Route searching method and delivery planning device

Abstract

To reduce time required for searching a route after locating a departing place and a destination and generate a route reflecting traffic regulation.SOLUTION: A route searching method includes a prior search procedure for generating label data on the basis of road data and regulation data, and a route determination procedure for determining a route between spots on the basis of the label data, the prior search procedure includes a procedure for generating information on a hub comprising multiple nodes on the basis of road data, and a procedure for holding a passable direction in a hub when setting a route between respective nodes and the hub as label data for the respective nodes on the basis of road data and regulation data, and the route determination procedure includes a procedure for determining a route corresponding to a combination in which a passing direction in the hub, a passable direction in the hub when entering the hub, and a passable direction in the hub when exiting the hub do not contradict from among as a route between spots in a combination of a hub, a route entering the hub, and a route exiting the hub.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to route search technology, and particularly to route search technology for making delivery plans in the logistics business.

Background Art

[0002] Regarding route search technology in the logistics field, for example, the technologies disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2023-095005 (Patent Document 1) and US2015 / 0347629 (Patent Document 2) are known.

[0003] Patent Document 1 describes that "a delivery plan formulation method for creating a tour route that minimizes an objective function formulated as the sum of the total driving distances from when a vehicle departs from a delivery base, travels the distances of the routes between delivery destinations, and returns to the delivery base is, when delivering goods from one delivery base to N delivery destinations, before obtaining the objective function, among the N - 1 routes from one delivery destination to the other N - 1 delivery destinations, the routes from the longest route to the exclusion ratio exceeding 0% in descending order of distance are excluded in advance to calculate the objective function."

[0004] Patent Document 2 describes a hub labeling technique in which the routes between any node and a hub are searched in advance, and when the departure node and the destination node are determined, a hub whose routes to each node have already been searched is found.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0005]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0006] When creating a delivery plan in the logistics business, a route information matrix between logistics bases is required as input for the plan. At this time, it is necessary to search for a number of routes close to the square of the number of bases. When delivery to private residences is also assumed, since any point on the map can be a delivery destination, it is difficult to search for routes between bases in advance, and it is necessary to perform a large number of route searches in a short time after the delivery destination is determined. Furthermore, when refueling or charging of the vehicle is required around the delivery route, it is not known at which timing it is optimal to stop at a refueling base or a charging base, so it is necessary to search for routes between a large number of bases including the surrounding refueling bases or charging bases in addition to the above-mentioned logistics bases, which takes more time.

[0007] According to Patent Document 1, the amount of calculation is reduced by excluding routes in advance based on the distance between bases. However, in reality, due to restrictions such as delivery time, there are cases where a route between distant bases is optimal, so it is desirable to shorten the calculation time by speeding up the route search between bases without excluding routes based on distance.

[0008] According to the hub labeling technique described in Patent Document 2, instead of pre-searching all combinations between arbitrary nodes, the routes from an arbitrary node to a hub and the routes from the hub to an arbitrary node are pre-searched. Then, when the departure node and the destination node are determined, search for a hub where both the route from the determined departure node and the route to the determined departure node have been pre-searched, and the route passing through the hub with the minimum cost becomes the shortest route. As a result, the calculation time after the departure node and the destination node are determined is shortened.

[0009] However, as described above, hub labeling is a method of performing a preliminary search by dividing before and after the hub. Therefore, when there are traffic regulations straddling before and after the hub, it is not possible to perform route search corresponding to the traffic regulations. For example, when there is a traffic regulation such as a right turn prohibition at an intersection corresponding to the hub, in which direction it is possible to pass starting from the hub cannot be specified unless it is known from which direction one has entered the hub. For this reason, the route searched by hub labeling may actually be impassable.

Means for Solving the Problem

[0010] In order to solve at least one of the above problems, the present invention is a route search method executed by a computer system having a processor and a storage device. The storage device holds road data including information on a road network and regulation data including information on traffic regulations set for the road network. The route search method includes a preliminary search procedure in which the processor generates label data based on the road data and the regulation data, and a route determination procedure in which the processor determines a route between points based on the label data. The preliminary search procedure includes a first procedure in which the processor generates information on a hub consisting of a plurality of nodes of the road network based on the road data, and a second procedure in which the processor holds, as the label data, the passable directions at the hub when a route is set between each node and the hub based on the road data and the regulation data for each node included in the road network. The route determination procedure includes a third procedure in which the processor determines, as the route between the points, a route corresponding to a combination of the hub, a route entering the hub, and a route exiting the hub, among which the passable direction at the hub is included in both the passable direction at the hub when entering the hub and the passable direction at the hub when exiting the hub.

Advantages of the Invention

[0011] According to one aspect of the present invention, it is possible to generate a route that reflects traffic restrictions while shortening the time required for route search after the departure point and the destination are specified.

[0012] Problems, configurations, and effects other than those described above will be clarified by the description of the following embodiments.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0013]

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Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0014] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0015] FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the delivery planning device in the embodiment of the present invention.

[0016] The delivery planning device 100 of this embodiment includes a pre-search unit 101, a route determination unit 102, a delivery planning unit 103, an input unit 104, a display unit 105, and a storage unit 106. The storage unit 106 holds road data 107, regulation data 108, and label data 109.

[0017] The pre-search unit 101 performs pre-search of hub labeling based on the road data 107 and the regulation data 108, and stores the generated labels in the storage unit 106 as the label data 109. Details of the road data 107, the regulation data 108, the label data 109, and details of the processing of the pre-search unit 101 will be described later.

[0018] When, for example, the base information 110 including information specifying the departure place and the destination is input via the input unit 104, the route determination unit 102 determines the route from the departure place to the destination and generates the inter-base route information 111. Details of the processing of the route determination unit 102 and details of the generated inter-base route information 111 will be described later.

[0019] The delivery planning unit 103 generates a delivery plan based on the generated inter-base route information 111 and displays it via the display unit 105. Since the generation of the delivery plan can be performed by a known technique, a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

[0020] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration for realizing the delivery planning device 100 in the embodiment of the present invention.

[0021] The delivery planning device 100 of the present embodiment shown in FIG. 1 can be realized by a computer system. FIG. 2 shows an example of the computer system 200.

[0022] The computer system 200 includes a processor 201, a memory (main storage device) 202, an auxiliary storage device 203, an output device 204, an input device 205, and a communication interface (I / F) 206. The above components are connected to each other by a bus. The memory 202 and the auxiliary storage device 203 are storage devices that store programs and data used by the processor 201. The memory 202 and the auxiliary storage device 203 correspond to the storage unit 106 in FIG. 1.

[0023] The memory 202 is composed of, for example, a semiconductor memory and is mainly used to hold programs and data during execution. For example, the programs and data stored in the auxiliary storage device 203 are loaded into the memory 202 at startup or when needed. The processor 201 executes various processes according to the programs stored in the memory 202. By operating the processor 201 according to the programs, various functional units (for example, the pre-search unit 101, the route determination unit 102, the delivery planning unit 103, the input unit 104, and the display unit 105 shown in FIG. 1) are realized.

[0024] The auxiliary storage device 203 is composed of a large-capacity storage device such as a hard disk drive or a solid state drive, and is used to hold programs and data for a long time. For example, the road data 107, the regulation data 108, the label data 109, the base information 110, the inter-base route information 111, and the delivery plan 112 may be held in the auxiliary storage device 123.

[0025] The processor 201 can be composed of a single processing unit or multiple processing units, and can include a single or multiple arithmetic units, or multiple processing cores. The processor 201 can be implemented as one or more central processing units, microprocessors, microcomputers, microcontrollers, digital signal processors, state machines, logic circuits, graphics processing units, system-on-chips, and / or any device that operates signals based on control instructions.

[0026] The input device 205 is a hardware device for the user to input instructions, information, etc. The output device 204 is a hardware device that presents various images for input and output, for example, a display device or a printing device. For example, when the processor controls the input device 205 and the output device 204 according to a program, the functions of the input unit 104 and the output unit 105 are realized. The communication I / F 206 is an interface for connection to a communication network (not shown).

[0027] Note that the computer system 200 may include two or more processors 201. Also, the functions of the delivery planning device 100 can be implemented in multiple computer systems 200. In that case, the multiple computer systems 200 communicate via a communication network. For example, some of the multiple functions of the system in this embodiment may be implemented in one computer system 200, and some other parts may be implemented in other computer systems 200.

[0028] For example, the computer system 200 may be a PC owned by the user (e.g., a logistics company) of the delivery planning device 100 in this embodiment, or may be a server or the like that the user accesses via a communication network. In the latter case, the computer system 200 may be a so-called virtual server on the cloud or the like. In the latter case, the computer system 200 shown in FIG. 1 is realized by computer resources on the cloud.

[0029] Next, with reference to FIGS. 3 to 5, the road data 107 and the regulation data 108 will be described.

[0030] FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of road data 107 and regulation data 108 held by the delivery planning device 100 in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0031] FIG. 3 shows a road network 300 exemplified for the explanation of this embodiment. In FIG. 3, circular figures are nodes, and lines connecting the nodes are links. For example, a node corresponds to an intersection, and a link corresponds to a section of a road connecting intersections. The numbers described on the nodes are the identification numbers (node IDs) of the nodes. In the following description, for example, a node identified by node ID "1" is described as "node 1".

[0032] Among the links, those described with arrows are links that can only be traveled in the direction of the arrows (for example, links indicating one-way roads), and the other links are links that can be traveled in both directions. The numbers displayed near each link are the costs of each link. The cost may represent, for example, the distance from the start point to the end point of each link, or the time required to travel from the start point to the end point of each link, or a value calculated based on both of them, or a value reflecting other parameters.

[0033] Furthermore, traffic regulations are set in the road network 300 shown in FIG. 3. Specifically, the routes entering node 2 from node 5 and exiting to node 3, and the routes entering node 5 from node 8 and exiting to node 6 cannot be traveled due to regulations.

[0034] FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the data structure of the road data 107 held by the delivery planning device 100 in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0035] The road data 107 includes, for example, a plurality of records each corresponding to each link. Each record includes a start node ID 401, an end node ID 402, a traffic direction 403, and a cost 404. The start node ID 401 and the end node ID 402 indicate the identification numbers of the nodes at the start and end of each link, respectively. The traffic direction 403 indicates the direction in which passage is possible on each link. In this example, the direction from the start node to the end node is the "forward direction", and the opposite direction is the "reverse direction". The traffic direction 403 of a link that can be passed in either direction is "both directions", and the traffic direction 403 of a link that cannot be passed in either direction is "no passage". The cost 404 indicates the cost of each link.

[0036] As an example, FIG. 4 shows a record indicating that it is possible to pass in the forward direction through a link starting from node 1 and ending at node 2, and the cost thereof is 12. Similarly, information regarding a link starting from node 4 and ending at node 5 and a link starting from node 7 and ending at node 8 is shown. Although information regarding other links is omitted, actually, the road data 107 includes information regarding all the links constituting the road network.

[0037] FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the data structure of the regulation data 108 held by the delivery planning device 100 in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0038] The regulation data 108 includes, for example, a plurality of records each corresponding to one regulation. Each record includes a node ID 501, an entry-side node ID 502, and an exit-side node ID 503. The node ID 501 indicates the identification number of the node subject to the regulation. The entry-side node ID 502 and the exit-side node ID 503 indicate the traffic directions regulated at the node subject to the regulation.

[0039] For example, the first record of the regulation data 108 shown in FIG. 5 indicates that the traffic direction of entering node 2 from node 5 and exiting to node 3 is regulated (specifically, traffic in that direction is prohibited). Also, the second record indicates that the traffic direction of entering node 5 from node 8 and exiting to node 6 is regulated.

[0040] Note that in practice, there may be cases where conditional traffic regulations that limit time periods or vehicle types are set. In such cases, there may be regulation data 108 for each condition such as a time period or vehicle type, or the regulation data 108 may include information specifying conditions such as the time period and vehicle type to be applied in addition to the above data items.

[0041] Next, with reference to FIGS. 6 to 9, the label data 109 will be described. The label data 109 includes the hub data 700 shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the departure-side label data 800 shown in FIG. 8, and the destination-side label data 900 shown in FIG. 9.

[0042] FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a hub set by the delivery planning device 100 on the road network in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0043] FIG. 6 shows an example of a hub set on the road network 300 shown in FIG. 3. In this example, three hubs (hereinafter referred to as "hub 1" to "hub 3") each identified by hub IDs "1" to "3" are set. Hub 1 consists of node 1, node 2, node 3, and two links connecting them. Hub 2 consists of node 4, node 5, node 6, and two links connecting them. Hub 3 consists of node 7, node 8, node 9, and two links connecting them.

[0044] In each hub, the starting point and the ending point are predetermined. For example, in hub 1, node 1 is the starting point and node 3 is the ending point. In this case, among the traffic directions within hub 1, the direction from node 1, which is the starting point, to node 3, which is the ending point, is the forward direction, and the opposite direction is the reverse direction. Similarly, in hub 2, node 4 is the starting point and node 6 is the ending point, and in hub 3, node 7 is the starting point and node 9 is the ending point.

[0045] FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the data structure of hub data 700 held by the delivery planning device 100 in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0046] The hub data 700 includes a hub ID 701 and a node ID 702. The hub ID 701 is the identification number of the set hub. The node ID 702 is the identification number of the node belonging to the set hub. FIG. 7 shows information defining hubs 1 to 3 shown in FIG. 6.

[0047] FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the data structure of origin-side label data 800 held by the delivery planning device 100 in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0048] The origin-side label data 800 holds a label indicating the result of a prior search for a route from an origin node to a hub for each combination of a plurality of origin nodes and a plurality of hubs. Each label includes a node ID 801, a hub ID 802, the position 803 of a connection point, the cost 804 to the connection point, and the traffic direction 805.

[0049] The node ID 801 and the hub ID 802 are the identification numbers of the origin node and the hub that are the targets of the route search. The position 803 of the connection point indicates the position of the node (hereinafter also referred to as the connection point) to which the searched route connects among the nodes included in the hub that is the target of the route search in the relevant hub. For example, in the hub to which the connection point belongs, the total cost of the links on the route from the starting point of the relevant hub to the connection point is held as the position 803 of the connection point.

[0050] The cost 804 to the connection point indicates the cost from the origin node of the explored route to the connection point. For example, the total cost of the links on the route from the origin node to the connection point is held as the cost 804 to the connection point.

[0051] The traffic direction 805 indicates the direction in which a vehicle entering the connection point can travel among the directions from the connection point to another node in the same hub. This direction is based on the starting point in the hub described with reference to FIG. 7, and is either "forward direction" indicating that it can only travel in the forward direction, "reverse direction" indicating that it can only travel in the reverse direction, "both directions" indicating that it can travel in both the forward and reverse directions, or "no passage" indicating that it cannot travel in either the forward or reverse direction. Examples of the values of each of these items will be described later (FIGS. 11A to 11C).

[0052] FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the data structure of the destination-side label data 900 held by the delivery planning device 100 in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0053] The destination-side label data 900 holds a label indicating the result of pre-searching the route from the hub to the destination node for each combination of a plurality of destination nodes and a plurality of hubs. Each label includes a node ID 901, a hub ID 902, the position 903 of the connection point, the cost 904 to the connection point, and the traffic direction 905.

[0054] The node ID 901 and the hub ID 902 are the identification numbers of the destination node and the hub that are the targets of the route search. The position 903 of the connection point indicates the position of the connection point in the hub that is the target of the route search. The cost 904 to the connection point indicates the cost from the connection point of the explored route to the destination node. The traffic direction 905 indicates the direction in which a vehicle exiting the hub from the connection point can travel among the directions from another node in the hub to which the connection point belongs. Since the explanations regarding the values of each of these items are the same as those given with reference to FIG. 8, they are omitted. Examples of the values of each of these items will be described later (FIGS. 12A to 12C).

[0055] Next, the process executed by the pre-search unit 101 of the delivery planning device 100 will be described. The pre-search unit 101 generates label data 109 before the departure point and the destination for creating the delivery plan are determined. For example, the process of the pre-search unit 101 may be executed during a time period when delivery is not performed, such as at night. Once the generated label data is generated, it can be used for route determination by the route determination unit 102 described later without being regenerated as long as the road data 107 and the regulation data 108 are not changed.

[0056] FIGS. 10A and 10B are flowcharts showing an example of the process executed by the pre-search unit 101 of the delivery planning device 100 in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0057] First, the pre-search unit 101 divides the road network into a plurality of hubs, and adds the hub data 700 generated as a result to the label data 109 (step 1001). At this time, the pre-search unit 101 performs the division so that at least two nodes connected via a link are included in each hub. When a hub includes three or more nodes, those nodes need to be connected in series via a link. For example, a hub is a continuous road section represented by a plurality of nodes connected by a link.

[0058] The method of generating a hub is not limited. It is only necessary that the connection of the nodes constituting the hub is the shortest path. For example, a hub may be generated by a procedure such as starting from node 1, setting the maximum number of nodes to 3, and generating the shortest path.

[0059] In the examples of FIGS. 6 and 7, the road network 300 is divided into a hub 1 composed of nodes 1, 2, and 3, a hub 2 composed of nodes 4, 5, and 6, and a hub 3 composed of nodes 7, 8, and 9.

[0060] Next, the pre-search unit 101 selects one hub (step 1002) and generates a label for the selected hub (step 1003). Specifically, the pre-search unit 101 creates a shortest path tree on the departure side from the departure node to the selected hub, and adds the generated departure-side label data 800 as a result to the label data 109 (step 1011). Further, the pre-search unit 101 creates a shortest path tree on the destination side from the selected hub to the destination node, and adds the generated destination-side label data 900 as a result to the label data 109 (step 1011).

[0061] Next, the pre-search unit 101 determines whether all nodes of the selected hub have been processed (step 1004). If there are unprocessed nodes (step 1004: No), step 1003 is executed for that node. When all nodes of the selected hub have been processed (step 1004: Yes), the pre-search unit 101 determines whether all hubs have been processed (step 1005). If there are unprocessed hubs (step 1005: No), the pre-search unit 101 executes step 1002 and step 1003 for that hub. When all hubs have been processed (step 1005: Yes), the processing of the pre-search unit 101 ends.

[0062] FIGS. 11A to 11C are explanatory diagrams showing a specific example of generation of the departure-side label data 800 by the pre-search unit 101 of the delivery planning apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0063] FIGS. 11A to 11C show an example of a part of the processing executed in step 1011 when hub 2 is selected from among the hubs set in the road network 300 in step 1002.

[0064] First, referring to FIG. 11A, a path with the connection point being node 4 will be described. In this case, in step 1011, as the shortest path tree reaching node 4 which is the connection point (that is, the set of the shortest paths among the paths from each node on the road network 300 to hub 2 starting from node 4), two paths are obtained: the path from node 1 to node 4, and the path from node 9 to node 4 via node 8 and node 7 in sequence. In this example, due to the restriction on the traffic direction, there is no path starting from node 2 or node 3 and entering hub 2 from node 4.

[0065] In this example, since node 4 which is the connection point is the starting point of hub 2, the position 803 of the connection point becomes "0". Also, when node 8 is the starting node, the cost 804 to the connection point is the sum of the costs of the links on the path from node 8 to node 4 which is the connection point, that is, "12" which is the sum of "8" and "13". And the vehicle entering node 4 from node 8 via node 7 can pass through hub 2 in the forward direction (that is, the direction to node 5) from node 4, but cannot pass in the reverse direction. This is because there is no node upstream of node 4 in hub 2. In this case, the traffic direction 805 becomes "forward direction". These pieces of information are recorded as label 811 shown in FIG. 8.

[0066] Although omitted in the example of FIG. 8, similarly, when the starting node is node 1, node 7, and node 9, the costs from their respective starting nodes to the connection point are calculated, and the corresponding labels are added to the starting - side label data 800.

[0067] Next, referring to FIG. 11B, a path with the connection point being node 5 will be described. In this case, in step 1011, as the shortest path tree reaching node 5 which is the connection point, two paths are obtained: the path from node 1 to node 5 via node 2, and the path from node 9 to node 5 via node 8. In this example, due to the restriction on the traffic direction, there is no path starting from node 3 or node 7 and entering hub 2 from node 5.

[0068] In this example, the position 803 of the connection point is the cost of "6" of the link from node 4, which is the starting point of hub 2, to node 5, which is the connection point. Also, when node 8 is the starting node, the cost 804 to the connection point is the sum of the costs of the links on the path from node 8 to node 5, which is the connection point, that is, "11". And the vehicle that enters node 5 from node 8 can pass through node 2 in the reverse direction (that is, the direction to node 4), but cannot pass through in the forward direction (that is, the direction to node 6). This is due to the traffic regulation set for the path that enters node 5 from node 8 and exits to node 6. In this case, the traffic direction 805 is "reverse direction". These pieces of information are recorded as the label 812 shown in FIG. 8.

[0069] Although omitted in the example of FIG. 8, similarly, when the starting node is node 1, node 2, and node 9, the costs from their respective starting nodes to the connection point are calculated, and the corresponding labels are added to the starting node side label data 800.

[0070] Next, referring to FIG. 11C, the path with the connection point at node 6 will be described. In this case, in step 1011, as the shortest path tree leading to node 6, which is the connection point, two paths are obtained: the path from node 1 to node 6 via node 2 and node 3 in sequence, and the path from node 9 to node 6. In this example, due to the traffic direction constraints, there is no path that starts from node 7 or node 8 and enters hub 2 from node 6.

[0071] In this example, since there is no path from node 8 to node 6 as described above, no label with node 8 as the starting node is generated.

[0072] On the other hand, although omitted in the example of FIG. 8, when the departure node is node 1, node 2, node 3, or node 9, the cost from each departure node to the connection point is calculated, and the corresponding label is added to the departure-side label data 800.

[0073] FIGS. 12A to 12C are explanatory diagrams showing specific examples of the generation of the destination-side label data 900 by the pre-search unit 101 of the delivery planning apparatus 100 in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0074] FIGS. 12A to 12C show an example of a part of the process executed in step 1012 when hub 2 is selected from among the hubs set in the road network 300 in step 1002.

[0075] First, referring to FIG. 12A, a route with the connection point being node 4 will be described. In this case, in step 1012, as the shortest path tree from the connection point node 4 (that is, the set of the shortest paths among the paths exiting hub 2 from node 4 with each node on the road network 300 as the destination node), two paths are obtained: a path from node 4 to node 3 via node 1 and node 2 in sequence, and a path from node 4 to node 7. In this example, due to the restriction on the passing direction of the link, there is no path from node 4 to node 8 or node 9. In FIG. 12A, the connection point node is shaded, and the shortest path tree is shown as a thick solid line. The same applies to FIGS. 12B and 12C described later.

[0076] In this example, since node 4, which is the connection point, is the starting point of hub 2, the position 903 of the connection point becomes "0". Also, when node 3 is the destination node, the cost 904 to the connection point is the sum of the costs of the links on the path from node 4, which is the connection point, to node 3, that is, the sum of "15", "12", and "8", which is "35". And although the vehicle can enter node 4 from the reverse direction (i.e., from node 5) and exit at node 1, it cannot enter node 4 from the forward direction and exit at node 1. This is because there are no nodes upstream of node 4 within hub 2. In this case, the traffic direction 905 becomes "reverse direction". These pieces of information are recorded as label 911 shown in FIG. 9.

[0077] Although omitted in the example of FIG. 9, similarly, when the destination node is node 1, node 2, and node 7, the costs from the connection point to each destination node are calculated, and the corresponding labels are added to the destination - side label data 900.

[0078] Next, referring to FIG. 12B, the path with the connection point at node 5 will be described. In this case, in step 1012, as the shortest - path tree from node 5, which is the connection point, two paths are obtained: the path from node 5 to node 2 and the path from node 5 to node 7 via node 8. In this example, due to traffic - direction constraints, there are no paths from node 5 to exit hub 2 and reach node 1, node 3, and node 9.

[0079] In this example, since there is no path from node 5 to node 3 as described above, a label with node 3 as the destination node is not generated.

[0080] On the other hand, although omitted in the example of FIG. 9, when the destination node is node 2, node 8, and node 7, the costs from the connection point to each destination node are calculated, and the corresponding labels are added to the destination - side label data 900.

[0081] Next, referring to FIG. 12C, a path with the connection point at node 6 will be described. In this case, in step 1012, as the shortest path tree from node 6 which is the connection point, two paths are obtained: the path from node 6 to node 3, and the path from node 6 to node 7 via node 9 and node 8 in sequence. In this example, due to the restriction on the passing direction of the link, there are no paths from node 6 to exit hub 2 and reach node 1 and node 2.

[0082] In this example, the position 903 of the connection point is "11", which is the total cost of the links from node 4 which is the starting point of hub 2 to node 6 which is the connection point. Also, when node 3 is the destination node, the cost 904 to the connection point is the total cost of the links on the path from node 6 which is the connection point to node 3, that is, "14". And the vehicle can enter node 6 from the forward direction (i.e., from node 5) and exit to node 3, but cannot enter node 6 from the reverse direction and exit to node 3. This is because there are no nodes downstream of node 6 in hub 2. In this case, the passing direction 905 is "forward direction". These pieces of information are recorded as label 912 shown in FIG. 9.

[0083] Although omitted in the example of FIG. 9, similarly, when the destination node is node 9, node 8, and node 7, the costs from the connection point to each destination node are calculated, and the corresponding labels are added to the destination - side label data 900.

[0084] Next, the process executed by the route determination unit 102 of the delivery planning device 100 will be described. The process of the route determination unit 102 is executed with reference to the pre - generated label data 109 after the departure place and the destination for creating the delivery plan are specified.

[0085] FIGS. 13A and 13B are flowcharts showing an example of the process executed by the route determination unit 102 of the delivery planning device 100 in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0086] First, the route determination unit 102 selects one hub by referring to the hub data 700 of the label data 109 (step 1301).

[0087] Next, the route determination unit 102 selects one label each for the departure side and the destination side that are connected to the selected hub (step 1302). Specifically, from the departure side label data 800, one label whose hub ID 802 is the identification number of the hub selected in step 1301 is selected. Similarly, from the destination side label data 900, one label whose hub ID 902 is the identification number of the hub selected in step 1301 is selected. Hereinafter, the label on the departure side and the label on the destination side selected in step 1302 are described as label L1 and label L2, respectively.

[0088] Next, the route determination unit 102 compares the costs of the routes specified by label L1 and label L2 (step 1303). Here, the process in step 1303 will be described with reference to FIG. 13B. The parameters referred to in the process of FIG. 13B are defined as follows.

[0089] p1: The value of the position 803 of the connection point of label L1 p2: The value of the position 903 of the connection point of label L2 c1: The value of the cost 804 to the connection point of label L1 c2: The value of the cost 904 to the connection point of label L2 d1: The value of the traffic direction 805 of label L1 d2: The value of the traffic direction 905 of label L2

[0090] First, the route determination unit 102 determines whether p2 is greater than p1 (step 1311). The fact that p2 is greater than p1 means that the connection point on the destination side is downstream of the connection point on the departure side. In other words, it means that the traffic direction inside the hub of the vehicle entering the hub from the connection point on the departure side and exiting the hub from the connection point on the destination side is in the forward direction.

[0091] When p2 is greater than p1 (step 1311: Yes), the route determination unit 102 determines whether d1 is in the forward direction or both directions, and whether d2 is in the forward direction or both directions (step 1312). That p2 is greater than p1, d1 is in the forward direction or both directions, and d2 is in the forward direction or both directions means that the passing direction of the vehicle in the hub (i.e., the forward direction) is included in both the direction in which the vehicle entering the hub can pass in the hub and the direction in which the vehicle exiting the hub can pass in the hub. In other words, it means that the passing direction of the vehicle in the hub, the direction in which the vehicle entering the hub can pass in the hub, and the direction in which the vehicle exiting the hub can pass in the hub do not conflict with each other.

[0092] When d1 is in the forward direction or both directions, and d2 is in the forward direction or both directions (step 1312: Yes), the route determination unit 102 calculates the cost of the route corresponding to the combination of the selected hub, the origin side label, and the destination side label, and checks whether the cost is smaller than the cost calculated so far (step 1313).

[0093] Here, the cost of the route is calculated by summing the costs of all the links included in the selected origin side label L1, the costs of all the links included in the selected destination side label L2, and also summing the cost of the link in the selected hub included in the route if any (the same applies to steps 1316 and 1317 described later). In step 1313, the cost of the route is calculated as c1 + c2 + p2 - p1.

[0094] If p2 is not greater than p1 (step 1311: No), the route determination unit 102 determines whether p1 is greater than p2 (step 1314). If p1 is greater than p2 (step 1314: Yes), the route determination unit 102 determines whether d1 is in the reverse direction or both directions and d2 is in the reverse direction or both directions (step 1315). The fact that p1 is greater than p2, d1 is in the reverse direction or both directions, and d2 is in the reverse direction or both directions means that the passing direction of the vehicle in the hub (i.e., the reverse direction) is included in both the direction in which the vehicle entering the hub can pass in the hub and the direction in which the vehicle exiting the hub can pass in the hub. In other words, it means that the passing direction of the vehicle in the hub, the direction in which the vehicle entering the hub can pass in the hub, and the direction in which the vehicle exiting the hub can pass in the hub do not conflict with each other.

[0095] If d1 is in the reverse direction or both directions and d2 is in the reverse direction or both directions (step 1315: Yes), the route determination unit 102 checks whether the cost calculated by c1 + c2 + p1 - p2 is less than the cost calculated so far (step 1316).

[0096] If p2 is not greater than p1 (step 1311: No) and p1 is not greater than p2 (step 1314: No), that is, if p1 and p2 are equal, the route determination unit 102 checks whether the cost calculated by c1 + c2 is less than the cost calculated so far (step 1317).

[0097] In the above description, in steps 1313, 1316, and 1317, it is checked whether the calculated cost is smaller than the cost calculated so far. Regardless of the result of the check in these steps, the path determination unit 102 may finally hold the combination of the hub to be calculated, the origin-side label, and the destination-side label as a candidate for the path to be generated. In that case, in the process described later, the path with the minimum cost among the held candidates will be the finally generated path. Alternatively, the path determination unit 102 may hold the combination of the hub to be calculated, the origin-side label, and the destination-side label as a candidate for the path to be finally generated only when the newly calculated cost is smaller than the cost calculated previously, and discard the previously held candidates. In that case, the path candidate remaining when the processing for all combinations of the hub and the label is completed will be the finally generated path.

[0098] Thus, the process of comparing the costs of the paths specified by label L1 and label L2 (step 1303) ends.

[0099] Next, the path determination unit 102 determines whether the confirmation for all the labels connected to the selected hub has been completed (step 1304). If there is still a label that has not been confirmed (step 1304: No), the path determination unit 102 returns to step 1302, selects a label that has not been confirmed yet, and executes the processes after step 1303.

[0100] When the path determination unit 102 has completed the confirmation for all the labels connected to the selected hub (step 1304: Yes), it determines whether the confirmation for all the hubs has been completed (step 1305). If there is still a hub that has not been confirmed (step 1305: No), the path determination unit 102 returns to step 1301, selects a hub that has not been confirmed yet, and executes the processes after step 1302. When the confirmation for all the hubs has been completed (step 1305: Yes), the path determination unit 102 generates a path based on the combination of the hub with the minimum cost calculated so far, the origin-side label, and the destination-side label (step 1306).

[0101] The processing of the route determination unit 102 is completed above.

[0102] FIGS. 14A to 14D are explanatory diagrams showing specific examples of the process in which the route determination unit 102 of the delivery planning apparatus 100 in an embodiment of the present invention generates a route.

[0103] Here, as an example, in the road network 300, the case where the hub 2 is selected in step 1301 will be described. In this case, in step 1302, either the departure-side label 811 or 812 shown in FIG. 8 is selected as the label L1, and either the destination-side label 911 or 912 is selected as the label L2. Hereinafter, each combination of the labels L1 and L2 will be described. In FIGS. 14A to 14D, the route of the departure-side label is shown by a thick dashed line, the route inside the hub is shown by a thick solid line, and the route of the destination-side label is shown by a thick dotted line, respectively.

[0104] FIG. 14A shows a route when the departure-side label 811 is selected as the label L1 and the destination-side label 911 is selected as the label L2, respectively. In this example, a route is selected that goes from the node 8, which is the departure node, to the node 3, which is the destination node, via the nodes 7, 4, 1, and 2 in sequence. The connection point on the departure side of this route is the node 4, and the connection point on the destination side is also the node 4.

[0105] In this case, p1 = p2 = 0 (that is, step 1311: No, step 1314: No). In this case, since the vehicle entering from the connection point on the departure side does not pass through the links in the hub 2 until it exits from the connection point on the destination side, the determination of whether the traffic direction conflicts (steps 1312 and 1315) is not performed. And the cost of the route is calculated as c1 + c2 = 21 + 35 = "56" (step 1317).

[0106] FIG. 14B shows a route when the origin-side label 812 is selected as label L1 and the destination-side label 911 is selected as label L2. In this example, a route is selected that goes from node 8, which is the origin node, to node 3, which is the destination node, via nodes 5, 4, 1, and 2 in sequence. The connection point on the origin side of this route is node 5, and the connection point on the destination side is node 4.

[0107] In this case, p1 (=6) > p2 (=0) (i.e., step 1314: Yes). This indicates that the route includes a link within hub 2 and the connection point on the destination side is upstream (i.e., closer to the starting point of hub 2) than the connection point on the origin side. This means that in order for the vehicle to travel along this route from the origin to the destination, it is necessary for the vehicle to travel in the reverse direction (i.e., from downstream to upstream) along the link within hub 2.

[0108] Furthermore, in this example, d1 = "reverse direction" and d2 = "reverse direction" (step 1315: Yes). The fact that d1 is "reverse direction" indicates that a vehicle entering hub 2 from node 5 can travel in the reverse direction within hub 2. The fact that d2 is "reverse direction" indicates that the vehicle can travel in the reverse direction within hub 2, reach node 4, and exit hub 2 from node 4. Since these do not conflict with each other, it is determined that the route is passable, and the cost of the route is calculated as c1 + c2 + p1 - p2 = 11 + 35 + 6 = "52" (step 1316).

[0109] FIG. 14C shows a route when the origin-side label 812 is selected as label L1 and the destination-side label 912 is selected as label L2. In this example, a route is selected that goes from node 8, which is the origin node, to node 3, which is the destination node, via nodes 5 and 6 in sequence. The connection point on the origin side of this route is node 5, and the connection point on the destination side is node 6.

[0110] In this case, p1 (= 6) < p2 (= 11) (i.e., step 1311: Yes). This indicates that the route includes a link within hub 2 and the connection point on the destination side is downstream (i.e., the side farther from the starting point of hub 2) of the connection point on the departure side. This means that in order for the vehicle to pass through the route from the departure point to the destination, it is necessary to pass through the link within hub 2 in the forward direction (i.e., the direction from upstream to downstream).

[0111] Furthermore, in this example, d1 = "reverse direction" and d2 = "forward direction" (step 1312: No). The fact that d1 is "reverse direction" indicates that a vehicle entering hub 2 from node 5 can pass through hub 2 in the reverse direction but cannot pass through in the forward direction. The fact that d2 is "forward direction" indicates that a vehicle can pass through hub 2 in the forward direction, reach node 6, and exit hub 2 from node 6. In this case, there is a contradiction that although it is necessary to pass through the link within hub 2 in the forward direction, a vehicle entering hub 2 from node 5 cannot pass through hub 2 in the forward direction due to traffic regulations. Therefore, it is determined that the route is not passable and the cost of the route is not calculated. If the cost of the route were calculated, it would be calculated as "30".

[0112] FIG. 14D shows a route when the departure-side label 811 is selected as label L1 and the destination-side label 912 is selected as label L2. In this example, a route is selected that goes from node 8, which is the departure node, to node 3, which is the destination node, via nodes 7, 4, 5, and 6 in sequence. The connection point on the departure side of this route is node 4, and the connection point on the destination side is node 6.

[0113] In this case, p1 (= 0) < p2 (= 11) (i.e., step 1311: Yes). This indicates that the route includes a link within hub 2 and the connection point on the destination side is downstream (i.e., the side closer to the end point of hub 2) of the connection point on the departure side. This means that in order for the vehicle to pass through the route from the departure point to the destination, it is necessary to pass through the link within hub 2 in the forward direction.

[0114] Furthermore, in this example, d1 = "forward" and d2 = "forward" (step 1312: Yes). The fact that d1 is "forward" indicates that a vehicle entering the hub 2 from node 4 can pass through the hub 2 in the forward direction. The fact that d2 is "forward" indicates that a vehicle can pass through the hub 2 in the forward direction, reach node 6, and exit the hub 2 from node 6. Since these do not conflict with each other, it is determined that the route is passable, and the cost of the route is calculated as c1 + c2 + p2 - p1 = 21 + 14 + 11 = "46" (step 1313).

[0115] In the examples of FIGS. 14A to 14D above, among the four combinations of the departure-side label and the destination-side label for hub 2, the combination shown in FIG. 14C is determined to be non-passable although it has the minimum cost. And among the remaining three passable combinations, since the combination shown in FIG. 14D has the minimum cost, at least for hub 2, the route of this combination is determined.

[0116] The reason why the route of the combination shown in FIG. 14C is non-passable is that, in order for the vehicle to reach node 6 which is the connection point on the destination side, it needs to pass through the hub 2 from node 5 to node 6, but it cannot pass due to the traffic regulation. This is based on the traffic regulation (see FIG. 5) that the vehicle cannot pass in the direction of node 6 only when the vehicle enters from node 8 to node 5. For example, as shown in FIG. 14D, when the vehicle enters from node 4 to node 5, it can pass in the direction from node 5 to node 6.

[0117] Thus, in this embodiment, even when a traffic regulation depending on the combination of the traffic direction in the hub and the entry route to the hub or the exit route from the hub is set, a route reflecting the traffic regulation can be determined.

[0118] FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of processing performed by the delivery planning apparatus 100 according to the conditional traffic restriction in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0119] As described with reference to FIG. 5, there may be a case where a conditional traffic restriction that limits a time zone or a vehicle type is set. FIG. 15 illustrates the processing of the delivery planning apparatus 100 when a traffic restriction for each time zone, which is an example of the conditional traffic restriction, is set.

[0120] Specifically, FIG. 15 shows an example in which, as the restriction data 108, traffic restrictions 108A for the time zone from 10:00 to 11:00, traffic restrictions 108B for the time zone from 11:00 to 12:00, traffic restrictions 108C for the time zone from 12:00 to 13:00, and traffic restrictions for other time zones (not shown) are set.

[0121] In this example, the pre-search unit 101 generates the label data 1_109A corresponding to the time zone by executing the processing shown in FIGS. 10A and 10B based on the road data 107 and the traffic restriction 108A for the time zone from 10:00 to 11:00, and stores it in the storage unit 106 as a part of the label data 109.

[0122] Similarly, the pre-search unit 101 generates the label data 2_109B corresponding to the time zone based on the road data 107 and the traffic restriction 108B for the time zone from 11:00 to 12:00, and generates the label data 3_109C corresponding to the time zone based on the road data 107 and the traffic restriction 108C for the time zone from 12:00 to 13:00, and stores them in the storage unit 106 as a part of the label data 109.

[0123] When the route determination unit 102 executes route search by specifying the departure and destination of the route search, it refers to the label data 109 corresponding to the time zone of the delivery plan to be created and executes the processes shown in FIGS. 13A and 13B. For example, when trying to create a delivery plan for the time zone from 12:00 to 13:00, the route determination unit 102 refers to the label data 3_109C to execute route search, and based on the result, the delivery plan unit 103 creates a delivery plan.

[0124] Also, the system of the embodiment of the present invention may be configured as follows.

[0125] (1) A route search method executed by a computer system (e.g., computer system 200 that implements delivery planning device 100) having a processor (e.g., processor 201) and a storage device (e.g., memory 202 and auxiliary storage device 203), wherein the storage device holds road data (e.g., road data 107) including information on a road network and regulation data (e.g., regulation data 108) including information on traffic regulations set for the road network. The route search method includes a pre-search procedure (e.g., the processing of pre-search unit 101) in which the processor generates label data based on the road data and the regulation data, and a route determination procedure (e.g., the processing of route determination unit 102) in which the processor determines a route between points based on the label data. The pre-search procedure includes a first procedure (e.g., step 1001) in which the processor generates information on hubs composed of a plurality of nodes of the road network based on the road data, and a second procedure (e.g., steps 1002 to 1005) in which the processor holds, as the label data, the passable directions at the hubs when a route is set between each node and the hub based on the road data and the regulation data. The route determination procedure includes a third procedure (e.g., FIGS. 13A and 13B) in which the processor determines, as the route between the points, a route corresponding to a combination among the combination of the hub, the route entering the hub, and the route exiting the hub, where the passable direction at the hub is included in both the passable direction at the hub when entering the hub and the passable direction at the hub when exiting the hub.

[0126] Accordingly, it is possible to generate a route reflecting traffic regulations while shortening the time required for route search after the departure point and the destination are specified.

[0127] (2) The route search method according to (1) above, wherein in the second step, the processor generates, based on the road data and the regulation data, a starting point side label including the position of a connection point on the starting point side indicating a node connecting to the hub for a route starting from each node in the road network and reaching the hub, and a direction in which passage through the hub is possible from the connection point on the starting point side, and holds the information of the starting point side label in the label data (for example, step 1011); and the processor generates, based on the road data and the regulation data, a destination side label including the position of a connection point on the destination side indicating a node connecting to the hub for a route starting from the hub and reaching each node in the road network, and a direction in which passage through the hub is possible up to the connection point on the destination side, and holds the information of the destination side label in the label data (for example, step 1012). The third step includes: when the starting point node and the destination node are determined, the processor selects, based on the label data, a combination of the starting point side label of the route from the starting point node to the hub and the destination side label of the route from the hub to the destination node (for example, steps 1301 and 1302); and when the passage direction from the connection point on the starting point side to the connection point on the destination side in the selected combination is included in both the direction in which passage through the hub is possible from the connection point on the starting point side and the direction in which passage through the hub is possible up to the connection point on the destination side, the processor determines, as the route from the starting point node to the destination node, the route corresponding to the combination of the hub, the starting point side label, and the destination side label (for example, steps 1303 and 1306).

[0128] Accordingly, it is possible to generate a route reflecting traffic restrictions while shortening the time required for route search after the starting point and the destination are specified.

[0129] (3) The route search method according to (2) above, wherein in the second step, the processor calculates the cost of the route from each of the nodes to the hub and the cost of the route from the hub to each of the nodes, and stores them in the label data including them in the departure-side label and the destination-side label respectively. In the third step, the processor determines that the passing direction from the connection point on the departure side to the connection point on the destination side is any combination of the direction that can pass through the hub from the connection point on the departure side and the direction that can pass through the hub to the connection point on the destination side. Among them, the route corresponding to the combination with the minimum total of the cost of the route from the connection point on the departure side in the hub to the connection point on the destination side, the cost of the route corresponding to the departure-side label, and the cost of the route corresponding to the destination-side label is determined as the route from the departure node to the destination node (for example, step 1306).

[0130] As a result, among the routes that can pass according to the traffic regulations, the route with the minimum cost is selected.

[0131] (4) The route search method according to (1) above, wherein the hub is a road section represented by a plurality of nodes connected by links.

[0132] As a result, the routes that cannot pass due to the traffic regulations corresponding to the passing directions in the hub at the connection points of the hub are excluded.

[0133] (5) The route search method according to (1) above, wherein the regulation data includes information (for example, the information shown in FIG. 5) that associates a combination of a target node, an entry-side node that is an adjacent node on the side entering the target node, and an exit-side node that is an adjacent node on the side exiting the target node, with the regulation for passing from the entry-side node into the target node and exiting to the exit-side node.

[0134] As a result, the routes that cannot pass due to the traffic regulations corresponding to the passing directions in the hub at the connection points of the hub are excluded.

[0135] (6) The route search method according to (1) above, wherein the regulation data includes information on traffic regulations set for the road network for each condition (for example, traffic regulations 108A to 108C), and in the pre-search procedure, the processor generates the label data (for example, label data 1_109A to label data 3_109C) for each condition, and in the route determination procedure, the processor determines a route based on the label data that matches the condition of the route search target.

[0136] Thus, even when traffic regulations vary according to conditions, a route that conforms to the conditions can be identified.

[0137] (7) The route search method according to (6) above, wherein the condition includes at least one of a time zone or the type of vehicle passing through.

[0138] Thus, even when traffic regulations vary according to the time zone or vehicle type, a route that conforms to each can be identified.

[0139] Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments and includes various modifications. For example, the above-described embodiments have been described in detail for better understanding of the present invention and are not necessarily limited to those having all the configurations described. Also, a part of the configuration of one embodiment can be replaced with the configuration of another embodiment, and the configuration of another embodiment can be added to the configuration of one embodiment. Further, for a part of the configuration of each embodiment, addition, deletion, or replacement with other configurations is possible.

[0140] In addition, each of the above-described configurations, functions, processing units, processing means, etc. may be implemented in hardware by designing a part or all of them, for example, using an integrated circuit. Further, each of the above-described configurations, functions, etc. may be implemented in software by a processor interpreting and executing a program that realizes each function. Information such as programs, tables, and files that realize each function can be stored in a storage device such as a non-volatile semiconductor memory, a hard disk drive, an SSD (Solid State Drive), or a computer-readable non-transitory data storage medium such as an IC card, an SD card, or a DVD.

[0141] Also, the control lines and information lines show those considered necessary for explanation, and not necessarily all control lines and information lines are shown on the product. In reality, it may be considered that almost all configurations are interconnected.

Explanation of Signs

[0142] 100 Delivery Planning Device 101 Pre-search Section 102 Route Determination Section 103 Delivery Planning Section 104 Input Section 105 Display Section 106 Storage Section 107 Road Data 108 Regulation Data 109 Label Data 110 Base Information 111 Route Information between Bases 112 Delivery Plan 200 Computer System 201 Processor 202 Memory 203 Auxiliary Storage Device 204 Output Device 205 Input Device 206 Communication Interface

Claims

1. A pathfinding method to be performed by a computer system having a processor and a memory device, The storage device holds road data including information about the road network, and regulatory data including information about traffic restrictions set on the road network. The aforementioned pathfinding method is: The processor performs a pre-search procedure to generate label data based on the road data and the regulatory data, The processor includes a route determination procedure that determines a route between points based on the label data, The aforementioned pre-search procedure is: The first step involves the processor generating information about a hub consisting of multiple nodes of the road network based on the road data, The processor includes a second step of storing, based on the road data and the regulatory data, the direction in which travel is permitted at the hub when a route is established between each node in the road network and the hub, as label data for each node in the road network, The aforementioned route determination procedure is: A path search method characterized in that the processor determines as a path between the points a combination of the hub, a path entering the hub, and a path exiting the hub, where the direction of travel at the hub is included in both the direction that can be traveled at the hub when entering the hub and the direction that can be traveled at the hub when exiting the hub.

2. A pathfinding method according to claim 1, The second procedure described above is, The processor generates a starting-side label based on the road data and the regulatory data, which includes the location of the starting-side connection point indicating the node to which a route starting from each node in the road network to reach the hub connects with the hub, and the direction in which travel is possible from the starting-side connection point to the hub, and includes the information of the starting-side label in the label data and stores it. The processor generates a destination label based on the road data and the regulatory data, which includes the location of a destination-side connection point indicating the node to which a route starting from the hub and reaching each node in the road network connects with the hub, and the direction in which it is possible to travel through the hub to the destination-side connection point, and includes the destination-side label information in the label data and maintains it. The third step described above is, When the origin node and destination node are determined, the processor selects a combination of the origin-side label for the route from the origin node to the hub and the destination-side label for the route from the hub to the destination node, based on the label data. A pathfinding method characterized in that the processor determines a path corresponding to a combination of the hub, the originating label, and the destination label as a path from the originating node to the destination node, when, in the selected combination, the direction of travel from the originating connection point to the destination connection point is included in both the direction that can be traveled from the originating connection point through the hub and the direction that can be traveled through the hub to the destination connection point.

3. A pathfinding method according to claim 2, In the second step, the processor calculates the cost of the route from each node to the hub, and the cost of the route from the hub to each node, and stores these costs in the label data, including them in the origin label and destination label, respectively. A path search method characterized in that, in the third step, the processor determines as the path from the origin node to the destination node the path that minimizes the sum of the cost of the path from the origin node to the destination node within the hub, the cost of the path corresponding to the origin node label, and the cost of the path corresponding to the destination label, among combinations in which the direction of travel from the origin node connection point to the destination node is included in both the direction that can be traveled from the origin node connection point to the destination node within the hub and the direction that can be traveled within the hub to the destination node connection point.

4. A pathfinding method according to claim 1, The route search method is characterized in that the hub is a road section represented by a plurality of nodes connected by links.

5. A pathfinding method according to claim 1, A route search method characterized in that the regulatory data includes information that associates a combination of a target node, an entry-side node which is an adjacent node entering the target node, and an exit-side node which is an adjacent node exiting the target node with a regulation for passage from the entry-side node to the target node and exiting to the exit-side node.

6. A pathfinding method according to claim 1, The aforementioned regulatory data includes information on traffic restrictions set for the road network for each condition, In the aforementioned pre-search procedure, the processor generates the label data for each of the conditions, A pathfinding method characterized in that, in the path determination procedure, the processor determines a path based on the label data that matches the conditions for the path to be explored.

7. A pathfinding method according to claim 6, A route search method characterized in that the aforementioned conditions include at least one of the time period or the type of vehicle passing through.

8. A delivery planning device having a processor and a memory device, The storage device holds road data including information about the road network, and regulatory data including information about traffic restrictions set on the road network. The aforementioned processor, A pre-search procedure for generating label data based on the aforementioned road data and the aforementioned regulatory data, The processor performs a route determination procedure that determines a route between points based on the label data, In the aforementioned pre-search procedure, the processor: A first step of generating information about a hub consisting of multiple nodes in the road network based on the aforementioned road data, A second step is performed in which, based on the road data and the regulatory data, for each node included in the road network, the direction in which travel is possible at the hub when a route is established between each node and the hub is stored as label data, In the aforementioned path determination procedure, the processor: A delivery planning device characterized by performing a third step of determining a route between the points, which corresponds to a combination of the hub, a route entering the hub, and a route exiting the hub, where the direction of travel at the hub is included in both the direction that can be traveled at the hub when entering the hub and the direction that can be traveled at the hub when exiting the hub.

9. A delivery planning device according to claim 8, In the second step described above, the processor, Based on the road data and the regulatory data, a starting point label is generated that includes the location of the starting point connection point indicating the node to which a route starting from each node in the road network to the hub connects with the hub, and the direction in which travel is possible from the starting point connection point through the hub. The information of the starting point label is included in the label data and stored. Based on the road data and the regulatory data, a destination label is generated that includes the location of the destination-side connection point indicating the node to which a route starting from the hub and reaching each node in the road network connects with the hub, and the direction in which it is possible to travel through the hub to the destination-side connection point. The information of the destination label is then included in and stored in the label data. In the third step described above, the processor, When the origin node and destination node are determined, a combination of the origin-side label for the route from the origin node to the hub and the destination-side label for the route from the hub to the destination node is selected based on the label data. A delivery planning device characterized in that, in the selected combination, if the direction of travel from the connection point on the departure side to the connection point on the destination side is included in both the direction that can be traveled from the connection point on the departure side through the hub and the direction that can be traveled through the hub to the connection point on the destination side, the device determines a route corresponding to the combination of the hub, the departure side label and the destination side label as the route from the departure node to the destination node.

10. A delivery planning device according to claim 9, In the second step, the processor calculates the cost of the route from each node to the hub, and the cost of the route from the hub to each node, and stores these costs in the label data, including them in the origin label and destination label, respectively. A delivery planning device characterized in that, in the third step, the processor determines as the route from the origin node to the destination node a route that minimizes the sum of the cost of the route from the origin node to the destination node within the hub, the cost of the route corresponding to the origin node label, and the cost of the route corresponding to the destination label, among combinations in which the direction of travel from the origin node to the destination node is included in both the direction that can be traveled from the origin node to the hub and the direction that can be traveled from the hub to the destination node.

11. A delivery planning device according to claim 8, The delivery planning device is characterized in that the hub is a road section represented by a plurality of nodes connected by links.

12. A delivery planning device according to claim 8, The delivery planning device is characterized in that the regulatory data includes information that associates a combination of a target node, an entry-side node which is an adjacent node entering the target node, an exit-side node which is an adjacent node leaving the target node, and regulations for passage from the entry-side node to the target node and exiting to the exit-side node.

13. A delivery planning device according to claim 8, The aforementioned regulatory data includes information on traffic restrictions set for the road network for each condition, In the aforementioned pre-search procedure, the processor generates the label data for each of the conditions, A delivery planning device characterized in that, in the route determination procedure, the processor determines a route based on the label data that matches the conditions for the target of the route search.

14. A delivery planning device according to claim 13, A delivery planning device characterized in that the aforementioned conditions include at least one of time period or type of vehicle passing through.

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