JP6762892B2 - 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 have been realized using a car navigation system, a smartphone, or the like. In such route guidance, there is known a technique for improving convenience by making it possible to guide not only route information but also information on facilities along the route. For example, in Patent Document 1, the coordinates of the representative point of the facility and other information about the facility (for example, the facility name) are stored in association with each other in the database, and the coordinates of the representative point are used. The technology for searching the facility to be guided is disclosed.

JP-A-2009-156622

However, in the conventional method disclosed in Patent Document 1, each time the facility information is acquired, it is necessary to refer to and search (verify) the "coordinates of the representative points of the facility" stored in the database. , There was a problem that the processing load was high.

Therefore, it has been required to reduce the processing load when searching for facilities and acquiring facility information.

The present invention has been made to solve at least a part of the above-mentioned problems, and can be realized as the following forms. A route guidance device that guides information on the route, including an acquisition unit that acquires a route from a departure point to a destination, a facility information acquisition unit that acquires facility information, and the acquired information on the facility. The facility information acquisition unit includes a guidance control unit for causing the map to be provided, and the facility information acquisition unit covers each polygon having a predetermined shape arranged along each link in the route in mesh units in which the map is divided into predetermined sections. In addition, by acquiring the information of the facility located in the mesh where at least a part overlaps with respect to the rectangular frame in the direction parallel to the mesh, the information of the facility located in the periphery of the route is acquired. , Route guidance device. In addition, the present invention can also be realized in the following forms.

(1) According to one embodiment of the present invention, a route guidance device is provided. This route guidance device; has an acquisition unit that acquires a route from a departure point to a destination; and has a facility information acquisition unit that acquires facility information; and guides information on the route including the acquired information on the facility. It includes a guidance control unit; the facility information acquisition unit; acquires information on the facility located around the route in mesh units in which the map is divided into predetermined sections.
According to this form of the route guidance device, the facility information acquisition unit acquires facility information in mesh units in which the map is divided into predetermined sections in advance. For this reason, compared to the conventional method that requires reference and search (verification) processing for the "coordinates of the representative point of the facility" each time the facility information is acquired, the route guidance device and the facility information ( The processing load on the device that stores the database) can be reduced. As a result, according to the route guidance device of the present embodiment, it is possible to reduce the processing load when searching for a facility and acquiring information on the facility.

(2) In the route guidance device of the above-described embodiment; the facility information acquisition unit; is located in the mesh in which at least a part of each polygon having a predetermined shape arranged along each link in the route overlaps. You may acquire the information of the said facility.
According to this form of the route guidance device, the facility information acquisition unit can expand the acquisition range of facility information by using each polygon arranged along each link in the route. As a result, it is necessary to suppress the occurrence of the 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 done.

(3) In the route guidance device of the above-described embodiment; the facility information acquisition unit; for each polygon having a predetermined shape arranged so as to include each node at a point where the route bends in the route, at least one. Information on the facility located in the mesh where the parts overlap may be acquired.
According to this form of the route guidance device, the facility information acquisition unit can expand the acquisition range of facility information by using each polygon arranged so as to include each node at the point where the route bends. As a result, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of the event that the information of the facility is not acquired even though the facility is actually located around the corner in the route, and the information of the facility located around the corner in the route is suppressed. Can be obtained without omission.

(4) In the route guidance device of the above embodiment; the facility information acquisition unit; is located in the mesh that covers each polygon and at least partially overlaps the rectangular frame in the direction parallel to the mesh. Information on the facility may be acquired.
According to this form of the route guidance device, the facility information acquisition unit can further expand the acquisition range of facility information by using a rectangular frame that covers each polygon and has a direction parallel to the mesh.

(5) In the route guidance device of the above-described embodiment; the facility information acquisition unit; the mesh in which the distance from a predetermined position on the route to each mesh adjacent to the mesh to which the predetermined position belongs is equal to or less than a predetermined distance. Information on the facility located within may be acquired.
According to this form of the route guidance device, the facility information acquisition unit can expand the acquisition range of facility information by using the distance from a predetermined position on the route to each mesh. As a result, it is necessary to suppress the occurrence of the 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 done.

(6) In the route guidance device of the above-described embodiment; the predetermined position may be each node at a point where the route bends in the route.
According to this form of the route guidance device, the facility information acquisition unit can expand the acquisition range of facility information by using the distance from each node at the point where the route bends to each mesh. As a result, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of the event that the information of the facility is not acquired even though the facility is actually located around the corner in the route, and the information of the facility located around the corner in the route is suppressed. Can be obtained without omission.

The present invention can be realized in various aspects, for example, a route guidance device, a route search and guidance device, a navigation device, and an information processing device for realizing the functions of each of these devices. In the form of a method, a system including each of these devices, a computer program for realizing the functions of each of these devices and systems, a server device for distributing the computer program, a non-temporary storage medium for storing the computer program, and the like. It can be realized.

It is a figure which shows the schematic structure of the navigation system as one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of a facility information DB. It is a figure explaining the mesh number. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the guidance control processing. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the turning angle determination processing. It is a figure explaining the corner determination process. 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 facility information acquisition processing. It is a figure explaining the designation of the mesh number in the facility information acquisition processing. It is a figure explaining the designation of the mesh number in another example. 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 the acquisition of the information facility. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the associating process. This is an example of a screen that guides information on the route from the departure point to the destination. It is a figure explaining the method of the passage determination at a corner.

A. Embodiment:
A-1. Outline system configuration:
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a navigation system as an embodiment of the present invention. The navigation system 1 is a system that guides the user of the route from the starting point to the destination. The navigation system 1 of the present embodiment can guide the corners in the route in addition to the route from the departure point to the destination by the guidance control process described later. Hereinafter, the guidance of the walking route when the user moves on foot will be illustrated, but the guidance of the automobile route when the user moves by car can be similarly configured. Further, the walking route may be combined with the public transportation route when using public transportation (train, airport, ship, highway bus, etc.).

The navigation system 1 includes a server 10 that functions as a "route guidance device", a server 20 that functions as a "route search device", and a smartphone 30 that functions as a "client device". The server 10 and the server 20 are connected to the Internet INT by wired communication. The smartphone 30 is connected to the Internet INT by wireless communication via the communication carrier BS. The communication carrier BS includes a transmission / reception 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 each unit is connected to each other by a bus (not shown).

The CPU 110 controls each part of the server 10 by expanding the computer program stored in the ROM into the RAM and executing the 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 with each other to execute the guidance control process described later. By executing the guidance control process, the server 10 can guide the smartphone 30 to the information on the route from the departure point to the destination specified by the user and the information on the facilities around the corner in the route. it can.

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

The storage unit 140 is composed of 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 the 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 displaying the map, such as topography, buildings, and road shapes. 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 of FIG. 1 includes a CPU 210, a communication unit 220, a ROM / RAM 230, and a storage unit 240, and each unit is connected to each other by a bus (not shown).

The CPU 210 controls each part of the server 20 by expanding and executing the computer program stored in the ROM in the RAM, and also functions as the search unit 212. The search unit 212 searches for a route from the departure point to the destination based on the request from the server 10. This "route" may include a walking route and an automobile 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 a well-known Dijkstra method. The search unit 212 transmits the route information thus obtained to the server 10. The server 20 may store a route information DB (database in which railway network data is stored) (not shown), and the search unit 212 may use the route information DB in combination with the above-mentioned walking route and automobile route. You may search for the public transportation route used.

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

The storage unit 240 is composed of 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 in which data representing a map image is stored. The data representing the map image includes information necessary for displaying the map, such as topography, buildings, and road shapes. In the present embodiment, since the server 10 also holds the same 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. Road network data includes nodes and links connecting the nodes. For each link, the average travel time (travel time) of the road represented by the link is associated with the link cost for each means of transportation (walk, car, bus, etc.). The road network data is used by the search unit 212 to search for a route on the road.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of facility information DB 245. The facility information DB 245 is a table for storing facility information related to the facility. In the facility ID, an ID for identifying each facility stored in the facility information DB 245 is stored. In the facility name, a name for identifying each facility is stored. In the facility polygon, polygon data representing the outer shape of the facility, such as the position and range of the facility, is stored. In the example of FIG. 2, polygon data is represented by a figure. However, the polygon data is actually stored in the form of a combination (point sequence) of a plurality of latitudes and longitudes, for example.

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

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 divided in advance at regular intervals (for example, a meridian every 1 degree and a latitude line every 2/3 degree), and the divided range is called a "mesh". Each mesh is pre-assigned with a uniquely identifiable number, which is called the 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 entry E1, the facility with the facility ID “1” has the genre “Hotel” “A hotel”, the facility polygon, and the latitude / longitude of “A hotel” is “XX /”. YY], the address is "XX Town 1-20", and it indicates that the facility is located at the mesh number "M10" in the map image data Data. In the figures after FIG. 2, "XX" of latitude and longitude represents an arbitrary latitude, "YY" of latitude and longitude represents an arbitrary longitude, and "X" of other items represents 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 connected to each other by a bus (not shown). ing.

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

(A1) The guide unit 312 acquires the designation of the "starting point" and the "destination" from the user via the input / output unit 350. The acquisition of the departure point may be omitted based on the current position acquired by the current position acquisition unit 360. The guide unit 312 may acquire other conditions for searching for a route (for example, waypoints, designation of transportation means, display order, etc.).
(A2) The guide unit 312 transmits a route search request including each acquired information to the server 10. After that, the guidance control process described later is executed on the server 10.
(A3) The guidance unit 312 acquires guidance information such as display information from the server 10. This 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 the display information. The guide unit 312 may output the voice based on the voice data representing the content of the display information included in the guide information from the input / output unit 350. Further, the guide unit 312 may store the guide information such as the display information in the storage unit 340.

The communication unit 320 controls communication with another device such as the server 10 via a communication interface (not shown). The storage unit 340 is composed of 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 an input unit, an operation button, 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 radio waves transmitted from artificial satellites constituting a GPS (Global Positioning System), and acquires the latitude and longitude representing the current position of the smartphone 30.

A-2. Guidance control processing:
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the guidance control process. The guidance control process is a process for causing the smartphone 30 to guide the information on the route from the departure point to the destination designated by the user and the information on the facilities around the corner in the route. The guidance control process is started with the acquisition of the 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 point to the destination, and acquires the searched route (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 the route acquired in step S104 includes a corner. Specifically, the guidance control unit 114 performs a turning angle determination process for each node and each link included in the route acquired in step S104.

A2-1. Turn angle judgment processing:
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the corner determination process. In the corner determination process, it is determined whether or not the shape of a plurality of links adjacent to one node is a specific shape, thereby determining whether or not the path formed by the plurality of links is a corner. .. Specifically, the following determination is made.
-When the shape of a plurality of links adjacent to one node corresponds to a specific shape, it is determined that the path formed by the plurality of links is "not a corner".
-If the shapes of the plurality of links adjacent to one node do not correspond to the specific shape, it is determined that the path formed by the plurality of links is "a corner".
In the present embodiment, the "specific shape" is defined as the angle formed by a plurality of links sandwiching the node is equal to or greater than a predetermined angle.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a corner 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). This route RT includes eight nodes N1 to N8 and links L1 to L7 connecting the nodes. The departure point of the route RT is node N1, and the destination is node N8.

In step S202 of 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. When there are links at both ends of the node (step S202: YES), the guidance control unit 114 shifts the process to step S210. If there are no links at both ends of the node (step S202: NO), the guidance control unit 114 shifts the process to step S204.

In step S204, the guidance control unit 114 of the server 10 shifts the processing target node of the corner determination process to the next node on the traveling direction side (that is, the side closer to the destination) of the route RT. After that, the guidance control unit 114 shifts the process 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 point has a link at only one end (step S202: NO). Therefore, the guidance control unit 114 shifts 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 the processing target node.

In step S210 of FIG. 5, the guidance control unit 114 of the server 10 determines whether or not the length of each link (hereinafter, also referred to as “link length”) at both ends of the processing target node is equal to or longer than a predetermined length. To 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 process to step S212. When the length of either link is less than the predetermined length (step S210: NO), the guidance control unit 114 shifts the process to step S214.

In step S212, the guidance control unit 114 of the server 10 sets the links A and B for determining the corner as the following links. After that, the guidance control unit 114 shifts the process to step S220.
-Link A: A link on one end of the node to be processed,
-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 determining the corner as the following links. After that, the guidance control unit 114 shifts the process to step S216.
Link A: A link whose link length is equal to or longer than a predetermined length in step S210.
-Link B: Among the nodes located at both ends of the link A, the next node next to the node on the traveling direction side of the link A (hereinafter, also referred to as the "traveling direction side node") and the traveling direction side node. A line segment connecting.

In step S216, the guidance control unit 114 of the server 10 shifts the processing target node of the corner determination process to the next node on the traveling direction side of the route RT. After that, the guidance control unit 114 shifts the process to step S220. The purpose of step S216 is to align 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 step S212 is executed, and the following procedure b2 when step S214 is executed.
(B1) Whether the angles A and B determined in step S212 sandwiching and forming the processing target node are equal to or greater than a predetermined angle.
(B2) Is the angle formed by the links A and B determined in step S214 sandwiching the node on the traveling direction side at least a predetermined angle?
The same value can be adopted for the predetermined angles in steps b1 and b2. The predetermined angle can be set arbitrarily, but it is preferably an obtuse angle. In this embodiment, the predetermined angle is 150 degrees.

When the angle is equal to or greater than a predetermined angle (step S220: YES), in step S222, the guidance control unit 114 of the server 10 determines that the route formed by the links A and B is "not a corner". On the other hand, if the angle is less than a predetermined angle (step S220: NO), the guide control unit 114 determines in step S224 that the path formed by the links A and B is "a turning angle". After the completion of steps S222 and S224, the guidance control unit 114 shifts the process to step S204, and repeats the above process 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 having a predetermined length or more (step S210: YES). Therefore, the guidance control unit 114 sets the link A as the link L1 and the link B as 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 less than a predetermined angle (step S220: NO). Therefore, the guidance control unit 114 determines that the path formed by the links L1 and L2 is a "turn angle" (step S224).

On the other hand, when the processing target node is the node N3, the link length of the link L2 is equal to or longer than the predetermined length, but the link length of the link L3 is less than the predetermined length (step S210: NO). Therefore, the guidance control unit 114 sets the link A to the link L2 having a predetermined length or longer (step S214). Further, the guidance control unit 114 sets the link B as a line segment VL1 connecting the node N5, which is the next next node of the node N3, which is the traveling direction side node of the link L2, and the traveling direction side node N3. (Step S214). The angle θ2 formed by the link L2 and the line segment VL1 sandwiching the node N3 in the traveling direction is an obtuse angle (about 160 degrees), which 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 corner” (step S222).

In the processing of the processing target node N3, after the links A and B are determined, the processing target node is transitioned to the next node N4 (step S216). Further, after the completion of steps S220 to S224, the processing target node is further transitioned to the next node N5 (step S204). As a result, in the example of FIG. 6, the processing target node next to the processing target node N3 skips node N4 and becomes 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 links 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 corner determination process.

When the processing target node is node N5, the link length of the line segment VL1 is equal to or longer than the predetermined length, but the link length of the link L5 is less than the predetermined length (step S210: NO). Therefore, the guidance control unit 114 sets the new link A as a line segment VL1 having a predetermined length or longer (step S214). Further, the guidance control unit 114 connects the new link B with the node N5 which is the traveling direction side node of the line segment VL1, the next next node N7, and the traveling direction side node N5. (Step S214). The angle θ3 formed by the line segments VL1 and VL2 sandwiching the node N5 on the traveling direction side is an obtuse angle (about 160 degrees), which 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 corner” (step S222).

The guidance control unit 114 repeats the process in the same manner 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 of FIG. 6, only the route formed by the links L1 and L2 is determined to be "a corner", and the other routes are determined to be "not a corner".

When the long link is followed by an extremely short link in the shape of a curved path (eg, a pedestrian crossing shown by links L3 to L5 in FIG. 6), the user usually refers to the short link as one of the long links. Understand that it is a part and recognize that it is not a corner. According to the corner determination process (FIG. 5) of the present embodiment, when the link length of one of the links at both ends (adjacent) of the processing target node is less than the predetermined length of the guidance control unit 114 (step S210: NO). ), The link with a length less than the predetermined length and the next node are ignored (Fig. 6: In the case of the processing target nodes N3 and N5). Then, the guidance control unit 114 uses a link having a link length equal to or longer than a predetermined length and a line segment extending to the next node next to the node on the traveling direction side of the link (FIG. 6: line segments VL1 and VL2). Then, it is determined whether or not the angle is equal to or greater than a predetermined angle (FIG. 6: step S220, procedure b2). Therefore, in the turning angle determination process of the present embodiment, by appropriately defining the predetermined length, the guidance control unit 114 may set the location where the path RT is bent by the short link (FIG. 6: links L3 to L5). The presence or absence of a corner can be determined by the rough shape of the route.

A-2-2. Turn angle determination process (other example):
FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the corner determination process in another example. This corner determination process is executed as a subroutine of the guidance control process (FIG. 4) in the same manner as the corner determination process described with reference to FIG. The guidance control unit 114 may use the corner determination process of FIG. 7 instead of the corner determination process of FIG. In the example of FIG. 7, the “specific shape” has at least one length of less than a predetermined length for each link forming the plurality of links, or the angle formed by the plurality of links sandwiching the node is equal to or larger than the predetermined angle. Is defined as.

Steps S202 and S204 are the same as in FIG. In step S502, the guidance control unit 114 of the server 10 determines whether or not each link at both ends of the processing target node has a link length shorter than a predetermined length. The predetermined length can be arbitrarily determined. When there is at least one link having a link length less than a predetermined length (step S502: YES), the guidance control unit 114 determines each link at both ends of the processing target node, in other words, each link adjacent to the processing target node. It is determined that the path formed by the above is not a corner, and the process is shifted 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 process to step S504.

In step S504, the guidance control unit 114 of the server 10 determines whether or not the angle formed by sandwiching the processing target node between the links at both ends of the processing target node is equal to or greater than a predetermined angle. The predetermined angle can be set arbitrarily, but it is preferably an obtuse angle. When the angle is equal to or greater than a predetermined angle (step S504: YES), the guidance control unit 114 states that the path formed by each link at both ends of the processing target node, in other words, each link adjacent to the processing target node, is a “turn angle”. It is determined that the process is not, and the process is shifted to step S204 (step S514). On the other hand, when the angle is less than a 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 "turn angle", and shifts the processing to step S204 (step S504: NO). 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 process (FIG. 4). As a result, for example, in the case of the route RT of FIG. 6, only the route formed by the links L1 and L2 in which each link adjacent to the processing target node is long and intersects at a right angle is determined to be a "turn angle", and other The route of is determined to be "not a right angle".

Even if the shape of the path is bent in the middle, if one of the links is extremely short (for example, the links L3 to L5 in FIG. 6), the user usually recognizes that the link is "not a corner". According to the corner determination process (FIG. 7) shown as another example, the guide control unit 114 appropriately defines a predetermined length so that one link is an extremely short bent-shaped path, in other words, a plurality of paths. It can be determined that one of the links forming the link is not a corner at a short place.

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 corner in the acquired route (step S106: NO), the guidance control unit 114 of the server 10 shifts the process 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 process to step S110.

In step S110, the facility information acquisition unit 116 of the server 10 acquires the information on the corner. Specifically, the facility information acquisition unit 116 acquires the information of the node and the link determined to be the "turning corner" in step S106 from the route information acquired in step S104. The facility information acquisition unit 116 acquires, for example, the latitude and longitude of a node and the inclination of a 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 executes the facility information acquisition process described with reference to FIG. 8 with the server 20.

A-2-3. Facility information acquisition process:
FIG. 8 is a sequence diagram showing a procedure of facility information acquisition processing. The facility information acquisition process is executed as a subroutine of the guidance control process (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 specifying the information acquisition range.

FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining the designation of the 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 path RT of FIG. 9 includes three nodes N1 to N3 and four links L1 to L4. Of the route RTs, 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 the corner determination processes (FIG. 5 or 7). It is assumed that the node is judged to be a "turning corner".

The facility information acquisition unit 116 specifies the mesh number specified in the facility information acquisition request by executing the following steps c1 to c4.
(C1) The facility information acquisition unit 116 forms a polygon having a predetermined shape centered on the latitude and longitude of the node at the center of the corner (in other words, the node at the point where the route bends). The predetermined shape can be arbitrarily determined, and in the present embodiment, for example, it is a square having a diameter of 500 m. This polygon has an inclination that matches the inclination of one of the links adjacent to the node, and in the present embodiment, for example, the polygon has a lower number.
(C2) The facility information acquisition unit 116 covers the polygon formed in the procedure c1 and forms a rectangular frame in a direction parallel to each mesh of the map image data Data.
(C3) The facility information acquisition unit 116 obtains the mesh number of the mesh in which at least a part of the rectangular frame formed in the procedure c2 overlaps. This can be carried out using a well-known overlap determination or the like.
(C4) The facility information acquisition unit 116 executes steps c1 to c4 for all the nodes and links determined to be "turns" in the turn angle determination process (FIG. 5 or 7). Exclude duplicates from the obtained mesh number and obtain the mesh number specified in the facility information acquisition request.

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), covers the polygon P1 and forms a rectangular frame B1 parallel to the mesh. (Procedure c2). After that, the facility information acquisition unit 116 obtains mesh numbers M9, M10, M15, and M16 that overlap with the rectangular frame B1 (procedure 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 is the same as the polygon P2 (procedure c2). After that, the facility information acquisition unit 116 obtains mesh numbers M15 and M21 that overlap with the rectangular frame B2 (procedure c3). Similarly, the facility information acquisition unit 116 executes steps c1 to c3 centering on the node N3, and obtains mesh numbers M16, M17, M22, and M23. Finally, the facility information acquisition unit 116 excludes duplication from the mesh numbers obtained in each procedure c3, and mesh numbers M9, M10, M15, M16, M17, M21, M22, M23 specified in the facility information acquisition request. To get.

In this way, the facility information acquisition unit 116 is arranged around each node (N1, N2, N3) at the center point of the corner, in other words, the point where the path RT bends, and each polygon (P1, P2). , P3) can be covered and the rectangular frame (B1, B2, B3) oriented parallel to the mesh can be used to expand the acquisition range of facility information. As a result, in the facility information acquisition process (FIG. 8), the facility information acquisition unit 116 does not acquire the information of the facility even though the facility is actually located around the corner of the route RT. It is possible to suppress the occurrence and acquire information on facilities located around the corner of the route RT without omission.

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 the mesh in which at least a part of the polygon formed in step c1 overlaps. Even in this way, the facility information acquisition unit 116 uses each polygon arranged around each node at the center point of the corner, in other words, 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 on the 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. In FIG. 10, for convenience of explanation, only the node N1 of the route RT described in FIG. 9 is shown. Further, the illustrations of the meshes M11, M17, M23, and M29 are also omitted. The designation of the mesh number in FIG. 10 is executed in step S302 of the facility information acquisition process (FIG. 8) in the same manner as the designation of the mesh number described in FIG. The facility information acquisition unit 116 may use the method of FIG. 10 instead of the method of FIG. In the example of FIG. 10, the mesh number is obtained without using the polygon and the rectangular frame.

The facility information acquisition unit 116 specifies the mesh number specified in the facility information acquisition request by executing the following steps d1 to d2.
(D1) The facility information acquisition unit 116 determines whether or not the distance from the processing target node to the boundary of the mesh is equal to or less than a predetermined distance for each mesh adjacent to the mesh to which the processing target node belongs. Here, the predetermined distance can be arbitrarily determined. "Adjacent" includes both directly adjacent adjacencies and diagonal adjacencies. 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 the mesh number of the mesh that is equal to or less than a predetermined distance.
(D3) The facility information acquisition unit 116 executes steps d1 and d2 for all the nodes determined to be "turning corners" in the turning angle determination process (FIG. 5 or 7). Exclude duplicates from the obtained mesh number and obtain the mesh number specified in the facility information acquisition request.

In this way, the facility information acquisition unit 116 uses the distance from each node (N1, N2, N3) at the center point of the corner, in other words, the point where the route RT bends, to each adjacent mesh. , The range of acquisition of 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 the information of the facility even though the facility is actually located around the corner of the route RT. It is possible to suppress the occurrence and acquire information on facilities located around the corner of the route RT without omission.

In step S304 of 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 the 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 process of the present embodiment, the facility information acquisition unit 116 uses the facility information acquisition request for collectively designating the mesh numbers to be acquired from the server 20 to provide facility information. To get. Therefore, since the request and response can be exchanged between the server 10 and the server 20 in one round trip, the processing load on the server 10 and the server 20 is low. Further, since the server 20 may directly compare the mesh number specified in the facility information acquisition request with the mesh number of the facility information DB 245, the processing load on the search in step S304 is low.

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

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

In step S402 of 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 the position information (for example, latitude / longitude) of the first node N1 among the nodes N1 to N3 determined to be the "turn angle" in the corner determination process (FIG. 5 or 7). There is. In step S404, the server 20x searches the facility information DB 245, and the information of the facilities P1, P4, and P7 in which the representative points exist in 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 S421 to 416, information on facilities P1, P7, and P8 in which representative points exist within the circular range R2 based on the position information of the second node N2 among the nodes determined to be "turning corners". Is obtained. In steps S422 to S426, information on facilities P5, P9, and P10 in which representative points exist within the circular range R3 is acquired based on the position information of the third node N3 among the nodes determined to be "turning corners". Ru. The facility information acquisition unit 116x of the server 10x repeats this process as many times as the number of times of all the nodes determined to be "turning corners". At this time, if the distance between the nodes is short as in 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 grid hatching). Therefore, in step S430 of FIG. 11, the facility information acquisition unit 116x excludes the overlapping portion from the facility information acquired from the server 20.

As described above, in the facility information acquisition process (FIG. 11) of the conventional example, as many nodes as the number of nodes determined to be "turn angle" in the corner determination process (FIG. 5 or 7) are requested between the server 10x and the server 20. It becomes necessary to exchange the response with the server 10x, and the processing load on the server 10x and the server 20 is high. Further, when the server 20 searches the facility information DB 245, the latitude / longitude comparison process is performed, and the processing load on the search is high. Further, since the server 10x needs to exclude the duplicated portion from the facility information acquired from the server 20 (step S430), the server 10x needs extra processing.

As described above, as is clear from the comparison with the facility information acquisition process (FIG. 11) of the conventional example, in the facility information acquisition process (FIG. 8) of the present embodiment, the facility information acquisition unit 116 of the server 10 is a map image. Data data acquires facility information in mesh units that are divided into predetermined sections in advance (FIG. 8, step S302). For this reason, the server 10 (route guidance) is compared with the conventional method (FIG. 11) in which reference and search (verification) processing for the "coordinates of the representative point of the facility" is required each time the facility information is acquired. The processing load on the device) and the server 20 that stores 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 searching the facility and acquiring 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 the 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 guide facility. FIG. 13 shows an example of the route RT acquired in step S104 of the guidance control process (FIG. 4) and an example of peripheral facilities P1 to P14 acquired in step S112. The path RT of FIG. 13 includes three nodes N1 to N3 and four links L1 to L4. Of the route RTs, 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 the corner determination processes (FIG. 5 or 7). It is assumed that the node is judged to be a "turning corner".

The facility information acquisition unit 116 narrows down the guidance facilities from the surrounding facilities and acquires the information of the guidance facilities by executing the following steps e1 to e3.
(E1) The facility information acquisition unit 116 is centered on the position of each node based on the position information (for example, latitude / longitude) of each node determined to be "turn angle" in the corner determination process (FIG. 5 or 7). Define a circular extraction range. The radius of the circle can be arbitrarily determined and may be changed by the user. When there are a plurality of nodes determined to be "turning corners", the facility information acquisition unit 116 defines a plurality of extraction ranges corresponding to each node.
(E2) The facility information acquisition unit 116 identifies a facility located within the extraction range defined in the procedure e1 from the peripheral facilities acquired in step S112 of the guidance control process. Specifically, the facility information acquisition unit 116 identifies a facility where at least a part of the facility polygons overlaps with respect to the extraction range by using a well-known overlap determination or the like. The facility information acquisition unit 116 uses the specified facility as a guide facility. The facility information acquisition unit 116 may calculate the overlap ratio of the facility polygons with respect to the extraction range at the time of the overlap determination, and store them in association with each facility. In the present embodiment, the overlap ratio 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 the information of the facility specified in the procedure e2 from the information of the peripheral 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 identifies facilities P1, P2, P4, P6, P7, P8, P9, P10, and P11 in which at least a part of the facility polygons overlap with respect to the extraction ranges R1 to R3. , Guidance facility (procedure e2). After that, the facility information acquisition unit 116 of the guidance facilities P1, P2, P4, P6, P7, P8, P9, P10, P11 identified in the procedure e2 from the information of the surrounding facilities acquired in step S112 of the guidance control process. Get information.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the facility information acquisition unit 116 is a facility located within a predetermined range (that is, within the extraction ranges R1 to R3 defined by the circle) from each node at the point where the route bends. That is, the information of the facilities around the node determined to be the "turn angle" in the corner determination process (FIG. 5 or 7) can be acquired as the information of the guide facility.

Further, as described in the facility information acquisition process (FIGS. 11 and 12) of the conventional example, according to the general method of acquiring facility information using the representative points of the facilities, the area is actually around the corner. Information on the facility may not be obtained even though it is a located facility (Fig. 12, facilities P2, P6, P11). This is especially noticeable for facilities with large areas (eg large shopping malls). 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 forming the outer shape of the facility (procedure e2), and therefore is a representative of the facility. When the facility information 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 the information of the guidance facility with the route acquired in step S104. Specifically, the guidance control unit 114 executes the associating process described with reference to FIG.

A-2-5. Linking process:
FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the associating process. The associating process is executed as a subroutine of the guidance control process (FIG. 4). The guidance control unit 114 of the server 10 executes the next step with respect to 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 or not the information of the facility to be processed matches the predetermined item list. The item list is a list in which information for identifying the "facility that does not guide the corner" is stored, and is stored in advance in the storage unit 140 of the server 10. In the item list, for example, the facility name of the facility whose facility name is already included in the map image of the map information DB 241 is stored. By doing so, it is possible to prevent duplication of the display of the facility name embedded in the map image and the facility name by the display image described later. The content of the item list can be set arbitrarily and may be changed by the user.

When the facility information does not match the item list (step S602: NO), the guidance control unit 114 shifts the process 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 process to step S604. In step S604, the guidance control unit 114 does not associate the facility information with the link, and moves the processing target to the information of the next facility (step S606). After that, the guidance control unit 114 returns to step S602 and continues the process.

In step S612, the guidance control unit 114 of the server 10 includes information on facilities in the same building as the facility to be processed in the facility information acquired in step S114 of the guidance control process (FIG. 4). Determine if it exists. This determination can be performed, for example, by comparing addresses and latitude / longitude.

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

In step S614, the guidance control unit 114 of the server 10 determines whether or not the facility to be processed is a facility on the first floor of the building. This determination can be performed, for example, by referring to an address. If the facility is not on the first floor (step S614: NO), the guidance control unit 114 does not associate the facility information with the link, and shifts the process to step S618. On the other hand, in the case of the facility on the first floor (step S614: YES), the guidance control unit 114 shifts the process 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 process to step S618. In step S618, the guidance control unit 114 moves the processing target to the information of the next facility, then returns to step S602 and continues the processing.

In step S622, the guidance control unit 114 of the server 10 determines whether or not the facility to be processed is a facility suitable for guiding the facility name. This determination can be performed, for example, by referring to the facility name or genre. Specifically, for example, when the facility name represents a private house such as "Suzuki's house", the guidance control unit 114 can determine that it is not suitable for guiding the facility name from the viewpoint of personal information protection. Further, for example, the guidance control unit 114 can determine that the facility is not suitable for guiding the facility name when the facility is of a genre that is unfavorable in terms of morals or security. The conditions for whether or not it is suitable for the guidance of the facility name can be set arbitrarily, and may be changed by the user.

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

On the other hand, if the facility is not suitable for guiding the facility name (step S622: NO), the guidance control unit 114 of the server 10 shifts the process 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 process to step S628. In step S628, the guidance control unit 114 moves the processing target to the information of the next facility, then 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 may use 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. Information that is not preferable to be guided to the user due to the structure (for example, information that causes duplication of information) can be prevented from being guided by preparing the information in a predetermined item list in advance. it can. Further, according to the linking process (steps S612 to S618) of the present embodiment, the guidance control unit 114 can guide information on the facility on the first floor that is easily visible to the user, and for example, a multi-tenant building. It is possible to suppress information overload caused by information on a plurality of facilities in the same building, such as. Further, according to the linking process (steps S622 to S628) of the present embodiment, the guidance control unit 114 uses a facility name that is intuitively easy for the user to understand when the facility is suitable for guiding the facility name. Guidance (step S624), and if the facility is not suitable for guidance of the facility name, guidance using the address of the facility often described in the features on the street (for example, utility 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 route information acquired in step S104 with the facility information associated with each link in the route in step S116 to the smartphone 30. Generate display information for display. The display information can be, for example, in 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 process. After that, as described above, the smartphone 30 performs guidance processing based on guidance information such as display information.

FIG. 15 is an example of a screen that guides information on a route from a departure point to a destination. On the screen W1 displayed on the input / output unit 350 of the smartphone 30, a map image MP1 around the destination, a route RT, a user's current position PL, icons C1 to C4, guidance messages MG1 to MG9, and the like. Is drawn. In the following, a configuration will be described 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. However, the guide unit 312 of the smartphone 30 may update the display on 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 facility information associated with 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 indicating 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 manner associated with the facility polygons of the corresponding facilities P1 to P9 using leader lines. Further, the facility name is displayed in the guidance messages MG1, MG3, MG4, MG6, MG7, the facility icon is displayed in the guidance messages MG2, MG9, and the address is displayed in the guidance messages MG5, MG8. This difference in the displayed contents is a result of the guidance mode being changed 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 guidance message MG7 (F restaurant) about the facility that the user should pass in front of it is replaced with other guidance messages MG1 to MG6, MG8, MG9. It is displayed larger (highlighted) in comparison. This highlighting 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 guidance control unit 114 determines that the user has passed in front of the F restaurant based on the current location information, the guidance message MG7 is unhighlighted and the next guidance message MG8 (XX Town 1-19-) is released. 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 changed by the user. For example, in addition to displaying a large image, the display color may be changed, decoration such as edging may be applied, and voice guidance or vibration guidance may be combined. In this way, the guidance control unit 114 displays information on the facility to be preferentially guided (guidance message MG7 about the facility that the user should pass in front of it next), and guide message MG1 of another facility. By setting the drawing mode to attract attention as compared with MG6, MG8, and MG9, the display can be displayed in an easy-to-understand manner at first glance.

It is sufficient for the guidance control unit 114 to make the guidance message MG7 about the facility that the user should pass in front of it in a different guidance mode from the other guidance messages MG1 to MG6, MG8, and MG9 (highlighted). It does not have to be). For example, there may be no difference in the display method, and voice guidance or vibration guidance may be combined only with the guidance message about the facility to be passed 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 facility P1 around the route RT. The route RT includes three nodes N1 to N3 and four links L1 to L4. Of the route RTs, 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 the corner determination processes (FIG. 5 or 7). It is assumed that the node is judged to be a "turning corner".

The guidance control unit 114 determines the passage to the facility P1 based on the following procedures f1 to f3.
(F1) The guidance control unit 114 obtains a linear distance from the representative point O1 of the facility P1 to each node N1, N2, N3 corresponding to the corner at the point where the route RT bends.
(F2) The guidance control unit 114 identifies the node having the shortest linear distance obtained in the procedure f1 as the node used for the passage determination. In the example of FIG. 16, node N1 is specified.
(F3) When 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, the smartphone 30 It is determined that the user of the smartphone has passed in front of the facility P1.

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

A-3. effect:
As described above, according to the server 10 (route guidance device) of the above embodiment, when the shape of the plurality of links adjacent to one node is a specific shape, the guidance control unit 114 refers to the plurality of links. The corner is not guided (FIG. 5: steps S220 to S224 of the corner determination process, FIG. 7: steps S502 to S514 of the corner determination process in another example). As described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 7, by appropriately defining this specific shape, the server 10 guides the corner at a place having a path shape that the pedestrian recognizes as "not a corner". It is possible to avoid the conventional problem of squeezing. As a result, according to the server 10 of the present embodiment, the shape of the route recognized by the pedestrian can be matched with the content of the guidance (for example, FIG. 15), especially in the route guidance for pedestrians.

Further, according to the bending angle determination process (FIGS. 5 and 7) of the above-described embodiment, it is determined that the angle formed by the plurality of links sandwiching the node is equal to or greater than the predetermined angle. When the shape of the path is a loosely bent shape (for example, a loosely bent and continuous road), the user usually recognizes that it is "not a corner". In this regard, according to the server 10 (route guidance device) of the present embodiment, in the guidance control unit 114, by appropriately defining the above-mentioned predetermined angle, a place where the shape of the route is a loosely bent shape, in other words, , Where one link and the other link are connected at a large angle via a node, it is possible to prevent the guidance of the corner.

Further, according to the linking process (FIG. 14) of the above-described embodiment, the guidance control unit 114 is based on, for example, facility information (FIG. 2) that can include various contents such as a facility name and a facility address. The guidance content for a specific facility name may be changed to something else (steps S622-S628), or the guidance for a specific facility name may be withheld (steps S602-S604, steps S612-S614). The aspect (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 the information of the facility.

Further, according to the guidance screen (FIG. 15) of the above-described embodiment, the guidance control unit 114 guides information on facilities around the corner. The facility information has a feature that it is easy to understand at first 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) It is possible to improve the comprehensibility of. Further, according to the guidance screen (FIG. 15) of the above embodiment, the guidance control unit 114 is used because the guidance of the facility that the user next passes in front of it is different from the guidance of other facilities. It is possible to further improve usability and comprehensibility for people.

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

-Modification example 1:
In the above embodiment, the configuration of the navigation system 1 including the server 10 (route guidance device) is illustrated. However, the configuration of the navigation system 1 is only an example, and any aspect can be adopted. For example, at least a part of the functions provided by the server 20 (route search device) may be mounted on the server 10, or the functions provided by one server 20 may be realized by a plurality of servers. Good. Further, as the client device, various devices such as a personal computer, a dedicated navigation device, a game machine, and a wearable device can be adopted 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, the XY coordinate system) may be used as the position information.

-Modification example 2:
In the above embodiment, the configuration of the server 10 (route guidance device) and the server 20 (route search device) is illustrated. However, the configuration of each server in the above embodiment is only an example, and any aspect can be adopted. For example, a part of the component can be omitted or changed, or a component can be added. For example, each of the above-mentioned functions may be realized by the cooperation of a plurality of servers, and at least a part of each of the above-mentioned DBs may be stored in another server or another internal / external storage device. .. The configuration of each DB described above can also be arbitrarily changed, and items can be added / deleted / changed, and the data storage format can be changed. Here, the change of the data storage format includes the division / change of the table and the change of how to have the relation.

For example, the facility information DB 245 stored in the server 20 may include POI information about POI (Point Of Interest) in addition to facility information about artificial facilities (features). POI means a specific place of interest to the user, and includes natural features such as mountains and rivers in addition to artificial facilities. Further, 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 telephone number of the facility and business hours.

-Modification example 3:
In the above embodiment, the guidance control process (FIG. 4) and each subroutine executed in the guidance control process have been described with reference to an example of the processing procedure. However, these processing procedures can be changed in various ways, and the processing contents 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-described embodiment, information on facilities located around the corner is guided as guidance for the corner. However, various guides can be implemented as guides for corners. For example, the guidance control unit 114 may provide information on the corner (for example, the name of a traffic light at the corner, the name of an intersection, etc.) instead of the information on the facilities located around the corner, indicating that the corner is a corner. (That is, only the shape of the route) may be guided, or the traveling direction (right turn / left turn / straight ahead) at the corner may be guided. Further, for example, as a method of guiding a corner, in addition to the screen display shown in FIG. 15, guidance that combines voice and vibration with the screen display, guidance by voice only instead of screen display, and vibration only instead of screen display. Guidance etc. can be adopted.

(2) In the guidance control process (FIG. 4) of the above-described embodiment, 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 the corner. In this case, in the facility information acquisition process (FIGS. 8 and 9), which is a subroutine of the guidance control process, the facility information acquisition unit 116 forms a plurality of polygons having a predetermined shape along each link in the route, and forms the polygons. A mesh that at least partially overlaps the surrounding rectangular frame may be included in the facility information acquisition request (FIG. 8, step S302). Further, when the mesh and the rectangular frame are not used (FIG. 10), the facility information acquisition unit 116 has 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 the mesh adjacent to the mesh to which it belongs is equal to or less than the predetermined distance described with reference to FIG. 10 may be included in the facility information acquisition request (FIG. 8, step S302). Further, when the guidance on the straight route is carried out, in the acquisition of the guidance facility (FIG. 13), the facility information acquisition unit 116 is set to a predetermined position on the route (for example, a reference position provided at equal intervals on each link). Information on facilities where at least a part of facility polygons overlap may be acquired within the extraction range centered on the reference position provided at the center of each link.

According to the above facility information acquisition process, the facility information acquisition unit 116 can reduce the processing load when searching the facility information DB 245 and acquiring the information of the facility along the route. Further, according to the above facility information acquisition process, the facility information acquisition unit 116 can expand the acquisition range of the information of the facility when acquiring the information of the facility along the route. As a result, it is necessary to suppress the occurrence of the 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 done. Further, according to the above-mentioned acquisition of the guidance facility, since the facility information acquisition unit 116 acquires the facility information using the facility polygon, the information of the facilities located around the route can be acquired without omission. Further, according to the above-mentioned guidance at the straight route and the corner, the information on the facilities along the route is guided in addition to the information on the route, so that it is possible to improve the comprehensibility for the user of the server 10.

(3) In the guidance control process (FIG. 4) of the above embodiment, the guidance of the walking route has been described. However, the guidance control unit 114 may perform the same processing as in the above embodiment for the automobile route and the public transportation route in addition to the guidance of the walking route.

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

(5) In the facility information acquisition process (FIGS. 8 and 9) of the above embodiment, the facility information acquisition unit 116 determines the latitude and longitude of the node at the center of the corner (in other words, the node at the point where the route bends). 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 a node. 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 path or the like.

(6) In the acquisition of the guidance facility of the above embodiment (FIG. 13), 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 extending in the traveling direction, a polygon, or the like can be adopted.

(7) In the guidance screen (FIG. 15) of the above embodiment, an example of the guidance mode of facility information is shown. However, the guidance mode of facility information can be changed in various ways. For example, in the acquisition of the guidance facility (FIG. 13), the guidance control unit 114 uses information on the facility closest to each node (or link) on the route that is the center of the extraction range, and information on other facilities. It may be a guidance screen that gives priority to guidance. The specific method of giving priority guidance can be arbitrarily determined. For example, the facility polygon may be highlighted, the facility information may be highlighted, and the guidance screen is displayed and the guidance is provided by voice or vibration. You may. In this way, since the guidance control unit 114 preferentially guides the information of the facilities located near the route, it is possible to improve the usability and comprehensibility for the user of the server 10 (route guidance device). it can.

(8) In the guidance screen (FIG. 15) of the above embodiment, an example of the guidance mode of facility information is shown. However, the guidance mode of facility information can be changed in various ways. For example, the guidance control unit 114 causes the information of the facility having the highest overlap ratio of the facility polygons with respect to the extraction range obtained in the acquisition of the guidance facility (FIG. 13) to be guided with priority over the information of other facilities. It may be used as a guidance screen. The specific method of giving priority guidance can be arbitrarily determined. For example, the facility polygon may be highlighted, the facility information may be highlighted, and the guidance screen is displayed and the guidance is provided by voice or vibration. You may. In this way, the guidance control unit 114 preferentially guides the information of the facility having a high ratio of the facility polygons within the acquisition range (predetermined range) of the facility information, so that the server 10 (route guidance). It is possible to improve the usability and comprehensibility for the user of the device).

(9) In the guidance screen (FIG. 15) of the above embodiment, an example of the guidance mode of facility information is shown. However, the guidance mode of facility information can be changed in various ways. For example, the guidance control unit 114 compares the facility polygon of the facility on which the guidance message representing the facility information is displayed with the facility polygon of the facility on which the guidance message is not displayed, and is easy to attract attention (highlighting). ) May be drawn. In this way, the guidance control unit 114 can display the facility polygon to which the facility information is associated in an easy-to-understand manner as compared 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 (outer shape of the facility) in an easy-to-understand manner.

-Modification example 4:
The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, examples, and modifications, and can be realized with various configurations within a range not deviating from the gist thereof. For example, the technical features in the embodiments, examples, and modifications corresponding to the technical features in each embodiment described in the column of the outline of the invention may be used to solve some or all of the above-mentioned problems. , It is possible to replace or combine as appropriate in order to achieve some or all of the above effects. Further, if the technical feature is not described as essential in the present specification, it can be appropriately deleted.

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 ... Memory 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 ... Information unit 320 ... Communication unit 330 ... ROM / RAM
340 ... Storage unit 350 ... Input / output unit 360 ... Current position acquisition unit INT ... Internet

Claims (4)

It is a route guidance device
The acquisition department that acquires the route from the departure point to the destination,
The facility information acquisition department that acquires facility information,
A guidance control unit that guides information on the route, including the acquired information on the facility,
With
The facility information acquisition department
The map is a mesh unit divided into predetermined sections, covers each polygon of a predetermined shape arranged along each link in the path, and at least for a rectangular frame in a direction parallel to the mesh. A route guidance device that acquires information on the facility located in the vicinity of the route by acquiring information on the facility located in the mesh in which a part thereof overlaps . It is a route guidance device
The acquisition department that acquires the route from the departure point to the destination,
The facility information acquisition department that acquires facility information,
A guidance control unit that guides information on the route, including the acquired information on the facility,
With
The facility information acquisition department
The map is a mesh unit divided into predetermined sections, covers each polygon of a predetermined shape arranged so as to include each node at a point where the path bends in the path , and is oriented parallel to the mesh. A route guidance device that acquires information on the facility located in the vicinity of the route by acquiring information on the facility located in the mesh in which at least a part of the rectangular frame overlaps. It is a method of guiding the route, and the information processing device
The process of acquiring the route from the departure point to the destination,
The process of acquiring facility information and
The process of guiding the information of the route including the acquired information of the facility, and
With
In the process of acquiring the facility information,
The map is a mesh unit divided into predetermined sections, covers each polygon of a predetermined shape arranged along each link in the path, and at least for a rectangular frame in a direction parallel to the mesh. A method of acquiring information on the facility located in the vicinity of the route by acquiring information on the facility located in the mesh in which a part of the mesh overlaps . A computer program for an information processing device
Steps to get the route from the departure point to the destination,
Steps to get facility information and
A step of guiding the information of the route including the acquired information of the facility, and
To execute,
In the step of acquiring the facility information,
The map is a mesh unit divided into predetermined sections, covers each polygon of a predetermined shape arranged along each link in the path, and at least for a rectangular frame in a direction parallel to the mesh. A computer program that acquires information on the facilities located in the vicinity of the route by acquiring information on the facilities located in the mesh in which a part thereof overlaps .

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