Route searching system, route searching server and route searching method

• US 8,335,648 B2
• Filed: 12/12/2008
• Issued: 12/18/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 12/12/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Navitime Japan Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Navitime Japan Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Toma, Junji
• Primary Examiner(s): Algahaim, Helal A
• Application Number:
  US13/139,211
• Publication Number:
  US 20110246054A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,467 Days
• Field of Search: 701/117, 701/410, 701/465, 701/533, 340/994
• US Class Current: 701/533
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 27/12 Preparing schedules
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 27/16 Trackside optimisation of vehicle or train operation
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3423 Multimodal routing, i.e. combining two or more modes of transportation, where the modes can be any of, e.g. driving, walking, cycling, public transport

Abstract

It is an object to provide a route searching system that can easily carry out the search processing of a route covering different time zones. A route searching system is provided with a time zone data memory means that stores information of a time zone which is associated with each node composing a traffic network and to which a node belongs, a reference time table data memory means that stores reference time table data made out by using a predetermined reference time irrelevant to the time zone to which the node belongs, a time zone determination means that determines the time zone to which the starting point or destination point belongs and a time conversion means, wherein a route searching means searches for a route from the starting point to the destination point based on the traffic network data and the reference time table data, the time conversion means converts the time data of the searched route into guiding data based on the time zone to which the starting point or the destination point belongs.

Claims

1. A route-searching system having route-searching network data memory means for storing transportation network data made of nodes and links connecting the nodes, point setting means for setting a departure point and a destination point, and route-searching means for searching for a route from the departure point to the destination point using the transportation network data, the route-searching system characterized in that

the route-searching system comprises time zone data memory means for storing time zone information which is associated with the nodes constituting the transportation network and to which the nodes belong;

reference-time time table data memory means for storing reference-time time table data which is time table data of a transportation system, and which is created using a predetermined reference time irrespective of the time zone to which the node belongs;

time zone determination means for determining the time zone to which the departure point or the destination point belongs; and

time conversion means, wherein

the route-searching means searches for a route from the departure point to the destination point on the basis of the transportation network data and the reference-time time table data; and

the time conversion means converts the time data of the searched route into guidance route data on the basis of the time zone to which the departure point or the destination point belongs.

2. The route-searching system according to claim 1, characterized in that the route-searching system comprises node retrieval means for retrieving the closest node, which is nearest in distance from a point set by the point setting means;

the time zone determination means is configured so as to include closest node time zone acquisition means for referencing time zone data stored in the time zone data memory means and acquiring the time zone of the closest node retrieved by the node retrieval means; and

, in a case that a point other than the node has been set as the departure point or the destination point, the point setting means determines the time zone of the closest node acquired by the closest node time zone acquisition means to be the time zone of the point thus set.

3. The route-searching system according to claim 1, characterized in that the route-searching system comprises node retrieval means for retrieving a nearby node, which is in a position relatively near to the point set by the point setting means;

the time zone determination means is configured so as to include nearby-node time zone acquisition means for referencing time zone data stored in the time zone data memory means and acquiring the time zone of a nearby node retrieved by the node retrieval means; and

, in a case that a point other than the node has been set as the departure point or the destination point, the point setting means determines the time zone that is most numerous among the time zones of the nearby nodes acquired by the nearby-node time zone acquisition means to be the time zone of the point thus set.

4. The route-searching system according to claim 2, characterized in that the route-searching system comprises node retrieval means and node extraction means, the node retrieval means retrieving the closest node and retrieving a nearby node, which is in a position relatively near to the point set by the point setting means;

the node extraction means compares the time zone of the nearby node retrieved by the node retrieval means and the time zone of the point determined by the time zone determination means, and extracts the nearby node that belongs to the same time zone as the time zone of the point determined by the time zone determination means; and

the route-searching means carries out a route search using the nearby node extracted by the node extraction means as the starting point or end point of a route interval search that makes use of the transportation network.

5. The route-searching system according to claim 3, characterized in that the route-searching system comprises node extraction means, wherein the node extraction means compares the time zone of the nearby node retrieved by the node retrieval means and the time zone of the point determined by the time zone determination means, and extracts a nearby node that belongs to the same time zone as the time zone of the point determined by the time zone determination means;

and the route-searching means carries out a route search using the nearby node extracted by the node extraction means as the starting point or end point of a route interval search that makes use of the transportation network.

6. The route-searching system according to claim 1, characterized in that the route-searching system comprises node retrieval means for retrieving a nearby node within a predetermined distance range relatively near to the point set by the point setting means;

and the route-searching means carries out a route search in which all nearby nodes retrieved by the node retrieval means are used as the starting point or end point of a route interval search that makes use of the transportation network.

7. A route-searching method for a route-searching system, the route-searching method comprising the steps of:

storing transportation network data made of nodes and links connecting the nodes in a route-searching network memory means;

setting a departure point and a destination point using a point setting means;

searching for a route, using a route searching means, from the departure point to the destination point using the transportation network data;

storing time zone information which is associated with the nodes constituting the transportation network and to which the nodes belong in a time zone data memory means;

storing reference-time time table data which is time table data of a transportation system and which is created using a predetermined reference time without dependence on the time zone to which the node belongs in a reference-time table data memory means;

determining the time zone to which the departure point or the destination point belongs using a time zone determination means;

searching using the route-searching means for a route from the departure point to the destination point on the basis of the transportation network data and the reference-time time table data; and

converting using a time conversion means the time data of the route thus searched into guidance route data on the basis of the time zone to which the departure point or the destination point belongs.

8. The route-searching method according to claim 7, wherein the route-searching system having node retrieval means for retrieving the closest node, which is nearest in distance from a point set by the point setting means;

and the time zone determination means being configured so as to include closest node time zone acquisition means for referencing time zone data stored in the time zone data memory means and acquiring the time zone of the closest node retrieved by the node retrieval means, the route-searching method further comprising the step of;

determining using the point setting means the time zone of the closest node acquired by the closest node time zone acquisition means to be the time zone of the point thus set when a point other than the node has been set as the departure point or the destination point.

9. The route-searching method according to claim 7, wherein the route-searching system having node retrieval means for retrieving a nearby node, which is in a position relatively near to the point set by the point setting means and the time zone determination means being configured so as to include nearby-node time zone acquisition means for referencing time zone data stored in the time zone data memory means and acquiring the time zone of the nearby node retrieved by the node retrieval means, the route-searching method further comprising the step of:

determining using the point setting means the time zone that is most numerous among the time zones of the nearby nodes acquired by the nearby-node time zone acquisition means to be the time zone of the point thus set when a point other than the node has been set as the departure point or the destination point.

10. The route-searching method according to claim 8, wherein the route-searching system having node retrieval means and node extraction means, the node retrieval means retrieving the closest node and retrieving a nearby node in a position relatively near to the point set by the point setting means, the route-searching method further comprising the steps of:

comparing using the node extraction means the time zone of the nearby node retrieved by the node retrieval means and the time zone of the point determined by the time zone determination means, and extracts the nearby node that belongs to the same time zone as the time zone of the point determined by the time zone determination means; and

carrying out using the route-searching means a route search using the nearby node extracted by the node extraction means as the starting point or end point of a route interval search that makes use of the transportation network.

11. The route-searching method according to claim 9, wherein the route-searching system having node extraction means, the route searching method further comprising the steps of:

comparing using the node extraction means the time zone of the nearby node retrieved by the node retrieval means and the time zone of the point determined by the time zone determination means, and extracts a nearby node that belongs to the same time zone as the time zone of the point determined by the time zone determination means; and

carrying out using the route-searching means carries out a route search using the nearby node extracted by the node extraction means as the starting point or end point of a route interval search that makes use of the transportation network.

12. The route-searching method according to claim 7, wherein the route-searching system having node retrieval means for retrieving a nearby node within a predetermined distance range relatively near to the point set by the point setting means, the route-searching method further comprising the step of:

carrying out using route-searching means a route search in which all nearby nodes retrieved by the node retrieval means are used as the starting point or end point of a route interval search that makes use of the transportation network.