JP2001095030A - Portable data transfer unit - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To perform efficient communication by automatically detecting a connection staring position capable of surely completing data transfer without disconnecting a communication link even when a communication disabled area exists on a passing route. SOLUTION: This portable data transfer unit is provided with a map data base, in which map information such as roads and tracks are registered, a location information acquiring means to acquire the present location information by using satellite communication, a route retrieval means to retrieve the shortest route from the present location to a destination from the map data base, a communication area data base in which a utilization disabled area of radio communication is registered and an arithmetic means to retrieve the communication disabled area to exist on the shortest route, from the present location to the destination from the communication area data base and to calculate a transfer starting position, capable of securing transfer time from the start of the data transfer to the end.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a remote device, such as a server computer or the like, in which a user inputs data through a portable terminal device such as a portable personal computer and transmits the input data via a wireless line. Portable data transfer that notifies the user of the timing at which data transfer can be performed without interruption due to an incommunicable area that is present in the middle of travel and enables efficient data transfer It concerns the device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when data is input to a portable data terminal such as a portable personal computer, and the input data is transferred to a remote server computer or the like via a wireless terminal such as a PHS or a portable telephone. ,
If the current location is an area where wireless communication is available,
It is possible to immediately connect to the server computer or the like of the other party, and to perform data transfer on the spot.

[0003] On the other hand, when trying to carry out data communication or the like on a vehicle moving at a high speed, the user enters a wireless communication area where a wireless terminal such as a mountain area or a tunnel cannot be used. It is inevitable.
If you enter the area where communication is not possible, wait for data communication connection until you move to the use area, reach a place where data communication is available, connect to the destination device, and perform data transfer I have to take a way.

[0004]

As described above, in the conventional apparatus, a connection to data communication is made in a place where wireless communication is available, and a high-speed portable terminal such as a car or a train is used. When the movement deteriorates the radio wave condition or enters the area outside the wireless communication use area, the wireless link is disconnected, the data connection is disconnected, and data transfer may be performed only halfway.

[0005] When the wireless link is disconnected during the movement as described above, automatic redial connection is performed many times,
Perform an operation to confirm whether or not it is within the wireless communication use area range according to the presence or absence of connection.If it is within the wireless communication connection range, make a data connection and establish a wireless link to the destination device again. In this case, data was transferred from the beginning.

[0006] For this reason, since data transfer and reception are performed from the beginning, the data transferred up to that point is redundantly transferred, and the data transfer time is lengthened. There is a problem that wasteful processing occurs for both of the leading devices.

An object of the present invention is to automatically detect a connection start position at which data transfer can be reliably completed without disconnecting a communication link, even when an incommunicable area exists on a passage route, thereby improving efficiency. It is an object of the present invention to provide a portable data transfer device capable of performing basic communication.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a map database in which map information such as roads and tracks is registered, and position information for obtaining current position information using satellite communication. An acquisition unit, a route search unit that searches the map database for the shortest route from the current position to the designated destination, a communication area database that registers wireless communication unavailable areas, A non-communicable area existing on the shortest route to the database is searched from the communication area database, and a transfer start position at which a transfer time from the start of data transfer to the end of data transfer on the shortest route excluding the non-communicable area is secured is calculated. Computing means.

[0009] Further, by detecting that the communication has become disabled during the data transfer, the position information of the communication disabled area is obtained from the position information obtaining means and automatically registered in the communication area database. An update unit is further provided.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an environment in which a data transfer device (or a portable information terminal; hereinafter, abbreviated as a portable terminal) of the present invention is used.
And a server machine (server computer) 1 as a destination device
02 can perform voice communication, data communication, and the like via the public network 103 and the wireless network 104. In addition, the mobile terminal 101 uses a position information system GPS (Global Positio) using radio waves from a GPS satellite 105.
ning System).

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the internal configuration inside the portable terminal of the present invention. The mobile terminal 101 includes a CPU 201 that executes a program according to an instruction from a user, a memory 202 that loads a program and data, a mobile terminal 1
01, a GPS receiving unit 203 for acquiring current position information where the wireless communication device 01 itself exists, a wireless communication unit 204 for establishing a communication line by a wireless line with the server device 102, and a portable terminal 101.
An input / output unit 205 for inputting / outputting instructions and data to / from the
A removable medium storage unit 215 storing map data 207 and uncommunicable area data 208, a route calculation program 209, a data transfer program 210, a connection point calculation program 211, a non-communicable area recording program 212, and communication data 214 are stored. And a storage unit 206 which is connected to each other by a bus 213.

The GPS receiver 203 has a function of receiving radio waves from the satellite 105 and outputting the current position information as coordinate data for searching the map data 207.

The wireless communication unit 204 has a function of establishing a wireless channel with the wireless network 104, exchanging data with the server machine 102, and outputting a current wireless communication availability status. The input / output unit 205 has input means such as a keyboard, a mouse, a pen input, and voice input, and output means such as a display and voice. The removable storage unit 215 includes a CD, a DVD, a CD-R, and a DVD-R.
It is a storage device configured with a portable storage medium such as AM and MO. As a result, the map data 207 and the incommunicable area data 208 can be easily updated. The map data 207 holds a table in which an identification number, a road name, and coordinates are set as one set. The map data 207 may be stored as a medium in the above-mentioned removable storage device 215, or may be accessed as a satellite and received as distribution data.

FIG. 3 shows the structure of the map data 207.
The identification number 301 is a number for uniquely identifying the set data. The road name 302 is the name of a road. The coordinate list 303 is each coordinate point when a road is represented as a set of line segment data. The speed 304 indicates the traveling speed on the road. By connecting the coordinate data of the same road name in the recorded order, the road structure can be drawn on a plane. For example, FIG. 4 is an example when “route1” in FIG. 3 is drawn on a plane.

The speed 304 is updated when the portable terminal 101 actually moves on a road on the map data 207. The mobile terminal 101 uses the GPS to
The time required to move from one end point of the road to the other end point of the map data 207 can be calculated. Then, from the calculated time and the distance of the road calculated from the map data,
The moving speed is obtained, and the moving speed 304 of the map data 207 is calculated.
To update. For the update, a method of simply changing the moving distance 304 to the calculated moving distance or a difference between the moving distance 304 and the calculated moving distance is calculated, and several percent of the difference is calculated as the moving distance 30.
4 and the like. When the mobile terminal 101 itself can be linked with the vehicle, the speed of the vehicle can be set to the speed 304.

The uncommunicable area data 208 holds a table in which an identification number 301 and a coordinate between two points representing a line segment are set.

FIG. 5 shows the structure of the incommunicable area data 208. The identification number 501 indicates the identification number 301 described in the map data 207. Coordinates 502 and 50
Numeral 3 indicates which partial line segment is a non-communicable area on a line segment connecting the same set of data as the identification number 301 of the map data and the next set of data.

The incommunicable area data 208 includes communication area information obtained from a mobile phone service providing organization or operating organization, incommunicable area information and map information that can be estimated from the position of a base station installed for providing services. The initial state is set on the basis of information such as a non-communicable area (such as a tunnel) obtained from.

The route calculation program 209 is a program for calculating the shortest line segment set on the map data connecting the current position obtained from the GPS receiving unit 203 and the destination input by the user from the input / output unit 205. This program 2
At 09, the shortest route to the destination is calculated. In the present invention, since the program 209 can apply an existing algorithm used in so-called car navigation, detailed description is omitted.

FIG. 6 shows the structure of the output result of the route calculation program 209. The identification number 601 is the map data 20
7 shows the identification number 301 described. This shows a line segment connecting the same set of data as the identification number 301 of the map data 207 and the next set of data. The direction information 602 indicates the direction of the line segment that becomes the optimum route.
In the case of "1", the coordinates of the next set of identification numbers are the end,
In the case of "0", the coordinates of the set of identification numbers are the end.

The data transfer program 210 is a program for transferring a data file in accordance with a user command input from the input / output unit 205 and for directly transferring input user data. For the actual data transfer work, call the connection point calculation program 211,
Get a connection point and start when you arrive at that point.

The connection point calculation program 211 is a program for calculating a connection point at which wireless communication is not disconnected during the transfer of the communication data 214. The communicable area recording program 212 is a program for recording a point at which wireless communication is disconnected in the incommunicable area data 208. The program 212 is always started and records the communication disabled area.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the overall processing in the portable terminal of the present invention. Here, it is assumed that a sales person takes a car around the customer with the portable terminal 101, makes a meeting at the customer, inputs data of the content immediately afterward, and transfers the data to the server 102 at the head office. I have.

First, the salesperson enters the route calculation program 2
Using 09, the shortest route to go around the customer is searched (step 701). Next, the salesperson goes to step 70
Move along the route searched in 1 and make a meeting (step 702). Next, the salesperson inputs the contents of the meeting at step 702 to the portable terminal 101, and activates the data transfer program 210 (step 703). The activated data transfer program 210 includes:
The connection point calculation program 211 is called to calculate an optimum connection point (step 704). The optimal connection point is a position on the shortest route to the next destination where a transfer time for ensuring transfer of data to be transferred can be ensured without disabling communication. In this state, the salesperson is moving. Next, the GPS receiver 20
3 is the same as the connection point calculated in step 704, the data transfer program 210
Transfers the data of the content input in step 703 to the server 102 at the head office (step 705). next,
It is checked whether there is a next customer, and if so, the process proceeds to step 707. If not, the process ends (step 706). Next, it moves to the next customer according to the route searched in step 701, makes a meeting, and returns to step 703 (step 707).

FIG. 8 shows a connection point calculation program 21.
3 is a flowchart illustrating an operation procedure of FIG. First, based on the data amount of the communication data 214, the data transfer speed during wireless communication, and the average moving speed of the portable terminal 101, the communication data 21
The travel time required to transfer the data No. 4 is calculated as a variable D (step 801). Next, coordinates (x, y) indicating the current position are obtained from the GPS receiver 203 (step 80).
2). Next, it is calculated on which line segment of the shortest route calculated by the route calculation program 209 the coordinates (x, y) obtained in step 802 are located, and the identification number is assigned to the identification number variable i.
(Step 803). Next, the coordinate variable can
= (X, y) (step 804). Further, the coordinate variable tmp = can and the variable d = D (Step 80)
5). Next, a partial line segment Line from the coordinate variable tmp to the end is calculated on the line segment indicated by the identification number variable i (step 806). Next, a moving time obtained by dividing the distance of the line segment Line by the speed 304 of the line segment indicated by the identification number variable i is calculated as a variable 1 (step 807). next,
If (variable d−variable 1) is equal to or less than 0 or greater than 0, the process proceeds to step 809. If 0 or less, the process proceeds to step 814 (step 808). Next, it is checked whether or not there is a communication disabled area on the partial line segment Line (step 80).
9). Specifically, among the sets of the incommunicable area data 208, there is a case where the identification number 501 is the same as the identification number variable i, and the line connecting the coordinate 502 and the coordinate 503 overlaps the partial line Segment Line. Find out what. If there is, the process proceeds to step 813. If not, the process proceeds to step 810 (step 809). Next, the variable 1 is subtracted from the variable d (step 810). Then, the coordinate variable tmp is set as the terminal coordinate of the identification number variable i (step 811). Next, in the shortest route, the identification number of the set next to the set indicated by the identification number variable i is set as the identification number variable i, and the process returns to step 807 (step 812). On the other hand, if the orientation information 602 of the set indicated by the identification number variable i in the shortest route is “1”, the coordinate variable can is changed to the coordinate 50 of the set adapted in step 809.
2, and if "0", the coordinate variable can is set to step 809.
Is set as the coordinate 503 (step 813).
Then, the process returns to step 805. Step 808
In the case where is less than or equal to 0, a partial line segment Line which starts from the coordinate variable tmp and can move at the time of the variable d on the line segment indicated by the identification number variable i is calculated (step 8).
14). Then, it is checked whether or not there is a communication disabled area on the partial line segment Line (step 815). More specifically, in the set of uncommunicable area data 208, the identification number 501 is the same as the identification number variable i, and the coordinates 502 and 5
A check is made to see if there is any line segment connecting line 03 and line segment Line. If there is, the process proceeds to step 817. If not, proceed to step 816 (step 81
5). In step 816, the coordinate variable can is passed to the data transfer program 210 as a connection point. The set of orientation information 6 indicated by the identification number variable i in the shortest route
If 02 is “1”, the coordinate variable “can” is set to the coordinate 502 of the set matched in step 814. If “0”, the coordinate variable can is set to the coordinate 503 of the set adapted in step 814. The process returns to step 805 (step 817).

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the operation procedure of the incommunicable area recording calculation program 212. A notification that wireless communication has become unavailable is obtained from the wireless communication unit 204 (step 901). Step 903 to Step 9
Step 03 is repeated until the wireless communication unit 204 receives a notification that wireless communication is available. However, if the notification is obtained, the following is executed, and the incommunicable area data 208
, A new set is added. When the notification coordinates from the GPS reception 203 have moved from the coordinates of the set of the identification number variable i of the map data 207 to the next set of coordinates, the coordinate 502 is the coordinate variable start, and the coordinate 503 is the GPS reception unit 203.
From the current coordinates. If the notification coordinates from the GPS reception 203 have moved in the opposite direction from the coordinates of the set of the identification number variable i in the map data 207 to the coordinates of the next set, the coordinates 5
02 is the current coordinates from the GPS receiver 203, and the coordinates are 50
3 becomes the coordinate variable start (step 902). G
The current coordinates from the PS receiving unit 203 are stored in the coordinate variable start.
(Step 903). Next, the GPS receiver 2
The identification number of the line segment on the map data where the coordinates notified from 03 is present is obtained as the identification number variable i (step 90).
4). Next, when the notification coordinates from the GPS reception 203 reach the end point of the line segment obtained in step 904, a new set is added to the incommunicable area data 208. If the endpoint is a set of the identification number variable i of the map data 2007, the identification number 501 is the identification number variable i, the coordinate 502 is the notification coordinate,
The coordinate 503 becomes a coordinate variable start. If the end point is the next set of the identification number variable i of the map data 207, the identification number 501 is the identification number variable i, the coordinate 502 is the coordinate variable start, and the coordinate 503 is the notification coordinate (step 905). Finally, the coordinate variable start is set in step 90.
5, and returns to step 904 (step 9).
06).

As described above, in the present embodiment, a search is made for a communication-disabled area existing on the shortest route from the current position to the destination, and after starting data transfer on the shortest route excluding the communication-disabled area. Since the transfer start position (connection point) at which the transfer time until the end is secured is calculated and the data transfer is started from that position, the data to be transferred can be reliably transmitted to the destination.

In the embodiment, the connection point is notified to the data transfer program 210, and the data transfer program 210 is made to automatically transmit data.
The user of the portable terminal 101 may be notified once that the connection point has been reached, and may be transferred after waiting for a confirmation response from the user.

[0029]

As described above, according to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained. (1) The wireless communication condition is not deteriorated during the data transfer, so that the transfer is not interrupted, the communication time can be shortened, and the communication cost can be reduced. (2) Even when a new wireless communication unavailable area is created, the area can be automatically added. This can reduce the burden on the user.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an environment in which a data transfer device of the present invention is used.

FIG. 2 is a system configuration diagram showing a body configuration of a data transfer device of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration of map data.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example when drawing map data.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a configuration of uncommunicable area data.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a configuration of a shortest route.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating overall processing.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a connection point calculation program.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a non-communicable area recording program.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 ... Mobile terminal, 102 ... Server machine, 103 ... Public network, 104 ... Wireless network, 105 ... Satellite, 203 ... GPS receiving unit, 204 ... Wireless communication unit, 206 ... Storage unit, 207 ...
Map data, 208 ... communicable area data, 209 ...
Route calculation program, 210: data transfer program, 211: connection point calculation program, 212: communication disabled area recording program.

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) H04Q 7/38

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A data transfer device for transferring data to and from a destination device via a wireless line, comprising: a map database in which map information such as roads and tracks is registered; Position information acquiring means for acquiring a shortest route from a current position to a designated destination from the map database; a communication area database for registering an area where wireless communication is unavailable; A transfer that searches the communication area database for a non-communicable area existing on the shortest path from the position to the destination from the communication area database, and secures a transfer time from the start to the end of data transfer on the shortest path excluding the non-communicable area. A portable data transfer device comprising: a calculation unit that calculates a start position. 2. A communication-disabled area automatic unit for acquiring position information of the communication-disabled area from the position information acquisition unit by detecting that communication has been disabled during data transfer, and automatically registering the position information in the communication area database. The portable data transfer device according to claim 1, further comprising an updating unit.