JP7488099B2 - Computer Systems and Programs - Google Patents

Description

One aspect of the present disclosure relates to a computer system, a processing method, a program, and/or a data structure.

Patent document 1 describes a route search system that searches for a route using an appropriate arrival point by considering not only the distance from the departure or destination feature, but also the positional relationship with the feature.

JP 2012-215544 A

The aim is to provide more flexibility in geographic location.

A computer system according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes a processor. The processor extracts a second component facility in response to a search including a first component facility based on map data showing a first component facility and a second component facility belonging to a transportation node, and outputs location information indicating a geographical position of the second component facility. The processor outputs location information further indicating the geographical position of the first component facility. The map data includes, as representative positions, geographical positions of predetermined representative points for each of the first component facility and the second component facility. The processor selects, for each of the first component facility and the second component facility, one of the representative position and a nearest position which is the geographical position of a nearest point set in place of the representative point, and outputs location information indicating the selected geographical position for each of the first component facility and the second component facility.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a transportation hub. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of an application of a route search system according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a hardware configuration of a server. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of map data. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of an operation of the route search system according to the embodiment. 13 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a neighborhood search. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a process for setting a display point of a second component facility in a nearby search. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a map display near a transportation hub.

Embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the description of the drawings, identical or equivalent elements are given the same reference numerals, and duplicate descriptions will be omitted.

[System Overview]
In this embodiment, as an example, a computer system according to the present disclosure is applied to a route search system 1. The route search system 1 according to the embodiment is a computer system that searches for a travel route from a starting point to a destination specified by a user and provides the user with the travel route. The user refers to a person who obtains information using a computer system according to the present disclosure, such as the route search system 1. The starting point refers to a place set as a starting point for searching a travel route, and the destination refers to a place set as an end point for the search. Both the starting point and the destination are reference points for route search. A travel route refers to information regarding travel from one point to another point. In one example, a travel route can indicate not only a route from a starting point to a destination, but also attributes of the route (hereinafter referred to as "route attributes"). A route attribute is any information that represents the nature, characteristics, or situation of a route. For example, the route attributes may include at least one of a means of transportation such as a means of transport, a time or cost required to travel the route, a condition of the route (e.g., traffic information), features associated with the route (i.e., feature information), businesses associated with the route (i.e., business information), and service information associated with the route (e.g., advertising information, coupon information, etc.).

A feature is any tangible or intangible object that exists on the ground. A feature may be natural or man-made. For example, features may include mountains, farmland, residential areas, vacant lots, rivers, lakes, oceans, tourist sites, roads, railways, buildings, parks, towers, traffic lights, railroad crossings, pedestrian crossings, footbridges, buoys, etc. Examples of intangible features include areas set up for any purpose (e.g. no photography zones, temporary no-entry zones, etc.), areas where events are held, meeting places, photo spots, etc. Naturally, the types of features are not limited to these.

In one example, the route search system 1 searches for one or more suitable travel routes from options including various transportation means or modes, and provides the travel routes to the user. In this route search, when presenting the geographical location of a certain place on the travel route, the route search system 1 can provide the user with a more flexible route search by also presenting the geographical location of another place close to the place. For example, the other place may be a place that is convenient for travel (a place that is easy to get to), and more specifically, a place that is easy to travel to on a rainy day (for example, a place where the walking distance outdoors is short), or a place where it is possible to arrive at the destination faster. The "place on the travel route" may be any of the starting point, the destination, and the intermediate point. A geographical location refers to a specific location in the real world (in other words, on the earth).

To provide more flexible route searches, the route search system 1 executes processing related to transportation nodes. A transportation node is a place where a change in transportation mode is implemented (in other words, a place where the transportation mode changes). More specifically, a transportation node is a place where multiple transportation modes of the same or different types are connected.

A means of transportation refers to a method for a moving object to move. The means of transportation is not limited to a moving object, and is a concept that includes methods that do not use a moving object. The means of transportation may be public transportation or a moving object operated by the user himself. The means of transportation may be a ground or underground moving object, an air moving object, or a moving object on or underwater. Examples of means of transportation include walking, bicycles, motorcycles, private cars, buses, taxis, conventional lines, high-speed trains, airplanes, and ferries, but of course the means of transportation are not limited to these. "Change of means of transportation" refers to changing the means of transportation from one means of transportation to another means of transportation. Corresponding to the fact that the means of transportation are not limited, the change of means of transportation is also not limited. Transferring from one means of transportation to another means of transportation is an example of a change of means of transportation. Examples of a change of means of transportation include transferring from a taxi to a conventional line, transferring from one line (railway line, bus line, etc.) to another line (railway line, bus line, etc.), changing from a private car to walking, and changing from walking to a conventional line.

A transportation node includes at least one constituent facility. A constituent facility is a facility that is used by a user to change the means of transportation. The constituent facility is processed by the route search system 1 as an element that constitutes a transportation node. Examples of constituent facilities include, but are not limited to, train stations, bus stops, taxi stands, ports, airports, parking lots, and bicycle parking lots. One constituent facility may be associated with multiple transportation nodes. Therefore, the transportation nodes and the constituent facilities have a many-to-many relationship (in other words, an M:N relationship).

Typically, a transportation node is formed by a number of constituent facilities located close to each other. Therefore, by referring to this transportation node, it is possible to identify another constituent facility that is close to a certain constituent facility. For example, it is assumed that a certain transportation node includes a first constituent facility and a second constituent facility, and a travel route including the first constituent facility is searched for in a route search. In this case, the route search system 1 may extract the second constituent facility in response to the search including the first constituent facility, and output location information indicating the geographical location of the second constituent facility. A "search including the first constituent facility" refers to a search that includes a process of acquiring information about the first constituent facility. For example, a search for a travel route that includes the first constituent facility at the departure point, destination, or intermediate point is an example of a search that includes the first constituent facility. Location information is information that is output from a computer and perceived by a person (user). In this embodiment, the location information is visually recognized by the user, but the location information may be recognized by the user by a sense other than vision.

In this disclosure, a first component facility refers to a component facility that is first referenced by a search for a transportation node, and a second component facility refers to a component facility that is referenced in response to the search. Naturally, depending on the specific processing of the search, a component facility may be processed as either a first component facility or a second component facility.

When searching for the geographical location of a first component facility, the route search system 1 can also search for the geographical location of a second component facility that belongs to the same transportation node as the first component facility. In this disclosure, searching for a second component facility in this manner is also referred to as a "neighborhood search." This neighborhood search presents multiple geographical locations for a certain transportation node to the user. For example, if the transportation node corresponds to a destination, the route search system 1 presents multiple candidates including optimal locations such as the shortest location and the most easily accessible location. If the transportation node corresponds to a stopover, the route search system 1 presents multiple candidates including optimal locations such as the most easily accessible location and the easiest location to transfer to. If the transportation node corresponds to a departure point, the route search system 1 presents multiple candidates including optimal locations such as the most easily accessible location. In this manner, the route search system 1 flexibly provides geographical locations.

1 is a diagram showing an example of a transportation node. In this example, the transportation node 200 is composed of station A on a certain line, station B on another line, and parking lot C. The shaded area indicates a walkable area. The representative geographic position (also referred to as the "representative position" in this disclosure) 201 of station A is set at a position slightly away from station A, while the representative position 202 of station B is set near station B. The representative position 203 of parking lot C is set next to parking lot C. In this example, station A is specified as the driving destination of automobile V. In this example, the route search system 1 processes station A as a first component facility and presents the representative position 201 to the user of automobile V. Furthermore, the route search system 1 processes station B and parking lot C, which belong to the same transportation node 200 as station A, as second component facilities, and also presents the representative positions 202 and 203 to the user. Such information on the second component facilities can be said to be auxiliary information in the search results.

Therefore, the user can confirm not only Station A but also Station B and Parking Lot C as the specific location of the destination, and can decide the location for stopping or parking the car from among these three locations. For example, the user can head to the representative location 202 (i.e., in front of Station B) via the easiest or shortest route 212. Alternatively, if it is impossible or difficult for the user to drive to the representative location 201 (i.e., in front of Station A) along the route 211 due to some circumstances such as road closure or traffic congestion, the user can drive to the representative location 203 (i.e., in front of Parking Lot C) along the route 213 to achieve the desired purpose. Alternatively, the user can head to either the representative location 201 or 202 (Station A or Station B) to see someone off, or head to the representative location 203 (Parking Lot C) to park the car. In this way, the user can decide the destination according to the situation around the destination or the purpose of the move. Conventionally, when the first component facility was set as the destination, if the information of the second component facility was not displayed as a route search result, the user had to try the route search multiple times while changing the search conditions. By using route search system 1, the user can eliminate the need to go through the trouble of searching and easily find alternative locations for the representative location of the first component facility.

The route search system 1 can also reduce the usage of hardware resources in a computer system. In other words, the route search system 1 reduces the number of searches performed and the number of communications required for searches, thereby reducing the usage of hardware resources such as the processor processing load and network traffic.

[System Configuration]
2 is a diagram showing an example of an application of the route search system 1. The route search system 1 includes a server 10, which is a computer that provides a travel route to a user. In one example, the server 10 is connected to a map database 20 and one or more user terminals 30 via a communication network.

The server 10 is a computer that executes the main functions of the route search system 1. The server 10 executes a route search based on a request from the user terminal 30, and provides the searched travel route to the user terminal 30. In this route search, the server 10 may execute a neighborhood search.

Figure 2 also shows an example of the functional configuration of the server 10. The server 10 has a communication unit 11 and a search unit 12 as functional modules. The communication unit 11 is a functional module that transmits and receives data to the user terminal 30. Specifically, the communication unit 11 receives a route search request from the user terminal 30, and transmits the searched travel route to the user terminal 30 as a search result. The search unit 12 is a functional module that searches for a travel route.

The computer that functions as the server 10 is not limited. In one example, the server 10 is configured by a large computer such as a business server. FIG. 3 shows an example of the hardware configuration of the server 10. For example, the server 10 has a control circuit 100. In one example, the control circuit 100 has one or more processors 101, a memory 102, a storage 103, a communication port 104, and an input/output port 105. The processor 101 executes an operating system and an application program. The storage 103 is configured by a storage medium such as a hard disk, a non-volatile semiconductor memory, or a removable medium (e.g., a magnetic disk, an optical disk, etc.), and stores the operating system and the application program. The memory 102 temporarily stores a program loaded from the storage 103 or a calculation result by the processor 101. In one example, the processor 101 functions as each functional module of the server 10 by executing a program in cooperation with the memory 102. The communication port 104 performs data communication with other devices via the communication network NW according to an instruction from the processor 101. The input/output port 105 performs input/output of electrical signals between input/output devices (user interfaces) such as a keyboard, mouse, and monitor according to instructions from the processor 101.

The storage 103 stores a program 120 for causing the computer to function as the server 10. The program 120 includes program code for causing the computer to function as the communication unit 11 and the search unit 12. The program 120 may be provided in a state in which it is permanently recorded on a non-transitory recording medium such as a CD-ROM, a DVD-ROM, or a semiconductor memory. Alternatively, the program 120 may be provided via a communication network as a data signal superimposed on a carrier wave.

The server 10 may be composed of one or more computers. When multiple computers are used, a single server 10 is logically configured by connecting these computers to each other via a communication network.

The map database 20 is a non-transient storage medium or storage device that permanently stores the map data 21 required for route search. The map database 20 may be constructed as part of the route search system 1, or may be provided in a computer system separate from the route search system 1.

Map data 21 indicates map elements that make up a map. The type and expression method of map elements are not limited, and may be designed according to any policy. Examples of map elements include nodes and links. A node refers to a position that characterizes a route, and more specifically, refers to a position where the movement method (e.g., direction, speed, etc.) of a moving object can be changed, or a position where the movement method changes. Both transportation hubs and constituent facilities can be a type of node. A link refers to a virtual line that is set to indicate a route, and connects adjacent nodes. The shape of the link may be straight or curved, or may be a combination of straight and curved lines. On the ground, the shape of the link may depend on the shape of the road. The positions at which the nodes and links are set are not limited, and for example, the nodes and links may be set on the ground, underground, in the air, on water, or underwater.

In one example, the server 10 or the map database 20 executes a program that causes a second control unit different from the first control unit to execute a reference step of referencing the map data 21 in response to an instruction from the first control unit (more specifically, the search unit 12). For example, this program is implemented as an application programming interface (API). The first control unit and the second control unit are both functional modules and are realized on a processor. The processor on which the first control unit is executed and the processor on which the second control unit is executed may be the same or different. For example, at least one of the first control unit and the second control unit is realized on the processor 101.

The user terminal 30 is a computer (client terminal) operated by a user. The user terminal 30 may be a fixed terminal or a mobile terminal. Examples of the user terminal 30 include a mobile phone, a smartphone, a tablet terminal, a wearable terminal, or a personal computer, but the type of terminal is not limited to these. Although only one user terminal 30 is shown in FIG. 2, the number of user terminals 30 accessing the route search system 1 is not limited.

[Map data]
The map data 21 is used to specify a geographical position, for example, to search for a travel route or a point on a travel route. In this embodiment, the map data 21 has a data structure that enables a nearby search. The map data 21 expresses an association between a transportation node and at least one constituent facility that constitutes the transportation node. The specific data structure for defining the relationship between the transportation node and the constituent facility is not limited, and may be implemented in any manner.

Figure 4 shows an example of the data structure of the map data 21, and more specifically, shows the data structure related to transport nodes and constituent facilities. This example shows information about one transport node, but it should be noted that there are, of course, multiple transport nodes, and therefore the map data 21 shows information about multiple transport nodes. In one example, the map data 21 includes a transport node table 22, a constituent facility table 23, a transfer table 24, a transfer details table 25, and a representative point table 26.

The transport node table 22 is a data table that stores transport node data that indicates information about transport nodes. In one example, each record of the transport node data includes a transport node ID that uniquely identifies an individual transport node, and the name of the transport node (transport node name).

The constituent facility table 23 is a data table that stores constituent facility data that indicates information about the constituent facilities. In one example, each record of the constituent facility data includes a constituent facility ID that uniquely identifies each constituent facility, a transport node ID corresponding to the constituent facility, a logical node ID, the name of the constituent facility (facility name), a representative flag, a network type (NW), and a facility type. The logical node ID is an identifier used to identify the constituent facility in the means of transportation (e.g., transportation) corresponding to the constituent facility. The representative flag is information indicating whether the constituent facility represents one or more constituent facilities in one transport node, and is indicated by a binary value. In one example, the representative flag is either "1" indicating that the constituent facility is the representative, or "0" indicating that the constituent facility is not the representative. There is no restriction on which constituent facility is to be the representative, and the representative constituent facility (called the "representative facility") may be set arbitrarily. For example, the representative facility may be the facility that plays the most central role in the transport node, the constituent facility with the most users, or the constituent facility that plays the role of a landmark. The network type is a data item that indicates the type of transportation corresponding to the constituent facility. Facility type is a data item that indicates the type of constituent facility.

The transfer table 24 is a data table that stores transfer data indicating information regarding transfers at transportation nodes. In one example, each record of the transfer data includes a transfer ID that uniquely identifies an individual transfer method, and the IDs of two constituent facilities used in the transfer (a first constituent facility ID and a second constituent facility ID).

The transfer details table 25 is a data table that stores transfer details data that indicate details of transfers at transportation nodes. In one example, each record of the transfer details data includes a transfer details ID that uniquely identifies the record, a transfer ID, and point IDs (first point ID and second point ID) of representative points of two constituent facilities used in the transfer.

The representative point table 26 is a data table that stores representative point data indicating representative points of constituent facilities. A representative point is a representative location that indicates a constituent facility. Each record of the representative point data includes a point ID that uniquely identifies the representative point, and latitude and longitude that indicate the geographical location of the representative point. In this disclosure, the geographical location of the representative point is also referred to as a "representative position." The representative position can also be said to be a representative geographical location of a constituent facility. In one example, the representative position may be the position of an entrance/exit of a building (also referred to as the "building arrival point"). All of the representative positions 201 to 203 shown in FIG. 1 are specific examples of representative positions.

The constituent facility table 23 is associated with the transport node table 22 by a transport node ID, and this relationship defines the constituent facilities belonging to the transport node. The transfer table 24 is associated with the constituent facility table 23 by two constituent facility IDs, and this relationship represents the transfer methods available at the transport node. The transfer detail table 25 is associated with the transfer table 24 by a transfer ID, and is also associated with the representative point table 26 by a point ID. This relationship makes it possible to represent specific routes when transferring. The map data 21 indicates the relationships between these data tables, so the route search system 1 can obtain detailed information about transport nodes and constituent facilities by referring to the map data 21.

The map data 21 shown in FIG. 4 corresponds to the transportation hub shown in FIG. 1. This map data 21 shows that the transportation hub "Hub Ha" is made up of three constituent facilities, "Station A," "Station B," and "Parking Lot C," and that transfers are possible between these three constituent facilities.

The structure of each data table is not limited, and the data structure may be designed according to any policy. For example, at least one of the various data tables described above may be normalized or denormalized according to any policy and stored in one or more data tables. In one example, the network type and facility type may be specified in a data table other than the constituent facility table 23 by normalization.

Each data item of each piece of data may be set statically or dynamically. "Statically set" means that the value is set in advance and will not change without human intervention. On the other hand, "dynamically set" means that the value can be changed without human intervention in response to any event. Dynamic setting is achieved by running a program that controls a given data item on a specific computer. Dynamic setting may be performed by the route search system 1 or by another computer system.

[System procedure]
The operation of the route search system 1 and the route search method according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 5. Fig. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the route search system 1, and more specifically, the overall flow of the route search is shown as a process flow S1.

In step S11, the communication unit 11 receives a search request from the user terminal 30. The search request is a data signal indicating search conditions for a travel route. The user terminal 30 generates search conditions in response to user operations including input of information necessary for route search and transmission of that information, and transmits a search request indicating the search conditions to the server 10. The communication unit 11 receives the search request. The search conditions indicate at least the departure point and destination specified by the user. The search conditions may further include other data items such as at least one of the departure date and time and the arrival date and time, and at least one intermediate point. The search conditions may include destination information indicating the purpose of travel to the first component facility.

In step S12, the search unit 12 searches for one or more travel routes that satisfy the search conditions. The search unit 12 may search for multiple travel routes, for example, multiple travel routes with different routes, multiple travel routes with the same route but different means of transportation or travel dates and times, or both of these travel routes. The search unit 12 searches for travel routes by referring to the map data 21 in the map database 20 based on the search conditions. The specific search method for each travel route is not limited, and the search unit 12 may search for travel routes using any algorithm. In this search process, the search unit 12 may perform a neighborhood search. That is, the search unit extracts a second constituent facility in response to a search including a first constituent facility, and obtains location information indicating the geographic location of the second constituent facility. This neighborhood search will be described later with reference to FIG. 6.

In step S13, the communication unit 11 transmits the search results to the user terminal 30. The search results are data signals indicating one or more searched travel routes. The search results may include location information indicating the geographic location of the second component facility, and therefore the transmission of the search results is an example of outputting location information. In one example, the user terminal 30 receives and displays the search results, thereby allowing the user to view the search results.

The neighborhood search will be described with reference to FIG. 6. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of a neighborhood search as process flow S2. Process flow S2 can be executed at least once in step S12.

In step S21, the search unit 12 identifies a first constituent facility on the travel route. As described above, the method of searching for a travel route is not limited, so the search unit 12 may identify the first constituent facility using any algorithm.

In step S22, the search unit 12 identifies a transport node corresponding to the first component facility, i.e., a transport node to which the first component facility belongs. In one example, the search unit 12 first identifies a transport node ID by referring to the component facility data of the first component facility. As described above, one component facility may belong to multiple transport nodes. In this case, the search unit 12 may determine one transport node corresponding to the travel route by an arbitrary algorithm and refer to the component facility data of the first component facility corresponding to that transport node. Next, the search unit 12 refers to the transport node data having the identified transport node ID. Thus, in one example, the search unit 12 identifies a transport node by referring to the transport node data corresponding to the component facility data of the first component facility.

In step S23, the search unit 12 determines whether or not there is a second component facility belonging to the identified transportation node. The search unit 12 refers to the component facility data having the identified transportation node ID to identify the number of component facilities belonging to the transportation node. If the number is two or more, the transportation node has multiple component facilities. In this case (YES in step S23), the search unit 12 identifies one or more component facilities that are not the first component facility as second component facilities, and the process proceeds to step S24. In step S24, the search unit 12 sets a display point for the second component facility. This display point is a representative position of the component facility (e.g., a building arrival point), and is a position presented to the user as a destination to the component facility. On the other hand, if the number is one (NO in step S23), the transportation node has only the first component facility. In this case, the process skips step S24 and proceeds to step S25 described later.

Details of step S24 will be described with reference to FIG. 7. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of the process for setting the display point of the second component facility.

In step S241, the search unit 12 selects one second constituent facility from the one or more identified second constituent facilities as the processing target.

In step S242, the search unit 12 determines whether or not the representative point of the selected second component facility can be reached. In one example, the search unit 12 identifies the representative position of the second component facility for this process. Specifically, the search unit 12 refers to the transfer table 24 to identify a transfer ID corresponding to the component facility IDs of both the first component facility and the second component facility. Next, the search unit 12 refers to the transfer detail table 25 to identify the point ID of the second component facility corresponding to the transfer ID. Then, the search unit 12 refers to the representative point table 26 to identify the geographical position (latitude and longitude) corresponding to the point ID as the representative position. The search unit 12 determines whether or not the representative position can be reached using an arbitrary algorithm. In one example, the search unit 12 obtains area information (e.g., traffic information) corresponding to the second component facility from an arbitrary database or computer system, and determines whether or not the representative point (representative position) of the second component facility can be reached based on the area information. For example, if the representative point is closed or congested, the search unit 12 determines that the representative point cannot be reached, and if no such conditions exist at the representative point, the search unit 12 determines that the representative point can be reached.

If the representative point of the second component facility can be reached (YES in step S242), the process proceeds to step S243. In step S243, the search unit 12 sets the representative point of the second component facility as the display point.

If the representative point of the second component facility cannot be reached (NO in step S242), the process proceeds to step S244. In step S244, the search unit 12 sets the nearest point of the second component facility as the display point. The nearest point refers to a location that indicates the component facility instead of the representative point. The method for selecting the nearest point is not limited, and the search unit 12 may perform the selection process using any algorithm. For example, the search unit 12 may select any location on the link that is closest to the second component facility as the nearest point, and set this nearest point (also referred to as the "nearest position" in this disclosure) as the display point.

As shown in step S245, the search unit 12 sets a display point for all extracted second component facilities. If there are unprocessed second component facilities (NO in step S245), the search unit 12 selects the next second component facility (step S241) and sets a display point for that second component facility. If all second component facilities have been processed (YES in step S245), step S24 ends and processing proceeds to step S25.

Returning to FIG. 6, in step S25, the search unit 12 determines whether or not the representative point of the first component facility can be reached. In one example, for this process, the search unit 12 identifies the representative position of the first component facility, as in the case of the second component facility. As in the case of the second component facility, the search unit 12 can perform this determination using any algorithm. For example, the search unit 12 refers to the regional information corresponding to the first component facility, and determines that the representative point cannot be reached if the representative point is closed or congested, and determines that the representative point can be reached if such conditions do not exist at the representative point.

If the representative point of the first component facility can be reached (YES in step S25), the process proceeds to step S26. In step S26, the search unit 12 sets the representative point of the first component facility as the display point.

If the representative point of the first component facility cannot be reached (NO in step S25), the process proceeds to step S27. In step S27, the search unit 12 sets the nearest point of the first component facility as the display point. As in the case of the second component facility, the search unit 12 may select the nearest point using any algorithm.

In step S28, the search unit 12 generates location information indicating at least the display point of the first component facility. If a second component facility is extracted, the search unit 12 generates location information indicating the display points of both the first component facility and the second component facility. For each of the first component facility and one or more second component facilities, the display point indicates either a representative point or a nearest point.

When generating location information, the search unit 12 may set priorities for presenting the display points of the first and second component facilities to the user. This priority refers to the order in which the geographical positions of the individual component facilities are displayed. There are no limitations on the method of setting the priorities, and the search unit 12 may set the priority of each component facility according to any algorithm. For example, the search unit 12 may set priorities for each display point such that the second component facility is presented with priority over the first component facility, and generate location information including these priorities.

In one example, the search unit 12 sets a priority for presenting the display points of each constituent facility to the user based on the type of display point of each constituent facility. As a specific example, the search unit 12 may set the priority according to the following rules Ra to Rd.

Rule Ra: The representative point of the second component facility has a higher priority than the representative point and the nearest point of the first component facility.
Rule Rb: A representative point of a certain second component facility has a higher priority than a nearest point of another second component facility.
Rule Rc: The nearest point of the second component facility has a higher priority than the nearest point of the first component facility.
Rule Rd: The representative point of the first component facility has a higher priority than the nearest point of the second component facility.

Therefore, when the representative point of the first component facility is the display point, the search unit 12 sets the priority as follows: Here, the symbol ">" indicates that the priority of the left side is higher than the priority of the right side.
(Representative point of second component facility) > (Representative point of first component facility) > (Closest point of second component facility)

On the other hand, when the closest point to the first component facility is the display point, the search unit 12 sets the priority as follows.
(Representative point of second component facility) > (Closest point of second component facility) > (Closest point of first component facility)

Therefore, the settings following rules Ra to Rd are an example of a method for presenting the second component facility in priority over the first component facility.

As described above, when the search unit 12 selects the representative point (representative position) of the second component facility, the search unit 12 may set individual priorities so that the second component facility is presented with priority over the first component facility, regardless of whether the geographical position of the first component facility is the representative position or the nearest position (first setting). When the search unit 12 selects the representative point (representative position) of the first component facility and the nearest point (nearest position) of the second component facility, the search unit 12 may set individual priorities so that the first component facility is presented with priority over the second component facility (second setting). When the search unit 12 selects the nearest point (nearest position) of the first component facility and the representative point (representative position) of the second component facility, the search unit 12 may set individual priorities so that the second component facility is presented with priority over the first component facility (third setting). Here, the third setting is included in the first setting. The search unit 12 may execute only a part of the first to third settings.

The search unit 12 may dynamically set the priority. For example, the search unit 12 may dynamically set the priority for presenting the geographical positions (display points) of the first and second constituent facilities to the user based on various factors such as the type of transportation means, purpose information (i.e., the purpose of the movement to the first constituent facility, for example, pick-up and drop-off, parking, etc.), and the weather in the area along the movement route. Based on the example of FIG. 1, for example, if the purpose of the movement is pick-up and drop-off, the search unit 12 sets the priority in the order of the representative position 202 (Station B), the representative position 201 (Station A), and the representative position 203 (Parking lot C) (Station B, which has a shorter directional distance, has a higher priority than Station A). If the purpose of the movement is parking, the search unit 12 sets the priority of the representative position 203 (Parking lot C) to the highest. If the transportation means is walking or taxi, the search unit 12 sets the priority of the representative position 201 (Station A) and the representative position 202 (Station B) higher than the representative position 203 (Parking lot C). When the means of transportation is a private car, the search unit 12 sets the priority of the representative location 203 (parking lot C) higher than the representative location 201 (station A) and the representative location 202 (station B). Of course, it should be noted that these setting methods are examples.

The location information generated by processing flow S2 constitutes at least a part of the search results. Therefore, in step S13, the communication unit 11 transmits the search results including the location information to the user terminal 30. The user terminal 30 receives and displays the location information, thereby enabling the user to confirm the display points (geographical positions) of the first and second constituent facilities for the transportation nodes on the travel route. If a priority is set for each display point, the user terminal 30 displays each display point according to the priority. For example, the user terminal 30 may display the display points in descending order of priority, or may highlight display points with higher priority by any method compared to display points with lower priority.

Processing flow S1 (and processing flow S2) may be executed at any timing. For example, processing flow S1 (and processing flow S2) may be executed at least one of before the user starts moving and while the user is moving. The user can also check the search results based on the nearby search when re-searching a route while heading to the destination.

[Display of areas near transportation hubs]
The route search system 1 may execute a process for making a map in the vicinity of a traffic node easier to view. For example, the process may be executed when displaying a search result including location information indicating the geographical location of a second component facility. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of such a map display, specifically, a display example of a map of a surrounding area 300 of a station C set as a destination. The surrounding area 300 includes a plurality of parking lots 311 that belong to the same traffic node as station C, and a parking lot 312 that does not belong to the traffic node. In FIG. 8, the relationship between station C that belongs to the traffic node and the plurality of parking lots 311 is shown by dashed arrows. In this example, station C is a first component facility, and each parking lot 312 is a second component facility.

In one example, the route search system 1 may output a map 410 that displays parking lot 311 without displaying parking lot 312. The user can view this map 410 to more clearly identify parking lot 311 associated with Station C.

In another example, the route search system 1 may output a map 420 that displays only two or more parking lots 311 that are concentrated in the limited range 320 among the multiple parking lots 311. The route search system 1 does not display parking lots 312 on the map 420 either. There is no limitation on the method of determining the limited range 320. For example, if there are a threshold or more number of second constituent facilities within a given area, the route search system 1 may determine that range as the limited range. By looking at this map 420, the user can more clearly see the area where the parking lots 311 related to Station C are concentrated. In the limited range 320, the user can quickly or easily find another parking lot 311 even if one parking lot 311 is full.

[effect]
As described above, a computer system according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes a processor that, based on map data indicating a first component facility and a second component facility belonging to a transportation node, extracts the second component facility in response to a search including the first component facility, and outputs location information indicating a geographic location of the second component facility.

A program according to one aspect of the present disclosure causes a second control unit to execute a reference step of referencing map data stored in a storage unit in response to an instruction from a first control unit. The map data indicates a first constituent facility and a second constituent facility belonging to a transportation hub. The first control unit extracts a second constituent facility based on the map data in response to a search including the first constituent facility, and outputs location information indicating the geographic location of the second constituent facility.

In this aspect, the map data associates the first and second component facilities with each other via transportation nodes, making it possible to identify the second component facility from the first component facility. Thus, it is possible to obtain the geographic location of the second component facility in response to a search that includes the first component facility. Because the geographic location of the second component facility is output, geographic locations can be provided more flexibly.

In a computer system according to another aspect, the processor may output location information further indicating the geographic location of the first component facility. By outputting the geographic locations of both the first component facility and the second component facility, the geographic locations can be provided more flexibly.

In another aspect of the computer system, the processor may output location information such that the second constituent facility is presented with priority over the first constituent facility. By presenting the second constituent facility, which can be considered supplementary information in the search results, with priority, the user can be made more reliably aware of information about constituent facilities that the user was not aware of before the search.

In a computer system according to another aspect, the map data may include the geographical location of a predetermined representative point as the representative location for each of the first and second component facilities. The processor may select, for each of the first and second component facilities, one of the representative location and a nearest location that is the geographical location of a nearest point that is set in place of the representative location, and output location information indicating the selected geographical location for each of the first and second component facilities. By employing such a mechanism that outputs one of two types of locations for each of the first and second component facilities, geographical locations can be provided more flexibly.

In a computer system according to another aspect, the processor may set priorities for presenting the geographical locations of the first and second component facilities to the user based on purpose information indicating the purpose of travel to the first component facility. By setting priorities in this manner, the first and second component facilities can be appropriately guided to the user according to the purpose of travel.

[Modification]
The present disclosure has been described in detail above based on the embodiments. However, the present disclosure is not limited to the above embodiments. The present disclosure can be modified in various ways without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.

In the above embodiment, the computer system according to the present disclosure is applied to a client-server system, but the computer system according to the present disclosure may also be applied to a standalone computer.

The computer system, method, and program disclosed herein may be applied to applications other than route search, for example, to technology that provides a user with a map of the area around a certain transportation hub.

In the above embodiment, the route search system 1 outputs location information indicating the geographical positions of both the first and second component facilities, but the route search system 1 may output location information indicating the geographical position of the second component facility without indicating the geographical position of the first component facility. In other words, the route search system 1 may output location information indicating the geographical position of the second component facility instead of the geographical position of the first component facility.

In this disclosure, the expression "at least one processor executes a first process, executes a second process, ... executes an nth process" or a corresponding expression indicates a concept including cases where the entity executing the n processes from the first process to the nth process (i.e., the processor) changes midway. In other words, this expression indicates a concept including both cases where all n processes are executed by the same processor and cases where the processor changes among the n processes according to an arbitrary policy.

When comparing the magnitude of two numbers within a computer system, either of the two criteria "greater than or equal to" and "greater than" may be used, or either of the two criteria "less than or equal to" and "less than". The choice of criteria does not change the technical significance of the process of comparing the magnitude of two numbers.

The processing procedure of the method executed by at least one processor is not limited to the example in the above embodiment. For example, some of the steps (processing) described above may be omitted, or each step may be executed in a different order. In addition, any two or more of the steps described above may be combined, or some of the steps may be modified or deleted. Alternatively, other steps may be executed in addition to each of the steps described above.

The aspects described in all or part of the above embodiments solve any one of the following problems: providing an appropriate geographical location, appropriate route search, improving processing speed, improving processing accuracy, improving usability, improving functions using data or providing appropriate functions, other improving functions or providing appropriate functions, reducing the capacity of data and/or programs, miniaturizing devices and/or systems, providing appropriate data, programs, recording media, devices and/or systems, and optimizing the production and manufacturing of data, programs, recording media, devices and/or systems, such as reducing the production and manufacturing costs of data, programs, devices or systems, facilitating production and manufacturing, and shortening production and manufacturing times.

1...route search system, 10...server, 11...communication unit, 12...search unit, 20...map database, 30...user terminal, 21...map data, 22...transportation node table, 23...component facility table, 24...transfer table, 25...transfer detail table, 26...representative point table, 120...program.

Claims (6)

A processor is provided.
The processor extracts a second component facility in response to a search including the first component facility based on map data indicating a first component facility and a second component facility belonging to a transportation node, and outputs location information indicating a geographic location of the second component facility;
the processor outputs the location information further indicating a geographic location of the first component facility;
the map data includes, as representative positions, geographical positions of predetermined representative points for each of the first component facility and the second component facility;
The processor,
selecting, for each of the first component facility and the second component facility, one of the representative location and a nearest location which is a geographic location of a nearest point set in place of the representative location;
outputting the location information indicative of the selected geographic location for each of the first and second component facilities;
Computer system. the processor outputs the location information such that the second component facility is presented in preference to the first component facility.
2. The computer system of claim 1 . The processor sets a priority for presenting the geographical locations of the first component facility and the second component facility to a user based on purpose information indicating a purpose of traveling to the first component facility.
3. A computer system according to claim 1 or 2 . A program for causing a second control unit to execute a reference step of referring to map data stored in a storage unit in response to an instruction from a first control unit,
the map data indicates a first component facility and a second component facility belonging to a transportation node;
the first control unit extracts the second component facility in response to a search including the first component facility based on the map data, and outputs location information indicating a geographical location of the second component facility;
The first control unit outputs the location information further indicating a geographic location of the first component facility;
the map data includes, as representative positions, geographical positions of predetermined representative points for each of the first component facility and the second component facility;
The first control unit,
selecting, for each of the first component facility and the second component facility, one of the representative position and a nearest position which is a geographical position of a nearest point set in place of the representative position;
outputting the location information indicative of the selected geographic location for each of the first and second component facilities;
program. the first control unit outputs the location information so that the second component facility is presented with priority over the first component facility.
The program according to claim 4. the first control unit sets a priority for presenting the geographical positions of the first component facility and the second component facility to a user based on purpose information indicating a purpose of moving to the first component facility;
6. The program according to claim 4 or 5.

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