Classifications

• • G—PHYSICS
  • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
  • G06Q—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • G06Q50/00—Information and communication technology [ICT] specially adapted for implementation of business processes of specific business sectors, e.g. utilities or tourism
  • G06Q50/40—Business processes related to the transportation industry
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G08—SIGNALLING
  • G08G—TRAFFIC CONTROL SYSTEMS
  • G08G1/00—Traffic control systems for road vehicles
  • G08G1/123—Traffic control systems for road vehicles indicating the position of vehicles, e.g. scheduled vehicles; Managing passenger vehicles circulating according to a fixed timetable, e.g. buses, trains, trams
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
  • G01C—MEASURING DISTANCES, LEVELS OR BEARINGS; SURVEYING; NAVIGATION; GYROSCOPIC INSTRUMENTS; PHOTOGRAMMETRY OR VIDEOGRAMMETRY
  • G01C21/00—Navigation; Navigational instruments not provided for in groups G01C1/00 - G01C19/00
  • G01C21/26—Navigation; Navigational instruments not provided for in groups G01C1/00 - G01C19/00 specially adapted for navigation in a road network
  • G01C21/34—Route searching; Route guidance
  • G01C21/3407—Route searching; Route guidance specially adapted for specific applications
  • G01C21/343—Calculating itineraries, i.e. routes leading from a starting point to a series of categorical destinations using a global route restraint, round trips, touristic trips

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a method and system for providing integrated route information on public transportation, and more particularly, to a method and system for providing integrated route information on public transportation capable of searching an optimal route among all public transportation means and providing the searched optimal route to a user by connecting stops through transfer links so that transfer(s) between different public transportation means can be made.
• map information and navigation services for providing map information to a user's terminal device and providing the user with a route along which the user wishes to move based on the map information.
• a navigation service for allowing a user to easily know his/her own current location by sending a terminal device mounted to a vehicle map information on areas along which the user travels in real time is generally used and provided.
• This service is limited to only users who own a vehicle. Therefore, there is a disadvantage in that the range of users who can receive this service is essentially restricted.
• service for providing map information or route information to a terminal device that most people now own e.g.
• a mobile communication device has been proposed.
• This service mainly aims to provide map information according to a user's location, information on public transportation (subway route information, bus route information, etc.), and the like.
• An existing service for providing the map information or route information through mobile communication devices is limited to the specific public transportation within a specific zone and thus only fragmentary road-related information can be provided. This is because only information on a single public transportation means is provided. In other words, since only route information on a single public transportation means (subway or bus) is provided, there is no way to provide information on areas other than the service route of a relevant public transportation means or other public transportation routes.
• service for providing information on transfer between a variety of public transportation means e.g.
• An object of the present invention is to provide a method and system for providing integrated route information on public transportation, wherein an optimal route to a desired destination can be searched among all the public transportation means by connecting different public transportation means using transfer links.
• Another object of the present invention is to provide a method and system for providing integrated route information on public transportation, wherein only a route satisfying a user's condition is searched among one or more routes to a destination and relevant information on the searched route is provided to the user.
• a further object of the present invention is to provide a method and system for providing integrated route information on public transportation, wherein map data corresponding to the source and destination are provided to a user's terminal, the stops closest to the source and destination are selected, and information on the searched stops is provided to the user.
• a still further object of the present invention is to provide a method and system for providing integrated route information on public transportation, wherein information on the walking direction toward and time taken to reach the searched closest stop is provided to a user so that the user can easily find the desired stop.
• a method for providing integrated route information on public transportation comprising the steps of maintaining a line database in which line information, associated with stops through which a public transportation means passes, is recorded; searching out stops where a user can transfer to other public transportation means as transfer points, based on the line information, and generating transfer information associated with the transfer points; extracting a departure stop and an arrival stop in response to a user's route request signal; determining an optimal route link between the departure stop and the arrival stop, which corresponds to the route request signal, based on the line information and the transfer information; and providing route information associated with the route link to the user, wherein the transfer information determines stops associated with line information of different public transportation means as transfer points, which are interchangeably transferable one another, according to a predetermined reference, and contains information on a transfer link that connects the two transfer points.
• a system for providing integrated route information on public transportation comprising a database unit in which line information and map data are recorded an interface unit for receiving and authenticating a user's route request signal and receiving departure/arrival information associated with a source and destination a navigation module for calculating position values of the source and destination based on the departure/arrival information; a work module for searching the database unit for map data corresponding to the position values of the source and destination, and providing the searched map data to the user; and a route search unit for searching one or more departure and arrival stops located within a predetermined range from the source and destination, searching a route link that connects the departure stop and the arrival stop, and associating the searched route link with the line information.
• FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating the schematic configuration of a system for providing integrated route information on public transportation according to the present invention.
• FIG. 2 is a view illustrating a process of searching a route link in the system for providing the integrated route information on the public transportation according to the present invention.
• FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating the construction of a system for providing integrated route information on public transportation according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
• FIGS. 4a and 4b are views illustrating exemplary map data, which are called according to position coordinates calculated by WGS-84.
• FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating the procedures for embodying the method for providing the integrated route information on the public transportation according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
• FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating the procedures for embodying the method for providing the integrated route information on the public transportation according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
• FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating the process of extracting the departure and arrival stops according to the present invention.
• FIG. 7a is a flowchart illustrating steps of embodying a method for providing information on a moving route according to the present invention and
• FIG. 7b is a view showing an example of a terminal means to which information on a moving route is provided according to the present invention.
• FIGS. 8a to 8c are views illustrating a method of determining an optimal route link by assigning a weight according to an embodiment of the present invention.
• FIG. 9 is view showing an example in which a route is provided according to the present invention.
• FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating steps of embodying a method for providing line information and transfer information according to the present invention.
• FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating steps of embodying a method for providing information on cost and the time required according to the present invention.
• FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating the schematic configuration of a system for providing integrated route information on public transportation according to the present invention. Referring to FIG.
• the system 100 for providing integrated route information on the public transportation receives a route request signal from a desired terminal means 110 of a user via a communication network 120 and provides the terminal means 1 10 with optimal route information corresponding to the route request signal.
• the terminal means 1 10 has a processor for performing desired operations and a communication module for performing communications.
• the terminal means may be a computer, a PDA, a notebook computer, or a home appliance having an Internet function.
• the terminal means becomes a mobile communication device that has good mobility and suitably meets an object of the present invention for providing the route information while a user is moving.
• the system 100 for providing integrated route information on public transportation extracts predetermined information on departure and arrival stops in response to the route request signal received from the terminal means 1 10 and provides information on the transfer and route from the extracted departure stop to the extracted arrival stop.
• the system 100 for providing the integrated route information on the public transportation may include a database unit 105 in which information on the line and transfer of the public transportation means are recorded, and searches an optimal route link through a route link search based on the line and transfer information.
• the route link may become a line that connects the extracted departure stop and the extracted arrival stop.
• the system can search a line link (a route along which a public transportation means can move according to the line information), or one or more route links including a line link and a transfer link.
• FIG. 2 is a view illustrating a process of searching a route link in the system for providing the integrated route information on the public transportation according to the present invention.
• the aforementioned line information may be represented with respect to one or more stops (including a bus stop, a subway/electric railway platform, an airport, etc.) through which public transportation means go.
• the transfer information may include information by which a stop where a user can transfer to other public transportation means is specified as a transfer point. Transfer points that are spaced apart from each other can be connected by a transfer link. In this embodiment, transfer points may be classified into static transfer points where a user can transfer to other public transportation means at the same stop and dynamic transfer points using an aforementioned transfer link.
• a transfer link may become a line that connects two transfer points located within a distance that an ordinary person can walk within predetermined time.
• a transfer to the same kind of public transportation means for example, from bus to bus, from subway to subway, etc.
• a dynamic transfer point to which a transfer link is connected transfer to a different kind of public transportation means (from bus to subway, from subway to train) can be generally made.
• transfer points are classified on the assumption that the transfer is made between the public transportation means. If the transfer to a different kind of public transportation means can be made at the same place due to an improved transfer system, this can be classified as a static transfer point.
• each stop can be connected by one or more line links and transfer links and a number of route links can be searched between two specific points. Further, there is a problem on how to determine whether the transfer between two stops of different public transportation means can be made. In this case, a person directly examines all stops one by one to find a transferable stop of other public transportation means, and the information on the examined stops can be stored in a database and utilized. According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, if a stop is located within a predetermined distance from another stop of the different public transportation means on the basis of the coordinate of each stop, it is regarded as a transferable stop. Then, transfer information such as transfer links and transfer points is generated.
• transfer information may be generated on the condition that a stop of other transportation means located within 40 meters from a specific stop A is determined as a stop transferable from stop A.
• transfer information can be automatically generated on the basis of only the data for each stop, although transfer information could not be established one by one.
• One or more route links from departure stop S to arrival stop F may be searched by means of a process of searching a route link according to the present invention. In this embodiment, only the process of searching first and second route links will be described for easy understanding of the present invention.
• the first route link is a route link having a stop Al and a stop D3 as transfer points.
• the first route link has a first traffic line 210 from departure stop S to stop Al, a fourth traffic line 240 from stop Al to stop D3, and a third traffic line 230 from stop D3 to arrival stop F, as line links.
• the transfer points (the stops Al and D3) of the first route link are static transfer points where a user can transfer at the same stop without movement and do not include transfer links.
• the second route link is a route link having stop A2, stop B3 and stop C3 as a transfer point.
• the second route link has a first traffic line 210 from departure stop S to stop A2, a second traffic line 220 from stop A2 to stop B3 and a third traffic line 230 from the stop C3 to the arrival stop F, as line links.
• the interval between the stops B3 and C3 refers to a transfer link where the user has to move. Accordingly, stop A2 of the second route link becomes a static transfer point and stops B3 and C3 become a dynamic transfer point. That is, the route search process according to the present invention can extract all the route links between departure stop S and arrival stop F and provides all the extracted route links to a user as route information. Such extraction of all possible route links, however, may cause system load in the system 100 for providing integrated route information on public transportation and may take a large amount of time to complete the route search process. In order to prevent these problems, this embodiment employs a process of searching an optimal route link using weights.
• the process includes assigning a predetermined weight to a route search condition (for example, the shortest time required, the shortest progress distance, the minimum number of via stops, the minimum number of transfers, etc.) included in a route request signal, and providing a route link having the priority weight as an optimal route link.
• a route search condition for example, the shortest time required, the shortest progress distance, the minimum number of via stops, the minimum number of transfers, etc.
• FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating the construction of a system for providing integrated route information on public transportation according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG.
• the system 300 for providing the integrated route information on the public transportation includes a database unit 310 in which line information and map data are recorded, an interface unit 320 for receiving and authenticating a route request signal received from a user and receiving departure/arrival information associated with a source and destination, a navigation module 330 for calculating position values of the source and destination based on the departure/arrival information, a work module 340 for searching the database unit 310 for map data corresponding to the position values of the source and destination and providing the searched map data to the user, and a route search unit 350 for searching one or more departure and arrival stops located within a predetermined range from the source and destination, searching a route link that connects the departure stop and the arrival stop, and associating the searched route link with the line information.
• the database unit 310 includes a line database 312 in which line information associated with stops through which a public transportation means goes is recorded, and a map database 314 in which map data of a specific region are recorded.
• the line database 312 may have transfer information on each stop, information associated with a transfer link, etc. as well as information on routes of various public transportation means.
• the map data of the map database 314 may contain information associated with stops located within a predetermined range on the basis of a specific point. Stop-related information may be used to extract departure/arrival stops and to provide information on a moving route up to the extracted departure/arrival stops.
• the interface unit 320 receives a route request signal from the terminal means 110, authenticates a user who sent the route request signal, and receives the user's route search condition and departure/arrival information.
• the route search condition may refer to information constituting the reference of a search in searching a route link in the system 300 for providing integrated route information on the public transportation means.
• the route search unit 350 adds a weight to the extracted one or more route links according to the route search condition, searches only optimal route links and provides the searched optimal route links to the user. Further, the departure/arrival information contains information on source and destination.
• the departure/arrival information may be used to calculate predetermined position coordinates (for example, two-dimensional coordinates within a specific map region) of the source and destination, which in turn can call map data of a corresponding point from the map database 314.
• the navigation module 330 calculates position values of source and destination specified by a user, i.e., position coordinates, based on the departure/arrival information received from the terminal means 110. These position coordinates may be calculated by
• the work module 340 calls map data corresponding to the position coordinates, which are calculated in the navigation module 330, from the map database 314 and provides the called map data to the terminal means 110 or, more preferably, to a mobile communication device.
• position coordinates and map data call using the same will be described with reference to FIGS. 4a and 4b.
• FIGS. 4a and 4b illustrate exemplary map data, which are called according to position coordinates calculated by WGS-84. If the source is Seoul City Hall and the destination is the Supreme Court according to a user's departure/arrival information, the navigation module 330 calculates position coordinates of Seoul City Hall and the Supreme Court by using information on coordinates of each point stored in a predetermined memory means (not shown).
• the navigation module 330 calculates position coordinates (E126M58, N37M34) corresponding to Seoul City Hall and position coordinates (E127M0, N37M29) corresponding to the destination.
• the work module 340 calls map data (see FIG. 4a) of the source corresponding to the calculated position coordinates (E126M58, N37M34) and map data (see FIG. 4b) of the destination corresponding to the position coordinates (E127M0, N37M29) from the map database 314 and then sends the called map data to a user's mobile communication device.
• the route search unit 350 serves to search the map data called by the work module 340 for one or more departure and arrival stops located within a predetermined range of source and destination.
• a condition on the search for the departure/arrival stops usually makes it a rule to search stops nearest to the source or destination.
• search stops of a specific public transportation means according to the specification of a user.
• a user wants to use a subway subway stations nearest to a source or destination can be searched.
• information indicating that the search is impossible is generated and is notified to the user.
• the process may wait for the user's next command, or search other stops nearest to the source or destination and provide the searched stops to the user.
• the route search unit 350 can provide the user with moving route information from the source to the searched departure stop and moving route information from the searched arrival stop to the destination.
• the moving route information is information on the progress direction toward which the user moves on foot (or using other low-speed means of movement).
• the moving route information may be provided to the user in a state where its advance line is indicated in called map data or the moving route information is displayed on the screen of the mobile communication device (see FIG. 7b) in a text form.
• the system 300 for providing the integrated route information on the public transportation may further include a database management module for managing the database unit 310.
• the database management module of the system 300 may be implemented to meet the object of the present invention, by using a relational database management system (RDBMS) such as Oracle, Infomix, Sybase or DB2, or an object-oriented database management system (OODBMS) such as Gemston, Orion or O2.
• RDBMS relational database management system
• OODBMS object-oriented database management system
• FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating the procedures for embodying the method for providing the integrated route information on the public transportation according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
• the method of the present invention includes the steps of maintaining a line database 312 in which line information, associated with stops through which a public transportation means passed, is recorded (S510), searching out a stop where a user can transfer to other public transportation means as a transfer point based on line information and generating transfer information associated with the transfer point(s) (S520), extracting departure and arrival stops in response to a user's route request signal (S530), determining an optimal route link between the departure stop and the arrival stop, which corresponds to the route request signal, based on the line information and the transfer information (S540), and providing route information associated with the route link to the user " (S550).
• Line information on a public transportation means is first recorded in the line database 312 of a system 300 for providing the integrated route information on the public transportation (S510).
• Line information may be information on a list of stops through which the public transportation means (bus, subway/electric railway, train, passenger boat, airplane, etc.) goes. Such information may be recorded in association with, for example, predetermined map data, in a state where stops on the map data and one or more traffic lines are represented. It is therefore possible to easily know the geographical location of a traffic line based on line information and to easily determine the distance between stops having different line information.
• a traffic line may be information on a traveling sequence of stops through which a single public transportation means runs according to line information.
• a stop where the user can transfer to a public transportation means having different line information is determined as a transfer point, based on line information from the line database 312 (S520).
• This step S520 is a process of generating transfer information for association with other traffic lines.
• the generated transfer information may be recorded in a predetermined region of the line database 312.
• a transfer point may be classified into static transfer points where the user does not move for a transfer and dynamic transfer points where the user has to move for a transfer.
• a static transfer point may refer to a transfer point in a case where a traffic line before a transfer and a traffic line after the transfer share the same stop. For instance, as in stop Al (or the stop D2) in FIG.
• a dynamic transfer point may refer to a transfer point in a case where a traffic route before a transfer and a traffic route after the transfer have different stops.
• a stop having different line information it is required that a stop having different line information be located within a predetermined range. That is, other stops to which a user can approach within a predetermined range based on any one stop, i.e., in a predetermined time on foot, has to be located. For example, if the distance between stops B3 and C3 in FIG. 2 is a 3-minute distance that can be reached on foot by a user, stop B3 or stop C3 may be searched as dynamic transfer points.
• Step S530 is a process of receiving the route request signal from the user and extracting departure and arrival stops of the route link according to the route request signal. The extraction of departure and arrival stops will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 6.
• FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating the process of extracting the departure and arrival stops according to the present invention.
• the process of extracting the departure and arrival stops comprises the steps of receiving departure/arrival information associated with the source and destination from a user (S610), calculating position values of the source and destination based on the departure/arrival information (S620), and searching one or more departure and arrival stops located within a predetermined range from the source and destination (S650).
• the route request signal sent by a user may contain departure/arrival information on the source, the first point, and the destination, the last point. Departure/arrival information is recognized from the received route request signal (S610). Such information may be received directly from the user via a user interface embedded in the terminal means 1 10.
• Step S620 is a process of calculating unique position coordinates of the source and destination. Calculation of the unique position coordinates has been described in the above. Thus, detailed description on it will be omitted for simplicity (see FIGS. 4a and 4b).
• the process of calculating the position coordinates of the source and destination may include the steps of searching the map database 314 for map data corresponding to the position value of the source and destination (S630) and providing the searched map data to the terminal means 1 10, more preferably, to a mobile communication device (S640).
• the supply of the map data corresponding to the source and destination according to the present invention is accomplished by the steps of extracting map data using the work module 340 (S630) and sending the map data to the terminal means 1 10 (S640), in a state where the map database 314 in which the entire map data are maintained and the user's terminal means 110 are connected via the communication network 120.
• the map data stored in the map database 314 may be image data whose map information is recorded in image form, or vector data represented in numerical form. If the map data have vector data form, it is required that a predetermined process for operating the vector data received from the terminal means 110 and a process of regenerating map image corresponding to an actual map be performed. In addition, the amount of data transmitted once may be appropriately set in the map data according to the traffic transfer capability of the communication network 120 and the data storage capability of the terminal means 110.
• Step S650 is a process of determining the location of the stop nearest to the source or destination and providing the user with information on the location of the stop.
• an optimal stop to which the user can easily approach from the source or destination can be searched, for example, from the map data. Therefore, there is an effect in that an optimal stop from a source or destination, which is included in a user's departure/arrival information, can be easily searched without regard to the type of a public transportation means.
• a process of providing information on a moving route to the terminal means 1 10 will also be described below.
• the information on a moving route includes information on the necessary foot time and walking advance based on a person's average foot speed (for example, 4 km/h).
• Information on the moving route may be information on a user's route between a searched source and a departure stop or between an arrival stop and a destination.
• An example in which information on a moving route is provided will be described with reference to FIGS. 7a and 7b.
• FIG. 7a is a flowchart illustrating steps of embodying a method for providing information on a moving route according to the present invention.
• the method for providing moving route information may be performed with it included in the aforementioned process of searching the departure and arrival stops (S650).
• Map data containing information on stops, which are located within a predetermined range from a source or destination, are maintained in the map database
• the map data provided to the user's terminal means As described above, the map data provided to the user's terminal means
• Step S720 is a process of searching one or more departure or arrival stops included in the map data for stops which the user can easily access. For example, though the process is for searching the nearest stop by means of the system 300 for providing the integrated route information on public transportation, the process may be implemented so that a user can arbitrarily select a stop while seeing information on stops of map data provided by the terminal means 110. Thereafter, information on the moving route from the source to the searched departure stop is provided to the user (S730).
• FIG. 7b shows an example of a terminal means to which information on a moving route is provided according to the present invention.
• FIG. 7b shows information on movement from the location of a user (triangular shape) to a departure stop (star shape) to which the user can approach in the fastest way.
• information on the walking advance is provided so that the user can find the departure stop by turning right at the corner with the Muhan convenience store while walking along 7 th street. Further, information on the distance (45 m), the time required (2 minutes) and the like can be provided to the terminal means 1 10. Accordingly, there are advantages in that a user who received moving route information according to the present invention can receive information on an exact location of a departure or arrival stop and information on the time required, and the user can easily find a stop even at an unaccustomed place. Referring again to FIG. 5, an optimal route link between the extracted departure stop and the extracted arrival stop is determined (S540).
• Step S540 is a process of determining a route link, which is optimal to a user, among a large number of route links searched based on line information and transfer information.
• this embodiment employs a method for assigning a weight according to a route search condition received from a user. The method for searching the optimal route link depending on the assignment of the weight will be below described with reference to FIGS. 8a to 8c.
• FIGS. 8a to 8c are views illustrating a method of determining an optimal route link by assigning a weight according to an embodiment of the present invention.
• FIG. 8a is an exemplary view for explaining that a route link is determined by assigning a weight according to the present invention. As shown in FIG.
• FIG. 8b is a flowchart illustrating steps of embodying the method for searching a route link by assigning the weight according to the present invention.
• the method for searching the route link by means of a weight comprises the steps of recognizing a route search condition included in a route request signal (S810), tracing one or more route links from a departure stop to an arrival stop (S820), and determining a route link corresponding to the route search condition among the one or more route links (S830).
• the work module 340 recognizes the route search condition received from a user to confirm a route link desired by the user (S810).
• Step S810 is a process of recognizing a search condition of a route link desired by the user.
• the route search condition may include the shortest time, the shortest advance distance, the minimum number of via stops, the minimum number of transfers from the departure stop to the arrival stop and the like.
• route information contains information on the time required every route link (information on the necessary time of a traffic line between two specific stops), information on distance between stops and so on.
• a plurality of the route links may be databased and managed every condition (see FIG. 8c).
• searchable route links from the departure stop to the arrival stop are traced
• Step S820 is a process of tracing and extracting route links from the departure stop to the arrival stop.
• the process makes it a rule to trace all the route links so long as there is no tracing condition (it may mean an internal rule of a device becoming the reference of the trace).
• the number of stops within a predetermined range is generally employed as the tracing condition. For example, if the tracing condition is "below 20 stops", only route links whose number of stops through which the route links go is below 20 in number are traced. This is for preventing the waste of system resources and saving on tracing time, which may occur as a large number of route links are traced.
• Step S830 is a process of determining a route link to which a weight is assigned according to the route search condition as an optimal route link, among the traced route links.
• An example in which an optimal route link is determined will be described with reference to FIG. 8c.
• FIG. 8c shows an example in which the traced route links are integrally managed and/or recorded.
• information on the route links between the departure stop S and the arrival stop F traced in FIG. 8a is stored in a database.
• the traced route links may be temporarily stored in a desired memory means (not shown) of the route search unit 350. As shown in FIG.
• the values of the traced route links 1, 2 and 3 are calculated based on information factors on the respective route links (time required, advance distance, number of stops, etc.) and are then recorded/aligned.
• a route link that meets the user's route search condition can be rapidly determined. For example, if a route search condition is a route request signal that a user wants to go to arrival stop F within a minimum time, i.e. within a short amount of time, the route link 2 (20 minutes) is determined as an optimal route link and is then provided to the user. In other words, in this case, a weight is applied to the time required, and the route link 2 to which the weight is applied according to the determination of the route search unit 350 is determined as the optimal route link.
• Step S550 is a process of providing the determined optimal route link to the user as route information.
• Route information may be provided along with line information, transfer information, etc.
• An example of route information provided to the terminal means 1 10 will be described with reference to FIG. 9.
• FIG. 9 shows an example in which a route is provided according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 9, route information provided to the terminal means 110 may be provided in a text form.
• route information on the route link 2 determined in the above step of determining the optimal route link (S830) has City Hall as a departure stop and the Supreme Court as an arrival stop
• route information provided on the user's terminal means 1 10, more preferably, on the screen of the mobile communication device may be provided in a state where line information (bus of which line number is XX - ⁇ bus of which line number is OO) and transfer information (a stop west of Sindorim) and the like are included in the route information.
• line information and transfer information related to a determined route link according to another embodiment of the present invention will be described. In this embodiment, line links and transfer links of an optimal route link, which is determined among a large number of route links, are determined.
• FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating steps of embodying a method for providing line information and transfer information according to the present invention. One or more stops through which a determined route link goes are identified
• the process of identifying the stops may be performed, for example, by the route search unit 350.
• the stops can be identified by tracing the stops through which the determined route link passes. It is determined whether an interval between the identified stops and line information of the line database 312 are associated (S1020).
• the route link may be a virtual connection line of the stops. It is determined that the interval between the stops through which an optimal route link goes is a line link associated with the line information. If the interval between the identified stops is associated with the line information ("Yes" in step SI 020), a public transportation means between the identified stops is selected based on the line information (SI 020).
• Step SI 020 is a process of determining a line link by recognizing a public transportation means that is proceeding via the identified stops. Accordingly, traffic lines between the stops can be determined. For instance, a line link of the aforementioned route link 2 may be determined from the departure stop S to Sindorim (bus of which line number is XX) and from Sindorim to the arrival stop F (bus of which line number is OO). Next, information on the selected public transportation means is updated in the route information and is then provided to the user's terminal means 1 10 (S 1050).
• FIG. 1 1 is a flowchart illustrating steps of embodying a method for providing information on cost and the time required according to the present invention.
• This method may be performed in a state where it is included in step SI 020 of determining whether the interval between the stops is associated with the route information.
• Line information of the line database 312 contains cost information on transportation fees and time information on the time required for each public transportation means. More exactly, the line information may contain cost information and time information every identified stop. Traffic costs associated with route links are summed up based on the cost information (SI 110). In other words, the cost of every line link, which is included in the route link, are accumulated to calculate total cost. For example, in the aforementioned route link 2, a traffic line includes using the bus twice, and thus, the cost of 1,400 Korean Won is calculated (refer to bus fares in Seoul on July, 2003: see FIG.
• Step SI 120 is a process of summing the traveling time of a public transportation means among stops identified by the route link. For instance, the aforementioned route link 2 passes through six stops, and respective traveling times are calculated as a total running time (20 minutes).
• a predetermined time corresponding to the number of transfer links is added to the summed necessary time (SI 130). This is because a constant traveling time taken to move between two stops through a public transportation means can be obtained, whereas the necessary time taken for a person to walk along a transfer link connecting the two stops cannot be specifically determined.
• the time required is selected based on the average walking speed of a person and this time can be added to the necessary time previously calculated. For example, if the distance of a transfer link is 400 m, it is determined that about 7 minutes are needed (in case of 4km/h). The necessary time of 14 minutes is further added in a route link in which two transfer links of 400 m are included. The summed traffic cost and the final time required are updated in the route information and are then provided to the terminal means (SI 140). Accordingly, there are advantages in that information on cost and necessary time can be provided to users and users can exactly know the cost and time in a route along which they have to move. Therefore, according to the method for providing the integrated route information on the public transportation of the present invention, an optimal route link can be searched by using minimum system resources according to a user's route request signal.
• the embodiments of the present invention include a computer-readable recording medium containing program instructions for executing the operations implemented by a variety of computers.
• the computer-readable recording medium may contain program instructions, data files, data structures, or a combination thereof.
• the program instructions may be ones that are specially designed or written for the present invention or may be ones that are well known to those skilled in the field of computer software.
• the computer-readable recording medium includes a magnetic medium such as a hard disk, a floppy disk and a magnetic tape, an optical medium such as CD-ROM and DVD, a magneto-optical medium such as a floptical disk, and hardware devices such as read only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM) and flash memory that are specially configured to store and execute the program instructions.
• the medium may be a transfer medium such as an optical or metal line and waveguide, including a carrier wave that transmits signals for specifying the program instructions, data structures and the like.
• Examples of the program instructions may include high-level language codes executable by a computer using an interpreter as well as machine language codes such as those written by a compiler.
• a method and system for providing integrated route information on public transportation wherein only a route satisfying a user's condition is searched among one or more routes to a destination and relevant information on the searched route is provided to the user.
• a method and system for providing integrated route information on public transportation wherein map data corresponding to the source and destination are provided to a user's terminal, the stops closest to the source and destination are selected, and information on the searched stops is provided to the user.
• a method and system for providing integrated route information on public transportation wherein information on the walking direction toward and time taken to reach the searched closest stop is provided to a user so that the user can easily find the desired stop.

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Radar, Positioning & Navigation (AREA)
• Remote Sensing (AREA)
• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Business, Economics & Management (AREA)
• Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Economics (AREA)
• General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Human Resources & Organizations (AREA)
• Marketing (AREA)
• Primary Health Care (AREA)
• Strategic Management (AREA)
• Tourism & Hospitality (AREA)
• General Business, Economics & Management (AREA)
• Theoretical Computer Science (AREA)
• Automation & Control Theory (AREA)
• Navigation (AREA)
• Traffic Control Systems (AREA)
• Instructional Devices (AREA)
• Mobile Radio Communication Systems (AREA)

Priority Applications (2)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=34114265

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (4)

Cited By (6)

Families Citing this family (13)

Citations (6)

• 2003
  • 2003-08-05 KR KR1020030054074A patent/KR100555105B1/ko active IP Right Grant
  • 2003-10-22 AU AU2003273093A patent/AU2003273093A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2003-10-22 WO PCT/KR2003/002224 patent/WO2005013234A1/en active Application Filing
  • 2003-10-22 JP JP2005507429A patent/JP2007520685A/ja active Pending

Patent Citations (6)

Also Published As

Similar Documents

Legal Events