JP5466631B2 - Navigation server, navigation program, and navigation system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a navigation server, a navigation program, and a navigation system that communicate with a navigation device that displays a current position of a moving body on a map on a display screen of a display device and guides the moving body to a destination.

  In recent years, various devices for searching information on the Internet using keywords have been proposed.

  As the amount of information to be searched increases with the spread of the Internet, various information search devices that support keyword input have been proposed.

  In such an information search device, for example, when searching for a related term of a term input as a search term from terms stored in a predetermined storage area, a thesaurus (a word (character string) is synonymous) Or a dictionary classified by semantic similarity or inclusion relation) (Patent Document 1).

  Each time a user performs a search based on a keyword and selects any content from the search results, the search keyword and the selected content are stored in association with each other, and the correspondence relationship between the keyword and the selected content is stored. Based on, the relationship between the stored keywords is determined, a plurality of related keywords are grouped, and when any representative keyword is selected, other related keywords belonging to the same group as the selected representative keyword Is also output (Patent Document 2).

  Furthermore, as a method for calculating the degree of association between a plurality of character strings, keywords are extracted from a plurality of document files, and the degree of association between a pair of keywords is determined based on the appearance frequency of each keyword in each document file. There is also a proposal to calculate for (Patent Document 3).

JP 2004-110389 A JP 2005-309998 A JP 2009-098931 A

  However, in the case where a thesaurus is prepared in advance as in the information search device disclosed in Patent Document 1, there is a case in which related terms effective for the user may not be provided when the creation time of the thesaurus is old. was there. That is, there is a problem that a newly created term cannot be handled unless the provider of the information providing apparatus updates the thesaurus.

  Further, as in the content navigation apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 2 and the relevance calculation system between keywords disclosed in Patent Document 3, the relevance of character strings based on the content (document file, etc.) related to the character strings. However, there is a problem that it is not possible to provide an effective related word for the user depending on the content. That is, for example, when a user wants to know a related term of a term, the term is new, and content with sufficient information to define the related term of the term is not provided. Had the problem of not being able to provide related words.

  The above-described problem is caused by a navigation device that searches for a point that satisfies an arbitrary condition on the map as a destination, a navigation server that provides various information in response to a request from the navigation device, and a navigation device and a navigation server. It has also been a problem in the field of navigation systems that are constructed.

  An object of the present invention is to realize a new related word definition method in order to solve the above-described problems.

  An information search device of the present invention is a navigation server that communicates with a navigation device that displays a current position of a moving body on a map on a display screen of a display device and guides the moving body to a destination, POI information storage means for storing POI information relating to, search character string acquisition means for acquiring a search character string used for searching the POI information from the navigation device, and POI information stored in the POI information storage means A POI information search means for searching for POI information including the search character string acquired by the search character string acquisition means, and the POI information searched by the POI information search means and the search character string in association with each other. Search result registration means for registering in a predetermined storage device, POI information and search character string registered by the search result registration means The relation level determination means for determining the relation level of the search result based on the number of registrations by the search result registration means, and the POI information in which the relation level for the search character string acquired by the search character string acquisition means satisfies a predetermined condition An associative character string specifying means for specifying an associative character string which is a registered character string, and an associative search means for searching for the POI information using the associative character string specified by the associative character string specifying means; And search result output means for outputting a search result by the associative search means.

  With the above configuration, a new related word definition method can be realized.

  The search result registration unit includes a combination character string and a combination condition that are combinations of the plurality of search character strings when the search character string acquisition unit acquires a plurality of search character strings within a predetermined period. A combination information creating unit configured to create information; registering the combination information created by the combination information creating unit in association with the POI information in the storage device; and The association level between the combination character string indicated by the combination information registered a large number of times and the POI information is determined to be higher than the association level between the combination character string indicated by the other combination information and the POI information, and the associative character string The specifying unit has a high association level among the combination character strings including the search character string acquired by the search character string acquiring unit. The combined strings may be configured to identify the associative string in preference.

  Search position specifying means for specifying the position of the navigation device as a search position when the POI information search is performed by the POI information search means, and the search result registration means includes the search character string and the search position specifying Search position registration means for registering in the storage device in association with the search position specified by the means, wherein the associative character string specifying means is associated with the search character string acquired by the search character string acquisition means Among character strings registered in association with POI information whose level satisfies a predetermined condition, a character string associated with a search position corresponding to the current position of the user is given priority over other character strings. You may be set as the structure specified to an associative character string.

  A destination selection receiving unit that receives a selection of the POI information searched by the POI information searching unit or the associative search unit as the destination, and the combination information creating unit includes: The combination is made by adding a predetermined combination condition to the search character string acquired by the search character string acquisition unit from the same user after the reception is started and before the selection of POI information is received by the destination selection reception unit. When the search result registration unit receives selection of POI information by the destination selection reception unit, the search result registration unit associates the POI information with the combination character string indicated by the combination information in the storage device. It may be configured to register.

  The navigation program of the present invention operates on the navigation server so as to communicate with the navigation device that displays the current position of the moving body on the map on the display screen of the display device and guides the moving body to the destination. A search character string for obtaining a search character string used for searching for POI information stored in POI information storage means for storing POI information related to POI from the navigation device in the navigation server. An acquisition process; a POI information search process for searching for POI information including the search character string acquired in the search character string acquisition process, among the POI information stored in the POI information storage means; and the POI information The POI information searched in the search process is associated with the search character string. Search result registration process registered in the storage device, and a relation level determination process for determining a relation level between the POI information registered in the search result registration process and the search character string based on the number of registrations by the search result registration process And an associative character string that identifies an associative character string that is a character string registered in association with POI information in which the relation level for the search character string acquired in the search character string acquisition process satisfies a predetermined condition A specific process, an associative search process for searching the POI information using the associative character string specified in the associative character string specifying process, and a search result output process for outputting a search result by the associative search process Is for.

  In addition, the navigation system of the present invention displays a current position of a moving body on a map on the display screen of the display apparatus and guides the moving body to a destination, and communicates with the navigation apparatus. The navigation system includes a navigation server that performs search, a search character string receiving unit that receives an input of a search character string indicating a search condition for a destination, and a user's current position. The navigation server includes a POI information storage unit that stores POI information relating to POI, and a search character string acquisition that acquires a search character string received by a search character string reception unit of the plurality of navigation devices. Of the POI information stored in the POI information storage means. POI information search means for searching for POI information including the search character string acquired by the character string acquisition means, and a predetermined storage device in association with the POI information searched by the POI information search means and the search character string Search result registration means for registering to the search result, relation level determination means for determining the relation level between the POI information registered by the search result registration means and the search character string based on the number of registrations by the search result registration means, and the search An associative character string specifying means for specifying an associative character string that is a character string registered in association with POI information in which the relation level for the search character string acquired by the character string acquiring means satisfies a predetermined condition; Associative search means for searching for the POI information using an associative character string specified by the associative character string specifying means, and a search result by the associative search means Characterized in that it comprises a retrieval result transmitting means for transmitting to the navigation device.

  According to the present invention, a new related word definition method can be realized.

It is the schematic which shows the example of a structure of a navigation system. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the example of a structure of a management server. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of the storage state of search character string information. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of the storage state of associative character string information. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of the storage state of POI information. It is a flowchart which shows the example of an associative character string information update process. It is a flowchart which shows the example of a navigation process. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the example of an associative search screen. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the example of an associative character string display screen.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the configuration of a navigation system 300 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the navigation system 300 includes a management server 100, a plurality of user terminals 201 to 20N (N is an arbitrary positive integer), and a base station 230. The management server 100 and the base station 230 are connected by a communication network 240 such as the Internet. Although FIG. 1 shows a case where each component other than the user terminal is one, the navigation system 300 may include a plurality of management servers 100 and base stations 240, for example.

  The management server 100 is a server managed by a system administrator of the navigation system 300, for example, and is configured by an information processing apparatus such as a WWW server. In this example, the management server 100 searches the POI information corresponding to the search conditions received from the user terminals 201 to 20N with respect to the user terminals 201 to 20N, and the current status of each user of the user terminals 201 to 20N. It has various functions provided in a general navigation server, such as a function for providing a recommended travel route from a position to a position indicated by POI information. The “POI information” is various information related to POI (Point Of Interest) (for example, facility address, appearance image, usage status, advertisement text, reputation, etc.).

  Moreover, the management server 100 in this example specifies a keyword (associative character string) related to a keyword input to each of the user terminals 201 to 20N by each user of the user terminals 201 to 20N, and provides the user with the keyword And various functions for realizing a process of searching for and providing a recommended travel route from the current position of the user to an arbitrary destination. Further, the management server 100 in this example has various functions for accumulating information search history in a predetermined DB.

  FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram for describing an example of the configuration of the management server 100 in this example. As shown in FIG. 2, the management server 100 in this example includes a control unit 10, a keyword search unit 11, a search character string acquisition unit 12, a search result registration unit 13, a related level determination unit 14, an associative character. A column specifying unit 15, a search result output unit 16, a route searching unit 17, and a search position specifying unit 18 are included.

  The control unit 10 is composed of, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), and is a computer program (stored in a storage area (not shown) provided in the management server 100 or various DBs (database) accessible by the management server 100 ( And an information search program for controlling the operation of the management server 100).

  The keyword search unit 11 uses a search character string (including a basic character string that is a search character string accepted by the user terminal and an associative character string that is a search character string specified from the basic character string). It has a function of executing a general character string search (that is, keyword search or free word search). In this example, the keyword search unit 11 uses a well-known technique used for a general search engine, and thus a detailed description thereof is omitted here.

  The search character string acquisition unit 12 has a function of performing a process of acquiring a search character string used for searching various information. In this example, the search character string acquisition unit 12 acquires the search character string input to the user terminals 201 to 20N and transmitted to the management server 100.

  The search result registration unit 13 associates the POI information searched by the keyword search unit 11 with the search character string acquired by the search character string acquisition unit 12 (that is, the search character string used for the search) in a predetermined memory. It has a function of performing processing for registration in the storage area of the device (in this example, the search character string information management DB 21). In this example, the search result registration unit 13 includes a combination information creation unit 13A and a search position registration unit 13B.

  The combination information creation unit 13A has a determination function for determining whether or not the search character string acquisition unit 12 has acquired a plurality of search character strings within a predetermined period, and the search character string acquisition unit 12 has a plurality of search characters. When a column is acquired within a predetermined period, it has a function of performing a process of creating combination information indicating a combination character string that is a combination of a plurality of search character strings and a combination condition.

  And the search result registration part 13 has a function which performs the process which registers combination information in the search character string information management DB21 mentioned later (refer FIG. 3). Here, in this example, the case where the desired period is “simultaneous” will be described as an example. Further, the “combination condition” in this example is a condition that includes all of a plurality of search character strings (that is, is a combination of search character strings that require a so-called AND search), or a plurality of search characters. This indicates whether it is a condition that at least one of the columns is included (that is, a combination of search character strings that require a so-called OR search). In this example, the search result registration unit 13 registers each combination condition in an identifiable state.

  The “predetermined period” here is not limited to this, and may be “within 5 minutes”, for example. The combination condition may also be “include at least two of a plurality of search character strings”, for example. Alternatively, the search result registration unit 13 may register only “a combination of character strings used in the AND search”.

  In this example, “a plurality of character strings” means words delimited by spaces, punctuation marks, etc., for example, at the input stage of a search character string. For example, “a b c” or “a, b, c” "Is" three character strings ", and" abc "is one character string.

  In addition, the search position registration unit 13B has a function of performing processing for associating a search character string with a search position specified by a search position specifying unit 18 described later and registering it in the search character string information management DB 21.

  The relation level determination unit 14 performs processing for determining a relation level between a plurality of search character strings registered in the search character string information management DB 21 described later by the search result registration unit 13 based on the number of registrations by the search result registration unit 13. Has the function to perform. In addition, the related level determination part 14 in this example registers the combination (character string combination) of the character string which determined the related level in the association character string information management DB22 mentioned later. Hereinafter, a case where the relation level determination unit 14 sets a relation level for each combination character string will be described. That is, in this example, for example, because a high relation level is set for the combination character string “A, B, C”, the combination character string “A, B” or the combination character string “A, C” is not necessarily used. The level of association is not high.

  Here, the “relevance level” is data used as an index indicating the correlation between a plurality of character strings (in this example, character strings that have been used as search character strings). In this example, the relation level determination unit 14 determines the relation level between the combinations of character strings indicated by the combination information registered by the search result registration unit 13 to a higher relation level than the combinations of other character strings. To do. The relation level determination unit 14 sets the relation level between the character strings frequently used in the “AND search” to a relation level higher than the relation level of the character strings frequently used in the “OR search”. It is good also as a structure to determine.

  In this example, a numerical value indicating the number of times that the combination of the character strings indicated by the combination character string is used as the search character string (search frequency) is set as the related level, and the higher the numerical value, the higher the related level. . When the relation level is the same, the management server 100 assumes that the combination character string used more frequently in the AND search has a higher relation level than the combination character string used many times in the OR search. It will be handled.

  The associative character string specifying unit 15 has a function of performing processing for specifying an associative character string that is a character string whose relevance to the search character string acquired by the search character string acquiring unit 12 satisfies a predetermined condition. The associative character string specifying unit 15 in this example is determined by the association level determining unit 14 with reference to the associative character string information management DB 22 described later when receiving a display request of the associative character string from the user terminals 201 to 20N. Search for a combination of character strings whose association level exceeds a predetermined threshold value and including the character string (basic character string) included in the associative character string display request, and search for a character string other than the basic character string. It is specified as an associative string for. The process for displaying the associative character string will be described in detail later (see FIG. 7).

  The search result output unit 16 has a function for performing processing related to transmission / reception of various information with each of the user terminals 201 to 20N. In this example, the search result output unit 16 displays the associative character string specified by the associative character string specifying unit 15 and the POI information search result based on the specified associative character string for each user terminal 201 to 20N. Has a function of performing output processing in a recognizable state. Specifically, for example, the associative character string output unit 16 displays the associative character string display screen (see FIG. 9) including the associative character string, and the user terminal that has received a display request for the associative character string among the user terminals 201 to 20N. Create and send information to be displayed on the display screen.

  The route search unit 17 has a function of performing a process of searching for a recommended movement route from the current position of the user (for example, the current position of the user terminal 201) to the position indicated by the POI information selected by the user. Here, the “recommended travel route” means a route that satisfies a predetermined condition such as “a route that makes the travel route the shortest”. Since a known technique is used for the recommended travel route search process, a detailed description thereof is omitted here.

  The search position specifying unit 18 has a function of performing a process of specifying the position of the user when the POI information is searched by the keyword search unit 11 as the search position. The search position specifying unit 18 in this example receives current position information indicating the current position of the user (user terminal or user) from each of the user terminals 201 to 20N together with an information search request, so that each user can receive information. The search position which is the position where the search request is input to the user terminal is specified. That is, when a search request for POI information is received from one of the user terminals 201 to 20N (hereinafter referred to as user terminal 201), the search position specifying unit 18 determines the current position of the user terminal 201 at that time. The received position information is received, and the received position information is specified as a search position. In this example, a case where the search position specifying unit 18 classifies the received current position information into a predetermined area (area) and searches for a position will be described as an example. That is, when the received current position information is “latitude, longitude”, the search position specifying unit 18 specifies the prefecture where the received “latitude, longitude” is located as the search position. Note that the search position specifying unit 18 may specify the current position indicated by the received current position information as the search position as it is.

  Further, the search position specified by the search position specifying unit 18 is registered in a predetermined storage device by the search result registration unit 13 in association with the search character string acquired by the search character string acquisition unit 12.

  In addition, the associative character string specifying unit 15 includes, among character strings registered in association with POI information in which the relation level for the search character string acquired by the search character string acquiring unit 12 satisfies a predetermined condition. A character string associated with a search position corresponding to the current position is specified as an associative character string in preference to other character strings.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the management server 100 includes various DBs including a search character string information management DB 21, an associative character string information management DB 22, and a POI information management DB 23.

  The search character string information management DB 21 is a storage medium that stores search character string information that is information related to a search character string when the management server 100 executes a keyword search (using the keyword search unit 11). In this example, the search character string information is registered by the search result registration unit 13.

  FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a storage state of search character string information in the search character string information management DB 21. As shown in FIG. 3, the search character string information includes a search character string, a search date, a search position, and a POI-ID.

  Here, the “search character string” is information indicating a combination of keywords when the management server 100 executes a keyword search using a combination of a plurality of keywords. In this example, the management server 100 does not record a used keyword as search character string information when performing a keyword search using a single keyword.

  The “search position” is information indicating the search position specified by the search position specifying unit 18. In this example, the search position specifying unit 18 sets the position of the user terminal at the time of executing the search (that is, when the user inputs a search character string to the user terminal) to a predetermined area (for example, “Tokyo” or “Saitama”). ) And register the search position.

  Further, “POI-ID” here is information indicating POI information searched by a search word.

  The associative character string information management DB 22 is a storage medium that stores associative character string information indicating combinations of character strings (or words) having a strong correlation. In this example, the associative character string information is registered by the association level determination unit 14.

  FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a storage state of associative character string information in the associative character string information management DB 22. As shown in FIG. 4, the associative character string information in this example includes a POI-ID, a combination character string, a search position, and a relation level.

  Here, the “combination character string” indicates a combination of a plurality of character strings whose association level with the POI information indicated by the POI-ID is determined. In this example, the combination character string indicates a combination of keywords used at the same time during keyword search.

  The “relevance level” is an index indicating the strength of correlation between a combination of a plurality of character strings indicated by the combination character string and the POI information indicated by the POI-ID. In this example, a correlation between a plurality of character strings (for example, a plurality of character strings used for AND search and OR search) searched by a combination of many users (total number of users) and POI information indicated by the search results. It is assumed that the related level becomes stronger. That is, the higher the level of association with the POI information indicated by the search result, the higher the number of combinations of character strings that are searched. In this example, it is assumed that the closer the numerical value is to “1” among the positive integers, the higher the related level is.

  The POI information management DB 23 adds a character string associated with the POI to the POI information that is information related to the POI (Point Of Interest) (a keyword associated with the POI. That is, a character string having a predetermined relationship with the POI. Is stored in association with each other.

  FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the storage state of POI information in the POI information management DB 23. As shown in FIG. 5, the POI information in this example includes POI-ID that is identification information for uniquely identifying POI information, a POI name, a related character string (keyword associated), a priority, Facility information (for example, POI address, facility availability time, introduction text, etc.) is included. Note that the “facility information” is not limited to information regarding a facility, and may be information indicating information regarding a specific point such as information regarding a scenic spot.

  Here, the “related character string” indicates a character string related to POI, and in this example, it is set by an administrator of the management server 100, for example. In addition, the setting subject of a related character string is not specifically limited, It is good also as a structure which can be set by each user of the user terminals 201-20N.

  The “priority” is a degree indicating the strength of the correlation with the POI for each related character string, and is set by the administrator of the management server 100, for example, based on statistical information.

  The base station 230 has a function of performing wireless communication with a wireless terminal such as a mobile phone. In this example, the base station 230 performs processing for connecting the user terminals 201 to 20N to the communication network 240, respectively.

Each of the plurality of user terminals 201 to 20N is a terminal device managed by a user who uses the navigation system 300, for example, a mobile phone terminal, a PDA, a mobile type personal computer, a PND (Portable
Navigation device) and an information processing device such as a dedicated device. Each of the plurality of user terminals 201 to 20N is connected to the communication network 240 via the base station 230 that is communicably connected via a wireless communication line, and transmits / receives information to / from the management server 100, and various information acquired from the management server 100 Is displayed on the display screen or notified by voice. In addition, the user terminals 201 to 20N have various functions included in a general navigation device, such as a function for guiding a recommended travel route based on map information and road information (route guidance function). Since a known technique is used for realizing the route guidance function and the like, detailed description thereof is omitted here.

  Next, the operation of the navigation system 300 in this example will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that detailed descriptions of processes not particularly related to the present invention may be omitted.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of associative character string information update processing executed by the navigation system 300. In the associative character string information update process, a process in which the management server 100 updates the associative search character string information in response to a keyword search request from any of the user terminals 201 to 20N. Hereinafter, the user terminal 201 will be described as an example.

  The associative character string information update process is started when the user terminal 201 accesses the management server 100, for example.

  In the associative character string information update process, first, the user terminal 201 receives a keyword search request from the user A of the user terminal 201 (step S201). In this example, the user terminal 201 determines that a keyword search request has been received in response to receiving an input of a search character string by the user A via an input device provided in the user terminal 201.

  When receiving the keyword search request, the user terminal 201 transmits a search request that presents the search character string and the current position of the user terminal 201 to the management server 100 (step S202). Note that the user terminal 201 identifies its current position by the GPS function.

  When the management server 100 receives the search request (step S101), the keyword search unit 11 executes keyword search using the search character string (S102).

  When the keyword search is executed, the management server 100 creates a search result display screen (information for displaying the screen) indicating the search result of the keyword search, and transmits it to the user terminal 201 (step S103). In this example, the management server 100 creates a screen including the POI name indicated by the POI information including the keyword as a search result display screen.

  Upon receiving the search result display screen (step S203), the user terminal 201 displays the search result display screen on the display screen of the display device that the user terminal 201 can provide (step S204).

  When the search result display screen is displayed, the user terminal 201 determines whether or not an operation for selecting POI information (that is, POI name) included in the search result display screen has been received (step S205). If it is determined that the selection operation of POI information is not accepted (N in step S205), the user terminal 201 ends the process here.

  On the other hand, for example, when the user A accepts selection of a portion where the POI name is displayed on the search result display screen (for example, pressing of the display screen with a finger), it is determined that the selection operation of POI information has been accepted (step The user terminal 201 transmits a selection notification (that is, information indicating the POI-ID corresponding to the selected POI name) to the management server 100 (step S206).

  On the other hand, when the management server 100 transmits the search result display screen in the process of step S103, the management server 100 determines whether or not there are two or more search character strings used in the keyword search (step S104). Here, if it is determined that the number of search character strings is not two or more (that is, one) (N in Step S104), the management server 100 ends the processing here.

  On the other hand, if it is determined that there are two or more search character strings (Y in step S104), the management server 100 specifies the search position corresponding to the current position indicated by the received search request by the search position specifying unit 18 ( Step S105).

  When the search position is specified, the management server 100 updates the search character string information by registering the specified region and the search character string in the search character string information management DB 21 using the search position registration unit 13B (step S106).

  When the search character string information is updated, the management server 100 determines the relation level between the POI information, the combination character string, and the search region based on the updated search character string information by the related level determination unit 14, and the associative character The column information is updated (step S107).

  In this example, when a combination character string indicating the same character string as the character string indicated by the search character string registered in the search character string information management DB 21 is registered in the associative character string information management DB 22, the management server 100 However, “1” is added to the number of searches. On the other hand, when the combination character string indicating the same character string as the character string indicated by the search character string registered in the search character string information management DB 21 is not registered in the associative character string information management DB 22, the management server 100 performs the search. A combination of character strings indicated by a search character string registered in the character string information management DB 21 is registered in the associative character string information management DB 22 as a “combination character string”, and “1” is set as the corresponding number of searches. At this time, if it is found that the user A has selected POI information in the user terminal 201 (that is, if the selection content has been received in the process of step S107 described later), the management server 100 The level determination unit 14 adds “2” to the number of searches for the combination character string corresponding to the search character string.

  When the associative character string information is updated, the management server 100 determines whether a selection notification is received from the user terminal 201 (step S108). If it is determined that the selection notification has been received (Y in step S108), the management server 100 refers to the POI information management DB 23 and transmits the POI information indicated by the selection notification to the user terminal 201 (step S109). When the POI information is transmitted, the management server 100 proceeds to the process of step S107.

  On the other hand, if it is determined that the selection notification has not been received (or that the selection notification has not been newly received after executing the processing of step S109 and step S107 in response to the reception of the selection notification) (step N of S108), the management server 100 ends the process here.

  Upon receiving the POI information (step S207), the user terminal 201 displays the content of the POI information (for example, the POI appearance image and the surrounding map) on the display screen of the display device provided therein (step S208). The process in is terminated.

  Next, navigation processing executed by the navigation system 300 will be described.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an example of navigation processing executed by the navigation system 300. In the navigation process, a process of searching for POI information indicating a destination POI using a character string (associative character string) related to a basic character string input by the user A of the user terminal 201 is performed.

  The navigation process is started, for example, when the management server 100 transmits a predetermined associative search screen to the user terminal 201 in response to receiving an associative search screen display request from the user terminal 201.

  In the navigation process, first, the user terminal 201 accepts an associative character string display request by the user A of the user terminal 201 (step S401).

  FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram for describing an example of an associative search screen displayed on the display screen of the user terminal 201. As shown in FIG. 8, the associative search screen in this example includes a basic character string display area 101 for displaying a basic character string, a search button 102 for receiving a keyword search execution request based on the basic character string, and a basic character string display area. And an associative character string display button 103 that accepts a display request for the associative character string displayed in 101.

  When an operation for selecting the associative character string display button 103 is accepted while the input of the basic character string is accepted while the associative search screen is displayed, the user terminal 201 determines that the request for displaying the associative character string has been accepted. The association character string display request presenting the basic character string is transmitted to the management server 100 (step S402). In this example, the user terminal 201 transmits an associative character string display request that presents the basic character string and the current position of the user terminal 201 to the management server 100 as an associative character string display request. In the following description, as shown in FIG. 8, a case where “Shinsengumi” is received as the basic character string and position information corresponding to “Tokyo” is received as the current position will be described as an example.

  When receiving the associative character string display request (step S301), the management server 100 refers to the associative character string information management DB 22 and searches for associative character string information including a basic character string as part of the combination character string (step S301). S302). At this time, the management server 100 may be configured to search only associative character string information indicating a combination character string having the highest association level, or search for associative character string information indicating all combination character strings including a basic character string. It is good also as composition to do. In this example, it is assumed that the search conditions are received in advance for each of the user terminals 201 to 20N and stored in a predetermined storage area (for example, the storage area of user information provided in the management server 100) (when not received). Uses the default search condition.), An example in which the management server 100 searches for associative character string information indicating combination character strings belonging to the upper two related levels from among the combination character strings including the basic character string. I will explain.

  When searching for associative character string information including “Shingumi-gumi” as part of the combination character string, the management server 10 refers to the POI information management DB 23 and searches for POI information including a basic character string as a related character string (step). S303). It is assumed that the management server 100 searches for POI information according to the search conditions stored in the storage area of the management server 100, as in the case of searching the search character string information (see step S302).

  Further, in this example, the management server 100 searches for a combination character string in which the relation level for the search position corresponding to the current position indicated by the associative character string display request is set with priority over other combination character strings. With such a configuration, information according to the current position of the user terminal 201 can be provided to the user.

  When searching for POI information including a basic character string (for example, “Shinsengumi”) as a related character string, the management server 100 searches the associated character string information indicated by the retrieved associative character string information by the associative character string specifying unit 15. Other than the same character string as the basic character string among the related character strings indicated by the POI information is specified as an associative character string (step S304).

  That is, for example, “relationship level 1” “Shinsengumi, Ikedaya trace” and “relationship level 2” “Shinsengumi, Mibu-ji” are searched as a combination character string, and the POI name “Ikedaya” is retrieved as a related character string. When “Shinsei-gumi, Mibu-ji, Ikedaya trace” corresponding to “Remains” has been searched, the management server 100 identifies two character strings “Mibu-ji, Ikedaya trace” as associative character strings.

  In this example, the management server 100 determines that the number of character strings included in the combination character string and the related character string is the display number so as not to exceed the preset upper limit of the display number of associative character strings. If it is determined whether or not the upper limit is exceeded, and if it is determined that the upper limit is exceeded, a combination character using a predetermined function having the related level (see FIG. 4) and priority (see FIG. 5) as variables It is assumed that a score for each character string other than the search character string included in the column and the related character string is calculated, and a character string having a high calculated score is preferentially specified as an associative character string. In this case, it is preferable that the score of the same character string included in the combination character string and the related character string is higher than that of other character strings.

  Note that, for example, the number of associative character strings to be displayed as an associative character string is set for each of the user terminals 201 to 20N, and the number of associative character strings specified by the management server 100 is the transmission target of the associative character string. When the number exceeds the set number, the management server 100 uses the specific function with the relation level corresponding to the combination character string and the priority corresponding to the related character string as variables, for each identified associative character string. It is good also as a structure which calculates a score and specifies as an associative character string which preferentially transmits the calculated associative character string to the user terminal 201. FIG.

  When the associative character string is specified, the management server 100 transmits the specified associative character string to the user terminal 201 (step S305). Here, in this example, it is assumed that the management server 100 creates an associative character string display screen including the identified associative character string by the search result output unit 16 and transmits it to the user terminal 201.

  When receiving the associative character string (in this example, the associative character string display screen) (step S403), the user terminal 201 displays the associative character string display screen on the display screen of the display device provided therein (step S404).

  FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram for explaining an example of the associative character string display screen. As shown in FIG. 9, the associative character string display screen includes an associative character string display area 201, a search button 202 for receiving a keyword search execution request using the associative character string displayed in the associative character string display area 201, an associative character The associative character string display button 203 for accepting an associative character string display request when the associative character string displayed in the column display region 201 is a basic character string, and the associative character string displayed in the associative character string display region 201 are not valid. A report button 204 for accepting the user's impression that it is appropriate.

  Here, for example, when the user terminal 201 is notified that the report button 204 has been selected, the management server 100 is used to identify the associative character string displayed in the associative character string display area 201 and the associative character string. “3” is subtracted from the number of searches corresponding to the combination character string including the basic character string. With such a configuration, it can be expected that the appropriateness of the associative character string is improved by the user.

  When there are a plurality of basic character strings, the management server 100 may search for POI information including all of the combination character strings including a combination of a plurality of basic character strings. The above-described navigation processing (steps S302 to S304) is executed, and a display screen that displays the identified associative character string for each basic character string is created and transmitted to the user terminal 201. Also good.

  When the associative character string display screen is displayed, the user terminal 201 determines whether or not the user A has received a POI information search request (step S405). If it is determined that the POI information search request has not been received (N in step S405), the user terminal 201 ends the process.

  On the other hand, if it is determined that the POI information search request has been received, for example, by receiving the pressing of the display position of the search button 202 by the user A (Y in step S405), the user terminal 201 searches the management server 100 for the POI information search. A request is transmitted (step S406).

  When receiving the POI information search request (step S306), the management server 100 refers to the POI information management DB 23 and displays the search character string (that is, displayed in the associative character string display area 201) indicated by the received POI information search request. The POI information corresponding to the (character string) is searched (step S307).

  When searching for POI information, the management server 100 transmits the search result to the user terminal 201 (step S308).

  Upon receiving the search result, the user terminal 201 displays the search result on the display screen of the display device (step S407). In this example, the user terminal 201 displays a list of POI names indicated by the searched POI information as a search result (not shown).

  When the search result is displayed, the user terminal 201 determines whether or not the destination selection by the user A has been received (step S408). If it is determined that the destination selection is not accepted (N in step S408), the user terminal 201 ends the process here.

  On the other hand, for example, when the display position of one POI name among the POI names displayed as the search result is pressed, it is determined that the selection with the POI indicated by this POI name is accepted (Y in step S408). The user terminal 201 transmits a search request for a recommended movement route from the current position of the user terminal 201 to the position of the POI indicated by the POI name to the management server 100 (step S409).

  When the management server 100 receives the recommended travel route search request (step S309), the route search unit 17 searches the recommended travel route and transmits information indicating the searched recommended travel route to the user terminal 201 (step S309). S310).

  When the recommended travel route is transmitted, the management server 100 updates the associative character string information (step S311) and ends the processing here. In this example, the management server 100 searches the POI information (for example, POI-ID) selected as the destination, the combination character string composed of the basic character string and the associative character string, and the number of searches corresponding to the search position. “1” is added to (see FIG. 4).

  On the other hand, when the user terminal 201 receives the recommended travel route (step S410), the user terminal 201 starts route guidance based on the received recommended travel route (step S411), and ends the processing here.

  As described above, in the above-described embodiment, the navigation device that displays the current position of the moving body (for example, a person or a vehicle) on the map on the display screen of the display device and guides the moving body to the destination. A navigation server (for example, the management server 100) that communicates with (for example, the user terminals 201 to 20N) includes a POI information management DB 23 that stores POI information related to POI, and the POI from the navigation device (for example, the user terminal 201). A search character string used to search for information is acquired, and a POI information including the acquired search character string is searched from the POI information stored in the POI information management DB 23, and the searched POI information (for example, POI− ID) and the search character string are associated with each other and registered in a predetermined storage device (for example, search character string information management DB 21). Then, the relation level between the registered POI information and the search character string is determined based on the number of registrations (for example, the number of searches for POI information by the search character string), and the relation level for the acquired search character string is set to a predetermined condition (for example, The associated character string that is registered in association with the POI information that satisfies the POI information satisfying the highest association level, etc., and searches for POI information using the identified associated character string. Since it is set as the structure which transmits to a navigation apparatus (for example, user terminal 201), the definition method of a new related word (an associative character string in this example) can be implement | achieved.

  That is, the character string related to POI can be specified from the search results by the user.

  In addition, when assisting the user in searching for a destination or the like, even if the user does not come up with an appropriate keyword related to the POI that the user wants to make as a destination, the search word can be obtained by obtaining a related word from the keyword that has come up. Since it becomes possible to narrow down, search efficiency can be improved.

  In addition, since the navigation server obtains the character string used for keyword search from the user terminal and updates the associative character string information, the navigation system includes the navigation system in order to update the associative character string information that plays a lexical role of related words. Even if the administrator does not perform the update work, it becomes possible to deal with newly created terms.

  In addition, for example, when the user wants to know a related term of a term, the term is new, and content with sufficient information to define the related term of the term is not provided. Even if it exists, a related word (for example, associative character string) can be provided based on the content of the keyword search by another user.

  In the above-described embodiment, a case has been described in which a plurality of character strings used in combination in keyword search are registered in the search character string information management DB 21. However, the search character string registration method is limited to this. If, for example, a keyword search request using a different search character string by the same user is received during a predetermined time after the first keyword search is executed, such as 5 minutes, these search character strings are set to 1 The search character string information may be registered in the search character string information management DB 21 as a set of search character strings, and a relation level between a plurality of search character strings included in the registered search character string may be determined.

  In the above-described embodiment, when the navigation server (for example, the management server 100) acquires a plurality of search character strings within a predetermined period (for example, simultaneously), it is a combination of a plurality of search character strings. Combination information (for example, a search character string in search character string information) indicating a combination character string and a combination condition is created, and the created combination information is associated with POI information in a storage device (for example, search character string information management DB 21). And the relation level between the combination character string indicated by the combination information having a large number of registrations and the POI information is determined to be higher than the relation level between the combination character string indicated by the other combination information and the POI information (for example, A combination character string with a larger number of searches is determined to have a higher relevance level (see FIG. 4), including the acquired search character string. Since the combination character string is identified as an associative character string with priority given to a combination character string having a high relation level, a database that becomes a dictionary of related words simply by collecting information on character strings searched for in combination. (In this example, the associative character string information management DB 22) can be created.

  In the embodiment described above, the navigation server (for example, the management server 100) specifies the position (current position) of the navigation device (for example, the user terminal 201) when the POI information is searched as the search position. The search character string and the specified search position are associated with each other and registered in the storage device (for example, the search character string information management DB 21), and the related level for the acquired search character string is a predetermined condition (for example, the highest related level). Among character strings (for example, combination character strings) registered in association with POI information satisfying a search item (for example, a region) corresponding to the current position of the user A. Over the other character strings (that is, character strings associated with search positions other than the search position according to the user's current position). Since a configuration that makes it possible to identify an associative string that reflects the current position of the user, it is possible to enhance the utility of the navigation device.

  Although not particularly mentioned in the above-described embodiment, the navigation server (for example, the management server 100) accepts selection of the searched POI information as the destination, and the navigation device (for example, the user terminal 201) A predetermined combination condition (for example, a plurality of searches) is added to a search character string acquired from the same user (for example, user A of the user terminal 201) after starting reception of the search character string and before receiving selection of POI information. The combination information is created by adding a character string including all of the character strings, or including at least one of a plurality of search character strings, and the user A selects POI information. (For example, selection of POI name displayed on the display screen of the user terminal 201) , Storage devices (e.g., a search string information management DB 21) in association with the combination character string indicating the POI information and combination information receives the selection may be configured to register. By adopting such a configuration, it becomes possible to make it easier to search for POIs that are often set as destinations, and the usefulness of the navigation device can be enhanced.

  In the above-described embodiment, the navigation server (for example, the management server 100) associates the related character string that is a character string set in advance as a character string related to POI with the POI information that is information related to POI. A POI information management DB 23 is provided for searching for POI information in which the acquired search character string is associated as a related character string, and specifying another related character string associated with the searched POI information as an associative character string. Since it is configured, it is possible to provide a user with a character string effective for searching for POI information according to the search character string.

  In the above-described embodiment, the navigation server (for example, the management server 100) stores a priority based on a specific criterion (for example, statistical information) in advance in association with each related character string, Characters other than the search character string included in the combination character string and the related character string corresponding to the search character string (for example, the basic character string received by the user terminal 201) using a predetermined function whose priority is a variable Since the score for each column is calculated, and the character string with a high calculated score is specified as an associative character string, the relevance (correlation) to the character string input by the user is greater for the user. A character string presumed to be strong can be preferentially provided.

  In the above-described embodiment, the navigation server (for example, the management server 100) stores combination information (for example, search character string information) indicating a plurality of search character strings received as AND search and OR search as a storage device (for example, search character string information). , In the search character string information management DB 21), when the relevance level is the same, the combination character string used more frequently in the AND search has a higher relevance level than the combination character string used more in the OR search. Therefore, it is possible to process with a strong relationship between character strings used in combination in the AND search.

  Although not particularly mentioned in the above-described embodiment, the navigation server (for example, the management server 100) searches for service information (for example, information on the Internet) using the identified associative character string, and the search result. May be configured to output.

  Although not specifically mentioned in the above-described embodiment, the navigation server (for example, the management server 100) accumulates the search character string information, and the associative character is obtained at a predetermined time or when a predetermined condition is satisfied. The column information may be updated. With such a configuration, it is possible to prevent a delay in processing for providing a search result of keyword search when search character strings are acquired from a large number of user terminals.

  Although not specifically mentioned in the above-described embodiment, the POI information corresponding to the related character string is obtained when the navigation server (for example, the management server 100) specifies the related character string as the associative character string. It is good also as a structure which outputs the map information containing the position of POI to show, and the facility information regarding POI. With such a configuration, it is possible to increase opportunities to provide information on POI to the user.

  In the above-described embodiment, the navigation system 300 including the management server 100 and the plurality of user terminals 201 to 20N connected via the communication network 240 has been described. However, the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a part of the plurality of functions of the management server 100 may be provided on the user terminals 201 to 20N side, or each of the plurality of user terminals 201 to 20N may be associated. You may be set as the structure which has all the various functions required in order to perform a character string information update process (refer FIG. 6) and a navigation process (refer FIG. 7). However, in order to construct effective associative character string information, an embodiment in which associative character string information can be created (or updated) using search histories by a plurality of users (for example, the above-described embodiment). It is preferable that

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention is industrially useful in an industry that handles devices that can search service information requested by a user from a predetermined information group.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Control part 11 Keyword search part 12 Search character string acquisition part 13 Search character string registration part 13A Combination information creation part 13B Search position registration part 14 Association level determination part 15 Associative character string specification part 16 Search result output part 17 Route search part 18 Search position specifying unit 21 Search string information management DB
22 Associative string information management DB
23 POI information management DB
100 management server 201-20N user terminal 230 base station 240 communication network

Claims (6)

A navigation server that communicates with a navigation device that displays a current position of a moving object on a map on a display screen of a display device and guides the moving object to a destination,
POI information storage means for storing POI information related to POI;
Search character string acquisition means for acquiring a search character string used for searching the POI information from the navigation device;
POI information search means for searching for POI information including the search character string acquired by the search character string acquisition means among the POI information stored in the POI information storage means;
Search result registration means for associating the POI information searched by the POI information search means with the search character string and registering them in a predetermined storage device;
Relevance level determination means for determining a relevance level between the POI information registered by the search result registration means and the search character string based on the number of registrations by the search result registration means;
Associative character string specifying means for specifying an associative character string that is a character string registered in association with POI information in which the relation level for the search character string acquired by the search character string acquiring means satisfies a predetermined condition; ,
Associative search means for searching the POI information using the associative character string specified by the associative character string specifying means;
And a search result output means for outputting a search result obtained by the associative search means. The search result registration means includes:
Combination information creation for creating combination information indicating combination character strings and combination conditions that are combinations of the plurality of search character strings when the search character string acquisition unit acquires a plurality of search character strings within a predetermined period Having means,
Registering the combination information created by the combination information creating means in the storage device in association with the POI information;
The relation level determining means is a relation level between a combination character string and POI information indicated by other combination information indicating a relation level between the combination character string indicated by the combination information frequently registered by the search result registration means and POI information. To a higher value,
2. The associative character string specifying unit preferentially specifies a combination character string having a high association level among the combination character strings including the search character string acquired by the search character string acquiring unit as the associative character string. Navigation server. Search position specifying means for specifying the position of the navigation device as a search position when the POI information is searched by the POI information search means;
The search result registration means includes search position registration means for registering the search character string and the search position specified by the search position specifying means in association with each other in the storage device,
The associative character string specifying means includes the user's character string among character strings registered in association with POI information in which the relation level for the search character string acquired by the search character string acquisition means satisfies a predetermined condition. The navigation server according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a character string associated with a search position corresponding to a current position is specified as the associative character string in preference to other character strings. A destination selection receiving means for receiving a selection of the POI information searched by the POI information searching means or the associative searching means as the destination;
In the navigation device, the combination information creation unit is configured such that the search character string acquisition unit is the same user after starting the reception of the search character string and before receiving the selection of POI information by the destination selection reception unit. Create combination information by adding a predetermined combination condition to the search string obtained from
The search result registration unit registers the POI information in association with the combination character string indicated by the combination information in the storage device when the selection of the POI information is received by the destination selection reception unit. The described navigation server. A navigation program for causing a navigation server to control an operation so as to communicate with a navigation device that displays a current position of a moving body on a map on a display screen of a display device and guides the moving body to a destination. ,
In the navigation server,
A search character string acquisition process for acquiring a search character string used for searching for POI information stored in POI information storage means for storing POI information related to POI from the navigation device;
A POI information search process for searching for POI information including the search character string acquired in the search character string acquisition process among the POI information stored in the POI information storage means;
A search result registration process for registering the POI information searched in the POI information search process and the search character string in association with each other in a predetermined storage device;
A relation level determination process for determining a relation level between the POI information registered in the search result registration process and the search character string based on the number of registrations by the search result registration process;
An associative character string specifying process for specifying an associative character string that is a character string registered in association with POI information in which the relation level for the search character string acquired in the search character string acquiring process satisfies a predetermined condition When,
An associative search process for searching the POI information using an associative character string specified in the associative character string specifying process;
A navigation program for executing search result output processing for outputting search results by the associative search processing. A navigation system comprising a plurality of navigation devices that display a current position of a moving body on a map on a display screen of the display device and guide the moving body to a destination, and a navigation server that communicates with the navigation device Because
Each of the plurality of navigation devices is
A search character string receiving means for receiving an input of a search character string indicating a search condition for the destination;
Current position specifying means for specifying the current position of the user,
The navigation server
POI information storage means for storing POI information related to POI;
Search character string acquisition means for acquiring the search character string received by the search character string reception means of the plurality of navigation devices;
POI information search means for searching for POI information including the search character string acquired by the search character string acquisition means among the POI information stored in the POI information storage means;
Search result registration means for associating the POI information searched by the POI information search means with the search character string and registering them in a predetermined storage device;
Relevance level determination means for determining a relevance level between the POI information registered by the search result registration means and the search character string based on the number of registrations by the search result registration means;
Associative character string specifying means for specifying an associative character string that is a character string registered in association with POI information in which the relation level for the search character string acquired by the search character string acquiring means satisfies a predetermined condition; ,
Associative search means for searching the POI information using the associative character string specified by the associative character string specifying means;
And a search result transmitting means for transmitting a search result obtained by the associative search means to the navigation device.

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