JP2013134072A - User position output device, user position output method and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a user position output device in which the position of a user in a residential place can also be known easily.SOLUTION: A user position output device comprises a map information storage section 11 which stores map information, a user information storage section 12 which stores therein user information including a user identifier identifying a user, residential place information indicating a residential place of the user and user positional information indicating a position of the user in the residential place, a current position acquisition section 13 which acquires a current position, a user identifier receiving section 14 which receives the user identifier, a route information generation section 17 which generates route information about a route from the current position acquired by the current position acquisition section 13 to the position of the residential place information corresponding to the user identifier received by the user identifier receiving section 14, and an output section 18 which outputs the map information, the route information generated by the route information generation section 17, and the user positional information corresponding to the user identifier received by the user identifier receiving section 14.

Description

  The present invention relates to a user position output device that outputs route information related to a route to a user's residence.

  Conventionally, a navigation device that generates and outputs a route to a desired destination is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1). By using the navigation device, for example, a route to a desired user's residence can be generated and output.

JP 2011-220902 A

  However, in the conventional navigation device, although the route to the user's residence is known, it may take time to reach the user's location at the destination. For example, when a navigation device is used to help an elderly person living alone in a disaster, it may be possible to reach the residence of the elderly person alone, but it may take time to find a room in the residence where the elderly person is living alone.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a user position output device or the like that can easily know the position of a user in a living place.

  In order to achieve the above object, a user position output device according to the present invention includes a user identifier for identifying a user, living place information indicating a user's living place, and user position information indicating a user's position in the living place. A user information storage unit that stores information, a map information storage unit that stores map information that is information about the map, a current position acquisition unit that acquires a current position, a user identifier reception unit that receives a user identifier, A route information generating unit that generates route information that is information about a route from the current position acquired by the position acquiring unit to the location of the residence information corresponding to the user identifier received by the user identifier receiving unit, map information, and route User location information corresponding to the route information generated by the information generation unit and the user identifier received by the user identifier reception unit An output unit for outputting, in which with a.

  With such a configuration, it is possible to know not only the route to the user's place of residence but also the position of the user at the place of residence. As a result, for example, when visiting an elderly person living alone during a disaster, it is possible to easily reach the place where the elderly person is living alone, and the rescue of the elderly person living alone becomes easier.

In the user position output device according to the present invention, the user information may include user position information for each time period, and the output unit may output user position information corresponding to the output time.
With such a configuration, it becomes possible to cope with a case where the user's position changes in each time zone in the place of residence, so that the user can be accessed more quickly.

Further, in the user position output device according to the present invention, the user information has user position information for each time zone, and the route information generation unit also generates a time of arrival at the position of the residence information and outputs it. The unit may output user position information corresponding to the scheduled arrival time.
With such a configuration, it becomes possible to output a more accurate position of the user, and it is possible to access the user more quickly.

In the user position output device according to the present invention, the output unit may output the user position information when the current position is the position indicated by the residence place information.
With such a configuration, the position of the user is not output to a person who does not visit the user's place of residence, and a configuration in consideration of the user's privacy can be achieved.

In the user position output device according to the present invention, a receiving unit that receives current information including a user identifier and the current position of the user identified by the user identifier, and a current position included in the current information received by the receiving unit, A determination unit that determines whether the position of the residence information corresponding to the user identifier included in the current information matches, and the route information generation unit is determined by the determination unit that they do not match In addition, route information regarding a route from the current position acquired by the current position acquisition unit to the current position included in the current information received by the reception unit may be generated.
With such a configuration, it is possible to visit a place where the user is actually present. As a result, it is possible to avoid a situation where the user visits the residence place even though the user is not at the residence place.

  According to the user position output device and the like according to the present invention, it is possible to know not only the route to the user's place of residence, but also the position of the user at the place of residence.

The block diagram which shows the structure of the user position output device by Embodiment 1 of this invention. The flowchart which shows operation | movement of the user position output device by the embodiment The figure which shows the structural example of the system containing the user position output device by the embodiment The figure which shows an example of the user information in the embodiment The figure which shows an example of the user position information in the embodiment The figure which shows an example of the display of the terminal device in the embodiment The figure which shows an example of the display of the terminal device in the embodiment The figure which shows an example of the display of the terminal device in the embodiment Schematic diagram showing an example of the appearance of the computer system in the embodiment The figure which shows an example of a structure of the computer system in the embodiment

  Hereinafter, a user position output device according to the present invention will be described using embodiments. In the following embodiments, components and steps denoted by the same reference numerals are the same or equivalent, and repetitive description may be omitted.

(Embodiment 1)
A user position output device according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The user position output device according to the present embodiment outputs route information related to a route to a user's place of residence and user position information indicating the position of the user at the place of residence.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a user position output device 1 according to the present embodiment. The user position output device 1 according to the present embodiment includes a map information storage unit 11, a user information storage unit 12, a current position acquisition unit 13, a user identifier reception unit 14, a reception unit 15, a determination unit 16, A route information generation unit 17 and an output unit 18 are provided. The user position output device 1 is a device directly used by a person who visits the user (hereinafter also referred to as “visitor”), such as a mobile phone, a portable information terminal (for example, a PDA or a tablet computer), It may be a navigation device, a PND (Portable Navigation Device), a portable personal computer, or the like. The user position output device 1 may be a server that provides route information, user position information, and the like to be described later to the device while communicating with a terminal device used by a visitor. In the present embodiment, the latter case will be mainly described, but it is needless to say that the present invention is not limited thereto.

  The map information storage unit 11 stores map information that is information about the map. The map information may be map image information, for example. This image information may be raster data (bitmap data) or vector data, for example. When the image information is raster data, the map information may include image information corresponding to a plurality of scales. For example, map information may include large-scale image information, medium-scale image information, and small-scale image information for the same region. Moreover, map information shows the map divided | segmented into the tile shape, The map of various area | regions can be displayed now by combining suitably. Here, the “map” may be a topographic map, a topographic map, a geological map, a land use map, a house map, a route map, a road map, a guide map, a public map or a cadastral map provided in the Legal Affairs Bureau. When the user position output device 1 or the terminal device of the visitor communicating with the user position output device 1 is a car navigation device, this map information may be a road map. When the user position output device 1 or the like is used on foot or by bicycle, the map information may be a road map for pedestrians and bicycles. The map information can be used for route search. That is, map information shows the position of a road, for example. In addition, the map information may be information that allows the user to know road attributes (for example, speed limit, main road, side road, etc.). For example, this map information may be in the KIWI format used in car navigation. In addition, the “map” may be an aerial photograph or satellite photograph in which the topography, roads, etc. can be grasped, or those in which symbols or characters are entered. In the map information, it is assumed that the correspondence between each point on the map and the coordinates (position) can be known. The coordinates may be coordinates with an origin at a certain reference point (the coordinates may be distances, for example), may be latitude / longitude, or may be information that can identify other positions. . The coordinates themselves may be included in the map information. In the present embodiment, a case where the coordinates are latitude / longitude will be described. In addition, the map information may include character information related to place names and topography such as mountains and rivers. In the map information, it may be set which is a specific direction such as north. The map information is known as a two-dimensional online map, an electronic map, etc., and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  The process in which map information is memorize | stored in the map information storage part 11 is not ask | required. For example, map information may be stored in the map information storage unit 11 via a recording medium, and map information transmitted via a communication line or the like is stored in the map information storage unit 11. Alternatively, the map information input via the input device may be stored in the map information storage unit 11. The storage in the map information storage unit 11 may be temporary storage in a RAM or the like, or may be long-term storage. The map information stored in the map information storage unit 11 may be, for example, temporarily stored map information received from a server or the like, or may not be so. For example, the map information storage unit 11 may download map information in the vicinity of the current position or map information for displaying route information described later from a server (not shown) and temporarily store the map information. . In that case, every time the current position is changed, new map information may be downloaded and stored in the map information storage unit 11. The map information storage unit 11 can be realized by a predetermined recording medium (for example, a semiconductor memory, a magnetic disk, an optical disk, etc.).

  The user information storage unit 12 stores one or more pieces of user information. The user information is information having a user identifier for identifying the user, residence location information indicating the user's residence, and user location information indicating the user's location in the residence. Here, the user is a person to whom the visitor visits. In other words, it can be considered that the person benefits from the user position output device 1. The user identifier may be, for example, the user's name, the user's address and name, or a character string such as a number or symbol assigned to the user, and the user's telephone number. For example, information that can uniquely identify a user may be used, or information that can identify other users. The residence location information may be any information as long as the information can identify the user's residence location. The residence location information may be, for example, coordinates indicating latitude and longitude, may be other coordinates, may be an address, or may be information that can specify other residence locations. Good. In addition, it is suitable that the building and site of a user's residence place can be specified with the residence place information. The user's place of residence is the place where the user is mainly staying, and the place of residence may be an address, a place of residence, or a place where other users are mainly staying. May be. The user position information indicates a finer position in the user's place of residence. That is, it is possible to specify the building or site where the user lives by the residence location information, and it is possible to specify the detailed position of the user in the building or site by the user position information. The user position information may be, for example, image information, text information, or other information (voice information or the like). When the user position information is image information, for example, a drawing of each floor of the building (for example, a floor plan, a floor plan, a floor plan, etc.) or a drawing that indicates the position of the building or the like on the site (for example, a site map or a layout map) Etc.), the position of the user may be indicated by a figure (for example, a figure such as a circle or triangle, or an arrow). In addition, when the user position information is text information, for example, “Japanese room next to the stairs on the second floor”, “Western space at the end of the first floor corridor”, “the wall on the west side of the main building is yellow away” , “In the middle of Sangen Nagaya”, etc. Moreover, user information may have user position information for every time slot | zone, or may not be so. In the former case, user position information may be set in association with a time zone. By doing so, the position of the user for each time zone can be presented. For example, the start point and end point may be set arbitrarily, for example, from 9:00 to 15:00, or in the morning, afternoon, morning, noon, evening, night, midnight, etc. It may be a time zone. In the latter case, for example, from 6:00 to 11:00 in the morning, from 10:00 to 16:00 in the daytime, from 16:00 to 19:00 in the evening, from 19:00 to 22:00 in the evening, and at 22 in the midnight : 00 to 6:00 may be determined. Hereinafter, when A information and B information are included in one user information, the B information may be referred to as B information corresponding to the A information. For example, when the user identifier “U001” and the residence location information (X501, Y501) are included in certain user information, the residence location information corresponding to the user identifier “U001” is (X501, Y501). .

  The process in which user information is stored in the user information storage unit 12 does not matter. For example, user information may be stored in the user information storage unit 12 via a recording medium, and user information transmitted via a communication line or the like is stored in the user information storage unit 12. Alternatively, the user information input via the input device may be stored in the user information storage unit 12. Storage in the user information storage unit 12 may be temporary storage in a RAM or the like, or may be long-term storage. The user information stored in the user information storage unit 12 may be, for example, temporarily stored user information received from a server or the like, or may not be so. The user information storage unit 12 can be realized by a predetermined recording medium (for example, a semiconductor memory, a magnetic disk, an optical disk, etc.). Further, each piece of information included in the user information may be the information itself, or may be a pointer or an address indicating the position where the information is stored.

  The current position acquisition unit 13 acquires the current position. This current position is the current position of the visitor and indicates the position (starting place) of the base point when the route is generated. The current position acquired by the current position acquisition unit 13 may be the current position of the terminal device of the visitor (when the terminal device and the user position output device 1 are different), or the current position of the user position output device 1 (If the visitor is operating the user position output device 1). When the current position is the current position of the visitor's terminal device, the current position acquisition unit 13 may receive the current position from the terminal device. In this case, the current position acquisition unit 13 may receive the identifier of the terminal device and the current position of the terminal device so that the terminal device of the visitor corresponding to the received current position can be specified. Good. The identifier of the terminal device may be, for example, an address of the terminal device, a serial number, or information that can identify other terminal devices. In the present embodiment, the case where the identifier of the terminal device is an address will be mainly described. When the current position is the current position of the user position output device 1, the current position acquisition unit 13 may acquire the current position using, for example, GPS (Global Positioning System), and may be an autonomous gyro. The current position may be obtained by using a navigation device, and both may be obtained by making up for each other's drawbacks by using both, or by using the base station nearest to the mobile phone The current position may be acquired. When the current position is the current position of the visitor's terminal device, the current position may be acquired by using the GPS, an autonomous navigation device, or the like in the terminal device. Further, the current position acquired by the current position acquisition unit 13 may be, for example, coordinates indicating latitude and longitude, or may be other coordinates. In addition, when the current position is the current position of the visitor's terminal device, the current position acquisition unit 13 may receive the current position including the direction (orientation) of the terminal device. Also good. Further, when the current position is the current position of the user position output device 1, the current position acquisition unit 13 may acquire the current position including the direction (orientation) of the user position output device 1, or so It does not have to be. The direction may be indicated by, for example, an azimuth angle measured clockwise with north as 0 degree, or may be indicated by information indicating other directions. When the visitor's terminal device or the user position output device 1 is a car navigation device, the direction (orientation) may be, for example, the traveling direction (orientation in front of the automobile). When the visitor's terminal device or the user position output device 1 is a mobile phone, PDA, PND or the like, the direction (orientation) may be, for example, the direction of the device. In addition, when the current position is the current position of the user position output device 1, the current position acquisition unit 13 may include an electronic compass or a geomagnetic sensor in order to acquire the direction. Further, when the current position is the current position of the visitor's terminal device, the direction of the device may be acquired using an electronic compass or a geomagnetic sensor in the visitor's terminal device. Further, the current position and the like acquired by the current position acquisition unit 13 may be stored in a recording medium (not shown).

  The user identifier receiving unit 14 receives a user identifier. The user identifier received by the user identifier receiving unit 14 is for specifying a user visited by the visitor. Thus, this user identifier is usually entered by the visitor, but need not be. In the latter case, for example, the user identifier selected by the visitor safety confirmation system as a user to be visited by the visitor may be received by the user identifier receiving unit 14. Further, when the user inputs a user identifier, the input may be performed by selection from a plurality of user identifiers registered in advance.

  For example, the user identifier receiving unit 14 may receive a user identifier input from an input device (for example, a keyboard, a mouse, a touch panel, etc.), and receives a user identifier transmitted via a wired or wireless communication line. Alternatively, a user identifier read from a predetermined recording medium (for example, an optical disk, a magnetic disk, a semiconductor memory, etc.) may be received. Note that the user identifier reception unit 14 may or may not include a device (for example, a modem or a network card) for reception. Further, the user identifier receiving unit 14 may be realized by hardware, or may be realized by software such as a driver that drives a predetermined device.

  The receiving unit 15 receives current information including a user identifier and the current position of the user identified by the user identifier. This current information is transmitted from a mobile phone or the like possessed by the user. The current position of the user can be known from the current information received by the receiving unit 15. Note that the transmission timing of the current information received by the receiving unit 15 does not matter. For example, the receiving unit 15 may receive the current information periodically transmitted, or may receive the current information transmitted in response to the transmission request transmitted from the user position output device 1. In the former case, the received current information is stored. In addition, since it is only necessary to know the latest current position for each user, the current information having the same user identifier may be stored by being overwritten.

  The receiving unit 15 may or may not include a wired or wireless receiving device (for example, a modem or a network card) for receiving. The receiving unit 15 may be realized by hardware, or may be realized by software such as a driver that drives the receiving device.

  The determination unit 16 determines whether the current position included in the current information received by the receiving unit 15 matches the position of the residence information corresponding to the user identifier included in the current information. This determination makes it possible to know whether the user is at the place of residence. The determination may be a determination as to whether or not the two match exactly, or a determination as to whether or not the two match within a predetermined error range. Since this determination is made to determine whether or not the user is in the residential location indicated by the residential location information, when determining whether or not they match within the error range, It is preferable that an error corresponding to the accuracy of the current position included in the current information is set. For example, the error may be about 10 to 50 meters.

  The route information generation unit 17 generates route information that is information about a route from the current position acquired by the current position acquisition unit 13 to the location of the residence information corresponding to the user identifier received by the user identifier reception unit 14. With this route information, the route from the current location of the visitor to the user's residence can be known. The route information may include a route image that is an image indicating a route between two positions. The route image may be an image of a line connecting a number of points constituting the route from the start point to the end point. In addition, the route information may be text information (for example, “go north for 250 m, cross the pedestrian crossing and go west for 500 m, and go north for 200 m”). In addition, the route information generation unit 17 may also generate a scheduled arrival time at the location of the residence information that is the destination. The estimated arrival time may be calculated using the route. The route information generation unit 17 may use the map information stored in the map information storage unit 11 when generating the route information. In addition, the route information generation unit 17 corresponds to the current position included in the current information and the user identifier included in the current information (this corresponds to the user identifier received by the user identifier reception unit 14). A route related to a route from the current position acquired by the current position acquisition unit 13 to the current position included in the current information received by the reception unit 15 when the determination unit 16 determines that the position of the residence place information does not match. When the information is generated and the determination unit 16 determines that they match, from the current position acquired by the current position acquisition unit 13 to the position of the residence information corresponding to the user identifier received by the user identifier reception unit 14 Route information relating to the route of may be generated. In this embodiment, this case will be mainly described. When the residence information is an address or the like, the route information generation unit 17 specifies the position of the address or the like using, for example, map information, and generates route information using the specified position. May be.

  Here, a method in which the route information generation unit 17 generates a route from the start point to the end point will be briefly described. The route information generation unit 17 acquires coordinates (for example, latitude and longitude) respectively corresponding to the two positions of the start point and the end point, and performs a route search between the acquired two coordinates. Specifically, the route information generation unit 17 usually determines the route using the map information so that the score of the route from the start point to the end point is minimized. In the route search, for example, Dijkstra method may be used, A * algorithm may be used, Bellman-Ford method may be used, Warsal-Floyd method may be used, and other algorithms may be used. Also good.

  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 the destination is reached. Furthermore, in the Dijkstra method, the required memory amount and processing time increase in proportion to the number of links and nodes. Note that a node is a point on the map. The link is a line connecting the nodes (reference: Internet <URL: http://www.devnotes.net/acmicpc/dijkstra/>).

  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 is shorter than the Dijkstra method. Further, since the predicted distance is included in the A * algorithm, the route may not be the shortest route when the destination is reached. In addition, in the A * algorithm, priority is given to reaching the destination, and the memory capacity and processing time can be reduced (reference: Internet <URL: http: //ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/A*%E3%) 82% A2% E3% 83% AB% E3% 82% B4% E3% 83% AA% E3% 82% BA% E3% 83% A0>). It is assumed that the information necessary for the route information generation unit 17 to perform route search is stored in the map information storage unit 11.

  In addition, the route information generation unit 17 can obtain the travel time when the route is used by calculating the distance of the generated route and dividing the distance by the moving speed. In that case, you may make it use the moving speed according to a moving means (for example, a motor vehicle, a bicycle, walking, etc.). Also, if a part of the route includes parts with different travel speeds (for example, if the part of the route is a highway or if there is a traffic jam on a part of the route) The required time from the starting point to the destination may be obtained by calculating and adding the required time within the range of. In addition, the route information generation unit 17 can generate the estimated time of arrival at the destination by adding the acquired required time to the time when the route information is generated.

  The generation of the route, the time of arrival schedule, and the like are already known and will not be described in detail. For example, in the online map, when the latitude / longitude of the start point and the latitude / longitude of the end point are input, the route, distance, and travel time from the start point to the end point are displayed (for example, “http: /// map.google.co.jp/maps "). Further, the route information generation unit 17 may pass the route start point and end point to another server or the like and receive the route information from the server or the like. Even in that case, the route information generation unit 17 may be considered to have generated the route information.

  The output unit 18 outputs map information, route information generated by the route information generation unit 17, and user position information corresponding to the user identifier received by the user identifier reception unit 14. The output unit 18 may output these pieces of information simultaneously or separately. When the user position output device 1 is a device used directly by a visitor, the output unit 18 may display such information. When the user position output device 1 is a server that provides route information while communicating with the terminal device used by the visitor, the output unit 18 transmits the information to the terminal device. Also good. When the user position information is stored in the user information storage unit 12 in association with the time zone, the output unit 18 outputs the user position information according to the output time when outputting the user position information. Or user position information corresponding to the estimated arrival time generated by the route information generation unit 17 may be output. In the former case, the output unit 18 may acquire the current time at the time of output from a clock unit (not shown) and output user position information according to the current time. The output unit 18 may output the user position information when the current position acquired by the current position acquisition unit 13 is the position indicated by the residence place information, or may not be so. In the latter case, the user position information may also be output at the timing when the route information is output. “When the current position becomes the position indicated by the residence information” is when the visitor arrives at the destination. The judgment of whether the current position and the position indicated by the residence information match may be a judgment of whether or not they match exactly, or whether or not they match within a predetermined error range. It may be a judgment. This determination is made to determine whether the visitor has reached the residence indicated by the residence information. Therefore, when determining whether they match within the range of error, the residence location is determined. It is preferable that an error is set according to the range and the accuracy of the current position acquired by the current position acquisition unit 13. For example, the error may be about 10 to 50 meters. Moreover, when outputting map information, the output part 18 may read only the map information used as output object from the map information storage part 11, and may output it. The output map image may include, for example, a place name, a direction figure, a scale display, and the like. When the current position acquired by the current position acquisition unit 13 changes, the map information to be output may be changed according to the change. For example, the output unit 18 may read and output a new map according to the visitor's movement. The output unit 18 may output a map including a mark indicating the visitor's position, for example. Further, when the route information includes a route image, the output unit 18 may output a map including the route image. The display of the route on the map may be a display of a route in the vicinity of the current position, or may be a display of the entire route. The output unit 18 may perform navigation processing using the map information, route information, and the current location of the visitor. The navigation process is a process of guiding a route using route information so that the user can reach the destination from the departure point. This process is already known as a process of a known navigation device, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  Here, as described above, this output may be displayed on a display device (for example, a CRT or a liquid crystal display), or may be transmitted to a predetermined device via a communication line. Note that the output unit 18 may or may not include a device that performs output (for example, a display device or a transmission device). The output unit 18 may be realized by hardware, or may be realized by software such as a driver that drives these devices.

  Note that when the receiving unit 15 receives current information transmitted in response to transmission of a transmission request from the user position output device 1, a transmission unit (not shown) may transmit the transmission request. In that case, for example, in the user position output device 1, the user identifier and the address of the user identified by the user identifier are stored in association with each other. The transmission request may be transmitted to an address corresponding to the user identifier received by the user.

  The map information storage unit 11 and the user information storage unit 12 may be realized by the same recording medium or may be realized by separate recording media. In the former case, the area storing map information is the map information storage unit 11, and the area storing user information is the user information storage unit 12.

  In addition, since the user position information and the like handled by the user position output device 1 is information relating to the user's privacy, when a visitor uses the user position output device 1, for example, a password or the like is input and authentication is performed. You may make it available after performing. When the user position output device 1 communicates with a visitor's terminal device, the communication may be encrypted.

  Next, the operation of the user position output device 1 will be described using the flowchart of FIG. In this flowchart, the case where the user position output device 1 is a server that provides route information while communicating with a terminal device used by a visitor will be mainly described. can do. Also, it is assumed that a user identifier and a user address identified by the user identifier are stored in association with each other in a recording medium (not shown) of the user position output device 1.

  (Step S101) The user identifier receiving unit 14 determines whether a user identifier has been received. If the user identifier is accepted, the process proceeds to step S102. If not, the process of step S101 is repeated until the user identifier is accepted. In this flowchart, it is assumed that a user identifier for identifying a visited user and the current position of the terminal device are transmitted from the terminal device of the visitor to the user position output device 1. Therefore, when the user identifier is accepted, the current position is acquired by the current position acquisition unit 13.

  (Step S102) A transmission unit (not shown) transmits a transmission request with the address corresponding to the user identifier received in step S101 as a transmission destination.

  (Step S103) The receiving unit 15 determines whether or not the current information has been received in response to the transmission of the transmission request in step S102. If the current information is received, the process proceeds to step S104. If not, the process of step S103 is repeated until the current information is received. If the current information is not received even after a predetermined time has elapsed since the transmission request was transmitted, it may be determined that a timeout has occurred, and the process may return to step S101 or may proceed to step S105.

  (Step S104) The determination unit 16 determines whether or not the current position included in the current information received by the reception unit 15 matches the position of the residence information corresponding to the user identifier included in the current information. If they match, the process proceeds to step S105, and if not, the process proceeds to step S106.

  (Step S105) The route information generation unit 17 generates route information from the current location of the visitor acquired by the current location acquisition unit 13 to the location of the residence information corresponding to the user identifier received by the user identifier reception unit 14. To do. Note that, as described above, the route information generation unit 17 may or may not generate the scheduled arrival time.

  (Step S106) The route information generation unit 17 generates route information from the current location of the visitor acquired by the current location acquisition unit 13 to the current location of the user included in the current information received by the reception unit 15.

  (Step S107) The output unit 18 generates the route information generated by the route information generation unit 17. That is, the output unit 18 may transmit route information and map information in a range corresponding to the route to the transmission source of the user identifier received by the user identifier reception unit 14.

  (Step S108) The current position acquisition unit 13 determines whether the current position of the visitor has been acquired. If acquired, the process proceeds to step S109. If not, the process of step S108 is repeated until the current position is acquired.

  (Step S109) The output unit 18 updates the output symmetry according to the current position acquired by the current position acquisition unit 13. This update may be an output symmetric update similar to the case where navigation from the departure point to the destination is sequentially performed by the navigation device. For example, it may be a change in the range of the map to be output according to a change in the current position, or a change in the orientation of the map according to a change in the direction of the apparatus.

  (Step S110) The output unit 18 determines whether or not the destination has been reached. If the destination has been reached, the process proceeds to step S111. If not, the process returns to step S108.

  (Step S111) The output unit 18 determines whether the route information to the place of residence has been output or the route information to the current position of the user has been output. In the former case, the process proceeds to step S112. In the latter case, the process returns to step S101.

  (Step S112) The output unit 18 transmits user position information corresponding to the user identifier received by the user identifier receiving unit 14 to the transmission source of the user identifier. At that time, the output unit 18 may acquire the time at that time from a clock unit (not shown), and may transmit user position information corresponding to the time, at the scheduled arrival time generated by the route information generation unit 17. The corresponding user position information may be transmitted. Then, the process returns to step S101.

  In step S104 in the flowchart of FIG. 2, it is determined whether the user identifier received in step S101 matches the user identifier included in the current information received in step S103. You may make it judge with the position of residence place information. Further, in the flowchart of FIG. 2, only one process in which one visitor visits one user is shown, but a plurality of processes may be performed in parallel. In that case, a plurality of processes may be distinguished by the user identifier of the visited site, the identifier of the terminal device of the visitor, or the like. In the flowchart of FIG. 2, the process is ended by power-off or a process end interrupt.

  Next, the operation of the user position output device 1 according to the present embodiment will be described using a specific example. In this specific example, as shown in FIG. 3, the user position output device 1 communicates with the terminal device 2 possessed by the visitor and the mobile phone 3 possessed by the user via a wired or wireless communication line 500. Suppose you want to do it. Therefore, in this specific example, the current position acquisition unit 13 receives the current position, the user identifier reception unit 14 receives the user identifier, and the output unit 18 transmits information. The communication line 500 is, for example, the Internet, an intranet, a public telephone line network, or the like. As described above, the visitor's terminal device 2 may be, for example, a PDA, a tablet computer, a smartphone, or the like. The terminal device 2 is assumed to have a current position acquisition function. It is assumed that the user's mobile phone 3 also has a current position acquisition function. These current positions are assumed to be latitude and longitude. Further, in this specific example, it is assumed that the current position acquisition method in the terminal device 2 or the mobile phone 3 uses GPS and a base station. That is, when GPS is available, the current position is acquired by GPS, and when GPS is not available, the current position is acquired by using a base station. In this specific example, it is assumed that each user carries the mobile phone 3. Further, it is assumed that the mobile phone 3 has a function of acquiring the current position in response to reception of a transmission request from the user position output device 1 and returning it to the user position output device 1.

  In this specific example, the user information storage unit 12 stores the user information shown in FIG. In the user information of FIG. 4, a user identifier, residence location information that is latitude / longitude, a time zone, and user location information that is an image showing the location of the user are associated with each other. For example, the user identified by the user identifier “U001” (hereinafter, this user may be referred to as user U001. The same applies to other users) is located at the location of the residence location information (X501, Y501). You can see that you live. Further, it can be seen that the user U001 is in the position indicated by the image “P001-1.gif” in the time zone 7:00 to 21:00. In addition, P001-1. gif is shown in FIG. 5A, and P001-2. It is assumed that gif is as shown in FIG. In FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B, the user position information is a sketch of the building, and the position where the user is located is indicated by a double circle figure. In addition, the position of the entrance is shown by a triangular figure. Therefore, for example, the user U001 is in the south room on the first floor at the time zone 7:00 to 21:00, and is in the room on the east side of the second floor at the time zone 21:00 to 7:00. I understand. In FIG. 4, the user information including the user identifier “U002” has no time zone set. In this case, it is assumed that the user position information is “P002.gif” for all time zones.

  First, it is assumed that a visitor operates the terminal device 2 to display a user list as shown in FIG. Then, it is assumed that the visited user U001 is selected in the list. Then, the terminal device 2 acquires the current position (X101, Y101) at that time, and transmits the acquired current position and the user identifier “U001” to a predetermined address of the user position output device 1. To do.

  The user identifier “U001” transmitted from the terminal device 2 is received by the user identifier reception unit 14 of the user position output device 1, and the current position (X101, Y101) is received by the current position acquisition unit 13 (step S101). ). The user identifier reception unit 14 passes the received user identifier to the determination unit 16 and the route information generation unit 17. The determination unit 16 and the route information generation unit 17 accumulate the received user identifier in a recording medium (not shown). In addition, the user identifier reception unit 14 passes the transmission source address of the received user identifier, that is, the address of the transmission source terminal device 2 and the received user identifier to the output unit 18. The output unit 18 stores the address and the user identifier in association with each other in a recording medium (not shown). The current position acquisition unit 13 passes the received current position to the route information generation unit 17, and passes the current position and the address of the terminal device 2 that is the transmission source of the current position to the output unit. The output unit 18 stores the received current position in a recording medium (not shown) in association with the received address. As a result, in the recording medium (not shown), the address of the terminal device 2, the user identifier, and the current position of the terminal device 2 are associated with each other. In addition, when receiving the user identifier, the route information generation unit 17 instructs a transmission unit (not shown) to transmit a transmission request for current information to the mobile phone 3 corresponding to the user identifier. Then, in response to the instruction, the transmission unit (not shown) refers to the information stored in the recording medium (not shown) and associates the user identifier with the address of the mobile phone 3 and receives the user received from the route information generation unit 17. A transmission request for transmitting the current information is transmitted to the address corresponding to the identifier “U001” (step S102).

  The transmission request is received by the mobile phone 3 of the user U001. Then, the mobile phone 3 acquires the current location (X201, Y201) at that time, and transmits the current information including the current location and the user identifier “U001” identifying the user of the mobile phone 3 Send to request source address. In this specific example, it is assumed that the user U001 is at the place of residence.

  The current information thus transmitted from the mobile phone 3 is received by the receiving unit 15 of the user position output device 1, and the user identifier “U001” included in the current information and the current position (X201, Y201) are Is passed to the determination unit 16, and the current position is passed to the route information generation unit 17 (step S103). When receiving the user identifier and the current position from the receiving unit 15, the determining unit 16 determines whether the user identifier matches the user identifier received from the user identifier receiving unit 14 in advance. In this case, both are “U001” and match. Therefore, the determination unit 16 searches the user information shown in FIG. 4 using the user identifier “U001” received from the reception unit 15 as a search key. Then, the residence information (X501, Y501) is acquired from the first record (user information) that has been hit. And it is judged whether the position of the residence place information and the present position (X201, Y201) received from the receiving part 15 correspond. In this case, it is assumed that both coincide with each other within an error range (step S104). Then, the determination unit 16 passes to the route information generation unit 17 that the two match. When the route information generation unit 17 receives the determination result from the determination unit 16, the user identifier “U001” received from the user identifier reception unit 14 from the current position (X101, Y101) received from the current position acquisition unit 13. Route information R001 relating to the route to the residence location information (X501, Y501) corresponding to is generated (step S105). The route information R001 indicates a plurality of coordinates (latitude / longitude) in the route from the departure point to the destination. The route information generation unit 17 passes the generated route information R001, the user identifier “U001” corresponding to the destination of the route information, and information indicating that the destination is a place of residence to the output unit 18. Then, the output unit 18 stores the route information and information indicating that the destination is a residence place in a recording medium (not shown) in association with the user identifier received from the route information generation unit 17. As a result, the address of the visitor's terminal device 2, the current location of the visitor's terminal device 2, the user identifier of the visited user, route information to the user's location, and the destination are the residences. Is stored in association with information indicating whether or not. Further, the output unit 18 reads out the map information in a range corresponding to the received route information from the map information storage unit 11, and uses the read map information and route information as the address of the terminal device 2 corresponding to the route information. (Step S107). The transmission target may be, for example, the display image itself or information such as coordinates for generating the display image.

  The map information and route information transmitted from the user position output device 1 are received by the visitor's terminal device 2 and displayed on its display as shown in FIG. In FIG. 7, the current position is indicated by a solid triangular figure, and the route to the place where the user U001 resides is indicated. Thereafter, as the visitor moves along the route, the current position is sequentially transmitted from the terminal device 2 to the user position output device 1. The current position is received by the current position acquisition unit 13 of the user position output device 1 (step S108), and the current position and the transmission source address of the current position are passed to the output unit 18. The output unit 18 updates the current location of the visitor, the range of the map to be transmitted, and the route to be transmitted in response to reception of the current location. For example, for a route that a visitor has already passed, the route to be transmitted may be updated so that the route is not displayed. Then, the output unit 18 transmits the updated map information and route information to the terminal device 2 (step S109). In response to the transmission, the display on the visitor terminal device 2 is updated. This process is the same as the process in a known navigation device, and detailed description thereof is omitted. Moreover, navigation may be performed in the terminal device 2 of the visitor similarly to the navigation device. For example, in the terminal device 2, “turn left at the next intersection” or “go straight on the next crossroad” may be output in text or voice.

  Each time the current position acquisition unit 13 acquires the current position, the output unit 18 matches the current position with the destination of the route information corresponding to the transmission source address of the current position within a predetermined error range. (Step S110). When it is determined that the addresses match, that is, when the visitor arrives at the destination within a predetermined error range, the output unit 18 displays the destination corresponding to the address of the transmission source of the current position. It is determined whether or not the information indicating whether or not the place indicates that the destination is a place of residence (step S111). If this is indicated, the output unit 18 acquires the time at that time from a clock unit (not shown). It is assumed that the time is “7:25”. Then, the output unit 18 transmits the user location information “P001-1.gif” corresponding to the time “7:25” and the user identifier “U001” corresponding to the address of the transmission source of the current location to the user information storage unit. 12 and is transmitted to the transmission source address of the current position (step S112). As a result, the visitor terminal device 2 displays the user location information “P001-1.gif” as shown in FIG. The visitor can easily know that the visited user U001 is in the south-side room on the first floor, and can easily access the user U001.

  In this specific example, the case where the user position output device 1 is a server device in a server / client system has been described. However, as described above, this need not be the case. That is, the user position output device 1 may be a device itself used by a visitor.

  In this specific example, the case where the route information from the current location of the visitor to the location of the residence information is generated has been described, but this need not be the case. If the user is not at the location of the residence information, route information from the visitor's current location to the user's current location may be generated and the route information may be output (steps S104, S106, S107). By doing so, a visitor can avoid visiting a place where there is no user.

  Also, in this specific example, when route information to the user's place of residence is generated, the situation where the user position information is output when the visitor arrives at the place of residence has been described. Good. For example, when outputting route information, user position information may be output together. In this case, as described above, the route information generation unit 17 may also generate a scheduled arrival time, and the output unit 18 may output user position information corresponding to the scheduled arrival time.

  Moreover, although this specific example demonstrated the case where the user position information according to the time at the time of output was output, it may not be so. As described above, the route information generation unit 17 may also generate a scheduled arrival time, and the output unit 18 may output user position information corresponding to the scheduled arrival time.

  As described above, according to the user position output device 1 according to the present embodiment, it is possible to know not only the route to the user's place of residence, but also the position of the user at the place of residence. As a result, for example, when visiting an elderly person living alone during a disaster, it is possible to easily reach the place where the elderly person is living alone, and the rescue of the elderly person living alone becomes easier. For example, in the event of an earthquake, fire, tsunami, etc., when you go to help an elderly person living alone, how quickly you can meet the elderly person living alone divides the life and death of the elderly person living alone or a visitor. Can also be. In such a case, by using the user position output device 1 according to the present embodiment, it becomes possible to meet the elderly living alone earlier, and the rescue rate of the elderly living alone can be improved.

  In the present embodiment, the case where the user position output device 1 receives current information has been described, but this need not be the case. When the current information is not received, the user position output device 1 may not include the receiving unit 15, the determining unit 16, and the transmitting unit (not shown).

  In the user information of the present embodiment, information indicating that the user is highly likely to be at the position indicated by the user position information may be associated with the time zone. For example, the information may indicate that the user is in a time zone for receiving day service, or indicates that the user is in a time zone for receiving a visit from a doctor or nurse. Also good. Then, the information may be output together with the user position information. By doing so, the visitor can easily know whether or not the user is likely to be at the position indicated by the user position information.

  Moreover, although this Embodiment demonstrated the case where user position information exist for every time slot | zone in user information, it may not be so. The user position information may be associated with the day of the week, the user position information may be associated with the day of the week and the time zone, or may be associated with another period. Further, the user position information may not be associated with a period such as a time zone.

  Moreover, although this Embodiment mainly demonstrated using the user position output apparatus 1 for the rescue of an elderly person living alone, it may not be so. For example, the user position output device 1 may be used when visiting other users (for example, persons with disabilities) to be visited.

  In the above embodiment, each process or each function may be realized by centralized processing by a single device or a single system, or may be distributedly processed by a plurality of devices or a plurality of systems. It may be realized by doing.

  In the above embodiment, the information exchange between the components is performed by one component when, for example, the two components that exchange the information are physically different from each other. It may be performed by outputting information and receiving information by the other component, or when two components that exchange information are physically the same, one component May be performed by moving from the phase of the process corresponding to to the phase of the process corresponding to the other component.

  In the above embodiment, information related to processing executed by each component, for example, information received, acquired, selected, generated, transmitted, or received by each component In addition, information such as threshold values, mathematical formulas, addresses, etc. used by each component in processing is retained temporarily or over a long period of time on a recording medium (not shown) even when not explicitly stated in the above description. It may be. Further, the storage of information in the recording medium (not shown) may be performed by each component or a storage unit (not shown). Further, reading of information from the recording medium (not shown) may be performed by each component or a reading unit (not shown).

  In the above embodiment, when information used by each component, for example, information such as a threshold value, an address, and various setting values used by each component may be changed by the user Even if it is not specified in the above description, the user may be able to change the information as appropriate, or it may not be. If the information can be changed by the user, the change is realized by, for example, a not-shown receiving unit that receives a change instruction from the user and a changing unit (not shown) that changes the information in accordance with the change instruction. May be. The change instruction received by the receiving unit (not shown) may be received from an input device, information received via a communication line, or information read from a predetermined recording medium, for example. .

  In the above embodiment, when two or more components included in the user position output apparatus 1 include a communication device, an input device, etc., the two or more components have a physically single device. Or may have separate devices.

  In the above embodiment, each component may be configured by dedicated hardware, or a component that can be realized by software may be realized by executing a program. For example, each component can be realized by a program execution unit such as a CPU reading and executing a software program recorded on a recording medium such as a hard disk or a semiconductor memory. At the time of execution, the program execution unit may execute the program while accessing the storage unit or the recording medium. In addition, the software which implement | achieves the user position output device 1 in the said embodiment is the following programs. That is, this program includes a user information storage unit in which user information including a user identifier for identifying a user, residence location information indicating a user's residence, and user location information indicating a user's location in the residence is stored. A computer that can access a map information storage unit that stores map information that is information related to a map is acquired by a current location acquisition unit that acquires a current location, a user identifier reception unit that receives a user identifier, and a current location acquisition unit A route information generating unit that generates route information that is information about a route from the current position to the location of the residence information corresponding to the user identifier received by the user identifier receiving unit, map information, and a route generated by the route information generating unit Information and user location information corresponding to the user identifier received by the user identifier reception unit Is a program for functioning as that output.

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

  Further, this program may be executed by being downloaded from a server or the like, and a program recorded on a predetermined recording medium (for example, an optical disk such as a CD-ROM, a magnetic disk, a semiconductor memory, or the like) is read out. May be executed by Further, this program may be used as a program constituting a program product.

  Further, the computer that executes this program may be singular or plural. That is, centralized processing may be performed, or distributed processing may be performed.

  FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of an external appearance of a computer that executes the program and realizes the user position output apparatus 1 according to the embodiment. The above-described embodiment can be realized by computer hardware and a computer program executed on the computer hardware.

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

  FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an internal configuration of the computer system 900. In FIG. 10, 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 a LAN, WAN, or the like.

  A program for causing the computer system 900 to execute the function of the user position output device 1 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 the hard disk 914. May be forwarded to. 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 user position output device 1 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.

  Further, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, 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, according to the user position output device and the like according to the present invention, an effect is obtained that it is possible to know the position of the user's place of residence, for example, an apparatus that can efficiently meet the visited user. Useful as such.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 User position output device 11 Map information storage part 12 User information storage part 13 Current position acquisition part 14 User identifier reception part 15 Reception part 16 Judgment part 17 Route information generation part 18 Output part

Claims (7)

A user information storage unit for storing user information including a user identifier for identifying a user, residence information indicating the user's residence, and user location information indicating the user's location at the residence;
A map information storage unit that stores map information that is information about the map;
A current position acquisition unit for acquiring the current position;
A user identifier receiving unit for receiving a user identifier;
A route information generation unit that generates route information that is information about a route from the current position acquired by the current position acquisition unit to the position of the residence information corresponding to the user identifier received by the user identifier reception unit;
A user position output device comprising: an output unit that outputs the map information, route information generated by the route information generation unit, and user position information corresponding to the user identifier received by the user identifier reception unit. The user information has user position information for each time zone,
The user position output device according to claim 1, wherein the output unit outputs user position information corresponding to an output time. The user information has user position information for each time zone,
The route information generation unit also generates the time of arrival at the location of the residence information,
The user position output device according to claim 1, wherein the output unit outputs user position information corresponding to a scheduled arrival time. The user position output device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the output unit outputs the user position information when a current position is a position indicated by residence place information. A receiving unit for receiving current information including a user identifier and a current position of the user identified by the user identifier;
A determination unit that determines whether the current position included in the current information received by the reception unit matches the position of the residence information corresponding to the user identifier included in the current information;
The route information generation unit relates to a route from the current position acquired by the current position acquisition unit to the current position included in the current information received by the reception unit when the determination unit determines that they do not match. The user position output device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein route information is generated. User information storage unit storing user information having a user identifier for identifying a user, residence location information indicating the residence location of the user, and user location information indicating the location of the user at the residence location, and a map A user position output method that is processed using a map information storage unit that stores map information that is information, a current position acquisition unit, a user identifier reception unit, a route information generation unit, and an output unit,
The current position acquisition unit acquires a current position, a current position acquisition step;
A user identifier receiving step in which the user identifier receiving unit receives a user identifier;
A route for generating route information that is information about a route from the current position acquired in the current position acquisition step to the location of the residence information corresponding to the user identifier received in the user identifier reception step. An information generation step;
A user comprising: an output step in which the output unit outputs the map information, route information generated in the route information generation step, and user position information corresponding to the user identifier received in the user identifier reception step. Position output method. User information storage unit storing user information having a user identifier for identifying a user, residence location information indicating the residence location of the user, and user location information indicating the location of the user at the residence location, and a map A computer that can access a map information storage unit in which map information that is information is stored,
A current position acquisition unit for acquiring the current position;
A user identifier receiving unit for receiving a user identifier,
A route information generation unit that generates route information that is information about a route from the current position acquired by the current position acquisition unit to the location of the residence information corresponding to the user identifier received by the user identifier reception unit;
A program for functioning as an output unit that outputs the map information, route information generated by the route information generation unit, and user location information corresponding to the user identifier received by the user identifier reception unit.

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