Action support method and apparatus

• US 20050149254A1
• Filed: 03/10/2005
• Published: 07/07/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 12/27/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Inventors: Yamada, Shigeru, Sashida, Naoki, Obata, Akihiko
• Granted Patent: US 7,254,481 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/202
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/343 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 travelling salesman problem G06Q10/04; optimisation of routes G06Q10/047
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3605 Destination input or retrieval
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3676 Overview of the route on the road map
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3679 Retrieval, searching and output of POI information, e.g. hotels, restaurants, shops, filling stations, parking facilities G01C21/3611 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096811 where the route is computed offboard
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096827 where the route is computed onboard
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096838 where the user preferences are taken into account or the user selects one route out of a plurality
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096894 where input is assisted by the navigation device, i.e. the user does not type the complete name of the destination, e.g. using zip codes, telephone numbers, progressively selecting from initial letters
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0969 having a display in the form of a map
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 29/007 using computer methods

Abstract

An action support apparatus displays a destination specification screen for specifying a destination, and receives from the user a specification of a general destination. If a general destination is specified, then the apparatus determines a detailed destination, referencing a knowledge DB. If there is a plurality of detailed destinations with respect to the general destination, then any one of them is set to the user'"'"'s destination. Next, the apparatus sets the current location as the starting point, and generates a planned route from the starting point to the destination based on a map DB and an internal clock. Furthermore, the apparatus reads a filtering rule from a filtering DB, and extracts as recommended information facility information of facilities suited to the user from a facility information DB. Depending on the filtering rule, it is also acceptable to use user information in a user DB in the extraction of the recommended information. Subsequently, the apparatus associates the extracted recommended information with the planned route, and outputs them.

Claims

1. An action support method, comprising the steps of:

(a) storing map information;

(b) receiving the specification of a destination by a user;

(c) determining the destination of the user based on the specified destination;

(d) generating a planned route that links the destination of the user determined by the destination determination step, and the starting point; and

(e) determining recommended information to be presented to the user based on the map information and the planned route.

2. The action support method as recited in claim 1, further comprising the step of:

(f) storing a destination table that associates a general destination and at least one specific destination that exists in the general destination;

wherein the selection of any general destination registered in the destination table is received in step (b); and

the destination of the user is determined in step (c) as any specific destination corresponding to the selected general destination.

3. The action support method as recited in claim 2, further comprising the step of:

(g) accumulating personal information of the user;

wherein the destination of the user is determined in step (c) based on the user information.

4. The action support method as recited in claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

(h) storing an information determination rule for determining the recommended information; and

(i) storing information related to a facility;

wherein in addition to the map information and the planned route, recommended information to be presented to the user is extracted from the facility information in step (e) based on the information determination rule and the facility information.

5. The action support method as recited in claim 1, further comprising the step of:

(j) outputting a portion or all of the recommended information associated with the planned route.

6. The action support method as recited in claim 5, wherein

the time of arrival at the facility specified by the recommended information or the time that the facility is used is outputted in step (j), and is associated with both the recommended information and the planned route.

7. The action support method as recited in claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

(k) receiving the specification of an arbitrary position on the planned route; and

(l) determining the recommended information in accordance with the specified position.

8. The action support method as recited in claim 7, wherein

the specification of the position of a mark that is slidable along the entire length of a virtual route is received in step (k), the virtual route equivalent to the entire length of the planned route that links the starting point to the destination;

and

based on the relative position of the mark with respect to the virtual route, what location was specified on the planned route is computed in step (l), and the recommended information is determined in step (l) in accordance with the computed location.

9. The action support method as recited in claim 7, wherein

a planned passage time that passes through the location on the planned route specified by the relative position of the mark with respect to the virtual route is further computed in step (k).

10. An action support program that causes a computer to execute the steps of:

(a) storing the map information;

(b) receiving the specification of the destination by the user;

(c) determining the destination of the user based on the specified destination;

(d) generating a planned route that links the destination of the user determined by the destination determination step, and the starting point; and

(e) determining the recommended information to be presented to the user based on the map information and the planned route.

11. An action support apparatus, comprising:

a map storing unit that stores the map information;

a destination specifying unit that receives the specification of the destination by the user;

a destination determining unit that determines the destination of the user based on the specified destination;

a planned route generating unit that generates the planned route that links the destination of the user determined by the destination determining means, and the starting point; and

an information determining unit that determines the recommended information to be presented to the user based on the map information and the planned route.

12. An action support method, comprising the steps of:

(a) displaying a virtual route equivalent to an entire length of a planned route that links a destination and a starting point of a user, and a mark that is slidable along an entire length of the virtual route;

(b) receiving a specification of a position of the mark by the user; and

(c) outputting recommended information corresponding to a location on the planned route equivalent to the relative position of the mark with respect to the virtual route.

13. The action support method as recited in claim 12, wherein

in addition to the virtual route equivalent to the entire length of the planned route that links from the starting point to the destination, and the mark that is slidable along the entire length of the virtual route, a planned passage time when the user will pass through the location on the planned route is also displayed in step (a).