JP7635736B2 - Navigation system - Google Patents

Description

This invention relates to a navigation system that guides a user to a destination, and in particular to a navigation system that guides a route from a user's current location to a location that sells the food the user desires.

In recent years, efforts have been made to reduce food waste, which is the loss caused by throwing away food that is still edible. Food waste not only wastes food resources, but also places a burden on the environment due to the high costs involved in disposing of the garbage generated by discarding food, the large amount of greenhouse gases emitted by burning it as combustible waste, and the landfilling of ash generated after incineration of combustible waste. Therefore, in addition to efforts by individuals to prevent food waste, businesses are being asked to create efforts and systems to reduce so-called commercial food waste that occurs as a result of business activities.

As an example of such a system, Patent Document 1 discloses a point-granting system configured to grant points according to the menu ordered by a customer visiting a restaurant. The point-granting system described in Patent Document 1 includes an ordering terminal, a point calculation terminal, and a point-granting terminal. The ordering terminal is configured to display the points granted for each menu, so that the customer can refer to the points granted when ordering a menu. The ordering terminal transmits the menu ordered by the customer to the point calculation terminal, which calculates points according to the menu. The point calculation terminal determines the points to be granted based on a point table in which the allocation and grant rate of points are set according to the consumption amount of each ingredient consumed in each menu, the stock amount of the ingredients consumed, and the expiration date of the ingredients consumed. The determined points are then granted to a point card or the like presented by the customer via the point-granting terminal. According to Patent Document 1, the points granted to the customer are set to be greater for ingredients that are approaching their expiration date or ingredients that are used in large quantities and in large quantities. With this configuration, ingredients that are approaching their expiration date or ingredients that are likely to remain in large quantities can be effectively consumed, thereby reducing food waste.

JP 2008-257496 A

However, in the system described in Patent Document 1, menu items with high points are displayed on an ordering terminal, and the ordering terminal is installed at the dining table. Therefore, customers cannot know which ingredients or menu items will earn them high points until they go to the restaurant and check the display on the ordering terminal. Even if a customer visits a restaurant, they may not be able to eat ingredients that are close to their expiration date, are in stock, or are consumed in large quantities, due to their dislike or allergy. In such cases, the customer is forced to order a menu item that does not directly contribute to reducing food waste, which may lead to a missed opportunity to reduce food waste. Furthermore, because the system requires customers to view the menu on an ordering terminal when they visit the restaurant and then place their order, only a limited number of businesses can adopt this system. For example, the system cannot be adopted in supermarkets or food trucks, so the effect of reducing food waste may be limited.

In addition, customers must check for themselves whether a restaurant or other establishment has implemented the system described in Patent Document 1. As a result, new customers must investigate themselves before visiting a restaurant that has implemented this system, and even if they find such a restaurant, they must investigate the store's location and route themselves. If a detailed search for the store's location and route reveals that the store is far away or in a location that is difficult to access, the customer may give up on visiting the store. In other words, due to this inconvenience for customers, there is a risk that restaurants and other establishments that are implementing the above-mentioned initiatives will find it difficult to attract new customers, and ultimately that opportunities and opportunities to reduce food waste may be missed.

This invention was made with a focus on the above technical problems, and aims to provide a navigation system that can guide users to stores that sell the food they want and promote the reduction of food waste.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a navigation system that guides a user to a specific food store among at least one food store based on information input from a user terminal to a server, the system comprising: a user information acquisition unit that acquires information about the user including the user's location information and a desired food input by the user; a store information acquisition unit that acquires information about the food store including the location of the at least one food store and information about foods that should be consumed early and that are registered from the at least one food store; and a store information acquisition unit that acquires information about the food store including information about foods that should be consumed early and that are registered from the at least one food store that match the desired food input by the user. The system is characterized by having a food information matching unit that matches the desired food with the food to be consumed early, a store information notification unit that notifies the user terminal of information on the food to be consumed early that matches the desired food and information on the at least one food store that has registered the food to be consumed early that matches the desired food, a route setting unit that sets a route from the user's current location obtained based on the user's location information to the specified food store that is a food store selected by the user from the at least one food store notified to the user, and a route guidance unit that guides the user along the route from the user's current location set by the route setting unit to the specified food store.

According to this navigation system, food that is judged to be consumed early due to factors such as expiration date and inventory amount at food stores that handle food, ingredients, and dishes is registered in a server. Then, when a user inputs a desired food from a user terminal, the server checks whether the desired food is registered as a food that should be consumed early. If a matching food is found, information such as the expiration date of the food and information such as the location of the food store that has registered the food are notified to the user terminal. When the user selects one of the notified food stores, a route from the user's current location to the food store selected by the user is set and displayed on the user terminal. Therefore, by inputting the name of the food or the product name from the user terminal, the user can know in advance which food stores may discard the food or product without visiting the food store. This can avoid or reduce the need for the user to investigate the food store's efforts regarding food waste and the loss of an opportunity to reduce food waste despite the user visiting the food store. Furthermore, even if the user has never been to a food store, information about the store, including its location, is notified to the user's terminal, reducing the need for the user to research such store information and routes on their own, and reducing the burden on the user even when visiting a store for the first time. In other words, the user can easily receive information about foods and food stores that match the user's needs, thereby efficiently reducing food waste. Furthermore, the user's terminal is notified of stores that may generate food waste and the amount of food that will be discarded, which leads to more opportunities for the user to learn about food waste and further promotes the reduction of food waste.

1 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a navigation system according to an embodiment of the present invention. 4 is a diagram for explaining a process of processing executed in the navigation system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

The present invention will be described below based on the embodiment shown in the drawings. Note that the embodiment described below is merely one example of how the present invention can be realized, and is not intended to limit the present invention.

First, an example of the configuration of a navigation system 1 in an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figures 1 and 2. As shown in Figure 1, the navigation system 1 in this embodiment is mainly composed of store terminals 3 operated in multiple stores 2 including food stores, car navigation systems 5 installed in multiple vehicles 4, and a server 6. These are connected to each other via a network (not shown) so that they can communicate with each other and can send and receive data. Note that the network referred to here may be a conventionally known communication network such as a public communication network such as the Internet, a wide area network (WAN) that is a wide area information communication network, a telephone communication network such as a mobile phone, a wireless communication network, or other communication network.

The store terminal 3 is managed or registered in the server 6, and is an appropriate terminal device equipped with, for example, a communication unit, a control unit, a memory unit, an input/output unit, etc. (not shown). The store terminal 3 may be a terminal dedicated to the navigation system 1, or may be an information processing device including a smart device (smartphone, personal computer, tablet terminal, etc.) with a specific application installed. The store terminal 3 can input food, ingredients, dishes, etc. (hereinafter, may be simply referred to as food) in the store 2. Specifically, for example, in a supermarket, information such as specific food names, product names, contents, place of origin, price, inventory, and discount information is included. Alternatively, in a restaurant, etc., information such as specific dish names, foods and ingredients used, prices, allergy information, and discount information is included. This information is not limited to being registered by an employee of the store 2 operating the store terminal 3, but may be configured to automatically input information about food by linking with an application that manages the food of the store 2. In this case, the store 2 refers to a supermarket, restaurant, or greengrocer that sells food and ingredients, but is not limited to a building and may be, for example, a food truck, a food stall, or other mobile establishment that sells food or dishes, or a food manufacturing factory, etc.

The car navigation system 5 is mounted on the vehicle 4, and is configured to guide the user 7 to the destination by incorporating map data and facility information data, searching for information on the destination and facilities around the current location, and displaying it on a map using a display unit (not shown). The car navigation system 5 is managed or registered in the server 6, just like the store terminal 3, and is an appropriate terminal device equipped with, for example, a communication unit, a control unit, a memory unit, an input unit, and an output unit (not shown). The car navigation system 5 is configured to perform data communication with the server 6, for example, via a DCM [Date Communication Module]. The car navigation system 5 is also equipped with a self-position estimation function such as a GPS (Global Positioning System) that receives signals transmitted by multiple satellites and estimates the current location based on the signals. In addition to the above functions, the car navigation system 5 is configured to allow the user 7, the driver or passenger, to input food and other items desired. Specifically, the food and product names and dish names desired by the user 7 are input, and when inputting the dish names, foods that cannot be eaten due to allergies, etc. can be input. This information is then configured to be sent to the server 6 via a communication unit or the like.

The car navigation system 5 is also configured to receive from the server 6 information about the store 2 that sells the food if the server 6 finds a food that matches the food entered by the user 7. That is, the car navigation system 5 receives and displays information sent from the server 6, such as the address of the store 2 that has registered the desired food, and information about the expiration date, stock amount, price, etc., of the desired food registered by the store 2. The car navigation system 5 is then configured to allow the user 7 to select one store 2 via a specified user interface based on the received information about the multiple stores 2 and foods, and the selected store 2 is then transmitted to the server 6.

The car navigation system 5 is also equipped with an electronic toll collection system (not shown) capable of receiving driving assistance systems based on a conventional road-vehicle cooperative system, or the car navigation system 5 is configured to link with the electronic toll collection system installed in the vehicle 4. The electronic toll collection system is configured to receive wide-area congestion information, regulation information, safe driving assistance, etc., pay highway tolls, and also be used for payment at restaurants and the like via the electronic toll collection system, by two-way communication using ITS spots (Intelligent Transport Systems) installed mainly on expressways and DSRC (Dedicated Short Range Communication), a dedicated short-range communication.

The car navigation system 5 does not have to have a communication function that directly communicates with the server 6. In that case, communication with the server 6 may be performed by another mobile terminal that can communicate with the car navigation system 5 and has software such as a specific application installed. In that case, the user 7 inputs information about food to the server 6 using the other mobile terminal, and receives information about the matching food and information about the store 2 that handles the food on the mobile terminal. The user 7 may then input a destination, etc. to the car navigation system 5 based on the received results and the location of the store 2, or the car navigation system 3 may receive data from the mobile terminal, and a route may be displayed on an output device such as a display in the car navigation system 3. The car navigation system 5 may also be configured to have the above-mentioned communication function in cooperation with a communication support service such as T-connect (registered trademark). The car navigation system 5 corresponds to the user terminal in this embodiment of the invention.

The vehicle 4 equipped with this car navigation system 5 may be an existing general vehicle 4 (such as an engine vehicle, an electric vehicle, a hydrogen vehicle, a hybrid vehicle, or a fuel cell vehicle). The vehicle 4 is not limited to a manually driven vehicle 4 that travels to a destination by a driver performing driving operations, but may be an automatically driven vehicle that travels to a destination by automatically controlling driving operations, without relying on the driver's driving operations.

The server 6 is a computer that provides services and has the function of receiving various commands and providing information and processing results based on those commands. Specifically, the server 6 includes a processor such as a CPU, a main memory such as a RAM or ROM, and an auxiliary memory such as an SSD, a hard disk drive, or a removable medium. The removable medium may be, for example, a USB memory or a disk recording medium such as a CD or DVD. The auxiliary memory stores an operating system (OS), various programs, various tables, etc., and is configured to realize various functions that meet a specific purpose by having the processor execute the stored programs. The server 6 includes a user information acquisition unit 8, a store information acquisition unit 9, a food information matching unit 10, a store information notification unit 11, a route setting unit 12, and a set store notification unit 13, each of which is provided in an appropriate device within the server 6.

When the user information acquisition unit 8 receives a signal indicating that a food name, product name, or dish name has been input from a user 7, such as a driver or passenger, via the car navigation system 5, it acquires information about the user 7. Information about the user 7 includes, for example, information about the desired food, ingredients, or dish that has been input, as well as the current location based on the location information of the vehicle 4 in which the user 7 is riding, obtained from GPS information. Alternatively, since the input of a dish name may necessitate a reservation at a restaurant or the like, information such as the user's name or nickname may be acquired. Furthermore, if the user 7 has used this navigation system 1 in the past, a past usage history such as previously used stores 2 and purchased foods may be acquired from the memory unit (not shown) of the server 6.

The store information acquisition unit 9 acquires foods that should be consumed early in the store 2, which are registered via the store terminal 3, and information about those foods. Foods that should be consumed early here refer to foods that are approaching their expiration date or best-before date, foods that are likely to be discarded due to a large amount of stock in the store 2, or foods that are discarded because they are scraps of food processed in a factory or are out of standard. The store information acquisition unit 9 acquires information about such foods that should be consumed early, such as the specific food name or product name, the content amount, place of origin, price, stock amount, discount information, etc., or the name of a dish, the food or ingredients used in the dish, price, allergy information, and discount information. In addition to this information, if it is a supermarket, basic information about the store 2, such as the store name, location, business hours, telephone number, payment method, and availability of parking, may be acquired. Alternatively, if it is a restaurant, information about the number of seats and whether or not smoking is allowed may also be acquired.

When the store information acquisition unit 9 receives information about the store 2 and food that was introduced to the user 7 from the set store notification unit 13, it reduces and manages the inventory of the corresponding food stored in the store information acquisition unit 9. Furthermore, if necessary, it notifies the store terminal 3 of the store 2 that was introduced to the user 7 via a notification unit (not shown) that the user 7 has been introduced. The content of the notification may be, for example, user information such as the food ordered by the user 7 and the arrival time of the user 7 calculated by the route setting unit 12.

The food information matching unit 10 acquires information about food desired by the user 7 acquired by the user information acquisition unit 8 and information about food to be consumed early that is registered by the store 2 acquired by the store information acquisition unit 9, and checks whether they match. If a food that matches the food desired by the user 7 is registered, information about that food is also acquired. Furthermore, when a specific dish name is input, not only is it possible to search for a store 2 that has registered that specific dish, but it is also possible to match stores that have the ingredients necessary to make the specific dish as matching stores 2. In this case, for example, for fresh ingredients, it is possible to match stores 2 that have registered at least one food that should be consumed early as matching stores, and other ingredients do not necessarily have to be foods that should be consumed early.

The store information notification unit 11 notifies the user 7 of information about food that matches the food desired by the user 7 matched and acquired by the food information matching unit 10, and information about at least one store 2 that has the food desired by the user 7 registered. In other words, if there are multiple stores 2 that have the food desired by the user 7 registered, the unit is configured to obtain information such as the addresses of the multiple stores 2 and information such as the expiration date, stock amount, price, etc. of the food registered at each store 2, and transmit this to the car navigation system 5 of the user 7.

The route setting unit 12 acquires a route from a plurality of stores 2 that have registered the desired food, which are notified to the car navigation system 5 by the store information notification unit 11, to a specific store 2 selected by the user 7. First, the route setting unit 12 acquires information such as the location of the specific store 2 acquired by the store information acquisition unit 9, and information on the current location of the vehicle 4 in which the user 7 rides acquired by the user information acquisition unit 8. Then, the route setting unit 12 acquires map data and facility information stored in a storage unit (not shown), and searches for an optimal route or the shortest route from the current location of the vehicle 4 to the location of the specific store 2, for example, using the Dijkstra algorithm. Furthermore, the route setting unit 12 is configured to calculate the required time to travel the shortest route based on predetermined conditions, and acquire road information and traffic congestion information from infrastructure facilities such as roadside units, and finally calculate the required time from the current location of the vehicle 4 to the specific store 2.

The set store notification unit 13 corresponds to the route guidance unit in this embodiment of the invention, and is configured to transmit the route set by the route setting unit 12 to the car navigation system 5. It is also configured to set the specific store 2 selected by the user 7 as the guided store 2, and transmit information on the specific store 2 and food, etc. to the store information acquisition unit 9 as necessary. Once the transmission of information to the car navigation system 5 and the store information acquisition unit 9 is complete, it is configured to transmit information on the specific store 2 and food guided to the user 7 to the user information acquisition unit 8 and link it to the information of the user 7.

Next, using FIG. 2, we will explain the sequence of events in this navigation system 1, from when food is registered in the server 6 from the store terminal 3, when the food desired by the user 7 is input in the server 6 from the car navigation 5, and when the user 7 travels to the specified store 2 and picks up the food.

First, information about food is registered from the store terminal 3 to the server 6 by an employee of the store 2 operating the store terminal 3, or by a specific application that manages the inventory of the store 2 linked to the store terminal 3. That is, as described above, foods that should be consumed early are registered in supermarkets, restaurants, etc., and information about the food, such as the specific food name, product name, content amount, place of origin, price, inventory amount, discount information, foods and ingredients used in the dish, and allergy information, is registered in the store information acquisition unit 9 of the server 6. Note that basic information about the store 2, such as the location and business hours, may be stored in advance in the memory unit of the server 6.

The user 7 also inputs the desired food into the car navigation system 5 using a specified user interface. The information input at this time is the name of the food, the name of the ingredient, or the name of the dish, etc. The input information is sent to the user information acquisition unit 8 of the server 6. At this time, it may be possible to set the range within which the car navigation system 5 searches for stores 2. For example, it may be possible to specify a distance within a 3 km radius of the current location or a specific station, within the range of a specific city, town, or village name, or to specify another prefecture.

The information on the food to be consumed early acquired by the store information acquisition unit 9 and the information on the food input by the user 7 acquired by the user information acquisition unit 8 are transmitted to the food information matching unit 10. Based on the information, the food information matching unit 10 searches for food that matches the desired food input by the user 7 from the information acquired by the store information acquisition unit 9 within the range specified by the user 7. If the store information acquisition unit 9 finds a matching food, it acquires information such as the expiration date of the food and information such as the location of the store 2 that has registered the food. If a specific dish name is input from the car navigation system 5, the store information acquisition unit 9 may search not only for the store 2 that has registered the dish, but also for the store 2 that has registered food that matches the ingredients necessary for cooking the dish. In addition, the store 2 that has registered many matching foods, i.e., the store 2 that has registered many foods that should be consumed early as ingredients necessary for cooking, may be preferentially determined as the matching store 2. If there is no food that matches the food desired by the user 7, a similar product may be presented.

If, as a result of the comparison by the food information comparison unit 10, there is a store 2 that has registered the food desired by the user 7 within the specified range, the store information notification unit 11 obtains information about the food and the store 2 that has registered the food, and notifies the car navigation 5 of the user 7. At that time, if there are multiple stores 2 that have registered the food desired by the user 7, all of them are notified to the car navigation 5. In that case, the display order may be automatically rearranged based on the expiration date (best before date) and the amount of stock, etc. The user 7 selects a specific store 2 to visit based on information such as the expiration date, amount of stock, and price of the food displayed on the car navigation 5, and information such as the location and business hours of the store 2, and inputs to the car navigation 5 that the user 7 will go to that store 2. At that time, the payment may be completed at the same time. In other words, the electronic fee collection system linked to the car navigation 5 as described above may be used, and the fee may be paid directly to the store 2 via the server 6 or by using so-called online payment. In addition, if the user 7 is unable to immediately go to the store 2 due to circumstances on his/her side, the reservation time, etc. may be displayed on the display unit of the car navigation system 5, and may be configured so that the reservation time, etc. can be input via a specific user interface to notify the server 6.

When the specific store 2 selected by the user 7 is selected by the car navigation 5, the route setting unit 12 sets a route from the current position of the user 7's vehicle 4 to the specific store 2. The route is set by acquiring map data and facility information stored in the memory unit of the server 6, setting an optimal route using the method described above, and calculating the required time. Note that the search for the route from the user 7's vehicle 4 to the specific store 2 may be performed by the car navigation 5.

Then, the route set by the route setting unit 12 is sent from the set store notification unit 13 to the car navigation system 5 of the user 7. Also, it is configured to send information on the store 2 and food, etc. selected by the user 7 to the store information acquisition unit 9 as necessary. In particular, when the user 7 has already made payment to the store 2 using the above-mentioned electronic toll collection system or the like, the specific store 2 acquired by the store information acquisition unit is managed so that the inventory amount is reduced according to the amount of food ordered by the user 7. Note that, once the information transmission to the car navigation system 5 and the store information acquisition unit 9 is completed, the store 2 and food introduced to the user 7 are linked to the information on the user 7 in the user information acquisition unit 8.

The user 7 follows the route and guidance displayed on the car navigation system 5 of the vehicle 4 to the specific store 2 selected by the user and goes to pick up the food. At that time, if payment has been completed, the store 2 may transmit a discount coupon that can be used on future occasions to the car navigation system 5.

According to this navigation system 1, in a store 2 that handles food, ingredients, dishes, etc., foods that may be discarded due to factors such as expiration date and inventory amount, that is, foods that should be consumed early, are registered in the store information acquisition unit 9 from the store terminal 3. Then, when the user 7 inputs a desired food, the store information acquisition unit 9 checks whether the desired food is registered as a food that should be consumed early. As a result, if a matching food is found, information such as the expiration date of the food and information such as the location of the store 2 that has registered the food are notified to the car navigation 5. When the user 7 selects one of the notified stores 2, the route setting unit 12 is configured to set a route from the user 7's current location to the store 2 selected by the user 7 and notify the car navigation 5. Therefore, by inputting the name of the food or the product name from the car navigation 5, the user 7 can know in advance in real time which store 2 the input food may be discarded without visiting the store 2. Therefore, it is possible to avoid or reduce the need for the user 7 to investigate the store 2 for its efforts regarding food waste, or to miss an opportunity to reduce food waste despite the user 7 visiting the store 2. In other words, user 7 can easily receive information on foods and food stores that meet the user's 7 needs, which can efficiently reduce food waste. Furthermore, even if user 7 has never visited a store 2, information about the store 2, including its location, is notified to car navigation 5, which reduces the need for user 7 to research information about the store 2 and routes by himself, thereby reducing the burden on user 7. Furthermore, by inputting the name of a food or product, car navigation 5 is notified of stores 2 that may generate food waste and the amount of food that will be discarded, which leads to more opportunities for user 7 to learn about food waste, which can further promote the reduction of food waste.

Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned examples, and may be modified as appropriate within the scope of achieving the object of the present invention. For example, the food displayed on the car navigation system 5 may be determined by machine learning based on artificial intelligence (AI). For example, the navigation system 1 may be configured to display similar foods, stores 2 similar to the previously used store 2, or stores 2 of a similar genre to the previously used store 2, determined by machine learning such as deep learning from basic registration information such as the address of the user 7 who previously used the navigation system 1, the foods and dishes used, the location where the search was performed, the time of use, and a history including the store 2, etc. Alternatively, the navigation system 5 may be configured to learn a large amount of data related to other users 7 who have similar basic registration information and usage history, and to display foods and stores 2 that the user 7 may be interested in before searching on the car navigation system 5. Furthermore, the information on foods displayed on the car navigation system 5 may be configured to determine information that the user 7 particularly needs when selecting a store 2 based on the browsing history of not only the user 7 himself but also multiple users, and to display the information in a manner that is easy for the user 7 to see. Furthermore, this data is not limited to data stored in the server 6, but may be acquired from so-called big data that is accumulated and updated as needed on a server (not shown) such as an external data center.

In the navigation system 1 described above, the user 7 uses the car navigation system 5 installed in the vehicle 4, but the device is not limited to the car navigation system 5 and may be, for example, an appropriate terminal device owned by the user 7. In this case, the terminal device has a self-location estimation function using a GPS or a base station and may be an information processing device dedicated to the navigation system 1 or a smart device (smartphone, personal computer, tablet terminal, etc.) with a specified application installed. In this case, the route from the current position based on the self-location estimation function of the user 7 set by the route setting unit 12 to the specified store 2 may also be configured to guide the user 7 on foot, by bicycle, etc.

1. Navigation system 2. Store (food store)
3 Store terminal 4 Vehicle 5 Car navigation (user terminal)
6 Server 7 User 8 User information acquisition unit 9 Store information acquisition unit 10 Food information collation unit 11 Store information notification unit 12 Route setting unit 13 Set store notification unit (route guidance unit)

Claims (1)

A navigation system that guides a user to a predetermined food store among at least one food store based on information input from a user terminal to a server,
a user information acquiring unit that acquires information about the user including location information of the user and a desired food item input by the user;
a store information acquiring unit that acquires information about the at least one food store, the information including a location of the at least one food store and information about food items that should be consumed early and are registered by the at least one food store;
a food information matching unit that matches the desired food input by the user from the foods to be consumed early registered by the at least one food store;
a store information notification unit that notifies the user terminal of information on the food that matches the desired food and should be consumed early, and information on the at least one food store that has registered the food that matches the desired food and should be consumed early;
a route setting unit that sets a route from a current location of the user acquired based on location information of the user to the predetermined food store, which is a food store selected by the user from among the at least one food store notified to the user;
a route guidance unit that guides the user along a route from the user's current location set by the route setting unit to the specified food store.

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