included in the route and the total time of all or some of the buildings that satisfy the building conditions corresponding to each link are calculated as the required time. .

  (Step S1606) The route search unit 205 determines whether the required time for the m-th route acquired in step S1605 is within the scheduled time accepted in step S1601. If it is within the scheduled time, the process proceeds to step S1607. If the scheduled time is exceeded, the process proceeds to step S1609.

  (Step S1607) The route search unit 205 acquires route information about the m-th route. Then, the process proceeds to step S212.

  (Step S1608) The route search unit 205 increments the value of the counter m by 1. Then, the process returns to step S1604.

  (Step S1609) The route search unit 205 outputs an error. For example, information indicating that a route whose required time is within the scheduled time could not be searched is output. Then, the process returns to step S201.

  In the flowchart of FIG. 16, the process is terminated by power-off or a process termination interrupt.

  Hereinafter, a specific example of the second embodiment will be described. The conceptual diagram etc. of the navigation apparatus 2 are the same as that of FIG. Assume that the map symbol information stored in the map information storage unit 201 is the same as that in FIG. The node management table of road information and building related information are the same as those in FIGS.

  FIG. 17 is a link management table for managing link data among road information stored in the map information storage unit 201. This link management table is obtained by adding an item “movement time” for managing the movement time of each link included in the link data in the link management table shown in FIG. Note that this travel time may be used for the cost of time in a link and for searching for a route.

  Here, it is assumed that the positional relationship between the nodes and links managed by the node management table and the link management table shown in FIGS. 5 and 17 is the same as that in FIG.

  First, as in the specific example of the first embodiment, after the user inputs a departure place and a destination from the input screen as shown in FIG. 9 and further presses a button for specifying building conditions, It is assumed that “route search start” 95 is pressed. Here, it is assumed that the user wants to finish the meal and shopping before reaching the destination, and presses the “Restaurant” button 92 and the “Shopping” button 93 as buttons for specifying the building conditions.

  The reception unit 103 acquires departure place information indicating the departure place S and the destination P specified on the map. In addition, the condition receiving unit 104 receives a building condition for designating a building whose category is “restaurant” or “shopping”.

  Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 18, the monitor of the navigation apparatus 2 displays an input screen for a scheduled time that may be taken when the user moves from the departure place to the destination. Here, for example, when the user inputs “120” minutes as the scheduled time and presses the “OK” button 180, the scheduled time reception unit 208 receives the scheduled time “120”.

  Next, the route search unit 205 searches for a plurality of routes using road information, building conditions, and building related information. Here, the number of buildings corresponding to the link whose category is “Restaurant” or “Shopping” is acquired using building-related information, and the cost of each link is acquired according to the number of buildings. A plurality of routes are searched by a route search algorithm that uses the cost of the link such as Dijkstra method, using the cost corrected by using. The number of routes to be searched is not limited.

  Here, it is assumed that three routes that are the number designated by default are searched. As shown in FIG. 19, the three routes are a route 191 that reaches the destination by following links in the order of link “L1”, link “L2”, link “L5”, link “L7” from the departure point, and departure A route 192 that reaches the destination by following the links in order of the link “L1”, the link “L2”, the link “L6”, and the link “L8” from the ground, and the link “L3”, the link “L4”, the link from the departure point It is assumed that a route 193 that reaches the destination by following the links in the order of “L5” and link “L7” is searched. It is assumed that the total correction costs of the entire route of the route 191, the route 192, and the route 193 are “45”, “49”, and “54”, respectively.

  Next, the route search unit 205 calculates the required time for the route 191 having the smallest correction cost value. Specifically, the travel time corresponding to each link included in the route 191 is acquired from the link management table shown in FIG. For example, “12”, “15”, “7”, and “6” are acquired as travel times (minutes) corresponding to the links “L1”, “L2”, “L5”, and “L7”, respectively. . And these are totaled and the total movement time "40" minutes is acquired. Further, among the buildings corresponding to all the links included in the route, the total usage time of the building that satisfies the building condition, that is, the building whose category is “restaurant” or “shopping” is stored in the usage time storage unit 209. , Using the usage time stored in association with the building category.

  FIG. 20 is a usage time management table for managing the usage time stored in the usage time storage unit 209. The usage time management table has items of “category” and “use time”. “Category” is a category name. “Usage time” is the usage time of a building belonging to the corresponding category.

  FIG. 21 is an upper limit management table for managing the upper limit for each category of the number of buildings to which usage time is added. The upper limit management table is stored, for example, in the usage time storage unit 209 or the like. The upper limit management table has items of “category” and “upper limit number”. “Category” is a category name. The “upper limit number” is the upper limit of the number of buildings that can be added to the usage time in one route.

  Since one of the categories indicated by the building condition is “restaurant”, the route search unit 205 detects a building whose category corresponding to all the links included in the route 191 is “restaurant”, and acquires the total number thereof. . Here, it is assumed that the total number is “7”. Next, “1” which is the “upper limit number” corresponding to the category “restaurant” is acquired from the upper limit management table of FIG. 21, and the total number “7” of buildings whose category is “restaurant” acquired from the route 191. "" Exceeds the upper limit number or not. Here, since the upper limit is exceeded, the upper limit “1” is acquired as the number of buildings corresponding to the links included in the route 191 and having the category “restaurant”. If the upper limit number is not exceeded, the number of buildings whose category corresponding to all the links included in the route 191 is “restaurant” is acquired as it is. Further, the value “30” of “usage time” of the record whose “category” is “restaurant” is acquired from the utilization time management table shown in FIG. Then, this value is multiplied by the number of buildings “1” acquired above to obtain the usage time “30” of the building whose category in the route 191 is “restaurant”. Similarly, the number of buildings whose category is “shopping” is acquired for the route 191, and it is determined whether or not the number of buildings exceeds “5” which is the upper limit number of the category “shopping”. Here, if the number of buildings on the route 191 is “8”, the number exceeds the upper limit number. Therefore, the category corresponding to the link included in the route 191 is “shopping”. Get as the number of buildings. Then, this value is multiplied by the value “15” of the “use time” of the record whose “category” is “shopping”, and the use time “75” of the building whose category is “shopping” in the route 191 is obtained. get.

  The total travel time “40” for the route 191 acquired above, “30” for the building use time, and “145” for the total of “75” are acquired, and this time is scheduled. It is determined whether or not the time is within “120” minutes. Here, since it is not within the scheduled time, the route search unit 205 determines not to adopt this route.

  Next, the route search unit 205 performs the same process on the route 192 having the second lowest cost, and acquires the required time. The total travel time is “36” minutes. In addition, it is assumed that the number of buildings with the category “restaurant” exceeds the upper limit, and “30” is acquired as the usage time of the building with the category “restaurant”. In addition, the number of buildings with category “shopping” is “2”, which does not exceed the upper limit, and the usage time of buildings with category “shopping” is 2 × 15 = 30, and “30” is acquired. Suppose that As a result, the time required for the route 192 is “96” minutes, and is determined to be within the scheduled time.

  Therefore, the route search unit 205 acquires route information of the route 192. Then, the output unit 107 generates an image of a map in which lines of a color specified in advance are arranged on the nodes and links indicated by the route information, and displays them on a monitor or the like as a route search result.

  FIG. 22 is a diagram illustrating a display example of a route search result by the output unit 107.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the same effects as those of the first embodiment can be obtained, and a route that can reach the destination within the scheduled time designated by the user can be output. Thereby, it is possible to present a route that can be detoured according to the user's request.

  In each of the above embodiments, the building-related information may have position information about the building, and the condition indicated by the building condition associated with the searched route using this position information. As shown in FIG. 23, an icon for a building may be displayed at a position on the map indicated by the position information of the building that satisfies the condition. This icon may be an icon prepared in advance corresponding to a building category, or an icon stored in advance in association with building identification information may be displayed in the building related information. Further, the building identification information may be displayed as an icon as it is. FIG. 23 shows an example in which a restaurant icon 210 and a shopping icon 211 are displayed on a map.

  The software that realizes the navigation device in each of the above embodiments is a program as described below. That is, this program relates to a map information storage unit that stores map information having road information that is information related to a map and that is information related to a road indicated by the map, and a surrounding building for each road indicated by the map information. A computer that can access a building related information storage unit in which building related information that is information is stored, a receiving unit that receives departure point information that is information indicating a departure point, and destination information that is information indicating a destination; Using a condition reception unit that accepts building conditions that are conditions for buildings, road information, building-related information, and building conditions, it is easy to find a route that has many buildings that meet the building conditions in the vicinity. A route search unit that searches for a route from the departure point indicated by the location information to the destination indicated by the destination information, and an output unit that outputs according to the search result of the search unit. Is a program of the order to.

  In the program, the functions realized by the program do not include functions that can be realized only by hardware. For example, a function that can be realized only by hardware such as a modem or an interface card in an acquisition unit that acquires information or an output unit that outputs information is not included in the function realized by the program.

  FIG. 24 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the appearance of a computer that executes the program and realizes the navigation device according to the embodiment. The above-described embodiment can be realized by computer hardware and a computer program executed on the computer hardware.

  24, a computer system 900 includes a CD-ROM (Compact Disk Read Only Memory) drive 905, a computer 901 including an FD (Floppy (registered trademark) Disk) drive 906, a keyboard 902, a mouse 903, a monitor 904, and the like. Is provided.

  FIG. 25 is a diagram showing an internal configuration of the computer system 900. 25, in addition to the CD-ROM drive 905 and the FD drive 906, a computer 901 is connected to an MPU (Micro Processing Unit) 911, a ROM 912 for storing a program such as a bootup program, and the MPU 911. A RAM (Random Access Memory) 913 that temporarily stores program instructions and provides a temporary storage space, a hard disk 914 that stores application programs, system programs, and data, and an MPU 911 and a ROM 912 are interconnected. And a bus 915. The computer 901 may include a network card (not shown) that provides connection to the LAN.

  A program that causes the computer system 900 to execute functions such as the navigation device according to the above-described embodiment is stored in the CD-ROM 921 or the FD 922, inserted into the CD-ROM drive 905 or the FD drive 906, and transferred to the hard disk 914. May be. Instead, the program may be transmitted to the computer 901 via a network (not shown) and stored in the hard disk 914. The program is loaded into the RAM 913 when executed. The program may be loaded directly from the CD-ROM 921, the FD 922, or the network.

  The program does not necessarily include an operating system (OS) or a third-party program that causes the computer 901 to execute the functions of the navigation device according to the above-described embodiment. The program may include only a part of an instruction that calls an appropriate function (module) in a controlled manner and obtains a desired result. How the computer system 900 operates is well known and will not be described in detail.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible, and it goes without saying that these are also included in the scope of the present invention.

  As described above, the navigation device or the like according to the present invention is suitable as a navigation device or the like that can search for a route, and is particularly useful as a navigation device or the like that searches for a route that meets a user's request.

1, 2 Navigation device 101, 201 Map information storage unit 102 Building related information storage unit 103 Reception unit 104 Condition reception unit 105, 205 Route search unit 106 Weight value storage unit 107 Output unit 208 Scheduled time reception unit 209 Usage time storage unit

Claims (8)

A map information storage unit for storing map information having road information, which is information related to a map and road information indicated by the map;
For each road indicated by the map information, a building related information storage unit that stores building related information, which is information related to surrounding buildings,
A reception unit that receives departure point information that is information indicating a departure point, and destination information that is information indicating a destination;
A condition accepting unit for accepting a building condition that is a condition for the building;
Using the road information, building-related information, and building conditions, the destination information is obtained from the starting point indicated by the starting point information so that it is easy to find a route having many buildings that satisfy the building condition in the vicinity. A route search unit for searching for a route to the destination to be shown;
A navigation apparatus comprising: an output unit that performs output according to a search result of the search unit. The building-related information stored in the building-related information storage unit includes information on a building whose category around the road is a store for each road indicated by the map information,
The building condition received by the condition receiving unit is a condition for designating a building whose category is a store,
The navigation device according to claim 1, wherein the route search unit searches for a route such that a route with a large number of buildings whose category is a store is easily searched. The building-related information stored in the building-related information storage unit includes information on a building whose category around the road for each road indicated by the map information is a restaurant,
The building condition received by the condition receiving unit is a condition for designating a building whose category is a store,
The navigation device according to claim 1, wherein the route search unit searches for a route such that a route with a large number of buildings whose category is a store is easily searched. The building-related information stored in the building-related information storage unit includes information about a building whose category around the road is shopping for each road indicated by the map information,
The building condition received by the condition receiving unit is a condition for designating a building whose category is shopping,
The navigation device according to claim 1, wherein the route search unit searches for a route so that a route with a large number of buildings whose category is shopping is easily searched. It further includes a scheduled time reception unit that receives the scheduled time until arrival at the destination,
The road information includes a travel time that is a time required for travel of each road,
The route search unit searches for a route within the scheduled time received by the scheduled time reception unit using the travel time of the road included in the route and the use time of the building that satisfies the building condition corresponding to the road. The navigation apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4. It further includes a usage time storage unit that stores usage time, which is information on the time required to use the building,
The route search unit searches for a route within the scheduled time received by the scheduled time reception unit using the travel time of the road included in the route and the use time of the building that satisfies the building condition corresponding to the road. The navigation device according to claim 5. A map information storage unit for storing map information having road information that is information about a map and road information indicated by the map, and a building related information that is information about surrounding buildings for each road indicated by the map information A navigation method performed using a building-related information storage unit in which information is stored, a reception unit, a condition reception unit, a route search unit, and an output unit,
A receiving step for receiving the departure point information, which is information indicating a departure point, and the destination information, which is information indicating a destination;
A condition receiving step in which the condition receiving unit receives a building condition that is a condition for a building;
From the departure point indicated by the departure point information, the route search unit uses the road information, the building related information, and the building conditions so that a route having many buildings that satisfy the building condition is easily searched in the vicinity. A route search step for searching for a route to the destination indicated by the destination information;
A navigation method comprising: an output step in which the output unit performs output in accordance with a search result obtained by the search step. A map information storage unit for storing map information having road information that is information about a map and road information indicated by the map, and a building related information that is information about surrounding buildings for each road indicated by the map information A computer accessible to the building-related information storage unit in which information is stored,
A reception unit that receives departure point information that is information indicating a departure point, and destination information that is information indicating a destination;
A condition accepting unit for accepting a building condition that is a condition for the building;
Using the road information, building-related information, and building conditions, the destination information is obtained from the starting point indicated by the starting point information so that it is easy to find a route having many buildings that satisfy the building condition in the vicinity. A route search unit for searching for a route to the destination to be shown;
The program for functioning as an output part which performs the output according to the search result of the said search part.

Images