JP2005084997A - Communication system, device and program and recording media - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable a communication device capable of sending and receiving messages including position information to efficiently create a send mail including position information and to efficiently process the position information included in a received mail. <P>SOLUTION: When a sending navigation device 11 detects a request to send email including position information (S101), a character, sign or the like showing the inclusion of the position information in the header part of the email is written and the email is sent (S104). A receiving navigation device 12 performs a data analysis processing (S105a) for the header part, and if the header part contains a character or sign showing the inclusion of the position information, enables the position information received to be set on a destination setting screen as a destination or a route (S107). Guidance to the destination is started according to those settings (S108). <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a communication system and a communication apparatus for exchanging messages, and more particularly to transmission / reception of messages attached with location information.

  In recent years, navigation devices, which have been actively used, allow users to set specific points such as departure and destination, and display the set points and the current position of a vehicle on a road map. And provide location information to the passengers. Then, the route from the current position can be searched using the set point as the destination, and the occupant can be guided to the destination.

  Furthermore, an e-mail transmission / reception system using a navigation device having communication means is applied, and the received e-mail can be guided by voice. It is also possible to send and receive e-mails including position information such as current position information that can be acquired by the navigation device and set point information.

As a technology using an electronic mail including such location information, an in-vehicle information communication device that enables confirmation of the received location information and its detailed information on a map displayed on a display device (for example, a patent) There is a message exchange system that enables setting of a destination based on received position information (see, for example, Patent Document 2).
Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2003-109185 ([0041] to [0043] FIGS. 13 and 14). JP 2002-334139 A ([0044] to [0053] FIGS. 3 and 4).

  However, in any of the above prior arts, a method for using an e-mail including position information is described, and a specific method for creating and receiving an e-mail including position information is not disclosed. In addition, when sending and receiving actual e-mails, both e-mails that contain location information and e-mails that do not contain location information (normal e-mails) are received together. However, it is not clear how accurate position information is transmitted / received under these circumstances.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and provides a function for efficiently and selectively creating a transmission mail including position information in a communication apparatus capable of transmitting a message including position information. Objective. A second object of the present invention is to provide a function for efficiently processing position information included in received e-mail from received mail in which an e-mail including position information and an e-mail not including position information are mixed. .

  In order to achieve the above object, according to the first aspect of the present invention, in a communication system capable of transmitting and receiving an e-mail including location information between a first mobile unit and a second mobile unit, The mobile unit writes the information related to the position information attached to the header part of the e-mail by the header writing unit when creating the e-mail including the position information, and then transmits the e-mail by the transmission unit. And Then, the second mobile unit receives the electronic mail transmitted from the first mobile unit by the receiving unit, and based on the analysis of the header part of the received electronic mail by the header unit analyzing unit, the position information is stored in the electronic mail. In the case where the position information is included in the e-mail, the position information is extracted by the extracting means.

  By attaching the information related to the position information attached to the e-mail by the first mobile unit to the header part of the e-mail, the second mobile unit includes the position information in the e-mail only by checking the header part. It is possible to determine whether or not. Also, if you want to receive only e-mails that include location information, you can determine whether to receive e-mails by checking only the header part, eliminating the need for cumbersome selection processing and reducing communication charges. . In addition, when creating an ordinary e-mail that does not include location information on the first mobile unit, the e-mail is received on the second mobile unit because information related to the location information is not written in the header part. At this time, the e-mail is analyzed as not including position information, and an e-mail including position information and an e-mail not including position information can be distinguished.

  According to the invention described in claim 2, claim 7, or claim 13, the location information includes at least a current location, a transit location, a destination, a meeting location, a landmark location, a home, and a memory registration location. Since any one of them is included, the first moving body can transmit position information according to the situation, and the second moving body can move considering the received position information. Become.

  Further, according to the third aspect of the present invention, in the communication device capable of acquiring the position information and transmitting the e-mail including the position information, it is determined whether or not the position information is transmitted by the determination unit. If it is determined that the position information is to be transmitted, the position information to be transmitted is selected by the selecting means, the position mail creating means attaches the selected position information to the e-mail, and the header of the e-mail is sent. It is possible to write information on the attached position information. On the other hand, if it is determined by the determining means that the position information is not transmitted, an e-mail is generated by the mail generating means. Then, the e-mail created by the position mail creating means or the mail creating means is transmitted by the transmitting means. Accordingly, the user can select whether or not to attach the position information to the e-mail, and when attaching the position information, the user can select the position information to be attached. Then, it becomes possible to create an e-mail in which information related to position information is written in the header portion. In addition, if information related to position information is written to the header portion in a predetermined format, it is possible to perform processing that takes over the format at the time of reception processing, and the burden on software can be reduced.

  Furthermore, in the invention according to claim 4 or claim 10, the information related to the position information written in the header part is information indicating that the position information is included in the e-mail. Presence / absence and type of position information can be written in the header. Thereby, it becomes possible to obtain the minimum information of the position information attached to the e-mail only by analyzing the header part.

  According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, in the communication device capable of receiving an electronic mail, the header part of the electronic mail received by the header part analyzing means is analyzed, and the received electronic mail includes the position information. When the mail is analyzed, the position information is extracted by the extracting means. This eliminates the need for the user to determine whether or not the received e-mail contains position information. If the position information is included, the user can extract the position information. Since the location information can be extracted, the user can obtain the location information attached to the e-mail without performing a troublesome operation.

  According to the invention described in claim 6, in the invention described in claim 5, the position information extracted by the extracting means can be set as a selection point by the setting means. Therefore, the user only needs to determine whether or not to set the extracted position information as a selection point, and can make settings based on acquisition and determination of new position information without performing any troublesome operations. It becomes. Note that the selected point here means a point that can be set by a navigation device such as a destination or a waypoint.

Furthermore, according to the invention described in claim 8, by executing a communication program, when transmission / reception of an electronic mail including position information is executed between the first mobile body and the second mobile body, Information related to the position information is written in the header part of the e-mail including the position information created by the first moving body by the header writing means, and then the e-mail created by the sending means is transmitted. And when receiving the e-mail sent by the second mobile unit by the receiving means,
The header part of the email received by the header part analysis means is analyzed to analyze whether or not the location information is included in the email. As a result of the analysis, when it is analyzed that the position information is included in the e-mail, the position information can be extracted by the extracting means.

  The first mobile unit attaches information related to the location information to the header part of the e-mail, so that the second mobile unit determines whether or not the e-mail contains the location information simply by checking only the header part. It becomes possible to do. Also, if you want to receive only e-mails that contain location information, you can determine whether to receive e-mails by checking only the header part, eliminating the need for cumbersome selection processing and reducing communication charges it can. In addition, when creating an ordinary e-mail that does not include location information on the first mobile unit, information related to the location information is not written in the header portion, so the e-mail was received on the second mobile unit. At this time, the e-mail is analyzed as not including position information, and an e-mail including position information and an e-mail not including position information can be distinguished.

  According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, the position information can be acquired by executing the communication program, and the communication device capable of transmitting an e-mail including the position information is positioned by the determining means. If it is determined whether or not to transmit information and it is determined that the location information is to be transmitted, the location information to be transmitted is selected by the selection means, and the selected location information is attached to the e-mail by the location mail creation means. If the position information is determined not to be transmitted by the determining means, the information related to the position information attached to the header portion of the e-mail can be written. Features. And it is made to function so that the position mail preparation means or the electronic mail prepared by the mail preparation means may be transmitted by the transmission means. Accordingly, the user can select whether or not to attach the position information to the e-mail, and when attaching the position information, the user can select the position information to be attached. Then, it becomes possible to create an e-mail in which information related to position information is written in the header portion. Further, if the information related to the position information is written in the header part in a fixed format, it is possible to perform processing that takes over the format at the time of reception processing, and the burden on the software can be reduced.

  In the invention according to claim 11, when a communication program is executed, a communication device capable of receiving an e-mail is analyzed by analyzing a header portion of the e-mail received by the header portion analyzing means. When it is analyzed that the e-mail includes the location information, the location information attached by the extraction means is extracted. This eliminates the need for the user to determine whether or not the received e-mail contains position information. If the position information is included, the user can extract the position information. Since the location information can be extracted, the user can obtain the location information attached to the e-mail without performing a troublesome operation.

  Furthermore, according to the invention described in claim 12, in the invention described in claim 11, the position information extracted by the extracting means can be set as a selection point by the setting means. Therefore, the user only needs to determine whether or not to set the extracted position information as a selection point, and can make settings based on acquisition and determination of new position information without performing any troublesome operations. It becomes. Note that the selected point here means a point that can be set by a navigation device such as a destination or a waypoint.

(First embodiment)
Hereinafter, an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a vehicle navigation apparatus will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 4.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of the vehicle navigation device of the present embodiment. The vehicle navigation apparatus includes a current position detection unit 1, a map data storage unit 2, an operation unit 3, a communication unit 4, a control unit 5, a display unit 6, and an external memory 7. Each of the current position detection means 1 includes a known GPS receiver, gyroscope, vehicle speed sensor, and the like, and these are configured to detect the current position of the vehicle (own vehicle position) while interpolating each other. The map data storage means 2 includes a storage medium such as a DVD-ROM or HDD, and displays various maps such as map data, map matching data, facility data, etc., and searches and guides routes. Data to do is stored.

  The operation means 3 is, for example, a touch switch integrated with the display means 6, a mechanical switch, a voice recognition device (not shown) for performing voice input, or a remote control terminal device (not shown) for performing remote operation input. Various input signals are output in response to user operations. And it has the function equivalent to the position mail preparation means, mail preparation means, setting means, and selection means in the present invention.

  The communication means 4 is constituted by a communication device such as a mobile phone, and enables transmission / reception of information to / from the outside. It has functions corresponding to the transmission means and the reception means in the present invention, and in this embodiment, the communication means 4 transmits / receives an electronic mail to / from another navigation apparatus.

  The control means 5 includes computer means such as a microcomputer, and includes a well-known CPU, ROM, RAM, I / O, and a bus line for connecting these structures. The ROM stores program data for navigation, a part of a communication program, and the like, and the RAM temporarily stores data necessary for executing the program, map data acquired from the map data storage means 2, and the like. The control means 5 has a function of executing various control processes in an in-vehicle navigation device such as e-mail transmission / reception processing, route search, and map display, which will be described later, by executing various programs.

  The display means 6 outputs the current location of the vehicle, a road map, etc., and informs the vehicle of such information. In general, a liquid crystal display device is mainly used, but a CRT display device, an organic EL display, or the like may be used. Then, additional data such as a vehicle position mark and a guide route generated based on the vehicle position information from the current position detection unit 1 and the map data acquired from the map data storage unit 2 are displayed on the display map. Realize the function. A speaker (not shown) may be used as a notification means other than the display means 6. The speaker generates sound in the vehicle, and can notify the user of information even when it is difficult for the user to obtain information from the display means 6 such as during traveling.

  The external memory 7 is composed of a writable non-volatile storage medium such as an HDD or a flash ROM. In this embodiment, the external memory 7 is used as a storage medium for storing data that should not be erased, such as an e-mail transmission destination address and transmission / reception mail. Is done.

  In the above-described configuration, the in-vehicle navigation device transmits / receives information including position information to / from another navigation device having communication means. FIG. 2 shows a transmission procedure of transmission source position information such as the current position and destination by the transmission side navigation device 11 and a reception procedure of the transmission source position information by the reception side navigation device 12 and a setting procedure based on the reception information. It shows the basic procedure. The transmission side navigation device 11 and the reception side navigation device 12 are configured in the same manner as the vehicle navigation device shown in FIG.

  First, when the transmission side navigation apparatus 11 detects a transmission request for an e-mail including current location information or destination information on the e-mail creation screen displayed on the display means 6 (S101), the transmission destination address or It confirms that it transmits (S102). When the transmission is confirmed by the user, the control means 5 creates an e-mail including position information (S103), and transmits the created e-mail (S104). At this time, the e-mail is written with characters, codes, etc. indicating that the location information such as the current location and the destination is included in the header portion including the title, and the text portion indicates a map code specifically indicating the location information. (A registered trademark of Denso Corporation) and a message including longitude / latitude data is written.

  In the reception-side navigation device 12, as the mail reception process, the control unit 5 first performs a data analysis process for the header part (S105a) or a data analysis process for the text part (S105b). If the header portion includes characters or codes indicating that the position information is included, the user is asked whether or not to set the position information (S106). When receiving a position information setting request from the user, the control means 5 automatically extracts the position information included in the text portion, and the position information can be set as a destination or waypoint on the destination setting screen. (S107), destination guidance is started based on the setting (S108).

  Through the above procedure, transmission of an e-mail including position information such as the current position and destination from the transmission-side navigation device 11 can be performed with a simple operation, and the reception-side navigation device 12 receives an e-mail including position information. In this case, the received position information can be set by a simple operation.

  Hereinafter, specific processing of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the transmission side mail process in the transmission side navigation apparatus 11. In response to a mail creation request from the user, the sending mail processing in FIG. 3 starts. First, in step (hereinafter abbreviated as S) 200 in FIG. 3, a mail creation screen for creating an email is displayed on the display means 6 (see FIG. 2: S101). Here, buttons indicating points such as “Destination information” and “Present location information” are provided on the mail creation screen, and it is possible to select whether or not to add position information to the email being created.

  Then, in S201, it is determined whether or not it has been selected to add position information such as “destination information” or “current location information”. When the user chooses not to add location information to the e-mail (S201: No), the user performs normal e-mail creation processing such as writing a message in the same manner as the conventional e-mail creation processing (S207), and goes to S204. Transition. On the other hand, if it is selected to add position information to the e-mail (S201: YES), it indicates that the control means 5 includes position information such as “current location” and “destination” in the header of the created mail. Characters and codes are written (S202), and in S203, position information is specifically written in the text part as map codes and longitude / latitude data (see FIG. 2: S102).

  In S204, it is obtained by allowing the user to select or input a destination address to which the created electronic mail is to be transmitted (see FIG. 2: S103). Here, the destination address and transmission contents are displayed on the display means 6 so that they can be confirmed. After confirming the transmitted mail, the user performs a transmission operation by pressing the “send” switch or the like. When the transmission side navigation device 11 detects a transmission operation from the user in S205, the transmission side e-mail process is completed, and the e-mail created in S206 is transmitted.

  Next, the reception side mail processing in the reception side navigation device 12 will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 4, when the reception of the e-mail is detected in S300, the process proceeds to S301, and whether or not a character or a code indicating that position information such as “current location” or “destination” is included in the header portion is described. (See FIG. 2: S105a). When it is determined in S301 that a character or code including position information is not described (S301: YES), a normal mail receiving process such as displaying a text part on the display means 6 or reading out a message by voice (S307), and the receiving mail processing is terminated.

  On the other hand, if it is determined that the character or code indicating that the position information is included in the header part (S301: YES), the sender and the type of the position information are acquired from the header part in S302, and the display means 6 and informs the user by voice and asks the user whether or not to set position information as a guide point such as a destination or waypoint (see S303 and FIG. 2: S106). In S304, if it is determined that the user has operated not to set the position information as a guide point (S304: No), the receiving side mail process is terminated. If it is determined that the operation has been performed to set the position information as the guide point (S304: YES), the destination setting screen on which the position information received in advance is selected is displayed on the display unit 6 (S305 and FIG. 2: Refer to S107), enabling destination setting and waypoint setting by a simple operation. Then, guidance based on the setting is started (see S306 and FIG. 2: S108).

  As described above, according to the in-vehicle navigation device of the present embodiment, when sending / receiving e-mail, it is possible to efficiently create a send mail including position information and efficiently process the position information included in the received mail. It becomes possible. That is, in the transmission-side navigation device 11 (first mobile unit), information related to the position information attached to the e-mail is written in the header of the e-mail, so that the e-mail including the position information can be transmitted without troublesome operations. Can be created. And in the receiving side navigation apparatus 12 (2nd mobile body), since it is determined whether position information is contained in an e-mail only by confirming only a header part, it is not necessary to perform troublesome judgment operation, The received position information can be set as a destination or the like. As a result, route guidance based on the set position information becomes possible, so that the transmission-side navigation device 11 (first mobile body) and the reception-side navigation device 12 (second mobile body) are positioned according to the situation. It is possible to send and receive information and perform synchronized movement.

  In this embodiment, S201 is a determination means and selection means in the present invention, S202 is a header writing means and position mail creation means, S206 is a transmission means, S207 is a mail creation means, and S300 is a reception means. , S301 corresponds to the header part analysis means, S303 corresponds to the extraction means, and S305 corresponds to the setting means.

  In the present embodiment, the current position information and the position information of the destination are transmitted and can be set as the destination by the receiving side navigation device 12. However, the position information to be transmitted is not limited to the above points, The waypoint, home, and memory registration point set by the side navigation device 11 may be transmitted and set as a waypoint and a new memory registration point by navigation on the receiving side. In addition, the navigation device having the functions of both the navigation device 11 on the transmission side and the navigation device 12 on the reception side may be able to transmit and receive position information.

  A plurality of pieces of position information may be transmitted. In this case, the position information that is desired to be used can be set by displaying the position information received by the receiving-side navigation device 12 in a manner that allows the user to select the position information. And Further, it is possible to simultaneously transmit a plurality of e-mails including location information and non-existing e-mails created in advance from the transmission-side navigation device 11.

  Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the navigation device 12 on the receiving side analyzes the header part of the received e-mail to determine whether or not the location information is attached. Even so, it is possible to acquire the position information by extracting the details of the position information (map code and longitude / latitude data) included in the text part of the e-mail.

  And although this embodiment showed what was targeted for the navigation mounted in the vehicle, not only a vehicle but another mobile body (bicycle, a motorbike, a person, etc.), or the mobile phone which can acquire and set position information The present invention can be similarly applied to portable terminals such as personal digital assistants (PDAs) and PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants).

It is a block diagram of the vehicle-mounted navigation apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the basic flow which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the flowchart of the transmission side mail process in this invention. It is a figure which shows the flowchart of the receiving side mail process in this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Current position detection means 2 ... Map data storage means 3 ... Operation means 4 ... Communication means 5 ... Control means 6 ... Display means 7 ... External memory

Claims (14)

In a communication system that performs transmission and reception of e-mails including position information between a first mobile unit and a second mobile unit,
The first mobile unit includes a header writing unit that writes information related to position information attached to a header part of the e-mail when an e-mail including the position information is created;
After writing the information by the header writing means, having a transmission means for sending an e-mail;
The second mobile unit includes a receiving unit that receives the electronic mail transmitted from the transmitting unit;
Analyzing the header part of the email received from the receiving means, and analyzing whether the email contains location information;
A communication system comprising: extraction means capable of extracting position information included in the e-mail when the header section analysis means analyzes that the e-mail includes position information. The communication system according to claim 1, wherein the position information includes at least one of a current position, a transit point, a destination, a meeting place, a landmark point, a home, and a memory registration point. In a communication device capable of acquiring position information and transmitting an e-mail including the position information,
Determining means for determining whether to transmit the position information;
A selection unit that selects position information to be transmitted when the determination unit determines to transmit the position information;
A position mail creating means for attaching the position information selected by the selection means to an e-mail and writing information relating to the selected position information in a header portion of the e-mail;
A mail creating means for creating an e-mail when it is determined that the position information is not transmitted by the determining means;
A communication apparatus comprising: the location mail creation means and / or a transmission means for sending an email created by the mail creation means. 4. The communication apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the information related to the location information is information indicating that location information is included in the electronic mail. In a communication device capable of receiving e-mail,
Header part analysis means for analyzing the header part of the received email;
A communication apparatus comprising: extraction means for extracting position information when the e-mail received by the header part analysis means is analyzed as e-mail including position information. The communication apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising setting means capable of setting the position information extracted by the extracting means as a selection point. The position information includes at least one of a current position, a transit point, a destination, a meeting place, a landmark, a home, and a memory registration point. The communication device described. In a communication program in which transmission / reception of an e-mail including position information is executed between a first moving body and a second moving body,
Header writing means for writing information related to the position information to the header portion of the e-mail when creating the e-mail including the position information in the first mobile unit;
Transmitting means for transmitting an e-mail after writing the information by the header writing means;
Receiving means for receiving the e-mail transmitted by the transmitting means by the second mobile unit;
Analyzing the header part of the email received by the receiving means, and analyzing whether the email contains location information;
An extraction means capable of extracting the position information when the header part analysis means analyzes that the e-mail contains position information. A communication device capable of acquiring position information and capable of transmitting an e-mail including the position information,
Determining means for determining whether to transmit the position information;
A selection unit that selects position information to be transmitted when the determination unit determines to transmit the position information;
A position mail creating means for attaching the position information selected by the selection means to an e-mail and writing information on the selected position information in a header portion of the e-mail;
A mail creating means for creating an e-mail when it is determined that the position information is not transmitted by the determining means;
A communication program for causing the position mail creating means and / or the mail creating means to function as a sending means for sending an electronic mail created. The communication program according to claim 9, wherein the information related to the location information is information indicating that location information is included in the electronic mail. A communication device capable of receiving e-mail
Header part analysis means for analyzing the header part of the received email;
A communication program for causing an e-mail received by the header analysis unit to function as an extracting unit that extracts position information when it is analyzed that the e-mail includes position information. The communication program according to claim 11, further comprising setting means capable of setting the position information extracted by the extracting means as a selection point. The position information includes at least one of a current position, a transit point, a destination, a meeting place, a landmark point, a home, and a memory registration point. The communication program described. A computer-readable recording medium on which the communication program according to claim 8 is recorded.