Address database and address retrieval system using the same

• US 20050234970A1
• Filed: 03/02/2005
• Published: 10/20/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 04/15/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation)
• Inventors: Utsui, Yoshihiko
• Granted Patent: US 7,480,668 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3611 using character input or menus, e.g. menus of POIs character input methods in general G06F3/0233
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3617 using user history, behaviour, conditions or preferences, e.g. predicted or inferred from previous use or current movement
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/29 Geographical information databases
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/322 Trees
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99942 Manipulating data structure, e.g. compression, compaction, compilation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99943 Generating database or data structure, e.g. via user interface

Abstract

An address retrieval system includes: an address database having a tree structure in which regional names, which constitute an address, and which indicate the areas of each scale ranging from the large area down to the small area, are associated with nodes, wherein a child node has a regional name indicating an area that is larger than the area indicated by the regional name owned by its parent node; an input portion that inputs the regional names; a central processor that searches the address database for the child node having the regional name inputted by the input portion as its parent node; and an output portion that outputs the regional name corresponding to the child node retrieved by the central processor.

Claims

1. An address database having a tree structure in which regional names, which constitute an address, and which indicate the areas of each scale ranging from the large area down to the small area, are associated with nodes, wherein a child node has a regional name indicating an area that is larger than the area indicated by the regional name owned by its parent node.

2. An address retrieval system comprising:

an address database having a tree structure in which regional names, which constitute an address, and which indicate the areas of each scale ranging from the large area down to the small area, are associated with nodes, wherein a child node has a regional name indicating an area that is larger than the area indicated by the regional name owned by its parent node;

an input portion that inputs the regional names;

a central processor that searches the address database for the child node having the regional name inputted by the input portion as its parent node; and

an output portion that outputs the regional name corresponding to the child node retrieved by the central processor.

3. An address retrieval system according to claim 2, wherein the address database further has characters indicating the readings of the heads of the regional names as the node of the top hierarchical level;

the input portion inputs a character indicating the reading of the head of the regional name of an objective geographic point;

the central processor selects the regional names having the reading of the character, which is inputted by the input portion, from the top hierarchical level of the address database, and outputs the regional names to the output portion, and

further searches the address database for a child node having one regional name selected by the input portion from among these outputted regional names as its parent node.

4. An address retrieval system according to claim 2, wherein the address database has nodes of the top hierarchical level, nodes of the second hierarchical level that is lower than the top hierarchical level, and nodes of the third hierarchical level that is lower than the second hierarchical level;

the area indicated by the regional name corresponding to each of the nodes of the second hierarchical level is larger than the area indicated by the regional name corresponding to each of the nodes of the top hierarchical level; and

the area indicated by the regional name corresponding to each of the nodes of the third hierarchical level is larger than the area indicated by the regional name corresponding to each of the nodes of the top hierarchical level, and smaller than the area indicated by the regional name corresponding to each of the nodes of the second hierarchical level.

5. An address retrieval system according to claim 2, wherein the output portion adds the attribute information of the regional name corresponding to the child node retrieved by the central processor to the regional name, and outputs the regional name.

6. An address retrieval system according to claim 2, further comprising a travel history collection means for collecting and accumulating the travel frequency of a region where a vehicle traveled, wherein the output portion outputs regional names corresponding to the child nodes retrieved by the central processor in the order of decreasing travel frequency of the region accumulated by the travel history collection means.

7. An address retrieval system according to claim 2, further comprising a destination history collection means for collecting and accumulating the setting frequency of a region that is set as a destination, wherein the output portion outputs regional names corresponding to the child nodes retrieved by the central processor in the order of decreasing setting frequency of the region accumulated by the destination history collection means.