JP2005223436A - Mobile terminal and positional information exchange system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a mobile terminal and a positional information exchange system whereby a position of the mobile terminal can be estimated without the need for using a GSP function and without providing the GPS function so as to eliminate the need for a communication charge. <P>SOLUTION: Each of mobile phones 103 to 105 may or may not be provided with the GSP function. The mobile terminal 106 at a particular position 107 in a shop or the like stores positional information and positional accuracy information of its own position acquired by the GPS function. Further, each of the mobile phones 103 to 105 and the mobile terminal 106 are provided with a function for making near distance wireless communication of their own positional information with each other. When the mobile phone 105 transmits a positional information request signal by the near distance wireless communication while the mobile phone 103 and the mobile terminal 106 exist within a near distance wireless communication available range with the mobile phone 105, the mobile phone 103 and the mobile terminal 106 receiving the signal transmits the positional information and the positional accuracy information of their own positions, the mobile phone 105 receives them to calculate its own position and its positional accuracy to estimate its own position. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a mobile terminal such as a mobile phone, and more particularly to a mobile terminal and a position information exchange system that enable self-position estimation.

  Conventionally, there is a high need for knowing your current location, and GPS (Global Positioning System) technology, which is often used in navigation systems (car navigation systems) mounted on vehicles, is known to meet this need. Yes.

  On the other hand, unlike a car navigation device mounted on a vehicle, a mobile terminal such as a mobile phone is a device that is not suitable for GPS due to restrictions on antenna size, power consumption, etc. Location information is also used on mobile phones by a technology called AGPS (Assisted GPS) that links and performs various positioning support processes on the positioning server side, and technology that uses the complementary nature of mobile phone networks and GPS. It is known to enable (for example, refer nonpatent literature 1).

  In addition, the mobile information terminal acquires location information by short-range wireless communication from information service stations installed at predetermined locations such as stations, bus stops, major intersections, underground shopping areas, and sightseeing spots. An information service system that can estimate the current position is also known (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  This is so that the portable information terminal can communicate with the information service station in a range of about 10 m via Bluetooth or near field communication using an infrared that can communicate in a range of about 8 m. When the mobile information terminal enters the area of about 10 m capable of short-range communication with the service station via Bluetooth, the portable information terminal can acquire the position information from the information service station by transmitting a request signal to the information service station. As a result, an area capable of near field communication by Bluetooth centered on the position of the information service station is displayed on the map on the display screen of the portable information terminal, and the own portable information terminal exists in this area. Can be estimated. Further, when the portable information terminal further approaches the information service station and infrared communication is enabled with the information service station, the position information can be acquired from the information service station. On the display screen, an arrow indicates that the position of the information service station on the map is the position of the portable information terminal.

  Furthermore, a system has also been proposed in which a mobile phone is provided with a function of measuring its own position by GPS and a Bluetooth wireless device is provided to enable short-range communication by Bluetooth between mobile phones (see, for example, Patent Document 2). ).

  In this system, each mobile phone performs self-position measurement by GPS and holds self-position information. When the user performs a predetermined operation on the mobile phone serving as the transmission source, the user's telephone number, the other party's telephone number, and the measured position information are encrypted from the Bluetooth wireless device and repeatedly transmitted at regular time intervals. When the other party's mobile phone is activated, it is received by the Bluetooth wireless device, and when it is detected that it is sent to itself, the source phone number and its location information are extracted. This is decrypted and displayed on the display screen. In this case, if the phone book information is included, the name of the caller user may be displayed instead of the phone number, and the caller location is displayed on the map together with the self location. You may make it do.

In this way, the caller can notify the other party of his / her own location. For example, there are many simultaneous users at the event venue and the line is busy, and the mobile phone base station cannot handle this. Even at times, it is possible to inform the other party of his / her position and to facilitate mutual confirmation of the positions.
"Mobile Directory" 2003 Seamedia Corporation November 28, 2002 p.177-187 FIG. 10 of JP2003-116160A. JP 2003-230173 A

  However, the technology described in Non-Patent Document 1 cannot be used with a mobile phone not equipped with a GPS antenna, and performs data communication with a positioning server even with a mobile phone equipped with a GPS antenna. Because communication charges are incurred, it is not practical to perform positioning frequently. In addition, although it can receive radio waves from mobile phone base stations, it will cause a very large positioning error in places where radio waves from GPS satellites cannot be received, and neither radio waves from mobile phone base stations nor GPS satellites can be received. There was a problem that the location could not be measured at all.

  In the technique described in Patent Document 1, since position information from an information service station can be acquired and used, even if a GPS antenna is not installed (that is, position information from a GPS satellite cannot be used). The self-position can be estimated from the obtained position information, but the position information can be obtained only at a location within a range where short-range communication of about 10 m with such an information service station is possible. If it is out of the range, the position information can no longer be acquired. As described above, in the technique described in Patent Document 1, the position information can be acquired only at a predetermined place (that is, where the information service station is installed), and the position information is acquired in this way. The place where the user can do it is not known to the user, and the location information cannot be acquired anytime and anywhere when the user desires.

  Furthermore, in the technique described in Patent Document 2, it is possible to acquire position information indicating the current position of another mobile phone within a range where short-range communication is possible. It is acquired for knowing the position of the mobile phone (of the other party), and is not used for knowing the position of the mobile phone that received (acquired) it. In order to measure the self position, position information from a GPS satellite is used.

  Also, for example, if you get away from your companion in an unfamiliar town, you can communicate with each other by making a phone call if you have a mobile phone with each other. When it is not possible to recognize the location, it is impossible to inform each other of the location, and it takes time and effort to deal with it. On the other hand, with the technique described in Patent Document 2, it is possible to acquire position information of another mobile phone and know the current position of the other mobile phone. However, this is possible for mobile phones that are within a short range communication range such as Bluetooth, and the position of the mobile phone outside the short range communication range cannot be confirmed.

  The object of the present invention is to solve such a problem, and when the user desires or at a predetermined time interval, the position information for recognizing the self position or the position information of a specific partner is obtained without requiring a communication fee. It is an object of the present invention to provide a portable terminal and a position information exchange system that can be acquired.

  Another object of the present invention is to provide a portable terminal and a position information exchange system that can acquire useful information linked to a place as well as position information.

  Still another object of the present invention is to provide a portable terminal and a position information exchange system that can easily estimate position information of an arbitrary place without requiring a call charge.

  In order to achieve the above object, a portable terminal according to the present invention includes a short-range wireless communication means for performing short-range communication with a nearby portable terminal by radio, and a position of a neighboring portable terminal received by the short-range wireless communication means. Self-position estimating means for processing information to estimate self-position, holding means for storing and holding self-position information representing the self-position estimated by the self-position estimating means, and a position information request signal from a nearby portable terminal Response means for transmitting the self-location information held by the holding means from the short-range wireless communication means.

  Then, the self-position estimation means receives the position accuracy information indicating the accuracy of the position information from the nearby portable terminal by the short-range wireless communication means, and estimates the position accuracy together with the self-position information. The holding means also stores and holds position accuracy information indicating the position accuracy of the self-position estimated by the self-position estimating means, and the response means responds to the position information request signal with the self held in the holding means. The position information and the position accuracy information are transmitted from the short-range wireless communication means.

  Further, it comprises at least one of a communication means for receiving a GPS signal from a GPS satellite and a communication means for receiving a positioning signal from a positioning server, and processes a reception signal by such a communication means to detect its own position, Self-position acquisition means for holding the detected self-position as position information in the holding means is provided.

  Furthermore, when the position accuracy of the self-position estimated by the self-position estimation means exceeds a predetermined value set in advance, the self-position acquisition means acquires the self-position information and updates the self-position information of the holding means To do.

  Further, every time a predetermined time elapses, the movement detection means for detecting the movement distance, and the self-position information held in the holding means are corrected by the movement distance detected by the movement detection means, and the holding means as new self-position information. And self-position information correcting means for updating the self-position information to be held in the apparatus.

  Furthermore, a display means is provided, and the estimated self position and its position accuracy are displayed on the screen by the display means.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a positional information exchange system that enables short-range wireless communication of positional information between neighboring mobile terminals, each of which is one of the mobile terminals described above. There is something.

  In order to achieve the above object, a portable terminal according to the present invention uses the identification information of the other portable terminal requesting location information as the information of the destination in the portable terminal having the above-described configuration. A location information request instructing unit that adds destination information and source information to the location information request signal and transmits the location information request signal from the short-range wireless communication unit, and a transmission added to the location information received by the short-range wireless communication unit. The determination means for determining whether the destination information matches the identification information of the self, and, as a result of the determination by the determination means, if the destination information does not match the identification information of the self, the location information to which the destination information is added is Re-transmission means for transmitting using short-range wireless communication means.

  Further, the identification information of another portable terminal capable of requesting position information is encrypted and registered, and a card-like recording medium having a decryption function for decoding the encrypted identification code is provided, and position information request instruction means Uses the encrypted identification information registered in the card-like recording medium as the destination information, and the destination information received together with the position information by the short-range wireless communication means is encrypted. It is decoded by the decoding function of the medium and supplied to the determination means.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a positional information exchange system that enables short-range wireless communication of positional information between neighboring mobile terminals, each of which includes the above-mentioned retransmission means and the like. The mobile terminal is a mobile terminal, and the location information request signal or the location information transmitted from the short-range wireless communication means of these mobile terminals is specified by the location information request signal or the destination information added to the location information. Until then, other portable terminals that are not specified by the destination information and have a close positional relationship with each other are relayed and transmitted wirelessly.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to exchange position information and position accuracy information between neighboring mobile terminals, and the self-position and position accuracy are obtained using the acquired position information and position accuracy information. It is possible to estimate the self-location at any time and anywhere without using a positioning server and therefore without incurring a communication fee.

  In addition, since a network is constructed between mobile terminals using short-range communication and communication between mobile terminals is enabled using the network, the location information of a predetermined mobile terminal is stored in the network. And the position of the other portable terminal can be directly visually confirmed without incurring a communication fee.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
In the following embodiments, a mobile terminal carried by a user is described as a mobile phone, but may be another mobile terminal such as a PDA.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a first embodiment of a location information exchanging system according to the present invention, wherein 101 is a GPS satellite, 102 is a mobile base station, 103 to 105 are mobile phones, 106 is a mobile terminal, and 107 is a specific location. It is.

  In the figure, a GPS satellite 101 transmits a GPS signal for detecting position information by a portable terminal or the like while orbiting the earth. In addition, the mobile base station 102 performs line control of the mobile phone system and connects the mobile phone and the server by performing data communication between the mobile phones and connecting the mobile phone to the Internet or the like. A server is also provided, and this positioning server supports the position detection of the mobile phone in conjunction with the GPS satellite 101.

  It is assumed that the mobile phones 103 to 105 are carried by an individual (user) and the mobile terminal 106 is installed in a specific place 107 such as a store. And these mobile telephones 103-105 and the portable terminal 106 can perform near field communication of position information mutually. The short-range wireless communication is communication using Bluetooth or the like, and the communicable range is about 10 m.

  The cellular phones 103 to 105 may or may not have a function of receiving a GPS signal from the GPS satellite 101 and detecting its own position (hereinafter referred to as a GPS function), or a signal from a positioning server. A function for detecting the self-position by receiving (hereinafter referred to as a positioning server function). Moreover, you may provide either a GPS function or a positioning server function. However, the portable terminal 106 is intended to provide position information to a portable telephone (here, the portable telephones 103 to 105) that passes through a range in which the short-range wireless communication is possible. In order to provide accurate position information, the mobile phone 103 has a GPS function, and provides position information (hereinafter referred to as self-position information) of the self-position detected thereby to the mobile phones 103 to 105. Here, it is assumed that the mobile phone 103 has a GPS function, and the mobile phones 104 and 105 do not have a GPS function.

  FIG. 2 shows an internal configuration of an embodiment of a portable terminal (mobile phone) according to the present invention used in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 2 (a) shows a case where a GPS function is also provided. FIG. 2B shows a case where the GPS function is not provided, and FIG. 2C shows a mobile terminal installed at a specific place like the mobile terminal 106. 2A to 2C, 201 is a control unit, 202 is a voice input / output unit, 203 is a storage unit, 204 is an operation unit, 205 is a display unit, 206 is a base station communication unit, and 207 is acceleration. A sensor, 208 is a vibration sensor, 209 is a GPS communication unit, 210 is a short-range communication unit, and those having the same reference numerals have the same functions.

  The cellular phones 103 to 105 shown in FIG. 1 may have the configuration shown in FIG. 2A, but may have the configuration shown in FIG. However, here, it is assumed that the mobile phones 103 and 105 have the configuration shown in FIG. 2A, and the mobile phone 104 has the configuration shown in FIG. Moreover, although the portable terminal 106 shall have the structure shown in FIG.2 (c), you may have the structure shown to Fig.2 (a) or FIG.2 (b).

  Similar to the conventional mobile phone, the mobile phones 103 and 105 shown in FIG. 2A hold necessary programs and data, and perform control of the entire apparatus based on various determinations and calculations, etc. A voice input / output unit 202 such as a microphone and a speaker for making a call, and a storage unit 203 for storing various setting information and downloaded data by a user (hereinafter referred to as a user) of the mobile phone 103, position data, a program, and the like described later. An input unit 204 for performing an input operation with operation keys and the like, a display unit 205 for displaying telephone number information, Internet content information, GPS signals, position information acquired from other portable terminals, and the mobile base station 102 (FIG. 1) includes a base station communication unit 206 for voice communication (call) and data communication. Further, the GPS communication unit 209 for receiving a GPS signal from the GPS satellite 101 (FIG. 1), the short-range communication unit 210 for performing short-range wireless communication with other mobile phones, and the acceleration of the mobile phone 105 are calculated. An acceleration sensor 207 for detecting and a vibration sensor 208 for detecting vibration of the mobile phone 105 are provided. The acceleration sensor 207 and the vibration sensor 208, together with the control unit 201, are means for detecting the movement amounts of the mobile phones 103 and 105 (that is, movement detection means). These control unit 201 and short-range communication unit 210, The acceleration sensor 207 and the vibration sensor 208 are in an operating state even when the mobile phone 103 is powered off.

  In such cellular phones 103 and 105, calls and data communication are performed using the voice input / output unit 202, the storage unit 203, the input unit 204, the display unit 205, and the base station communication unit 206 under the control of the control unit 201. This is performed in the same manner as a conventional mobile phone, and the description is omitted here.

  When the position information is acquired from the GPS signal from the GPS satellite 101 (FIG. 1) using the GPS function (that is, when the GPS function is used), the user of the cellular phones 103 and 105 is input by the input unit 204. When a predetermined position information request operation is performed, the GPS communication unit 209 operates based on the control of the control unit 201, and the GPS communication unit 209 receives a GPS signal. The received GPS signal is processed by the control unit 201 so that the current position of the mobile phone 103, 105 is obtained with high accuracy as its own position. The position information indicating the self position is other information (hereinafter, additional information) described later. Information)) and stored in the storage unit 203 as position data. At the same time, the control unit 201 reads map information stored in the storage unit 203 based on the detected position information of the self-location, and there is no necessary map information in the storage unit 203. In this case, the base station communication unit 206 requests map information from a server (not shown), and acquires the map information from this server. Such map information is supplied to the display unit 205 together with the detected position information, whereby the self-positions of the mobile phones 103 and 105 are displayed on the map.

  Further, as described above, the short-range communication unit 210 is in a state where short-range wireless communication is possible even when the power of the mobile phone 103 is off. Then, the control unit 201 automatically transmits a position information request signal from the short-range communication unit 210 every time a predetermined time has passed. In response to the transmission of the location information request signal, location information and additional information indicating the current location are transmitted from another mobile phone within the range in which short-distance wireless communication with the mobile phone 103 is possible (that is, nearby). It is received by the short-range communication unit 210. The control unit 201 obtains the self-position (that is, the position of the mobile phone 103) from the received position information and additional information, and the position information indicating the self-position together with the additional information obtained in the same manner. It is stored in the storage unit 203 as data.

  The storage unit 203 stores the position data of the self-position and additional information obtained from the position information acquired by the GPS function, the positioning server function, or the short-range wireless communication, and the new data as described above. When the position data is obtained, the position data in the storage unit 203 is updated accordingly.

  The acceleration sensor 207 detects the acceleration of the mobile phone 103. The control unit 201 calculates the movement distance of the mobile phones 103 and 105 from the detected acceleration, reads the position information stored in the storage unit 203, corrects the self-position of the position information with the movement distance, and creates a new The position information in the storage unit 203 is updated as the position information of the self position. In this case, the moving direction is estimated from the self-position obtained by the GPS function, the positioning server function, and the short-range wireless communication and the self-position obtained in the same manner before that. For example, when it is estimated that the self-position obtained in the same manner as this time is located in the north direction with respect to the self-position obtained by the previous GPS function, the positioning server function, or short-range wireless communication, the mobile phone 103 , 105 are estimated to be moving in the north direction. Then, from the self-position obtained this time by the GPS function, the positioning server function, and the short-range wireless communication, the self-position correction based on the movement distance is performed by the detection output of the acceleration sensor 207 so as to move in the north direction. become. Then, the moving distance is repeatedly obtained from the acceleration sensor 207 until the position information of the own position is obtained by the next GPS function, the positioning server, and the short-range wireless communication, and the own position sequentially moves in the north direction.

  The vibration sensor 208 detects vibration of the mobile phone 103, and the control unit 201 determines that the mobile phone 103 is moving based on the detected vibration. When the control unit 201 determines that the mobile phone 103 is moving as described above, the control unit 201 corrects the self-position of the mobile phone 103 by the moving distance obtained by the detection output of the acceleration sensor 207.

  Since the mobile phone 104 having the configuration shown in FIG. 2B does not have a GPS function, the mobile phone 104 does not include the GPS communication unit 209 (FIG. 2A). For this reason, position information and the like are automatically acquired from another mobile phone every predetermined time using the short-range communication unit 210, and the self-position is estimated as described above. Further, it is also possible to correct the self-position as described above by using the detection output of the acceleration sensor 207 or the vibration sensor 208 until the next position information or the like is acquired from another mobile phone. This is the same as the mobile phones 103 and 105 having the configuration shown in FIG.

  The mobile terminal 106 having the configuration shown in FIG. 2C is installed in a specific place 107 such as a store, and includes a GPS communication unit 209, a base station communication unit 206, and a short-range communication unit 210. . The GPS communication unit 209 is for making it possible to use a GPS signal in order to acquire the self position with high accuracy, and the position information of the self position acquired from the received GPS signal is stored in the storage unit 203. The In addition, the short-range communication unit 210 enables short-range wireless communication of position data with other mobile terminals, and the position information stored in the storage unit 203 is stored in the mobile phone of the user who requests the position information. This is for providing position-related information and the like to be described later. Since the portable terminal 106 does not move, the acceleration sensor 207 and the vibration sensor 208 for correcting the self position are not required. Further, when the call function is not required, the voice input / output unit 202 can be omitted.

  In such a portable terminal 106, the self position obtained from the GPS signal is stored in the storage unit 203 as position data together with the additional information. As will be described later, the additional information includes information related to the installation position 107 of the portable terminal 106 (that is, the position related information). The information is input from the input unit 204.

  Also in this portable terminal 106, based on the location information of the self-location obtained by the GPS function, the map information stored in the storage unit 203, the map information acquired by the base station communication unit 206, and the GPS function are used. Based on the position information, the display unit 205 displays the self position on the map so that the self position can be confirmed.

  The GPS function of the portable terminal 106 is activated by a predetermined operation at the input unit 204 and detects position information from the GPS signal and stores it in the storage unit 203. Alternatively, the power of the portable terminal 106 is turned on. It can also be operated when on. However, even if the GPS function is activated, the self position is detected from the GPS signal, and the position information in the storage unit 203 is only updated by this, and the display on the display unit 205 is not performed. In order to display the self position on the display unit 205, a predetermined operation must be performed on the input unit 204 as described above.

  FIG. 3A is a diagram showing a specific example of the position data stored in the storage unit 203 in FIGS. 2A and 2B.

  As shown in the figure, the position data 300a includes position information 301, position accuracy information 302, and position information update date / time information 303. The position accuracy information 302 and the position information update date / time information 303 include the position information 301. Is additional information. The location information 301 indicates the self location of the mobile phones 103 to 105 having the storage unit 203 built therein, and information obtained by a GPS function, a positioning server function, or short-range wireless communication, or such information as an acceleration sensor. This is corrected by the movement distance obtained from the detection output 207, and is expressed by, for example, latitude and longitude. The position accuracy information 302 represents the accuracy of the position information 301, and is expressed in an error range. When the position information 301 is obtained from a GPS signal, it is highly accurate and is set to 0 m. When it is obtained from position information and position accuracy information obtained from another mobile phone or mobile terminal by wireless communication, for example, when the error range is a possible range of short-range wireless communication, it is set to 10 m. The position information update date and time information 303 represents the date and time when the storage unit 203 is updated with position data newly obtained based on information obtained by a GPS function, a positioning server function, or short-range wireless communication.

  FIG. 3B is a diagram showing another specific example of the position data stored in the storage unit 203 in FIGS. 2A and 2B.

  The position data 300b is obtained based on information obtained by the short-distance wireless communication from the mobile terminal 106 in which the mobile phones 103 to 105 are installed in the specific place 107, and is shown in FIG. The position related information 304 is added to the position data 300a. The position related information 304 is information related to a facility such as a store where the mobile terminal 106 is installed. For example, when the installation location 107 is a store, information for attracting customers (for example, a discount ticket). It can be.

  The same location data 300b is also stored in the storage unit 203 (FIG. 2C) of the mobile terminal 106, and if there is a request for location information from the mobile phones 103 to 105, the location of the location data 300b is stored. Information 301, position accuracy information 302, and position related information 304 are transmitted by the short-range communication unit 210 to the requested mobile phone. In this case, since the position information 301 is obtained by the GPS function, the position accuracy information 302 is 0 m.

  Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described by taking as an example a case where the mobile phone 105 having the configuration shown in FIG. 2A detects its own position using information obtained by short-range wireless communication. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a specific example of this operation.

  In the same figure, when the user performs a predetermined position request operation with the input unit 204 or the position information is requested automatically, when there is a request for such position information, the self-position detection operation is performed. Command to start (S (step) 400). Accordingly, the control unit 201 generates a position information request signal, adds the ID (identification code) of itself (the mobile phone 105) to the signal and transmits it from the short-range communication unit 210, and requests the position information (S401). ). In response to this request, additional information such as position information and position accuracy information from the mobile terminals 103 and 104 used by other users within the range where short-range wireless communication is possible or the mobile terminal 106 installed at the specific position 107 Are transmitted to the short-range communication unit 210 (S402, 403). The received information is processed by the control unit 201 to calculate its own position (of the mobile phone 105) and its position accuracy (S404), and the calculated position information representing this position and the position representing this position accuracy are calculated. When the position information and the position accuracy information are received from the portable terminal 106, the position information including the position related information received at that time is used as position data, and the new position data is stored in the storage unit 203. The position data is updated (S405, 406).

  Here, as described above, when the user operates the input unit 204 to request position information, the self-position calculated in this way and the position accuracy (and position-related information) are displayed. This is displayed on the part 205 (S407).

  On the other hand, the control unit 201 constantly captures the acceleration of the mobile phone 105 detected by the acceleration sensor 207. When the position data is updated in the storage unit 203, the control unit 201 captures the acceleration and uses this acceleration from the time of the update. The moving distance of the mobile phone 105 is sequentially calculated (S408). When a predetermined time elapses from the time when the position data is updated in the storage unit 203, the position information is read from the storage unit 203 (S409), and the movement distance at this time is added to the self position of the position information. And a new self-position of the mobile phone 105 at this time is obtained. In this case, as described above, the moving direction of the mobile phone 105 is obtained, and the moving distance is added to this moving direction to obtain a new self-position (S404). Then, the position information is newly updated in the storage unit 203 using the obtained self-position as new position information (S405). When the self-location in the storage unit 203 is updated based on the travel distance calculated in this way, the location accuracy information is the same as the location accuracy information obtained based on the information acquired by the short-range wireless communication. And stored in the storage unit 203 without being updated. That is, S406 is not updated.

  Thus, after the position data is updated in the storage unit 203 based on the information acquired by the short-range wireless communication, the acceleration sensor 207 is updated until the next similar update by the short-range wireless communication is performed. The position information update operation based on the movement distance obtained using the detection output, that is, the operation of S408 → S404 → S405 → S408... Is repeated every time the predetermined time elapses.

  After that, when the user performs a predetermined position information requesting operation with the input unit 204 or the position information request is automatically made, and the timing of the position information request comes, the operation starts again from S401. Is started.

  Here, a specific example of the self-position and position accuracy estimation method based on information acquired from another mobile phone will be described.

Now, it is assumed that the mobile phone 105 has acquired the position information from only one of the mobile phones 103, 104, and 106 (here, the mobile phone 103), and this position information is obtained from the GPS signal by the mobile phone 103. If the obtained high accuracy (positional accuracy information = 0 m), as shown in FIG. 5A, the mobile phone 105 exists in the short-distance calling range 500 of the mobile phone 103. Therefore, the self-position of the mobile phone 105 is set to the position (N ₁ , E ₁ ) represented by the position information obtained from the mobile phone 103 (this is the self-position of the mobile phone 103), and the position accuracy is set to the mobile phone. The radius R of the range 500 in which short-range wireless communication of 103 is possible (in the case of short-range wireless communication by Bluetooth is about 10 m). Accordingly, in the storage unit 203, the position information is updated to (N ₁ , E ₁ ), and the position accuracy information is updated to R (m).

The portable telephone 105 has two mobile telephone (e.g., cellular telephones 103, 104) when acquiring the location information from, as shown in FIG. 5 (b), a short distance of the radius R ₁ of the portable telephone 103 The mobile phone 105 exists in a range indicated by hatching where the wireless communication range 501 and the short-range wireless communication range 502 having the radius R ₂ of the mobile phone 104 overlap. Therefore, in this case, the midpoint of the intersections P ₁ and P ₂ of the outer diameters of the ranges 501 and 502 capable of short-range wireless communication is estimated as the self-position (N ₀ , E ₀ ) of the mobile phone 105, A range 503 having a radius R ₀ circumscribing the hatching range with the self position as the center is estimated as the position accuracy with respect to the self position. In other words, the circle circumscribing the hatched range represents the position system of the mobile phone 105, and the center position of the circle is estimated as the self-position of the mobile phone 105.

Here, the ranges 501 and 502 in which the mobile phones 103 and 104 can perform short-distance wireless communication are circular with radii R ₁ and R ₂ , respectively, and the positions (N ₁ and E ₁ ) and (N ₂ ) of the mobile phones 103 and 104 are set. , E ₂ ) The self-position and position accuracy of the mobile phone 105 when the distance between them is r will be described.

Note that the size of the range in which short-distance communication is possible is set to be equal for all mobile phones and mobile terminals, but the above-mentioned radii R ₁ and R ₂ take into account the positional accuracy.

For example, if position information (N ₁ , E ₁ ) and position accuracy information (ΔR) are received from the mobile phone 103 by short-range wireless communication, the mobile phone 103 is centered on the position (N ₁ , E ₁ ). Therefore, if the range in which the mobile phone can be actually communicated within the short distance is within the circle with the radius R, the short distance of the mobile phone 103 is considered when the positional accuracy ΔR is taken into consideration. As shown in FIG. 6, the wireless communication range is assumed to be within a circle 601 having a radius R ′ = (R + ΔR) with the position (N ₁ , E ₁ ) as the center. The short-range communicable ranges R ₁ and R ₂ of the mobile phones 103 and 104 in FIG. 5B are virtual short-range communicable ranges (hereinafter referred to as virtual short-range communica It is called a possible range), and its size differs depending on the position accuracy. Therefore, since the position accuracy obtained by the GPS function is 0 m, the virtual short-range communicable range at this time is within a circle with a radius R that is the same size as the actual short-range communicable range. The same applies to the case of FIG.

Therefore, in FIG. 5B, straight lines passing through the intersections P ₁ and P ₂ of the outer circle with the radius R ₁ of the virtual short-range communicable range 501 and the outer circle with the radius R ₂ of the virtual short-range communicable range 502 are Since it is orthogonal to a straight line passing through the positions (N ₁ , E ₁ ) and (N ₂ , E ₂ ) of the mobile phones 103 and 104, the distance A between the positions (N ₁ , E ₁ ) and (N ₀ , E ₀ ) And the distance B between the positions (N ₀ , E ₀ ) and (N ₂ , E ₂ ) are respectively

And

It is. Therefore, the required self position (N ₀ , E ₀ ) of the mobile phone 105 is

It is represented by

Further, the radius R ₀ of the circumscribed circle in the hatching range (that is, the positional accuracy of the mobile phone 105) is obtained from the above Equations 1 and 2.

It is represented by

Therefore, as an example, the positional accuracy information from the mobile phones 103 and 104 is also 0 m, and the size of the provisional short-range communicable range of the mobile phones 103 and 104 is equal to the actual short-range communicable range. Assuming that both are circles with a radius R, R ₁ = R ₂ = R, and the mobile phone 105's own position (N ₀ , E ₀ ) is
N ₀ = (N ₁ + N ₂ ) / 2
E ₀ = (E ₁ + E ₂ ) / 2
Therefore, it is the midpoint between the mobile phones 103 and 104, and the positional accuracy of the mobile phone 105 is expressed by the above equation 4.

It becomes.

Further, when the mobile phone 105 acquires position information from three mobile phones (for example, mobile phones 103, 104, and 106), as shown in FIG. , 104, and 106, it is estimated that the mobile phone 105 exists within the range indicated by the hatching where the short-range wireless communicable ranges 501, 502, and 504 overlap. In this case, the mobile phone 105 is self-positioned by setting a circle 503 circumscribing the hatching range to estimate the center position of the circumscribed circle, and the position accuracy of the self-position is set to the radius R _{0 of the} circumscribed circle. To do. A method of obtaining position information from four or more mobile phones and obtaining the self position and its position accuracy is the same as this.

By the way, when the self-position and its position accuracy are obtained in consideration of the position accuracy information in this way, the obtained position accuracy may become larger than the possible range of short-range wireless communication. Therefore, in this embodiment, when the GPS function is provided, when the obtained position accuracy exceeds the size of the short-range wireless communication possible range and exceeds a predetermined threshold (upper limit value), It is also possible to automatically activate the GPS function, obtain the self position from the GPS signal, and store it in the storage unit 203 as position data. For example, the threshold value is set to 12 m, the short-range wireless communicable range R is set to 10 m, and the position information of (N ₁ , E ₁ ) and the position accuracy ΔR is 5 m from only the mobile phone 103 as shown in FIG. If accuracy information is received, the self-position estimated by this is (N ₁ , E ₁ ), but the position accuracy is R + ΔR = 15 m, which exceeds the threshold (= 12 m). Therefore, in this case, the GPS function is activated, and the position information of the self position is acquired from the received GPS signal.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram schematically showing a self-position display screen on the display unit 205 shown in FIG.

  In the figure, a map is displayed on the display screen 700, the self-position mark 701 obtained as described above on the map, and the self-position error range 702 corresponding to the position accuracy obtained as described above. Is displayed. This error range 702 is represented by a circle centered on the self-position mark 701 and having a radius of position accuracy, and it is estimated that the self-position, that is, the mobile phone 105 exists within the circular error range 702. Is.

  Further, the display screen 700 is informed that the display 703 of “Near Field Communication” is a self-position display screen by the near field wireless communication, and the position accuracy 704 in this case is also “Error 10 m”. "And so on.

  The operation shown in FIG. 4 has been described with respect to the mobile phone 105 in FIG. 1, but can also be performed in other mobile phones used by the user. Accordingly, the mobile phones 103 and 104 shown in FIG. 1 can also acquire the position information and the like from other mobile phones by short-range wireless communication by performing the operation shown in FIG. In addition, a mobile phone carried by the user also accepts a request for position information from another mobile phone, and transmits additional information such as position information and position accuracy information in response to the request. In the description of FIG. 4, the mobile phone 103 or the mobile phone 104 provides the mobile phone 105 with location information or location accuracy information in response to a location information request from the mobile phone 105. Thus, position information and the like can be provided to other mobile phones.

  Each mobile phone performs the operation shown in FIG. 4 when requesting location information from another mobile phone. When not requesting location information in this way, each mobile phone requests location information from another mobile phone. Waiting. This will be described with reference to FIG. 8, taking the cellular phone 103 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2A as an example.

  In FIG. 4, S800 corresponds to the operations of S400 to S403 in FIG. 4, and S801, S802, S803, and S804 correspond to S408, S409, S404, and S405 in FIG. 4, respectively. That is, the mobile phone 103 reads the detection result of the acceleration sensor 207 and calculates the moving distance (S801) until it acquires position information and the like from another mobile phone by GPS signal or near field communication (S800). The position information is read from the storage unit 203 (S802), the self-position is calculated from the movement distance and the position information (S803), and the position information of the storage unit 203 is updated with the self-position thus obtained ( A series of operations (S804) is repeated, and a request for position information from another mobile phone is awaited during this standby period (S805).

  When the short-range communication unit 210 receives a position information request signal from another mobile phone, for example, the mobile phone 105 (S805), the control unit 201 reads the position information from the noble object 203 in response (S806). In addition, the position accuracy information is read out (S807) and transmitted to the requested mobile phone 105. And the operation | movement from S801 is repeated and it returns to the state which waits for the next position information request signal.

  In the case of the portable terminal 106 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2C, in addition to the position information and the position accuracy information (S806, S807), the position related information shown in FIG. Read and send.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 2 (a), the mobile phone 105 having the GPS function uses its own location information and location accuracy information of other nearby mobile phones 103 and 104 capable of short-range communication. Although the mobile phone 104 that does not have a GPS function has been used to determine the location and location accuracy, the location information and location accuracy information of other nearby mobile phones 103 and 105 that can perform near field communication are similarly used. It goes without saying that its own position and position accuracy can also be obtained.

  As described above, position information can be acquired anytime and anywhere without using a GPS function or without a GPS function, and the self-position can be estimated. It becomes possible.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a second embodiment of the location information exchanging system according to the present invention. 901 to 904 are portable terminals. Here, the mobile terminals 901 to 904 are mobile phones, but the mobile phone 901 may be particularly referred to as a location information terminal.

  In the figure, the mobile phones 901 to 904 have the same functions as the mobile phones 103 to 105 in FIG. 1, but in this embodiment, the mobile phones 901 to 904 further have a short-range wireless communication function. A network is configured, and this network enables communication of positional information between registered mobile phones described later. For example, if the cellular phone 901 and the cellular phone 904 are used by members of the same family, even if the cellular phones 901 and 904 are in a positional relationship where the cellular phones 901 and 904 cannot directly communicate with each other. In addition, the mobile phone 902 exists in a range in which short-range wireless communication with the mobile phone 901 is possible, the mobile phone 903 exists in a range in which short-range wireless communication with the mobile phone 902 is possible, and further, When the cellular phone 904 exists within a range where distance wireless communication is possible, a network that can communicate with the cellular phone 904 can be configured by relaying the cellular phone 901 from the cellular phones 902 and 903.

  Therefore, when the cellular phones 901 to 904 are in such a positional relationship, when the cellular phone 901 requests location information from the cellular phone 904 registered in the cellular phone 901, a location information request signal transmitted from the cellular phone 901 is transmitted. Is transmitted to the mobile phone 904 via the mobile phones 902 and 903. When the mobile phone 904 receives the position information request signal, the mobile phone 904 relays the mobile phone 902 and 903 and transmits a response signal including the position information of the own position and the position accuracy information to the mobile phone 901 in response to the position information request signal. The mobile phone 901 can know the self-position of the mobile phone 904 by displaying the received information on the display unit.

  According to such a configuration, the position of all registered mobile phones such as the mobile phone 904 can be collectively managed by one of a plurality of mobile phones registered with each other, for example, the mobile phone 901. it can. The mobile phone 901 that performs such location management is called a location information terminal, and here, the locations of all registered mobile phones can be known. Therefore, for example, by installing the location information terminal 901 at home and having a family member carry the mobile phone registered in the location information terminal 901, without making a call while staying at home, You can know where each family member is. In this case, as an extreme case, this family member does not need to know the current location.

  Of course, family members can also check each other's whereabouts in the same manner by using the mobile phone carried by the family.

  FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of one embodiment of the cellular phone 901 in FIG. 9, wherein 211 is an IC card, and parts corresponding to those in FIG. Is omitted.

  In the figure, a cellular phone 901 has a configuration in which an IC card 211 is added to the configuration of the cellular phones 103 and 105 shown in FIG. 2A or 2B. Here, FIG. ) Is added to the configuration shown in FIG. The IC card 211 is detachable.

  In such a configuration, the control unit 201 requests position information and the like from any other mobile phone capable of short-range wireless communication with the mobile phone 901 incorporating the same as the control unit 201 shown in FIG. In addition to having the function of obtaining the self-position and its position accuracy from the position information acquired by this, as well as the function of requesting the position information etc. by specifying the registered mobile phone, and acquiring this Have. Similarly to the control unit 201 shown in FIG. 2 (a), the storage unit 203 stores position information of its own position obtained from position information acquired by short-range wireless communication and position data including the additional information. As described above, the location information acquired from the designated registered mobile phone is also stored.

  In addition, the ID (identification code) of each registered mobile phone is encrypted and stored in the IC card 211 to maintain security, and the storage unit 203 stores information about the registered mobile phone (its A list (registered terminal information list) of a list (registered terminal information list) of user's name and the like (registered terminal information list) and these registered terminal information and IDs encrypted in the IC card 211 are also associated. Stored. Further, the IC card 211 also stores a decryption program for decrypting the encrypted ID received by the short-range communication unit 210.

  Note that the storage unit 203 also stores the ID of the mobile phone 901 itself (hereinafter referred to as a self ID), but the self ID is stored as encrypted and not encrypted. The control unit 201 compares the received ID received by the short-range communication unit 210, decrypted by the IC card 211, and stored in the storage unit 203 with an unencrypted ID, and whether or not they match. It also has a function to determine whether or not.

  Next, an operation of acquiring location information and the like of the mobile phone 904 registered by relaying the mobile phones 902 and 903 from the mobile phone 901 will be described. Here, it is assumed that the mobile phones 902 and 903 have the configuration shown in FIG.

  If the user of the mobile phone 901 (location information requesting user) wants to know the location of the user of the mobile phone 904 (partner user), the user of the location information requesting user operates the input unit 204 of the mobile phone 901. A mobile phone 904 is designated. This is because, by performing a predetermined operation on the input unit 204, the registered terminal information list indicating the specifiable counterparts stored in the storage unit 203 is read out and displayed on the display unit 205, and the desired counterpart is specified. This is done by operating. When the other party is designated, based on the registered terminal information / ID association table stored in the storage unit 203, the corresponding encryption ID of the other party's encryption ID stored in the IC card 211 is determined. The information is selected and read as a transmission destination ID, and an encrypted self ID and a positional information request code as a transmission source ID are added thereto to form a positional information request signal, which is transmitted from the short-range communication unit 210.

  This transmission signal is received by the mobile phone 902 within a range capable of short-range wireless communication with the mobile phone 901. The operation of the mobile phone 902 will be described with reference to FIG. The transmission destination ID, the transmission source ID, and the location information request code of the location information request signal received by the mobile phone 902 are identified, and the received signal is a location information request signal that is not transmitted by itself (the mobile phone 902). Is determined. Based on this determination, the received position information request signal is temporarily stored in the storage unit 203, and the destination ID is decrypted by the IC card 211 and compared with the unencrypted self ID stored in the storage unit 203. Is done. In this case, since the decrypted destination ID does not match the self ID of the mobile phone 902, the control unit 201 reads out the location information request signal stored in the storage unit 203 and sends it from the short-range communication unit 210 to another mobile phone. Send. This transmission signal is received by the mobile phone 903 within the range where short-distance wireless communication with the mobile phone 902 is possible. Like the mobile phone 902, this mobile phone 903 also receives the received transmission destination ID as its own ID. Since they do not match, the received short-range communication unit 210 transmits the received position information request signal.

  Note that the transmission signal from the cellular phone 902 is also received by the cellular phone 901. However, in this cellular phone 901, the transmission source ID of the received location request signal matches the self ID, so that it was transmitted by itself. As a matter of course, this position information request signal is discarded.

  The transmission signal from the mobile phone 903 is also received by the mobile phone 902. For example, when the mobile phone 902 transmits the position information request signal from the mobile phone 901 as described above, it is relayed by itself. If the relay ID of the received location information request signal matches the self ID, it is determined that the location information request signal has already been relayed. And destroy it. Of course, in this case, the mobile phone 903 that has received the location information request signal including the relay ID from the mobile phone 902 transmits the location information request signal to indicate that the mobile phone 902 has relayed. In addition, the encrypted ID of the mobile phone 903 is added as a relay ID to the position information request signal including the relay ID. In this way, the mobile phone that relays the location information request signal adds the self ID as a relay ID to the location information request signal that is received and transmitted. It can be determined whether or not it is a position information request signal that has been relayed once depending on whether or not the same relay ID is included. If it has been relayed once, it is discarded. Note that the number of relay IDs added to the position information request signal (for example, two) is limited, and when relaying a mobile phone exceeding the limited number, the relay IDs are deleted from the oldest. In this way, the location information request signal does not return to the source side, and the mobile phone is relayed in order by short-range wireless communication.

  A transmission signal from the mobile phone 903 is received by the mobile phone 904 designated by the mobile phone 901. This mobile phone 904 will be described with reference to FIG. 10. Like the mobile phones 902 and 903, the mobile phone 904 identifies each ID of the location information request signal received by the short-range communication unit 210, the location information request code, and the like. Stored in the storage unit 203 and the destination ID is decrypted by the IC card. The decrypted destination ID is compared with the unencrypted self ID stored in the storage unit 203 by the control unit 201. Since these IDs match, the control unit 201 determines that the location information request signal is It is determined that the location information of the user (mobile phone 904) is requested.

  Therefore, the control unit 201 sets the transmission source ID in the received position information request signal as the transmission destination (partner side) ID and the transmission destination ID as the transmission source (self) ID, and stores the transmission unit ID and the transmission source ID in the storage unit 203. Is added with the response code stored therein, its own position information and position accuracy information, and a position information response signal is created and transmitted from the short-range communication unit 210. This location information response signal is sent to the cellular phone 901 that requested the location information via the cellular phones 903 and 902 in the same manner as the above location information request signal. Also in this case, the relay ID is used in the mobile phones 903 and 902, and the position information response signal relays the mobile phones 903 and 902 in order.

  The mobile phone 901 will be described with reference to FIG. 10. When the location information response signal is received by the short-range communication unit 210, the transmission destination, source ID and response code, location information, location of the location information response signal are received. The accuracy information is identified and stored in the storage unit 203, and the destination ID is decrypted by the IC card 211 and compared with the unencrypted self ID in the storage unit 203. In this case, the transmission destination ID and the self ID match, and from the comparison result and the response code in the location information response signal, the control unit 201 determines that the received signal is a location information response signal for itself (mobile phone 901). Judge that there is. Therefore, the control unit 201 decrypts the transmission source ID of the location information response signal in the storage unit 203 with the IC card 211, and from the registered terminal information list stored in the storage unit 203 based on the decoded transmission ID, Information (for example, the other party (user of the mobile phone 904)) is selected, and the position information and position accuracy information of the position information response signal are stored in the storage unit 203 as position data in association with the other party information. Information on the position list is read out and displayed on the display unit 205. Thereby, the user of the mobile phone 901 can know the position of the mobile phone 904 (and therefore the position of the user) on the screen.

  FIG. 11 is a diagram schematically illustrating a specific example of position data of a registered mobile phone stored in the storage unit 203.

  In the figure, here, four mobile phones are registered in the mobile phone 901, and IDs are ID0, ID1, ID2, and ID3, respectively. The location data 1000 is stored for each registered mobile phone. The location data 1000 is obtained by storing the location information and location accuracy information obtained from the mobile phone as described above, and further acquiring and storing them. And position information update date / time information representing the date / time stored in the unit 203.

  FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a display example of the position data 1000.

  When the position data display command operation is performed at the input unit 204 (FIG. 10), the position data 1000 of each registered mobile phone is read from the storage unit 203 (FIG. 10), and as shown in FIG. On the display screen 1100 of the display unit 205 of 10), the positions of the registered mobile phones ID0, ID1, ID2, and ID3 and their position accuracy are displayed on the map in the same manner as in FIG.

  In FIG. 12, the position and position accuracy of all registered mobile phones are displayed at the same time. However, by specifying a specific registered mobile phone desired by the user, the position and position accuracy of the registered mobile phone are displayed. Can also be displayed on the map.

  In addition, as described above, when requesting the position information of a desired predetermined registered mobile phone, the position information and the position accuracy information of the designated registered mobile phone are automatically acquired. The position and position accuracy are displayed on the map on the display screen 1100 as shown in FIG. Further, in the above description, the position information is requested by specifying one desired registered mobile phone 904. However, it is also possible to request the position information by simultaneously specifying a plurality of registered mobile phones. When these position information and position accuracy information are acquired, the position and position accuracy based on these are simultaneously displayed as shown in FIG.

  As described above, in the second embodiment, even with a mobile phone that is out of the range where short-range wireless communication is possible, it is possible to directly communicate with the other party without making a call with the other party, thus eliminating the need for a communication fee. It can be confirmed visually.

  In the second embodiment shown in FIG. 9, each of the mobile phones 901 to 904 has the configuration shown in FIG. 10, but an IC card 211 is added to the configuration shown in FIG. 2B, and the configuration shown in FIG. It may have the same function as in the case of.

  In the above description, the mobile phone used by the user has been mainly described as exchanging the position information itself. However, not only the position information itself but also data related to the position information can be exchanged. Basically, it can be realized by the same procedure as the exchange of location information, but when transmitting the location information request signal, other data related to the location information may be requested at the same time. In response, the relevant data may be transmitted. Of course, the cellular phone needs a means for storing data related to the position information.

  Further, it may be considered that the related information has an attribute that can be exchanged only when the user is in a specific place. For example, if the east longitude / west longitude range is specified as an attribute for which position-related information can be used, the mobile phone confirms its own location information and transmits data only when it is within the specified range. That's fine. Conversely, when data is received on the receiving side, it may be compared with the self-position information to determine whether it can be received. Furthermore, in the case of more special information, it is possible to manage the data more strictly by encrypting the position related information using the value generated based on the latitude and longitude of the position information as key data. Is possible.

  In addition, when using in a facility such as an amusement park that has an entrance and an exit, after passing through the entrance gate, the mobile phone enters a mode in which location-related information can be transmitted and received, and the exit gate is By passing the position-related information transmission / reception disabled mode when passing, it is possible to exchange information limited to a certain area without performing positioning every time data is transmitted / received.

It is a block diagram which shows 1st Embodiment of the positional information exchange system by this invention. It is a block diagram which shows one Embodiment of the portable terminal shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows typically the specific example of the position data memorize | stored in the memory | storage part in FIG. It is a flowchart which shows an example of operation | movement in the case of estimating own position data from the position data from the other portable terminal of the portable terminal shown to Fig.2 (a), (b). It is a figure for demonstrating one specific example of the estimation method of the self-position and position accuracy in FIG. It is a figure which shows typically the virtual near field communication range in case position accuracy is not 0 m. It is a figure which shows one specific example of the display screen of the self-position and position accuracy obtained by the operation | movement shown in FIG. It is a flowchart which shows a specific example of anti-noble operation | movement of the portable terminal shown in FIG. It is a block diagram which shows 2nd Embodiment of the positional information exchange system by this invention. It is a block diagram which shows one Embodiment of the portable terminal shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows typically the specific example of the positional data on the other portable terminal acquired with the portable terminal shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the example of a display of the position data shown in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

101 GPS satellite 102 Mobile base station (positioning server)
103 to 105 Mobile phone 106 Mobile terminal 107 Specific location 201 Control unit 202 Voice input / output unit 203 Storage unit 204 Input unit 205 Display unit 206 Base station communication unit 207 Acceleration sensor 208 Vibration sensor 209 GPS communication unit 210 Short range communication unit 211 IC card 300a, 300b Position data 500 to 504 Position accuracy 601 Virtual near field communication possible range 700 Display screen 701 Self position 702 Error range 703 Display of “Near field communication” 704 Position accuracy display 901 to 904 Cellular phone 1000 Position data 1100 Display screen

Claims (10)

Short-range wireless communication means for performing short-range communication wirelessly with a nearby mobile terminal;
Self-position estimation means for processing the position information of nearby mobile terminals received by the short-range wireless communication means to estimate the self-position;
Holding means for storing and holding the self-position information representing the self-position estimated by the self-position estimating means;
A portable terminal comprising: response means for transmitting the self-position information held by the holding means from the short-range wireless communication means in response to a position information request signal from a neighboring portable terminal. . The mobile terminal according to claim 1,
The self-position estimating means receives the position accuracy information indicating the accuracy of the position information together with the position information from the neighboring portable terminal by the short-range wireless communication means, and the position information together with the position information Estimate accuracy,
The holding means also stores and holds position accuracy information indicating the position accuracy of the self position estimated by the self position estimating means,
In response to the position information request signal, the response means causes the short-range wireless communication means to transmit the self-position information held in the holding means and the position accuracy information thereof. . The portable terminal according to claim 1 or 2,
While comprising at least one of a communication means for receiving a GPS signal from a GPS satellite and a communication means for receiving a positioning signal from a positioning server,
A portable terminal comprising: a self-position acquiring unit that processes a reception signal by the communication unit to detect a self-position, and holds the detected self-position as the position information in the holding unit. The mobile terminal according to claim 3,
When the position accuracy of the self-position estimated by the self-position estimation means exceeds a predetermined value set in advance, the self-position acquisition means acquires self-position information and the self-position information of the holding means A mobile terminal characterized by updating In the portable terminal as described in any one of Claims 1-4,
A movement detecting means for detecting a moving distance each time a predetermined time elapses;
Self-position information correcting means for correcting the self-position information held by the holding means by the moving distance detected by the movement detecting means and updating the self-position information to be held by the holding means as new self-position information. A portable terminal characterized by providing and. In the portable terminal as described in any one of Claims 1-5,
A display means,
A portable terminal characterized in that the estimated self-position and its position accuracy are displayed on the screen by the display means. A location information exchange system that enables short-range wireless communication of location information between nearby mobile terminals,
Each of the portable terminals is the portable terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the position information exchanging system is characterized. The mobile terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
The identification information of the self is used as the information of the transmission source, the identification information of another mobile terminal that requests the position information is used as the information of the transmission destination, and the transmission destination information and the transmission source information are added to the position information request signal. Position information request instruction means to be transmitted from the short-range wireless communication means;
Determining means for determining whether or not the destination information added to the position information received by the short-range wireless communication means matches with its own identification information;
Re-transmission means for transmitting the position information to which the destination information is added using the short-range wireless communication means when the determination result by the determination means does not match the identification information of the destination. A portable terminal characterized by that. The mobile terminal according to claim 8,
Comprising a card-like recording medium having identification information of another portable terminal capable of requesting position information encrypted and registered, and having a decoding function for decoding the encrypted identification code;
The location information request instruction means uses the encrypted identification information registered in the card-like recording medium as the destination information,
The destination information received together with the position information by the short-range wireless communication means is encrypted, is decrypted by the decryption function of the card-like recording medium, and is supplied to the determination means. Terminal. In a location information exchange system that enables short-range wireless communication of location information between nearby mobile terminals,
Each of the mobile terminals is the mobile terminal according to any one of claims 8 and 9,
The location information request signal or the location information transmitted from the short-range wireless communication means of the mobile terminal is up to the mobile terminal specified by the location information request signal or the destination information added to the location information. A location information exchange system, wherein the location information exchange system is wirelessly relayed by relaying other portable terminals that are not specified by the destination information and are in a nearby positional relationship.

Images