Guidance system

Abstract

To reduce the possibility a user is guided to a facility that is not new to the user.SOLUTION: A guidance system is provided, comprising an acquisition unit for acquiring target facilities that is a guiding target for a user in a guidance area where guidance to facilities is provided, and a guidance unit configured to guide the user to a target facility different from chain facilities originating from an area the user has already visited in successive trips made by the user.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a guidance system.

Background Art

[0002] Recommendations are made to users for facilities (such as stores that sell goods, restaurants, sightseeing facilities, amusement facilities, etc.). When guiding a user to a recommended facility, there may be a desire not to guide a facility that lacks freshness for the user. Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for not providing information about chain stores existing in a user-derived area.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] There is a demand for a technique to further reduce the situation where a facility that lacks freshness for the user is guided. The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to reduce the possibility that a facility that lacks freshness for the user is guided.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0005] To achieve the above object, a guidance system includes an acquisition unit that acquires a target facility, which is a facility to be guided to a user in a guidance area that is an area where facility guidance is performed, and a guidance unit that guides the target facility that is different from a chain facility derived from an area visited by the user in a continuous trip that is a continuous trip made by the user.

[0006] In other words, the guidance system will not guide users to chain establishments originating from areas they have already visited during their ongoing trip. Users experience the areas they have visited during their ongoing trip, and then continue their trip. In areas they have already visited, users may become familiar with chain establishments originating from those areas by checking them out or using them. Therefore, chain establishments originating from areas already visited during a trip may become unfamiliar to the user. By preventing users from being guided to chain establishments originating from areas they have already visited during a trip, the guidance system can reduce the possibility of being guided to unfamiliar establishments. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0007] [Figure 1] This is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a guidance system. [Figure 2] Figure 2A shows an example of content data, Figure 2B shows an example of chain facility data, and Figure 2C shows an example of user data. [Figure 3] This figure shows an example of the screen that will be displayed. [Figure 4] This is a flowchart showing an example of a guidance process. [Figure 5] This figure shows an example of a guide area. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0008] Here, embodiments of the present invention will be described in the following order. (1) Configuration of the guidance system: (2) Guidance processing: (3) Other embodiments:

[0009] (1) Configuration of the guidance system: Figure 1 shows the configuration of the guidance system 10 of this embodiment. In this embodiment, the guidance system 10 provides guidance to the user of the navigation system 50, which acts as a client, to facilities (for example, restaurants, shops, amusement facilities, etc.). In this embodiment, the guidance system 10 is described as providing guidance to restaurants as facilities, but it may also provide guidance to other facilities such as shops. In this embodiment, the guidance system 10 is assumed to be composed of a server computer, but it may also be composed of other devices such as a personal computer or a tablet device.

[0010] There may be multiple navigation systems 50, which are clients of the guidance system 10, but Figure 1 shows one of them. In this embodiment, the content to be guided is a facility (POI (Point of Interest)) that can be set as a destination point for the navigation system 50.

[0011] In this embodiment, the guidance system 10 guides users to recommended facilities within the area covered by the facility guidance system during consecutive trips undertaken by a user traveling with the navigation system 50. Here, a trip is defined as travel from the starting point of travel accompanied by the navigation system 50 to the ending point of travel (the destination). Consecutive trips are multiple trips considered to have been taken consecutively by the user, such as multiple trips taken by the user on the same day, or multiple trips taken at intervals below a predetermined time threshold. Hereinafter, consecutive trips will be referred to as consecutive trips. In this embodiment, consecutive trips are multiple trips taken by the user on the same day. In consecutive trips, the endpoint of one trip becomes the starting point of the next trip. Also, the endpoint of a trip taken by the user becomes the user's destination. Therefore, the endpoint of a trip taken by the user becomes an area already visited by the user. Hereinafter, the area covered by the facility guidance system will be referred to as the guidance area. In this embodiment, the guidance area is the area around the user's current location, with a predetermined radius centered on the user's current location, and the area around the user's target value, with a predetermined radius centered on the user's destination point. The guidance area around the user's current location is an example of the first area. The guidance area around the user's destination point is an example of the second area.

[0012] The guidance system 10 comprises a control unit 20, a storage medium 30, and a communication unit 41. The control unit 20 includes a processor, Random Access Memory (RAM), Read Only Memory (ROM), etc., and controls the guidance system 10. The storage medium 30 stores various data such as facility data 30a, chain facility data 30b, user data 30c, user movement history data 30d, and various programs such as the guidance program 21.

[0013] Facility data 30a is data in which various information about a corresponding facility is associated with the identification information (facility ID) of each of several candidate facilities to be guided. More specifically, facility data 30a includes the facility name, location information, address, telephone number, and facility genre information associated with the facility ID. The facility genre indicates the genre to which the facility belongs when categorized. The facility genre may have a hierarchical structure. In addition, keywords for the facility specified by the facility may be included in the content data in advance.

[0014] Figure 2A shows an example of facility data 30a (some items such as location, address, and telephone number are not shown). The review data included in the facility data 30a is data that shows the user's impressions of the facility and is stored as text data associated with the user ID of the user who created the review. The review data is transmitted to the guidance system 10 from the navigation system 50 and other various information terminals, associated with the user ID. The control unit 20 obtains keywords about each facility from the review data of each facility. If the review data contains a word that the user (reviewer) has designated as a keyword (for example, a word with a hashtag), the control unit 20 obtains this word as a keyword. Also, if any of the words predetermined as words that indicate the characteristics of the facility are included in the text of the review, the control unit 20 obtains this word as a keyword. Keywords that have similar meanings even if the expression is different are classified in advance (for example, reasonable, low price, cheap, etc.), and keywords are obtained for each classification. The control unit 20 stores the keywords acquired in this way by associating them with the facility ID and including them in the facility data 30a.

[0015] Furthermore, the control unit 20 counts the total number of reviews from the number of users who submitted review data, associates it with the facility ID, and stores it in the facility data 30a. The explanation continues under the assumption that one user can submit only one review per facility.

[0016] Chain facility data 30b is data that indicates a chain of facilities (hereinafter referred to as chain facilities). Chain operation refers to the operation and management of multiple facilities (franchise chain facilities, regular chain facilities, etc.) under the same brand. Figure 2B shows an example of chain facility data 30b. Chain facility data 30b is information that associates the identification information of the corresponding brand (brand ID), the ID of one or more chain facilities operated and managed by the corresponding brand (facility ID), and the region from which the chain facilities of the corresponding brand originate (origin region). A region-origin chain facility is a chain facility rooted in that region, for example, a chain facility mainly distributed in that region, or a chain facility where the main facility (e.g., headquarters such as the head office) is located in that region. Here, region refers to a divided area, for example, a place at the level of an administrative division such as a ward, city, town, village, prefecture, state, or province. In this embodiment, the region from which the chain facilities operated and managed by each brand originate is investigated and determined in advance. The origin region can take values ​​such as "Prefecture A" indicating that the chain facility originates from Prefecture A, "Prefecture B" indicating that the chain facility originates from Prefecture B, or "Nationwide" indicating that the chain facility is part of a nationwide chain. In this embodiment, if the number of chain facilities in the region where the headquarters of the chain facility is located is greater than the number of chain facilities in other regions, then this chain facility is considered to originate from that region. Also, if the number of chain facilities in the region where the headquarters of the chain facility is located is less than or equal to the number of chain facilities in other regions, then this chain facility is considered to be part of a nationwide chain. For example, suppose the headquarters of a certain brand of chain facilities is in "Prefecture A," and there are 50 chain facilities of this brand in "Prefecture A," and there are 10 chain facilities of this brand in regions other than "Prefecture A." In this case, since the number of chain facilities in "Prefecture A" where the headquarters is located is greater than the number of chain facilities in other regions, the chain facilities of this brand are considered to originate from "Prefecture A."In addition, the "region of origin" can take multiple values as item values, such as, for example, "Prefecture A" and "Prefecture B".

[0017] The user data 30c is data in which various pieces of information related to the user are associated with the user ID. Specifically, the user data includes an interest attribute indicating an attribute in which the user is interested, an interest facility that is a facility in which the user is interested, and a base region that is the region where the user is based. The interest attribute is, for example, a facility genre in which the user himself / herself is interested (a favorite facility genre), a keyword in which the user is interested, and the like. In the present embodiment, the interest attribute is a facility genre or a keyword in which the user is interested. The interest facility is an individual facility in which the user is interested. The base region is the region where the user is based, and for example, it is the region where the user's address exists, the region where the user frequently goes (for example, the region where the user's workplace, school, etc. are located), and the like. In the present embodiment, the user data 30c is stored in a storage medium in advance. FIG. 2C is a diagram showing an example of the user data 30c. As shown in FIG. 2C, in the user data 30c, for each user, the facility genre in which the user is interested, the keyword in which the user is interested, the facility in which the user is interested, and the base region are stored.

[0018] The user movement history data 30d is data indicating the history of trips made by the user. The control unit 20 periodically acquires the position information of the navigation system 50 from the navigation system 50. The control unit 20 specifies, as the history of the user's trip, when, from where the user started the trip, how the user moved, and when and where the user reached to end the trip from the temporal transition of the position indicated by the acquired position information. The control unit 20 stores the information on the specified trip history in the storage medium 30 as the user movement history data 30d. In the present embodiment, the user movement history data 30d for the trips made by the user before the start of the process is stored in the storage medium 30 by the control unit 20 in advance.

[0019] The communication unit 41 includes a circuit for communicating with an external device such as the navigation system 50. The control unit 20 can communicate with the navigation system 50 via the communication unit 41.

[0020] The navigation system 50 is a device equipped with a navigation function to a destination. In this embodiment, the navigation system 50 is configured as an in-vehicle device, but it may be configured as a portable terminal such as a tablet or a smartphone. In this embodiment, the user moves in a vehicle equipped with the navigation system 50. In this embodiment, the navigation system 50 receives the designation of a departure point and a destination from the user and performs navigation from the departure point to the destination. The navigation system 50 includes a communication unit 50a, a GNSS reception unit 50b, a control unit 50c, and a user I / F unit 50d. The control unit 50c includes a processor, a RAM, a ROM, and a storage medium, and the processor can execute various programs recorded in the ROM and the storage medium.

[0021] The communication unit 50a includes a communication circuit for wireless communication with other devices such as the guidance system 10. The control unit 50c can communicate with the guidance system 10 via the communication unit 50a. The user I / F unit 50d is an interface unit for the user to input instructions and for providing various types of information to the user. The user I / F unit 50d includes a touch panel type display, switches, speakers, etc. not shown in the figure. That is, the user I / F unit 50d includes an output unit for images and sounds and an input unit for instructions by the user.

[0022] The GNSS receiver 50b is a device that receives signals from the Global Navigation Satellite System. The GNSS receiver 50b receives radio waves from navigation satellites and outputs a signal for calculating the position of the navigation system 50 via an interface (not shown). The control unit 50c acquires this signal and obtains the position of the navigation system 50. The control unit 50c also obtains the time from a timing unit (not shown). The control unit 50c periodically measures the position of its own device via the GNSS receiver 50b and transmits the measured position and time to the guidance system 10. The control unit 20 of the guidance system 10 acquires the periodically transmitted position and time, identifies the temporal progression of the user's position based on the acquired position and time, identifies the trips taken by the user from the identified progression, and stores the information of the identified trips as user movement history data 30d.

[0023] The control unit 20 of the guidance system 10 identifies the start of the user's movement (start of trip) and the end of the user's movement (end of trip) based on the position and time transmitted from the navigation system 50, as follows: Specifically, if the control unit 20 detects that the navigation system 50 has left a predetermined range after remaining within a predetermined range for a predetermined period of time or longer, it identifies that the trip started at the time the navigation system 50 left the range. Also, if the control unit 20 detects that the navigation system 50 has remained within a predetermined range for a predetermined period of time or longer after the start of the trip, it identifies that the trip ended at the time the navigation system 50 remained within the predetermined range for the predetermined period of time or longer. However, the control unit 20 may detect the start and end of a user's trip by other means. For example, if the user has specified a departure point and a destination point in the navigation system 50, the control unit 20 may identify the start of the trip when the navigation system 50 moves from the specified departure point, or identify the end of the trip when the navigation system 50 reaches the specified destination point. Furthermore, the control unit 20 may detect the start of the trip when the ignition of the vehicle on which the navigation system 50 is installed is turned on, or it may detect the end of the trip when the ignition of the vehicle on which the navigation system 50 is installed is turned off. The control unit 20 may also choose not to detect the end of the trip when the user temporarily stops for a break during travel. For example, even if the ignition of the vehicle on which the navigation system 50 is installed is turned off, the control unit 20 may choose not to detect the end of the trip if the period between the time the ignition is turned off and the time it is turned on again is less than or equal to a predetermined time threshold (e.g., 10 minutes).

[0024] Next, we will explain the functions of the guidance system 10. The control unit 20 of the guidance system 10 functions as an acquisition unit 21a and a guidance unit 21b by executing the guidance program 21.

[0025] The acquisition unit 21a has the function of acquiring facilities that are to be guided to the user within the guidance area. Hereafter, facilities that are to be guided to the user will be referred to as target facilities. The control unit 20 acquires a request for facility guidance from the navigation system 50 through the function of the acquisition unit 21a. In this embodiment, the control unit 50c of the navigation system 50 transmits the request for facility guidance and information of the user's destination point to the guidance system 10 based on user operation via the user I / F unit 50d.

[0026] The control unit 20 refers to user data 30c and identifies the user's interest attributes of the navigation system 50 that sent the request for facility guidance. The control unit 20 extracts facilities of interest of other users that have the same or similar interest attributes as the user, based on the user data 30c, as candidates for facilities to be guided. That is, the control unit 20 extracts other users that have the same interest attributes as the identified user by referring to the interest attributes of each user in the user data 30c. In this embodiment, the interest attributes include facility genres and keywords. The degree of similarity with other facility genres is defined in advance for each facility genre, and the control unit 20 identifies predetermined types of facility genres in order of their similarity to the facility genre of interest of the user. The control unit 20 then extracts other users that have the identified facility genre as a facility genre of interest by referring to the interest attributes of each user in the user data 30c. In addition, the control unit 20 extracts other users that have the same keywords as the keywords of interest of the user by referring to the interest attributes of each user in the user data 30c. Regarding keywords, keywords with similar meanings, even if expressed differently, are pre-classified, and the control unit 20 also extracts other users whose keywords, expressed in other ways, belong to the same classification as the user's keyword of interest. There may be multiple such other users.

[0027] The control unit 20 identifies facilities that are within the guidance area from among the facilities of interest (facilities of interest) of other users that have been extracted. Specifically, the control unit 20 identifies facilities that are within a predetermined radius from the user's current location and within a predetermined radius from the user's destination. The control unit 20 acquires the identified facilities as target facilities.

[0028] The guidance unit 21b is a function that guides users to target facilities that are different from the chain facilities originating from areas already visited by the user during their ongoing trip. The control unit 20, using the functions of the guidance unit 21b, excludes chain facilities that are part of a nationwide chain from the target facilities acquired by the acquisition unit 21a. More specifically, the control unit 20 performs the following processing for each facility included in the target facilities. That is, the control unit 20 identifies row data containing the identification information of this facility as the item value of the facility ID from the chain facility data 30b. Then, if the item value of the origin region of the identified row data is "nationwide", the control unit 20 excludes this facility from the target facilities.

[0029] Furthermore, the control unit 20 excludes chain facilities originating from the user's base from the target facilities. More specifically, the control unit 20 obtains the region where the user is based by identifying the item value of the user's base region from the user data 30c. The control unit 20 then performs the following processing for each facility included in the target facilities. Specifically, the control unit 20 identifies row data containing the identification information of this facility as the item value of the facility ID from the chain facility data 30b. Then, if the item value of the origin region of the identified row data is not "nationwide" but a region that includes the acquired region, the control unit 20 excludes this facility from the target facilities. For example, if the region where the user is based is "City A", and the item value of the origin region of the identified row data is "Prefecture A", which includes "City A", the control unit 20 excludes this facility from the target facilities.

[0030] Furthermore, the control unit 20 identifies from the user movement history data 30d how often the user visits the region where the user's current location is located. More specifically, the control unit 20 uses the user movement history data 30d to determine the frequency of user visits to this region, which is the number of trips that end in the region where the user's current location is located during a predetermined period (for example, the month immediately preceding the current time (processing time)). If the determined frequency is above a predetermined threshold, the control unit 20 determines that the user frequently visits this region. If the control unit 20 determines that the user frequently visits this region, it excludes chain facilities originating from this region from the target facilities.

[0031] More specifically, the control unit 20 performs the following processing for each facility included in the target facilities. Specifically, the control unit 20 identifies row data containing the identification information of this facility as the item value of the facility ID from the chain facility data 30b. Then, if the item value of the origin region of the identified row data is not "nationwide" but a region that the user has determined to visit frequently, the control unit 20 excludes this facility from the target facilities.

[0032] Furthermore, if a user has made a series of trips and there are already visited regions, and those regions do not include the user's current location, the control unit 20 excludes the chain facilities originating from those regions from the target facilities. More specifically, the control unit 20 identifies trips completed on the same day as the current time from the user's travel history data 30d. The control unit 20 then performs the following processing for each identified trip.

[0033] In other words, the control unit 20 identifies the destination region of the identified trip from the user movement history data 30d as a region that the user has already visited in a series of trips. Then, the control unit 20 performs the following processing for each facility included in the target facilities. Specifically, the control unit 20 identifies row data containing the identification information of this facility as the item value of the facility ID from the chain facility data 30b. Then, if the item value of the origin region of the identified row data is not "nationwide", and is a region that includes the region identified as a visited region, but is not a region that includes the user's current location, the control unit 20 excludes this facility from the target facilities. For example, if the region the user has already visited is "Prefecture B", and the item value of the "Origin Region" of the identified row data is "Prefecture B", the control unit 20 excludes this facility from the target facilities.

[0034] The control unit 20, through the above processing, excludes facilities from the target facilities that may not be new or interesting to the user. Then, the control unit 20 guides the user to the target facilities as follows: The control unit 20 generates an image on which information of the guidance area and each of the target facilities within the guidance area is superimposed on a map of the area surrounding the guidance area. The control unit 20 then transmits the generated image to the navigation system 50, which displays it on the user I / F unit 50d. Figure 3 shows an example of an image displayed on the user I / F unit 50d. Area R1 in Figure 3 is the guidance area around the user's current location C. Area R2 is the guidance area around the user's destination point. In the example in Figure 3, the control unit 20 indicates the target facilities within the guidance area with star-shaped objects, and the name of each target facility is shown near each star-shaped object. This allows the user to be guided to the target facilities.

[0035] As described above, with the configuration of this embodiment, the guidance system 10 excludes chain facilities originating from areas already visited by the user during a continuous trip, thereby guiding the user to facilities different from those originating from previously visited areas. During a continuous trip, the user may experience previously visited areas and become familiar with chain facilities originating from these areas by checking them out or using them. Therefore, chain stores originating from previously visited areas may become unfamiliar to the user. Accordingly, the guidance system 10 can reduce the possibility of the user being guided to unfamiliar facilities by not guiding them to chain facilities originating from areas already visited by the user during a continuous trip.

[0036] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the guidance system 10 does not exclude chain facilities originating from a region that the user has already visited from the target facilities if that region includes the user's current location. Users may want to have a region-specific experience while they are in that region when they travel there after visiting it. By not excluding chain facilities originating from the region the user is currently in from the guidance targets, the guidance system 10 can improve the likelihood that the user will have a region-specific experience that includes their current location.

[0037] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the guidance system 10 excludes chain facilities that operate nationwide from its target facilities, thereby preventing them from being guided. Chain facilities that operate nationwide are likely to lack novelty for users. Therefore, the control unit 20 can reduce the situation in which users are guided to facilities that lack novelty by excluding chain facilities that operate nationwide from its guided facilities.

[0038] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the guidance system 10 excludes chain facilities originating from the user's base of operations from the target facilities, thereby preventing them from being guided. Chain facilities originating from the user's base of operations are likely to be unfamiliar to the user. Therefore, the control unit 20 can reduce the situation in which the user is guided to unfamiliar facilities by excluding chain facilities originating from the user's base of operations from the guided facilities.

[0039] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the guidance system 10 excludes chain facilities originating from areas frequently visited by the user from the list of target facilities, thereby preventing guidance to those facilities. Chain facilities originating from areas frequently visited by the user are likely to lack novelty for the user. Therefore, the control unit 20 can reduce the situation in which users are guided to facilities that lack novelty for the user by excluding chain facilities originating from areas frequently visited by the user from the list of target facilities.

[0040] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the guidance area is defined as the area surrounding the user's current location and the area surrounding the user's destination. The guidance system 10 can show the user what facilities are in the surrounding area by guiding them to facilities within the area surrounding the user's current location. In addition, the guidance system 10 can show the user what facilities are in the area surrounding the user's destination by guiding them to facilities within the area surrounding the user's destination.

[0041] (2) Guidance processing: The guidance process performed by the guidance system 10 will be explained using Figure 4. When the control unit 20 of the guidance system 10 receives a request for facility guidance from the navigation system 50, it starts the process shown in Figure 4 and periodically repeats the process shown in Figure 4 until the navigation system 50 gives an instruction to end the process.

[0042] In step S100, the control unit 20, using the functions of the acquisition unit 21a, refers to user data 30c and identifies the interest attributes of the user of the navigation system 50 that sent the request for facility guidance. Based on the user data 30c, the control unit 20 extracts facilities of interest of other users who have the same or similar interest attributes as the user, as candidates for facilities to be guided. That is, the control unit 20 extracts other users who have the same interest attributes as the identified user, by referring to the interest attributes of each user in the user data 30c. The control unit 20 also extracts other users who have the same keywords as the keywords of interest as the user, by referring to the interest attributes of each user in the user data 30c.

[0043] The control unit 20 identifies facilities that are within the guidance area from among the facilities of interest of other users that have been extracted. More specifically, the control unit 20 identifies facilities that are within a predetermined radius from the user's current location and within a predetermined radius from the user's destination as target facilities. The control unit 20 acquires the identified facilities as target facilities. After completing the process in step S100, the control unit 20 proceeds to step S105.

[0044] In step S105, the control unit 20 excludes chain facilities that are part of a nationwide chain from the target facilities, based on the function of the guidance unit 21b. More specifically, the control unit 20 excludes facilities where the corresponding origin region item value is "nationwide" from the target facilities. After completing the processing in step S105, the control unit 20 proceeds to step S110.

[0045] In step S110, the control unit 20 excludes chain facilities originating from the user's base from the target facilities, based on the function of the guidance unit 21b. More specifically, the control unit 20 excludes facilities whose corresponding origin region item value includes the user's base region from the target facilities. After completing the processing in step S110, the control unit 20 proceeds to step S115.

[0046] In step S115, the control unit 20, using the function of the guidance unit 21b, uses the user movement history data 30d to determine the frequency of trips to the region where the user's current location is located, within a predetermined period (for example, the month immediately preceding the current time (processing time)). The control unit 20 then determines whether the determined frequency is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold. If the control unit 20 determines that the determined frequency is equal to or greater than the predetermined threshold, it proceeds to step S120; if it determines that the determined frequency is less than the predetermined threshold, it proceeds to step S125.

[0047] In step S120, the control unit 20, using the function of the guidance unit 21b, excludes chain facilities originating from areas that the user is determined to frequently visit in step S115 from the target facilities. More specifically, the control unit 20 excludes facilities whose corresponding origin area item value includes areas that the user is determined to frequently visit from the target facilities. After completing the processing in step S120, the control unit 20 proceeds to step S125.

[0048] In step S125, the control unit 20 determines, using the function of the guidance unit 21b, whether or not there are any regions that have been visited in the continuous trip the user is taking. More specifically, the control unit 20 determines that there are regions that have been visited if the user movement history data 30d contains information about trips that have been completed in the continuous trip the user is taking (in this embodiment, trips that have been completed on the same day as the current time). Conversely, the control unit 20 determines that there are no regions that have been visited if the user movement history data 30d does not contain information about trips that have been completed in the continuous trip the user is taking (in this embodiment, trips that have been completed on the same day as the current time). If the control unit 20 determines that there are regions that have been visited in the continuous trip the user is taking, it proceeds to step S130. If the control unit 20 determines that there are no regions that have been visited in the continuous trip the user is taking, it proceeds to step S145.

[0049] In step S130, the control unit 20, using the function of the guidance unit 21b, obtains information on completed trips in the user's continuous trip from the user's movement history data 30d. Then, the control unit 20 identifies the endpoint of each completed trip (the area visited by the user in the continuous trip) from the acquired information on completed trips. The control unit 20 determines whether or not the area containing the user's current location exists among the identified areas. If the control unit 20 determines that the area containing the user's current location exists among the identified areas, it proceeds to step S140. If the control unit 20 determines that the area containing the user's current location does not exist among the identified areas, it proceeds to step S135.

[0050] In step S135, the control unit 20, using the function of the guidance unit 21b, excludes chain facilities originating from each of the regions the user has visited in the consecutive trips identified in step S130 from the target facilities. More specifically, the control unit 20 excludes facilities from the target facilities whose corresponding origin region item value includes a region that has already been visited. After completing the processing in step S135, the control unit 20 proceeds to step S145.

[0051] In step S140, the control unit 20, using the function of the guidance unit 21b, excludes chain facilities from the target facilities that originate from each of the regions the user has visited in the consecutive trip identified in step S130, excluding the region containing the user's current location. More specifically, the control unit 20 excludes from the target facilities any facility whose corresponding origin region item value includes a region that has already been visited. After completing the processing in step S135, the control unit 20 proceeds to step S145.

[0052] For example, suppose a user makes a continuous trip, consisting of a trip from Prefecture A to Prefecture B (first trip) and a trip from Prefecture B to C locations (second trip). If the user is on the second trip, the first trip is complete. Therefore, Prefecture B, the endpoint of the first trip, is a region already visited by the user in the continuous trip. If the user is moving within Prefecture B during the second trip, the visited region of Prefecture B and the Prefecture B containing the user's current location are the same. Therefore, in step S130, the control unit 20 proceeds to step S140 because the region containing the user's current location (Prefecture B) is within the region already visited by the user in the continuous trip (Prefecture B), and does not exclude chain facilities originating from Prefecture B from the target facilities. Also, if the user is moving beyond Prefecture B during the second trip, the visited region of Prefecture B and the region containing the user's current location are different. Therefore, in step S130, the control unit 20 determines that there is no region in the region the user has visited (Prefecture B) during the continuous trip that includes the user's current location, and proceeds to step S135 to exclude chain facilities originating from Prefecture B from the target facilities.

[0053] In step S145, the control unit 20 generates an image by superimposing information about the guidance area and each of the target facilities within the guidance area onto a map of the area surrounding the guidance area, using the functions of the guidance unit 21b. The control unit 20 then transmits the generated image to the navigation system 50, where it is displayed on the user interface unit 50d.

[0054] (3) Other embodiments: The above embodiments are merely examples for carrying out the present invention, and various other embodiments can be adopted. For example, the guidance system 10 may be composed of multiple devices (server, client, etc.). Also, each function of the guidance system 10 may be implemented in the navigation system 50. That is, the navigation system 50 may function as the guidance system 10. Some of the configurations of the above embodiments may be omitted, and the order of processing may be changed or omitted. For example, the control unit 20 may change the order of processing between steps S105, S110, S115 to S120, and S125 to S140.

[0055] In the above embodiment, the guidance area was defined as the area around the user's current location and the area around the user's destination point. However, the guidance area may be just one of the two areas: the area around the user's current location and the area around the user's destination point.

[0056] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the guidance area around the user's current location was assumed to be an area with a predetermined radius centered on the user's current location. However, the guidance area around the user's current location may be a different area. For example, the guidance area around the user's current location may be a rectangular area that includes the user's current location.

[0057] Furthermore, the guidance area around the user's current location may be an area in which the region in at least one direction—the direction of the user's movement and the direction of the destination point as seen from the user's current location—is larger than the region in the other direction. For example, as shown in Figure 5A, the guidance area around the user's current location may be a combination of a semicircular area in the user's direction of travel and a smaller semicircular area in the opposite direction of travel. In Figure 5A, the area in the user's direction of travel within the guidance area around the user's current location is a semicircular area with a predetermined radius centered on the user's current location. Also in Figure 5A, the area in the opposite direction of travel within the guidance area around the user's current location is a semicircular area with a predetermined radius centered on the user's current location, and a radius smaller than the radius of the area in the user's direction of travel. In such a case, the control unit 20 identifies the user's direction of travel from the temporal change in the position of the navigation system 50, and sets a guidance area around the user's current location where the area in the identified direction of travel is larger than the areas in other directions.

[0058] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 5B, for example, the guidance area around the user's current location may be a combination of a semicircular area located in the direction of the destination point as viewed from the user's current location, and a smaller semicircular area located in the opposite direction. In Figure 5B, the area in the direction of the destination point within the guidance area around the user's current location is a semicircular area with a predetermined radius centered on the user's current location. Also in Figure 5B, the area in the opposite direction from the destination point within the guidance area around the user's current location is a semicircular area with a predetermined radius centered on the user's current location, and a radius smaller than the radius of the area in the user's direction of travel.

[0059] Furthermore, the guidance area around the user's current location may be a combination of an area in the user's direction of travel, a smaller area in the opposite direction of travel, an area in the direction of the destination, and a smaller area in the opposite direction of the destination. For example, as shown in Figure 5C, the guidance area may be a superimposed area of ​​the area shown in Figure 5A and the area shown in Figure 5B.

[0060] Furthermore, for example, the guidance area around the user's current location may be a combination of a rectangular area in the user's direction of travel and a smaller rectangular area in the opposite direction. Furthermore, for example, the guidance area around the user's current location may be a combination of a rectangular area in the direction of the destination point as viewed from the user's current location and a smaller rectangular area in the opposite direction. Furthermore, the guidance area around the user's current location may be a combination of a rectangular area in the user's direction of travel, a smaller rectangular area in the opposite direction, and a rectangular area in the direction of the destination point as viewed from the user's current location and a smaller rectangular area in the opposite direction.

[0061] Since the user is moving towards their destination, facilities located in the opposite direction of their direction of travel, or in the opposite direction from their destination, will be difficult for them to access. The control unit 20 can achieve the following by using a guidance area in which at least one of the directions—the direction of the user's direction of travel and the direction of the destination as seen from the user's current location—is larger than the area in the other directions. In other words, the control unit 20 can reduce the possibility that the user will be guided to more facilities that are difficult for them to access than facilities that are easy for them to access.

[0062] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the guidance area around the user's destination point was defined as an area with a predetermined radius centered on the user's destination point. However, the guidance area around the user's current location may be a different area. For example, the guidance area around the user's destination point may be a rectangular area including the user's destination point.

[0063] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, a consecutive trip was defined as multiple trips taken by the user within the same day. However, consecutive trips may be different trips. For example, consecutive trips may be multiple trips taken by the user at intervals of less than or equal to a predetermined time threshold. In this case, the control unit 20 may identify multiple trips taken at intervals of less than or equal to a predetermined time threshold (the difference between the start time of a trip and the end time of the previous trip), including the trip currently being taken by the user, as consecutive trips from the user movement history data 30d. The control unit 20 may then identify the destination region of a completed trip among the identified consecutive trips as a region already visited by the user in the consecutive trip.

[0064] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, information about the region from which the chain facilities operated and managed by each brand originate is pre-stored in the storage medium 30 in the form of chain facility data 30b. However, information about the region from which the chain facilities operated and managed by each brand originate is not pre-stored in the storage medium 30. For example, the control unit 20 may determine whether a chain facility originates from the region where the head office is located or is part of a nationwide chain based on whether the number of chain facilities located in the area where the head office is located is greater than the number of chain facilities located in other regions.

[0065] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, if the number of chain facilities located in the region where the headquarters of a chain facility is located is greater than the number of chain facilities located outside that region, then this chain facility is considered to originate from that region. Also, if the number of chain facilities located in the region where the headquarters of a chain facility is located is less than or equal to the number of chain facilities located outside that region, then this chain facility is considered to be a chain facility that operates nationwide. A chain facility originating from a certain region and a chain facility that operates nationwide may each be facilities that satisfy other conditions. For example, the region from which chain facilities operated and managed by each brand originate may be a region where a proportion of chain facilities exceeding a predetermined threshold are concentrated out of the total number of chain facilities. In that case, the control unit 20 may derive the region from which chain facilities operated and managed by each brand originate, for example, based on the distribution of chain facilities operated and managed by the same brand. For example, the control unit 20 may identify the distribution of chain facilities based on the location of chain facilities operated and managed by the same brand. Furthermore, if the control unit 20 determines from the identified distribution that a proportion of facilities equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold (e.g., 80%, 90%, etc.) is concentrated in a number of regions equal to or less than a predetermined threshold (e.g., one, two, three, etc.), the control unit 20 may designate the region from which the chain facilities of this brand originate as the number of regions equal to or less than this predetermined threshold. In addition, the control unit 20 may designate the region where the main facilities (e.g., the head office, etc.) of the chain facilities operated and managed under the same brand are located as the region from which the chain facilities operated and managed under this brand originate.

[0066] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the control unit 20 acquires as target facilities facilities that are of interest to other users who have the same or similar interest attributes as the user of the navigation system 50 that sent the facility guidance request, and that are located in the guidance area. However, the control unit 20 may acquire target facilities by other means. For example, the control unit 20 may acquire as target facilities facilities that belong to a predetermined type of genre (e.g., "restaurants," "Italian," "French," "food stores," "clothing stores," etc.) and are located within the guidance area. Alternatively, the control unit 20 may receive a specification from the navigation system 50 regarding the genre of the facility to be guided (e.g., "restaurants," "Italian," "French," "food stores," "clothing stores," etc.). The control unit 20 may then acquire as target facilities facilities that belong to the genre indicated by the received specification and are located within the guidance area.

[0067] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the control unit 20 determines that the user's current location is included in an area frequently visited by the user, and excludes chain facilities originating from that area from the target facilities. The control unit 20 may also exclude chain facilities originating from areas frequently visited by users that are different from the area containing the user's current location. For example, the control unit 20 may identify from the user movement history data 30d areas that the user has visited a predetermined number of times or more during a predetermined period (for example, the month immediately preceding the present time), and that are different from the user's base area. The control unit 20 may then exclude chain facilities originating from the identified areas from the target facilities.

[0068] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the control unit 20 does not exclude chain facilities originating from the region including the current location from the target facilities, even if those regions have already been visited in the user's continuous trip. However, the control unit 20 may exclude chain facilities originating from the region including the current location from the target facilities, even if the regions already visited in the user's continuous trip include the current location.

[0069] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the control unit 20 excludes, from the target facilities, not only chain facilities originating from regions already visited by the user during a series of trips, but also chain facilities with nationwide operations, chain facilities originating from the user's base region, and chain facilities originating from regions frequently visited by the user. However, the control unit 20 may exclude at least chain facilities originating from regions already visited by the user during a series of trips, and may not exclude other chain facilities, or may exclude some of them. The control unit 20 may also exclude other facilities from the target facilities. For example, the control unit 20 may exclude facilities visited by the user during a predetermined period immediately preceding the present (e.g., one month).

[0070] Furthermore, the methods of the present invention can also be applied as programs and methods. Moreover, such systems, programs, and methods may be implemented as standalone devices, or they may be implemented using parts shared with various components of a vehicle, encompassing a variety of embodiments. They can also be modified as appropriate, such as being partly software and partly hardware. Furthermore, the invention also functions as a storage medium for programs that control the system. Of course, this program storage medium may be a magnetic storage medium, a semiconductor memory, or any storage medium developed in the future can be considered in exactly the same way. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0071] 10...Guidance system, 20...Control unit, 21...Guidance program, 21a...Acquisition unit, 21b...Guidance unit, 30...Storage medium, 30a...Facility data, 30b...Chain facility data, 30c...User data, 30d...User movement history data, 41...Communication unit, 50...Navigation system, 50a...Communication unit, 50b...GNSS receiver unit, 50c...Control unit, 50d...User I / F unit

Claims

1. An acquisition unit that acquires target facilities, which are the facilities that users are guided to in the guidance area, which is the area in which facility guidance is provided. A guidance unit that guides the user to a target facility that is different from a chain facility originating from a region already visited by the user during a series of trips, which is a series of trips taken by the user. Equipped with, The aforementioned consecutive trips are multiple trips performed by the user at intervals less than or equal to a predetermined period threshold, where the interval is the difference between the start time of the trip and the end time of the immediately preceding trip. Guidance system.

2. The guidance system according to claim 1, wherein the guidance area is at least one of a first area around the user's current location and a second area around the user's destination.

3. The guide region includes the first region, The guidance system according to claim 2, wherein the region in the first region in at least one direction between the user's direction of travel and the direction of the destination point as seen from the user's current location is larger than the region in the other direction in the first region.

Images