JP6675342B2 - Route guidance device, route guidance method, computer program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for guiding a route.

  In recent years, route guidance for automobiles and route guidance for pedestrians using a car navigation system, a smartphone, and the like have been realized. In route guidance, it is important to appropriately perform guidance of a turn such as "where to turn" in order for the user to correctly reach the destination. Regarding this point, for example, Patent Literature 1 discloses a technique of guiding the user to "about 300 m ahead, right at Honmachi intersection" just before a corner.

JP 2004-361326 A

  Regarding pedestrian route guidance, pedestrians generally do not recognize, for example, gently bent roads and pedestrian crossings as turning corners. However, in the related art, since the guidance of the corner is provided even in such a place, the pedestrian is confused and the route guidance is difficult to understand.

  For this reason, in route guidance for pedestrians, it is required to match the shape of the route recognized by the pedestrian with the content of the guidance.

SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is to solve at least a part of the problems described above, and the invention can be implemented as the following embodiments. A route guidance device, comprising: an acquisition unit that acquires a route from a departure place to a destination; and a guidance control unit that guides the acquired information on the route, wherein the guidance control unit is one of the routes If the shape of a plurality of links adjacent to one node is a predetermined specific shape with respect to a walking route supposed to move on foot, the specific link is not guided for the plurality of links, If the shape is not a shape, the plurality of links are guided to bend, and the specific shape is defined as an angle at which the plurality of links sandwich the node is equal to or greater than a predetermined angle, and is adjacent to the node. When the length of one link is shorter than a predetermined length, the other link having the link length equal to or longer than the predetermined length is located at both ends of the other link. And a line connecting the next node in the traveling direction from the traveling direction side node located in the traveling direction of the walking route to the traveling direction side node. A route guidance device that determines whether an angle formed by sandwiching a direction side node is equal to or greater than the predetermined angle. In addition, the present invention can be realized as the following embodiments.

(1) According to one aspect of the present invention, a route guidance device is provided. The route guidance device includes: an acquisition unit that acquires a route from a departure place to a destination; and a guidance control unit that guides information on the acquired route. The guidance control unit includes: If the shape of a plurality of links adjacent to one node is a predetermined specific shape for a walking route supposed to move on foot, the guidance of the corners is not performed for the plurality of links, and the specific shape If not, guidance of a turn is provided for the plurality of links.
According to the route guidance device of this aspect, when the shape of a plurality of links adjacent to one node is a specific shape, the guidance control unit does not guide the turn of the plurality of links. By properly defining the specific shape, the route guidance device avoids the conventional problem that a pedestrian guides a turn in a place having a shape of a route that is recognized as “not a turn”. can do. As a result, according to the route guidance device of the present embodiment, in route guidance for a pedestrian, the shape of the route recognized by the pedestrian can be matched with the content of the guidance.

(2) In the route guidance device according to the aspect, the specific shape may be defined as an angle formed by the plurality of links to sandwich the node is equal to or greater than a predetermined angle.
When the shape of the route is a gentle bent shape (for example, a road that bends and bends slowly), the user usually recognizes that the route is not a corner. According to the route guidance device of the present embodiment, the guidance control unit appropriately defines the predetermined angle, so that the location of the route has a gentle bent shape, in other words, one link and another link connect the node. In the place where the connection is made at a large angle via the steering wheel, the guidance of the corner can be prevented.

(3) In the route guidance device according to the aspect, the guidance control unit includes: when a length of one of the plurality of links adjacent to the node is less than a predetermined length; The other link being a node; of the nodes located at both ends of the other link, from the traveling direction side node located in the traveling direction of the walking route, the next next node in the traveling direction; A determination may be made as to whether or not an angle formed by a line connecting the traveling direction side node and the traveling direction side node is equal to or larger than the predetermined angle.
If a long link is followed by an extremely short link in the form of a path that follows a bend (eg, a pedestrian crossing), the user will typically understand the short link as part of the long link and say “not a turn. It recognizes. According to the route guidance device of the present embodiment, when the length of one of the links adjacent to the node is less than the predetermined length, the guidance control unit ignores the link and the next node and reduces the length of the link. It is determined whether or not the angle is equal to or greater than a predetermined angle by using the other link having a predetermined length or more and a line segment extending to the next next node located in the traveling direction of the route. For this reason, by appropriately defining the predetermined length, the guidance control unit can determine whether or not to guide a turn at a location where the route is bent by a short link, based on the rough shape of the route.

(4) In the route guidance apparatus according to the above aspect, the specific shape may be characterized in that at least one of the links forming the plurality of links has a length less than a predetermined length.
If one link is extremely short, even if the shape of the path is bent halfway, the user usually recognizes that the link is not a corner. According to the route guidance device of the present embodiment, the guidance control unit appropriately defines the predetermined length, whereby one of the links has an extremely short bent shape, in other words, one link that forms a plurality of links. In a place where the vehicle is short, guidance of a corner can be prevented.

  Note that the present invention can be realized in various modes. For example, a route guidance device, a route search and guidance device, a navigation device, and an information processing device are implemented to realize the functions of these devices. A method, a system including these devices, a computer program for realizing the functions of these devices and the system, a server device for distributing the computer programs, a non-transitory storage medium storing the computer programs, and the like. Can be realized.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a navigation system as one embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure showing an example of a facility information DB. It is a figure explaining a mesh number. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of guidance control processing. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of a turning angle determination process. It is a figure explaining a turning angle judgment processing. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the turning angle determination processing in another example. It is a sequence diagram which shows the procedure of a facility information acquisition process. It is a figure explaining specification of a mesh number in facility information acquisition processing. It is a figure explaining specification of a mesh number in other examples. It is a sequence diagram which shows the procedure of the facility information acquisition processing of the conventional example. It is a figure explaining the facility information acquisition processing of the conventional example. It is a figure explaining acquisition of a guidance facility. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of a linking process. It is an example of a screen for guiding information on a route from a departure place to a destination. It is a figure explaining the method of the passage judgment in a corner.

A. Embodiment:
A-1. Schematic configuration of the system:
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a navigation system as one embodiment of the present invention. The navigation system 1 is a system for providing a user with a route from a departure place to a destination. The navigation system 1 of the present embodiment can provide a guidance of a turn in the route in addition to the route from the departure point to the destination by a guidance control process described later. In the following, the guidance of a walking route when the user moves on foot is exemplified, but the guidance of an automobile route when the user moves by car can be similarly configured. Further, a public transportation route in the case of using public transportation (train, airport, boat, highway bus, etc.) may be combined with the walking route.

  The navigation system 1 includes a server 10 functioning as a “route guidance device”, a server 20 functioning as a “route search device”, and a smartphone 30 functioning as a “client device”. The server 10 and the server 20 are connected to the Internet INT by wire communication. The smartphone 30 is connected to the Internet INT by wireless communication via a communication carrier BS. The communication carrier BS includes a transmitting / receiving antenna, a radio base station, and an exchange. That is, the server 10, the server 20, and the smartphone 30 can communicate with each other via the Internet INT.

A-1-1. Route guidance device (server 10):
The server 10 includes a CPU 110, a communication unit 120, a ROM / RAM 130, and a storage unit 140, and the units are interconnected by a bus (not shown).

  The CPU 110 controls each unit of the server 10 by expanding a computer program stored in the ROM into the RAM and executing the computer program. In addition, the CPU 110 also functions as an acquisition unit 112, a guidance control unit 114, and a facility information acquisition unit 116. The acquisition unit 112, the guidance control unit 114, and the facility information acquisition unit 116 cooperate to execute a guidance control process described later. By executing the guidance control process, the server 10 can cause the smartphone 30 to guide the information on the route from the departure point to the destination specified by the user and the information on the facilities around the turn in the route. it can.

  The communication unit 120 controls communication with another device via a communication interface (not shown). Other devices include the server 20, the smartphone 30, and other servers (not shown).

  The storage unit 140 includes a hard disk, a flash memory, a memory card, and the like. In the following description, the database is also simply referred to as “DB”. The storage unit 140 includes a map information DB 141. The map information DB 141 is a database that stores data representing a map image. The data representing the map image includes information necessary for map display, such as terrain, building, and road shape. The map information DB 141 is prepared in advance and stored in the storage unit 140.

A-1-2. Route search device (server 20):
The server 20 in FIG. 1 includes a CPU 210, a communication unit 220, a ROM / RAM 230, and a storage unit 240, and the units are interconnected by a bus (not shown).

  The CPU 210 controls each unit of the server 20 by expanding a computer program stored in the ROM into the RAM and executing the computer program, and also functions as the search unit 212. The search unit 212 searches for a route from a departure place to a destination based on a request from the server 10. The “route” may include a walking route and a car route. Specifically, the search unit 212 searches for a route using the network data stored in the route information DB 243, for example, based on the well-known Dijkstra method. The search unit 212 transmits the information of the route obtained in this way to the server 10. The server 20 may store a route information DB (database storing railway network data) (not shown), and the search unit 212 may store the route information DB in combination with the above-described walking route or automobile route. The used public transportation route may be searched.

  The communication unit 220 controls communication with another device such as the server 10 via a communication interface (not shown).

  The storage unit 240 includes a hard disk, a flash memory, a memory card, and the like. The storage unit 240 includes a map information DB 241, a route information DB 243, and a facility information DB 245. The map information DB 241 is a database that stores data representing a map image. The data representing the map image includes information necessary for map display, such as terrain, building, and road shape. In the present embodiment, since the server 10 holds similar data, the map information DB 241 of the server 20 can be omitted.

  The route information DB 243 is a database in which road network data is stored. The road network data includes nodes and links connecting the nodes. Each link is associated with the average travel time (travel time) of the road represented by the link as a link cost for each means of transportation (walking, car, bus, etc.). The road network data is used by the search unit 212 to search for a route on a road.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the facility information DB 245. The facility information DB 245 is a table that stores facility information about facilities. In the facility ID, an ID for identifying each facility stored in the facility information DB 245 is stored. The facility name stores a name for identifying each facility. The facility polygon stores polygon data representing the outline of the facility, such as the location and range of the facility. In the example of FIG. 2, the polygon data is represented by a graphic. However, the polygon data is actually stored, for example, in the form of a combination (point sequence) of a plurality of latitudes and longitudes.

  The facility icon stores image data of an icon attached to the facility on the map image. In the example of FIG. 2, the entry having the facility icon and the entry having no facility icon are mixed. In the latitude and longitude, latitude and longitude are stored as position information indicating the position of the facility. As the latitude and longitude, for example, the latitude and longitude of a representative point of the facility can be used. The address stores a character string representing the address of the facility. The genre stores the type of facility. The mesh number stores an identifier for identifying which mesh number the facility is located on a map stored in the map information DB 141 of the server 10 or the map information DB 241 of the server 20.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a mesh number. FIG. 3 shows an example of the map image data Data stored in the map information DB 141 of the server 10 and the map information DB 241 of the server 20. This map image data Data is previously divided at predetermined intervals (for example, meridians every 1 degree and latitude lines every 2/3 degree), and the divided range is called a "mesh". Each mesh is assigned a uniquely identifiable number in advance, and this is called a mesh number. In FIG. 3, one mesh identified by the mesh number “M8” is hatched with diagonal lines.

  Returning to FIG. 2, for example, in the example of the entry E1, the facility with the facility ID “1” is “A hotel” with the genre “hotel”, the facility polygon, and the latitude and longitude of the “A hotel” are “XX / YY], and the address is “XX town 1-chome 20”, indicating that the facility is located at the mesh number “M10” in the map image data Data. In the drawings after FIG. 2, "XX" of latitude and longitude indicates an arbitrary latitude, "YY" of latitude and longitude indicates an arbitrary longitude, and "X" of other items indicates an arbitrary character string.

A-1-3. Client device (smartphone 30):
The smartphone 30 includes a CPU 310, a communication unit 320, a ROM / RAM 330, a storage unit 340, an input / output unit 350, and a current position acquisition unit 360, and each unit is mutually connected by a bus (not shown). ing.

  The CPU 310 controls each unit of the smartphone 30 by expanding a computer program stored in the ROM into the RAM and executing the computer program, and also functions as the guide unit 312. The guide unit 312 guides the user of the smartphone 30 (that is, the user of the server 10) with information on the route and information on facilities around the turn in the route. Specifically, for example, the guide unit 312 executes the following procedures a1 to a3.

(A1) The guide unit 312 acquires designations of “departure place” and “destination” from the user via the input / output unit 350. Note that the acquisition of the departure place may be omitted based on the current position acquired by the current position acquisition unit 360. The guidance unit 312 may acquire other conditions for searching for a route (for example, a stopover, a designation of a moving means, a display order, and the like).
(A2) The guide unit 312 transmits a route search request including the obtained information to the server 10. Thereafter, the server 10 executes a later-described guidance control process.
(A3) The guidance unit 312 acquires guidance information such as display information from the server 10. The display information includes information on the route and information on facilities around the corner in the route. The guide unit 312 causes the input / output unit 350 to display display information. Note that the guidance unit 312 may output a voice based on the voice data representing the content of the display information included in the guidance information from the input / output unit 350. Further, the guide unit 312 may cause the storage unit 340 to store guide information such as display information.

  The communication unit 320 controls communication with another device such as the server 10 via a communication interface (not shown). The storage unit 340 includes a hard disk, a flash memory, a memory card, and the like. The input / output unit 350 is various interfaces used for input / output of information between the smartphone 30 and the user. As the input / output unit 350, for example, a touch panel as a input unit, operation buttons, a microphone, a touch panel as an output unit, a liquid crystal panel, a speaker, an LED (Light Emitting Diode) indicator, and the like can be adopted. The current position acquisition unit 360 receives a radio wave transmitted from an artificial satellite constituting a GPS (Global Positioning System) and acquires the latitude and longitude indicating the current position of the smartphone 30.

A-2. Guidance control processing:
FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating the procedure of the guidance control process. The guidance control process is a process of causing the smartphone 30 to guide information on a route from a departure place to a destination designated by a user and information on facilities around a corner in the route. The guidance control process is started with the acquisition of a route search request from the smartphone 30 as a trigger.

  In step S102, the guidance control unit 114 of the server 10 acquires the position information of the “departure place” and the position information of the “destination” included in the route search request.

  In step S104, the acquisition unit 112 of the server 10 causes the search unit 212 of the server 20 to search for a route from the departure place to the destination, and obtains the searched route (a walking route in the example of the present embodiment).

  In step S106, the guidance control unit 114 of the server 10 determines whether or not a turn is included in the route acquired in step S104. Specifically, the guidance control unit 114 performs a turn determination process on each node and each link included in the route acquired in step S104.

A-2-1. Turn angle judgment processing:
FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of the turning angle determination process. In the turning angle determination processing, it is determined whether or not a path formed by the plurality of links is a turning point by determining whether or not the shape of a plurality of links adjacent to one node is a specific shape. . Specifically, the following determination is made.
-If the shape of a plurality of links adjacent to one node corresponds to the specific shape, it is determined that the path formed by the plurality of links is not a turning angle.
-If the shape of the plurality of links adjacent to one node does not correspond to the specific shape, it is determined that the path formed by the plurality of links is a "turn".
In the present embodiment, the “specific shape” is defined as an angle at which a plurality of links sandwich a node is equal to or greater than a predetermined angle.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a turning angle determination process. FIG. 6 shows an example of the route acquired by the acquisition unit 112 in step S104 of the guidance control process (FIG. 4). The route RT includes eight nodes N1 to N8 and links L1 to L7 connecting the nodes. The starting point of the route RT is the node N1 and the destination is the node N8.

  In step S202 in FIG. 5, the guidance control unit 114 of the server 10 determines whether or not there are links at both ends of the node closest to the departure point of the route RT. If there are links at both ends of the node (step S202: YES), the guidance control unit 114 shifts the processing to step S210. When there is no link at both ends of the node (step S202: NO), the guidance control unit 114 shifts the processing to step S204.

  In step S204, the guidance control unit 114 of the server 10 transitions the processing target node of the turning angle determination processing to the next node on the traveling direction side of the route RT (that is, the side closer to the destination). Thereafter, the guidance control unit 114 shifts the processing to step S202, and determines whether or not there are links at both ends of the next node.

  For example, in the example of FIG. 6, the node N1 closest to the departure place has a link at only one end (step S202: NO). For this reason, the guidance control unit 114 transitions the processing target node to the next node N2 in the traveling direction of the route RT (step S204). The next node N2 has links L1 and L2 at both ends (step S202: YES). Therefore, the guidance control unit 114 sets the node N2 as a processing target node.

  In step S210 of FIG. 5, the guidance control unit 114 of the server 10 determines whether the length of each link at both ends of the processing target node (hereinafter, also referred to as “link length”) is equal to or longer than a predetermined length. I do. The predetermined length can be arbitrarily determined. When the length of each link is equal to or longer than the predetermined length (step S210: YES), the guidance control unit 114 shifts the processing to step S212. When the length of one of the links is less than the predetermined length (step S210: NO), the guidance control unit 114 shifts the processing to step S214.

In step S212, the guidance control unit 114 of the server 10 sets the links A and B for which the turning angle is determined to be the following links. Thereafter, the guidance control unit 114 shifts the processing to step S220.
Link A: a link on one end of the processing target node,
Link B: a link on the other end of the processing target node.

In step S214, the guidance control unit 114 of the server 10 sets the links A and B for which the turning angle is determined to be the following links. Thereafter, the guidance control unit 114 causes the process to transition to step S216.
Link A: a link whose link length is equal to or longer than a predetermined length in step S210;
Link B: Of the nodes located at both ends of link A, the next node next to the node on the traveling direction side of link A (hereinafter also referred to as “progressing direction node”) and the traveling direction node are The connecting line segment.

  In step S216, the guidance control unit 114 of the server 10 changes the processing target node of the turning angle determination processing to the next node on the traveling direction side of the route RT. Thereafter, the guidance control unit 114 shifts the processing to step S220. Step S216 aims at matching the node skipped in step S214 with the processing target node.

In step S220, the guidance control unit 114 of the server 10 determines the following procedure b1 when executing step S212, and determines the following procedure b2 when executing step S214.
(B1) Whether the angles at which the links A and B determined in step S212 sandwich the processing target node are equal to or larger than a predetermined angle.
(B2) Whether the angles formed by the links A and B determined in step S214 so as to sandwich the traveling direction side node are greater than or equal to a predetermined angle.
The same value can be used for the predetermined angles in the procedures b1 and b2. The predetermined angle can be set arbitrarily, but is preferably an obtuse angle. In the present embodiment, the predetermined angle is 150 degrees.

  If the angle is equal to or larger than the predetermined angle (step S220: YES), in step S222, the guidance control unit 114 of the server 10 determines that the path formed by the links A and B is not a turning angle. On the other hand, when the angle is less than the predetermined angle (step S220: NO), in step S224, the guidance control unit 114 determines that the path formed by the links A and B is a “turning angle”. After the end of steps S222 and S224, the guidance control unit 114 shifts the processing to step S204, and repeats the above processing for other nodes / links of the route RT.

  For example, in the example of FIG. 6, when the processing target node is the node N2, the link length of the link L1 and the link length of the link L2 are each equal to or longer than a predetermined length (step S210: YES). Therefore, the guidance control unit 114 sets the link A to the link L1 and the link B to the link L2 (step S212). The angle θ1 formed by the links L1 and L2 sandwiching the node N2 is a right angle (90 degrees) and is smaller than a predetermined angle (step S220: NO). For this reason, the guidance control unit 114 determines that the path formed by the links L1 and L2 is “turning angle” (step S224).

  On the other hand, when the processing target node is the node N3, the link length of the link L2 is longer than the predetermined length, but the link length of the link L3 is shorter than the predetermined length (step S210: NO). For this reason, the guidance control unit 114 sets the link A to the link L2 having a predetermined length or more (step S214). In addition, the guidance control unit 114 sets the link B to a line segment VL1 connecting the node N5, which is the next node after the node N3, which is the traveling direction node of the link L2, and the traveling direction node N3. (Step S214). The angle θ2 formed by the link L2 and the line segment VL1 sandwiching the traveling-side node N3 is an obtuse angle (about 160 degrees) and is equal to or greater than a predetermined angle (step S220: YES). Therefore, the guidance control unit 114 determines that the path formed by the link L2 and the line segment VL1 is "not a turning angle" (step S222).

  In the process of the processing target node N3, after the links A and B are determined, the processing target node transitions to the next node N4 (step S216). After the end of steps S220 to S224, the node to be processed further transits to the next node N5 (step S204). As a result, in the example of FIG. 6, the processing target node following the processing target node N3 skips the node N4 and becomes the node N5. When the processing target node is skipped in this way, in the next processing after step S202, the guidance control unit 114 replaces the actual link L4 at both ends of the processing target node N5 with the link B (line segment VL1) in step S214. ) Is used to perform the turning angle determination processing.

  When the processing target node is the node N5, the link length of the line VL1 is equal to or longer than a predetermined length, but the link length of the link L5 is shorter than the predetermined length (step S210: NO). For this reason, the guidance control unit 114 sets the new link A to the line segment VL1 having a predetermined length or more (step S214). Further, the guidance control unit 114 sets the new link B to a line segment VL2 that connects a node N7 that is the next node after the node N5 that is the node in the traveling direction of the line segment VL1 and a node N5 that is in the traveling direction. (Step S214). The angle θ3 formed by the line segments VL1 and VL2 sandwiching the traveling-side node N5 is an obtuse angle (about 160 degrees) and is equal to or greater than a predetermined angle (step S220: YES). Therefore, the guidance control unit 114 determines that the path formed by the line segments VL1 and VL2 is “not a turning angle” (step S222).

  The guidance control unit 114 repeats the same process up to the node N8 which is the destination of the route RT. Details are omitted. As a result, in the case of the route RT in FIG. 6, only the route formed by the links L1 and L2 is determined to be “turning angle”, and the other routes are determined to be “no turning angle”.

  In the case of an extremely short link that follows a long link and is in the shape of a path that continues to bend (for example, a pedestrian crossing indicated by links L3 to L5 in FIG. 6), the user usually replaces the short link with one of the long links. Understands that it is not a corner. According to the turning angle determination processing (FIG. 5) of the present embodiment, the guidance control unit 114 determines that the link length of one (adjacent) link at both ends of the processing target node is less than the predetermined length (step S210: NO) ), Ignore the link shorter than the predetermined length and the next node (FIG. 6: processing target nodes N3 and N5). Then, the guidance control unit 114 uses the link whose link length is equal to or longer than the predetermined length and the line segments (FIG. 6: line segments VL1 and VL2) extending to the next node following the traveling direction side node of the link. Then, it is determined whether or not the angle is equal to or larger than the predetermined angle (FIG. 6: step S220, procedure b2). For this reason, in the turning angle determination processing of the present embodiment, by appropriately defining the predetermined length, the guidance control unit 114 can determine the location where the route RT is bent by the short link (FIG. 6: links L3 to L5). The presence or absence of a turn can be determined by the general shape of the path.

A-2-2. Turn angle determination processing (other examples):
FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of a turning angle determination process in another example. This turning angle determination processing is executed as a subroutine of the guidance control processing (FIG. 4), similarly to the turning angle determination processing described with reference to FIG. The guidance control unit 114 may use the turning angle determination process of FIG. 7 instead of the turning angle determination process of FIG. In the example of FIG. 7, the “specific shape” is such that at least one length of each link that forms a plurality of links is less than a predetermined length, or the angle at which the plurality of links sandwich a node is equal to or more than a predetermined angle. Is defined as

  Steps S202 and S204 are the same as those in FIG. In step S502, the guidance control unit 114 of the server 10 determines whether or not each of the links at both ends of the processing target node has a link length less than a predetermined length. The predetermined length can be arbitrarily determined. If there is at least one link whose length is less than the predetermined length (step S502: YES), the guidance control unit 114 determines that each link at both ends of the processing target node, in other words, each link adjacent to the processing target node across the processing target node. Is determined to be "not a corner", and the process proceeds to step S204 (step S514). On the other hand, when all the link lengths are equal to or longer than the predetermined length (step S502: NO), the guidance control unit 114 shifts the processing to step S504.

  In step S504, the guidance control unit 114 of the server 10 determines whether or not the angles at which the links at both ends of the processing target node sandwich the processing target node are equal to or greater than a predetermined angle. The predetermined angle can be set arbitrarily, but is preferably an obtuse angle. If the angle is equal to or greater than the predetermined angle (step S504: YES), the guidance control unit 114 determines that the path formed by the links at both ends of the processing target node, in other words, the links formed adjacent to the processing target node with respect to the processing target node, is “turn angle” No ", and the process proceeds to step S204 (step S514). On the other hand, if the angle is less than the predetermined angle (step S504: NO), the guidance control unit 114 determines that the path formed by the links at both ends of the processing target node is a “turning angle”, and shifts the processing to step S204 ( Step S512).

  The guidance control unit 114 repeats the above processing from the departure point to the destination of the route obtained in step S104 of the guidance control processing (FIG. 4). As a result, for example, in the case of the route RT in FIG. 6, only the route formed by the links L1 and L2 in which the links adjacent to the processing target node are long and intersect at right angles is determined to be a “turning angle”. Is determined to be “not a corner”.

  If one of the links is extremely short (for example, links L3 to L5 in FIG. 6) even if the shape of the path is curved halfway, the user normally recognizes that the link is not a turn. According to the turning angle determination process shown as another example (FIG. 7), the guide control unit 114 appropriately defines the predetermined length so that one link has an extremely short bent path, in other words, In a place where one of the links forming the link is short, it can be determined that it is not a corner.

  Returning to the guidance control process of FIG. 4, the description will be continued. If it is determined in step S106 that there is no turn in the acquired route (step S106: NO), the guidance control unit 114 of the server 10 shifts the processing to step S120. On the other hand, when it is determined that there is one or more corners in the acquired route (step S106: YES), the guidance control unit 114 shifts the processing to step S110.

  In step S110, the facility information acquisition unit 116 of the server 10 acquires information on a corner. Specifically, the facility information acquisition unit 116 acquires information on the nodes and links determined to be “turns” in step S106 from the information on the route acquired in step S104. The facility information acquisition unit 116 acquires, for example, the latitude and longitude of the node and the inclination of the link.

  In step S112, the facility information acquisition unit 116 of the server 10 acquires information on facilities located around the corner (hereinafter, also referred to as "peripheral facilities"). Specifically, the facility information acquisition unit 116 performs a facility information acquisition process described with reference to FIG.

A-2-3. Facility information acquisition processing:
FIG. 8 is a sequence diagram illustrating the procedure of the facility information acquisition process. The facility information acquisition processing is executed as a subroutine of the guidance control processing (FIG. 4). In step S302, the facility information acquisition unit 116 of the server 10 transmits a facility information acquisition request to the server 20. The facility information acquisition request includes a mesh number for designating an information acquisition range.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating designation of a mesh number in the facility information acquisition process. FIG. 9 shows an example in which the route RT acquired in step S104 of the guidance control process (FIG. 4) is described on the map image data Data divided into a plurality of meshes. The route RT in FIG. 9 includes three nodes N1 to N3 and four links L1 to L4. In the route RT, the links L1 and L2 adjacent to the node N1, the links L2 and L3 adjacent to the node N2, and the links L3 and L4 adjacent to the node N3 are all turning angle determination processing (FIG. 5 or FIG. 7). Is determined to be a "turn".

The facility information acquisition unit 116 specifies the mesh number specified in the facility information acquisition request by executing the following procedures c1 to c4.
(C1) The facility information acquisition unit 116 forms a polygon of a predetermined shape centering on the latitude and longitude of a node that is the center of the corner (in other words, the node at the point where the route is bent). The predetermined shape can be arbitrarily determined. In the present embodiment, the predetermined shape is, for example, a square having a diameter of 500 m. This polygon has an inclination corresponding to the inclination of one of the links adjacent to the node. In the present embodiment, for example, the polygon is adjusted to a link having a smaller number.
(C2) The facility information acquisition unit 116 forms a rectangular frame that covers the polygon formed in step c1 and that is parallel to each mesh of the map image data Data.
(C3) The facility information acquisition unit 116 obtains a mesh number of a mesh that at least partially overlaps the rectangular frame formed in step c2. This can be performed using a well-known overlap determination or the like.
(C4) The facility information acquisition unit 116 executes steps c1 to c4 for all nodes and links determined as “turning angles” in the turning angle determination process (FIG. 5 or FIG. 7). The mesh number specified in the facility information acquisition request is obtained by eliminating duplication from the obtained mesh numbers.

  For example, in the example of FIG. 9, the facility information acquisition unit 116 forms a polygon P1 having the same inclination as the link L1 around the node N1 (procedure c1), and forms a rectangular frame B1 that covers the polygon P1 and is parallel to the mesh. (Procedure c2). Thereafter, the facility information acquisition unit 116 obtains mesh numbers M9, M10, M15, and M16 that overlap the rectangular frame B1 (step c3). Similarly, the facility information acquisition unit 116 forms a polygon P2 having the same inclination as the link L2 around the node N2 (procedure c1). Since the polygon P2 is already parallel to the mesh, the rectangular frame B2 becomes the same as the polygon P2 (procedure c2). Thereafter, the facility information acquisition unit 116 obtains mesh numbers M15 and M21 that overlap with the rectangular frame B2 (step c3). Similarly, the facility information acquisition unit 116 executes the procedures c1 to c3 centering on the node N3, and obtains mesh numbers M16, M17, M22, and M23. Finally, the facility information acquisition unit 116 removes duplication from the mesh numbers obtained in each step c3, and specifies mesh numbers M9, M10, M15, M16, M17, M21, M22, M23 specified in the facility information acquisition request. Get.

  In this way, the facility information acquisition unit 116 determines the polygons (P1, P2) arranged around the nodes (N1, N2, N3) at the center point of the corner, in other words, at the point where the route RT bends. , P3) and using rectangular frames (B1, B2, B3) oriented in parallel to the mesh, it is possible to extend the range of acquiring facility information. As a result, in the facility information acquisition process (FIG. 8), the facility information acquisition unit 116 does not acquire information on the facility in spite of the fact that the facility is located around the corner of the route RT. The occurrence can be suppressed, and information on facilities located around the corner of the route RT can be acquired without omission.

  Note that the facility information acquisition unit 116 may omit the formation of the rectangular frame in step c2. In this case, in step c3, the facility information acquisition unit 116 may obtain the mesh number of a mesh that at least partially overlaps the polygon formed in step c1. Even in this case, the facility information acquisition unit 116 uses the center point of the corner, in other words, each polygon arranged around each node at the point where the route RT bends, to obtain the facility information acquisition range. Can be expanded. As a result, the facility information acquisition unit 116 can acquire information of facilities located around the corner of the route RT without omission.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating designation of a mesh number in another example. FIG. 10 illustrates only the node N1 of the route RT illustrated in FIG. 9 for convenience of explanation. The illustration of the meshes M11, M17, M23, and M29 is also omitted. The designation of the mesh number in FIG. 10 is executed in step S302 of the facility information acquisition processing (FIG. 8), similarly to the designation of the mesh number described in FIG. The facility information acquisition unit 116 may use the method in FIG. 10 instead of the method in FIG. In the example of FIG. 10, a mesh number is obtained without using a polygon and a rectangular frame.

The facility information acquisition unit 116 specifies the mesh number specified in the facility information acquisition request by executing the following procedures d1 to d2.
(D1) For each mesh adjacent to the mesh to which the processing target node belongs, the facility information acquisition unit 116 determines whether the distance from the processing target node to the boundary of the mesh is equal to or less than a predetermined distance. Here, the predetermined distance can be arbitrarily determined. The term “adjacent” includes both directly adjacent neighbors and oblique adjacent. In the example of FIG. 10, there are four meshes M8, M10, M20, and M22 that are obliquely adjacent to the mesh M15 to which the node N1 belongs.
(D2) The facility information acquisition unit 116 acquires a mesh number of a mesh that is equal to or less than a predetermined distance.
(D3) The facility information acquisition unit 116 executes the procedures d1 and d2 for all nodes determined as “turning angles” in the turning angle determination process (FIG. 5 or FIG. 7). The mesh number specified in the facility information acquisition request is obtained by eliminating duplication from the obtained mesh numbers.

  By doing so, the facility information acquisition unit 116 uses the distance from each node (N1, N2, N3) at the point where the route RT bends to each adjacent mesh using the center point of the bend. Thus, the range of acquiring facility information can be expanded. As a result, in the facility information acquisition process (FIG. 8), the facility information acquisition unit 116 does not acquire information on the facility in spite of the fact that the facility is located around the corner of the route RT. The occurrence can be suppressed, and information on facilities located around the corner of the route RT can be acquired without omission.

  In step S304 in FIG. 8, the server 20 searches the facility information DB 245 using the mesh number included in the facility information acquisition request as a key, and acquires facility information. In step S306, the server 20 transmits a response including the acquired facility information to the server 10.

  As described above, according to the facility information acquisition processing of the present embodiment, the facility information acquisition unit 116 transmits the facility information from the server 20 using the facility information acquisition request that specifies the mesh numbers for which information is to be acquired collectively. To get. Therefore, the request and response between the server 10 and the server 20 need only be exchanged in one round trip, so that the processing load on the server 10 and the server 20 is low. Further, the server 20 only needs to compare the mesh number specified in the facility information acquisition request with the mesh number in the facility information DB 245 as it is, so that the processing load required for the search in step S304 is low.

A-2-4. Facility information acquisition processing (conventional example):
FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram illustrating a procedure of a facility information acquisition process according to a conventional example. The server 10x of the conventional example includes a facility information acquisition unit 116x instead of the facility information acquisition unit 116. The facility information acquisition unit 116x executes the facility information acquisition processing in FIG. 11 instead of the facility information acquisition processing described in FIG.

  FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a facility information acquisition process of a conventional example. FIG. 12 illustrates an example of the route RT acquired in step S104 of the guidance control process (FIG. 4) and examples of facilities P1 to P14 in the facility information DB 245 located around the route RT. The white circle drawn inside each facility indicates the position of the latitude and longitude of the representative point of each facility (the latitude and longitude stored in the facility information DB 245).

  In step S402 in FIG. 11, the facility information acquisition unit 116x of the server 10x transmits a facility information acquisition request to the server 20x. This facility information acquisition request includes position information (for example, latitude and longitude) of the first node N1 among the nodes N1 to N3 determined to be "turning angles" in the turning angle determination process (FIG. 5 or FIG. 7). I have. In step S404, the server 20x searches the facility information DB 245, and obtains information on the facilities P1, P4, and P7 in which the representative point exists within the circular range R1 from the position information of the node N1 included in the facility information acquisition request. To get. In step S406, the server 20x transmits a response including the acquired facility information to the server 10x.

  Similarly, in steps S412 to S416, information on the facilities P1, P7, and P8 in which the representative point exists in the circular range R2 based on the position information of the second node N2 among the nodes determined to be “turning angles”. Is obtained. In steps S422 to S426, information on the facilities P5, P9, and P10 in which the representative point exists in the circular range R3 is obtained based on the position information of the third node N3 among the nodes determined to be “turning angles”. You. The facility information acquisition unit 116x of the server 10x repeats this processing for the number of times of all the nodes determined to be "turning angles". At this time, when the distance between the nodes is short, such as the nodes N1 and N2, the facility information acquired by the facility information acquisition unit 116x is duplicated (FIG. 12, facilities P1 and P7 with lattice hatching). Therefore, in step S430 of FIG. 11, the facility information acquisition unit 116x excludes the overlapping part from the facility information acquired from the server 20.

  As described above, in the facility information acquisition process of the related art (FIG. 11), the number of nodes that are determined as “turning angles” in the turning angle determination process (FIG. 5 or FIG. 7) is requested between the server 10x and the server 20. Exchange between the server 10x and the response occurs, and the processing load on the server 10x and the server 20 is high. Further, when searching the facility information DB 245, the server 20 performs a process of comparing latitude and longitude, and the processing load required for the search is high. Furthermore, since the server 10x needs to remove the overlapping part from the facility information acquired from the server 20 (step S430), the server 10x needs extra processing.

  As described above, in the facility information acquisition processing (FIG. 8) of the present embodiment, the facility information acquisition unit 116 of the server 10 uses the map image The facility information is acquired in units of mesh in which the data Data is divided into predetermined sections in advance (FIG. 8, step S302). For this reason, each time the facility information is acquired, the server 10 (route guidance) is compared with the conventional method (FIG. 11) that requires a reference and search (collation) process for the “coordinate of the representative point of the facility”. Device) and the processing load on the server 20 storing the facility information DB 245 can be reduced. As a result, according to the server 10 of the present embodiment, it is possible to reduce the processing load when the facility is searched to acquire the facility information.

  Returning to the guidance control process of FIG. 4, the description will be continued. In step S114, the facility information acquisition unit 116 of the server 10 narrows down and acquires facilities used for guidance (hereinafter also referred to as "guidance facilities") from the peripheral facilities acquired in step S112.

  FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating acquisition of a guidance facility. FIG. 13 illustrates an example of the route RT acquired in step S104 of the guidance control process (FIG. 4) and an example of the peripheral facilities P1 to P14 acquired in step S112. The route RT in FIG. 13 includes three nodes N1 to N3 and four links L1 to L4. In the route RT, the links L1 and L2 adjacent to the node N1, the links L2 and L3 adjacent to the node N2, and the links L3 and L4 adjacent to the node N3 are all turning angle determination processing (FIG. 5 or FIG. 7). Is determined to be a "turn".

The facility information acquisition unit 116 executes the following procedures e1 to e3 to narrow down guide facilities from peripheral facilities and acquire information on guide facilities.
(E1) The facility information acquisition unit 116 centers the position of each node on the basis of position information (for example, latitude and longitude) of each node determined to be “turning angle” in the turning angle determination process (FIG. 5 or FIG. 7). Define a circular extraction range. The radius of the circle can be determined arbitrarily and may be changeable by the user. When there are a plurality of nodes determined to be “turning angles”, the facility information acquisition unit 116 defines a plurality of extraction ranges corresponding to each node.
(E2) The facility information acquisition unit 116 specifies a facility located within the extraction range defined in step e1, from the peripheral facilities acquired in step S112 of the guidance control process. Specifically, the facility information acquisition unit 116 specifies a facility where at least a part of the facility polygons overlaps the extraction range by using a known overlap determination or the like. The facility information acquisition unit 116 sets the specified facility as a guidance facility. In addition, the facility information acquisition unit 116 may calculate the overlap ratio of the facility polygon with respect to the extraction range at the time of the overlap determination, and may store the overlap rate in association with each facility. In the present embodiment, the overlap rate is defined as the ratio of the area where the facility polygon overlaps the extraction range to the area of the facility polygon.
(E3) The facility information acquisition unit 116 acquires information on the facility specified in step e2 from the information on the surrounding facilities acquired in step S112 of the guidance control process.

  For example, in the example of FIG. 13, the facility information acquisition unit 116 defines an extraction range R1 centered on the node N1, an extraction range R2 centered on the node N2, and an extraction range R3 centered on the node N3. (Procedure e1). Next, the facility information acquisition unit 116 specifies facilities P1, P2, P4, P6, P7, P8, P9, P10, and P11 at least partially overlapping the facility polygons with respect to the extraction ranges R1 to R3. , Guide facility (procedure e2). After that, the facility information acquisition unit 116 uses the information on the surrounding facilities acquired in step S112 of the guidance control process to generate the guidance facilities P1, P2, P4, P6, P7, P8, P9, P10, and P11 specified in step e2. Get information.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the facility information acquisition unit 116 determines the facilities located within a predetermined range (that is, within the extraction ranges R1 to R3 defined by the circles) from each node of the point where the route is bent. That is, it is possible to acquire information on facilities around the node determined to be “turning angle” in the turning angle determination process (FIG. 5 or FIG. 7) as information on the guidance facility.

  Further, as described in the facility information acquisition process of the related art (FIGS. 11 and 12), according to the general method of acquiring facility information using the representative points of the facility, actually, around the corner, Despite the facility being located, information on the facility may not be obtained (FIG. 12, facilities P2, P6, P11). This is particularly remarkable for a facility having a large area (for example, a large shopping mall). In this regard, according to the server 10 (route guidance device) of the present embodiment, the facility information acquisition unit 116 acquires facility information using facility polygons that form the external shape of the facility (procedure e2). When the information of the facility is acquired using the points (FIG. 11, steps S402 and S404), the occurrence of the above problem can be suppressed, and the information of the facility located around the corner can be acquired without omission.

  Returning to the guidance control process of FIG. 4, the description will be continued. In step S116, the guidance control unit 114 of the server 10 associates information of the guidance facility with the route acquired in step S104. Specifically, the guidance control unit 114 executes a linking process described with reference to FIG.

A-2-5. Linking process:
FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating the procedure of the linking process. The linking process is executed as a subroutine of the guidance control process (FIG. 4). The guidance control unit 114 of the server 10 executes the following steps on the facility information acquired in step S114 of the guidance control process.

  In step S602, the guidance control unit 114 of the server 10 determines whether the information on the facility to be processed matches a predetermined item list. The item list is a list in which information for specifying “facilities that do not provide guidance for a turn” is stored, and is stored in the storage unit 140 of the server 10 in advance. In the item list, for example, the facility name of the facility that already contains the facility name is stored in the map image of the map information DB 241. In this way, it is possible to suppress the display of the facility name embedded in the map image from being overlapped with the facility name in the display image described later. The contents of the item list can be set arbitrarily, and may be changeable by the user.

  When the facility information does not match the item list (step S602: NO), the guidance control unit 114 shifts the processing to step S612. On the other hand, when the facility information matches the item list (step S602: YES), the guidance control unit 114 of the server 10 shifts the processing to step S604. In step S604, the guidance control unit 114 moves the processing target to the next facility information without linking the facility information to the link (step S606). Thereafter, the guidance control unit 114 returns to Step S602 and continues the processing.

  In step S612, the guidance control unit 114 of the server 10 includes, in the facility information acquired in step S114 of the guidance control process (FIG. 4), information of the facility in the same building as the facility to be processed. It is determined whether or not there is. This determination can be made, for example, by comparing addresses and latitude and longitude.

  When there is no information on other facilities in the same building (step S612: none), the guidance control unit 114 shifts the processing to step S622. On the other hand, when there is information on another facility in the same building (Step S612: Yes), the guidance control unit 114 of the server 10 shifts the processing to Step S614.

  In step S614, the guidance control unit 114 of the server 10 determines whether the facility to be processed is a facility on the first floor of a building. This determination can be made, for example, by referring to the address. If the facility is not on the first floor (step S614: NO), the guidance control unit 114 shifts the processing to step S618 without linking the facility information to the link. On the other hand, if the facility is on the first floor (step S614: YES), the guidance control unit 114 shifts the processing to step S616. In step S616, the guidance control unit 114 of the server 10 links at least one of the facility name and the facility icon to the nearest link of the facility, and shifts the processing to step S618. In step S618, the guidance control unit 114 moves the processing target to the information of the next facility, and then returns to step S602 to continue the processing.

  In step S622, the guidance control unit 114 of the server 10 determines whether the facility to be processed is a facility suitable for guiding the facility name. This determination can be made, for example, by referring to the facility name or genre. Specifically, for example, when the facility name represents a private house such as “Suzuki House”, the guidance control unit 114 can determine that the facility name is not suitable for guiding the facility name from the viewpoint of personal information protection. In addition, for example, when the facility is of a genre that is unfavorable due to morals or security, the guidance control unit 114 can determine that the facility is not suitable for guiding the facility name. The condition as to whether or not it is suitable for guiding the facility name can be arbitrarily set, and may be changeable by the user.

  If the facility is suitable for guiding the facility name (step S622: YES), the guidance control unit 114 of the server 10 shifts the processing to step S624. In step S624, the guidance control unit 114 associates at least one of the facility name and the facility icon with the nearest link of the facility, and transitions the processing to step S628.

  On the other hand, when the facility is not suitable for guiding the facility name (step S622: NO), the guidance control unit 114 of the server 10 shifts the processing to step S626. In step S626, the guidance control unit 114 links the address of the facility to the nearest link of the facility, and shifts the processing to step S628. After moving the processing target to the information of the next facility in step S628, the guidance control unit 114 returns to step S602 and continues the processing.

  As described above, according to the associating process (steps S602 to S606) of the present embodiment, the guidance control unit 114 determines the system configuration of the device such as the server 10 or the server 20 or the data of the map information DB 141 or the map information DB 241. It is possible to prevent information from being guided by preparing in advance a predetermined item list of information that is not desirable to be guided to the user (for example, information that causes duplication of information). it can. Further, according to the linking process (steps S612 to S618) of the present embodiment, the guidance control unit 114 can provide information on the facility on the first floor that is easily visible to the user, and, for example, a multi-story building It is possible to suppress information overload caused by information of a plurality of facilities in the same building being guided. Further, according to the linking process (steps S622 to S628) of the present embodiment, when the facility is suitable for guiding the facility name, the guidance control unit 114 uses the facility name that is intuitively understandable to the user. Guidance is given (step S624), and if the facility is not suitable for the guidance of the facility name, guidance using the address of the facility that is frequently described on the street features (for example, telephone poles and signs) may be provided (step S626). it can.

  Returning to the guidance control process of FIG. 4, the description will be continued. In step S120, the guidance control unit 114 of the server 10 combines the information of the route acquired in step S104 and the information of the facility linked to each link in the route in step S116, and sends the information to the smartphone 30. Generate display information to be displayed. The display information can be in, for example, XML (Extensible Markup Language) format or HTML (HyperText Markup Language) format.

  In step S122, the guidance control unit 114 of the server 10 transmits the generated display information to the smartphone 30, and ends the processing. Thereafter, guidance processing based on guidance information such as display information is performed in the smartphone 30 as described above.

  FIG. 15 is an example of a screen for guiding information on a route from a departure place to a destination. The screen W1 displayed on the input / output unit 350 of the smartphone 30 includes a map image MP1 around the destination, a route RT, a current position PL of the user, icons C1 to C4, guidance messages MG1 to MG9, Is drawn. Hereinafter, a configuration in which the guidance control unit 114 of the server 20 updates the display of the screen W1 based on the current position information received from the smartphone 30 will be described. However, the guide unit 312 of the smartphone 30 may update the display of the screen W1 based on the current position information. In this case, the guide unit 312 also functions as a “guidance control unit”.

  The route RT is drawn based on the route information acquired in step S104 of the guidance control process (FIG. 4). The current position PL is drawn based on the current position information acquired by the current position acquisition unit 360 of the smartphone 30. The icons C1 to C4 are included in the map image data Data stored in the map information DB 241 (or the map information DB 141). The guidance messages MG1 to MG9 are drawn based on the information of the facility linked to the link in step S116 of the guidance control process.

  As shown in FIG. 15, on the screen W1 of the present embodiment, guidance messages MG1 to MG9 representing facility information are displayed for facilities P1 to P9 located around the corners CN1 and CN2 of the route RT. The guidance messages MG1 to MG9 are displayed in a form associated with the facility polygons of the corresponding facilities P1 to P9 using leader lines. The facility messages are displayed in the guide messages MG1, MG3, MG4, MG6, MG7, the facility icons are displayed in the guide messages MG2, MG9, and the addresses are displayed in the guide messages MG5, MG8. This difference in the display contents is a result of the change of the guidance mode based on the facility information by the linking process (FIG. 14).

  As shown in FIG. 15, on the screen W1 of the present embodiment, the guide message MG7 (F restaurant) about the facility to which the user should pass next is changed to other guide messages MG1 to MG6, MG8, and MG9. It is displayed larger (highlighted) in comparison. The highlight display is updated in real time by the guidance control unit 114 of the server 20 based on the current position information received from the smartphone 30. That is, when the guide control unit 114 determines that the user has passed the front of the F restaurant based on the current position information, the guide control unit 114 cancels the highlighting of the guide message MG7, and the next guide message MG8 (1- 19, XX-cho). 27) is highlighted.

  The mode of highlighting can be arbitrarily determined as long as it is a mode that easily attracts attention, and may be changeable by the user. For example, the display may be enlarged, the display color may be changed, a decoration such as a border may be provided, and voice guidance or vibration guidance may be combined. By doing so, the guidance control unit 114 displays the information of the facility to be guided preferentially (the guidance message MG7 about the facility that the user should pass next to) next to the guidance message MG1 of another facility. By setting the drawing mode to attract attention more easily than to MG6, MG8, and MG9, it is possible to display at a glance easy to understand.

  It is sufficient for the guidance control unit 114 to set the guidance message MG7 about the facility to which the user should pass next to the guidance message MG7 in a guidance mode different from the other guidance messages MG1 to MG6, MG8, and MG9 (highlighted. It does not have to be). For example, there is no difference in the display method, and voice guidance or vibration guidance may be combined with only a guidance message for a facility to pass in front of it.

  FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating a method of determining passage at a corner. FIG. 16 illustrates an example of the route RT and the facilities P1 around the route RT. The route RT includes three nodes N1 to N3 and four links L1 to L4. In the route RT, the links L1 and L2 adjacent to the node N1, the links L2 and L3 adjacent to the node N2, and the links L3 and L4 adjacent to the node N3 are all turning angle determination processing (FIG. 5 or FIG. 7). Is determined to be a "turn".

The guidance control unit 114 performs the passage determination for the facility P1 based on the following procedures f1 to f3.
(F1) The guidance control unit 114 obtains straight-line distances from the representative point O1 of the facility P1 to the nodes N1, N2, and N3 corresponding to the corners at which the route RT bends.
(F2) The guidance control unit 114 specifies a node with the shortest straight distance obtained in the procedure f1 as a node used for the passage determination. In the example of FIG. 16, the node N1 is specified.
(F3) The guidance control unit 114 compares the current position acquired from the smartphone 30 with the latitude and longitude of the node specified in step f2, and determines that the current position has passed the position of the node. It is determined that the user has passed in front of the facility P1.

  In this way, the guidance control unit 114 can easily determine the passage using the position of the representative point O1 of the facility and the positions of the nodes N1 to N3. Note that the guidance control unit 114 determines the position of the perpendicular drawn from the facility to the nearest link for facilities (for example, facilities P6 and P7 in FIG. 15) that are located around the corner but are sandwiched by other facilities. Can be used to determine the passage.

A-3. effect:
As described above, according to the server 10 (route guidance device) of the embodiment, when the shape of a plurality of links adjacent to one node is a specific shape, the guidance control unit 114 The guidance of the corner is not performed (FIG. 5: Steps S220 to S224 of the corner determination processing, FIG. 7: Steps S502 to S514 of the corner determination processing in another example). As described in FIG. 5 and FIG. 7, by appropriately defining the specific shape, the server 10 can guide a turn at a place having a shape of a path that a pedestrian recognizes as “not a turn”. Can be avoided. As a result, according to the server 10 of the present embodiment, particularly in route guidance for a pedestrian, the shape of the route recognized by the pedestrian can be matched with the content of the guidance (for example, FIG. 15).

  Further, according to the turning angle determination processing (FIGS. 5 and 7) of the above embodiment, the specific shape is such that the angle formed by a plurality of links sandwiching the node is equal to or greater than a predetermined angle. When the shape of the route is a gentle bent shape (for example, a road that bends and bends slowly), the user usually recognizes that the route is not a corner. In this regard, according to the server 10 (route guidance device) of the present embodiment, the guidance control unit 114 appropriately defines the above-described predetermined angle, and thus the location where the shape of the route is a gentle bending shape, in other words, In the place where one link and another link are connected at a large angle via a node, guidance of a turn can be prevented.

  Further, according to the linking process (FIG. 14) of the above embodiment, the guidance control unit 114 may, for example, generate information based on facility information (FIG. 2) that may include various contents such as a facility name and a facility address. The guidance content for the specific facility name is changed to another (steps S622 to S628), or the guidance for the specific facility name is refrained (steps S602 to S604, steps S612 to S614). The mode (FIG. 15) can be changed. As a result, according to the server 10 (route guidance device) of the present embodiment, a flexible guidance mode can be adopted based on facility information.

  Furthermore, according to the guidance screen (FIG. 15) of the above-described embodiment, the guidance control unit 114 provides information on facilities around the corner. The facility information has a feature that it is easy to understand at a glance even from a distance as compared with a signboard or the like indicating the name of an intersection. Therefore, according to the above embodiment, the user of the server 10 (route guidance device) can use it. Clarity can be improved. Also, according to the guidance screen (FIG. 15) of the above embodiment, the guidance control unit 114 uses the guidance of the facility that the user next passes in a manner different from the guidance of other facilities. Usability and understandability for the user can be further improved.

B. Modification:
In the above embodiment, a part of the configuration realized by hardware may be replaced by software, and conversely, a part of the configuration realized by software may be replaced by hardware. Good. In addition, the following modifications are also possible.

-Modification 1
In the above embodiment, the configuration of the navigation system 1 including the server 10 (the route guidance device) has been described as an example. However, the configuration of the navigation system 1 is merely an example, and any mode can be adopted. For example, at least a part of the functions included in the server 20 (route search device) may be mounted on the server 10, and the functions included in one server 20 may be realized by a plurality of servers. Good. As the client device, various devices such as a personal computer, a dedicated navigation device, a game machine, and a wearable device can be employed instead of the smartphone 30.

  For example, in the navigation system 1, the case where the latitude / longitude coordinate system is used as the position information is illustrated, but another coordinate system (for example, an XY coordinate system) may be used as the position information.

・ Modification 2:
In the above embodiment, the configuration of the server 10 (the route guidance device) and the server 20 (the route search device) has been exemplified. However, the configuration of each server in the above embodiment is merely an example, and any mode can be adopted. For example, some of the components can be omitted or changed, and components can be added. For example, each function described above may be realized by cooperation of a plurality of servers, and at least a part of each DB described above may be stored in another server or another internal / external storage device. . The configuration of each of the above-mentioned DBs can also be arbitrarily changed, and addition / deletion / change of items, change of a data storage format, and the like are possible. Here, the change of the data storage format includes the division / change of the table and the change of the relation.

  For example, the facility information DB 245 stored in the server 20 may include POI (Point Of Interest) POI information in addition to facility information on artificial facilities (features). The POI means a specific place of interest to the user, and includes natural features such as mountains and rivers in addition to artificial facilities. In addition, for example, in addition to the items described with reference to FIG. 2, the server 20 may store various information about the facility, such as the facility's telephone number and business hours.

-Modified example 3:
In the above embodiment, the guidance control process (FIG. 4) and each subroutine executed in the guidance control process have been described using an example of the processing procedure. However, these processing procedures can be variously changed, and the contents of processing in each step may be added / omitted / changed, or the execution order of the steps (procedures) may be changed.

(1) In the guidance control process (FIG. 4) of the above embodiment, information on facilities located around the corner was guided as the corner guidance. However, various types of guidance can be implemented as guidance for a corner. For example, the guidance control unit 114 may provide information on a corner (for example, the name of a traffic light at a corner, the name of an intersection, etc.) instead of information on facilities located around the corner, and indicate that the corner is a corner. (I.e., only the shape of the route) may be guided, or the traveling direction (turn right / turn left / straight) at a corner may be guided. Further, for example, as the guidance method of the corner, in addition to the screen display shown in FIG. 15, guidance combining voice and vibration on the screen display, guidance using only voice instead of the screen display, and vibration only instead of the screen display Can be adopted.

(2) In the guidance control processing (FIG. 4) of the above-described embodiment, the description related to the guidance of the corner has been described. However, the guidance control unit 114 may perform guidance on a straight route together with guidance on a corner. In this case, in the facility information acquisition processing (FIGS. 8 and 9) which is a subroutine of the guidance control processing, the facility information acquisition unit 116 forms a plurality of polygons of a predetermined shape along each link in the route, and A mesh that at least partially overlaps the surrounding rectangular frame may be included in the facility information acquisition request (FIG. 8, step S302). When the mesh and the rectangular frame are not used (FIG. 10), the facility information acquisition unit 116 determines the measurement position from a predetermined position on the route (for example, measurement positions provided at equal intervals on each link). A mesh whose distance to a mesh adjacent to the mesh to which it belongs is equal to or less than the predetermined distance described in FIG. 10 may be included in the facility information acquisition request (FIG. 8, step S302). Further, in the case of performing the guidance on the straight route, in acquiring the guidance facility (FIG. 13), the facility information acquiring unit 116 determines a predetermined position on the route (for example, a reference position provided at equal intervals on each link, Information of a facility where at least a part of the facility polygon overlaps may be acquired within an extraction range centered on a reference position provided at the center of each link).

  According to the above facility information acquisition processing, the facility information acquisition unit 116 can reduce the processing load when searching the facility information DB 245 to acquire information on facilities along the route. Further, according to the above-described facility information acquisition processing, when acquiring the information of the facility along the route, the facility information acquisition unit 116 can expand the acquisition range of the information of the facility. As a result, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of an event that the information of the facility is not acquired even though the facility is actually located around the route, and to acquire the information of the facility located around the route without omission. Can be. Further, according to the acquisition of the guide facility, the facility information acquisition unit 116 acquires the facility information using the facility polygon. Therefore, the facility information acquisition unit 116 can acquire the information of the facilities located around the route without omission. In addition, according to the above-described guidance on the straight route and the corner, in addition to the route information, information on facilities along the route is guided, so that the user of the server 10 can easily understand the information.

(3) In the guidance control process (FIG. 4) of the above-described embodiment, the description related to the guidance of the walking route was given. However, the guidance control unit 114 may perform the same processing as the above-described embodiment on an automobile route or a public transportation route other than the guidance on the walking route.

(4) In the facility information acquisition processing of the above embodiment (FIGS. 8 and 9), the facility information acquisition unit 116 specifies a mesh number using a polygon and a rectangular frame. However, the facility information acquisition unit 116 may specify the mesh number using only the polygon. In this case, the facility information acquisition unit 116 may obtain the mesh number of the mesh at least partially overlapping the polygon. In this way, the facility information acquisition unit 116 can expand the facility information acquisition range using each polygon arranged along each node (or link) on the route.

(5) In the facility information acquisition process (FIGS. 8 and 9) of the above embodiment, the facility information acquisition unit 116 calculates the latitude and longitude of the node at the center of the turn (in other words, the node at the point where the route is bent). A polygon was formed as the center. However, the polygon formed by the facility information acquisition unit 116 may be off-center as long as it includes nodes. For example, the facility information acquisition unit 116 may intentionally shift the center of the polygon from the node according to the shape of the route or the like.

(6) In the guide facility acquisition (FIG. 13) of the above embodiment, the facility information acquisition unit 116 defines a circular extraction range. However, the shape of the extraction range can be arbitrarily changed, and for example, a rectangle, a triangle or a polygon expanding in the traveling direction can be adopted.

(7) The guide screen (FIG. 15) of the above embodiment has shown an example of the guide mode of the facility information. However, the guidance mode of the facility information can be variously changed. For example, the guidance control unit 114 obtains information on the facility closest to each node (or link) on the route that is the center of the extraction range in acquiring the guidance facility (FIG. 13), The guidance screen may be such that the guidance is given with priority over the guidance screen. The specific method of giving priority to guidance can be arbitrarily determined.For example, facility polygons may be highlighted, facility information may be highlighted, and guidance by voice or vibration may be provided together with the guidance screen display. You may. In this way, the guidance control unit 114 preferentially guides information on facilities located near the route, so that it is possible to improve usability and understandability for the user of the server 10 (route guidance device). it can.

(8) The guidance screen (FIG. 15) of the above embodiment has shown an example of the guidance mode of the facility information. However, the guidance mode of the facility information can be variously changed. For example, the guidance control unit 114 may provide information on the facility with the highest overlap ratio of the facility polygon with respect to the extraction range obtained in the acquisition of the guidance facility (FIG. 13) with higher priority than information on other facilities. A guidance screen may be used. The specific method of giving priority to guidance can be arbitrarily determined.For example, facility polygons may be highlighted, facility information may be highlighted, and guidance by voice or vibration may be provided together with the guidance screen display. You may. In this way, the guidance control unit 114 preferentially guides information on facilities whose facility polygons are within the acquisition range of facility information (within a predetermined range). It is possible to improve usability and understandability for the user of the device.

(9) The guidance screen (FIG. 15) of the above embodiment has shown an example of the guidance mode of the facility information. However, the guidance mode of the facility information can be variously changed. For example, the guidance control unit 114 compares the facility polygon of the facility where the guidance message representing the information of the facility is displayed with the facility polygon of the facility where the guidance message is not displayed, and easily attracts attention (highlighted display). ). In this way, the guidance control unit 114 can display the facility polygon associated with the facility information at a glance so as to be easily understood in comparison with other facilities. That is, in this way, the guidance control unit 114 can display not only the facility information but also the facility polygon (outside of the facility) at a glance so as to be easily understood.

-Modified example 4:
The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, examples, and modified examples, and can be realized with various configurations without departing from the spirit thereof. For example, the technical features in the embodiments, examples, and modifications corresponding to the technical features in each embodiment described in the Summary of the Invention section are for solving some or all of the above-described problems, or In order to achieve some or all of the above-described effects, replacement and combination can be appropriately performed. Unless the technical features are described as essential in the present specification, they can be deleted as appropriate.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Navigation system 10, 10x ... Server 20, 20x ... Server 30 ... Smartphone 110 ... CPU
112: Acquisition unit 114: Guidance control unit 116, 116x: Facility information acquisition unit 120: Communication unit 130: ROM / RAM
140: storage unit 141: map information DB
210 ... CPU
212: search unit 220: communication unit 230: ROM / RAM
240 ... storage unit 241 ... map information DB
243 ... Route information DB
245… Facility information DB
310 ... CPU
312: Guide unit 320: Communication unit 330: ROM / RAM
340: Storage unit 350: Input / output unit 360: Current position acquisition unit INT: Internet

Claims (3)

A route guidance device,
An acquisition unit for acquiring a route from the departure place to the destination,
A guidance control unit for guiding the acquired information on the route,
With
The guidance control unit includes:
If the shape of a plurality of links adjacent to one node is a predetermined specific shape on the walking route supposed to move on foot of the route, a guidance of a turn is provided for the plurality of links. Without, if not the specific shape, to guide the turn around the plurality of links ,
The specific shape is defined as an angle at which the plurality of links sandwich the node is equal to or greater than a predetermined angle,
For a plurality of links adjacent to the node, when the length of one link is less than a predetermined length,
The other link whose link length is equal to or greater than the predetermined length,
Of the nodes located at both ends of the other link, from the traveling direction node located in the traveling direction of the footpath, the next next node in the traveling direction and the traveling direction node are: Connecting line segments,
There the angle that forms sandwiching the traveling direction side node, you determine whether the the predetermined angle or more, the route guidance device. A method for guiding a route, wherein the information processing device comprises:
Obtaining a route from the origin to the destination;
Guiding the acquired information on the route;
With
In the guiding step,
If the shape of a plurality of links adjacent to one node is a predetermined specific shape on the walking route supposed to move on foot of the route, a guidance of a turn is provided for the plurality of links. Without, if not the specific shape, to guide the turn around the plurality of links ,
The specific shape is defined as an angle at which the plurality of links sandwich the node is equal to or greater than a predetermined angle,
For a plurality of links adjacent to the node, when the length of one link is less than a predetermined length,
The other link whose link length is equal to or greater than the predetermined length,
Of the nodes located at both ends of the other link, from the traveling direction node located in the traveling direction of the footpath, the next next node in the traveling direction and the traveling direction node are: Connecting line segments,
There the angle that forms sandwiching the traveling direction side node, you determine whether the the predetermined angle or more, the method. A computer program, wherein the information processing device
Obtaining a route from the origin to the destination;
Guiding the acquired information on the route;
And execute
In the guiding step,
If the shape of a plurality of links adjacent to one node is a predetermined specific shape on the walking route supposed to move on foot of the route, a guidance of a turn is provided for the plurality of links. Without, if not the specific shape, to guide the turn around the plurality of links ,
The specific shape is defined as an angle at which the plurality of links sandwich the node is equal to or greater than a predetermined angle,
For a plurality of links adjacent to the node, when the length of one link is less than a predetermined length,
The other link whose link length is equal to or greater than the predetermined length,
Of the nodes located at both ends of the other link, from the traveling direction node located in the traveling direction of the footpath, the next next node in the traveling direction and the traveling direction node are: Connecting line segments,
There the angle that forms sandwiching the traveling direction side node, you determine whether the the predetermined angle or more, the computer program.

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