JP2002298295A - Information display device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an information display device economically usable and excellent in convenience in the use in a specified group. SOLUTION: This device comprises a detecting means 10 for determining the own present position data related to the own present position of a person, a data communication means 20 for communicating with a server located in a remote place when the present position causes a distant change corresponding to a preset fixed moving distance, a display means 30 for transmitting the own present position data to the server through the data communication means 20, receiving the other present position data and map data related to the present position of at least one specified person other than the above person, and composing the received data with the own present position data to display it, a control means 40 for controlling at least the detecting means 10 and the display means 30, and an input means 50 for giving an instruction to the control means 40.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an information display device for displaying a current position and information related thereto.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Data such as portable telephones, PHSs (hereinafter referred to as portable telephones), so-called notebook personal computers with built-in modems, and Palm machines (hereinafter referred to as personal data communication devices). Users have information terminal equipment as communication means, and data communication regardless of the place of use is rapidly spreading, and an environment is established that allows easy communication with others regardless of time and place. It is getting. The center of the format of the data through such information terminal devices is the current processing, audio information and character information, but the proportion of still image information and moving image information will increase over time, and the content of the data will also increase. It is expected that the appearance of various services will diversify services related to the data.

In order to realize such diversification,
For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H10-13961 discloses that each mobile terminal equipped with the information terminal device has a position information detecting means for detecting position information, a position information transmitting means for transmitting position information to an information center, and an uploading method. An upload data transmitting unit for transmitting data to the information center; and an information / service using unit for using information / service from the information center, wherein the information center stores the information / service, Search means for receiving position information and searching for information / service in the storage means, storage control means for storing upload data in the storage means, and extracting and moving information / service searched by the search means from the storage means Information and service transmitting means for transmitting to the terminal, not only map information indicating the current position of the mobile terminal,
There is disclosed a technology for providing information on facilities on the map.

[0004] According to such a technique, information or service related to location information stored in an information center can be used in each mobile terminal, and each mobile terminal can use information or service related to location information. By providing the service to the information center as upload data, the information or service in the information center can be stored and
By updating, the information or service required by the mobile terminal can be learned and held in the information center in a learning manner, and it is possible to respond to a variety of information or service needs.

If each mobile terminal detects its own position information using a satellite, it can accurately detect the position information of the mobile terminal to be transmitted to the information center, Load on the information input operation or the like can be reduced.

[0006]

By the way, in such a configuration, the position information of the user is automatically transmitted to the information server with a lapse of a fixed time, but this does not change the current position. However, communication costs are incurred each time, which is economically problematic.

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information display apparatus according to the present invention.
Detecting means for obtaining self-current position data relating to the self-current position; and communicating with a server at a remote location when the current position has a distance change corresponding to a predetermined fixed moving distance, thereby detecting the self-current position. Transmits position data to the server and receives other person's current position data and map data relating to the current position of one or more specific persons other than the self, and combines and displays the received data with the self current position data. Possible display means, and control means for controlling at least the detection means and the display means,
And input means for giving an instruction to the control means.

[0008] According to a second aspect of the present invention, a detecting means for obtaining self-current position data relating to the current position of the self,
A data communication means for communicating with a server located at a distance when the current position changes in distance corresponding to a predetermined fixed moving distance; and transmitting the self-current position data to the server via the data communication means. Display means capable of receiving and transmitting the other person's current position data and the map data related to the current position of one or more specific persons other than the self and the received data and the self current position data, and , At least control means for controlling the detection means and the display means, and input means for giving instructions to the control means.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided detecting means for obtaining self-current position data relating to the current position of the self.
A data communication means for communicating with a server located at a distance when the current position changes in distance corresponding to a predetermined fixed moving distance; and transmitting the self-current position data to the server via the data communication means. Display means capable of receiving and transmitting the other person's current position data and the map data related to the current position of one or more specific persons other than the self and the received data and the self current position data, and , Audio output means, control means for controlling at least the detection means, the display means, and the audio output means, and input means for giving an instruction to the control means, each time the communication is performed or performed. Operating the input means so that the display means and / or the voice output means outputs the message content related to the communication, It is those that are capable of providing.

[0010] In particular, as described in claim 2 or claim 3, a portable telephone connectable to a public telephone line is used as the data communication means.

In particular, a portable telephone connectable to a public telephone line is used as the data communication means, and the detecting means, the display means, The control means and the input means are integrated into the portable telephone.

[0012] In particular, as described in claim 6 in any one of claims 1 to 5, the display means displays the icon indicating the current position of the user based on the communication at which timing the icon was communicated. The latest update information that makes it possible to recognize whether or not the icon is displayed on the icon.

[0013] In particular, as set forth in claim 6 and claim 7, the latest communication information indicates a difference between a current time and the time of the communication.

Thus, the self-current position data is updated every fixed moving distance, so that it can be used economically, and can be used, for example, as an information display device that can be easily used in a specific group. Can be.

[0015]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described based on embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings.

FIGS. 1 and 2 are a schematic diagram and a block diagram, respectively, for explaining the configuration of an information display device 100 mounted and used on a moving body, for example, a vehicle. Detecting means 10 and data communication means 20 for communicating with a remote server (described later)
And transmitting the self-current position data to the server via the data communication means 20 and receiving and receiving other person's current position data and map data relating to the current position of one or more specific persons other than the self. Display means 30 capable of displaying combined data and the self-current position data
And a control means 40 for controlling at least the detection means 10 and the display means 30, and an input means 50 for giving an instruction to the control means 40. Reference numeral 60 denotes an audio output unit including a speaker that reads out the data when the data is audio data. The audio output unit 60 may be prepared for exclusive use or may be used also as a car audio speaker.

The detecting means 10 includes, for example, a main body 11 housed in a trunk room and an antenna
This is a well-known GPS receiver that receives a position signal such as latitude, longitude and altitude from the PS satellite 200. The GPS receiver measures its own current position and obtains its own current position data.
It is also possible to configure a sensor for obtaining the self-current position data from the vehicle movement information such as a pulse signal generated according to the traveling of the vehicle without using a signal from the satellite 200, and the sensor And the GPS receiver may be combined, but it is preferable to use the GPS receiver in consideration of portability.

As the data communication means 20, for example, a portable telephone (for example, a so-called "i-mode" of Nippon Mobile Communication Co., Ltd.) capable of connecting to the public telephone line 300 and transmitting and receiving various data by wireless packet communication can be used. Mobile phone), which transmits and receives the data by communicating with the server at a remote place, and may be other than a mobile phone, such as a wired phone or a personal data communication device. Such an information terminal device may be used, but in consideration of portability, the portable telephone is preferable.
Although it is possible to use a dedicated line instead of the public telephone line 300, it is preferable to use the public telephone line 300 in consideration of the cost. In particular, it is always necessary to use the public telephone line 300 to communicate with the server. Since it is necessary to make a connection, it is desirable to use packet communication in which a usage fee is charged according to the amount of the data to be used instead of the connection time.

The display means 30 comprises, for example, a display member 31 having excellent portability such as a color liquid crystal display element and a drive circuit 32 for driving the display member. The display member is used by a driver of the vehicle. A predetermined display based on the data, which is provided at a location in front of the user, is performed by a real image or a virtual image. The control unit 40 includes, for example, a microcomputer, and performs a predetermined process in accordance with a predetermined program, and at least controls the updating of the self-current position data by the detection unit 10 or the display switching on the display unit 30.
1, an input / output unit 43 for exchanging signals between the input unit 50 and the storage unit 42. The storage unit 42 includes, for example,
The input / output unit 43 includes a ROM 42a and a RAM 42b.
Is a digital input / output unit 43a located between the operation unit 41 and the data communication unit 20 for signal control, and an analog input / output unit located between the operation unit 41 and the input unit 50 and the audio output unit 60 for signal control. An input / output unit 43b is provided, and the input / output unit 43 can be configured to be incorporated in the arithmetic unit 41.

The ROM 42 a and the RAM 42 b constituting the storage section 42 of the control means 40 are, for example, for storing the data when transmitting and receiving the data via the data communication means 20 and displaying the data on the display member 31 of the display means 30. The image data corresponding to the contents to be stored is stored.

The input means 50 includes, for example, an operation switch 51 and a microphone 52 installed near the handle.
According to the operation of the user, the control means 40 communicates with the server via the data communication means 20, and the display means 30
Is given to make the display on the display member 31 as desired. The operation switch 51 is connected to the control unit 40.
A signal is transmitted to the input / output unit 43 wirelessly, for example, by infrared rays. However, the signal may be transmitted via a cable, and the microphone 52 is not required when the instruction by voice input is not required.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating the configuration of an information communication system including the information display device 100. The information communication system is connected to a public telephone line 300 and communicates with the information display device 100 to transmit and receive the data. Server 400 that performs
The server 400 has a dedicated storage area 411 that can be shared and accessed only by a specific group composed of two or more users, and the server 400 can be used in any of the groups prepared in advance. Standard storage area 412
In the example of FIG. 3, a group composed of the two users is shown. One of the groups is an information display device 100a mounted and used on a mobile body, and the other is Shows a case where communication is performed with the server 400 via the individual public telephone line 300 by using the fixedly used information display device 100b. The information display device 100a and the information display device 100b are connected by the data communication unit 20. The former is a portable telephone, and the latter is a fixed wired telephone, but their configurations are basically the same as those of the information display device 100 shown in FIGS.

Next, a specific example of use of the information display apparatus 100 and the information communication system described above will be described with reference to FIGS. In the following description, reference numerals shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 refer to FIGS.

The two users form one specific group, and the users individually form the information display device 100.
a, 100b. Each user obtains his / her current position data relating to his / her own current position by the detecting means 10, and uses the data communication means 20 to make the public telephone line 300.
The server communicates with the server 400 via the PC and stores the self-current position data in the dedicated storage area 411. The self-current position data is controlled so as to be automatically communicated (uploaded) at a predetermined timing described later. Means 40 is controlling.

The dedicated storage area 411 stores personal information of the user, for example, "character data" such as name, nickname, address, home phone number, mobile phone number, e-mail address, scheduled action, etc. Many data are stored such as "voice data" such as messages registered by the user, "still image data" such as photos of the user and family, and photos of the home, and "moving image data" such as movies taken by the user. These are updated at any time by the user operating the input means 50.

Each user operates the input means 50 at his or her desired time and accesses the server 400 via the public telephone line 300 using the data communication means 20 to form the group. From the dedicated storage area 411 to the information display device 1 of the user.
The data is stored (downloaded) in the storage units 42a and 100b.

The current position data downloaded by each user is automatically accompanied by a map A for grasping the position. This map A (described later) is stored in the standard storage area of the server 400. A necessary part is selected from the map database stored in 412 according to the current position data.

Thus, the display member 31 of the display means 30
As shown in FIG. 4, information such as the current position of the user and the current position of another person is displayed with the map A as a background. At this time or in advance, the user The display design can be freely set in the same manner as, for example, customizing the personal computer screen to the user's preference. For this setting, the user interface (registered in the standard storage area 412 by the administrator of the server 400) UI) is copied to the storage unit 42 in advance. The UI includes an icon B indicating the current position of the user, an icon C indicating the current position of the other person, an icon D indicating the own home, an icon E indicating the home of the other person, and an icon F indicating the point of automatic reception of electronic mail addressed to the user. , An icon G used to display the group's scheduled action, and an icon H used to display the data of each user.
, Etc., which have a predetermined meaning.

By using the UI in which the icons B to H are displayed on the map A, the positional relationship and the like of the users in the group can be understood at a glance, and the cursor I appearing on the display member 31 is operated by the input means 50. By selecting (clicking) the predetermined icon, a predetermined operation can be performed.

That is, when the icon H is selected with the cursor I, the telephone number of the other person is displayed. By selecting a desired telephone number from these, a telephone call can be automatically made.

The icon F is arranged on the road on which the user intends to travel, and when the icon B matches the icon F, the terminal automatically communicates with the server 400 or the Internet service provider 500 to receive an e-mail addressed to the user. Can be performed. This can be used to check your email every morning during your commute,
It is convenient because it can automate daily regular actions.

As described above, the users in a specific group, which is a limited community, share the self current position data of each user in the dedicated storage area 411 of the server 400, and By automatically or manually downloading the self-current position data to the information display devices 100a and 100b, the display device 30 of the information display devices 100a and 100b displays the display member 31 of the user together with the living area map A of each user. By displaying the position and information of each user with icons B to H, each user can easily and easily use the information of the group to which the user belongs by using a specific UI. It is customizable to the group, not only practicality but also customization according to the individuality of each user. Shall in, a very high level of convenience.

The control means 40 controls the self-current position data to be automatically uploaded at a predetermined timing. The predetermined timing uses a constant moving distance, and the self-current position is If it does not change, for example, if the vehicle is stopped, the server 400 is connected via the public telephone line 300 using the data communication means 20.
Do not have access to Therefore, the generation of useless communication costs can be suppressed, which is economically preferable.

It is to be noted that such a setting can be arbitrarily set by each of the users, and that each user operates the input means 50 of the information display device 100 to control the control means 40. , And the storage unit 42 is set with “update at every fixed moving distance”, “moving distance to be updated timing”, and the like. Alternatively, these settings are performed on the server 400 by the user's operation, and the information display device 100 is operated in response to a request from the server 400.
May update the self-current position data.

In the case of such a configuration in which the self-current position data is updated every fixed distance, it is very difficult for the user to know at what timing the access was made. Considering the convenience of the user who wants to know the occurrence of such an access, the information display device 1 is displayed each time the access is performed (performed).
00 display means 30 or sound output means 60, for example,
It is extremely effective to set to output a message content such as "Access to server for updating current position data (I have done)" as display or audio. Such setting is performed by each user operating the input means 50 of the respective information display device 100 to give an instruction to the control means 40, and to output to the storage unit 42 "display or sound output" or "output timing". Or "message content at the time of output" or the like. Alternatively, these settings are made in the server 400 by the user's operation, and the information display device 10
It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which 0 outputs based on the setting. Of course, the display means 30 and the sound output means 60
It is also possible to use together.

The icon B indicating the current position of the user and the icon C indicating the current position of the other person on the display member 31 (display means 30) of the user information display device 100 are accessed at any timing. In order to easily recognize whether the icon is based on the data, it is effective to add the latest update information and display it integrally at a location near (for example, below) the icons B and C. For example, by displaying a display content such as "5 minutes ago" indicating the difference between the current time and the accessed time in units of one minute as the latest update information,
It is possible to easily grasp the status of the icon to which it is added. Such a display may be added to any of the icon B indicating the current position of the user and the icon C indicating the current position of the other person, and may be set to not be displayed if unnecessary. The user operates the input means 50 of each information display device 100 to control the control means 40.
, And registering “display the latest update information” and “display contents” in the storage unit 42.
Alternatively, it is also possible to adopt a configuration in which these settings are performed on the server 400 by the operation of the user, and the information display device 100 performs display based on the settings in response to a request from the server 400.

As described above, by changing the access timing relating to the update of the self-current position data from the conventional fixed time to the fixed distance, the update cycle can be extended, and the traffic load on the server 400 can be reduced. In addition, it is possible to reduce the communication cost of each user, and thus it is possible to construct an extremely economically useful system.

As an application example of this embodiment,
It is also possible to set so that the current position of each user is not notified to other users. That is, even if the current position is sent to the server 400 and updated at the timing of the access, the data related to the position is set not to be transmitted to the other users. This setting is performed by the user operating the input means 50 of the information display device 100 and the server 40.
0, but specifically, when the current location is included in a specific area, when a specific date and time or time zone, or when the user specifies, etc. It is also possible to set so that the data is not transmitted to other users. Such a setting can be used for a game or the like in which the specific user is hidden from other users and the specific user is searched for.

It has been described that the display using the GUI on the display member 31 of the display means 30 can be freely customized by the user according to his / her own preference. In addition, this includes selecting the designs of the icons B to H themselves. For example, it is also possible to register the icons B to H made of the unique designs created by the group in the server 400 so that the icons can be selected and used. It is.

It should be noted that such a GUI is desirably shared by the users in a specific group in order to prevent confusion about the meaning of the icons when using the information display device 100. For this purpose, it is efficient that the server 400 performs centralized management. In such a configuration, one of the users who has a managerial authority having a change authority operates the input unit 50 to access the server 400 from the information display device 100 of the user and change the setting of the server 400. In this case, the change is reflected in the display of the user on the information display device 100, and the icon changes.

Further, the information display device 100 can be composed of only a portable telephone or a personal data communication device. By configuring the information display device 100 with a single portable telephone or personal data communication device in this way, the weight and volume can be reduced, the portability is improved, and the convenience is further improved.

In order to realize the above, the information format (format) or various data to be used includes the HT currently used on the Internet.
ML (Hyper Text Markup Language), metadata,
Numeric data, graphic data, video data, audio /
Structured sentence XML (eXtensible Markup Language) using a markup language that can describe sound data, speech data, dictionary data used by speech recognition programs, etc.
Etc. are available.

[0043]

According to the present invention, since the self-current position data is updated every fixed distance, the public telephone is used to store the position information on the current position even though the current position has not changed. Useless communication such as accessing a server via a line is eliminated, and the occurrence of communication costs can be suppressed, which is economically preferable.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of an embodiment of an information display device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the above.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a system according to the above usage.

FIG. 4 is an exemplary view for explaining display relating to use of the above.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 100, 100a, 100b Information display device 10 Detecting means 20 Data communication means 30 Display means 31 Display member 40 Control means 41 Operation unit 42 Storage unit 50 Input unit 60 Audio output unit 200 GPS satellite 300 Public telephone line 400 Server 411 Special storage area 412 Standard storage area

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 2C032 HB08 HB22 HB31 HC01 HC08 HC13 HC16 HC31 HD03 2F029 AA02 AA07 AB07 AC02 AC14 AC18 AC19 5H180 AA01 AA21 BB04 BB05 CC02 CC12 EE10 FF04 FF05 FF27 FF33

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A detecting means for obtaining self-current position data relating to a current position of a user, and communicating with a server at a remote place when the current position changes in distance equivalent to a predetermined fixed moving distance. By transmitting the self-current position data to the server and receiving other person's current position data and map data related to the current position of one or more specific persons other than the self, these received data and the self-current position data An information display device, comprising: display means capable of synthesizing and displaying the information, control means for controlling at least the detection means and the display means, and input means for giving an instruction to the control means. 2. A communication device comprising: detecting means for obtaining self-current position data relating to a current position of the user; and communicating with a server at a remote location when the current position changes in distance corresponding to a predetermined fixed moving distance. Data communication means, transmitting the self-current position data to the server via the data communication means and receiving other person's current position data and map data relating to the current position of one or more specific persons other than the self, Display means capable of synthesizing the received data and the self-current position data for display; control means for controlling at least the detection means and the display means; and input means for giving an instruction to the control means. An information display device characterized by the above-mentioned. 3. A communication means for detecting self-current position data relating to the current position of the user, and communicating with a server at a remote location when the current position changes in distance corresponding to a predetermined fixed moving distance. Data communication means, transmitting the self-current position data to the server via the data communication means and receiving other person's current position data and map data relating to the current position of one or more specific persons other than the self, A display unit capable of synthesizing the received data and the self-current position data for display; a voice output unit; a control unit for controlling at least the detection unit, the display unit and the voice output unit; Input means for giving an instruction, and each time the communication is performed or performed, the display means and / or the sound output means relate to the communication. An information display device, wherein an instruction can be given to the control means by operating the input means so as to output a message content to be performed. 4. The information display device according to claim 2, wherein a portable telephone connectable to a public telephone line is used as said data communication means. 5. A portable telephone connectable to a public telephone line is used as said data communication means, and said detecting means, said display means, said control means, and said input means are integrated into said portable telephone. 3. The method according to claim 2, wherein
Or the information display device according to claim 3. 6. The display means adds the latest update information to the icon, which indicates the current position of the user based on the communication, at which timing the icon has been communicated. 6. The information display device according to claim 1, wherein the information is displayed. 7. The information display device according to claim 6, wherein the latest communication information indicates a difference between a current time and the communication time.