JPH08138085A - Route retrieval system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To reduce data amount used in route selection and to efficiently issue a ticket between boarding and alighting stations on the optimum route. CONSTITUTION: This system is a system to automatically retrieve a route between designated boarding and alighting stations, and it is equipped with a station/group correspondence table 3c in which all groups to which respective station belongs correspond to each other, a group/group correspondence table 3d in which the routes between the groups correspond to each other for every group, and a route retrieval processing part 2c which retrieves the group of designated boarding and alighting stations from the station/group correspondence table 3c and retrieves the routes between retrieved groups from the group/group correspondence table 3d and selects the route in which the minimum number of times of transfer out of the retrieved routes can be obtained.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a technology for issuing vehicle tickets such as train tickets and commuter tickets on railroads, and more particularly to selecting a route when issuing a vehicle ticket between a boarding station having a plurality of routes. The present invention relates to a route search system suitable for reducing the load of human hands.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In conventional systems for issuing train tickets, commuter passes, etc., routes are stored for every station. Then, when there are a plurality of routes between the boarding / alighting stations, the route for each station is searched until the combination of the boarding / alighting stations is matched. For this reason, the amount of data to be searched becomes enormous, and it takes time to process the route search, and it also takes a lot of time to create distance data between stations and fare data used when the vehicle ticket is issued.

A technique for dealing with such a problem and reducing the amount of data stored in advance is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 1-20.
It is described in Japanese Patent No. 5291. In this technology, fare data, distance data, etc., which are referred to when calculating a fare when a vehicle ticket is issued, are divided and stored at intervals of each transit station, and they are combined as necessary to generate ticketing data. . As a result, the amount of data to be stored can be reduced, and the man-hours required to create the data can be significantly reduced.

However, in such a conventional technique, a clerk selects and inputs a route based on a user's designation. That is, route selection must be performed manually by a user or a staff member. Then, all routes between the boarding and alighting stations must be presented to the user and staff. Further, regarding the designation of the boarding station and the alighting station, both of them must be input, and the designation input process needs to be executed twice. As described above, according to the conventional technique, the user and the staff are burdened with the designation input operation and the route selection operation of the boarding / alighting station.

[0005]

The problem to be solved is that, in the conventional technique, manpower is required for the route specifying operation and the boarding / alighting station specifying operation. An object of the present invention is to solve the problems of these conventional techniques, reduce the amount of data used for route selection, and efficiently search for a route between a boarding and alighting station on an optimal route. It is to provide a system.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, the route search system of the present invention is (1) in which stations are grouped in advance at transferable station intervals at which line sections intersect.
Station / group correspondence table 3c for registering all groups to which each station belongs in association, group / group correspondence table 3d for registering routes between groups in association with each group, and designated boarding / alighting stations A route search for searching each group from the station / group correspondence table 3c, searching a route between the searched groups from the group / group correspondence table 3d, and selecting a route having the least number of transfers among the searched routes Processing unit 2
and c. (2) In the route search system described in (1) above, the route search processing unit 2c presents each route when there are a plurality of routes with the least number of transfers, and based on a manual selection operation. ,
It is characterized by determining one route. Also, (3)
In the route search system as described in (1) or (2) above, sections between stations where a plurality of routes exist are collected as one group, and this section group is stored in the group / group correspondence table 3d. It is characterized in that a route between groups including the group is registered in association with each group. (4) In the route search system according to any one of (1) to (3) above, the group / group correspondence table 3d includes preset routes between regions and stations at which these regions intersect. The route search processing unit 2c is characterized in that the route search processing unit 2c searches the route between the designated regions from the group / group correspondence table 3d. (5) In the route search system according to any one of (1) to (4) above,
It has means for registering one preset station name (preset file 3a) and means for inputting the station name stored in this preset file 3a as one of the designated boarding / alighting stations (station name input processing section 2b). Is characterized by.

[0007]

In the present invention, the stations are grouped and the route between the designated boarding / alighting stations is automatically searched. That is, instead of station-to-station correspondence, make a group that combines multiple stations according to a certain rule for all routes,
Further, a table for storing routes that match the correspondence relationship between the groups is provided. Then, first, a group (a plurality of groups) to which the designated boarding / alighting station belongs is searched, and then a route between the groups is searched. Finally, of the searched routes, the route with the least number of transfers is selected. If there are a plurality of routes with the least number of transfers, the user waits for a final selection operation manually. In this way, it is possible to eliminate the load on the user and staff involved in selecting the route. Further, by grouping the stations in this way, the unit of correspondence is increased, the amount of data used for route search can be reduced, and the route search processing time can be shortened. Further, in the present invention, by inputting one station name of the boarding / alighting station as a default, only the other station name is input. Therefore, the station name input operation only needs to execute the other station name input once, the load of the input operation can be reduced by half, and the processing time can be shortened.

[0008]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the configuration of the route search system of the present invention according to the present invention. In the figure, 1 is a display unit / input unit including a keyboard and a CRT, 2 is a processing unit that includes a CPU and performs processing according to the present invention, and 3 is a storage unit such as a magnetic disk device. The processing unit 2 includes an installed station information setting unit 2a that performs a preset process of a station name of a station where the system operates, and a display unit.
A station name input processing unit 2b for inputting a station name based on the line name display / selection operation 1a of the input unit 1 and a candidate route display / selection operation 1b for the display unit / input unit 1 of the route according to the present invention. A route search processing unit 2c for performing a search is provided.

The storage unit 3 stores a preset file 3a for storing the station names set by the installed station information setting unit 2a, a station name input by the station name input processing unit 2b, and a route determined by the route search processing unit 2c. There is provided a boarding / alighting station information file 3b for storing information, a station / group correspondence table 3c for storing a group to which each station belongs, and a group / group correspondence table 3d for storing routes between the groups. With such a configuration, the route search system according to the present embodiment automatically searches for a route between designated boarding / alighting stations. The automatic route search operation of the route search system of this embodiment will be described below with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a first operation example according to the present invention of the route search system in FIG. This example shows the relationship between file access and processing of the station name input processing unit 2b in FIG. 1. First, a preset station name is extracted from the preset file 3a (step 101), and the setting contents are confirmed. (Step 102). At this time, if the station name is not set in the preset file 3a, the boarding / alighting station is input together (steps 103 and 104), and if either station name is set, only the other station is set. It is input (step 105), and the boarding / alighting station is determined. The boarding / alighting station thus determined is stored in the boarding / alighting station information file 3b (step 106), and the process is completed.

An explanation of the operation of the route search processing unit 2c in FIG. 1 based on the boarding / alighting stations thus determined will be given with reference to FIG.
Will be explained. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a second operation example of the route search system in FIG. 1 according to the present invention. This example shows the relationship between the file access and processing of the route search processing unit 2c in FIG. 1, and the boarding / alighting station information file for the boarding / alighting stations determined by the processing in FIG. 2 of the station name input processing unit 2b in FIG. 3b (step 201), and the group to which this boarding / alighting station belongs is searched for from the station / group correspondence table 3c and input (step 202). At this time, if there are a plurality of belonging groups, all the groups are input.

By searching the group / group correspondence table 3d for the combination of the boarding station group and the landing group group thus input, all the candidate routes that match the corresponding pattern are input (step 20).
3). When a plurality of groups belonging to the boarding / alighting station are input in the processing of step 202, it is possible that another route exists, so that the group / group correspondence table 3d is searched by changing the existing group. (Steps 204, 205). From the plurality of candidate routes obtained in this way, routes that are as few as possible to transfer are selected as routes that are worth displaying (step 206), and as candidate routes, via the display unit / input unit 1 and transit routes between the stations. The transfer station and the line section are displayed, and the route is determined based on the manual selection (step 207). Then, finally, the determined route is stored in the boarding / alighting station information file 3b, and the process is completed.

In the present embodiment, a huge amount of data is reduced by grouping stations. Therefore, the concept of this grouping, that is, the grouping of stations and its application will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 14. As shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, the grouping according to the present invention can be roughly classified into three patterns. FIG. 4 is an example of grouping of small areas, and shows a group in which a line section is divided between transferable stations where the line section and the line section intersect. This grouping by small areas is applied to the route model shown in FIG. 7, and based on this, the preset file 3a and the boarding station information file 3 in FIG.
Examples of the b, station / group correspondence table 3c, and group / group correspondence table 3d are shown in FIGS.

In FIG. 7, stations on each line of the "Tokaido Line", "Yokosuka Line", and "Keihin Tohoku / Negishi Line" are shown, and each of these stations is a transferable station of each line (""Ofuna","Totsuka","Yokohama")
4 "," horizontal-1 to lateral-4 ", and" Kyo-1 to Kyo-2 ". For example, "Yokohama" station is all transferable stations of "Tokaido Line", "Yokosuka Line", "Keihin Tohoku / Negishi Line", and "East-3", "East-4", "Horizontal-"
It belongs to the group of "3", "lateral-4", "Kyo-1", and "Kyo-2".

For example, when the system of this embodiment is operated at "Fujisawa" station in FIG. 7, "Fujisawa" is registered as a boarding station in the preset file 3a as shown in FIG. Then, when "Shin-Kawasaki" in FIG. 7 is designated as the disembarkation station, the station name input processing unit 2b of FIG. Each item is registered. That is, the station name "Fujisawa" is registered in the entry station item, and the station name "Shin-Kawasaki" is registered in the entry station item. At this point in time, in FIG. 9, the items “line name”, “group”, and “route” have not been registered, and the contents of the boarding / alighting station information file 3b shown in FIG. Based on the processing of the route search processing unit 2c in FIG. 1 based on these items, these "line name", "group", and "route" items are registered.

That is, based on the contents of the boarding / alighting station information file 3b shown in FIG. 9, the route search processing section 2c in FIG. 1 first refers to the station / group correspondence table 3c having the contents shown in FIG. "Line name" (= Tokaido Line) and "affiliation group" (= East-1) of the station "Fujisawa",
Also, the "line name" (= Yokosuka line) and "affiliation group" (= horizontal-4) of the "Shin-Kawasaki" station, which is the descending station, are obtained. Next, the "route" from the "east-1" group to the "horizontal-4" group is obtained by referring to the group / group correspondence table 3d shown in FIG. Here, Ofuna on the Tokaido Line
-"Totsuka"-"Yokohama" route, "Tuna Express Line" Ofuna "-" Totsuka "and" Yokosuka Line "" Totsuka "-" Yokohama "
, The route of "Ofuna"-"Yokohama" on the "Keihin Tohoku Line" is obtained as a candidate.

Among the candidate routes obtained in this way, the route of "Ofuna"-"Totsuka"-"Yokohama" on the "Tokaido Line",
The route from "Ofuna"-"Totsuka" on the "Tokaido Line" and "Tozuka"-"Yokohama" on the "Yokosuka Line" will reach "Shin-Kawasaki" station from "Fujisawa" station with one transfer. Therefore, the route search processing unit 2c in FIG. 1 selects these two routes and outputs them to the display / input unit 1 in FIG. Then, the "route" selected based on the manual operation on the displayed contents is registered in the getting on / off station information file 3b of FIG. Here, as shown in FIG.
From "Ofuna" to "Tozuka" take the "Tokaido Line" and then "Tozuka"
The route from "Yokosuka Line" to "Yokohama" is selected and registered.

Next, FIG. 5 shows an example of grouping of large areas, each of which is composed of a plurality of small areas, "Kanto",
Shows the group that summarizes the regions such as "Kansai" and "Tohoku". This grouping by large area is applied to the route model shown in FIG. 12, and an example of a group / group correspondence table based on this is shown in FIG. In FIG.
Register a station where large areas intersect with a large area as a transfer station of a group / group correspondence table, and register only a main line area as a line area. In this example, the routes from "Kanto" to "Kansai" are "Chuo Line" routes with "a" and "c" as transfer stations, and "b" and "d" as transfer stations. The route by the "Tokaido Line" is registered. This FIG.
Using the group / group correspondence table shown in FIG.
The route search process shown in is performed to find the route between the large areas. Then, the route from the transfer station to the getting on / off station included in the obtained route is obtained again from the group / group correspondence table by the group of the small area by the route search process shown in FIG. The route can be searched even when the distance is long.

FIG. 6 shows an example of grouping by nesting, in which sections where the routes between certain stations are the same,
This is an example of grouping as one group. For example, when obtaining a route from the x station to the y station, there are three possible routes from the a station to the b station: “pass C”, “pass B”, and “pass DE”. However, if the boarding station is “a” station and the getting-off station is “b”, the same three routes are used. FIG. 14 shows an example of a group-group correspondence table reset based on the route model of FIG. 7 by nesting this route. In FIG. 14, the number of candidate routes is limited to “A” between the “Ofuna” station and the “Yokohama” station in FIG. 7. In this way, the capacity of the group / group correspondence table can be reduced by collecting the routes in the sections that can be shared. In particular, this nesting is effective for improving the search efficiency in a place where the line sections are complicated and complicated.

As described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 14, in the route search system of the present embodiment, data is held in a correspondence relationship between a plurality of stations by grouping the stations, thus reducing the amount of data. It is possible to shorten the route search time. Also, for maintenance such as addition or deletion of stations, if the station is not a transferable station, the station / group correspondence table and the group / group correspondence table are only changed, and therefore can be easily corrected. Also, by omitting the input of one station name of the boarding station,
Since the boarding / alighting station can be set by one station name input operation, the load of the input operation can be reduced and the processing time can be halved as compared with the conventional one. The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 14, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention.

[0021]

According to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the amount of data used for route selection, and it becomes unnecessary to manually specify a route, to specify a boarding station and to show all routes between boarding stations. It is possible to efficiently issue a vehicle ticket between the boarding and alighting stations along the route.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a configuration according to the present invention of a route search system of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a first operation example of the route search system in FIG. 1 according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a second operation example of the route search system in FIG. 1 according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a first specific example of grouping according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a second specific example of grouping according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a third specific example of grouping according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a first specific example of a route model to be processed by the route search system of the present invention.

8 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of specific registered contents of a preset file corresponding to the route model in FIG.

9 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of specific registered contents of a boarding / alighting station information file corresponding to the route model in FIG. 7. FIG.

10 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of specific registration contents of a station / group correspondence table corresponding to the route model in FIG.

11 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of specific registered contents of a group / group correspondence table corresponding to the route model in FIG. 7. FIG.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing a second specific example of a route model that is a processing target of the route search system of the present invention.

13 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of specific registered contents of a group / group correspondence table corresponding to the route model in FIG.

14 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of specific registered contents of a group / group correspondence table corresponding to the grouping in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Display / Input Section 1a Line Name Display / Selection Operation 1b Candidate Route Display / Selection Operation 2 Processing Section 2a Installed Station Information Setting Section 2b Station Name Input Processing Section 2c Route Search Processing Section 3 Storage Section 3a Preset File 3b Boarding Station Information File 3c station / group correspondence table 3d group / group correspondence table

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (72) Inventor Tsutomu Hiraoka 1 Ikegami, Haruoka-cho, Owariasahi-shi, Aichi Hitachi Office Systems Division Information Systems Division, Hitachi, Ltd.

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A system for automatically searching for a route between designated boarding / alighting stations, wherein all stations to which each station belongs are grouped in advance at a transferable station interval where line sections intersect. A station / group correspondence table that registers groups in association with each other, and a group / group correspondence table that registers routes between groups in association with each group,
The group of each designated boarding / alighting station is searched from the station / group correspondence table, and the route between the searched groups is searched from the group / group correspondence table,
A route search system comprising: a route search processing unit that selects a route having the least number of transfers among the searched routes. 2. The route search system according to claim 1, wherein the route search processing means presents each route when there are a plurality of routes with the smallest number of transfers, and based on a manual selection operation, A route search system characterized by determining one route. 3. The route search system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein sections between stations having a plurality of routes are grouped as one group, and in the group / group correspondence table, A route search system characterized in that routes between groups including the section group are registered in association with each group. 4. The route search system according to claim 1, wherein in the group / group correspondence table, preset routes between regions and stations where the regions intersect are set for each region. The route search system is characterized in that the route search processing means searches for a route between designated areas from the group / group correspondence table. 5. The route search system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a means for registering one preset station name and the stored station name are used as one of the designated boarding / alighting stations. And a means for inputting as a route search system.