JP2003143300A - Method and system for supporting moving of user with user terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method and a system for supporting a user so that the user can exactly move to a designated place in a designated time. SOLUTION: A target time and the destination are inputted by the user while using a user terminal such as portable telephone beforehand and inputted data and a present location are managed by a move supporting system installed in a base station. The base station outputs information such as departure time, moving route and transportation expenses to the user terminal as needed and as occasion demands. In the departure time, the departure time is reported to the user by calling due to the user terminal and the user starts moving to the destination on the basis of the information from the user terminal. The base station sends move support information such as moving route and transportation expenses to the user terminal as needed and as occasion demands even during the move of the user similarly to before the departure time.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention uses a user terminal such as a mobile phone, a support system installed in a base station, and a traffic information management center to accurately move a user to a designated place at a designated time. TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a method and system for providing a user with movement support information for doing so.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, with the spread of mobile phones, the mobile phones themselves are becoming more sophisticated, and the environment in which Java applications run on i-mode has been improved, and the range of applications is expected to be considerably wide. . The present invention is positioned as one of the applied technologies.

There are times when it is desired to immediately know what time to start when moving to a certain place at a certain time, and which transportation means is best to use. Such a requirement arises especially when one is out. If you know the schedule in advance, you can research the transportation method and departure time in advance, but you still need some research time. Furthermore, even if it has been researched in advance,
Services for investigating the most suitable transportation have already been considered, but these services have a problem that the user has to input both the departure point and the arrival point. Already, the service for investigating the most suitable transportation is considered. For example, a mobile information terminal equipped with a satellite positioning system (GPS) is used to move from the current position based on the current position information of the terminal obtained by the satellite positioning system and the destination position information input by the owner of the terminal. There is a method of presenting a transportation route using public transportation to the preceding position (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-148542).

[0004]

However, the portable information terminal equipped with the satellite positioning system according to the above prior art is GP
GPS receiver that receives the radio waves transmitted by S satellites, and CP that calculates the current time and location based on the satellite transmission data
U and R for storing this CPU control program, etc.
Since the OM and the RAM for storing route information are provided, there is a problem that the configuration of the mobile terminal becomes complicated and the price becomes expensive. Further, when the departure time is reached, if the user does not notice the departure time, a service that automatically notifies the user of the departure time is not provided. The present invention provides a method for solving these problems.

The present invention provides a method and system having a notifying function for calculating the arrival time and the departure time from the route search result and notifying the user of the departure time.

[0006]

According to the method and system of the present invention, a user inputs a destination time and destination in advance by using a user terminal such as a mobile phone, and the input data and the current position are stored in a base station. It is managed by the installed mobility support system, and the base station can change the departure time, travel route, and
Information such as transportation expenses is sent to the user terminal. At the departure time, the user terminal calls to notify the user of the departure time, and the user starts moving to the destination based on the information from the user terminal. While the user is moving, the base station sends information such as moving route and transportation cost to the user terminal as needed, as before the departure time.

[0007]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 is a book showing the relationship between a user terminal 2 of a user 1 such as a mobile phone, a base station 3 for obtaining traffic information from a traffic information management center 6, and a relay station 4. It is a block diagram of a user movement support system of the invention.

In FIG. 1, the present invention relates to a user terminal 2 owned and carried by a user 1 and having means for transmitting the contents of data communication to the user through screen display or voice guidance, and the user terminal 2 and the user terminal 2. Relay station 4 that can communicate
And a base station 3 that can communicate with the relay station 4 and can know the current position of the user terminal 2 by collecting information from the relay station 4, and always send accurate current time information to the base station 3. There is a time information center 5 that can perform the operations, and a traffic information center 6 that can collect the current delays or suspensions of traffic sent from each transportation facility and send the information to the base station 3 at any time. Have.

In FIG. 1, when the user 1 needs to move to a certain point at a certain time, the user terminal 2 is used to input the destination time and destination in advance. The input data and the current position are managed by the movement support system installed in the base station 3, and the base station 3 sends movement support information such as departure time, movement route, and transportation cost to the user terminal 2 as needed. . At the departure time, the user terminal 2 calls to notify the user 1 that it is the departure time, and the user 1 starts moving to the destination based on the information from the user terminal 2, and the base station 3 While the user 1 is moving, similarly to before the departure time, if necessary, transfer support information such as a moving route and transportation expenses is sent to the user terminal 2. As described above, the user 1 can accurately move to the destination at the target time.

The term "user terminal" as used herein refers to a mobile phone or a mobile information terminal having an information processing function and a display device,
It is assumed that the user is in a communication area and is in a communication state. After the mobile support service request, when the user terminal is outside the coverage area, or even within the coverage area,
Although the support service cannot be provided to the user when the power is off, the support service is resumed to the user as soon as communication with the user terminal becomes possible. Further, the communication here means both a general call and a data communication.

[0011]

[Processing operation of the movement support system of the present invention] When the user 1 moves to a place at a certain time, the arrival time and the destination are input to the user terminal 2. The user terminal 2 sends the input data to the base station 3. The base station 3, which receives the input data and the current position of the user terminal 2 from the received antenna (relay station 4), obtains from the traffic information center 6 any timetables, transfer information, fares, traffic delays and suspensions. Based on the traffic information, the optimum traveling route, transportation cost, traveling time, and departure time are calculated, and the calculation result is sent to the user terminal 2. here,
It is also possible to consider the plurality of candidates for the travel route and calculate the transportation cost, travel time, and departure time for each travel route. Further, the base station 3 can obtain the timetable, the transfer information, and the transportation information of the fare by accessing the database owned by the base station 3 without receiving the information from the transportation information center 6. The user terminal 2 which has received the calculation result notifies the user 1 of the calculation result by the display function or voice. Here, if there are multiple candidates for the travel route, the user selects which travel route he wants to travel to,
The route selection information is returned to the base station 3 through the user terminal 2.

Since the traffic delay, suspension of service, and the current position are changed at any time, the base station 3 recalculates at regular intervals. At that time, the current position, which changes moment by moment, is regarded as the latest departure point. Depending on the calculation results, the optimal travel route, transportation cost, travel time, and departure time may change. The latest calculation result is sent to the user terminal 2, and each time the user terminal 2 notifies the user 1 of the calculation result by a display function or voice.

When the current time reaches the departure time, the base station 3 sends the information to the user terminal 2, and the user terminal 2 notifies the user 1 of the departure time by notifying the calling. If the user terminal 2 has a clock function inside, the user terminal 2 can know by itself that the current time has reached the departure time, and therefore can call and notify without receiving information from the base station 3. After the departure time, the base station 3 recalculates at regular intervals in the same manner as before the departure time and sends out the latest calculation result to the user terminal 2, and the user terminal 2 displays the latest calculation result each time by a display function or voice. The calculation result is transmitted to the user 1. When the user 1 arrives at the destination, the base station 3 sends a service end signal to the user terminal 2. Upon receiving the service end signal, the user terminal 2 informs the user 1 of the service end by the display function or voice.

[0014]

Next, the processing operation of the embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3.

In FIG. 1, a user 1 who is going to move to a place at a certain time sends a service request to the base station 3 using the user terminal 2 (step 10 in FIG. 2).
1).

Upon receiving the service request from the user terminal 2, the base station 3 activates the service (step 20 in FIG. 2).
1).

The base station 3 which has started the service requests the user terminal 2 to input the destination and the estimated arrival time (step 202 in FIG. 2).

The user terminal 2 receiving the input request for the destination and the estimated arrival time from the base station 3 displays the input request for the destination and the estimated arrival time, and the user 1 inputs the destination and the estimated arrival time. To do. The user terminal 2 sends the input data to the base station 3 (step 102 in FIG. 2).

The base station 3 calculates the current position of the user terminal 2 by collecting information from the relay station 4 (step 203 in FIG. 2). If the user terminal 2 is in a communicable state with the relay station 4 and is receiving the service of this movement support system, the current position can be specified from the received antenna (relay station 4).

If the base station 3 determines that the current position of the user 1 and the destination are the same, the base station 3 jumps to step 212 (FIG. 3) to start the service termination process.
When it is determined that the current position of the user 1 is not the same as the destination (step 204 in FIG. 2), the process continues to step 205.

The base station 3 receives the timetable from the traffic information center 6,
Obtain information such as transfer information, fares, traffic delays and suspensions. Incidentally, the base station 3 can obtain the timetable, transfer information, and fare information without receiving the information from the traffic information center 6 by accessing its own database (step 205 in FIG. 2).

The base station 3 obtains the destination information, the estimated arrival time information, the current position information of the user terminal 2 obtained up to now,
Based on the timetable information, transfer information, fare information, and information such as traffic delays and suspensions, the base station 3 determines the optimal travel route, transportation cost,
Calculate travel time and departure time. However, if the call notification has already been given to the user terminal 2, that is, if step 210 (FIG. 3) has already been executed, it is not necessary to calculate the departure time. The optimum travel route here may be a plurality of routes such as a route having a short travel time, a route having a low transportation cost, or a route having a short travel distance. It is possible that the base station 3 or the user 1 can select which one of these routes is optimum (step 206 in FIG. 2).

If the calculation in step 206 is the second time or later, the base station 3 compares the previous calculation result with the present calculation result (step 207 in FIG. 3). As a result of the comparison, if the previous calculation result and the current calculation result are the same, the process jumps to step 209 (FIG. 3). If the calculation results are different, continue to step 208. If the calculation in step 206 is the first time, since it has not been calculated in 206 in the past, the result in step 207 is NO and step 20
Continue to 8.

The base station 3 sends to the user terminal 2 the information on the optimum travel route, transportation cost, travel time, and departure time calculated in step 206 (step 208 in FIG. 3).

The user terminal 2 displays the information received from the base station 3 on the screen and informs the user 1 (step 1 in FIG. 3).
03a).

If the current time is not the departure time, the process jumps to step 211. If the current time is the departure time, the process continues to step 210 (step 209 in FIG. 3).

The base station 3 sends a call notification request to the user terminal 2 to notify that the current time has reached the departure time (step 210 in FIG. 3). When the user terminal 2 has a clock function inside, the user terminal 2 can know by itself that the current time has reached the departure time, and therefore can notify the base station 3 to receive the information. In that case, the base station 3 does not have to send the call notification request to the user terminal 2.

The user terminal 2, which has received the call notification request from the base station 3 in step 210, calls the user 1 and notifies the user 1 that the departure time has come. If the user terminal 2 has a clock function inside, the user terminal 2 can know that the current time is the departure time by itself, so that the user 1 does not need to receive the call notification request from the base station 3. User 1 that the call was made and it was the departure time
(Step 104 in FIG. 3).

The user 1, who knows that it is time to move to the destination, starts moving as instructed by the user terminal 2 (step 105 in FIG. 3).

The base station 3 can wait for a preset fixed time (step 211 in FIG. 3). If this waiting time is set to 0 or a short time, the calculation amount per unit time executed by the base station 3 increases, and the base station 3 is burdened. Further, the amount of communication from the base station 3 to the user terminal 2 also increases. On the other hand, the time required for recalculation in response to a change in the current position of the user or a change in information such as traffic delay or suspension of service is shortened, so that the immediacy of the service can be improved. On the other hand, if a long time is set, the immediacy of the service is impaired, but on the other hand, the amount of calculation per unit time executed by the base station 3 is reduced, and the load on the base station 3 is lightened. Further, the amount of communication from the base station 3 to the user terminal 2 can be small. The setting of this fixed time can be freely changed depending on the calculation load condition of the base station 3 and the communication congestion condition. After the elapse of a certain time, the process jumps to step 203 (FIG. 2).

While the user 1 is moving to the destination in step 105, the user terminal 2 displays the information received from the base station 3 on the screen in step 208 and transmits it to the user 1 (see FIG. 3). Step 103b).

When the user 1 arrives at the destination, the base station 3
Sends a service end signal to the user terminal 2 to end the service. After transmitting the service end signal, the base station 3
Terminates the service (steps 212, 21 in FIG. 3).
3).

Upon receiving the service end signal from the base station 3, the user terminal 2 displays the end of service and notifies the user 1 of it. After the notification, the user terminal 2 ends the service (steps 106 and 107 in FIG. 3).

[0034]

In FIG. 1, the user 1 is the user terminal 2
By using, it becomes easy to move to a fixed place at a fixed time with the most suitable transportation. It is less likely that you will arrive at your destination earlier because the departure time is too early, and you will not waste time until the destination time, and conversely you will not be late for your destination because the departure time is too late. . Even if traffic delays or suspensions occur, the base station 3 can automatically recalculate the optimal travel route, transportation cost, travel time, departure time, etc., and notify the user 1 of the estimated arrival time. The error can be reduced.

In the present invention, since the base station 3 can automatically know the present location, the user 1 does not need to input the departure location. Also, when the user moves to another place, the base station 3 automatically recalculates the optimum moving route, transportation cost, moving time, departure time, etc., using that place as a new starting point, and the user 1 Can be notified. This point cannot be realized by existing services.

In the present invention, since the base station 3 is responsible for the main data processing part and calculation part, the user 1 can use the existing user terminal 2 as it is. Therefore, the user 1 does not need to purchase a new dedicated user terminal 2 in order to use the present invention.

Further, the company that owns or manages the base station 3 can improve the serviceability by the present invention, and can expect an increase in the users of the user terminal 2 and an increase in the usage time. Since the traffic information center 6 provides the traffic information to the company that owns or manages the base station 3, the information providing fee can be expected to increase in income.

Since the user 1 avoids the use of the transportation means in which the traffic delay or suspension has occurred, each transportation means can suppress the influence on the transportation users due to the traffic delay or suspension. it can.

By the base station 3 standing by for a certain period of time between the time of once calculating and the time of recalculating, the calculation amount of the base station and the communication amount from the base station to the user terminal can be reduced to some extent. . Further, the setting of this fixed time can be freely changed depending on the calculation load status of the base station 3 and the communication congestion status.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a movement support system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a processing example of the movement support system of the embodiment according to the present invention, and shows the entire processing steps together with the flowchart shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a processing example of the movement support system of the embodiment according to the present invention, and shows the entire processing steps together with the flowchart shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 user 2 user terminals 3 base stations 4 relay stations 6 Traffic Information Center

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Claims (16)

[Claims] 1. Information on destination and arrival time of a user, which is input from a user terminal carried by the user, timetables, transfer information, fares, and traffic delays, which are obtained from the traffic information center at any time. Based on traffic information including traffic and suspension, and current location information of the user terminal carried by the user, the base station calculates travel support information including transportation means to the destination, travel time, and departure time, and the travel support A method of supporting movement of a user, comprising sending information to said user terminal. 2. Information on a destination and an arrival time of the user, which is input from a user terminal carried by the user, a timetable and transfer information obtained from a database of the base station,
Based on the traffic information including the fare and the current location information of the user terminal carried by the user, the base station can move to the destination,
A method for supporting movement of a user, comprising calculating movement support information including a travel time and a departure time and sending the movement support information to the user terminal. 3. The base station further uses the timetable, transfer information, fare, and traffic information including traffic delays and suspensions that are obtained from the traffic information center at any time to obtain the movement support information to the destination. The method of supporting movement of a user according to claim 2, comprising calculating. 4. The method for supporting the movement of a user according to claim 1, wherein the base station constantly sends the calculated movement support information to the user terminal of the user. . 5. The use according to claim 1, wherein the base station includes transmitting a user call notification to the user terminal when the current time reaches the calculated departure time. To help people move. 6. The base station transmits the movement support information to a destination when a change in current location information of the user terminal is detected or a change in traffic information from the traffic information center is detected. The method for supporting the movement of a user according to claim 1, comprising recalculating and retransmitting the latest movement support information to the user terminal of the user. 7. The amount of calculation of the base station and the base by waiting for a certain time until the base station once calculates and recalculates the movement support information from the user's present location to the destination. The method for supporting the movement of a user according to any one of claims 1 to 3, comprising reducing a communication amount from a station to the user terminal. 8. The movement of a user according to claim 1, further comprising: calculating current location information of the user terminal from a relay station that has received input data from the user terminal. Method. 9. (a) A user terminal for inputting information of a destination to which a user moves and arrival time, and (b) timetable, transfer information, fare, traffic information including delay and suspension of traffic. Based on a traffic information center provided at any time, (c) destination and arrival time information input from the user terminal, current location information of the user terminal carried by the user, and traffic information from the traffic center A system for supporting movement of a user, which includes movement means to the destination, movement time information including movement time and departure time, and a base station which sends the movement time information to the user terminal. 10. (a) a user terminal for inputting information of a destination to which a user moves and arrival time; (b) information of a destination and arrival time input from the user terminal;
Based on the current location information of the user terminal carried by the user and the timetable, transfer information, and traffic information including fare obtained from the database of the base station, the means of transportation to the destination, the travel time, and the departure time are determined. Calculate the movement support information including
A system for supporting the movement of a user, including a base station that sends the movement support information to the user terminal. 11. The base station further uses the timetable, transfer information, fare, and traffic information including traffic delays and suspensions, which are obtained from the traffic information center, to obtain the movement support information to the destination. The system for supporting the movement of a user according to claim 10, including a calculation. 12. The system for supporting the movement of a user according to claim 9, wherein the base station constantly sends the calculated movement support information to the user terminal of the user. . 13. The use according to claim 9, wherein the base station includes sending a user call notification to the user terminal when the current time reaches the calculated departure time. System that supports the movement of people. 14. When the change of the current location information of the user terminal is detected, or when the change of the traffic information from the traffic information center is detected, the base station outputs the movement support information to the destination. Recalculating and retransmitting the latest movement support information to the user terminal of the user,
A system for supporting the movement of a user according to claim 9. 15. The amount of calculation of the base station and the base by waiting for a certain period of time until the base station once calculates and recalculates the movement support information from the user's current location to the destination. The system for supporting the movement of a user according to any one of claims 9 to 11, comprising reducing the amount of communication from a station to the user terminal. 16. The movement of a user according to claim 9, further comprising: calculating current location information of the user terminal from a relay station that has received input data from the user terminal. system.