JP2022045244A - Information terminal, program and information furnishing system - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a method by which a user easily determines a traveling schedule, considering a degree of congestion in a place where the user travels by means other than an electric train.SOLUTION: An information terminal 2 comprises: an input reception unit 251 for receiving an input of itinerary information indicating a departure station and an arrival station; a congestion information reception unit 252 for receiving congestion information related with locations and degree of congestion; and a display control unit 254 for making a display unit 22 display a first screen indicating a degree of congestion based on congestion information related with a track from the departure station to the arrival station or a second screen indicating the degree of congestion based on congestion information related with a map in a switchable manner.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

The present invention relates to an information terminal, a program, an information providing device, and an information providing system for providing information indicating the degree of congestion.

Conventionally, there is known a system for displaying the degree of congestion of a train searched based on a search condition including a departure station, an arrival station, a departure time, and an arrival time (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2013-305411

The user travels by means other than the train until he / she arrives at the departure station and between the arrival station and the destination. However, in the conventional system, since only the congestion degree of the train is displayed, it is difficult to consider the itinerary in consideration of the congestion degree of the place where the user moves by means other than the train.

Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of these points, and an object of the present invention is to facilitate the determination of an itinerary in consideration of the degree of congestion of a place where a user moves by means other than a train.

The information terminal of the first aspect of the present invention includes an input receiving unit that accepts input of itinerary information indicating a departure station and an arrival station, a congestion information receiving unit that receives congestion information in which a position and a congestion degree are associated with each other. A display unit capable of switching between a first screen showing the degree of congestion based on the congestion information associated with the route from the departure station to the arrival station and a second screen showing the degree of congestion based on the congestion information associated with the map. It has a display control unit and a display control unit.

The display control unit may display the degree of congestion based on the congestion information specified based on the number of mobile terminals in the plurality of areas on the display unit.

The congestion information receiving unit acquires the first congestion information indicating the degree of congestion of the departure station and the arrival station and the second congestion information in which the area and the degree of congestion are associated with each other as the congestion information, and controls the display. The section associates the congestion degree based on the first congestion information with the route from the departure station to the arrival station and displays it on the first screen, and associates the congestion degree based on the second congestion information with the map to the first. It may be displayed on two screens.

The input receiving unit further accepts a switching operation for switching between the first screen and the second screen, and the congestion information receiving unit receives the congestion information when the input receiving unit accepts the switching operation. You may acquire a new one.

The display control unit may display the second screen on which an image showing a plurality of positions where the information terminal has passed from the departure station to the arrival station is superimposed on a map.

The display control unit shows a first image showing the positions of the departure station and the arrival station, and the positions of one or more stations between the departure station and the arrival station, and has an embodiment different from that of the first image. The second image may be displayed on the second screen.

The display control unit may display a map of the area corresponding to the route from the departure station to the arrival station indicated by the itinerary information on the second screen.

The congestion information receiving unit acquires the congestion information associated with the time, and the input receiving unit accepts an operation of selecting a time associated with the congestion information corresponding to the degree of congestion displayed on the second screen. The display control unit may display the degree of congestion based on the congestion information corresponding to the selected time on the second screen.

The display control unit may display the evaluation result based on the degree of congestion at each of the plurality of positions where the information terminal has passed from the departure station to the arrival station on the display unit.

In the program of the second aspect of the present invention, the computer has an input receiving unit that accepts input of itinerary information indicating a departure station and an arrival station, and a congestion information receiving unit that receives congestion information associated with a position and a congestion degree. And, it is possible to switch between the first screen which shows the congestion degree based on the congestion information in association with the route from the departure station to the arrival station and the second screen which shows the congestion degree based on the congestion information in association with the map. It functions as a display control unit to be displayed on the display unit.

The information providing device of the third aspect of the present invention has an itinerary information acquisition unit that acquires itinerary information indicating a departure station and an arrival station from an information terminal, and congestion information that acquires congestion information in which a position and a degree of congestion are associated with each other. In response to a request from the acquisition unit and the information terminal, the first screen data indicating the degree of congestion based on the congestion information associated with the route from the departure station to the arrival station, or the congestion information associated with the map. It has an information providing unit that provides any of the second screen data indicating the degree of congestion based on the information terminal to the information terminal.

The information providing system according to the fourth aspect of the present invention includes an information terminal and an information providing device that provides the information terminal with congestion information indicating the degree of congestion.

The information providing device includes an itinerary information acquisition unit that acquires itinerary information indicating a departure station and an arrival station from an information terminal, a congestion information acquisition unit that acquires congestion information associated with a position and a congestion degree, and the information. It has an information providing unit that provides the congestion information to the information terminal in response to a request from the terminal.

The information terminal includes an input receiving unit that receives input of itinerary information indicating a departure station and an arrival station, a congestion information receiving unit that receives the congestion information from the information providing device, and a route from the departure station to the arrival station. It has a display control unit that switchesably displays a first screen that shows the degree of congestion based on the congestion information and a second screen that shows the degree of congestion based on the congestion information in relation to the map. ..

According to the present invention, there is an effect that it becomes easy to determine the itinerary in consideration of the degree of congestion of the place where the user moves by means other than the train.

It is a figure for demonstrating the outline of an information provision system. It is a figure which shows the example of the screen displayed by the information terminal which executed the route search application. It is a figure which shows an example of a congestion map screen. It is a figure which shows the structure of an information providing apparatus. It is a figure which shows the structure of an information terminal. It is a sequence diagram which shows the flow of processing in an information provision system.

[Overview of information provision system S]
FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining an outline of the information providing system S. The information providing system S is a system for providing information on the movement route to the user U who is going to move by using transportation, and also providing information indicating the degree of congestion at the departure station, the arrival station, and the like. be.

The information providing system S includes an information providing device 1 and an information terminal 2. The information providing device 1 is a device that provides information to a user U who uses the information terminal 2, and is, for example, a server. The information providing device 1 and the information terminal 2 transmit and receive various data via, for example, a mobile phone network or a network including the Internet.

The information providing device 1 acquires information indicating the degree of congestion from the congestion information providing device 3. In response to a request from the information terminal 2, the information providing device 1 transmits information on the movement route and information indicating the degree of congestion to the information terminal 2 via, for example, the base station 4A of the mobile phone.

The information terminal 2 executes application software (hereinafter referred to as "route search application") capable of searching a travel route, and receives congestion information received from the information providing device 1 while the route search application is running. Display the degree of congestion based on. The information terminal 2 displays, for example, the degree of congestion in a time zone in which the user U wants to move. Further, the information terminal 2 can also display the degree of congestion on the map image. The details of the operation of the information terminal 2 will be described later.

The congestion information providing device 3 provides congestion information indicating the degree of congestion in each of a plurality of preset mesh areas based on the position information indicating the positions of a large number of mobile terminals acquired via the base station 4B of the mobile phone network. create. The plurality of mesh areas are, for example, areas corresponding to regional meshes created by dividing a predetermined area into meshes of substantially the same size based on latitude and longitude. The predetermined area is arbitrary, but may be, for example, each prefecture or the whole of Japan. The size of each mesh area is also arbitrary, but is, for example, a square having a side of 125 m, 250, or 500 m. In order to make it easier for the user U to grasp the degree of congestion at the station, it is preferable that one side is 200 m or more and less than 300 m.

The degree of congestion in each mesh area is expressed in a plurality of stages, for example, based on the number of mobile terminals whose positions are detected in each of the plurality of mesh areas. The position of the mobile terminal is specified based on the radio wave received by the mobile terminal from, for example, a GPS (Global Positioning System) satellite. The method of calculating the degree of congestion expressed in multiple stages based on the number of mobile terminals is arbitrary, but for example, the ratio to the number of mobile terminals per hour in a predetermined period (for example, 3 weeks) in the past. It is calculated as the degree of congestion, and the calculated result can be classified into a plurality of stages.

As an example, the degree of congestion is calculated by (number of mobile terminals per hour) ÷ (number of mobile terminals per hour in a predetermined period in the past), and 0 to 30% is "vacant", 30 to 70% may be "slightly crowded" and 70-100% may be "crowded". In this way, by expressing the degree of congestion based on the result of comparison with the most recent predetermined period, the tendency of people to go out changes depending on the season and other factors, and the absolute number of people going out is absolute. Even when the value decreases, the user U can grasp the relatively busy time. Therefore, such a degree of congestion is suitable when the user U who wants to move to a relatively vacant time zone selects a time zone suitable for the movement.

By the way, the tendency of the number of people going out is considered to be correlated with the day of the week or the weather. Therefore, the information terminal 2 or the congestion information providing device 3 may store the result of calculating the degree of congestion per unit time (for example, one hour) in association with at least one of the day of the week or the weather. The information terminal 2 or the congestion information providing device 3 calculates the degree of congestion associated with at least one of the day of the week or the weather, so that the information terminal 2 can use the information terminal 2 in a plurality of time zones on the day of the week on which the user U is scheduled to move. It becomes possible to display the degree of congestion.

[Display screen of route search application]
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed by the information terminal 2 that has executed the route search application. FIG. 2A shows an itinerary information input screen (itinerary input screen) for inputting information regarding the itinerary planned by the user U. The user U inputs the departure station, the arrival station, and the desired travel time zone on this itinerary information input screen. The desired travel time zone is a time zone in which the user U is allowed to travel from the departure station to the arrival station. When the user U selects the "search" button after inputting these information, the search result as shown in FIG. 2B is displayed.

On the screen shown in FIG. 2B, the degree of congestion at the departure station and the arrival station in the desired travel time zone is shown. In FIG. 2B, A indicates that it is vacant, B indicates that it is slightly congested, and C indicates that it is congested. The display mode of the degree of congestion on this screen is arbitrary, and the information terminal 2 may display the degree of congestion numerically or may display an image corresponding to the degree of congestion.

The user U can select the time zone to move after confirming the degree of congestion. When the user U wants to move to the 16:00 level in order to avoid a busy time zone, the user U selects the "route" button displayed in the "16:00 level" frame. Thereby, the route shown in FIG. 2C can be displayed.

On the screen of FIG. 2 (c), a plurality of routes are displayed. The degree of congestion is also displayed in association with each of the departure and arrival stations of each route. The information terminal 2 may display different congestion levels even at the same station when the platform congestion levels differ depending on the line.

On the screen of FIG. 2C, buttons "15 minutes before" and "15 minutes after" for changing the search time are also displayed. By operating this button, the user U can compare a plurality of routes having different departure times.

At the bottom of each screen shown in FIG. 2, a button called "Itinerary Information" and a button called "Congestion Map" are displayed. By touching a button called "congestion map", the user can see a screen in which the degree of congestion is displayed superimposed on the map image.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a congestion map screen. In FIG. 3, the degree of congestion in the mesh area between the departure station and the arrival station input by the user U on the screen of FIG. 2A is displayed together with the railway route map. The information terminal 2 superimposes and displays an image of a mode different depending on the degree of congestion on the map image. In the example shown in FIG. 3, the crowded mesh area is shown in black, the slightly crowded mesh area is shown in diagonal lines, and the empty mesh area is shown in white.

The information terminal 2 may allow the user U to select in which time zone the congestion degree is to be displayed. On the screen of FIG. 3, a slide bar image showing a time zone selected by the user U as a desired movement time zone on the screen of FIG. 2A is displayed. The user U can select a time zone for displaying the degree of congestion by moving the cursor (black area) in the slide bar. In FIG. 3, the degree of congestion in the area between Ikebukuro Station and Shinjuku Station as of 17:00 is displayed.

In the example shown in FIG. 3, the area from the departure station to the arrival station is displayed on one screen, but the range of the area where the information terminal 2 displays the congestion map is arbitrary, and the user can change the display area. You may do it. For example, the information terminal 2 displays a congestion map in a range including all routes from the departure station to the arrival station at the time when the operation for displaying the congestion map is performed. When the operation for displaying the congestion map is performed, the information terminal 2 displays the congestion map within a predetermined distance from the departure station, and moves the displayed range by the user's screen operation (for example, drag operation). You may let me.
Hereinafter, the configurations and operations of the information providing device 1 and the information terminal 2 will be described in detail.

[Configuration of information providing device 1]
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the configuration of the information providing device 1. The information providing device 1 includes a communication unit 11, a storage unit 12, and a control unit 13. The control unit 13 includes an itinerary information acquisition unit 131, a congestion degree specifying unit 132, a selection information acquisition unit 133, and an information providing unit 134.

The communication unit 11 has a communication interface for transmitting and receiving various data to and from the information terminal 2 and the congestion information providing device 3. The communication unit 11 provides a communication controller for communicating with the base station 4A in order to acquire operation information from the information terminal 2 via the base station 4A or transmit congestion information to the information terminal 2, for example. Have. Further, the communication unit 11 has a communication controller for acquiring congestion information from the congestion information providing device 3.

The communication unit 11 inputs the operation information acquired from the information terminal 2 to the itinerary information acquisition unit 131 and the selection information acquisition unit 133, and inputs the congestion information acquired from the congestion information providing device 3 to the congestion degree specifying unit 132. Further, the communication unit 11 transmits the congestion information input from the information providing unit 134 to the information terminal 2 toward the base station 4A.

The storage unit 12 includes a storage medium such as a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), and a hard disk. The storage unit 12 stores a program executed by the control unit 13. Further, the storage unit 12 may store the congestion information acquired from the congestion information providing device 3. The storage unit 12 stores congestion information in association with, for example, an area and at least one of a time zone or a weather.

The control unit 13 has, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit). The control unit 13 functions as an itinerary information acquisition unit 131, a congestion degree identification unit 132, a selection information acquisition unit 133, and an information provision unit 134 by executing a program stored in the storage unit 12.

The itinerary information acquisition unit 131 acquires itinerary information indicating a departure station and an arrival station from the information terminal 2. Specifically, the itinerary information acquisition unit 131 acquires the departure station name and the arrival station name input by the user on the screen shown in FIG. 2A from the information terminal 2 via the communication unit 11. The itinerary information acquisition unit 131 may further acquire the desired travel time zone information indicating the time zone in which the user U of the information terminal 2 desires to travel from the information terminal 2. Specifically, the itinerary information acquisition unit 131 may acquire the desired travel time zone information input by the user on the screen shown in FIG. 2A. The itinerary information acquisition unit 131 notifies the congestion degree specifying unit 132 and the information providing unit 134 of the acquired itinerary information and the desired travel time zone information.

The congestion degree specifying unit 132 specifies the congestion degree for each time zone of the departure station and the arrival station. The congestion degree specifying unit 132 specifies, for example, the congestion degree for each time zone of the transfer station on the route traveling from the departure station to the arrival station. The congestion degree specifying unit 132 functions as a congestion information acquisition unit that acquires congestion information associated with the position and the congestion degree, and starts from the congestion information acquired from the congestion information providing device 3 via the communication unit 11, for example. The degree of congestion of one or more mesh areas including stations and the degree of congestion of one or more mesh areas including arrival stations are extracted. Then, the congestion degree specifying unit 132 extracts the congestion degree corresponding to one or more time zones corresponding to the desired movement time zone from the extracted congestion degree.

Here, one or more mesh areas including the departure station are mesh areas that overlap with at least a part of the area preset as the departure station area. Similarly, one or more mesh areas including the arrival station is a mesh area that overlaps at least a part of the area preset as the area of the arrival station. The area of the departure station or the arrival station is, for example, an area inside the ticket gate of the departure station or the arrival station (for example, a platform), but may include an area of the concourse outside the ticket gate.

When there is only one mesh area including the station area, the congestion degree specifying unit 132 specifies the congestion degree of the mesh area as the congestion degree of the station. On the other hand, when there are a plurality of mesh areas including the area of the station, the congestion degree specifying unit 132 uses statistical values (for example, total value, average value, or median value) of a plurality of congestion degrees corresponding to the plurality of mesh areas of the station. Specify as the degree of congestion. The congestion degree specifying unit 132 may specify the congestion degree of the station by weighting and adding a plurality of congestion degrees corresponding to the plurality of mesh areas according to the area where the mesh area overlaps the station area. .. The congestion degree specifying unit 132 notifies the information providing unit 134 of the specified congestion degree. The congestion degree specifying unit 132 specifies the congestion degree of the station by weighting addition, so that the accuracy of the specified congestion degree is improved.

The congestion degree specifying unit 132 may specify the congestion degree for each of a plurality of time zones included in the time zone indicated by the desired travel time zone information acquired by the itinerary information acquisition unit 131. In the case of the example shown in FIG. 2, the congestion degree specifying unit 132 specifies the congestion degree for each hour from 16:00 to 20:00.

The congestion degree specifying unit 132 may acquire congestion information from the congestion information providing device 3 to specify the congestion degree, and the storage unit 12 stores congestion information indicating the past congestion degree for each of a plurality of time zones. The degree of congestion may be specified by referring to. The congestion degree specifying unit 132 refers to, for example, the date and time when the congestion information is stored in the storage unit 12, and the date and time is within a predetermined period with respect to the date and time when the itinerary information acquisition unit 131 acquires the itinerary information. In addition, from the congestion information stored in the storage unit 12, the congestion degree corresponding to the time zone in which the congestion degree is provided to the user U is extracted.

On the other hand, in the congestion degree specifying unit 132, when the date and time when the congestion information is stored in the storage unit 12 is earlier than the predetermined period or more with respect to the date and time when the itinerary information acquisition unit 131 acquired the itinerary information, the communication unit 11 The latest congestion information may be acquired from the congestion information providing device 3 via the above. By operating the congestion degree specifying unit 132 in this way, it is possible to acquire the latest congestion information as needed while shortening the time required for acquiring the congestion information.

The selection information acquisition unit 133 is from a plurality of time zones selected by the information terminal 2 while the information terminal 2 is associated with the plurality of time zones and displays the congestion degree of at least one of the departure station and the arrival station. Acquires selection information indicating one or more time zones. The selection information is, for example, information indicating a time zone corresponding to the "route" button touched by the user U on the screen shown in FIG. 2 (b). The selection information acquisition unit 133 notifies the information providing unit 134 of the acquired selection information.

The information providing unit 134 provides the information terminal 2 with various types of information to be displayed on the information terminal 2. The information providing unit 134 creates, for example, the itinerary information input by the user U and display information indicating the degree of congestion and the route corresponding to the desired travel time zone, and provides the created display information to the information terminal 2. Specifically, the information providing unit 134 provides display information corresponding to the screen as shown in FIGS. 2A to 2C based on the congestion degree specified by the congestion degree specifying unit 132, and display information corresponding to the screen as shown in FIGS. 2A to 2C. Display information corresponding to the screen of the congestion map shown in FIG. 3 is provided to the information terminal 2.

As shown in FIG. 2B, the information providing unit 134 provides the information terminal 2 with display information indicating the degree of congestion of at least one of the departure station and the arrival station in association with a plurality of time zones. The information providing unit 134 acquires the congestion degree corresponding to the day of the week when the itinerary information acquisition unit 131 acquired the itinerary information and the desired travel time zone from the congestion degree specifying unit 132, and displays the acquired congestion degree for each time zone. Information is provided to the information terminal 2. The information providing unit 134 acquires weather information at at least one of the departure station and the arrival station at the time when the itinerary information acquisition unit 131 acquires the itinerary information, and determines the degree of congestion corresponding to the acquired weather as the congestion degree specifying unit 132. Information for display, which is acquired from the information terminal 2 and indicates the acquired degree of congestion, may be provided to the information terminal 2.

When the time included in one time zone displayed in FIG. 2B is longer than the time in the unit time zone in which the congestion degree specifying unit 132 specifies the congestion degree, the basis of the congestion degree shown in association with the departure station. The time zone of the degree of congestion used as the basis of the degree of congestion shown in association with the arrival station may be different from the time zone of the degree of congestion used as the basis of the degree of congestion. For example, when it takes about 30 minutes to move from the departure station to the arrival station, the information providing unit 134 uses the congestion degree corresponding to 16:00 to 16:15 as the congestion degree of the departure station, and the arrival station. As the degree of congestion, the degree of congestion corresponding to 16:30 to 16:45 is used. By providing such a degree of congestion to the information terminal 2 by the information providing unit 134, the user U can grasp the degree of congestion with higher accuracy.

The information providing unit 134 provides, for example, route information indicating one or more routes for moving from a departure station to an arrival station in one or more time zones indicated by selection information to the information terminal 2. The route information is, for example, information indicating a departure station, an arrival station, a line name, a departure time, and an arrival time shown in FIG. 2 (c). As shown in FIG. 2C, the information providing unit 134 provides information on route information indicating the degree of congestion corresponding to each of the departure station and the arrival station in association with each of the departure station and the arrival station in one or more routes. Provided to terminal 2. The information indicating the degree of congestion is, for example, an image corresponding to a plurality of congestion degree statistics and statistics corresponding to a plurality of mesh areas including an area of a departure station or an arrival station in the congestion degree specifying unit 132 as described above. Information or textual information.

The information providing unit 134 corresponds to the congestion degree of the departure station, the congestion degree of the arrival station, and the transfer station between the departure station and the arrival station in association with each of the plurality of routes for traveling from the departure station to the arrival station. The information terminal 2 may be provided with route information including information corresponding to the total degree of congestion. For example, the information providing unit 134 is on the right side of the character strings "route 1" and "route 2" on the screen shown in FIG. The degree of congestion and the degree of congestion at the transfer station are added, and the numerical value, image information, or text information corresponding to the added result is displayed. The information providing unit 134 may display the degree of congestion of the transfer station on the information terminal 2 in association with the transfer station. By providing such information by the information providing unit 134, the user U can select a route in consideration of the congestion situation at the transfer station.

The information providing unit 134 may provide the information terminal 2 with route information indicating a plurality of routes with a priority corresponding to the total congestion degree. For example, when the information providing unit 134 provides a degree of congestion based on the degree of congestion at a transfer station, the degree of congestion at the departure station, the degree of congestion at the arrival station, and the degree of congestion corresponding to the transfer station between the departure station and the arrival station. The route with a small total value (that is, a relatively vacant route) is displayed on the information terminal 2 as the first route (route 1). By operating the information providing unit 134 in this way, the user U can easily select a route that is not congested, so that the user U can easily avoid the congestion and many people concentrate on the congested route. Can be suppressed.

The information providing unit 134 may provide the information terminal 2 with display information that further indicates the expected change in the degree of congestion of at least one of the departure station and the arrival station in association with a plurality of time zones. The display information indicating the change forecast is, for example, information indicating how the degree of congestion is expected to change as time elapses in each time zone on the screen shown in FIG. 2 (b).

For example, in FIG. 2B, the congestion level of Ikebukuro Station at 16:00 is displayed as A, but if the congestion level is expected to be B in the latter half of 16:00, the information providing unit 134 , "A → B" or "A +", or display information including image information indicating that the degree of congestion increases is provided to the information terminal 2. When the congestion level of Ikebukuro Station is expected to be A in the latter half of 19:00, the information providing unit 134 has text information such as "B → A" or "B-", or an image showing that the congestion level is decreasing. Display information including information is provided to the information terminal 2. By displaying such information on the information terminal 2, the user U can grasp the degree of congestion for each time zone in more detail, so that it becomes easier for the user U to select a time zone suitable for movement.

[Configuration of information terminal 2]
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the configuration of the information terminal 2. The information terminal 2 has a communication unit 21, a display unit 22, an operation unit 23, a storage unit 24, and a control unit 25. The control unit 25 includes an input reception unit 251, an itinerary information transmission unit 252, a congestion information reception unit 253, and a display control unit 254.

The communication unit 21 is a communication interface for transmitting and receiving various information to and from the information providing device 1. The communication unit 21 has, for example, a wireless communication controller for connecting to the base station 4A. The communication unit 21 transmits the itinerary information input from the itinerary information transmission unit 252, and inputs the congestion information received from the information providing device 1 to the congestion information reception unit 253.

The display unit 22 is a display that displays a screen as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.
The operation unit 23 is a device that receives the operation of the user U, and is, for example, a touch panel provided on the display unit 22.

The storage unit 24 has a ROM and a RAM, and stores a program executed by the control unit 25. Further, the storage unit 24 temporarily stores the display information received from the information providing device 1.

The control unit 25 has, for example, a CPU. The control unit 25 functions as an input reception unit 251, an itinerary information transmission unit 252, a congestion information reception unit 253, and a display control unit 254 by executing the program stored in the storage unit 24.

The input receiving unit 251 receives input of various information by the user U via the operation unit 23. The input reception unit 251 receives, for example, input of itinerary information indicating a departure station and an arrival station while the display control unit 254 displays the itinerary input screen shown in FIG. 2A on the display unit 22. The input reception unit 251 notifies the itinerary information transmission unit 252 and the display control unit 254 of the input itinerary information.

Further, while the input reception unit 251 displays the congestion degree of at least one of the departure station and the arrival station in association with the plurality of time zones, the input reception unit 251 indicates the selection information indicating one or more time zones from the plurality of time zones. Accept input. Specifically, the input receiving unit 251 outputs the operation unit 23 in response to the operation of the user U selecting the time zone while the screen shown in FIG. 2B is displayed on the display unit 22. The coordinate information is acquired as selection information, and it is specified that the time zone displayed at the position corresponding to the acquired coordinate information is selected. The input reception unit 251 notifies the itinerary information transmission unit 252 and the display control unit 254 of the selected time zone.

The input reception unit 251 may further accept a switching operation for switching between the itinerary information screen (first screen) and the congestion map screen (second screen). The input reception unit 251 accepts an operation of touching a button called "itinerary information" or "congestion map" displayed at the bottom of the screen shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 as a switching operation. When the input receiving unit 251 receives the switching operation, the input receiving unit 251 notifies the display control unit 254 of which screen to switch to.

The itinerary information transmission unit 252 transmits the itinerary information input from the input reception unit 251 to the information providing device 1 via the communication unit 21. Specifically, the itinerary information transmission unit 252 transmits the itinerary information indicating the departure station and the arrival station and the desired travel time zone information to the information providing device 1. The itinerary information transmission unit 252 may transmit information indicating a time zone selected by the user U on the screen shown in FIG. 2B to the information providing device 1.

The congestion information receiving unit 253 acquires congestion information indicating the degree of congestion for each time zone of the departure station and the arrival station from the information providing device 1 via the communication unit 21. The congestion information receiving unit 253 acquires, for example, congestion information indicating the degree of congestion in one or more time zones included in the desired movement time zone transmitted by the input receiving unit 251 from the information providing device 1. The congestion information receiving unit 253, for example, acquires display information including congestion information from the information providing device 1. The congestion information receiving unit 253 notifies the display control unit 254 of the acquired congestion information or display information.

The congestion information receiving unit 253 is not limited to the departure station and the arrival station, and may receive congestion information in which a plurality of positions and the degree of congestion are associated with each other. The plurality of positions are, for example, the positions of a plurality of mesh areas, and are represented by, for example, the latitude and longitude of the four corners of the square mesh area.

For example, the congestion information receiving unit 253 acquires the first congestion information indicating the congestion degree of the departure station and the arrival station and the second congestion information in which the mesh area and the congestion degree are associated with each other as congestion information. As described above, the congestion degree of the departure station and the arrival station can be calculated by the information terminal 2 based on the congestion degree of one or more mesh areas including the departure station and the arrival station. However, when the congestion information receiving unit 253 acquires both the first congestion information and the second congestion information, the information terminal 2 calculates the congestion degree of the departure station and the arrival station based on the positions of the departure station and the arrival station. There is no need, and the processing speed can be improved.

The congestion information receiving unit 253 may acquire the congestion information associated with the time. The congestion information associated with the time is information indicating the degree of congestion for each time. The congestion information receiving unit 253 may acquire the first congestion information associated with the time and the second congestion information associated with the time, and only one of the first congestion information and the second congestion information is the time. May be associated with.

The display control unit 254 causes the display unit 22 to display various types of information. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the display control unit 254 has an itinerary information screen showing the degree of congestion based on congestion information associated with the route from the departure station to the arrival station, and congestion based on congestion information associated with the map. The congestion map screen showing the degree is displayed on the display unit 22 so as to be switchable. By viewing this information while switching it, the user U can easily select a route in consideration of the congestion situation around the station.

The display control unit 254 displays the congestion degree based on the first congestion information received by the congestion information receiving unit 253 on the itinerary information screen in association with the route from the departure station to the arrival station, and displays the congestion degree based on the second congestion information. Display on the congestion map screen in association with the map. In the present embodiment, the degree of congestion displayed on the itinerary information screen and the degree of congestion displayed on the congestion map screen are created based on the same data using the location information of the mobile terminal, and the display control unit 254. Displays the degree of congestion based on the congestion information specified based on the number of mobile terminals in a plurality of areas on both the itinerary information screen and the congestion map screen. Therefore, since the degree of congestion displayed on the itinerary information screen and the degree of congestion displayed on the congestion map screen match, the degree of congestion displayed on the two screens when the user U switches between the two screens. There is no confusion caused by the disagreement.

When the operation of switching between the itinerary information screen on which the congestion degree based on the first congestion information is displayed and the congestion map screen on which the congestion degree based on the second congestion information is displayed is performed, the first congestion information is created. If the time when the second congestion information is created is different from the time when the second congestion information is created, there may be a case where the congestion degree displayed on the itinerary information screen and the congestion degree displayed on the congestion map screen do not match. Therefore, the congestion information receiving unit 253 may newly acquire the congestion information when the input receiving unit 251 accepts the switching operation for switching the screen. The congestion information receiving unit 253 acquires, for example, the second congestion information when the operation of switching from the itinerary information screen to the congestion map screen is performed, and the operation of switching from the congestion map screen to the itinerary information screen is performed. 1 Acquire congestion information. By operating the congestion information receiving unit 253 in this way, it is possible to reliably match the degree of congestion displayed on the itinerary information screen with the degree of congestion displayed on the congestion map screen.

[Itinerary information screen]
The display control unit 254 causes the display unit 22 to display at least one of the congestion levels of the departure station and the arrival station in association with a plurality of time zones on the itinerary information screen, for example. The display control unit 254 may display the display information acquired by the congestion information receiving unit 253 from the information providing device 1 as it is on the display unit 22, and the display control unit 254 may display the display information as it is, based on the congestion information acquired by the congestion information receiving unit 253. Display information corresponding to the screen as shown in b) may be created, and the created display information may be displayed on the display unit 22.

The display control unit 254 may display on the display unit 22 display information further indicating the expected change in the degree of congestion of at least one of the departure station and the arrival station in association with a plurality of time zones. As described above, the display information indicating the change forecast indicates, for example, how the degree of congestion is expected to change with the passage of time within each time zone on the screen shown in FIG. 2 (b). Information.

Further, the display control unit 254 displays on the display unit 22 route information indicating one or more routes for moving from the departure station to the arrival station in one or more time zones indicated by the selection information indicated by the input reception unit 251. Display. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2 (c), the display control unit 254 indicates route information indicating one or more routes departing or arriving in the time zone selected by the user U on the screen of FIG. 2 (b). Is displayed on the display unit 22.

The display control unit 254 causes the display unit 22 to display the degree of congestion corresponding to each of the departure station, the arrival station, and the transfer station in association with each of the departure station, the arrival station, and the transfer station, for example. The display control unit 254 displays on the display unit 22 the route information associated with each of the departure station and the arrival station, including the congestion degree corresponding to each of the departure station and the arrival station, and not including the congestion degree corresponding to the transfer station. You may let me. The display control unit 254 can display as much route information as possible in a limited screen area by not displaying the degree of congestion corresponding to the transfer station.

Whether or not it is better to display the degree of congestion corresponding to the transfer station may differ depending on the user U. Therefore, when the display control unit 254 accepts the setting of whether or not to display the congestion degree corresponding to the transfer station and accepts the setting of not displaying the congestion degree corresponding to the transfer station, the display control unit 254 corresponds to the transfer station. The route information that does not include the degree of congestion may be displayed on the display unit 22. For example, the display control unit 254 causes the display unit 22 to display a screen for the user U to set whether or not to display the congestion degree corresponding to the transfer station, and the setting by the user U via the input reception unit 251. Get the content. The display control unit 254 determines whether or not to display the degree of congestion corresponding to the transfer station based on the acquired setting contents.

Further, the display control unit 254 may display a plurality of routes from the departure station to the arrival station on the display unit 22 with a priority based on the degree of congestion corresponding to each route. The display control unit 254 displays a plurality of routes on the display unit 22 with a priority based on the sum of the congestion degree of the departure station and the congestion degree of the arrival station shown in the route information provided from the information providing device 1, for example. Display. The display control unit 254 may display the routes in ascending order of congestion at the departure station, or may display the routes in ascending order of congestion at the arrival station. The display control unit 254 displays a plurality of routes with the priority based on the result of receiving the setting of the priority based on the congestion degree of the departure station, the transfer station, or the arrival station from the user U. You may let me. By operating the display control unit 254 in this way, the user U can easily select a route that meets his / her needs for the degree of congestion.

[Congestion map screen]
As shown in FIG. 3, the display control unit 254 displays an image showing the degree of congestion on the congestion map screen on the map image including the route of transportation. The range displayed on the congestion map screen by the display control unit 254 is arbitrary, but the display control unit 254 displays, for example, a map of the area corresponding to the route from the departure station to the arrival station indicated by the itinerary information on the congestion map screen. Let me. By displaying the map of the area by the display control unit 254, the user U can easily determine the itinerary in consideration of the degree of congestion of the place where the user U moves by means other than the train.

When displaying the congestion map screen, the display control unit 254 may display the congestion map screen in which images showing a plurality of positions where the information terminal 2 has passed from the departure station to the arrival station are superimposed on the map. By displaying such an image by the display control unit 254, the user U can grasp the degree of congestion around the route through which the user U is moving. Therefore, the user U can select, for example, to change the schedule when he / she finds an area with a low degree of congestion, get off at the area with a low degree of congestion, and shop.

The display control unit 254 shows the position of one or more stations between the departure station and the arrival station, and the first image showing the positions of the departure station and the arrival station on the congestion map screen, which is different from the first image. The second image and the second image may be displayed on the congestion map screen. As an example, in the congestion map screen shown in FIG. 3, the departure station and the arrival station are shown by a circle larger than the station on the way. By displaying such an image by the display control unit 254, the user U can easily recognize the departure station and the arrival station even when the station position is displayed in a state of overlapping with the image showing the degree of congestion. can do.

By the way, since the degree of congestion changes with the passage of time, it is useful for the user U to be able to see the degree of congestion at a selected time. Therefore, the input reception unit 251 accepts an operation of selecting a time associated with the congestion information corresponding to the congestion degree to be displayed on the congestion map screen, and the display control unit 254 is based on the congestion information corresponding to the selected time. The degree of congestion may be displayed on the congestion map screen. Specifically, the display control unit 254 displays a sub screen or an image for selecting a time, as provided above the screen shown in FIG. 3, and the user U displays the degree of congestion. Allows you to select the time. When the user U changes the selected time, the display control unit 254 displays the degree of congestion based on the congestion information corresponding to the selected time.

[Display of evaluation results]
It is expected that the user U who is interested in the degree of congestion will be more satisfied with avoiding the congestion by confirming the degree to which he / she can avoid the congestion. Therefore, the display control unit 254 may display the evaluation result based on the degree of congestion at each of the plurality of positions where the information terminal 2 has passed from the departure station to the arrival station on the display unit 22. The display control unit 254 displays, for example, an evaluation result in which the lower the total value of the congestion degree of the departure station, the congestion degree of the arrival station, and the congestion degree of one or more transfer stations, the higher the evaluation point. In this case, the display control unit 254 calculates the evaluation points based on the degree of congestion at the time of passing through each station.

The display control unit 254 may calculate the evaluation point based on the result of adding the degree of congestion of the plurality of mesh areas passed by the route traveled by the user U, not only at the station. In this case, the display control unit 254 performs weighting addition based on the distance passed through the mesh area, so that the influence of the congestion degree of the mesh area moved a long distance is affected by the congestion degree of the mesh area moved a short distance. The evaluation score may be calculated so as to be larger than. By displaying such an evaluation result by the display control unit 254, the user U is motivated to select a route having a low degree of congestion.

[Process flow in information provision system S]
FIG. 6 is a sequence diagram showing a processing flow in the information providing system S. The sequence diagram shown in FIG. 6 starts from the time when the user U activates the route search application for searching the route when moving on the information terminal 2.

First, the input receiving unit 251 accepts the operation of the user U who searches for a route (S11). Specifically, on the screen shown in FIG. 2A, input of itinerary information and desired travel time zone is accepted. The itinerary information transmission unit 252 transmits the input itinerary information and the congestion information request message including the desired travel time zone to the information providing device 1.

When the information providing device 1 receives the congestion information request message, the information providing device 1 searches for congestion information indicating the degree of congestion corresponding to the departure station and the arrival station indicated by the itinerary information included in the message and corresponding to the desired travel time zone. (S12). The information providing unit 134 of the information providing device 1 transmits the searched congestion information to the information terminal 2.

The congestion information receiving unit 253 receives the congestion information transmitted by the information providing device 1, and the display control unit 254 causes the display unit 22 to display the congestion information for each time zone as shown in FIG. 2 (b). (S13). When the input receiving unit 251 accepts the operation of selecting the time zone on the screen displaying the congestion information for each time zone (YES in S14), the itinerary information transmitting unit 252 selects the selected time zone information indicating the selected time zone. Is transmitted to the information providing device 1. At this time, the selected time zone information may include information indicating the departure station and the arrival station.

Upon receiving the selected time zone information, the information providing device 1 searches for the time zone indicated by the selected time zone information and the route corresponding to the departure station and the arrival station indicated by the itinerary information (S15). The information providing unit 134 of the information providing device 1 transmits the route information indicating the searched route to the information terminal 2. As shown in FIG. 2C, the display control unit 254 causes the display unit 22 to display the received route information (S16).

When the input reception unit 251 accepts an operation to switch to the congestion map screen (YES in S17) while the screen shown in FIG. 2C is displayed, the display control unit 254 indicates the degree of congestion on the map image. The congestion map screen on which the images are superimposed is displayed on the storage unit 12 (S18). When the input reception unit 251 accepts the operation to switch to the itinerary information screen in this state (YES in S19), the display control unit 254 returns to S16 to display the route information. When the input reception unit 251 accepts an operation to end the display of the itinerary information screen and the congestion map screen (YES in S20), the information terminal 2 ends the operation.

[Effect of information provision system S]
As described above, the information providing system S includes an information providing device 1 that provides congestion information indicating the degree of congestion to the information terminal 2. The information providing device 1 includes an itinerary information acquisition unit 131 that acquires itinerary information indicating a departure station and an arrival station from an information terminal 2, and a congestion degree identification unit 132 that specifies a congestion degree for each time zone of the departure station and the arrival station. It has an information providing unit 134 that provides the information terminal 2 with congestion information indicating the congestion degree of at least one of the departure station and the arrival station in association with a plurality of time zones based on the specified congestion degree. The information terminal 2 has a display control unit 254 that causes the display unit 22 to display the degree of congestion in association with each of the plurality of time zones. By operating the information providing device 1 and the information terminal 2 in this way, the user U can determine in which time zone to move in consideration of the degree of congestion in each time zone.

Further, the information terminal 2 receives the congestion information associated with the position and the congestion degree from the information providing device 1, and associates the information terminal 2 with the route from the departure station to the arrival station to show the congestion degree based on the congestion information on the itinerary information screen. , The congestion map screen showing the degree of congestion based on the congestion information associated with the map can be switched and displayed on the display unit 22. By displaying the plurality of screens on the information terminal 2 in this way, it becomes easy to determine the itinerary in consideration of the degree of congestion of the place where the user moves by means other than the train.

Although the present invention has been described above using the embodiments, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the scope described in the above embodiments, and various modifications and changes can be made within the scope of the gist thereof. be. For example, all or part of the device can be functionally or physically distributed / integrated in any unit. Also included in the embodiments of the present invention are new embodiments resulting from any combination of the plurality of embodiments. The effect of the new embodiment produced by the combination has the effect of the original embodiment together.

1 Information providing device 2 Information terminal 3 Congestion information providing device 4A Base station 4B Base station 11 Communication unit 12 Storage unit 13 Control unit 21 Communication unit 22 Display unit 23 Operation unit 24 Storage unit 25 Control unit 131 Itinerary information acquisition unit 132 Congestion level Specific unit 133 Selection information acquisition unit 134 Information provision unit 251 Input reception unit 252 Itinerary information transmission unit 253 Congestion information reception unit 254 Display control unit

Claims (12)

An input reception section that accepts input of itinerary information indicating the departure and arrival stations,
A congestion information receiver that receives congestion information in which the position and the degree of congestion are associated with each other.
A display unit that can switch between a first screen that shows the degree of congestion based on the congestion information in association with the route from the departure station to the arrival station and a second screen that shows the degree of congestion based on the congestion information in relation to a map. Display control unit to be displayed on
Information terminal with. The display control unit causes the display unit to display the degree of congestion based on the congestion information specified based on the number of mobile terminals in the plurality of areas.
The information terminal according to claim 1. The congestion information receiving unit acquires, as the congestion information, the first congestion information indicating the congestion degree of the departure station and the arrival station, and the second congestion information in which the area and the congestion degree are associated with each other.
The display control unit associates the congestion degree based on the first congestion information with the route from the departure station to the arrival station and displays it on the first screen, and associates the congestion degree based on the second congestion information with the map. Is displayed on the second screen.
The information terminal according to claim 1 or 2. The input receiving unit further accepts a switching operation for switching between the first screen and the second screen.
The congestion information receiving unit newly acquires the congestion information when the input receiving unit receives the switching operation.
The information terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 3. The display control unit displays the second screen on which images showing a plurality of positions where the information terminal has passed from the departure station to the arrival station are superimposed on a map.
The information terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 4. The display control unit shows a first image showing the positions of the departure station and the arrival station, and the positions of one or more stations between the departure station and the arrival station, and has an embodiment different from that of the first image. Displaying the second image on the second screen,
The information terminal according to claim 5. The display control unit displays a map of the area corresponding to the route from the departure station to the arrival station indicated by the itinerary information on the second screen.
The information terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 6. The congestion information receiving unit acquires the congestion information associated with the time and obtains the congestion information.
The input receiving unit receives an operation of selecting a time associated with the congestion information corresponding to the degree of congestion displayed on the second screen.
The display control unit displays the degree of congestion based on the congestion information corresponding to the selected time on the second screen.
The information terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 7. The display control unit causes the display unit to display an evaluation result based on the degree of congestion at each of a plurality of positions where the information terminal has passed from the departure station to the arrival station.
The information terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 8. Computer,
An input reception section that accepts input of itinerary information indicating the departure and arrival stations,
A congestion information receiver that receives congestion information in which the position and the degree of congestion are associated with each other.
A display unit that can switch between a first screen that shows the degree of congestion based on the congestion information in association with the route from the departure station to the arrival station and a second screen that shows the degree of congestion based on the congestion information in relation to a map. Display control unit to be displayed on
A program to function as. The itinerary information acquisition department that acquires itinerary information indicating the departure and arrival stations from the information terminal,
A congestion information acquisition unit that acquires congestion information in which the position and the degree of congestion are associated with each other.
In response to a request from the information terminal, the first screen data indicating the degree of congestion based on the congestion information associated with the route from the departure station to the arrival station, or the congestion degree based on the congestion information associated with the map. An information providing unit that provides any of the second screen data shown to the information terminal, and
Information providing device having. An information terminal and an information providing device that provides congestion information indicating the degree of congestion to the information terminal are provided.
The information providing device is
The itinerary information acquisition department that acquires itinerary information indicating the departure and arrival stations from the information terminal,
The congestion information acquisition unit that acquires the congestion information associated with the position and the degree of congestion,
An information providing unit that provides the congestion information to the information terminal in response to a request from the information terminal.
Have,
The information terminal is
An input reception section that accepts input of itinerary information indicating the departure and arrival stations,
A congestion information receiving unit that receives the congestion information from the information providing device, and
A display unit that can switch between a first screen that shows the degree of congestion based on the congestion information in association with the route from the departure station to the arrival station and a second screen that shows the degree of congestion based on the congestion information in relation to a map. Display control unit to be displayed on
Information provision system with.

Images