JP2021182222A - Facility search system and facility information registration method - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a facility search system and a facility information registration method capable of obtaining desired facility information by a search without switching between an offline search and an online search.SOLUTION: The facility search system includes an offline search unit 11 that searches facility information for an internal storage unit 101 as a target, a facility information acquisition unit 13 that acquires facility information from a website 300, and a facility information registration unit 14 that registers the facility information in an internal storage area 101b of the internal storage unit 101 among the acquired facility information that is not present in the internal storage unit 101. The facility search system performs an online search for not only the facility information that is stored in a map data storage area 101a of the internal storage unit 101 but also the facility information that is acquired from a website 300 and that is registered in the facility information storage area 101b so that desired facility information including the latest facility information can be obtained as much as possible only by the offline search.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

The present invention relates to a facility search system and a facility information registration method, and is particularly suitable for use in a system for searching facility information for a database that is updated at any time.

A general navigation device can search for a desired facility using a map database provided in the device, and set the searched facility as a destination or a relay point (hereinafter, simply referred to as a destination). It has been done. Map data is generated by reflecting actual roads and surrounding facilities. Therefore, the map database needs to be updated as needed to accommodate newly created roads and facilities. In recent navigation devices, this map database update is performed by downloading map data from a server device connected via the Internet to the navigation device.

However, the map database of the navigation device is not always up to date. Even if the map database is updated to the latest state by downloading from the server device, the downloaded map data may not contain information about the new facility that actually exists. In this case, even if the user tries to search for a desired facility using the map database in the device, the desired facility is not extracted and cannot be set as a destination.

In such a case, the navigation device can be connected to the Internet, the desired facility can be searched online for the website, and the destination can be set using the information of the facility obtained as a result. There are also navigation devices. However, the information on the website that is the target of the online search may not be the information for navigation, and the normal facility search (offline search) and the online search are often separate menus.

Therefore, for facility information that is not registered in the map database in the navigation device, if the facility cannot be found by offline search, it cannot be found without opening another menu and performing an online search, which is troublesome twice. It is difficult to use. In addition, although online search targeting websites is convenient because the latest information can be obtained, it is troublesome because the number of hits to the search keyword is large and the information about the desired facility must be manually narrowed down.

The server collects estimated destination information, which is information related to the user's destination estimated from the search history or browsing history in the Internet terminal device, and sends it to the navigation device, and the navigation device receives the estimated destination from the server. A navigation system that displays information on a destination setting screen is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1). However, the system described in Patent Document 1 only presents the destination estimated by the server from the history of online search or browsing by the user as recommended information, and thus does not provide a method for solving the above-mentioned problem.

Further, in the navigation device, the terminal side route information is generated based on the network data stored in the storage unit and transmitted to the navigation server together with the route search condition, and then the latest network stored in the storage unit in the navigation server. Based on the data, the server-side route information of the route that satisfies the route search condition received from the navigation device is generated, and the difference between the terminal-side route information and the server-side route information is transmitted to the navigation device, so that the latest on the terminal side. A navigation system that makes it possible to use the route search result based on the network data of the above is also known (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

However, in the system described in Patent Document 2, the route search must first be performed on the terminal side based on the network data stored in the storage unit. Therefore, if the desired facility is not registered in the storage unit at that time, the information necessary for setting the destination must be obtained by searching the desired facility online, and the above-mentioned problem also occurs. It ends up.

In addition, when an information consumer uses a map information providing system, it is necessary to link the information scattered on the Web with the minimum necessary information managed by the database and request various information related to the records on the database from the network. A system that enables this is also known (see, for example, Patent Document 3). However, the system described in Patent Document 3 obtains various information related to records on the database from the network and displays them in the application program, and acquires information on facilities that are not registered in the database in the first place. Can't.

In addition, by displaying the category / content information executed by the program execution means in an integrated manner for each category in the arrangement order specified by the user and simultaneously distributing the content information to the user, the content information for each category can be mutually integrated. There is also known a system that enables content information by various categories, which integrates daily necessities information, to be integrated and distributed on one portal site (see, for example, Patent Document 4). However, the system described in Patent Document 4 also does not provide a method for solving the above-mentioned problem.

WO2017 / 33301 Gazette Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2011-47750 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2002-63214 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2004-280841

The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and obtains desired facility information including the latest facilities without performing the troublesome operation of switching between offline search and online search as much as possible. The purpose is to be able to obtain it by searching.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention presents a terminal in a system provided with an offline search unit that searches the internal storage unit in the terminal device for facility information that matches the search conditions specified by the user. Facility information is acquired from the external storage section of the site connected to the communication network outside the device, and the facility information that is not in the internal storage section among the acquired facility information can be searched offline after the acquisition. It is registered in the internal storage as.

According to the present invention configured as described above, not only the facility information stored as the information inside the device in the internal storage section in the terminal device but also the external storage section of the site connected to the communication network is acquired. An offline search is also performed for the facility information registered in the internal storage unit. Since the facility information acquired from the external storage unit may include facility information related to the latest facility, perform an offline search for the internal storage unit and an online search for the external storage unit. It is possible to easily obtain desired facility information including the latest facilities only by offline search without performing the troublesome operation of switching as much as possible.

It is a figure which shows the whole structure example of the facility search system by 1st Embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the functional structure example of the terminal apparatus by 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the item which the facility information stored in the internal storage part by 1st Embodiment has. It is a flowchart which shows the operation example of the terminal apparatus by 1st Embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the functional structure example of the terminal apparatus which concerns on the modification. It is a figure which shows an example of the item which the facility information stored in the internal storage part which concerns on a modification. It is a block diagram which shows the functional structure example of the terminal apparatus by 2nd Embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the functional structure example of the terminal apparatus by 3rd Embodiment.

(First Embodiment)
Hereinafter, the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration example of a facility search system according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the facility search system according to the first embodiment is configured to include a terminal device 100 having a function of being able to connect to a communication network 500 such as the Internet or a mobile phone network.

The terminal device 100 is a terminal on which an application program that executes a predetermined process using facility information is implemented, and is composed of, for example, a smartphone, a tablet, a personal computer, a navigation device, or the like. In the present embodiment, the terminal device 100 will be described as a navigation device that executes processing such as route search and route guidance using map data including facility information. The navigation device may be an in-vehicle navigation device mounted on a vehicle, or may be a mobile terminal such as a smartphone in which a navigation application program is installed.

The map data distribution server 200 corresponds to a dedicated server device within the scope of claims, and distributes update map data including facility information to the terminal device 100 on an irregular basis. The map data for updating is generated by reflecting the roads and facilities that actually exist, and includes information on new roads and facilities, changed roads and facilities, and abolished roads and facilities. I'm out. The map data for updating does not always faithfully reflect the latest state of the real world 100%, and may not contain the latest information. The map data stored in the storage device of the terminal device 100 is updated by the update map data distributed from the map data distribution server 200 to the terminal device 100.

The terminal device 100 has a function of performing a keyword search for a plurality of websites 300 existing in the web space via the communication network 500 and displaying the search result on the display. Further, the terminal device 100 also has a function of accessing a plurality of websites 300 via the communication network 500 and collecting and storing information from the websites 300. For example, the terminal device 100 may search from a plurality of websites 300 for facility information that is not included in the map data stored in the storage device of the terminal device 100, or search for facility information that is not included in the map data. Collect from the website 300 of.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration example of the terminal device 100 according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2, the terminal device 100 according to the first embodiment includes an offline search unit 11, an online search unit 12, a facility information acquisition unit 13, a facility information registration unit 14, and an internal storage update unit 15 as functional configurations. I have. Further, the terminal device 100 includes an internal storage unit 101 as a storage medium. The internal storage unit 101 has a map data storage area 101a for storing map data including facility information, and a facility information storage area 101b for storing facility information acquired from the website 300.

Each of the above functional blocks 11 to 15 can be configured by any of hardware, DSP (Digital Signal Processor), and software. For example, when configured by software, each of the above functional blocks 11 to 15 is actually configured to include a computer CPU, RAM, ROM, etc., and is a program stored in a recording medium such as RAM, ROM, a hard disk, or a semiconductor memory. Is realized by the operation of.

The internal storage update unit 15 downloads update map data including facility information from the map data distribution server 200 and stores it in the map data storage area 101a of the internal storage unit 101. FIG. 3A is a diagram showing an example of items included in the facility information included in the map data stored in the map data storage area 101a. As shown in FIG. 3A, the facility information included in the map data includes location information such as a facility name, an address, a telephone number, a genre, and latitude / longitude. The information shown here is an example, and may have other information.

FIG. 3B is a diagram showing an example of items included in the facility information stored in the facility information storage area 101b. As shown in FIG. 3B, the facility information stored in the facility information storage area 101b is also the position of the facility name, address, telephone number, genre, latitude / longitude, etc., like the facility information included in the map data. It has information and so on. The facility information storage area 101b stores facility information that is not included in the map data stored in the map data storage area 101a and is acquired from the website 300. However, it is not always possible to obtain information on all items from the website 300. Therefore, the facility information stored in the facility information storage area 101b includes only the information actually acquired from the website 300 among the facility name, address, telephone number, genre, and location information.

The offline search unit 11 searches the internal storage unit 101 of the terminal device 100 for facility information that matches the search conditions specified by the user. This corresponds to the facility search function generally possessed by the navigation device. For example, the offline search unit 11 inputs a search key related to any one of the facility name, address, telephone number, and genre based on the user operation, searches for facility information matching the search key from the internal storage unit 101, and searches for the facility information. The search result is displayed on the display. The user can set the facility searched by the offline search unit 11 as the destination of the guidance route.

In the present embodiment, the offline search unit 11 searches for facility information for both the map data storage area 101a and the facility information storage area 101b of the internal storage unit 101. That is, in the present embodiment, the offline search unit 11 stores not only the facility information contained in the map data stored in the map data storage area 101a but also the facility information acquired from the website 300 and stored in the facility information storage area 101b. The facility information that matches the search key is searched for the facility information that has been created.

The online search unit 12 searches for facilities in an external storage unit (not shown) existing in the web space based on an operation of designating a search key by the user. Here, the external storage unit is a server device or storage in which data of a plurality of websites 300 is stored. That is, the online search unit 12 searches a plurality of websites 300 for facilities that match the search key input by the user. The search by the online search unit 12 corresponds to a search function provided by a search engine of a known website.

For example, the online search unit 12 inputs a search key related to any one of the facility name, address, telephone number, and genre based on the user operation, and creates a web page containing information matching the search key on a plurality of websites. Search from 300 and display the search result on the display. As an example of a specific use case, when the user does not find the desired facility information as a result of searching by the offline search unit 11 using the facility name as the search key (matches the facility name entered as the search key). If the facility information to be used is not stored in the internal storage unit 101), the online search unit 12 searches using the same facility name as a search key.

The search result displayed by the online search unit 12 is a list screen of hyperlinks (hereinafter, simply referred to as links) of one or more web pages including the name of the facility input as the search key. The user selects one of the links from the list and browses the transition destination web page to search for a web page containing information on the desired facility. Then, the user browses the desired web page found, confirms the address and telephone number of the facility, and sets the destination using this. At this time, for example, it is possible to execute the offline search unit 11 using an address as a search key and set the searched address as a destination.

The facility information acquisition unit 13 acquires facility information from the external storage unit of each website 300 connected to the communication network 500 outside the terminal device 100. For example, the facility information acquisition unit 13 acquires the facility information of the facility selected by the user among the facilities searched by the online search unit 12. The facility selected by the user is a facility set by the user as a destination. The facility information acquisition unit 13 acquires information that can be actually acquired from the website 300 among the facility names, addresses, telephone numbers, genres, and location information selected by this user. This information is information that can be specified as a search key in the facility search function (name search, address search, telephone number search, genre search) of the navigation device.

In the above-mentioned use case, when the address and the telephone number are posted on the web page selected by the user by searching with the facility name as the search key, the facility information acquisition unit 13 has the facility name, the address and the telephone number. To get. Information on the genre may be acquired by analyzing the contents of the web page and specifying the genre of the facility. Further, a known geocoding technique may be used to acquire the location information of the facility by converting the address posted on the web page into the location information of latitude and longitude.

Further, the facility information acquisition unit 13 is related to the facility (facility selected by the user) indicated by the facility information in addition to the facility information of the facility selected by the user among the facilities searched by the online search unit 12. Facility information about the facility may be further acquired from the external storage unit of each website 300. Related facilities are, for example, chain stores and branches. The facility information acquisition unit 13 analyzes, for example, the content of the web page from which the facility information about the facility selected by the user is acquired, and when it is determined that a chain store or branch exists, the facility information acquisition unit 13 follows the link on the web page. Acquire facility information of chain stores and branches.

The facility information registration unit 14 internally stores the facility information acquired by the facility information acquisition unit 13 that is not in the internal storage unit 101 as information that can be searched offline by the offline search unit 11 after the acquisition. Register in the facility information storage area 101b of the unit 101. For example, the facility information registration unit 14 stores facility information of the facility selected by the user among the facilities searched by the online search unit 12 but not in the internal storage unit 101. Register in area 101b.

Here, the facility information registration unit 14 has the same facility information (hereinafter referred to as storage facility information) as the facility information (hereinafter referred to as acquired facility information) of the facility selected by the user among the facilities searched by the online search unit 12. ) Is stored in the internal storage unit 101 (either the map data storage area 101a or the facility information storage area 101b), that is, the storage facility information regarding the same facility as the facility indicated by the acquired facility information is stored internally. It is determined whether or not it is stored in the unit 101. Then, when it is determined that the storage facility information related to the same facility as the facility related to the acquired facility information is not stored in the internal storage unit 101, the acquired facility information is registered in the facility information storage area 101b of the internal storage unit 101. do.

Whether or not the acquired facility information and the storage facility information relate to the same facility can be actually acquired from the website 300 among the facility name, address, telephone number, genre, and location information regarding the acquired facility information. This is performed by confirming whether or not all the information of the items and the information corresponding to the acquired items among the storage facility information stored in the internal storage unit 101 match. It should be noted that it may be determined whether or not the information of some items (for example, the name and address of the facility or the name and telephone number of the facility) match, not all of the acquired items. ..

As in the above example shown as one use case, when the desired facility information is not found as a result of the search by the offline search unit 11, and then the search by the online search unit 12 is performed. The acquired facility information of the facility searched by the online search unit 12 and selected by the user is facility information that is not in the internal storage unit 101. Therefore, in this case, the facility information registration unit 14 registers the acquired facility information of the facility selected by the user in the facility information storage area 101b of the internal storage unit 101.

As another use case, when the online search unit 12 searches from the beginning without performing the search by the offline search unit 11, the facility selected by the user among the facilities searched by the online search unit 12 is used. As for the acquired facility information, the same storage facility information may or may not be stored in the internal storage unit 101. Therefore, in this case, the facility information registration unit 14 stores the acquired facility information in the facility information storage area 101b of the internal storage unit 101 according to the determination result of whether or not the acquired facility information and the storage facility information relate to the same facility. Register with.

When the facility information acquisition unit 13 also acquires facility information related to the related facilities of the facility selected by the user from the external storage unit of each website 300, the facility information registration unit 14 is the facility information acquisition unit 13. Of the facility information related to the related facilities acquired by the above, the facility information that is not in the internal storage unit 101 is further registered in the facility information storage area 101b of the internal storage unit 101.

Further, it is shown that the facility information registration unit 14 is closed due to the information posted on the website 300 among the facility information acquired by the facility information acquisition unit 13 and not in the internal storage unit 101. The facility information may be registered in the facility information storage area 101b of the internal storage unit 101, excluding the facility information of the facility.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an operation example (processing procedure of the facility information registration method) of the terminal device 100 according to the first embodiment configured as described above. In FIG. 4, the online search unit 12 searches for a facility targeting the website 300 based on an operation of designating a search key by the user, and displays a link list screen of a web page containing information matching the search key. Displayed as a search result (step S1).

The facility information acquisition unit 13 determines whether or not any facility is selected by the user from the facilities searched by the online search unit 12, that is, whether or not the facility is set as the destination of the guidance route. (Step S2). If none of the facilities is selected by the user, the processing of the flowchart shown in FIG. 4 ends. On the other hand, when any of the facilities is selected, the facility information acquisition unit 13 acquires the facility information of the selected facility from the website 300 (step S3).

Next, the facility information registration unit 14 determines whether or not the same facility information as the facility information acquired by the facility information acquisition unit 13 is stored in the internal storage unit 101 (step S4). Here, when the same storage facility information as the acquired facility information is already stored in the internal storage unit 101, the processing of the flowchart shown in FIG. 4 ends. On the other hand, when the same storage facility information as the acquired facility information is not stored in the internal storage unit 101, the facility information registration unit 14 can perform an offline search of the acquired facility information by the offline search unit 11 after the acquisition. The information is registered in the facility information storage area 101b of the internal storage unit 101 (step S5).

Next, the facility information acquisition unit 13 further acquires facility information related to the facility selected by the user among the facilities searched by the online search unit 12 from each website 300 (step S6). Then, the facility information registration unit 14 determines whether or not the same facility information as the facility information of the related facility acquired by the facility information acquisition unit 13 is stored in the internal storage unit 101 (step S7).

Here, when the same storage facility information as the acquired facility information of the related facility is already stored in the internal storage unit 101, the processing of the flowchart shown in FIG. 4 ends. On the other hand, when the same storage facility information as the acquired facility information of the related facility is not stored in the internal storage unit 101, the facility information registration unit 14 searches the acquired facility information of the related facility in the offline search unit after the acquisition. It is registered in the facility information storage area 101b of the internal storage unit 101 as information that can be searched offline by 11 (step S8). As a result, the processing of the flowchart shown in FIG. 4 is completed.

As described in detail above, in the first embodiment, facility information (searched by the online search unit 12 and selected by the user) from the external storage unit of the website 300 connected to the communication network 500 outside the terminal device 100. (The facility information of the selected facility. The facility information of the related facility of the selected facility may be further included), and the facility information that is not in the internal storage unit 101 among the acquired facility information is obtained after the acquisition. The information is registered in the internal storage unit 101 as information that can be searched offline by the offline search unit 11.

According to the first embodiment configured in this way, only the facility information stored as a part of the map data (information inside the device) in the map data storage area 101a of the internal storage unit 101 in the terminal device 100 is used. Instead, the offline search unit 11 performs an offline search for the facility information acquired from the external storage unit of the website 300 connected to the communication network 500 and registered in the facility information storage area 101b of the internal storage unit 101. The facility information obtained from the website 300 may include facility information about the latest facility that is not included in the map data for update. Therefore, the user can obtain desired facility information including the latest facility without performing the troublesome operation of switching between the offline search targeting the internal storage unit 101 and the online search targeting the website 300 as much as possible. It can be easily obtained only by offline search.

(Modification example)
Next, a modified example of the facility search system according to the first embodiment will be described. It should be noted that this modification can be similarly applied to the second embodiment and the third embodiment described later. FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration example of the terminal device 100'according to the modified example. In addition, in FIG. 5, those having the same reference numerals as those shown in FIG. 2 have the same functions, and therefore, duplicate description will be omitted here.

As shown in FIG. 5, the facility search system according to the modified example further includes a store closing information registration unit 16 and a facility information deletion unit 17 as functional configurations. Further, the facility search system according to the modified example includes an offline search unit 11'and an internal storage unit 101'instead of the offline search unit 11 and the internal storage unit 101. Instead of having both the store closing information registration unit 16 and the facility information deletion unit 17, a configuration may include only one of them.

The store closing information registration unit 16 internally stores the facility information of the facility indicated by the information posted on the website 300 among the facilities indicated by the facility information acquired by the facility information acquisition unit 13. When stored in the unit 101'(either the map data storage area 101a' or the facility information storage area 101b'), the store closing information indicating that the store is closed is registered as ancillary information to the facility information of the internal storage unit 101'. .. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a storage example of the map data storage area 101a'and the facility information storage area 101b' according to the modified example. As shown in FIG. 6, in the modified example, the store closing information is stored as incidental information to the facility information.

In the offline search unit 11', if the facility information that matches the search conditions specified by the user includes the facility information in which the closing information is registered, the facility indicated by the facility information is closed. Present the search results including the information of. For example, when the offline search unit 11'displays the name, address, telephone number, genre, etc. of the facility on the display as a result of the offline search, if the facility is closed, a character or a mark indicating that fact is displayed. To be displayed.

In this way, it is possible to present to the user a facility that can be set as a destination but cannot be actually visited and used. As a result, the user who receives this presentation can search for another facility and set it as the destination. The offline search unit 11'may exclude facility information in which store closing information is registered from the search target.

When the facility information deletion unit 17 updates the map data (including facility information) for the map data storage area 101a'of the internal storage unit 101'by the internal storage update unit 15, the facility information deletion unit 17 updates the map data storage area 101a by the update. Is the facility indicated by the facility information (storage facility information) newly stored in'the same as the facility indicated by the facility information (acquired facility information) registered in the facility information storage area 101b'by the facility information registration unit 14? Judge whether or not. Then, when it is determined that the facilities are the same, the facility information registered by the facility information registration unit 14 is deleted from the facility information storage area 101b'of the internal storage unit 101'.

By doing so, it is possible to eliminate the waste that facility information relating to the same facility is stored in both the map data storage area 101a'and the facility information storage area 101b'. The storage facility information included in the map data stored in the map data storage area 101a'includes all of the facility name, address, telephone number, genre, and location information. On the other hand, the acquired facility information stored in the facility information storage area 101b'includes only the information actually acquired from the website 300 among the facility name, address, telephone number, genre, and location information. Therefore, by deleting the acquired facility information from the facility information storage area 101b', priority is given to making all search functions of name search, address search, telephone number search, and genre search available by the offline search unit 11'. Therefore, it is possible to eliminate the waste of storing information on the same facility in duplicate.

(Second embodiment)
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration example of the terminal device 100A according to the second embodiment. In FIG. 7, those having the same reference numerals as those shown in FIG. 2 have the same functions, and therefore, duplicate description will be omitted here.

As shown in FIG. 7, the terminal device 100A according to the second embodiment further includes a search history recording unit 18 and a search tendency analysis unit 19 as functional configurations. Further, the terminal device 100A according to the second embodiment includes the facility information acquisition unit 13A instead of the facility information acquisition unit 13 as a functional configuration. Further, the terminal device 100A according to the second embodiment further includes a search history storage unit 102 as a storage medium.

The search history recording unit 18 stores the history information when the offline search by the offline search unit 11 is executed in the search history storage unit 102. For example, the search history recording unit 18 sequentially stores the search key input by the user as search history information in the search history storage unit 102 each time the offline search is executed by the offline search unit 11. Specifically, the search history recording unit 18 uses the facility name input when the name search is executed and the genre of the facility input when the genre search is executed as search history information in the search history storage unit 102. Remember.

Further, the search history recording unit 18 may store the name and genre of the searched facility in the search history storage unit 102 as search history information. For example, the name or genre of the facility extracted by any of the name search, the address search, the telephone number search, and the genre search may be stored in the search history storage unit 102 as the search history information.

The search tendency analysis unit 19 analyzes facilities that users tend to search for a lot based on the search history information of the offline search unit 11 stored in the search history storage unit 102. For example, the search tendency analysis unit 19 determines that when the same facility name is stored in the search history storage unit 102 for a predetermined number or more as a search key or a search result, there is a tendency to search many facilities with that name. .. Further, when the search history storage unit 102 stores a predetermined number or more of the same genre as a search key or a search result, the search tendency analysis unit 19 determines that there is a tendency to search many facilities of that genre.

In addition to acquiring facility information by the method described in the first embodiment, the facility information acquisition unit 13A is a facility related to the facility analyzed by the search tendency analysis unit 19 as having a tendency for many users to search. Get facility information about. The related facility is the same as that of the first embodiment, and is, for example, a chain store, a branch office, or the like. For example, the facility information acquisition unit 13A acquires facility information regarding chain stores and branches of facilities with names analyzed by the search tendency analysis unit 19 as having a tendency for many users to search from the website 300.

Specifically, the facility information acquisition unit 13A executes an online search using the name of the facility analyzed that the user tends to search a lot as a search key, and analyzes the contents of one or more hit web pages. By doing so, it is determined whether or not a chain store or branch exists. Then, when it is determined that the chain store or branch exists, the facility information of the chain store or branch is acquired by following the link on the web page. Instead of performing an online search using the name of the facility as a search key, information on multiple websites 300 is acquired by a crawler that is generally used to create a database for search engines, and the relevant facility is selected from among them. You may selectively extract the one containing the name.

Further, the facility information acquisition unit 13A acquires facility information about a facility having the same attributes as the facility that the user tends to search for a lot by the search tendency analysis unit 19. The attribute of the facility is, for example, a genre. That is, the facility information acquisition unit 13A acquires facility information related to a facility of the same genre as the genre analyzed by the search tendency analysis unit 19 that the user tends to search more often from the website 300. Specifically, the facility information acquisition unit 13A acquires facility information related to a hit facility by executing an online search using the name of the genre as a search key. Alternatively, the facility information acquisition unit 13A analyzes the information of the website 300 cyclically acquired by the crawler and acquires the facility information related to the facility belonging to the corresponding genre.

In addition, the area analyzed that the genre and address are used as the attributes of the facility, the facility is in the same genre as the genre analyzed that the user tends to search a lot, and the user tends to search a lot. Facility information regarding facilities belonging to the above may be obtained from the website 300. Here, the area where many users tend to search is, for example, when a predetermined number or more of addresses used as a search key or a search result are included in a predetermined range, the user often fills the predetermined range. It can be an area that tends to be searched.

According to the second embodiment configured as described above, unlike the first embodiment in which the facility information is registered in the facility information storage area 101b only when the user executes the offline search, the user performs the offline search. Is not executed, the processing of the facility information acquisition unit 13A can be executed as background processing, and the facility information can be registered in the facility information storage area 101b at any time. For example, the processing of the facility information acquisition unit 13A can be periodically executed as a batch processing, and the facility information not stored in the internal storage unit 101 can be registered in the facility information storage area 101b at any time.

By doing so, the latest facilities existing in the real world can be obtained without performing the troublesome operation of switching between the offline search targeting the internal storage unit 101 and the online search targeting the website 300 as much as possible. It is possible to increase the possibility that the desired facility information including the desired facility information can be acquired by the offline search by the offline search unit 11.

(Third embodiment)
Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration example of the terminal device 100B according to the third embodiment. In FIG. 8, those having the same reference numerals as those shown in FIG. 2 have the same functions, and therefore, duplicate description will be omitted here.

As shown in FIG. 8, the terminal device 100B according to the third embodiment further includes a position detection unit 20, an action history recording unit 21, and an action tendency analysis unit 22 as functional configurations. Further, the terminal device 100B according to the third embodiment includes the facility information acquisition unit 13B instead of the facility information acquisition unit 13 as a functional configuration. Further, the terminal device 100B according to the third embodiment further includes an action history storage unit 103 as a storage medium.

The position detecting unit 20 includes, for example, a position detecting means such as GPS (Global Positioning System), and sequentially detects the current position of the terminal device 100B.

The action history recording unit 21 is a facility related to the facility visited by the user based on the current position information detected by the position detection unit 20 and the map data (including facility information) stored in the map data storage area 101a. The information is stored in the action history storage unit 103 as action history information. That is, the action history recording unit 21 detects and detects which facility's position the current position information detected by the position detection unit 20 corresponds to on the map data stored in the map data storage area 101a. It is determined that the user has visited the facility, and the facility information related to the facility is stored in the action history storage unit 103 as the action history information. The facility information to be stored as the action history information is, for example, the name, address, genre, etc. of the visited facility.

The behavior tendency analysis unit 22 has many users based on the behavior history information stored in the behavior history storage unit 103 (behavior history representing a visiting facility detected based on the location information detected by the location detection unit 20). Analyze the facilities that you tend to visit. For example, in the behavior tendency analysis unit 22, when a predetermined number or more of facilities having the same name as facilities visited by the user are stored in the behavior history storage unit 103, the behavior tendency analysis unit 22 tends to have many users visiting the facilities with the name. Judge. Further, in the behavior tendency analysis unit 22, when the same genre as the genre of the facility visited by the user is stored in the behavior history storage unit 103 in a predetermined number or more, the user tends to visit many facilities of that genre. Judge.

In addition to acquiring facility information by the method described in the first embodiment, the facility information acquisition unit 13B is a facility related to the facility analyzed by the behavior tendency analysis unit 22 as having a tendency to be visited by many users. Get facility information about. The related facility is the same as that of the first embodiment, and is, for example, a chain store, a branch office, or the like. For example, the facility information acquisition unit 13B acquires facility information regarding chain stores and branches of facilities whose names are analyzed by the behavior tendency analysis unit 22 to be visited by many users from the website 300. The specific method of acquisition may be the same as the method described in the second embodiment.

Further, the facility information acquisition unit 13B acquires facility information about a facility having the same attributes as the facility that the user tends to visit a lot by the behavior tendency analysis unit 22. The specific acquisition method of the facility information in this case may be the same as the method described in the second embodiment.

According to the third embodiment configured as described above, unlike the first embodiment in which the facility information is registered in the facility information storage area 101b only when the user executes the offline search, the user performs the offline search. Is not executed, the processing of the facility information acquisition unit 13B can be executed as background processing, and the facility information can be registered in the facility information storage area 101b at any time. For example, the processing of the facility information acquisition unit 13B can be periodically executed as a batch process, and the facility information not stored in the internal storage unit 101 can be registered in the facility information storage area 101b at any time.

By doing so, the latest facilities existing in the real world can be obtained without performing the troublesome operation of switching between the offline search targeting the internal storage unit 101 and the online search targeting the website 300 as much as possible. It is possible to increase the possibility that the desired facility information including the desired facility information can be acquired by the offline search by the offline search unit 11. It is also possible to apply the second embodiment and the third embodiment in combination, and in this way, it is possible to acquire desired facility information including the latest facility by offline search. It is possible to further enhance the sex.

In the first to third embodiments and modifications, the terminal devices 100, 100', 100A, and 100B are navigation devices, and the facility information acquired by the offline search or the online search is set as the destination of the guidance route. However, the present invention is not limited to this. It is possible to apply the present invention to a system in which a user searches for desired facility information and uses the searched facility information for a given purpose.

Further, in the first to third embodiments and modifications described above, an example using facility information consisting of the items shown in FIG. 3 has been described, but the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, when the present invention is applied to an application other than a navigation application, facility information composed of items different from those in FIG. 3 may be used.

Further, in the first to third embodiments and modifications, the storage facility information shown in FIG. 3A and the acquired facility information shown in FIG. 3B are information having the same items as each other. As described above, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the search key input by the user when the offline search unit 11 is executed may be included as one of the acquired facility information, and the acquired facility information including the search key may be stored in the facility information storage area 101b.

In addition, the first to third embodiments and modifications thereof are merely examples of embodiment of the present invention, and the technical scope of the present invention is limitedly interpreted by these. It should not be done. That is, the present invention can be implemented in various forms without departing from its gist or its main features.

11, 11'Offline search unit 12 Online search unit 13, 13A, 13B Facility information acquisition department 14 Facility information registration department 15 Internal memory update department 16 Closed information registration department 17 Facility information deletion department 18 Search history recording department 19 Search tendency analysis department 20 Position detection unit 21 Action history recording unit 22 Behavior tendency analysis unit 100, 100', 100A, 100B Terminal device 101, 101'Internal storage unit 101a, 101a'Map data storage area 101b, 101b' Facility information storage area 102 Search history Storage unit 103 Action history storage unit 200 Map data distribution server (dedicated server device)
300 website

Claims (9)

An offline search unit that searches the internal storage unit in the terminal device for facility information that matches the search conditions specified by the user, and an offline search unit.
The facility information acquisition unit that acquires facility information from the external storage unit of the site connected to the communication network outside the terminal device,
Facility information that is registered in the internal storage unit as information that can be searched offline by the offline search unit after the acquisition of the facility information that is not in the internal storage unit among the facility information acquired by the facility information acquisition unit. A facility search system characterized by having a registration department. It also has an online search unit that searches for facilities targeting the above external storage unit.
The facility information registration unit is characterized in that the facility information of the facility selected by the user among the facilities searched by the online search unit and which is not in the internal storage unit is registered in the internal storage unit. The facility search system according to claim 1. The facility information acquisition department acquires facility information regarding related facilities of the facility selected by the user, and obtains facility information.
2. The facility information registration unit is characterized in that, among the facility information related to the related facilities acquired by the facility information acquisition unit, facility information that is not in the internal storage unit is further registered in the internal storage unit. Facility search system described in. Based on the search history by the offline search unit, it is further equipped with a search tendency analysis unit that analyzes facilities that tend to be searched by many users.
The facility information acquisition unit is the facility information about the related facilities of the facility analyzed by the search tendency analysis unit that the user tends to search a lot, or the attribute of the facility that the user tends to search a lot. The facility search system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the facility information about the facility having the same attribute as the above is acquired. A behavior tendency analysis unit that analyzes facilities that tend to be visited by many users is further provided based on the behavior history representing the visiting facilities detected based on the position information detected by the position detecting means provided in the terminal device. Prepare,
The facility information acquisition unit is the facility information about the facilities related to the facility analyzed by the behavior tendency analysis unit that the user tends to visit a lot, or the attribute of the facility that the user tends to visit a lot. The facility search system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the facility information about the facility having the same attribute as the above is acquired. An internal storage update unit that downloads the facility information from a dedicated server device that provides the facility information and stores it in the internal storage unit.
When the facility information is updated to the internal storage unit by the internal storage update unit, the facility indicated by the facility information newly stored by the update is based on the facility information registered by the facility information registration unit. It is further provided with a facility information deletion unit that determines whether or not the facility is the same as the indicated facility, and if it is determined to be the same, deletes the facility information registered by the facility information registration unit from the internal storage unit. The facility search system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, which is characterized. The facility information registration department is a facility, except for the facility information of the facility indicated to be closed, among the facility information acquired by the facility information acquisition department and not in the internal storage unit. The facility search system according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the information is registered in the internal storage unit. Of the facilities indicated by the facility information acquired by the facility information acquisition unit, when the facility information of the facility indicated to be closed is stored in the internal storage unit, the closing information indicating that the store has been closed is stored. It is further equipped with a store closing information registration unit that is registered as incidental information to the facility information of the internal storage unit.
When the facility information that matches the search conditions specified by the user includes the facility information in which the closing information is registered, the offline search unit indicates that the facility indicated by the facility information is closed. The facility search system according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the search result is presented including information. A method of registering facility information in the above internal storage unit in a facility search system provided with an offline search unit that searches for facility information that matches the search conditions specified by the user for the internal storage unit in the terminal device. And
The first step in which the facility information acquisition unit of the terminal device acquires facility information from the external storage unit of the site connected to the communication network outside the terminal device.
Information that the facility information registration unit of the terminal device can perform offline search by the offline search unit after the acquisition of facility information that is not in the internal storage unit among the facility information acquired by the facility information acquisition unit. A facility information registration method comprising the second step of registering in the internal storage unit.

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