JP2021157152A - Map information management system, and map information management program - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a map information management system that can increase the possibility of preventing a fall in response in a system.SOLUTION: A map information management system 10 has: a map information management unit 122f that receives a plurality of acquisition requests from each of a plurality of functions, and when a distribution of map information corresponding to each of the plurality of received acquisition requests is in a standby state, in accordance with a priority degree of each function preliminarily set according to a combination of the acquisition requests in the standby state, determines a distribution order when the map information pertaining to the plurality of acquisition requests is distributed from a map server 20; and a distribution processing unit 122e that controls so that the map information is distributed from the map server according to the distribution order.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a map information management system and a map information management program.

Conventionally, there is known a guidance system that guides a vehicle by receiving map information from a map server. Patent Document 1 discloses a system in which a map server transmits data units to a navigation terminal in the order of priority set for data units corresponding to display elements such as the sea, rivers, highways, and national highways. There is. Further, Patent Document 2 discloses a technique in which a distribution server distributes hierarchically divided map data to a map information display device in order of priority.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2003-42788 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2003-51094

However, in a guidance system that receives map information from a map server and provides route guidance, the process of referring to the map information is not limited to map drawing. For example, map information is also referred to in processing such as route guidance and matching. Therefore, the reception of map information is requested from each of the plurality of functions, and there is a possibility that the request will be in a state of waiting for processing. When a high-priority function is waiting for processing, the response of the guidance system is reduced. In addition, the functions with high priority differ depending on the situation.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to increase the possibility of preventing a decrease in response in a system.

In order to achieve the above object, the map information management system of the present invention accepts a plurality of acquisition requests from each of the plurality of functions, and is in a standby state for distribution of map information corresponding to each of the received plurality of acquisition requests. In a certain case, a map that determines the order in which the map information related to the plurality of acquisition requests is distributed from the map server according to the priority of each function preset according to the combination of the acquisition requests in the standby state. It has an information management unit and a distribution processing unit that controls distribution of the map information from the map server according to the order.

Further, in order to achieve the above object, the map information management program of the present invention receives a plurality of acquisition requests from each of a plurality of functions of the computer, and receives map information corresponding to each of the received plurality of acquisition requests. When in the standby state for distribution, the map information related to the plurality of acquisition requests is distributed from the map server according to the priority of each function preset according to the combination of the acquisition requests in the standby state. It is a map information management unit for deciding the order and a map information management unit for functioning as a distribution processing unit for controlling distribution of the map information from the map server according to the order.

The map information management system and the map information management program manage to perform reception processing related to a plurality of acquisition requests in an order according to the priority of each function set in advance according to the combination of acquisition requests in the standby state. .. In this way, in the map information management system and the map information management program, the priority of each function is set according to the combination of acquisition requests, so that the order of reception processing is determined according to the combination of acquisition requests. be able to. This makes it possible to increase the possibility of preventing a decrease in the response of the system.

A block diagram showing the configuration of a map information management system and a map server. The figure which shows the data structure example of the map information. The figure which shows the data structure example of a priority table. A flowchart showing a map information management process.

Here, embodiments of the present invention will be described in the following order.
(1) Overall configuration:
(2) Map information management process:
(3) Other embodiments:

(1) Overall configuration:
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configurations of the map information management system 10 and the map server 20. The map server 20 stores a plurality of levels of map information having different densities of end points of road sections included in a unit area. The map server 20 includes a communication unit 21, a control unit 22 including a CPU, RAM, ROM, and the like, and a recording medium 23. The communication unit 21 is a device for wirelessly communicating with an external device, and the control unit 22 can communicate with the map information management system 10 via the communication unit 21. The control unit 22 can execute various programs stored in the recording medium 23 or the ROM. The control unit 22 of the present embodiment can execute the distribution program 220 as one of the programs.

The recording medium 23 stores the map information 231. The map information 231 includes node data indicating the positions of nodes corresponding to the end points of the road section, shape interpolation point data indicating the positions of shape interpolation points for specifying the shape of the road between the nodes, and links connecting the nodes. Contains link data and the like indicating. Here, the node corresponds to the intersection, and the link corresponds to the road section from the intersection to the intersection. The map information 231 is used for specifying the position of the vehicle, searching for a route to the destination, guiding the route, and the like. In the present embodiment, the link data includes information indicating the direction in which the vehicle can travel on the road section indicated by the link data. In addition, the link data includes information indicating the structure of the lane existing on the road. The lane structure indicates the number of lanes in which the vehicle can travel in each direction of travel. When the number of lanes changes in a part of the road section (for example, the part immediately before entering the intersection), information indicating the changing position and the number of lanes before and after the change is defined.

Further, the map information 231 includes a plurality of levels of map information in which the end points of the road sections included in the unit area, that is, the densities of the nodes are different. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of data configuration of map information 231. The map information 231 includes a plurality of map information of different levels such as levels 0, 2, 4, 6, ... For the same area. The higher the level, the coarser the map, and the lower the level, the more detailed the map. The level 0 map information includes all information including the lane structure, etc., and the map information management system 10 is level 0 when all the map information such as the intersection guidance function can be used. Use the map information of. On the other hand, for example, level 4 map information includes only highways and major national roads. When the route search is performed with the map information of only level 0, the number of cases to be searched becomes excessive, and the processing time becomes excessive. Therefore, in the present embodiment, not only level 0 but also map information such as levels 2 and 4 is used in order to limit the road section to be searched in the process of route search. In this way, in the map information management system 10, map information at a level corresponding to the processing content is referred to.

The distribution program 220 executed by the control unit 22 includes a distribution unit 221. The distribution unit 221 is a program module that causes the control unit 22 to execute a function of distributing map information to the map information management system 10. The control unit 22 receives a map information transmission request from the map information management system 10 by the function of the distribution unit 221. The transmission request indicates the area of the map to be transmitted and the level. The control unit 22 specifies the area and level to be transmitted according to the transmission request by the function of the distribution unit 221 and transmits the map information of the specified area and level to the map information management system 10.

The map information management system 10 is mounted on the vehicle and acquires map information from the map server 20. The map information management system 10 includes a communication unit 11, a control unit 12 including a CPU, RAM, ROM, and the like, a recording medium 13, and a user I / F unit 14. The communication unit 11 is a device for wirelessly communicating with an external device, and the control unit 12 can communicate with the map server 20 via the communication unit 11. The user I / F unit 14 is an interface unit for inputting a user's instruction and providing various information to the user, and includes a touch panel type display, a switch, a speaker, and the like (not shown). That is, the user I / F unit 14 includes an image / audio output unit and a user-instructed input unit.

The recording medium 13 stores the priority table 131. The priority table 131 is a table that is referred to when the control unit 12 receives map information from the map server 20. The priority table 131 will be described in detail later.

The control unit 12 can execute various programs stored in the recording medium 13 or the ROM. The control unit 12 of the present embodiment can execute the map information management program 121 as one of the programs. The control unit 12 manages the map information in the guidance of the traveling route by the processing of the map information management program 121. The control unit 12 also includes a temporary storage unit 123 that temporarily stores the map information received from the map server 20.

The vehicle is further equipped with a GNSS receiving unit 15, a vehicle speed sensor 16, and a gyro sensor 17. The GNSS receiving unit 15 is a device that receives signals from the Global Navigation Satellite System. The GNSS receiving unit 15 receives radio waves from the navigation satellite and outputs a signal for calculating the position of the vehicle via an interface (not shown). The control unit 12 acquires this signal to acquire the position of the vehicle. The vehicle speed sensor 16 outputs a signal corresponding to the rotation speed of the wheels provided in the vehicle. The control unit 12 acquires this signal via an interface (not shown) to acquire the vehicle speed.

The gyro sensor 17 detects the angular acceleration for turning in the horizontal plane of the vehicle and outputs a signal corresponding to the direction of the vehicle. The control unit 12 acquires this signal to acquire the traveling direction of the vehicle. The vehicle speed sensor 16, the gyro sensor 17, and the like are used to identify the traveling track of the vehicle. In the present embodiment, the control unit 12 specifies the position of the vehicle based on the starting point and the traveling track of the vehicle, and the position of the vehicle specified based on the starting point and the traveling track is determined by the GNSS receiving unit 15. Correct based on the output signal.

The map information management program 121 executed by the control unit 12 of the map information management system 10 has a search function unit 122a and a route guidance function unit 122b in order to manage map information used for guiding the travel route of the vehicle. A map drawing function unit 122c, a matching function unit 122d, a distribution processing unit 122e, and a map information management unit 122f are provided.

The search function unit 122a is a program module that enables the control unit 12 to realize a function of searching a travel route from the current location to the destination when the destination is set according to the user operation. Specifically, when the destination is set according to the user operation, the control unit 12 sends a route search request including the current location and the destination of the vehicle specified by the GNSS receiving unit 15 and the like to the communication unit 11. It is transmitted to the map server 20 via. When the map server 20 receives the route search request, the map server 20 creates one or a plurality of travel routes according to the route search request, and transmits this to the map information management system 10. The control unit 12 receives the travel route via the communication unit 11 and the distribution processing unit 122e, and controls to display the travel path on the display. In this way, the travel route is received from the map server 20. Here, the traveling route is an array of nodes connecting the starting point to the destination.

Further, each time the control unit 12 moves the first distance during the route guidance, the control unit 12 obtains the acquisition target area for which the map information is acquired based on the travel route set as the guidance route in the map information management system 10. Identify. Then, the control unit 12 generates an acquisition request for requesting the map information of the acquisition target area from the map information management unit 122f by the function of the search function unit 122a. Here, the first distance is a predetermined distance. Further, the acquisition target area is an area from the current location of the vehicle to a certain distance along the traveling path and to a certain distance along the width direction of the traveling path.

The acquisition request generated by the function of the search function unit 122a includes identification information for identifying the search function unit 122a as the generation source of the acquisition request and information indicating the acquisition target area. The acquisition request generated by the function of the search function unit 122a is information that requests map information of the area specified by the search function unit 122a based on the traveling route. The map information is received from the map server 20 via the communication unit 11 by the function of the distribution processing unit 122e under the management by the function of the map information management unit 122f. The map information transmitted from the map server 20 is stored in the temporary storage unit 123.

In this way, the control unit 12 acquires the map information of the range based on the traveling route. As a result, the control unit 12 stores the map information stored in the temporary storage unit 123 in a situation where the position of the vehicle deviates from the traveling route and the route needs to be re-searched, but communication with the map server 20 is not possible. It can be used to re-search the travel route.

The route guidance function unit 122b is a program module that allows the control unit 12 to realize a function of providing route guidance along the traveling route of the vehicle. Specifically, the control unit 12 guides the traveling direction at an intersection or an entrance / exit of an expressway where the vehicle should travel in a non-straight direction. The control unit 12 refers not only to the traveling route but also to the map information in the route guidance. Therefore, in order to acquire the map information, the control unit 12 specifies the acquisition target area based on the travel route each time the route guidance function unit 122b moves a second distance. Then, the control unit 12 generates an acquisition request for requesting the map information of the acquisition target area from the map information management unit 122f by the function of the route guidance function unit 122b. Here, the second distance is a predetermined distance. The second distance shall be longer than the first distance. However, the second distance may be equal to the first distance or shorter than the first distance. The acquisition target area is an area from the current location of the vehicle to a certain distance along the traveling route. The acquisition target area specified by the function of the route guidance function unit 122b is shorter in the width direction of the traveling route than the acquisition target area specified by the search function unit 122a. The length of the acquisition target area in the traveling direction may be equal to or different from the target area specified by the search function unit 122a.

The acquisition request generated by the function of the route guidance function unit 122b includes identification information for identifying the route guidance function unit 122b as a generation source of the acquisition request and information indicating an acquisition target area. The acquisition request generated by the function of the route guidance function unit 122b is information that requests map information of the area specified by the function of the route guidance function unit 122b based on the traveling route. When the acquisition request is generated, the map information related to the acquisition request is stored in the temporary storage unit 123 by the function of the map information management unit 122f. The control unit 12 provides route guidance using the map information stored in the temporary storage unit 123.

The map drawing function unit 122c is a program module that enables the control unit 12 to realize a function of drawing a map. When the traveling route is set, the control unit 12 draws a map including the starting point to the destination of the traveling route by the function of the map drawing function unit 122c and displays it on the display. In this case, the control unit 12 specifies a display scale capable of displaying the traveling route from the departure point to the destination based on the distance from the departure point to the destination by the function of the map drawing function unit 122c. Here, the display scale that can display the travel route from the departure point to the destination is a scale for displaying the narrowest area among the display scales that can display the entire travel route on the display. As another example, in the display scale capable of displaying the travel route from the departure point to the destination, the ratio of the smallest rectangular area including the entire travel route to the entire display to the entire display is a predetermined ratio. The scale may be as follows.

The control unit 12 refers to the map information in order to draw a map including the traveling route from the starting point to the destination at the display scale by the function of the map drawing function unit 122c. Therefore, the control unit 12 generates an acquisition request for requesting the map information of the acquisition target area from the map information management unit 122f by the function of the map drawing function unit 122c. Here, the acquisition target area is an area including the entire traveling route determined according to the display scale. The acquisition request includes identification information of the map drawing function unit 122c as a transmission source of the acquisition request, information indicating an acquisition target area, and a display scale capable of displaying from the departure point to the destination. In response to the acquisition request, the control unit 12 draws a map of the traveling route by using the map information stored in the temporary storage unit 123 by the function of the map information management unit 122f.

The control unit 12 also draws a map including the current location of the vehicle during route guidance and displays it on the display. In this case, the control unit 12 displays the map at a preset display scale. The control unit 12 refers to the map information in order to draw the map. Therefore, the control unit 12 uses the function of the map drawing function unit 122c to guide the route, and each time the control unit 12 moves the third distance, the area displayed on the display from the current location of the vehicle and the display scale based on the travel route. Is specified as the acquisition target area. Then, the control unit 12 generates an acquisition request for requesting the map information of the acquisition target area from the map information management unit 122f by the function of the map drawing function unit 122c. Here, the third distance may be equal to or different from at least one of the first distance and the second distance.

The acquisition request generated by the function of the map drawing function unit 122c includes identification information for identifying the map drawing function unit 122c as the generation source of the acquisition request, information indicating the acquisition target area, and a predetermined display. Scale is included. The display scale can be changed according to the user operation, and when the display scale is changed according to the user operation, the map is drawn at the changed display scale, and the acquisition request related to the changed display scale is performed. Is generated. The acquisition request generated by the function of the map drawing function unit 122c is information requesting map information of the area specified by the function of the map drawing function unit 122c based on the traveling route. In response to the acquisition request, the control unit 12 draws a map including the current location of the vehicle by using the map information stored in the temporary storage unit 123 by the function of the map information management unit 122f.

The matching function unit 122d is a program module that causes the control unit 12 to realize a function of specifying which road the current location of the vehicle is on by referring to the map information. The control unit 12 periodically executes a matching process for identifying the position of the vehicle on the road during route guidance. In order to perform matching during route guidance, the control unit 12 uses the function of the matching function unit 122d to move forward in the traveling direction from the current location of the vehicle along the traveling route each time the control unit 12 travels the fourth distance. The area up to a certain distance is specified as the acquisition target area. Then, the control unit 12 generates an acquisition request for requesting the map information of the acquisition target area from the map management unit 22f by the function of the matching function unit 122d. Here, the fourth distance may be equal to or different from at least one of the first distance, the second distance, and the third distance.

In order to acquire the map information, the control unit 12 generates a request for acquiring the map information of the acquisition target area to the map information management unit 122f by the function of the matching function unit 122d. The acquisition request generated by the matching function unit 122d includes identification information for identifying the matching function unit 122d as a generation source and information indicating an acquisition target area. The acquisition request generated by the function of the matching function unit 122d is information that requests map information of the area specified by the function of the matching function unit 122d based on the traveling route. The control unit 12 draws a map including the current location of the vehicle by using the map information stored in the temporary storage unit 123 by the function of the map information management unit 122f in response to the acquisition request.

The distribution processing unit 122e is a program module that allows the control unit 12 to realize a function of controlling the map server 20 to distribute information such as map information and a vehicle's travel route via the communication unit 11. The control unit 12 controls so that the map information related to the acquisition request is distributed from the map server 20 by the function of the distribution processing unit 122e. Specifically, the control unit 12 transmits a transmission request for map information to be distributed to the map server 20 by the function of the distribution processing unit 122e. On the other hand, the map server 20 distributes the map information to the map information management system 10 in response to the transmission request. The control unit 12 receives the map information as a response to the transmission request.

The map information management unit 122f receives acquisition requests from each of the plurality of functions, receives map information in response to the acquisition requests from the map server 20 via the distribution processing unit 122e and the communication unit 11, and stores the map information in the temporary storage unit 123. It is a program module that realizes the function in the control unit 12. In the present embodiment, the control unit 12 uses the function of the map information management unit 122f to respond to acquisition requests from the search function unit 122a, the route guidance function unit 122b, the map drawing function unit 122c, and the matching function unit 122d. The server 20 manages to distribute the map information. The control unit 12 receives map information from the map server 20 by the function of the distribution processing unit 122e in the order determined by the function of the map information management unit 122f. That is, the control unit 12 controls the distribution processing unit 122e to distribute the map information in the order determined by the function of the map information management unit 122f.

In the map information management system 10 of the present embodiment, in a plurality of functions, acquisition requests are generated at the timing of processing in each function. Therefore, in the map information management system 10, a certain acquisition request may be generated, and the next acquisition request may be generated before the distribution of the map information corresponding to the acquisition request is completed. Since the control unit 12 executes processing (reception of map information) according to the acquisition request one by one, while receiving the map information related to one acquisition request, the reception of the map information according to the other acquisition request is performed. Not done. Therefore, in the map information management system 10, there may be a standby state in which acquisition requests are received from each of the plurality of functions and map information corresponding to each of the received plurality of acquisition requests is not received. That is, the standby state is a state in which a plurality of acquisition requests are accepted and a process that has not been started exists among the processes corresponding to the received plurality of acquisition requests. For example, the control unit 12 attaches three acquisition requests of Nos. 1, 2, and 3, and is receiving map information corresponding to the first acquisition request, and corresponds to the second and third acquisition requests. If the process is stored in the queue as waiting for processing, it is determined to be in the waiting state.

When the control unit 12 of the present embodiment is in such a standby state by the function of the map information management unit 122f, the control unit 12 can be set according to the priority of the function set in advance according to the combination of the acquisition requests of the standby state. Determine the order in which map information is distributed. That is, when the standby state occurs, the control unit 12 controls the execution order of the processes according to the priority regardless of the order in which the acquisition requests are generated. Here, the priority is an index value and a function that is referred to when deciding which acquisition request to be preferentially executed when the process related to a plurality of acquisition requests is in a standby state. It is a value set in advance in association with each other. In the present embodiment, "1" is the highest priority, and the smaller the number, the lower the priority.

In the present embodiment, the priority of each function is set in the priority table 131 shown in FIG. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, the priority is given to each function according to the combination of a plurality of acquisition requests, specifically, which acquisition request is included in the acquisition request. It is set.

For example, Case 2 is a case in which a plurality of acquisition requests in the standby state include acquisition requests related to route guidance. Here, the acquisition request related to the route guidance includes an acquisition request related to the guidance at the start of the route guidance and an acquisition request related to the guidance in the non-straight direction. For case 2, priority "2" is assigned to the route guidance function, priority "3" is assigned to the matching function, priority "4" is assigned to the map drawing function, and priority "5" is assigned to the search function. Has been done.

Further, the case 3 is a case in which the acquisition request related to the re-search is included in the plurality of acquisition requests in the standby state. For case 3, priority "2" is assigned to the search function, priority "3" is assigned to the route guidance function, priority "4" is assigned to the matching function, and priority "5" is assigned to the map drawing function. Has been done. It should be noted that these are acquisition requests generated by the steady processing of each function. That is, the steady processing is a processing preset in each function and is a processing that does not depend on an interrupt processing from the outside. As a steady process, for example, when the matching function reaches a predetermined distance before the boundary of the currently acquired map area, the map information is acquired, or the guidance function performs a predetermined distance before the guidance point. Examples include processing for providing route guidance when the vehicle arrives.

On the other hand, Case 1 is a case in which an acquisition request is generated by interrupt processing, and a plurality of acquisition requests in the standby state include an acquisition request generated by interrupt processing. In this case, the priority "1" is assigned to the acquisition request generated by the interrupt process, that is, the function of the generation source of the acquisition request. In this way, for a plurality of acquisition requests including a constantly generated acquisition request and an interrupt-generated acquisition request, the function corresponding to the interrupt-generated acquisition request is constantly generated. A higher priority is set than the function corresponding to the generated acquisition request.

Here, examples of the interrupt processing include an instruction to change the display scale and an instruction to search for a route according to a user operation. When a change in display scale is instructed, the control unit 12 redraws the map on the display at the scale according to the instruction when the current location is arranged at a predetermined position on the display. Further, as the interrupt processing, for example, a map drawing instruction generated by receiving a traffic jam information such as VICS (registered trademark) (Vehicle Information and Communication System) from an external server as a trigger can be mentioned. When the traffic jam information is received, the control unit 12 draws a map and guides the traffic jam on the map.

From the viewpoint of preventing a decrease in response to the processing of the map information management system 10, the functions for which processing should be prioritized are not uniformly determined, and differ depending on the combination of a plurality of acquisition requests related to the standby state. Therefore, in the present embodiment, as described above, in the priority table 131, the priority for the function corresponding to the acquisition request is set in advance for each combination of the plurality of acquisition requests.

In the standby state, the control unit 12 determines the order of reception processing related to the acquisition request related to the standby state by referring to the priority table 131 by the function of the map information management unit 122f. It should be noted that each acquisition request includes the type of acquisition request such as the acquisition request generated by the interrupt process and the acquisition request related to the route guidance, and the identification information of the function of the generation source. The type of acquisition request and the function identification information are stored as a queue in a RAM or the like (not shown). When the reception of the information corresponding to the acquisition request is started, the information saved as the queue is deleted. Therefore, the state in which two or more acquisition requests are stored in the queue is the standby state. The control unit 12 determines which case in the priority table 131 the standby state corresponds to based on the acquisition request related to the standby state, and specifies the priority of the function according to the corresponding case. Then, the order of the smallest priority value is determined as the order of processing according to the acquisition request generated by the corresponding function. For example, in the standby state including the acquisition request related to re-search and the acquisition request related to matching, case 3 is applicable because the acquisition request related to re-search is included, the priority of the search function is "3", and the matching function The priority is set to "4". Therefore, the processing order of the processing according to the acquisition request related to the re-search is determined to be the first, and the processing order of the processing corresponding to the acquisition request related to the matching is determined to be the second.

Further, for example, consider a standby state including an acquisition request related to re-search, an acquisition request related to matching, and an acquisition request related to a change in display scale due to a user operation. In this case, it corresponds to case 3 and case 1, and by corresponding to case 3, the priority of the search function is determined to be "2" and the priority of the matching function is determined to be "4". The priority of the function related to the request, that is, the map drawing function is determined to be "1". As a result, the processing according to the acquisition request related to the change of the display scale, the processing according to the acquisition request related to the re-search, and the processing according to the acquisition request related to matching are the first, second, and third processes, respectively. The order is decided. As described above, in Case 1, when the acquisition request generated by the steady processing corresponds to any case other than Case 1, the acquisition request generated by the steady processing corresponds to the applicable case. The priority is set according to.

As described above, in the present embodiment, in the priority table 131, a higher priority is assigned to the acquisition request that may cause a decrease in response for each combination of acquisition requests. As a result, the map information management system 10 can identify a function that may cause a decrease in response according to the combination of acquisition requests, and preferentially execute the process according to the acquisition request by this function. Therefore, it is possible to increase the possibility of preventing a decrease in the response of the map information management system 10.

(2) Map information management process:
Next, the map information management process executed by the function of the map information management program 121 will be described. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the map information management process. The control unit 12 executes the map information management process by the function of the map information management unit 122f. The map information management process is started when the map information management system 10 is started, and is continuously executed until the power is turned off. The control unit 12 waits until an acquisition request is received from any of the functions (N in step S100). Then, when the acquisition request is received (Y in step S100), the control unit 12 is in a standby state depending on whether or not the queue contains the acquisition request in which the acquisition request whose processing has not been started exists. It is determined whether or not it is. When not in the standby state (N in step S105), the control unit 12 receives the map information related to the acquisition request received in step S100 from the map server 20 and stores it in the temporary storage unit 123. The control unit 12 then proceeds to step S100 and waits until the acquisition request is received again.

When it is determined in step S105 that the standby state is in the standby state (Y in step S105), the control unit 12 refers to the priority table 131 and specifies the priority for the functions of the plurality of acquisition requests in the standby state (Y). Step S115). Next, the control unit 12 determines the processing order for the plurality of acquisition requests in the standby state based on the priority (step S120). Next, the control unit 12 controls to sequentially receive the map information in the processing order determined in step S120 (step S125). After that, the control unit 12 advances the process to step S100 and waits until the acquisition request is received again. After deciding to receive the map information related to the acquisition request in the processing order determined in step S120, a new acquisition request may be accepted in step S100. In this case, the control unit 12 redetermines the processing order including the newly received acquisition request.

(3) Other embodiments:
The above embodiment is an example for carrying out the present invention, and various other embodiments can be adopted. For example, the map information management system 10 may be a system realized by a plurality of devices (for example, a client and a server, a control unit in a navigation device, a control unit in a user I / F unit, and the like). At least a part of the functions of the search function unit 122a, the route guidance function unit 122b, the map drawing function unit 122c, the matching function unit 122d, the distribution processing unit 122e, and the map information management unit 122f constituting the map information management system 10 is plural. It may exist separately in the following devices. Of course, some configurations of the above-described embodiments may be omitted, and the order of processing may be changed or omitted. For example, the map information management system 10 according to the present embodiment may have a plurality of functions, and the types and numbers of the functions are not limited to the embodiments. Preferably, the map information management system 10 may include at least two functions of the search function unit 122a, the route guidance function unit 122b, the map drawing function unit 122c, and the matching function unit 122d.

Functions are realized by executing a program module that describes each function in the control unit. Further, the function may be an arbitrary function that generates a map information acquisition request trigger, and if there are a plurality of functions that may have superiority or inferiority in the priority of executing the acquisition request, at least these functions are regarded as different functions. Pre-classified. For example, a function that operates in parallel for any purpose can be a separate function. Also, similar functions that do not operate in parallel can be the same function. More specifically, if the map drawing function by scrolling and the map drawing function by changing the scale are not executed in parallel, and at least one is completed and then the other is executed, the map drawing function by scrolling and the map drawing function by changing the scale are executed. May be classified into the same function. If one of the same type of functions is to be prioritized, even the same type of functions may be classified into different functions, and map information may be received according to the acquisition request according to the priority.

The types and numbers of acquisition requests that are constantly generated by each function and acquisition requests that are generated by interrupt processing are not limited to the embodiments. Further, the function corresponding to the acquisition request generated by the interrupt processing may be assigned a higher priority than the function corresponding to the constantly generated acquisition request. Here, the acquisition request that is constantly generated is an acquisition request other than the acquisition request that is generated by interrupt processing. Further, it is sufficient that the priority is set in advance for the acquisition request that is constantly generated, and it is possible to arbitrarily set which priority is assigned to which function.

The standby state is a state in which two or more acquisition requests for which processing has not been completed are accumulated. Therefore, when a plurality of acquisition requests are stored in the queue, the control unit 12 may receive the map information corresponding to the plurality of acquisition requests in a time division manner. In this case, the control unit 12 may control the length of time allocated to the reception of the map information according to each acquisition request according to the order determined in the embodiment. In addition, when acquisition of information corresponding to a certain acquisition process is started and a higher priority acquisition request occurs, the execution acquisition process is interrupted and the process for the higher priority acquisition request is interrupted. May be started. Further, the frequency of receiving the acquisition request having a high priority may be higher than the frequency of receiving the acquisition process being executed.

The map information management system may be a mobile terminal such as a smartphone. In this case, the mobile terminal may use the position specified by the mounted GNSS as the current location of the vehicle.

Further, the functions of the distribution processing unit and the map information management unit of the map information management system may be realized by the control unit 22 of the map server 20. In this case, the control unit 22 receives the acquisition request generated by each function from the system having a plurality of functions (system mounted on the vehicle or mobile terminal). A priority table is stored in the recording medium 23 of the map server 20, and the control unit 22 uses the function of the map information management unit to set the priority of each function preset according to the combination of the standby state acquisition requests. The order of distribution of map information is determined according to. Then, the control unit 22 controls the map information to be distributed to the system having a plurality of functions in order by the function of the distribution processing unit. That is, the control unit 22 transmits the map information to the system having a plurality of functions in order by the function of the distribution processing unit. As a result, the system having a plurality of functions can acquire the map information in the order determined according to the combination of the acquisition requests of the standby state.

Further, the system, program, and method as described above may be realized as a single device or may be realized by using a shared component in a plurality of devices, and include various aspects. In addition, some of them are software and some of them are hardware, which can be changed as appropriate. Further, the invention is also established as a recording medium for a program that controls a system. Of course, the recording medium of the program may be a magnetic recording medium or a semiconductor memory, and any recording medium to be developed in the future can be considered in exactly the same way.

10 ... Map information management system, 11 ... Communication unit, 12 ... Control unit, 13 ... Recording medium, 20 ... Map server, 121 ... Map information management program, 122a ... Search function unit, 122b ... Route guidance function unit, 122c ... Map Drawing function unit, 122d ... Matching function unit, 122e ... Distribution processing unit, 122f ... Map information management unit, 123 ... Temporary storage unit, 131 ... Priority table

Claims (5)

When a plurality of acquisition requests are received from each of the plurality of functions and the map information is in a standby state for distribution of the map information corresponding to each of the received multiple acquisition requests, the settings are set in advance according to the combination of the acquisition requests in the standby state. A map information management unit that determines the order in which the map information related to the plurality of acquisition requests is distributed from the map server according to the priority of each function.
A map information management system having a distribution processing unit that controls distribution of the map information from the map server according to the order. When the combination of the acquisition requests in the standby state includes an acquisition request generated in a steady process preset in each function and an acquisition request generated by an interrupt, the acquisition generated by the interrupt is included. The map information management system according to claim 1, wherein a higher priority is set for the function corresponding to the request than the function corresponding to the constantly generated acquisition request. The map information management system according to claim 2, wherein the acquisition request generated by the interrupt is generated in response to a user operation. The map information management system according to claim 2, wherein the acquisition request generated by the interrupt is generated in response to the reception of predetermined information from an external server. Computer,
When a plurality of acquisition requests are received from each of the plurality of functions and the map information is in a standby state for distribution of the map information corresponding to each of the received multiple acquisition requests, the settings are set in advance according to the combination of the acquisition requests in the standby state. A map information management unit that determines the order in which the map information related to the plurality of acquisition requests is distributed from the map server according to the priority of each function.
A map information management program for functioning as a distribution processing unit that controls distribution of map information from the map server according to the order.

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