Information processor

Abstract

To allow a re-delivery with a dead end taken into consideration.SOLUTION: In order to make a stopover place of a route to deliver packages to different delivery addresses, it is determined for each deliver address whether another link is connected to two nodes on both sides of the link where the delivery addresses exist. The delivery address in a link of which two nodes are determined to be connected to another link is determined to be a stopover place for the delivery address. For the delivery address in a link in which another link is determined not to be connected to one of the two nodes, the node connected to another link is determined to be a stopover place for the delivery address.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing device. [Background technology]

[0002] Various methods have been proposed for creating a route that travels around multiple delivery destinations. For example, Patent Literature 1 discloses a collection and delivery route setting method that sets a collection and delivery route that also supports time-specified delivery. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2005-280972 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] When a delivery destination is located on a dead-end road, in order to avoid backing up or making a U-turn, the delivery company may not enter the dead-end road with the delivery vehicle, but may park the vehicle on the road just before the dead-end road and walk from the parking place to the delivery destination. However, routes created by conventional methods including Patent Document 1 do not take into account the actual situation of such deliveries.

[0005] One example of a problem to be solved by the present invention is to enable delivery that takes dead ends into account. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above problem, the invention described in claim 1 is an information processing device that creates stopovers for a route for delivering a package to multiple delivery destinations, and includes: a connection link confirmation unit that confirms, for each of the multiple delivery destinations, whether a link is connected to two nodes of the link where the delivery destination is located; and a stopover determination unit that determines, for a delivery destination located on a link where it is confirmed that other links connect to both of the two nodes, the delivery destination as a stopover for the delivery destination, and that determines, for a delivery destination located on a link where it is confirmed that other links do not connect to either of the two nodes, the node to which the other link connects as a stopover for the delivery destination.

[0007] The invention described in claim 7 is an information processing method executed by a computer for creating stopovers for a route for delivering a package to a plurality of delivery destinations, comprising: a connecting link confirmation step for confirming, for each of the plurality of delivery destinations, whether or not other links are connected to two nodes on both sides of the link at which the delivery destination exists; and a stopover determination step for determining, for a delivery destination at a link at which it has been confirmed that other links connect to both of the two nodes, the delivery destination as a stopover for the delivery destination, and for a delivery destination at a link at which it has been confirmed that other links do not connect to either of the two nodes, the node to which the other link connects as a stopover for the delivery destination.

[0008] The invention as recited in claim 8 causes the information processing method as recited in claim 7 to be executed by a computer.

[0009] The invention as recited in claim 9 stores the information processing program as recited in claim 8. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram illustrating an information processing device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating map information. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the relationship between delivery destinations, stopover points, and routes. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a processing operation in the information processing device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the relationship between delivery destinations, stopover points, and routes. [Figure 6] 1 is a diagram illustrating the relationship between delivery destinations, intermediate points, routes, and walking routes. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] An information processing device according to an embodiment of the present invention is an information processing device that creates stopovers for a route for delivering a package to multiple delivery destinations, and includes a connection link confirmation unit that confirms whether or not a link is connected to two nodes of a link where the delivery destination exists for each of the multiple delivery destinations, and a stopover determination unit that determines a delivery destination that exists on a link that is confirmed to have other links connected to both of the two nodes as a stopover for the delivery destination, and determines a node to which the other link connects as a stopover for the delivery destination for a delivery destination that is confirmed to have no other links connected to either of the two nodes. Thus, in this embodiment, for a delivery destination that exists on a dead-end road, an intersection where this road intersects with another road is set as a stopover for delivery to the delivery destination. Therefore, in this embodiment, it is possible to create a route that does not enter a dead-end road, and for example, a delivery person can make a delivery taking dead ends into consideration.

[0012] The information processing device may further include a distance calculation unit that calculates the distance from the node to which the other link connects to a delivery destination that exists on a link that has been confirmed to have no other link connected to either of the two nodes, and the route determination unit may determine the delivery destination as a route for the delivery destination, even if the delivery destination exists on a link that has been confirmed to have no other link connected to either of the two nodes, if the distance calculated by the distance calculation unit for the delivery destination is greater than a predetermined distance. In this way, if the distance from the intersection to the delivery destination is long, a route is created for traveling to the delivery destination by a delivery vehicle, even if the delivery destination exists on a dead-end road. As a result, it is possible to prevent delivery personnel from traveling long distances on foot, and to prevent a decrease in delivery efficiency.

[0013] The information processing device may further include a parcel size acquisition unit that acquires the size of the parcel to be delivered to each of the plurality of delivery destinations, and the route determination unit may determine a delivery destination located on a link that has been confirmed to have no other links connected to either of two nodes as a route for the delivery destination if the size of the parcel to be delivered to the delivery destination is larger than a predetermined parcel size. In this way, when the parcel to be delivered is large, a route is created for moving the delivery vehicle to the delivery destination even if the delivery destination is located on a dead-end road. As a result, it is possible to prevent the delivery vehicle from stopping at the delivery destination, which takes a long time for delivery, and to prevent a heavy burden on the delivery person.

[0014] The information processing device may further include a vehicle size acquisition unit that acquires the size of a vehicle to be delivered to the multiple delivery destinations, and the route determination unit may determine a delivery destination that exists on a link that has been confirmed to have no other links connected to either of two nodes as a route for the delivery destination if the size of the vehicle is smaller than a predetermined vehicle size. In this way, it becomes possible to create a route that takes into account the size of the delivery vehicle, and it becomes possible to further improve delivery efficiency.

[0015] The information processing device may further include a road width acquisition unit that acquires the road width of a link that has been confirmed to have no other links connected to either of the two nodes, and the route determination unit may determine a delivery destination that exists on a link that has been confirmed to have no other links connected to either of the two nodes as a route for the delivery destination if the road width of the link on which the delivery destination exists is greater than a predetermined length. In this way, it becomes possible to create a route that takes road width into consideration, and it becomes possible to further improve delivery efficiency.

[0016] The information processing device may further include a weather information acquisition unit that acquires the weather when delivering to the multiple delivery destinations, and the route determination unit may determine a delivery destination located on a link that has been confirmed to have no other links connected to either of two nodes as a route for the delivery destination if the weather is rainy when delivering to the delivery destination. In this way, when it is raining, a route is created for traveling to the delivery destination by a delivery vehicle even if the delivery destination is located on a dead-end road. As a result, the delivery vehicle is stopped at the delivery destination, making it possible to prevent the luggage from getting wet.

[0017] Moreover, an information processing method according to an embodiment of the present invention is an information processing method executed by a computer to create stopovers for a route for delivering a package to multiple delivery destinations, and includes a connection link confirmation step of confirming whether or not other links are connected to two nodes on both sides of a link where the delivery destination exists for each of the multiple delivery destinations, and a stopover determination step of determining, for a delivery destination that exists on a link that is confirmed to have other links connected to both of the two nodes, the delivery destination as a stopover for the delivery destination, and determining, for a delivery destination that exists on a link that is confirmed to have other links connected to neither of the two nodes, a node to which the other link connects as a stopover for the delivery destination. Thus, in this embodiment, for a delivery destination that exists on a dead-end road, an intersection where this road intersects with another road is set as a stopover for delivery to the delivery destination. Therefore, in this embodiment, it is possible to create a route that does not enter a dead-end road, and for example, a delivery person can make a delivery taking dead ends into consideration.

[0018] Moreover, an information processing program according to an embodiment of the present invention causes a computer to execute the above-mentioned information processing method. Therefore, in this embodiment, it is possible to create a route that does not enter a dead-end road by using a computer.

[0019] Moreover, a computer-readable storage medium according to an embodiment of the present invention stores the above-mentioned information processing program. Therefore, in this embodiment, the above-mentioned information processing program can be distributed as a standalone program in addition to being incorporated into a device, and version upgrades can be easily performed. EXAMPLES

[0020] <Information processing device 100> 1 is a diagram showing an information processing device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The information processing device 100 is configured by a computer having a CPU and the like, and has a delivery destination information acquisition unit 110, a map information acquisition unit 120, a connection link confirmation unit 130, a route determination unit 140, and a route creation unit 150.

[0021] The delivery destination information acquisition unit 110 acquires delivery destination information. The delivery destination information is information about the delivery destination to be visited, and includes information for identifying the customer of the delivery destination (e.g., customer name, customer ID, etc.) and information about the location of the delivery destination. The delivery destination information acquisition unit 110 may acquire the delivery destination information by receiving it from an external device, for example, or may acquire the delivery destination information by receiving an input from a user, or the information processing device 100 may have a storage device that stores the delivery destination information, and may acquire the delivery destination information from this storage device.

[0022] The map information acquisition unit 120 acquires map information. The map information is information about a digital map, and includes information about nodes and links. In a digital map, intersections and dead ends are represented by nodes, and roads are represented by links, so that a road network is represented by a combination of nodes and links. For example, the road network shown in FIG. 2(A) is represented by links and nodes as shown in FIG. 2(B). In FIG. 2, intersections IN1 to IN9 and dead ends DE are represented by nodes N1 to N8, and roads R12 to R67 are represented by links L12 to L67.

[0023] Information about nodes includes, for example, information that identifies the node (e.g., the node ID number), the node's position, the number of connecting links, and information that identifies the connecting links (e.g., the link ID numbers), and information about links includes, for example, information that identifies the link (e.g., the ID number), information that identifies the nodes on both sides of the link (e.g., the ID numbers), and information about the width of the road corresponding to the link.

[0024] The map information acquisition unit 120 may acquire map information, for example, by receiving it from an external device, or the information processing device 100 may have a storage device that stores the map information, and acquire the delivery destination information from this storage device.

[0025] The connected link confirmation unit 130 confirms, for each of the multiple delivery destinations to be circulated, whether or not other links are connected to the two nodes on both sides of the link where the delivery destination exists.

[0026] A link corresponding to a road that is not a dead end has other links connected to two nodes on both sides, but a link corresponding to a road that is a dead end has other links connected to only one node on one side. For example, in FIG. 2(A), road R24 is a road that is not a dead end, and links are connected to both nodes N2 and N4 on both sides of link L24 corresponding to road R24, as shown in FIG. 2(B). Links L12 and L23 are connected to node N2, and links L46 and L48 are connected to node N4. On the other hand, in FIG. 2(A), road R4E extending from intersection IS3 is a road that is a dead end on one side, and links L24 and L46 are connected to node N4 on one side of link L48 corresponding to road R4E, but no other links are connected to node N8 corresponding to the dead end. In other words, by checking whether there are other links connecting the two nodes on either side of the link where the destination is located, it is possible to check whether the road where the destination is located is a dead end or not.

[0027] The waypoint determination unit 140 determines waypoints of a route for delivering parcels to multiple delivery destinations. The route for delivering parcels to multiple delivery destinations is, for example, a route that a delivery vehicle travels around, and the waypoints are, for example, locations where a delivery person stops the delivery vehicle when delivering parcels to the delivery destinations. At this time, in this embodiment, for a delivery destination that exists on a link that has been confirmed to have other links connected to both of two nodes (i.e., a delivery destination that exists on a road that is not a dead end), the waypoint determination unit 140 determines the delivery destination as a waypoint for the delivery destination, and for a delivery destination that exists on a link that has been confirmed to have no other links connected to either of two nodes (i.e., a delivery destination that exists on a dead end road), the waypoint determination unit 140 determines a node to which the other link connects as a waypoint for the delivery destination.

[0028] In other words, for a delivery destination on a dead-end road, the intersection where this road intersects with another road is set as the waypoint for delivering to this delivery destination. For example, for delivery destination C shown in Figure 3, the intersection IS where the road where delivery destination C is located intersects with another road is determined as the waypoint, not delivery destination C itself.

[0029] The route creation unit 150 creates a route that goes around the waypoints determined by the waypoint determination unit 140. Here, the route creation method used by the route creation unit 150 may be any method that can create a route that goes around a plurality of waypoints.

[0030] For example, as a route for delivering to five delivery destinations A to E shown in FIG. 3, in this embodiment, a route is created that travels around delivery destinations A, B, D, and E and intersection IS as shown in FIG.

[0031] In this way, in this embodiment, for a delivery destination located on a dead-end road, the intersection where this road intersects with another road is set as a waypoint for delivering to this delivery destination. Therefore, in this embodiment, it is possible to create a route that does not enter a dead-end road, and for example, it is possible for a delivery person to make a delivery taking dead ends into consideration.

[0032] 4 is a diagram showing an example of a processing operation in the information processing device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The delivery destination information acquisition unit 110 acquires delivery destination information, and the map information acquisition unit 120 acquires map information (step S401). The connection link confirmation unit 130 checks whether or not other links are connected to two nodes on both sides of the link where the delivery destination exists for each of the multiple delivery destinations to be visited (step S402). The waypoint determination unit 140 determines a waypoint for each of the multiple delivery destinations based on the confirmation result of the connection link confirmation unit 130 (step S403). The route creation unit 150 creates a route that goes around the waypoints determined by the waypoint determination unit 140 (step S404).

[0033] <Distance calculation unit 161> In this embodiment, for a delivery destination located on a dead-end road, an intersection where this road intersects with another road is set as a waypoint for delivery to this delivery destination. However, if the distance from the intersection to the delivery destination is long, the delivery person will have to walk a long distance, which may reduce the efficiency of delivery.

[0034] Therefore, the information processing device 100 may have a distance calculation unit 161 that calculates the distance from a node to which another link connects to a delivery destination that is located on a link that is confirmed to have no other link connected to either of two nodes (i.e., a delivery destination that is located on a dead-end road).Then, even if the delivery destination is located on a link that is confirmed to have no other link connected to either of two nodes, if the distance calculated by the distance calculation unit 161 to the delivery destination is greater than a predetermined distance, the waypoint determination unit 140 may determine the delivery destination as a waypoint for the delivery destination.

[0035] In this way, if the distance from the intersection to the delivery destination is long, even if the delivery destination is located on a dead-end road, a route is created for the delivery vehicle to travel to the delivery destination. As a result, it is possible to prevent the delivery person from having to walk for a long time, and it is possible to prevent a decrease in delivery efficiency. For example, for delivery destination C in Figure 3, if the distance from the intersection IS where the road where delivery destination C is located intersects with another road to delivery destination C is longer than a predetermined distance, a route is created that passes through delivery destination C as shown in Figure 5, rather than the route shown in Figure 3.

[0036] <Luggage size acquisition unit 162> In this embodiment, for a delivery destination located on a dead-end road, an intersection where this road intersects with another road is set as a waypoint for delivery to this delivery destination. However, if the package to be delivered is large, this may place a heavy burden on the delivery person.

[0037] Therefore, the information processing device 100 may have a package size acquisition unit 162 that acquires the size of the package to be delivered to each of the multiple delivery destinations. Then, the route point determination unit 140 may determine a delivery destination that exists on a link that has been confirmed to have no other links connected to either of two nodes (i.e., a delivery destination on a dead-end road) as a route point for the delivery destination if the size of the package to be delivered to the delivery destination is larger than a predetermined package size. The package size is, for example, the total length of the length, width, and height, or weight.

[0038] In this way, if the parcel to be delivered is large, a route is created for the delivery vehicle to travel to the destination, even if the destination is on a dead-end road. As a result, the delivery vehicle stops at the destination, which can prevent the delivery from taking a long time and the delivery person from being overburdened. For example, for destination C in FIG. 3, if the size of the parcel delivered to destination C is larger than a predetermined parcel size, a route is created that includes destination C as a stopover, as shown in FIG. 5, instead of the route shown in FIG. 3.

[0039] <Vehicle size acquisition unit 163> In this embodiment, for a delivery destination on a dead-end road, an intersection where this road intersects with another road is set as a waypoint for delivery to the delivery destination. However, depending on the size of the delivery vehicle, it may be more efficient to deliver by turning into a dead-end road, which is more maneuverable.

[0040] Therefore, the information processing device 100 may have a vehicle size acquisition unit 163 that acquires the size of the vehicle to be delivered. Then, the waypoint determination unit 140 may determine a delivery destination located on a link that has been confirmed to have no other links connected to either of two nodes (i.e., a delivery destination located on a dead-end road) as a waypoint for the delivery destination if the size of the vehicle is smaller than a predetermined vehicle size. Here, the size of the vehicle is, for example, the vehicle length, width, and weight.

[0041] In this way, it becomes possible to create a route that takes into account the size of the delivery vehicle, and it becomes possible to further improve the efficiency of delivery. For example, for delivery destination C in Figure 3, if the size of the vehicle delivering to delivery destination C is smaller than a predetermined vehicle size, a route is created that includes delivery destination C as a stopover, as shown in Figure 5, instead of the route shown in Figure 3.

[0042] <Road width acquisition unit 164> In this embodiment, for a delivery destination on a dead-end road, an intersection where this road intersects with another road is set as a waypoint for delivery to this delivery destination. However, depending on the road width, it may be easy for the delivery vehicle to make a U-turn, and delivery efficiency may be improved by entering a dead-end road to deliver to this delivery destination.

[0043] Therefore, the information processing device 100 may have a road width acquisition unit 164 that acquires the road width of a link that has been confirmed to have no other links connected to either of the two nodes. Then, even if the delivery destination is located on a link that has been confirmed to have no other links connected to either of the two nodes (i.e., a delivery destination located on a dead-end road), if the road width of the link on which the delivery destination is located is greater than a predetermined length, the route point determination unit 140 may determine the delivery destination as the route point for the delivery destination.

[0044] In this way, it becomes possible to create a route that takes road width into consideration, and it becomes possible to further improve the efficiency of delivery. For example, for delivery destination C in Fig. 3, if the width of the road on which delivery destination C is located is greater than a predetermined length, a route is created that includes delivery destination C as a stopover, as shown in Fig. 5, instead of the route shown in Fig. 3.

[0045] <Weather Information Acquisition Unit 165> In this embodiment, for a delivery destination located on a dead-end road, an intersection where this road intersects with another road is set as a waypoint for delivery to this delivery destination. However, if it is raining, there is a possibility that the package will get wet while the delivery person is walking.

[0046] Therefore, the information processing device 100 may have a weather information acquisition unit 165 that acquires information about the weather at the time of delivery. Then, even if the delivery destination is located on a link that has been confirmed to have no other link connected to either of the two nodes (i.e., a delivery destination located on a dead-end road), if the weather at the time of delivery to the delivery destination is rainy, the route point determination unit 140 may determine the delivery destination as a route point for the delivery destination.

[0047] In this way, when it is raining, a route is created for the delivery vehicle to travel to the delivery destination, even if the delivery destination is on a dead-end road. As a result, the delivery vehicle stops at the delivery destination, making it possible to prevent the package from getting wet. For example, for delivery destination C in FIG. 3, if it is raining when delivering to delivery destination C, a route is created that includes delivery destination C as a stopover, as shown in FIG. 5, rather than the route shown in FIG. 3.

[0048] <Walking Route Creation Section 170> In this embodiment, for a delivery destination located on a dead-end road, an intersection where this road intersects with another road is set as a stopover point for delivery to this delivery destination, so the delivery person must walk from the intersection to the delivery destination.

[0049] Therefore, the information processing device 100 may have a walking route creation unit 170 that creates a walking route from a node to which another link connects to a delivery destination that is located on a link that has been determined as a stopover point for the delivery destination and that has been confirmed to have no other links connected to either of two nodes (i.e., a delivery destination located on a dead-end road).

[0050] In this way, it becomes possible to show the delivery person a walking route, which can improve the efficiency of delivery. For example, in the example shown in Fig. 3, in addition to the route (solid line) that the delivery vehicle travels, a walking route (dashed line) that the delivery person travels on foot is created, as shown in Fig. 6.

[0051] The present invention has been described above in terms of preferred embodiments thereof. Although the present invention has been described herein with reference to specific examples, various modifications and variations can be made to these examples without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as set forth in the claims. [Explanation of symbols]

[0052] 100 Information processing device 110 Delivery destination information acquisition department 120 Map information acquisition unit 130 Connection link confirmation section 140 Route Determination Unit 150 Route Creation Department 161 Distance calculation unit 162 Luggage Size Acquisition Department 163 Vehicle size acquisition section 164 Road width acquisition section 165 Weather Information Acquisition Unit 170 Walking Route Creation Section

Claims

[Claim 1] An information processing device that creates stopovers for a route for delivering a package to multiple delivery destinations, An information processing device that determines, for a delivery destination among the multiple delivery destinations that is not connected to either of the two nodes on either side of the link in which the delivery destination is located by another link, a node to which the other link is connected as a stopover for the delivery destination.

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