Route determination system

• US 9,429,444 B2
• Filed: 03/03/2014
• Issued: 08/30/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 03/28/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Gurunavi, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Gurunavi, Inc.
• Inventors: Koki, Shinji
• Primary Examiner(s): CAMBY, RICHARD M
• Application Number:
  US14/426,903
• Publication Number:
  US 20150247735A1
• Time in Patent Office: 911 Days
• Field of Search: 701/19
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 25/025 Absolute localisation, e.g. providing geodetic coordinates
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/20 Instruments for performing navigational calculations G01C21/24, G01C21/26 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3492 employing speed data or traffic data, e.g. real-time or historical traffic control systems for road vehicles involving transmission of navigation instructions to the vehicle G08G1/0968
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising

Abstract

An object providing a route determination system that determines a railroad route used by a user, without using a system of a railroad company, includes a distance calculation processing unit, a route identification processing unit, a speed calculation processing unit, and a route determination processing unit. The distance calculation processing unit calculates a distance from each of a plurality of pieces of positional information acquired by a mobile communication terminal that is used by a user. The route identification processing unit identifies a closest route on the basis of the calculated distances. The speed calculation processing unit identifies the pieces of positional information of which the distance to the identified route is shorter than or equal to a predetermined threshold, and calculates a moving speed between positions in the identified route to which the identified pieces of positional information correspond.

Claims

1. A route determination system that determines a railroad route used by a user, the route determination system comprising:

a distance calculation processing unit that calculates a distance from each of a plurality of pieces of positional information to a route, the plurality of pieces of positional information being acquired by a mobile communication terminal that is used by the user;

a route identification processing unit that identifies a closest route on the basis of the calculated distances;

a speed calculation processing unit that identifies the pieces of positional information of which the distance to the identified route is shorter than or equal to a predetermined threshold, and that calculates a moving speed between the pieces of positional information of which the distance to the identified route is shorter than or equal to a predetermined threshold or calculates a moving speed between the (0032) positions in the identified route, to which the identified pieces of positional information respectively correspond; and

a route determination processing unit that, when the calculated moving speed satisfies a predetermined condition, determines that the user uses the identified route.

2. The route determination system according to claim 1, wherein

the route determination system stores in advance information about a region in which a plurality of routes are in parallel with each other, and

within the region, the route determination system executes at least one of positional information excluding processes, that is, at least one of not acquiring positional information by the mobile communication terminal, not transmitting acquired positional information, not storing positional information received from the mobile communication terminal, or not setting positional information as a processing target in the distance calculation processing unit.

3. The route determination system according to claim 1, wherein

the route determination system stores in advance information about a region in which a road and a railroad are in parallel with each other, and

within the region, the route determination system executes at least one of positional information excluding processes, that is, at least one of not acquiring positional information by the mobile communication terminal, not transmitting acquired positional information, not storing positional information received from the mobile communication terminal, or not setting positional information as a processing target in the distance calculation processing unit.

4. The route determination system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a result transmission processing unit that transmits information about the route, determined by the route determination processing unit, to the mobile communication terminal that is used by the user.

5. The route determination system according to claim 4, wherein the route determination system causes the mobile communication terminal to display information about a shop or information about a coupon, corresponding to the information about the route, on the condition that information about a determined result, transmitted from the result transmission processing unit, is received by the mobile communication terminal.

6. The route determination system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a result transmission processing unit that transmits information about the route determined by the route determination processing unit to a predetermined server.

7. The route determination system according to claim 6, wherein the route determination system causes the predetermined server to search for information about a shop or information about a coupon, corresponding to the information about the route, on the condition that information about a determined result transmitted from the result transmission processing unit is received by the predetermined server, and causes the mobile communication terminal to display information about a shop or information about a coupon, corresponding to the information about the route, on the condition that the predetermined server is caused to transmit the search result to the mobile communication terminal.

8. The route determination system according to claim 4, wherein the result transmission processing unit transmits information about the route when the number of times a specific route is used becomes larger than or equal to a predetermined number of times (0043).

9. The route determination system according to claim 6, wherein the result transmission processing unit transmits information about the route when the number of times a specific route is used becomes larger than or equal to a predetermined number of times (0043).

10. A route determination method that determines a railroad route used by a user, the route determination method characterized by comprising:

calculating a distance from each of a plurality of pieces of positional information to a route, the plurality of pieces of positional information being acquired by a mobile communication terminal that is used by the user;

identifying a closest route on the basis of the calculated distances;

identifying the pieces of positional information of which the distance to the identified route is shorter than or equal to a predetermined threshold;

calculating a moving speed between the pieces of positional information of which the distance to the identified route is shorter than or equal to a predetermined threshold or calculates a moving speed between the (0032) positions in the identified route, to which the identified pieces of positional information respectively correspond; and

when the calculated moving speed satisfies a predetermined condition, determining the user uses the identified route.