JP2014191720A - Information processing method, device and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To quicken the search of a region.SOLUTION: The information processing method includes processing of: receiving a request including the identifier and position of a mobile terminal; specifying, from a first data storage part in which the identifier of a region to which the mobile terminal has belonged immediately before among a plurality of preliminarily set regions is stored in association with the identifier of the mobile terminal, the identifier of the region associated with the identifier of the mobile terminal included in the request; extracting, from a second data storage part in which the identifier of a second region to which the mobile terminal is likely to move from each of a plurality of regions is stored, the identifier of the second region stored about the specified identifier of the region; determining whether or not the position included in the request is included in the second region to be specified from the extracted identifier of the second region; and adding the extracted identifier of the second region to result data when the position included in the request is included in the second region to be specified from the extracted identifier of the second region.

Description

  The present technology relates to a technology for searching for a corresponding region from a plurality of regions.

  Positional information can be notified from terminals such as mobile phones and smartphones equipped with GPS (Global Positioning System), and various services using the positions of people holding the terminals are becoming widespread. As an example of a service using location information, there is a service for notifying store information to a person when the person moves to an area around a store.

  In the future, terminals that notify the location and services that use the location information will become increasingly popular, and with these increases, the amount of processing for determining the area in which the terminal exists will also increase.

  Conventionally, in order to quickly determine a large amount of data in the space that meets the conditions, an index that matches the conditions is created and the corresponding data is obtained by checking only a portion of the data. It can be so. As a data management method using an index, a method using B-Tree used when searching one-dimensional data or an R-Tree used when searching two-dimensional or more multidimensional data is used. There is a method.

  In R-Tree, rectangular areas that overlap each other (pointing to a super-rectangular shape in a multidimensional space. A rectangular shape in the case of a two-dimensional space, and a rectangular parallelepiped in a case of a three-dimensional space. The tree is created with the node corresponding to the expanded area. Each node represents the minimum circumscribed rectangle of the child node (minimum rectangular area including all the child node areas). At the time of area determination, the determination is made faster by narrowing down to child nodes whose ranges overlap.

  For example, data management using R-Tree will be described with reference to FIGS. 1A and 1B. FIG. 1A shows data managed by the R-Tree, and FIG. 1B shows an example of a rectangular area. As shown in FIG. 1A, the root node R0 is a rectangular area including all the rectangular areas of the child nodes R1 to R4, and the node R1 is a rectangular area including all of the rectangular areas of the nodes R5 to R8. Further, the lowest nodes R5 to R11 are leaf nodes, which are rectangular areas containing data therein. That is, R0 is index information of R1, and R1 is index information of R5.

  As shown in FIG. 1B, when searching for a corresponding range using index information in order to search for data that meets a condition, the search ranges overlap from the four child nodes R1 to R4 of R0 that is the root node. Select node R1. Further, the node R5 having overlapping search ranges is selected from the four child nodes R5 to R8 of the node R1. In this way, a node whose search ranges overlap recursively is selected from the nodes having overlapping portions, and finally, data within the search range is selected from the leaf node R5.

  In the conventional R-Tree, since the determination is started from the highest node of the tree every time the region is determined, a comparison process proportional to the depth of the node is performed. In a case where the determination target areas are sparse, it can be determined that there is no target area relatively quickly, and the determination process can be terminated. However, in the case where the determination target area is dense, the areas themselves and intermediate nodes overlap, and the number of determinations increases.

  Generally, an area where areas to be determined gather is an area where people and things are concentrated, such as downtowns and transportation facilities, and position information given as a request is often the same area. For this reason, the conventional technology cannot efficiently reduce the processing time in many cases.

  The following technologies exist as one solution to this problem. That is, when an inquiry request for an area including a predetermined position is acquired, it is determined whether or not the predetermined position is included in the area that was previously searched. As a result of the determination, the predetermined position is included in the area that was previously searched. If it is determined, the area including the predetermined position is searched from the overlapping areas determined to be included based on the storage unit. On the other hand, as a result of the determination, if it is determined that the predetermined position is not included in the previously searched area, the leaf of the index information including the area determined not included in the nodes included in the R-Tree A region including a predetermined position is searched after tracing the R-Tree bottom-up from the node. When the area including the predetermined position can be searched, the area including the predetermined position is searched from the overlapping areas of the information that can be searched.

  When such a method is used, when the moving distance of the terminal is short, the determination process is speeded up compared to the conventional R-Tree that is determined from the root node by determining from the leaf node including the previous position in the bottom-up manner. Can do. However, if the destination is under a node far away from the tree (even if the distance is short, the parent node may be far away from the tree), it goes back to the root node with the worst bottom-up and further determines from the root node. Therefore, the determination process may not be accelerated.

JP 2013-25591 A

  Accordingly, an object of the present technology is, according to one aspect, to provide a technology for speeding up a region search.

  The region determination method according to the present technology receives (A) a request including an identifier and a position of a mobile terminal, and (B) associates the mobile terminal with the identifier of the mobile terminal, and moves the mobile From the first data storage unit that stores the identifier of the region to which the terminal belonged immediately before, the identifier of the region associated with the identifier of the mobile terminal included in the request is specified, and (C) each of the plurality of regions An identifier of the second area stored for the identified area identifier is extracted from the second data storage unit storing the identifier of the second area that may move from the area, ( D) It is determined whether the position included in the request is included in the second area specified from the extracted second area identifier, and (E) specified from the extracted second area identifier. In the second region When the position included in the request is included, the identifier of the extracted second area is added to the result data, and (F) the second area specified by the extracted identifier of the second area When the second condition including the first condition that the position included in the request is not included is satisfied, a process for searching a tree structure for searching a plurality of areas from the root is included.

  According to one aspect, the search for a region can be speeded up.

FIG. 1A is a diagram for explaining R-Tree. FIG. 1B is a diagram for explaining R-Tree. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an overview of the system according to the embodiment. FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of the determination server. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining data stored in the area index storage unit. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of data of the root node. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of data in the intermediate node. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of leaf node data. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of data stored in the area data storage unit. FIG. 9A is a diagram schematically illustrating data stored in the region index storage unit and the region data storage unit. FIG. 9B is a diagram schematically illustrating data stored in the region index storage unit and the region data storage unit. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of data stored in the previous area data storage unit. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of data stored in the transition area data storage unit. FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a processing flow according to the embodiment. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of request data. FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a processing flow of the overlapping area check processing. FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating a processing flow according to the embodiment. FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating a process flow of the transition area setting process. FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating an example of response data. FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating a processing flow of determination processing from a route. FIG. 19 is a functional block diagram of a computer.

  An overview of the system according to the present embodiment is shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of mobile terminals 3 (3a and 3b in FIG. 2) are connected to a determination server 5 via a network 1 such as a mobile phone network and the Internet. The mobile terminals 3a and 3b may be mobile phones or smart phones. Furthermore, an in-vehicle terminal such as a car navigation device may be used.

  The mobile terminal 3 has a GPS function. For example, the mobile terminal 3 acquires position data in response to an instruction from the user, and transmits a request including the position data and a sensor ID that is an identifier of the mobile terminal 3 to the determination server 5. . Other functions included in the mobile terminal 3 may periodically acquire position data and transmit a request to the determination server 5. When the determination server 5 receives the request including the position data and the sensor ID, the determination server 5 executes processing as described below, and returns data related to the area including the current position of the mobile terminal 3 to the mobile terminal 3 as response data. .

  FIG. 3 shows a functional block diagram of the determination server 5. The determination server 5 includes a request reception unit 51, a tree search unit 52, a transition region management unit 53, a previous region management unit 54, a response transmission unit 55, a related region determination unit 56, and an overlapping region determination unit 57. A region index storage unit 58, a region data storage unit 59, a previous region data storage unit 59, and a transition region data storage unit 61.

  The request receiving unit 51 receives a request from the mobile terminal 3. The response transmission unit 55 transmits a response to the mobile terminal 3. The tree search unit 52 executes a process for searching for an R-Tree realized by data stored in the region index storage unit 58 and the like. The related area determination unit 56 and the overlapping area determination unit 57 use the data stored in the area data storage unit 59 to execute processing for speeding up the region determination processing. The transition region management unit 53 manages the transition region data storage unit 61 that stores transition region data that is data indicating the ease of transition between regions. The previous area management unit 54 manages the previous area data storage unit 59 that stores the previous area data that is the data of the belonging area at the time of the previous request for each mobile terminal.

  Data stored in the area index storage unit 58 will be described with reference to FIGS. The area index storage unit 58 stores index information for quickly searching for an area that matches a condition from a large number of areas existing in the space. For example, the area index storage unit 58 holds index data indicating which area is where by R-Tree.

  Here, an example of data stored in the area index storage unit 58 will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, the region index is data of a tree structure formed by a root node, an intermediate node, and a leaf node. The root node is the highest node that exists in the R-Tree. The leaf node is the lowest node of the R-Tree, and does not include a child node, but is associated with region ID data including one or more IDs of regions to be searched. Nodes other than the root node and leaf node in the tree structure data are intermediate nodes and have one or more child nodes.

  In the example of FIG. 4, the child nodes and intermediate nodes of the root node R1 are the nodes R10 and R11. Node R1 corresponds to a rectangular area that includes all of the rectangular areas for nodes R10 and R11. Child nodes (leaf nodes) of the intermediate node R10 are nodes R100 and R101. The node R10 corresponds to a rectangular area including all the rectangular areas for the nodes R100 and R101. Child nodes (leaf nodes) of the intermediate node R11 are nodes R110 and R111. The node R11 corresponds to a rectangular area that includes all the rectangular areas for the nodes R110 and R111. Then, the area IDs “1”, “2”, and “3” to be searched are associated with the node R100 that is the leaf node.

  A node R101 that is a leaf node is associated with region IDs “4” and “5” to be searched. Area IDs “6” and “7” to be searched are associated with the node R110 that is a leaf node. Furthermore, region IDs “8” and “9” to be searched are associated with the node R111 that is a leaf node.

  The area index storage unit 58 stores data of each node of a root node, an intermediate node, and a leaf node as an R-Tree entity. FIG. 5 shows an example of root node data stored in the area index storage unit 58. As shown in FIG. 5, the data of the root node R1 includes a node type, rectangular area data, and a child node list. “Node type” indicates whether the node is a root node, an intermediate node, or a leaf node. The rectangular area data is data representing a minimum circumscribed rectangle including all the areas in charge of child nodes. The minimum circumscribed rectangle is a minimum rectangular area including all child node areas. The child node list is a list of link pointers to child nodes of the node.

  In the example of FIG. 5, the node type of the root node R1 is a root node. The rectangular area data of the root node R1 is xy two-dimensional data, “x1 = 35.5, y1 = 139.0” is the minimum point of the assigned area, and “x2 = 35.9, y2 = 139. “5” indicates the maximum point in the assigned area. That is, the area in charge of the node R1 is an area formed by four straight lines that are perpendicular to each dimension axis with both points as vertices. The child node list includes pointers to the child nodes “R10” and “R11”.

  FIG. 6 shows an example of intermediate node data stored in the area index storage unit 58. As shown in FIG. 6, the intermediate node data includes a node type, rectangular area data, and a child node list. The area index storage unit 58 stores the data shown in FIG. 6 for the nodes R10 and R11.

  In the example of FIG. 6, the node type of the node R10 is an intermediate node. In the rectangular area data of the intermediate node R10, “x1 = 35.5, y1 = 139.2” is the minimum point of the assigned area, and “x2 = 35.7, y2 = 139.3” is the maximum point of the assigned area. Indicates that In other words, the region handled by the intermediate node R10 is a region formed by four straight lines that are perpendicular to each dimension axis with both points serving as vertices. The child node list of the node R10 includes pointers to the child nodes “R100” and “R101”.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of leaf node data stored in the region index storage unit 58. As shown in FIG. 7, the leaf node data includes a node type, rectangular area data, and a data list. The data list is a list of pointers to area data. The area index storage unit 58 stores the data shown in FIG. 7 for the nodes R100, R101, R110, and R111.

  In the example of FIG. 7, the node type of the leaf node R100 is a leaf node. In the rectangular area data of the leaf node R100, “x1 = 35.5, y1 = 139.2” is the minimum point of the assigned area, and “x2 = 35.6, y2 = 139.3” is the maximum point of the assigned area. Indicates that That is, the area in which the leaf node R100 is in charge is an area formed by four straight lines orthogonal to each dimension axis with both points serving as vertices. The data list of the node R100 includes pointers “D1”, “D2”, and “D3” to the area data. The substance of the area data of each area is stored in the area data storage unit 59.

  The area data storage unit 59 stores area data of a plurality of areas. An example of data stored in the area data storage unit 59 will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 8, the area data storage unit 59 stores a data name 122b, area information 122c, an overlapping area 122d, and a transition area 122e in association with each area ID 122a.

  The area ID 122a indicates an ID that can uniquely identify the area. The data name 122b indicates the data name of the area indicated by the area ID. The area information 122c indicates a specific range of the area indicated by the area ID. The overlapping area 122d indicates the area ID of another area that overlaps the area indicated by the area ID. The transition area 122e is an area ID of an area having a high probability that the mobile terminal 3 moves from the area. It is assumed that a predetermined number of region IDs are registered in the field of the transition region 122e, but may not be registered if only regions with a low probability of movement are detected.

  For example, when the region ID 122a is “00001”, “A store X near store” is registered as the data name 122b, and “Circle region: latitude 35.491, longitude 139.650, radius 100m” is registered as the region information 122c. . Then, the area ID “00034” is registered as the overlapping area 122d when the area ID 122a is “00001”, and the area IDs “00002”, “00005”, and “00010” are registered as the transition area 122e.

  By holding such data, if schematically shown, data as shown in FIG. 9A is prepared. That is, an overlapping area and a transition area can be searched for each area ID included in the area ID data associated with the leaf node. In particular, as shown by the arrow M in FIG. 9B, the data of the transition area reflects that the probability of transition from the area of the area ID “1” to the area of the area ID “2” is high in the area data.

  Further, data as shown in FIG. 10 is stored in the previous area data storage unit 59. As shown in FIG. 10, for each sensor ID that is an identifier of the mobile terminal 3, the previous area ID of the area in which it was previously determined that the mobile terminal 3 exists is registered. However, at the first time, no previous area ID is registered. For example, it may be cleared when no change is made for a predetermined time.

  Further, the transition area data storage unit 61 stores data as shown in FIG. The transition area data storage unit 61 stores data that is the source of the transition area data stored in the area data storage unit 59. That is, for each area ID, the ID of the area that has moved to the area of the area ID and the number of transitions thereof are registered. The number of transitions is incremented each time the transition is detected, and the region IDs of the upper predetermined number of regions are registered in the field of transition region 122e in the region data storage unit 59 as the region ID of the transition region.

  Next, processing contents of the determination server 5 will be described with reference to FIGS. 12 to 18. First, the request receiving unit 51 receives an area determination request from the mobile terminal 3 (FIG. 12: step S1). The area determination request includes sensor ID and position data (here, latitude and longitude coordinate values) as shown in FIG.

  Then, the request reception unit 51 outputs the request data to the tree search unit 52. The tree search unit 52 first outputs request data to the related area determination unit 56 and instructs processing. Specifically, the related area determination unit 56 searches the previous area data storage unit 59 with the sensor ID included in the request data and reads the previous area ID (step S3).

  Here, the related area determination unit 56 determines whether or not the previous area ID has been read in step S3 (step S5). When the previous area ID cannot be read, the related area determination unit 56 outputs a notification indicating that the process using the previous area ID cannot be performed to the tree search unit 52. When the tree search unit 52 receives the notification from the related region determination unit 56, the tree search unit 52 executes determination processing from the root (step S19). The determination process from the route will be described later with reference to FIG. Then, the processing shifts to the processing in FIG.

  On the other hand, if the previous area ID can be read, the related area determination unit 56 determines whether or not the position coordinates included in the current request are within the area specified by the previous area ID (step). S7). It is determined whether or not position coordinates are included in the area specified by the previous area ID from the area data stored in the area data storage unit 59.

  When the position coordinates included in the current request are within the area of the previous area ID, the related area determination unit 56 adds the previous area ID to the determination result (step S15). Then, the related area determination unit 56 outputs the previous area ID to the overlapping area determination unit 57. The overlapping area determination unit 57 specifies the previous area ID as the processing target area ID, and executes the overlapping area check process (step S17). Then, the processing shifts to the processing in FIG.

  The overlapping area check process will be described with reference to FIG. The overlapping area determination unit 57 searches the area data storage unit 59 using the processing target area ID and specifies the area ID of the overlapping area (step S21). There are cases where a plurality of areas are specified, and there are cases where no area ID is specified. If no area ID is specified, the process returns to the caller process.

  Then, the overlapping area determination unit 57 selects one unprocessed overlapping area ID (step S23). Also, the overlapping area determination unit 57 determines whether the area of the selected overlapping area ID includes the position coordinates included in the current request (step S25). It is determined whether or not position coordinates are included in the area specified by the selected overlap area ID from the area data stored in the area data storage unit 59.

  If it is determined that the area of the selected overlapping area ID does not include the position coordinates included in the current request, the process proceeds to step S29. On the other hand, if it is determined that the area of the selected overlapping area ID includes the position coordinates included in the current request, the overlapping area determination unit 57 adds the selected overlapping area ID to the determination result ( Step S27).

  Thereafter, the overlapping area determination unit 57 determines whether there is an unprocessed overlapping area ID (step S29). If there is an unprocessed overlapping area ID, the process returns to step S23. On the other hand, if there is no unprocessed overlapping area ID, the process returns to the calling process.

  In this way, by preparing the overlapping area in the area data storage unit 59 in advance, it is possible to specify the area overlapping the processing target area at high speed, and to determine whether or not the position coordinates related to the process are included at high speed. It becomes like this.

  On the other hand, if the position coordinates included in the current request are not within the area of the previous area ID, the related area determination unit 56 sends the transition area ID associated with the previous area ID and the relevant area ID from the area data storage unit 59. The overlapping area ID associated with the transition area ID is read (step S9). Then, the related area determination unit 56 determines whether or not the position coordinates included in the current request are included in at least one of the area specified by the transition area ID and the area specified by the overlapping area ID (step S11). ). If the position coordinates included in the request this time are not included in any area, the process proceeds to step S19. When the position coordinate included in the current request is not included in the area specified by the previous area ID and the area overlapping the area, the search is performed from the R-Tree route.

  On the other hand, when the position coordinate included in the current request is included in at least one of the area specified by the transition area ID and the area specified by the overlap area ID, the related area determination unit 56 A region having the smallest area among the regions including the position coordinates included in the request is specified, and the region ID of the region is added to the determination result (step S13). In step S15 or S13, the related region determination unit 56 notifies the tree search unit 52 of the region ID of the region added to the determination result. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S17. In step S17, an overlapping area check process is executed using the area ID of the identified area as the processing target area ID.

  Next, the process proceeds to the process of FIG. 15 via the terminal A, and the overlapping area determination unit 57 instructs the transition area management unit 53 to perform the process. Then, the transition area management unit 53 executes a transition area setting process based on the determination result (step S31). The transition area setting process will be described with reference to FIG.

  The transition area management unit 53 increments the number of transitions from the area specified by the previous area ID to the destination area included in the determination result by 1 (step S41). In addition, when it does not move from the area | region specified by last area | region ID, since it has not moved, the frequency | count of transition is not changed. Further, when a plurality of area IDs are included in the determination result, the number of transitions may be incremented by 1 for each, or the number of transitions to the area specified by the area ID first added to the determination result It is also possible to increment only.

  Then, the transition area management unit 53 sorts the transition areas for the previous area ID by the number of transitions (step S43). Then, when the upper predetermined number of transition areas change, the transition area management unit 53 updates the area ID of the transition area in the area data with the area ID of the upper predetermined number of transition areas (step S45). Then, the process returns to the caller process.

  For example, in the example of FIG. 11, the transition areas associated with the area ID “00001” are “00002”, “00005”, and “00010”, which are “00002”, “00005”, “ In the case of a change such as “00012”, the area ID of the transition area in the area data storage unit 59 is updated to “00002”, “00005”, and “00012”.

  Further, the tree search unit 52 instructs the previous region management unit 54, and the previous region management unit 54 determines the previous region ID associated with the sensor ID in the previous region data storage unit 59 in step S13 or S15. The region ID added to the region ID or the region ID first added to the determination result in step S19 is updated (step S33).

  Finally, the response transmission unit 55 returns a response including data extracted from the area data storage unit 59 based on the determination result to the mobile terminal 3 (step S35).

  For example, response data as shown in FIG. 17 is generated and transmitted. In the example of FIG. 17, the area ID and the data name associated with the area ID in the area data storage unit 59 are included. However, data from other databases may be extracted. For example, a coupon DB may be provided to include coupon data associated with the region ID.

  When the mobile terminal 3 receives such response data, the mobile terminal 3 displays it on the display device of the mobile terminal 3, prints it from the printing device, and executes other predetermined processes.

  If such a process is executed, a transition region that may move is specified. Even if it is not included in the previous region, if it is included in the transition region, the R-Tree Searching from the root node can be avoided, and the processing load can be reduced.

  The determination process from the route will be described with reference to FIG. The tree search unit 52 selects a root node in the data stored in the region index storage unit 58 (FIG. 18: step S61). Then, the tree search unit 52 determines whether or not the selected node is a leaf node (step S63). If it does not have a pointer to a child node, it is a leaf node. If the selected node is not a leaf node, the tree search unit 52 stores in the region index storage unit 58 whether or not any child node of the selected node includes the position coordinates included in the current request. Judgment is made from the rectangular area data of the child node that has been set (step S65). If there is no child node of the selected node that includes the position coordinates included in the current request, the tree search unit 52 determines whether there is an unprocessed candidate node (step S69). When there is an unprocessed candidate node, the tree search unit 52 selects one unprocessed candidate node (step S71), and the process returns to step S63. On the other hand, when there is no unprocessed candidate node, the tree search unit 52 generates a result of no area (step S79), and the process returns to the caller process. In this case, the previous area ID is not updated either.

  On the other hand, when there is a child node of the selected node that includes the position coordinate included in the current request, the tree search unit 52 adds the child node including the position coordinate included in the current request to the candidate node. (Step S67). Then, the process proceeds to step S69.

  On the other hand, when it is determined in step S63 that the selected node is a leaf node, the tree search unit 52 selects an area including the position coordinates included in the current request from the areas under the selected leaf node. It is determined whether or not there is (step S73). The range of each area is determined based on the data stored in the area data storage unit 59.

  If there is no area including the position coordinates included in the current request among the areas under the selected leaf node, the process proceeds to step S69. On the other hand, if there is a region including the position coordinates included in the current request among the regions under the selected leaf node, the tree search unit 52 identifies the region with the minimum area, and the region of the region is included in the determination result. An ID is added (step S75). When only one area is extracted, the area ID of the area is added to the determination result. Then, the tree search unit 52 causes the overlapping region determination unit 57 to execute the overlapping region check process using the region ID of the identified region as the processing target region ID (step S77). Then, the process returns to the caller process.

  If the above processing is performed, even if you are not in the same area as the previous time, check if you have moved to a transition area that has a high possibility of moving from the previous area, and if you have not moved, the route Since the search is performed from the node, the processing load can be reduced if the transition area has a high possibility of transition.

  Although the embodiment of the present technology has been described above, the present technology is not limited to this. For example, the functional block diagram is an example, and may not match the program module configuration. Also, the configuration of the data storage unit may not match the file configuration. Further, regarding the processing flow, as long as the processing result does not change, the order of the steps may be changed or a plurality of steps may be executed in parallel.

  The determination server 5 described above is a computer device, and as shown in FIG. 19, a memory 2501, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 2503, a hard disk drive (HDD: Hard Disk Drive) 2505, and a display device 2509. A display control unit 2507 connected to the computer, a drive device 2513 for a removable disk 2511, an input device 2515, and a communication control unit 2517 for connecting to a network are connected by a bus 2519. An operating system (OS) and an application program for executing the processing in this embodiment are stored in the HDD 2505, and are read from the HDD 2505 to the memory 2501 when executed by the CPU 2503. The CPU 2503 controls the display control unit 2507, the communication control unit 2517, and the drive device 2513 according to the processing content of the application program, and performs a predetermined operation. Further, data in the middle of processing is mainly stored in the memory 2501, but may be stored in the HDD 2505. In an embodiment of the present technology, an application program for performing the above-described processing is stored in a computer-readable removable disk 2511 and distributed, and installed from the drive device 2513 to the HDD 2505. In some cases, the HDD 2505 may be installed via a network such as the Internet and the communication control unit 2517. Such a computer apparatus realizes various functions as described above by organically cooperating hardware such as the CPU 2503 and the memory 2501 described above and programs such as the OS and application programs. .

  The above-described embodiment can be summarized as follows.

  The area determination method according to the present embodiment receives (A) a request including an identifier and a position of a mobile terminal, and (B) among a plurality of areas set in advance in association with the identifier of the mobile terminal. From the first data storage unit that stores the identifier of the region to which the mobile terminal belonged immediately before, the identifier of the region associated with the identifier of the mobile terminal included in the request is specified, and (C) a plurality of regions The identifier of the second region stored for the identifier of the specified region is extracted from the second data storage unit storing the identifier of the second region that may move from the region for each. (D) It is determined whether the position included in the request is included in the second area specified from the extracted second area identifier, and (E) specified from the extracted second area identifier Second to be When the position included in the request is included in the area, the identifier of the extracted second area is added to the result data, and (F) the second area specified from the extracted identifier of the second area In the case where the second condition including the first condition that the position included in the request is not included in the request is included, a process for searching a tree structure for searching a plurality of areas from the root is included.

  In this way, the tree structure is searched from the root by determining first whether or not it is included in the second area that is likely to move from the first area (more specifically, the possibility is high). In many cases, the processing to be performed can be omitted, and the overall processing load can be reduced.

  In addition, the region determination method includes: (G) for each of the plurality of regions, from the third data storage unit storing the identifier of the third region at least partially overlapping with the region, Extracting the stored third area identifier, and (H) determining whether the position included in the request is included in the third area specified from the extracted third area identifier. It may be included. In this case, the second condition described above may include a condition that the position included in the request is not included in the third area specified from the extracted identifier of the third area.

  In this way, it is possible to determine whether or not it is included in a plurality of areas at a higher speed by using the data of the overlapping area.

  Furthermore, this area determination method includes: (I) a second area extracted from a third data storage unit in which an identifier of a third area that at least partially overlaps the area is stored for each of the plurality of areas. (J) Judge whether the position included in the request is included in the third area specified from the extracted identifier of the third area (K) If the position included in the request is included in the third area specified from the extracted third area identifier, the extracted third area identifier is used as the result data. A process to be added may be further included. Even in such a case, the data of the overlapping area is useful.

  Furthermore, this region determination method determines whether the position included in the request is included in the region specified from the identifier of the specified region before the process of (L) extracting the identifier of the second region. (M) When the position included in the request is included in the area specified from the identifier of the specified area, a process of adding the identifier of the specified area to the result data may be further included. In other words, it may be possible to reduce the processing load by first determining whether or not it is moving.

  Note that a program for causing a computer to execute the processing described above can be created, and the program includes, for example, a flexible disk, an optical disk such as a CD-ROM, a magneto-optical disk, and a semiconductor memory (for example, ROM). Or a computer-readable storage medium such as a hard disk or a storage device. Note that data being processed is temporarily stored in a storage device such as a RAM.

  The following supplementary notes are further disclosed with respect to the embodiments including the above examples.

(Appendix 1)
Receives a request containing the identifier and location of the mobile terminal,
Corresponding to the identifier of the mobile terminal, the mobile terminal included in the request from the first data storage unit that stores the identifier of the region to which the mobile terminal belonged immediately before among the plurality of preset regions Identify the identifier of the region associated with the identifier of
For each of the plurality of regions, the second data storage unit storing the identifier of the second region that may move from the region stores the second identifier stored for the identified region. Extract region identifiers,
Determining whether the position included in the request is included in the second area specified from the extracted identifier of the second area;
If the location included in the request is included in the second area specified from the extracted identifier of the second area, the extracted identifier of the second area is added to the result data,
In the case where the second condition including the first condition that the position included in the request is not included in the second area specified from the extracted identifier of the second area, A program that causes a computer to execute the process of searching from the root for a tree structure for searching an area.

(Appendix 2)
For each of the plurality of areas, from the third data storage unit storing the identifier of the third area at least partially overlapping with the area, the third area stored for the identified identifier of the area Extract the identifier,
Causing the computer to execute a process of determining whether the position included in the request is included in the third area identified from the extracted identifier of the third area;
The second condition is
The program according to claim 1, including a condition that a position included in the request is not included in a third area specified by the extracted identifier of the third area.

(Appendix 3)
For each of the plurality of regions, the third identifier stored for the identifier of the second region extracted from the third data storage unit storing the identifier of the third region at least partially overlapping with the region. Extract the region identifier,
Determining whether the location included in the request is included in the third region identified from the extracted identifier of the third region;
When the position included in the request is included in the third area specified from the extracted identifier of the third area, the extracted identifier of the third area is added to the result data The program according to appendix 1, for causing the computer to further execute a process.

(Appendix 4)
Before the process of extracting the identifier of the second area,
Determining whether the location included in the request is included in the region identified from the identified identifier of the region;
In order to cause the computer to further execute a process of adding the specified identifier of the region to the result data when the location included in the request is included in the region specified from the specified identifier of the region The program according to any one of appendices 1 to 3.

(Appendix 5)
Receives a request containing the identifier and location of the mobile terminal,
Corresponding to the identifier of the mobile terminal, the mobile terminal included in the request from the first data storage unit that stores the identifier of the region to which the mobile terminal belonged immediately before among the plurality of preset regions Identify the identifier of the region associated with the identifier of
For each of the plurality of regions, the second data storage unit storing the identifier of the second region that may move from the region stores the second identifier stored for the identified region. Extract region identifiers,
Determining whether the position included in the request is included in the second area specified from the extracted identifier of the second area;
If the location included in the request is included in the second area specified from the extracted identifier of the second area, the extracted identifier of the second area is added to the result data,
In the case where the second condition including the first condition that the position included in the request is not included in the second area specified from the extracted identifier of the second area, An area determination method executed by a computer, including a process of searching a tree structure for searching an area from a root.

(Appendix 6)
A receiving unit for receiving a request including an identifier and a location of a mobile terminal;
Corresponding to the identifier of the mobile terminal, the mobile terminal included in the request from the first data storage unit that stores the identifier of the region to which the mobile terminal belonged immediately before among the plurality of preset regions From the second data storage unit in which the identifier of the second region that is likely to move from the region is stored for each of the plurality of regions, The second area identifier stored for the identified area identifier is extracted, and the position included in the request is within the second area identified from the extracted second area identifier. If the position included in the request is included in the second area identified from the extracted identifier of the second area, the extracted second area Result processing unit for adding the data Besshi,
In the case where the second condition including the first condition that the position included in the request is not included in the second area specified from the extracted identifier of the second area, A search unit for searching a tree structure for searching an area from the root;
An information processing apparatus.

51 Request Receiving Unit 52 Tree Searching Unit 53 Transition Region Management Unit 54 Previous Region Management Unit 55 Response Transmission Unit 56 Related Region Determination Unit 57 Duplicate Region Determination Unit 58 Region Index Storage Unit 59 Region Data Storage Unit 60 Previous Region Data Storage Unit 61 Transition Area data storage

Claims (6)

Receives a request containing the identifier and location of the mobile terminal,
Corresponding to the identifier of the mobile terminal, the mobile terminal included in the request from the first data storage unit that stores the identifier of the region to which the mobile terminal belonged immediately before among the plurality of preset regions Identify the identifier of the region associated with the identifier of
For each of the plurality of regions, the second data storage unit storing the identifier of the second region that may move from the region stores the second identifier stored for the identified region. Extract region identifiers,
Determining whether the position included in the request is included in the second area specified from the extracted identifier of the second area;
If the location included in the request is included in the second area specified from the extracted identifier of the second area, the extracted identifier of the second area is added to the result data,
In the case where the second condition including the first condition that the position included in the request is not included in the second area specified from the extracted identifier of the second area, A program that causes a computer to execute the process of searching from the root for a tree structure for searching an area. For each of the plurality of areas, from the third data storage unit storing the identifier of the third area at least partially overlapping with the area, the third area stored for the identified identifier of the area Extract the identifier,
Causing the computer to execute a process of determining whether the position included in the request is included in the third area identified from the extracted identifier of the third area;
The second condition is
The program according to claim 1, further comprising a condition that a position included in the request is not included in a third area identified from the extracted identifier of the third area. For each of the plurality of regions, the third identifier stored for the identifier of the second region extracted from the third data storage unit storing the identifier of the third region at least partially overlapping with the region. Extract the region identifier,
Determining whether the location included in the request is included in the third region identified from the extracted identifier of the third region;
When the position included in the request is included in the third area specified from the extracted identifier of the third area, the extracted identifier of the third area is added to the result data The program according to claim 1, further causing the computer to execute a process. Before the process of extracting the identifier of the second area,
Determining whether the location included in the request is included in the region identified from the identified identifier of the region;
In order to cause the computer to further execute a process of adding the specified identifier of the region to the result data when the location included in the request is included in the region specified from the specified identifier of the region The program according to any one of claims 1 to 3. Receives a request containing the identifier and location of the mobile terminal,
Corresponding to the identifier of the mobile terminal, the mobile terminal included in the request from the first data storage unit that stores the identifier of the region to which the mobile terminal belonged immediately before among the plurality of preset regions Identify the identifier of the region associated with the identifier of
For each of the plurality of regions, the second data storage unit storing the identifier of the second region that may move from the region stores the second identifier stored for the identified region. Extract region identifiers,
Determining whether the position included in the request is included in the second area specified from the extracted identifier of the second area;
If the location included in the request is included in the second area specified from the extracted identifier of the second area, the extracted identifier of the second area is added to the result data,
In the case where the second condition including the first condition that the position included in the request is not included in the second area specified from the extracted identifier of the second area, An area determination method executed by a computer, including a process of searching a tree structure for searching an area from a root. A receiving unit for receiving a request including an identifier and a location of a mobile terminal;
Corresponding to the identifier of the mobile terminal, the mobile terminal included in the request from the first data storage unit that stores the identifier of the region to which the mobile terminal belonged immediately before among the plurality of preset regions From the second data storage unit in which the identifier of the second region that is likely to move from the region is stored for each of the plurality of regions, The second area identifier stored for the identified area identifier is extracted, and the position included in the request is within the second area identified from the extracted second area identifier. If the position included in the request is included in the second area identified from the extracted identifier of the second area, the extracted second area Result processing unit for adding the data Besshi,
In the case where the second condition including the first condition that the position included in the request is not included in the second area specified from the extracted identifier of the second area, A search unit for searching a tree structure for searching an area from the root;
An information processing apparatus.

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