JP2014048916A - Peripheral information search device, peripheral information search method, and peripheral information search program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a peripheral information search device capable of efficiently preforming peripheral information search at a high speed satisfying user's need.SOLUTION: A peripheral information search device 10 includes: a specific point contribution information storage that stores a piece of specific point contribution information; a specific point information storage that stores a piece of specific point information including a piece of positional information on each specific point; a section information storage that stores a piece of section information including a piece of search region information for identifying a search region according to a feature of each section; calculation means that calculates the search region information; setting means that sets the search region information to the section information; identifying means that identifies a section to which a user terminal belongs based on the positional information of the user terminal; extraction means that extracts the search region information from the section information storage based on the section; search region calculation means that calculates the search region based on the positional information and the search region information of the user terminal; and search means that searches the specific point information based on the search region and searches the specific point contribution information based on the specific point information.

Description

  The present invention relates to a peripheral information search device, a peripheral information search method, and a peripheral information search program that search for information related to a peripheral point based on user position information.

  Conventionally, there has been a web service called a mini blog (also called a micro blog or a tweet blog) that accepts posting information (short text data) from multiple users on the web and allows the posting information to be viewed on the web. Are known. As such a web service, there is a service such as a website shown in Non-Patent Document 1 below.

  In the service shown in Non-Patent Document 1 below, there is a mechanism that allows post information to be associated with position information (latitude / longitude) so that post information can be searched based on position information. With this mechanism, the user can search for posted information posted around the current position of the user and display only the corresponding posted information on the user terminal.

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  However, not all users associate position information with post information. Further, the post information associated with the position information is only information posted at the point indicated by the position information, and does not necessarily include information regarding the point. Therefore, with the above-described mechanism, the user cannot always efficiently obtain information on facilities, landmarks, and the like around the current position.

  Therefore, the present inventors have found a method of associating posted information with point information such as facilities and landmarks based on text information included in the posted information. Thus, in response to the user's search request, first the point information around the user's current position is searched, and further, the posted information is searched based on the acquired point information, so that the points around the user's current position It is possible to realize a search service for presenting post information on the user.

  In such a search service, it is preferable to return search results of the minimum guaranteed number or more so as to satisfy the user's request. Here, as a method of searching for posted information about points around the current position of the user, the initial value of the search range for searching for point information is set narrowly, and then gradually until posting information exceeding the minimum guaranteed number is obtained. A possible method is to expand the search range.

  However, if the initial value of the search range is made too narrow, search results exceeding the minimum guaranteed number cannot be obtained during the initial search, and the number of times the search range is reset (expanded) before a search result exceeding the minimum guaranteed number is obtained. May increase and the response to the user may deteriorate.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a peripheral information search device, a peripheral information search method, and a peripheral information search program that can efficiently and rapidly perform peripheral information search that satisfies a user's request.

  A peripheral information search device according to the present invention is a peripheral information search device that executes a peripheral information search in response to a request from a user terminal, and stores a specific point posting information for each predetermined specific point. Posting information storage means, specific spot information storage means for storing specific spot information including position information for each specific spot, and search area for specifying a search area according to the characteristics of the sections for each predetermined section Section information storage means for storing section information including information, calculation means for calculating search area information for each section, setting means for setting the search area information calculated by the calculation means to the section information associated with the section; Acquiring means for acquiring position information of the user terminal, specifying means for specifying a section to which the user terminal belongs based on the position information of the user terminal acquired by the acquiring means, and specifying means Based on the more specific section, based on the extraction means for extracting the search area information from the section information storage means, the location information of the user terminal acquired by the acquisition means and the search area information extracted by the extraction means, Search area calculation means for calculating a search area; search for one or a plurality of specific spot information from the specific spot information storage means based on the search area; and a specific spot from the specific spot posting information storage means based on the specific spot information Search means for searching for posted information.

  The peripheral information search method according to the present invention stores specific point posting information storage means for storing specific point posting information for each predetermined specific point, and specific point information including the position information for each specific point. Specific location information storage means and division information storage means for storing division information including search area information for specifying a search area according to the characteristics of the division for each predetermined division. A calculation step for calculating region information, a setting step for setting the search region information calculated in the calculation step as partition information associated with the partition, and a peripheral information search device that executes peripheral information search in response to a request from the user terminal The peripheral information search method executed by the acquisition step of acquiring the location information of the user terminal, and based on the location information of the user terminal acquired by the acquisition step And a step of identifying the section to which the user terminal belongs, an extraction step of extracting search area information from the section information storage means based on the section identified by the identification step, and the position of the user terminal acquired by the acquisition step A search area calculation step for calculating a search area based on the information and the search area information extracted by the extraction step; and searching for one or more specific spot information from the specific spot information storage means based on the search area; A search step of searching for specific point posting information from the specific point posting information storage means based on the specific point information.

  The peripheral information search program according to the present invention stores specific point posting information storage means for storing specific point posting information for each predetermined specific point, and specific point information including the position information for each specific point. A request from the user terminal, comprising: specific point information storage means; and section information storage means for storing section information including search area information for specifying a search area corresponding to the section characteristics for each predetermined section. A peripheral information search program that is executed by a computer provided in a peripheral information search device that executes a peripheral information search in response to a calculation module for calculating search area information and a calculation module for each section. A search module that sets the search area information calculated as above to the section information associated with the section, and an acquisition module that acquires the position information of the user terminal. Based on the location information of the user terminal acquired by executing the acquisition module and the specific module for specifying the section to which the user terminal belongs, and the section specified by executing the specific module Based on the extraction module for extracting the search area information from the section information storage means, the position information of the user terminal acquired by executing the acquisition module and the search area information extracted by executing the extraction module A search area calculation module for calculating a search area, and search for one or a plurality of specific spot information from the specific spot information storage means based on the search area, and from the specific spot post information storage means based on the specific spot information. A search module for searching for specific point posting information.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to set search area information for specifying a search area according to the characteristics of a section for each predetermined section. Thereby, at the time of a search, a search area | region can be calculated based on the positional information on a user terminal, and the search area information of the division to which a user terminal belongs. That is, it is possible to calculate a search area that is considered appropriate for searching for specific point posting information related to surrounding specific points based on the characteristics of the section to which the user terminal belongs. As described above, since the initial value of the search area can be appropriately determined, it can be expected that the search area is reset and the number of re-searches to satisfy the user's request is reduced. Therefore, it can be expected that peripheral information retrieval that satisfies the user's request is performed at high speed and efficiently.

  The above peripheral information search apparatus further includes a partition index storage unit that stores a partition index indicating a partition characteristic for each partition, and the calculation unit calculates the search area information of the partition based on the partition index. Also good.

  Further, according to the present invention, it can be expected that appropriate search area information can be calculated based on the section index indicating the characteristics of the section.

  In the above peripheral information search device, the calculation means calculates the search area information of the section based on the total number of the specific spot posting information stored in the specific spot posting information storage means and associated with the specific spot in the section. Also good.

  Further, according to the present invention, it can be expected that appropriate search area information can be calculated based on the total number of specific point posting information associated with specific points in a section.

  In the above peripheral information search device, for each section, a selection means for selecting a plurality of reference positions in the section, and a reference position selected by the selection means are determined to include one or more specific points, A necessary area calculating means for calculating a necessary area in which the total number of pieces of specific point posting information associated with one or a plurality of specific spots satisfies a predetermined condition, and the calculating means is all calculated by the necessary area calculating means. The search area information of the section may be calculated based on the necessary area at the reference position.

  According to the present invention, the necessary area for each reference position is calculated based on a plurality of reference positions in the section, and the search area information for the section is calculated and set based on the necessary areas for all the reference positions. be able to. In this way, by calculating a plurality of necessary areas where the number of search conditions satisfies the predetermined condition in the section, and calculating statistics (median, average value, mode value, etc.) based on the calculated necessary area, It is possible to calculate a search area that is considered appropriate for searching for specific point posting information about specific points in the vicinity.

  The peripheral information search apparatus further includes log information storage means for acquiring and storing log information including a request position and a request time at which the user terminal requested the peripheral information search, and the selection means is based on the log information. The reference position may be selected.

  According to the present invention, since the reference position is selected based on the log information including the request position and the request time at which the user terminal requested the peripheral information search, the position where the peripheral information search service is frequently used is considered. Thus, an appropriate reference position can be selected.

  In the peripheral information search apparatus, the search area may be a circular area centered on the position of the user terminal, and the search area information may be a radius of the circular area.

  Further, according to the present invention, since the search area can be specified by the radius of the circular area centered on the position of the user terminal, the storage area necessary for storing the search area information for each section can be suppressed. Further, when searching for specific point information, it is easy to determine whether or not the specific point is included in the search area depending on whether or not the distance between the user terminal and the specific point is equal to or less than the radius of the search area. Since the determination can be made, the search process can be easily implemented.

  In the above peripheral information search device, the search area calculation means adjusts the search area when the total number of specific point posting information searched by the search means does not satisfy the predetermined condition, and the search means determines that the total number satisfies the predetermined condition. The search process may be repeated until it is satisfied.

  According to the present invention, the search process can be repeated while adjusting the search area until the number of cases satisfying the predetermined condition is obtained. Thereby, even if it is a case where the number of search conditions which satisfy | fill predetermined conditions is not acquired by one search, the specific point contribution information of the number of conditions which satisfy | fill predetermined conditions can be reliably returned to a user terminal. That is, it is possible to reliably perform the peripheral information search that satisfies the user's request.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to efficiently and quickly perform peripheral information search that satisfies a user request.

It is a block diagram which shows the function structure of the periphery information search device which concerns on this embodiment. It is a hardware block diagram of the periphery information search device which concerns on this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of specific point information. It is a figure which shows the example of specific point posting information. It is a figure which shows the example of a division parameter | index. It is a figure which shows the example of division information. It is a flowchart which shows the setting operation | movement of the search area information by the periphery information search device which concerns on this embodiment. It is a figure used in order to demonstrate the concept in the setting of the search area information by the peripheral information search device concerning this embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the search process by the periphery information search device which concerns on this embodiment. It is a figure used in order to demonstrate operation | movement of the search process by the peripheral information search device which concerns on this embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the function structure of the periphery information search program which concerns on this embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the function structure of the surrounding information search device which concerns on a modification. It is a flowchart which shows the setting operation | movement of the search area information by the surrounding information search device which concerns on a modification. It is a figure which shows the example of log information. It is a figure which shows the example of the calculation method of the reference | standard position based on the log information by the surrounding information search device which concerns on a modification.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the description of the drawings, the same or equivalent elements are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of a peripheral information search apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment. A peripheral information search apparatus 10 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 1 includes a posted information collection unit 11, a specific spot information storage unit 12 (specific spot information storage unit), an association unit 13, and a specific spot post information storage unit 14 (specific spot post information storage unit). , Section index storage section 15, section information setting section 16 (calculation means, setting means), section information storage section 17 (section information storage means), search area calculation section 18 (acquisition means, identification means, extraction means, search area calculation) Means) and a search unit 19 (search means).

  FIG. 2 is a hardware configuration diagram of the peripheral information search apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment. The hardware configuration of the peripheral information search device 10 will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the peripheral information search apparatus 10 includes a CPU 101 that executes an operating system, an application program, and the like, a main storage unit 102 that includes a ROM and a RAM, and an auxiliary storage unit 103 that includes a hard disk memory. A communication control unit 104 that performs data communication, an output unit 105 including a liquid crystal monitor, an operation unit 106 including a keyboard and a mouse as input devices, a USB memory, a CD-ROM, a DVD, and the like And a recording medium reading unit 107 that reads the recording medium 200.

  Each function of the peripheral information search apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 1 is realized by reading and executing a predetermined software program in the main storage unit 102 under the control of the CPU 101. At that time, the CPU 101 controls data reading and writing operations in the main storage unit 102 and the auxiliary storage unit 103 according to the processing procedure of the software program, and controls operations of the operation unit 106, the output unit 105, and the communication control unit 104. . Hereinafter, each functional element shown in FIG. 1 will be described.

  The posted information collection unit 11 is a functional element that collects posted information posted on a tweet information posting site or a blog site on the Internet. In the post information, a post ID for uniquely identifying the post information, text information, and post date information are associated with each other. The posting information collection unit 11 may collect posting information directly by crawling on the Internet, for example, or may collect posting information by receiving provision of posting information from an external service provider or the like. Further, the posting information collection unit 11 may collect the posting information periodically so that the search unit 19 described later can search for the latest posting information as much as possible.

  The specific point information storage unit 12 is a functional element that stores specific point information regarding specific points such as facilities and landmarks. Specific point information stored in the specific point information storage unit 12 includes a point ID for uniquely identifying a specific point, a name (facility name, place name, building name, etc.), position information (latitude / longitude), A section ID that identifies the section is associated with each other. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of specific point information stored in the specific point information storage unit 12. Each item of specific point information is registered, for example, by introducing a commercially available position information database or inputting data by an operator.

  The association unit 13 is a functional element that associates a specific point (point ID) with the post information collected by the post information collection unit 11. The associating unit 13 determines whether or not the text information included in the posted information includes a character string related to the specific spot, and when the text information related to the specific spot is included in the text information, Associate the point ID of the specific point with the posted information. Here, the determination as to whether or not the text information related to the specific point is included in the text information may be determined based on whether or not the character string corresponding to the name of the specific point is included in the text information, The text information may be determined based on whether or not a character string indicating the same thing as the specific point is included in consideration of notation fluctuation, synonym, alias, and the like. Since the posted information collected by the posted information collection unit 11 and the specific spot information stored in the specific spot information storage unit 12 can be updated as appropriate, the associating unit 13 periodically associates the posted information with the spot ID. Is preferred.

  The specific point posting information storage unit 14 is a functional element that stores post information (specific point posting information) associated with the specific point (point ID) by the associating unit 13. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of specific point posting information stored in the specific point posting information storage unit 14. Here, the text information of the specific spot post information with the post ID “1” includes the name “XX park” of the specific spot with the spot ID “0001” stored in the specific spot information storage unit 12. Therefore, the association unit 13 sets “0001” as the spot ID of the specific spot posting information. The same applies to other specific point posting information. From a viewpoint of efficient use of the storage area, response performance of search processing by the search unit 19 to be described later, freshness of the stored specific point posting information, etc. It may be deleted from the unit 14.

  The partition index storage unit 15 is a functional element that stores a partition index for each predetermined partition. In the information stored in the partition index storage unit 15, a partition ID that uniquely identifies a partition, a partition name, and a partition index are associated with each other. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example (population) of the partition index stored in the partition index storage unit 15. Here, the “section” is an individual land range that is divided in advance by a business operator that provides a peripheral information search service using the peripheral information search apparatus 10. The sections may be set in city units (Hakodate, Sapporo) as shown in FIG. 5, for example. The “partition index” is an index used to determine a search area associated with a section. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, the population may be used as a partition index. Moreover, you may use indices, such as population density, the density of a specific point, and a division area, as a division | segmentation parameter | index. However, the section and the section index are not limited to the above.

  The partition information setting unit 16 is a functional element that calculates and sets search area information included in the partition information stored in the partition information storage unit 17 described later. Here, the “search area information” is numerical information for specifying a search area according to the characteristics of the sections (for example, “many population”, “many specific points”, etc.). In the present embodiment, the search area is a circular area centered on the position of the user terminal, and the search area information is the radius of the circular area.

  The partition information setting unit 16 includes, for each partition, calculation means for calculating a search radius (search area information) based on the population (compartment index) stored in the partition index storage unit 15 and a partition information storage unit 17 described later. It is a functional element comprising setting means for setting the search radius calculated by the calculating means in the section information of the section to be stored. Here, the partition information setting unit 16 may acquire the partition index not from the partition index storage unit 15 but via an external recording medium or a network.

  Further, the section information setting unit 16 may calculate the search radius based on the total number of specific point posting information associated with specific points in the section. The section information setting unit 16 can acquire the total number of specific point posting information by, for example, the following method. That is, the partition information setting unit 16 extracts the partition ID of the partition whose search radius is to be set from the partition information storage unit 17. Subsequently, the partition information setting unit 16 extracts specific spot information from the specific spot information storage unit 12 using the search function of the search unit 19 described later, using the partition ID as a search key. Subsequently, the section information setting unit 16 extracts the specific spot posting information from the specific spot posting information storage unit 14 using the spot ID included in the specific spot information as a search key, and counts the specific spot posting information.

  The section information storage unit 17 is a functional element that stores section information including a search radius (search area information) for specifying a search area corresponding to a section characteristic for each predetermined section. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of partition information stored in the partition information storage unit 17. As illustrated in FIG. 6, the section information is associated with a section ID that identifies the section, a section name, and a search radius.

  The search area calculation unit 18 calculates an acquisition unit that acquires position information of the user terminal 20, a specifying unit that specifies a section to which the user terminal 20 belongs, an extraction unit that extracts a search radius from the section information storage unit 17, and a search area. It is a functional element provided with the search area | region calculation means to perform. The “search area” is a search range used when the search unit 19 described later searches for specific point information. Hereinafter, the acquisition unit, the identification unit, the extraction unit, and the search area calculation unit will be described in detail.

  The search area calculation unit 18 (acquisition means) acquires, for example, the position information of the user terminal 20 by the user terminal 20 making a search request to the peripheral information search device 10 and transmitting the position information of the user terminal 20. Here, the location information of the user terminal 20 is location information (latitude and longitude) acquired by the location information of the user terminal 20 held by the base station, the GPS function on the user terminal 20, or the like. However, the position information of the user terminal 20 may be anything as long as it includes latitude (or longitude). The method by which the search area calculation unit 18 acquires the position information is not limited to the above method.

  Subsequently, the search area calculation unit 18 (identification unit) identifies a section to which the user terminal 20 belongs based on the acquired position information of the user terminal 20. More specifically, the search area calculation unit 18 stores position information (for example, the latitude and longitude of the four vertex positions when the section is a square area) for each section to identify the section area. A section including the position of the user terminal 20 is specified with reference to a database (not shown) or the like.

  Subsequently, the search area calculation unit 18 (extraction means) extracts a search radius associated with the section to which the user terminal 20 belongs from the section information storage unit 17. More specifically, the search area calculation unit 18 extracts the search radius of the block information having the block ID of the block specified by the specifying unit from the block information storage unit 17.

  Subsequently, the search area calculation unit 18 (search area calculation means) uses the position of the user terminal 20 as a center based on the acquired position information of the user terminal 20 and the search radius extracted by the extraction means, and the search radius. A circular area (search area) having a radius of is calculated.

  The search unit 19 is a functional element that receives a search request from the user terminal 20 and executes a search process for specific point posting information. The search unit 19 searches for one or a plurality of specific point information from the specific point information storage unit 12 based on the search region calculated by the search region calculation unit 18, and sets the point ID of the specific point information acquired by the search. Based on the specific point posting information storage unit 14, the specific point posting information is searched. More specifically, the search unit 19 extracts a point ID of one or more specific points included in the search area from the specific point information storage unit 12, and has a specific point ID that is the same as any one of the point IDs. Posting information is extracted from the specific point posting information storage unit 14.

  The search area calculation unit 18 adjusts (enlarges or reduces) the search area when the total number of specific point posting information searched by the search unit 19 does not satisfy the predetermined condition. Repeat the search process until Here, the “predetermined condition” is a condition such as a lower limit or an upper limit, for example. The predetermined condition may be set in advance in the peripheral information search apparatus 10 or may be customizable for each user. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the “predetermined condition” is “Y or more”. Here, Y is a predetermined integer value set by the method as described above.

  Next, the operation for setting the search radius (search area information) included in the partition information stored in the partition information storage unit 17 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the search radius setting operation by the peripheral information search apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment.

  First, the case where the search radius of the section with the section ID “0101” is set will be described. The section information setting unit 16 acquires the section ID “0101” and the population “277, 372” associated with the section ID from the section index storage unit 15 (steps S101 and S102). Subsequently, the section information setting unit 16 determines whether or not the acquired population is “1,000,000 (predetermined value)” or more (step S103). Here, since the population is less than the predetermined value, the section information setting unit 16 calculates and sets “1000 m” as the search radius of the section ID “0101” (step S103: NO, step S104, calculation step, setting step). ).

  Next, the case where the search radius of the section with the section ID “0102” is set will be described. The section information setting unit 16 acquires the section ID “0102” and the population “1,927, 662” associated with the section ID from the section index storage unit 15 (steps S101 and S102). Here, since the population is equal to or greater than the predetermined value, the section information setting unit 16 calculates and sets “5000 m” as the search radius of the section ID “0102” (step S103: YES, step S104, calculation step, setting step). ).

  By setting the search radius (search area information) of the section based on the population (section index) of the section as described above, it can be expected to set a search range that is considered appropriate for each section. The reason will be described with reference to FIG. A section D1 illustrated in FIG. 8 is a section whose population is equal to or greater than a predetermined value. On the other hand, the section D2 is a section whose population is less than a predetermined value. Here, a correlation is generally recognized between the population and the number of specific points. That is, as the population increases, the number of specific points increases and the density of specific points also increases. In addition, the greater the number of specific points included in the search radius, the higher the possibility that the number of specific point posting information obtained by the search by the search unit 19 satisfies a predetermined condition.

  Therefore, for a section with a large population, that is, a section where specific points are considered to be dense, by specifying a smaller search radius, a specific point related to the specific point as close to the user terminal 20 as possible in the search by the search unit 19 is specified. It can be expected that point posting information can be provided to the user. On the other hand, for a section with a small population, that is, a section that is considered to be sparse, the search radius is set to be large so that the specific area is easily included in the search area. It can be expected that the number of specific point posting information satisfying the conditions can be provided to the user.

  Note that the method of calculating the search radius of a partition using the population of the partition as a partition index based on the above concept is merely an example. That is, the partition information setting unit 16 may calculate the search radius of the partition based on a partition index or a concept other than the above.

  For example, the section information setting unit 16 may use the population density or the density at a specific point as the section index. In this case, the same effect as the case where the population is used as the partition index as described above can be expected. Further, the partition information setting unit 16 may use the partition area as a partition index. For example, when the area is large, the search radius of the section is increased, and when the area is small, the search radius of the section is decreased, so that the specific point posting information regarding the specific point in the section to which the user terminal 20 belongs is excessive or insufficient It can be expected that it can be provided to users.

  In the present embodiment, a method has been described in which the threshold value is set to one, and the search radius of the section is set in two stages based on the population (section index), but this is only an example. That is, the section information setting unit 16 may set two or more threshold values and set the search radius of the section to three or more stages based on the population (partition index).

  Further, the section information setting unit 16 calculates the total number of specific point posting information associated with specific points in the section using the search function provided in the search unit 19, and calculates the search radius of the section based on this. May be. For example, when the total number is large, the search radius of the section is reduced, and when the total number is small, the search radius of the section is increased, so that it can be expected that the appropriate number of specific point posting information can be provided to the user. .

  Next, operations of search processing by the search area calculation unit 18 and the search unit 19 will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10. FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing an operation of search processing by the peripheral information search apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment. FIG. 10 is a diagram used for explaining the operation of search processing by the peripheral information search apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment. Here, the specific point information related to the specific point A, the specific point B, and the specific point C is stored in the specific point information storage unit 12. In the specific point posting information storage unit 14, the number of specific point posting information associated with the specific point A, the specific point B, and the specific point C is “x1”, “x2”, and “x3”. It is assumed that the relationship of “x1 <Y” and “x1 + x2 + x3 ≧ Y” is established with the predetermined number “Y”.

  In FIG. 9, when the search unit 19 receives a search request from the user terminal 20, the search area calculation unit 18 specifies the section to which the user terminal 20 belongs from the position information of the user terminal 20 (step S <b> 201, acquisition step, specification). Step). Subsequently, the search area calculation unit 18 extracts the search radius R1 of the section from the section information storage unit 17 based on the section (section ID) specified in step S201 (step S202, extraction step). Subsequently, the search area calculation unit 18 calculates a search area S1 centered on the position of the user terminal 20 and having the search radius R1 as a radius from the position of the user terminal 20 and the search radius R1 (step S203, search area calculation). Step).

  Subsequently, the search unit 19 extracts specific spot information included in the search area S1 (step S204, search step). Thereby, the specific point A is extracted. Subsequently, the search unit 19 searches for the specific spot post information from the specific spot post information storage unit 14 using the spot ID of the specific spot A as a search key (step S205, search step). The search unit 19 determines whether the number of searches for the specific point posting information is equal to or greater than a predetermined number “Y” (step S206). The number of searches for specific point posting information is the number “x1” of specific point posting information associated with the specific point A, and “x1 <Y”. Accordingly, the search area calculation unit 18 obtains the search radius R2 by doubling the search radius R1 (step S206: NO, step S207). However, the method for expanding the search radius is not limited to the above method. For example, the search area calculation unit 18 may increase the search radius by adding a fixed value (for example, 500 m) or a predetermined calculation formula.

  Subsequently, the search unit 19 executes a search process using the search region S2 based on the search radius R2 expanded in step S207 (steps S203 to S205). As a result, the specific point A, the specific point B, and the specific point C shown in FIG. 10 are extracted (step S204). Therefore, the number of searches for the specific point posting information by the search process in step S205 is as follows. The number of pieces of specific point posting information associated with B or the specific point C is “x1 + x2 + x3”. Here, since “x1 + x2 + x3 ≧ Y”, the search unit 19 presents the acquired specific point posting information to the user terminal 20 (step S206: YES, step S208), and ends the search process.

  Next, the effect of the peripheral information search apparatus 10 of this embodiment is demonstrated. According to the peripheral information search device 10 of the present embodiment, the partition information setting unit 16 determines the search radius (search region information) of the partition based on the population (compartment index) of the partition stored in the partition index storage unit 15. The search radius can be calculated and stored in advance in the section information storage unit 17. Accordingly, the search area calculation unit 18 calculates a search area that is considered appropriate according to the section to which the user terminal 20 belongs, that is, a search area S1 that is centered on the position of the user terminal 20 and has a search radius R1 as a radius. be able to. As described above, since the search area calculation unit 18 can appropriately determine the initial value of the search area, it can be expected to reduce the number of times that the search area is reset and re-searched to satisfy the user's request, It can be expected to perform peripheral information retrieval that satisfies the user's request at high speed and efficiently.

  In addition, the section information setting unit 16 calculates the search radius (search area information) based on the population (partition index) indicating the characteristics of the section, so that the search radius for specifying the search area that is considered appropriate is accurately determined. It can be calculated high.

  Further, according to the peripheral information search device 10 of the present embodiment, the search area can further be specified by the search radius R1 of the circular area centered on the position of the user terminal 20, so that the search area information for each section is stored in the section information storage. The storage area required for storing in the unit 17 can be reduced. In addition, the search unit 19 can easily determine whether or not the specific point is included in the search region based on whether or not the distance between the user terminal 20 and the specific point is equal to or less than the search radius R1. Implementation of search processing becomes easy.

  Further, according to the peripheral information search device 10 of the present embodiment, the search area calculation unit 18 sets the search area when the total number of specific point posting information searched by the search unit 19 does not exceed a predetermined number “Y”. The search unit 19 repeats the search process until the total number exceeds a predetermined number “Y”. Thereby, even if the search unit 19 does not obtain a search number equal to or greater than the predetermined number “Y” in one search, the search unit 19 reliably sends the specific point posting information equal to or greater than the predetermined number “Y” to the user terminal. 20 can be returned. That is, it is possible to reliably perform the peripheral information search that satisfies the user's request.

Next, the main differences from the present embodiment will be described with respect to modifications of the present embodiment.
First, with respect to the functional configuration of the peripheral information search device 10a according to the modification, main differences from the peripheral information search device 10 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the peripheral information search apparatus 10a according to the modification.

The section information setting unit 16a randomly extracts a predetermined number “N” of specific points included in the section for each section, and determines a predetermined number “ _N C ₂ ” of the specific points based on the extracted position information of the specific points. Total number of selection point selection information for selecting a reference position and specific point posting information that is determined to include one or more specific points for each reference position determined by the selection unit and is associated with the one or more specific points Necessary area calculating means for calculating a circular area (necessary area) centered on the reference position such that is equal to or greater than a predetermined number “Y”, and circular areas (all of the reference positions calculated by the required area calculating means) The calculation means for calculating the search radius (search area information) of the section by taking statistics (median) on the radius of the necessary area) and the section information of the section stored in the section information storage unit 17 by the calculation means Setting means for setting the calculated search radius.

  Subsequently, the search area information setting operation by the section information setting unit 16a will be described in detail with reference to FIG. FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the search area information setting operation by the peripheral information search apparatus 10a according to the modification.

First, the partition information setting unit 16a refers to the partition information storage unit 17 and the like to acquire a partition ID of a partition whose search radius is to be set (step S301). Subsequently, the section information setting unit 16a randomly extracts N specific spot information having the same section ID as the section ID from the specific spot information storage unit 12 (step S302). Subsequently, the section information setting unit 16a calculates, as a reference position, an intermediate point of _N C _two pairs including any two specific points included in the _N specific points (step S303). By the above process, _N C ₂ pieces of reference position is obtained.

  Subsequently, the section information setting unit 16a calculates, for each reference position, a circular area (necessary area) centered on the reference position such that the total number of specific point posting information is equal to or greater than a predetermined number “Y” ( Step S304 to Step S310). Specifically, the section information setting unit 16a selects one reference position (step S304), sets a circular area centered on the reference position, and sets specific point information included in the circular area as specific point information. Extracted from the storage unit 12 (step S305). Here, the method for determining the initial radius of the circular region may be any method and is not particularly limited.

  Subsequently, the section information setting unit 16a uses the search function provided in the search unit 19 to retrieve the specific point posting information from the specific point posting information storage unit 14 using the point ID of the specific point information extracted in step S305 as a search key. Search is performed (step S306). The section information setting unit 16a repeats the search process while increasing the radius of the circular area until the number of searches reaches a predetermined number “Y” or more (steps S305 to S308). When the number of searches for the specific point posting information is equal to or greater than the predetermined number “Y” (step S307: YES), the section information setting unit 16a sets the radius of the circular area at that time as the radius of the reference position to be processed. (Step S309).

  When the processing for all reference positions (steps S304 to S310) is completed, the section information setting unit 16a calculates the median of the radii of all reference positions (step S310: NO, step S311). Subsequently, the section information setting unit 16a sets the calculated median as a section search radius (step S312), and ends the process.

Next, functions and effects of the peripheral information search device 10a according to the modification will be described. According to the peripheral information retrieval apparatus 10a according to a modification, the block information setting unit 16a selects the _N C ₂ pieces of reference position based on N pieces of position information of a specific point extracted at random in the compartment, the The radius for each reference position is calculated, the median of the radii of all the reference positions is calculated, and this can be set as the search radius of the section. In this way, the radius of the necessary area where the number of searches equal to or larger than the predetermined number “Y” is obtained in the section is calculated for a plurality of reference positions, and the calculated statistics of the radius (median as an example in this modification) By doing so, it is possible to calculate a search area that is considered appropriate for searching for specific point posting information related to a specific point in the vicinity in the section.

  In this modification, “the intermediate position of all pairs included in N specific points extracted at random” is adopted as the reference position, but the method for selecting the reference position is not limited to this. For example, the reference position may be selected according to a certain distribution, or the sections may be divided at equal intervals in the vertical and horizontal directions, and the intersection coordinates may be selected as the reference position. In this way, the section information setting unit 16a can calculate the search radius (required area information) of the section in consideration of the position information in the section with a good balance.

  Further, the section information setting unit 16a may select the reference position based on the population density, the density at a specific point, or the like. A partial area with a high population density or a specific spot density in a section is an area where users gather, that is, an area that is estimated to have many search requests. Therefore, for example, the section information setting unit 16a uses the center position of the partial area as a reference position, and calculates the search radius of the section based on the radius calculated at the reference position, thereby satisfying a predetermined condition at the time of user search. It is possible to calculate the search radius of a section that can be expected to obtain a satisfying number of searches. The “partial region” is, for example, a divided region having a high population density or a specific point density in a divided region obtained by dividing a section by a predetermined method. For example, the section information setting unit 16a may calculate the population density of each divided region based on detailed population distribution data for each region prepared in advance. Further, the section information setting unit 16a may calculate the density of specific points in each divided region by referring to the specific point information storage unit 12 and counting the number of specific point information included in each divided region.

  Further, the section information setting unit 16a may directly use the position of the specific spot extracted at random as the reference position. By doing so, the section information setting unit 16a can calculate the reference position with a small amount of calculation.

  The peripheral information search apparatus 10a according to the modification further includes log information storage means (not shown) that acquires and stores log information including a request position and a request time at which the user terminal requests the peripheral information search, The section information setting unit 16a may select a reference position based on the log information. In the log information, for example, a log ID that uniquely identifies a log, a search date (request time), a latitude and longitude (request position), and a section ID of a section including the request position are associated with each other. . FIG. 14 shows an example of log information. Next, an example of a reference position calculation method based on log information will be described with reference to FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 15, there are some areas where the requested positions are densely located in the section D3. For example, the partition information setting unit 16a refers to the log information stored by the log information storage unit, extracts regions G1 to G3 having a high density of requested positions by using a conventional cluster processing method, and the like, and stores the region G1 Each center position of ~ G3 may be selected as a reference position. In this way, the section information setting unit 16a uses the position where there are many search requests as the reference position, and calculates the search radius of the section based on the radius calculated at the reference position. It is possible to calculate a search radius that can be expected to obtain the number of search conditions that satisfy the condition.

  Further, in this modification, the section information setting unit 16a calculates the “median” of the radius calculated for each reference position and sets this as the section search radius. It is not limited to. For example, an average value or a mode value of radii calculated for each reference position may be calculated and set as the search radius of the section.

  The embodiment according to the present invention and some modified examples have been described above in detail. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments and modifications. The present invention can be variously modified without departing from the gist thereof. For example, the search area calculation unit 18 may use a polygonal area such as a square as the search area. When the search area is represented by a square area, for example, the length of a side of the square area or the length of a diagonal line can be used as the search area information.

  Finally, a peripheral information search program P10 for causing a computer to function as the peripheral information search device 10 will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the peripheral information search program P10 according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 11, the peripheral information search program P10 includes a calculation module P16A, a setting module P16B, an acquisition module P18A, a specific module P18B, an extraction module P18C, a search area calculation module P18D, and a search module P19. The functions realized by executing the calculation module P16A, the setting module P16B, the acquisition module P18A, the specific module P18B, the extraction module P18C, the search area calculation module P18D, and the search module P19 are performed in the above-described peripheral information search apparatus 10 The functions of the corresponding section information setting unit 16 (calculation unit, setting unit), search region calculation unit 18 (acquisition unit, identification unit, extraction unit, search region calculation unit) and search unit 19 are the same.

  The peripheral information search program P10 thus configured is stored in the recording medium 200 shown in FIG. 2 and is executed by a computer used as the peripheral information search device 10. When the recording medium 200 is inserted into the recording medium reading unit 107, the computer can access the peripheral information search program P10 stored in the recording medium 200 from the recording medium reading unit 107, and executes the peripheral information search program P10. By doing so, it becomes possible to operate as the peripheral information search apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment.

  The peripheral information search program P10 may be provided via a network as a computer data signal superimposed on a carrier wave. In this case, the computer used as the peripheral information search device 10 can execute the peripheral information search program P10 by storing the peripheral information search program P10 received by the communication control unit 104 in the main storage unit 102.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10,10a ... Peripheral information search device, 11 ... Posting information collection part, 12 ... Specific spot information storage part, 13 ... Association part, 14 ... Specific spot post information storage part, 15 ... Section index storage part, 16, 16a ... Section Information setting unit, 17 ... division information storage unit, 18 ... search area calculation unit, 19 ... search unit, P10 ... peripheral information search program, P16A ... calculation module, P16B ... setting module, P18A ... acquisition module, P18B ... specific module, P18C ... extraction module, P18D ... search area calculation module, P19 ... search module.

Claims (9)

A peripheral information search device that executes a peripheral information search in response to a request from a user terminal,
Specific point posting information storage means for storing specific point posting information for each predetermined specific point;
Specific point information storage means for storing specific point information including the position information for each specific point;
Section information storage means for storing section information including search area information for specifying a search area according to the characteristics of the section for each predetermined section;
Calculating means for calculating the search area information for each section;
Setting means for setting the search area information calculated by the calculation means to the section information associated with the section;
Obtaining means for obtaining position information of the user terminal;
A specifying unit for specifying a section to which the user terminal belongs based on the position information of the user terminal acquired by the acquiring unit;
Extraction means for extracting the search area information from the section information storage means based on the section specified by the specifying means;
Search area calculation means for calculating a search area based on the position information of the user terminal acquired by the acquisition means and the search area information extracted by the extraction means;
Search means for searching for one or more specific spot information from the specific spot information storage means based on the search area, and searching for specific spot post information from the specific spot post information storage means based on the specific spot information;
A peripheral information retrieval device comprising: For each of the sections, further comprising a section index storage means for storing a section index indicating the characteristics of the section,
The calculation means calculates the search area information of the section based on the section index.
The peripheral information search device according to claim 1. The calculation means calculates the search area information of the section based on the total number of the specific spot posting information stored in the specific spot posting information storage means and associated with the specific spot in the section.
The peripheral information search device according to claim 1. Selection means for selecting a plurality of reference positions in the section for each section;
A required area that is determined to include one or more specific points for each reference position selected by the selection means, and the total number of specific point posting information associated with the one or more specific points satisfies a predetermined condition A necessary area calculating means for calculating
The calculation means calculates the search area information of the section based on the required areas of all reference positions calculated by the required area calculation means;
The peripheral information search device according to claim 1. Log information storage means for acquiring and storing log information including a request position and a request time at which the user terminal requested the peripheral information search;
The selection means selects the reference position based on the log information;
The peripheral information search device according to claim 4. The search area is a circular area centered on the position of the user terminal,
The search area information is a radius of the circular area.
The peripheral information search device according to any one of claims 1 to 5. The search area calculation means adjusts the search area when the total number of specific point posting information searched by the search means does not satisfy a predetermined condition,
The search means repeats the search process until the total number satisfies a predetermined condition,
The peripheral information search device according to any one of claims 1 to 6. Specific point posting information storage means for storing specific point posting information for each predetermined specific point, specific point information storage means for storing specific point information including the position information for each specific point, and predetermined And a partition information storage unit that stores partition information including search region information for specifying a search region according to the property of each partition, and performs peripheral information search in response to a request from the user terminal. A peripheral information search method executed by the peripheral information search device,
A calculation step of calculating the search area information for each section;
A setting step for setting the search area information calculated in the calculation step to the section information associated with the section;
An acquisition step of acquiring location information of the user terminal;
A specifying step of specifying a section to which the user terminal belongs, based on the position information of the user terminal acquired by the acquiring step;
An extraction step of extracting the search area information from the section information storage unit based on the section specified by the specifying step;
A search area calculation step for calculating a search area based on the position information of the user terminal acquired by the acquisition step and the search area information extracted by the extraction step;
A search step of searching for one or more specific spot information from the specific spot information storage unit based on the search area, and searching for the specific spot post information from the specific spot post information storage unit based on the specific spot information;
A peripheral information search method comprising: Specific point posting information storage means for storing specific point posting information for each predetermined specific point, specific point information storage means for storing specific point information including the position information for each specific point, and predetermined And a partition information storage unit that stores partition information including search region information for specifying a search region according to the property of each partition, and performs peripheral information search in response to a request from the user terminal. A peripheral information search program executed by a computer provided in the peripheral information search device,
A calculation module for calculating the search area information for each partition;
A setting module for setting the search area information calculated by executing the calculation module to the section information associated with the section;
An acquisition module for acquiring location information of the user terminal;
A specific module for identifying a section to which the user terminal belongs, based on the position information of the user terminal acquired by executing the acquisition module;
An extraction module for extracting the search area information from the section information storage unit based on the section specified by the specific module being executed;
A search area calculation module for calculating a search area based on the position information of the user terminal acquired by executing the acquisition module and the search area information extracted by executing the extraction module;
A search module that searches for one or more specific spot information from the specific spot information storage unit based on the search area, and searches for the specific spot post information from the specific spot post information storage unit based on the specific spot information;
A peripheral information search program comprising:

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