JP7798960B2 - Business information provision system, business information provision method and program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a business information provision system, a business information provision method, and a program.

Patent Document 1 discloses a living environment evaluation device that can quantitatively evaluate the living environment of a region to be evaluated in relation to predetermined evaluation criteria, based on both publicly available objective data about the region and the items that users consider important in relation to the living environment.

JP 2017-91422 A

The proportion of elderly people in Japan's total population is steadily increasing due to longer life expectancy and a declining birthrate, and Japanese society is rapidly aging. In order to realize a prosperous aging society, it is important that elderly people can continue to live in the areas they are familiar with. In order for elderly people to continue living in the areas they are familiar with, it is preferable that businesses that provide services for the elderly are located near their homes. Furthermore, when people, not just elderly people, wish to move or relocate to an unfamiliar area, it is preferable that stores and other businesses that are useful to their daily lives are located in the new or relocated area.

The present invention has been made in light of the above circumstances, and its object is to provide a business information system, business information method, and program that can inform people whether businesses that provide services useful for daily life are located near their residential base, such as the home of an elderly person, a home to which they are moving, or a home to which they are relocating.

According to the invention of claim 1, a business information provision system that provides information about business establishments includes: an acquisition means (terminal device 20) that acquires at least one specific address as a search condition; a geocoding means (computer 11) that converts the specific address acquired by the acquisition means (terminal device 20) into a specific geocode; a search area setting means (computer 11) that references a radius database (19) that has radius information for each area, searches the radius database (19) for radius information corresponding to the area containing the specific address acquired by the acquisition means (terminal device 20), and sets the radius of a circular search area having a radius centered on the specific geocode to the value of the searched radius information; and a unique identifier and geocode information for each business establishment that are mutually exclusive. The system includes a search means (computer 11) that references an associated business information database (16) to search for a unique identifier associated with geocode information that falls within the search area; a map acquisition means (computer 11) that acquires a map that includes the search area from a map database that includes a map on which a geographic coordinate system based on geocodes is set; a plotting means (computer 11) that plots the location of the business based on the geocode information that corresponds to the unique identifier searched by the search means (computer 11) on the map acquired by the map acquisition means (computer 11); and a display means (terminal device 20) that displays the map on which the location of the business is plotted by the plotting means (computer 11).

According to the invention of claim 2, in the business information provision system described in claim 1, the radius information stored in the radius database (19) for each region is the distance a taxi will travel for the minimum fare.

According to the invention of claim 3, a business information providing method for providing information about business establishments includes an acquisition step in which an acquisition means (terminal device 20) of the system acquires at least one specific address as a search condition; a geocoding step in which a geocoding means (computer 11) of the system converts the specific address acquired by the acquisition step into a specific geocode; a search area setting step in which a search area setting means (computer 11) of the system references a radius database (19) having radius information for each area, searches the radius database (19) for radius information corresponding to the area including the specific address acquired by the acquisition means (terminal device 20), and sets the radius of a circular search area having a radius centered on the specific geocode to the value of the searched radius information; and The system includes a search step in which the system's map acquisition means (computer 11) references a business information database (16) in which unique identifiers and geocode information are associated with each other for each business, and searches for unique identifiers associated with geocode information that falls within the search area; a map acquisition step in which the system's map acquisition means (computer 11) acquires a map that includes the search area from a map database that includes a map on which a geographic coordinate system based on geocoding is set; a plotting step in which the system's plotting means (computer 11) plots the positions of the business locations based on the geocode information corresponding to the unique identifiers searched for in the search step on the map acquired in the map acquisition step; and a display step in which the system's display means (terminal device 20) displays the map on which the positions of the business locations are plotted in the plotting step.

According to the invention of claim 4, the program causes a computer to execute the following steps: an acquisition process for acquiring at least one specific address as a search condition; a geocoding process for converting the specific address acquired by the acquisition process into a specific geocode; a search area setting process for referencing a radius database (19) having radius information for each area, searching the radius database (19) for radius information corresponding to the area containing the specific address acquired by the acquisition process, and setting the radius of a circular search area having a radius centered on the specific geocode to the value of the searched radius information; a search process for referencing a business information database (16) in which unique identifiers and geocode information are associated with each other for each business, and searching for a unique identifier associated with geocode information that falls within the search area; a map acquisition process for acquiring a map that includes the search area from a map database containing a map in which a geographic coordinate system based on geocoding is set; a plotting process for plotting the positions of the business offices based on the geocode information corresponding to the unique identifiers searched by the search process on the map acquired by the map acquisition process; and a display process for displaying the map on which the positions of the business offices are plotted by the plotting process.

According to the present invention, users can visually grasp the availability of businesses around a specific address by looking at the displayed map.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a facility search system. FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the facility information providing device. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the establishment information database in a data table format. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a screen of the terminal device. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a screen of the terminal device.

Embodiments will be described below with reference to the drawings. However, the scope of the present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed below, and embodiments that are modified from the embodiments disclosed below without departing from the spirit of the present invention are also included within the scope of the present invention. The drawings are provided for illustrative purposes, and therefore the scope of the present invention is not limited to the examples shown in the drawings.

<<<<Configuration of the business information provision system>>>
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a business information providing system 1. As shown in FIG.
The business information providing system 1 includes one or more terminal devices 20 and a business information providing device 10 .

The terminal device 20 is a computer such as a mobile phone, smartphone, tablet computer, or laptop computer. The terminal device 20 is used by a user. A user is a customer of the information provider. The information provider may operate the terminal device 20 on behalf of the customer as a user. The owner of the terminal device 20 may be either the information provider or the user.

The terminal device 20 has input devices such as a touch panel, mouse, touchpad, star, pointing device, keyboard, keys, and push buttons. The terminal device 20 recognizes and acquires input information corresponding to the content of gestures made by the user on the input device.

The terminal device 20 has a display device such as a liquid crystal display device or an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) display device. The terminal device 20 displays various types of information using the display device.

The terminal device 20 has a communication device. The terminal device 20 is connected to the Internet 30 via the communication device. The terminal device 20 can access the business information providing device 10 via the Internet 30 using a secure communication protocol such as a VPN (Virtual Private Network).

An operating system (OS) is installed on the terminal device 20, along with application programs that can be executed on that OS. The terminal device 20 accesses the business information providing device 10 based on the application program, receives information from the business information providing device 10, and displays the contents of the provided information on a display device.

The business information providing device 10 is a server that provides information about businesses that provide services for the elderly to the terminal device 20. Examples of businesses include community comprehensive support centers, general hospitals, hospitals, clinics, pharmacies, nursing stations, health care facilities, nursing care facilities, food delivery facilities, elderly community facilities, delivery facilities, unmanned aircraft delivery facilities, convenience stores, and public service facilities for emergencies (e.g., disaster evacuation shelters).

The business information providing device 10 is installed in the data sensor of the information provider or a contractor entrusted by the information provider. The business information providing device 10 is connected to the Internet 30.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the establishment information providing device 10. As shown in FIG.
The establishment information providing device 10 includes a computer 11 and a storage device 15 .
The computer 11 is connected to the Internet 30. The computer 11 may be composed of a single computer, or may be composed of multiple computers capable of distributed processing or parallel processing. The computer 11 may also be a cloud computing system.

The computer 11 has a communication device. The computer 11 is connected to the Internet 30 via the communication device. The computer 11 can communicate with the terminal device 20 via the Internet 30 using a secure communication protocol such as a VPN (Virtual Private Network).

Computer 11 is connected to storage device 15. Storage device 15 is a semiconductor storage device, a magnetic storage device, a NAS (Network Attached Storage), a data server, a file server, or a cloud computing system. Computer 11 is capable of reading information stored in storage device 15.

The storage device 15 contains a business information database 16, a map database 17, a geocode database 18, a radius database 19, and a nursing care insurance premium database 14.

Figure 3 shows the business establishment information database 16 in data table format. As shown in Figure 3, the business establishment information database 16 includes a unique identifier, name information, service category information, additional service category information, business hours information, address information, geocode information, and remarks information for each business establishment. The unique identifier, name information, service category information, additional service category information, business hours information, address information, geocode information, and remarks information are associated with each other for each business establishment.

The unique identifier is a unique number assigned to a business that consists of numbers, letters, or symbols, or a combination of these.
The name information indicates the name assigned to the establishment.
The service category information indicates the category of services provided by the establishment, i.e., the service category. Examples of service categories include a community comprehensive support center, general hospital, hospital, clinic, pharmacy, nursing station, health care facility, nursing care facility, meal delivery facility, elderly community facility, delivery facility, drone delivery facility, convenience store, and emergency public service facility (disaster shelter, water supply station), etc.
The additional service category information indicates the category of additional services provided by the establishment, i.e., the additional service category category. Examples of additional service categories include establishments that meet the nursing care certification requirement, establishments that meet the support certification requirement, home nursing, home rehabilitation, home care, in-home medical support, home pharmacy, small-scale multifunctional home care, and regular visits/on-demand home care nursing.
The business hours information indicates the business hours of the establishment.
The address information indicates the location of the business by an address.
The geocode information represents the location of a business establishment using a geocode (geographic coordinates), more specifically, latitude and longitude.
The remark information is various information about the establishment that cannot be expressed by only the service category information, additional service category information, business hours information, address information, and geocode information. For example, the telephone number of the establishment corresponds to the remark information. Also, for example, if the service category of the establishment corresponds to a general hospital, hospital, or clinic, the specialty category of medical treatment provided by the establishment (e.g., internal medicine, surgery, dermatology, etc.) corresponds to the remark information.

The map database 17 consists of maps with a geographic coordinate system. The maps are vector or raster image data. The maps may also be a combination of vector and raster image data. Each point on the map is assigned a geocode, specifically latitude and longitude, that represents the point's location. Each point on the map is also assigned elevation information from the nearest road to the business entrance at that point. Note that the business information providing device 10 may not store the map database 17 in the storage device 15, and a map database stored in a cloud computer system or map server may be used instead of the map database 17. The maps included in the map database 17 are road maps, administrative district maps, disaster forecast maps (hazard maps), or aerial photograph maps. The maps included in the map database 17 may also be multilayered maps in which road maps, administrative district maps, disaster forecast maps (hazard maps), and aerial photograph maps are layered together. In the case of a multilayered map, road maps, administrative district maps, disaster forecast maps (hazard maps), and aerial photograph maps can be selectively displayed.

The geocode database 18 contains a large number of addresses and a large number of geocodes, and these addresses are each associated with one of these geocodes. Note that the business information providing device 10 may not have the geocode database 18 stored in the storage device 15, and a geocode database stored in a cloud computer system or geocode server may be used instead of the geocode database 18.

The radius database 19 contains radius information for each region. The radius information represents the distance a taxi will travel for the minimum fare. The radius information is set for each region.

The nursing care insurance premium database 14 contains nursing care insurance premium information for each region. The nursing care insurance premium information represents nursing care insurance premiums for each income category. The nursing care insurance premium information is set for each region.

An operating system (OS) is installed on the computer 11, and a search program 12 that can be executed on the OS is also installed on the computer 11. The search program 12 is stored in a storage medium of the computer 11.
When the computer 11 is accessed by the terminal device 20 , it executes processing according to the search program 12 .

<<<<Operation of the business information provision system>>>
The following describes the operations of the establishment information providing device 10 and the terminal device 20. Additionally, the following describes a method for providing establishment information using the establishment information providing device 10 and the terminal device 20.

(1) Login First, a user operates the terminal device 20 to cause the terminal device 20 to execute an application program. The terminal device 20 then transmits login information, such as a user account and password, set in the application program to the computer 11 of the business information providing device 10, and the computer 11 receives the login information. The computer 11 then determines whether the login information is correct. If the login information is correct, the computer 11 permits the terminal device 20 to log in, and if the login information is incorrect, the computer 11 denies the terminal device 20 from logging in. The computer 11 then transmits a login denial result to the terminal device 20, and the terminal device 20 displays the login denial result on the display device.

(2) Display of Search Screen Once login of the terminal device 20 is permitted, the terminal device 20 displays a search screen on the display device. This search screen displays a name input box, a search box for entering an address, and a search button. By operating the input device of the terminal device 20, the user can input the address (hereinafter referred to as the specific address) of the user's home (hereinafter referred to as the user's home) into the search box. In addition, by operating the input device of the terminal device 20, the user can input the user's name into the name input box. Note that the user's home may be the user's current home or a home the user plans to live in in the future.

(3) Acquiring, Sending, and Receiving Address When a user clicks or taps on the search box by operating the input device of the terminal device 20, the terminal device 20 acquires and stores the specific address and input name entered in the search box and name input box, respectively. The terminal device 20 then transmits the specific address to the computer 11 of the business information providing device 10. The computer 11 receives the specific address transmitted by the terminal device 20.

(4) Geocoding The computer 11 converts a specific address into a specific geocode. That is, the computer 11 refers to the geocode database 18 to obtain the specific geocode corresponding to the specific address. The specific geocode is the geocode of the user's home, i.e., the latitude and longitude.

(5) Setting of Search Area The computer 11 sets a circular area with a specific radius centered on the specific geocode as the search area. Here, the specific radius may be a constant or a variable predetermined in the search program 12.

The specific radius as a constant may be, for example, 1 km or 2 km. The specific radius as a constant may also be, for example, the distance a taxi travels for the minimum fare.

The specific radius as a variable may be obtained by referencing the radius database 19. In this case, in step "(3) Acquiring, transmitting, and receiving an address," the computer 11 refers to the radius database 19, searches the radius database 19 for radius information corresponding to the area including the specific address transmitted by the terminal device 20, and sets the value of that radius information as the specific radius.

The specific radius as a variable may be a numerical value entered by the user. In this case, the terminal device 20 displays a numerical value input box on the search screen in step "(2) Displaying the search screen." In step "(3) Obtaining, sending, and receiving an address," when the user enters a numerical value in the numerical value input box and clicks or taps the search box, the terminal device 20 transmits that numerical value to the computer 11, and the computer 11 sets that numerical value as the specific radius.

The specific radius as a variable may be determined based on some factor. For example, the specific radius may be determined based on whether or not the user has any relatives living near the user's home (hereinafter referred to as "neighboring relatives"). If there are no neighboring relatives, the specific radius is set to a first predetermined value. If there are neighboring relatives, the specific radius is set to a second predetermined value that is larger than the first predetermined value. In this case, the terminal device 20 displays a check box (or radio button) on the search screen in step "(2) Displaying the search screen" for inputting the presence or absence of neighboring relatives. In step "(3) Obtaining, sending, and receiving an address," when the user checks the check box and clicks or taps the search box, the terminal device 20 transmits information about the presence of neighboring relatives to the computer 11, and the computer 11 sets the specific radius to the larger second predetermined value. In contrast, if the user clicks or taps the search box without checking the checkbox in step (3) "Acquiring, sending, and receiving an address," the terminal device 20 sends a message to the computer 11 indicating that there are no nearby relatives, and the computer 11 sets the specific radius to a small, first predetermined value.

(6) Search Next, the computer 11 of the business information providing device 10 refers to the geocode information and unique identifiers in the business information database 16, searches for and lists unique identifiers associated with geocodes that fall within the search area from the business information database 16. Hereinafter, the searched and listed unique identifiers will be referred to as specific unique identifiers.

(6-1) Narrowing the Search Target In the above description, the search criteria is a search area defined by a specific geocode and a specific radius. Alternatively, the search criteria may be the logical product of such search area criteria and second search criteria. The second search criteria may be, for example, a specific name, service category, additional service category, business hours, address, or remarks. In this case, the terminal device 20 displays a second search criteria input box on the search screen in the step "(2) Displaying the Search Screen." In the step "(3) Obtaining, Sending, and Receiving an Address," when the user enters the second search criteria data in the second search criteria input box and clicks or taps the search box, the terminal device 20 transmits the second search criteria data to the computer 11, and the computer 11 receives the second search criteria data. Then, the computer 11 refers to the business establishment information database 16, searches within the business establishment information database 16 for specific unique identifiers that are associated with geocodes that fall within the search area and that are associated with service category information, additional service category information, business hours information, address information, or remarks information that completely or partially match the data of the second search conditions, and lists them.

Therefore, if a user has a chronic illness, the user can input the medical department appropriate for that illness into the terminal device 20 as data for the second search condition, and the computer 11 will narrow down the search to specific unique identifiers for general hospitals, hospitals, or clinics that offer that medical department.

Furthermore, if the user has received a nursing care certification, the user can input the nursing care certification and its certification category into the terminal device 20 as data for the second search conditions, and the computer 11 will narrow down the search to specific unique identifiers for general hospitals, hospitals, clinics, and nursing care facilities that provide services appropriate for that nursing care certification. The certification categories are divided into eight levels: Support Level 1, Support Level 2, Nursing Care Level 1, Nursing Care Level 2, Nursing Care Level 3, Nursing Care Level 4, and Nursing Care Level 5.

Furthermore, if the user has difficulty walking or uses a wheelchair, the user can input that fact into the terminal device 20 as data on the second search condition. The computer 11 will then refer to the map database 17, read altitude information from the geocode associated with the specific unique identifier, and exclude specific unique identifiers of establishments whose altitude information is equal to or exceeds a predetermined value. Therefore, if the user has difficulty walking or uses a wheelchair, the computer 11 will narrow down the search to specific unique identifiers of establishments that are suitable for the user's physical abilities.

(7) Second Search Next, the computer 11 of the business establishment information providing device 10 refers to the nursing care insurance premium database 14 and searches the nursing care insurance premium database 14 for nursing care insurance premium information associated with the specific area including the specific address. Hereinafter, the searched nursing care insurance premium information will be referred to as specific nursing care insurance premium information.

(8) Obtaining a Map Next, the computer 11 reads a map that includes the specific geocode within its range from the map database 17. Specifically, the computer 11 reads and obtains from the map database 17 a map that includes a circular search area with a specific radius centered on the specific geocode.

(9) Sending and Receiving Search Results and Maps Next, the computer 11 reads the name information, service category information, additional service category information, business hours information, address information, geocode information, and remarks information associated with the specific unique identifier from the business information database 16, and associates the name information, service category information, additional service category information, business hours information, address information, geocode information, and remarks information with each specific unique identifier. The computer 11 then transmits the specific unique identifier and the name information, service category information, additional service category information, business hours information, address information, geocode information, and remarks information associated with the specific unique identifier to the terminal device 20, and the terminal device 20 receives this information. The terminal device 20 associates the name information, service category information, additional service category information, business hours information, address information, geocode information, and remarks information with each specific unique identifier, and stores the specific unique identifier, the name information, service category information, additional service category information, business hours information, address information, geocode information, and remarks information. Hereinafter, the specific unique identifier, name information, service category information, additional service category information, business hours information, address information, geocode information, and remark information stored in the terminal device 20 in this manner will be referred to as search result data.

In addition, the computer 11 transmits the map and specific radius read in step "(8) Obtaining the map" to the terminal device 20, and the terminal device 20 receives the map and specific radius.

In addition, the computer 11 transmits the specific geocode obtained in step "(4) Geocoding" to the terminal device 20, and the terminal device 20 receives the specific geocode.

In addition, the computer 11 transmits the specific nursing care insurance premium information searched for in step "(7) Second Search" to the terminal device 20, and the terminal device 20 receives the specific nursing care insurance premium information.

(10) Categorization and List Next, the terminal device 20 refers to the search result data, classifies the name information associated with the specific unique identifier by service category and additional service category, associates a unique symbol with the name information, and lists the unique symbol and name information for each service category and additional service category. This list is called a name list. A unique symbol is a unique symbol assigned to the name information, and is, for example, a serial number, a number with a different color, or a serial number with a different color. A serial number with a different color is a number that is a different color for each service category and additional service category and is a serial number within each service category.

The terminal device 20 also associates a unique symbol with the specific unique identifier in the search result data. Therefore, in the search result data, the unique symbol, name information, service category information, additional service category information, business hours information, address information, geocode information, and remarks information are associated with each specific unique identifier.

This process may be performed by the computer 11 of the business information providing device 10 before the step "(9) Sending and receiving search results and maps." In this case, the computer 11 also sends a name list in which the unique symbols and name information are classified by service category and additional service category to the terminal device 20 in "(9) Sending and receiving search results and maps," and the terminal device 20 receives the name list.

(11) Plotting the locations of business establishments and user homes and generating a map image Next, the terminal device 20 attaches the unique symbols contained in the search result data to a map. The position of the unique symbol on the map is the position of the geocode corresponding to the unique symbol in the search result data. The unique symbol on the map plots the location of the business establishment whose name information corresponds to the unique symbol. Note that this map was received by the terminal device 20 from the computer 11 in the process of "(9) Sending and receiving search results and maps."

Next, the terminal device 20 places a home mark on the map with the unique symbol. The position of the home mark on the map is the location of the specific geocode. The specific geocode was received by the terminal device 20 from the computer 11 in step (9) "Transmitting and receiving search results and maps." The home mark on the map plots the location of the user's home.

Next, the terminal device 20 draws a circle on the map with the unique symbol and home mark. The center of the circle on the map is the location of the specific geocode. The radius of the circle is the value obtained by multiplying the specific radius by the scale of the map. The specific radius was received by the terminal device 20 from the computer 11 in step (9) "Transmitting and receiving search results and maps."

(12) Display Next, the terminal device 20 displays on the display device the input name and specific address acquired and stored in the step "(3) Acquiring, transmitting, and receiving addresses," the name list in which the unique symbols and name information are classified by service category and additional service category in the step "(10) Categorizing," the map generated in the step "(11) Generating map image," the specific nursing care insurance premium information searched in the step "(7) Second search," and the fulfillment level assessment result. Note that the map displayed on the display device is, as described above, a road map, administrative district map, disaster forecast map (hazard map), aerial photograph map, or multi-layered map, and in the case of a multi-layered map, one of the road map, administrative district map, disaster forecast map (hazard map), and aerial photograph map is displayed based on the user's selection.

FIG. 4 shows an example of a screen displayed on the display device of the terminal device 20. As shown in FIG.
Area 71 on the screen displays the input name and specific address. Area 72 on the screen displays a list of names categorized into the service category "clinic" and the additional service category "home care support." Area 73 on the screen displays a list of names categorized into the service category "hospital or general hospital" and the additional service category "home care support." Area 74 on the screen displays a list of names categorized into the service category "dentistry" and the additional service category "home care support." Area 75 on the screen displays a list of names categorized into the service category "pharmacy" and the additional service category "visiting pharmacy." Area 76 on the screen displays a list of names categorized into the service category "hospital or general hospital" and the additional service category "visiting nursing." Area 77 on the screen displays a list of names categorized into the service category "hospital or general hospital" and the additional service category "visiting rehabilitation." Area 78 on the screen displays a list of names categorized into the service category "nursing care facility" and the additional service category "small-scale multifunctional home care." Area 79 of the screen displays a list of names categorized into the service category "nursing care facility" and the additional service category "regular visits/on-demand home care nursing." Area 80 of the screen displays a list of names categorized into the service category "nursing care facility" and the additional service category "home care." Area 81 of the screen displays a list of names categorized into the service category "community comprehensive support center" and the additional service category "none." Area 82 of the screen displays a map with a unique symbol, home mark, and circle. Area 83 of the screen displays the degree of fulfillment determined and calculated by the terminal device 20 or computer 11 according to a predetermined algorithm based on the search result data. Area 84 of the screen displays specific nursing care insurance premium information.

By viewing this screen, users can visually grasp the availability of elderly care facilities near their home and nursing care insurance premiums. By viewing the map on this screen, users can visually grasp the locations of elderly care facilities near their home. Therefore, this screen can help users decide whether or not to continue living in their home into their later years. Furthermore, if users choose to continue living in their home into their later years, only renovations to the user's home will be necessary, eliminating the need for reconstruction. In recent years, there has been a demand for a decarbonized society through the promotion of carbon neutrality, which reduces carbon dioxide emissions to virtually zero, and for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In response, the construction industry is also working to use wooden buildings, which have lower carbon dioxide emissions. If the above screen can provide users with the option of continuing to live in their home, it will lead to more effective use of the user's home, contributing to the realization of a decarbonized society and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

On this screen, the user selects and confirms the service category and additional service category in areas 72-81 by operating the input device of the terminal device 20. The terminal device 20 then displays a list of the names of the selected and confirmed service category and additional service category, as well as a map, on the display device. For example, if the user selects and confirms the service category "Clinic" and the additional service category "Home Care Support" in area 72, the terminal device 20 will display a screen such as that shown in Figure 5 on the display device.

As shown in FIG. 5, the terminal device 20 displays the service category and additional service category selected by the user in area 91 on the screen, a map in area 92 on the screen, a list of names categorized into the service category and additional service category selected by the user in area 93 on the screen, and the degree of fulfillment determined and calculated by the terminal device 20 or computer 11 in accordance with a predetermined algorithm based on the search result data in area 94. The map is marked with a unique symbol corresponding to the name information in the list of names categorized into the service category and additional service category selected by the user. The position of the unique symbol on the map is the position of the geocode corresponding to the unique symbol in the search result data. A home mark is also marked on the map, and the position of the home mark on the map is the position of the specific geocode. A circle is also marked on the map, and the center of the circle on the map is the position of the specific geocode, and the radius of the circle is the value obtained by multiplying the specific radius by the scale of the map.

While a screen such as that shown in Figure 4 is displayed, the user selects and confirms a unique symbol on the map by operating the input device of the terminal device 20. The terminal device 20 then references the search result data and displays on the display device the business name information, service category information, additional service category information, business hours information, address information, geocode information, and remarks information for the business corresponding to the selected and confirmed unique symbol.

While a screen such as that shown in Figure 4 is displayed, the user operates the input device of the terminal device 20 to select and confirm a unique symbol from the name list. The terminal device 20 then references the search result data and displays on the display device the name information, service category information, additional service category information, business hours information, address information, geocode information, and remarks information of the business corresponding to the selected unique symbol.

While a screen such as that shown in FIG. 4 is displayed, the user selects and confirms name information from the name list by operating the input device of the terminal device 20. The terminal device 20 then references the search result data and displays on the display device the business name information, service category information, additional service category information, business hours information, address information, geocode information, and remarks information corresponding to the selected name information.

<<<Modifications>>>
(1) In the above embodiment, the processes executed by the terminal device 20 may be written in the search program 12, and the search program 12 may cause the computer 11 of the business information providing device 10 to execute those processes. In this case, data communication between the terminal device 20 and the computer 11 is omitted.

(2) In the above embodiment, one specific address is input. However, two or more specific addresses may be input. That is, the search screen in "(2) Displaying Search Screen" displays multiple search boxes for address input. When the user inputs multiple specific addresses into each of the multiple search boxes, the terminal device 20 transmits those specific addresses to the computer 11 of the business information providing device 10. In the "(4) Geocoding" step, the computer 11 obtains a specific geocode corresponding to each specific address. In the "(5) Setting Search Area" step, the computer 11 sets a search area for each specific geocode. In the "6) Search" step, the computer 11 searches for and lists unique identifiers for each specific geocode. In the "(7) Second Search" step, the computer 11 searches for specific nursing care insurance premium information for each specific geocode. In the "(8) Obtaining Map" step, the computer 11 reads and obtains a map for each specific geocode. In the "(9) Sending and Receiving Search Results and Maps" step, the computer 11 sends the name information, service category information, additional service category information, business hours information, address information, geocode information, and remarks information associated with the specific unique identifier for each specific geocode, as well as the map, specific radius, specific geocode, and specific nursing care insurance premium information to the terminal device 20, and the terminal device 20 receives this information for each specific geocode. In the "(10) Categorizing and Listing" step, the terminal device 20 generates a collection of lists for each service category and additional service category for the specific geocode. In the "(11) Plotting the Locations of Businesses and User Homes and Generating Map Images" step, the terminal device 20 plots the locations on a map for each specific geocode. In the "(12) Display" step, the terminal device 20 displays the results for each specific geocode. A user can view the display results for two or more specific geocodes and visually compare the level of elderly care facilities and nursing care insurance premiums around two user homes.

(3) In the above embodiment, the establishment is a facility that provides services for the elderly. In addition to, or instead of, an establishment for the elderly, an establishment for the working generation (e.g., those in their 20s to 60s) may be employed. The service categories of such establishments include services that are useful in daily life, and more specifically, include restaurants, supermarkets, department stores, convenience stores, entertainment facilities, amusement facilities, exercise facilities, fitness studios, gymnasiums, swimming pools, kindergartens, nursery schools, elementary schools, junior high schools, children's centers, and libraries.

<<<<Advantageous Effects>>>
A screen like that shown in Figure 4 allows the user to visually understand the locations of elderly care facilities around the user's home. This screen allows the user to visually understand the availability of elderly care facilities around the user's home. This screen allows the user to visually understand the spatial relationship between the user's home and the facilities. This screen allows the user to visually understand the range of the search area. Therefore, this screen helps the user decide whether or not to continue living in the user's home as they age.

The radius of the search area may be the distance a taxi travels for the minimum fare. In this case, the financial burden on the user to visit the business from their home is minimized.

The radius of the search area is retrieved from the radius database 19 and is radius information corresponding to the area including the specific address. This radius information is the distance that a taxi will travel for the minimum fare. Therefore, the financial burden on the user to visit the business from their home is minimized to match the area of the user's home.

The radius of the search area may be set depending on whether or not the user has relatives living near their home. In this case, if the user's elderly relatives are able to assist the user with their travels, businesses will be searched within a wider area; otherwise, businesses will be searched within a narrower area. Also, if the user's working-age relatives are able to protect or monitor the user's children on the user's behalf, businesses will be searched within a wider area; otherwise, businesses will be searched within a narrower area.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1... Business establishment information providing system 10... Business establishment information providing device 11... Computer 12... Search program 15... Storage device 16... Business establishment information database 17... Map database 18... Geocode database 19... Radius database 20... Terminal device

Claims (4)

In a business establishment information providing system that provides information on business establishments,
an acquisition means for acquiring at least one specific address as a search condition;
a geocoding means for converting the specific address acquired by the acquisition means into a specific geocode;
a search area setting means for referring to a radius database having radius information for each area, searching the radius database for radius information corresponding to the area including the specific address acquired by the acquisition means, and setting the radius of a circular search area having a radius centered on the specific geocode to the value of the searched radius information;
a search means for searching for a unique identifier associated with geocode information that falls within the search area by referring to a business establishment information database in which unique identifiers and geocode information are associated with each other for each business establishment;
a map acquisition means for acquiring a map including the search area from a map database including a map having a geographic coordinate system set by geocoding;
a plotting means for plotting the location of the establishment based on the geocode information corresponding to the unique identifier searched by the searching means on the map acquired by the map acquiring means;
a display means for displaying a map on which the positions of the establishments are plotted by the plotting means. 2. The business information providing system according to claim 1,
A business information providing system, wherein the radius information stored in the radius database for each area is the distance that a taxi will travel for the minimum fare. In a method for providing business establishment information,
an acquisition step in which an acquisition means of the system acquires at least one specific address as a search condition;
a geocoding step in which a geocoding means of the system converts the specific address obtained by the obtaining step into a specific geocode;
a search area setting step in which a search area setting means of the system refers to a radius database having radius information for each area, searches the radius database for radius information corresponding to the area including the specific address acquired by the acquisition means, and sets the radius of a circular search area having a radius centered on the specific geocode to the value of the searched radius information;
a search step in which a search means of the system refers to a business establishment information database in which unique identifiers and geocode information are associated with each other for each business establishment, and searches for a unique identifier associated with geocode information that falls within the search area;
a map acquisition step in which a map acquisition means of the system acquires a map including the search area from a map database including a map having a geographic coordinate system set by geocoding;
a plotting step in which a plotting means of the system plots the location of the business establishment based on the geocode information corresponding to the unique identifier searched for by the search step on the map acquired by the map acquisition step;
a display step in which a display means of the system displays a map on which the positions of the establishments are plotted by the plotting step;
A business establishment information providing method comprising: an acquisition process for acquiring at least one specific address as a search condition;
a geocoding process for converting the specific address acquired by the acquisition process into a specific geocode;
a search area setting process that refers to a radius database having radius information for each area, searches the radius database for radius information corresponding to the area including the specific address acquired by the acquisition process, and sets the radius of a circular search area having a radius centered on the specific geocode to the value of the searched radius information;
a search process that refers to a business establishment information database in which unique identifiers and geocode information are associated with each other for each business establishment, and searches for unique identifiers associated with geocode information that falls within the search area;
a map acquisition process for acquiring a map including the search area from a map database including a map having a geographic coordinate system set by geocoding;
a plotting process for plotting the location of the business establishment based on the geocode information corresponding to the unique identifier searched for by the search process on the map acquired by the map acquisition process;
a display process for displaying a map on which the positions of the business establishments are plotted by the plot process;
A program that causes a computer to execute the following.