JP2005195426A - Group terminal system and group action grasping method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To guide a plurality of users to a prescribed destination by a portable terminal. <P>SOLUTION: In this system, each of potable terminals 10, 20, 30 has a position information notification part 111 for detecting position information showing the present position of own terminal and notifying a server device 40 of the detected position information. The server device has an inquiry processing part 441 for acquiring group information on the destination and persons intending participation in the group from a prescribed portable terminal 10, and transmitting information inquiring aye and nay of participation in the group to each potable terminal 20, 30 based on the acquired group information, a position recording part 442 for recording successively position information notified of from the potable terminal of a group member agreeing with participation in the group, and a route reply part 443 for transmitting information on the route of the group member to the destination based on the position information recorded by the position recording part. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for grasping the behavior of a group member using a mobile terminal such as a mobile phone.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is a technique for confirming each other's current location with a mobile terminal possessed by each group member when the members of a predetermined group take different actions. As this type of technology, for example, there are those described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 described later. The portable terminal device of Patent Document 1 provides each device with its own location information, and displays the location information obtained from another device on a map displayed by the device itself. In the system of Patent Document 2, when the user sends the mail address of another user whose current location should be confirmed from the mobile phone to the server, the server obtains current location information from the other user by e-mail, Supplied to the requesting user's mobile phone.
JP 2003-264861 A JP 2003-153320 A

  Both of the methods disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2 are suitable for grasping the mutual positional relationship between users. However, even if the above method is used for a purpose of traveling to a predetermined destination in a group such as leisure, it is difficult to determine whether or not the moving direction of the group members including themselves is appropriate. Moreover, in the system of the above-mentioned literature 2, every time a user receives an inquiry about the current location, it is necessary to respond by e-mail operation. Therefore, in the case of a user who is moving by a vehicle or the like, the current location cannot be notified promptly. There is an inconvenience.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a group terminal system and a group behavior grasping method that can smoothly guide a group member to a predetermined destination using a portable terminal.

  A group terminal system according to the present invention includes a mobile terminal possessed by a prospective participant of a group heading to a predetermined destination, and a server device capable of communicating with each mobile terminal via a network. Has a position information notification unit that detects position information indicating the current location of the terminal and notifies the server apparatus of the detected position information, and the server apparatus stores group information related to the destination and group participants. An inquiry processing unit that transmits information to the mobile terminals based on the acquired group information and asks whether or not to participate in the group based on the acquired group information, and mobile terminals of group members who have approved the participation in the group A position recording unit that sequentially records the position information notified from the location information of the group member to the destination based on the position information recorded by the position recording unit And a route reply unit for sending information about the road.

  Further, the group behavior grasping method according to the present invention is a system comprising a portable terminal possessed by a prospective participant of a group heading to a predetermined destination, and a server device capable of communicating with each portable terminal via a network. , Supplying the group information related to the destination and the prospective group participant from the portable terminal of the representative of the group to the server device, and the server device receiving the group information participates in the group based on the group information. Sending information asking whether or not it is possible to perform registration of a group member based on the answer to the inquiry, the mobile terminal of the registered group member sequentially notifies the server device of the current location information, The server device records the positional information sequentially notified from the mobile terminal of each group member, When requested an information on the path from the band terminal, it sends information about the route of the group members to the destination based on the recorded position information.

  According to the present invention, since the server device distributes information on the route to the destination of the group to the mobile terminal of the group member, each group member can be sent to the destination while grasping each other's behavior between the groups. It can be guided appropriately. In addition, if the user performs an operation for notifying group participation in advance, the terminal automatically notifies the location information thereafter, so even if the user is moving by a vehicle or the like, the current location is promptly notified. be able to.

[Example]
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment according to the present invention. The system 100 according to the embodiment includes a representative terminal 10 possessed by a representative of a group, personal terminals 20 and 30 possessed by prospective members of the group, and information that can be communicated with these terminals via the Internet 100a. Providing server 40. As the representative terminal 10 and the personal terminals 20 and 30, a mobile terminal capable of mobile communication such as a mobile phone or a small navigation device is used.

  The representative terminal 10 and the personal terminals 20 and 30 have the same configuration. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, the representative terminal 10 outputs so-called GPS that outputs position information of its own terminal obtained by satellite communication. (GPS mechanism 111 having a function of (Global Positioning System)), mail communication mechanism 112 for communicating with the information providing server 40 and other terminals by e-mail via the Internet 100a, and a screen display for presenting a message screen or a map screen to the user And a mechanism 113. The GPS mechanism 111 functions as a position information notification unit in the present invention, and transmits the position information of its own terminal to the information providing server 40. Note that a conventionally known technique can be used for the GPS function, and the description thereof is omitted here.

  The information providing server 40 includes a personal information database 41, a position information database 42, a route information database 43, and a control mechanism 44 that controls these databases. As shown in FIG. 1, the control mechanism 44 stores the group information notified from the representative terminal 10 in the personal information database 41, and asks each user of the group information whether or not to participate in the group. A location recording unit 442 that records location information notified from the terminal of the user who has accepted the inquiry in the location information database 42, and a route answering unit 443 that obtains a route to the destination and an estimated arrival time based on the recorded location information. And have. In the route information database 43, information used when the route answering unit 443 performs route search and predicted arrival time is registered, and the route answering unit 443 stores the obtained route and predicted arrival time data in this route. Record in the information database 43.

  The operation procedure of the system 100 according to the embodiment will be described with reference to the sequence diagram shown in FIG. Here, as an example, a procedure for using the present system when each user of the representative terminal 10 and the personal terminals 20 and 30 heads to the same destination will be described. First, when a user serving as a representative accesses the information providing server 40 from the representative terminal 10 via the Internet 100a in order to form a group for grasping the current group, that is, a group of actions to reach the destination (step A1). 3), information on the reception screen as shown in FIG. 3 is supplied from the information providing server 40 to the representative terminal 10.

  The reception screen of FIG. 3 displayed by the screen display mechanism 113 of the representative terminal 10 is a screen presented by the information providing server 40 to obtain group information. In the illustrated example, the current destination, the representative, A column for inputting the user name of the prospective participant, the e-mail address of each user, and the telephone number is provided. As a destination, in addition to direct input of a landmark name or address as in the illustrated example, a destination may be selected from predetermined options. Further, if necessary, an item for setting a moving means such as walking or using a vehicle can be provided. When the representative finishes the input on the reception screen, the representative transmits group information as the content from the representative terminal 10 to the information providing server 40 (step A2).

  When the information providing server 40 stores the group information data from the representative terminal 10 in the personal information database 41 and the position information database 42 (step A3), the inquiry processing unit 441 stores the personal terminal stored in the personal information database 41. Using the data of 20 and 30, information asking whether or not group participation is possible is transmitted to these users (step A4). Thereby, an inquiry screen as shown in FIG. 4 is displayed on the personal terminals 20 and 30.

  The screen shown in FIG. 4 asks whether or not to participate in the group, that is, whether or not the current location of the user up to the destination may be disclosed to other users. Accepting this inquiry means joining this group and grasping each other's actions within this group. A user who goes to the same destination but does not want to disclose the current location, or a user who cannot participate due to an emergency, can choose not to participate in the group. Thus, it is possible to prevent the user from unintentionally grasping the behavior by setting whether or not to join the group every time the group is organized.

  Here, for example, if the user of the personal terminal 30 does not want to disclose the current location and selects “No” on the inquiry screen of FIG. 4, the personal terminal 30 informs the information providing server 40 that the user does not understand the inquiry. (Step A5a). Upon receiving this notification, the inquiry processing unit 441 gives information indicating that the user does not participate in the group information of the user in the personal information database 41. Thereby, the user of the personal terminal 30 can head for the current destination without disclosing the current location.

  Further, for example, when the user of the personal terminal 20 selects “Yes” on the inquiry screen of FIG. 4 to join the group, the personal terminal 20 notifies the information providing server 40 of the current location information along with this ( Step A5b). The inquiry processing unit 441 of the information providing server 40 gives information indicating that the user participates in the group in the personal information database 41, and the position recording unit 442 receives the position information from the personal terminal 20 as the position information database 42. To store.

  Next, when the inquiry processing unit 441 obtains answers from all the users corresponding to the group information in the personal information database 41, the inquiry processing unit 441 notifies the representative terminal 10 of the contents of the answers (Step A6). Here, the confirmation screen as shown in FIG. 5 notifies that the user of the personal terminal 20 joins the group and the user of the personal terminal 30 does not participate. Thereby, the representative can clearly grasp the participants in the current group. If there is no response from the user for an inquiry regarding group participation for a predetermined period of time, it is desirable to prompt the personal terminal to repeat the inquiry several times, so that, for example, when the reception status of radio waves is not good, It is possible to cope with a case where the user does not notice the incoming call from the terminal. Further, if a response is not finally obtained after repeating several times, this is also notified on the screen of FIG.

  The screen of FIG. 5 displayed on the representative terminal 10 presents the current group member and asks the representative whether or not to accept this member configuration. When “OK” is selected, the information providing server 40 is notified of this and the position information of the representative terminal 10 (step A7).

  The information providing server 40 records in the personal information database 41 that the representative terminal 10 has been approved by the member, and stores the notified position information of the representative terminal 10 in the position information database 42. Each group member is notified that the service for grasping the behavior is to be started (step A8). With this notification, a notification screen as shown in FIG. 6 is displayed on the representative terminal 10 and the personal terminal 20 which are mobile terminals of the group members. Next, each of the representative terminal 10 and the personal terminal 20 automatically transmits the position information to the information providing server 40 every predetermined period or whenever a position change is detected by the GPS mechanism 111 of each of the representative terminal 10 and the individual terminal 20. The position recording unit 442 records the acquired position information in the position information database 42 (step A9).

  After the service is started, each terminal is provided with a menu screen 7a as shown in FIG. The screen 7a of FIG. 7 shows the types of information that can be provided from the information providing server 40. In the example shown in the figure, “current location confirmation” for grasping the current location of each group member, and the optimum destination. “Route search” and “estimated arrival time” for confirming the route and required time are set. Such information can be confirmed not only for itself but also for other group members, and when the user selects any item from the screen 7a, such as a screen 7b for designating a group member to be confirmed. A selection screen appears.

  Here, for example, when the user of the personal terminal 20 performs an operation of confirming the current location of the representative on the screens 7a and 7b, the route answering unit 443 of the information providing server 40 reads the representative terminal 10 from the location information database 42. The position information is extracted, and map information describing the current location based on the position information is supplied to the personal terminal 20 (step A10a). As a result, a guidance map such as a screen 7c showing the current location of the representative is displayed on the personal terminal 20. In addition to displaying the address of the current location together with the guidance map as in the illustrated example, it may be set to display only the map or only the address.

  Further, for example, when the representative performs an operation of confirming his / her route to the destination at the representative terminal 10, the route answering unit 443 of the information providing server 40 reads the representative terminal 10 from the position information database 42. The position information is extracted, the route optimum for the representative is searched based on the position information and the destination, and the search result is added to the map information and supplied to the representative terminal 10 (step A10b). The optimum route is searched by a conventionally known method such as a route having the shortest required time or a route considering low cost. As a result, a guidance map such as a screen 7d for guiding the route to the destination is displayed on the representative terminal 10. In addition to displaying the guide map as a still image, the guide map is appropriately distributed according to the function of the mobile terminal, for example, guiding the route in real time with a moving image.

  For example, when the representative performs an operation of confirming the arrival time at the destination, the route answering unit 443 calculates the required time for the route obtained by the same procedure as the above route search, and the required time And the estimated arrival time of the representative based on the current time. As a result, a screen such as the screen 7e for presenting the estimated arrival time is displayed on the representative terminal 10.

  Through the above operation, each group member can obtain desired information at his / her terminal before reaching the destination. Thereafter, when the GPS mechanism 111 of each of the representative terminal 10 and the personal terminal 20 detects arrival at the destination based on the position information, it notifies the information providing server 40 to that effect (steps A11a and 11b).

  The information providing server 40 records the arrival of each group member in the position information database 42 and the route information database 43, and the position recording unit 442 and the route answering unit 443 that have detected this terminate the processing (step A12). Then, when the information providing server 40 notifies the representative terminal 10 and the personal terminal 20 that the service is to be terminated (step A13), an end screen as shown in FIG. 8 is displayed on each terminal. Each group member notifies the information providing server 40 that the service termination is accepted from their own terminal (step A14).

  Upon receiving the notification from the representative terminal 10 and the personal terminal 20, the information providing server 40 deletes the information recorded in the personal information database 41, the position information database 42, and the route information database 43, and ends this service. .

  As described above, according to the system 100 of the embodiment, the information providing server 40 provides the group member with information such as the current location, route guidance, or estimated arrival time regarding the route to the destination. Can be appropriately guided to a predetermined destination. Therefore, for example, when taking a dangerous action such as climbing, the system 100 can be used to cope with a user's distress. In addition, if the user answers in advance that he / she will join the group, the mobile terminal automatically transmits the position information to the information providing server 40 after the service starts, so even if the user is moving, You can quickly notify your current location.

  In the above embodiment, the system 100 is applied to a use where a plurality of users go to the same destination. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the present invention can also be applied to a use where a plurality of users go to different destinations. is there. In this case, for example, on the reception screen shown in FIG. 3, a setting for inputting a destination is made for each user, and the information providing server 40 generates service information regarding the route for each destination. Moreover, you may provide the item which confirms the destination of each group member in the menu screen of FIG.

  In the above embodiment, the information providing server 40 deletes the information in each database at the end of the service. However, the group information in the personal information database 41 obtained from the screen of FIG. . This can be applied, for example, to an application in which the constituent members are changed between the leisure trip / return trip. In that case, when the user arrives at the destination, the information indicating that he / she is a forward group member is deleted from the personal information database 41, and then the information providing server 40 is sent to each terminal in response to an instruction from the representative terminal 10. By proceeding with the processing from step A4 in order to newly ask whether or not the group has joined, the representative can form a member on the return path without re-registering the group information.

  In addition, even a user who has answered that he / she does not participate in the group in step A4 can be set so that he / she can join midway. For example, the information providing server 40 is notified that the position information of the terminal itself is disclosed on the way to the destination, and the information providing server 40 that receives the information recognizes the user as a group member based on the group information. And what is necessary is just to notify to the terminal of each group member that the said user participated on the way.

  Further, a user who does not participate in the group may be able to grasp the behavior of the group member from his / her terminal. That is, if it is a user included in the group information of FIG. 1, service information as shown in FIG. 7 can be browsed for other users. Thereby, for example, among those scheduled to join the group, a user who can no longer attend leisure due to an emergency can also confirm the behavior of the group members.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the group terminal system of the Example by this invention. It is a sequence diagram for demonstrating the operation | movement procedure of an Example. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the screen displayed on the portable terminal of an Example. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the screen displayed on the portable terminal of an Example. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the screen displayed on the portable terminal of an Example. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the screen displayed on the portable terminal of an Example. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the screen displayed on the portable terminal of an Example. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the screen displayed on the portable terminal of an Example.

Explanation of symbols

100 System 100a Internet 10 Representative terminal 20, 30 Personal terminal 40 Information providing server 111: GPS mechanism, 112: Mail communication mechanism, 113: Screen display mechanism 41: Personal information database, 42: Location information database, 43: Route information database , 44: control mechanism, 441: inquiry processing unit, 442: position recording unit, 443: route answering unit

Claims (11)

A portable terminal possessed by each prospective participant of the group heading for a predetermined destination, and a server device capable of communicating with each portable terminal via a network;
Each portable terminal has a position information notification unit that detects position information indicating the current location of the terminal and notifies the server apparatus of the detected position information;
The server device obtains group information regarding the destination and a prospective group participant from a predetermined portable terminal, and sends an inquiry to each portable terminal to inquire whether or not to participate in the group based on the obtained group information. A processing unit, a position recording unit that sequentially records position information notified from a mobile terminal of a group member who has accepted participation in the group, and the group up to the destination based on the position information recorded by the position recording unit A group terminal system comprising: a route answering unit for sending information related to a member's route.   2. The group according to claim 1, wherein the route answering unit of the server device includes means for searching for a route from the current location indicated by the position information to the destination and sending a result of the search as information relating to the route. Terminal system.   3. The group terminal system according to claim 2, wherein the route answering unit further comprises means for calculating an estimated arrival time at the destination in the route and sending the result of the calculation. Each of the mobile terminals has means for displaying a map on the screen,
The group terminal system according to claim 2, wherein the route answering unit of the server device sends map information to which the route is assigned as information about the route.   The position information notification unit of each mobile terminal includes means for detecting arrival of the group member at the destination based on position information and transmitting information indicating the arrival to the server device. The group terminal system according to 1. A server device capable of communicating via a network with a mobile terminal possessed by each of the prospective participants of a group heading to a predetermined destination,
An inquiry processing unit that acquires group information about the destination and a prospective group participant from a predetermined portable terminal and transmits information asking whether or not to participate in the group based on the acquired group information to each portable terminal; and A position recording unit that sequentially records position information notified from the mobile terminal of the group member who has accepted participation in the group, and information on the route of the group member to the destination based on the position information recorded by the position recording unit And a route answering unit for sending the message.   7. The server apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the route answering unit includes means for searching for a route from the current location indicated by position information to the destination and sending a result of the search as information on the route.   8. The server apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the route answering unit further includes means for calculating an estimated arrival time at the destination in the route and sending the result of the calculation.   The server device according to claim 7, wherein the route answering unit transmits map information to which the route is assigned as information related to the route.   A program that causes a computer to operate as the server device according to any one of claims 6 to 9. In a system comprising a mobile terminal possessed by a group of prospective participants toward a predetermined destination, and a server device capable of communicating with each mobile terminal via a network,
Supplying group information related to the destination and group participants from the portable terminal of the representative of the group to the server device,
The server device that has received the group information transmits information asking whether or not to participate in the group based on the group information to each mobile terminal, and performs group member registration based on an answer to the inquiry,
The registered group member mobile terminal sequentially notifies the server device of the current location information,
The server device records the position information sequentially notified from each group member's mobile terminal, and when the route information is requested from each group member's mobile terminal, based on the recorded position information to the destination A group behavior grasping method characterized by transmitting information on the route of the group member.

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