JP2006145733A - System, server and method for map information distribution - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make the memory capacity of a mobile terminal small by displaying area information of a map that a user has according to position information on the user and saving the area information of the map on a server. <P>SOLUTION: The map information distributing server which can be connected to the mobile terminal through a network includes: a server reception section 202 which receives position information and map specification information transmitted by the mobile terminal; a map information storage section 210 in which one or two or more maps and position information are related and stored; a map information retrieval section 206 which retrieves a map stored in the map information storage section according to the map specification information; a map information calculation section 212 which calculates area information, corresponding to the position information, on the map retrieved by the map information retrieval section; a display data creation section 208 which creates display area of the area information calculated by the map information calculation section; and a server transmission section 204 which transmits the display data created by the display data creation section to the mobile terminal. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a map information distribution system, a map information distribution server, and a map information distribution method for displaying area information on a map in accordance with position information acquired by a mobile terminal.

  Conventionally, many navigation systems that display user position information on a map on an electronic display device have been developed. For example, by installing a car navigation system in an automobile or the like, the user can easily travel to the destination.

  However, since the car navigation system displays the map electronically and automates the collation between the position information and the map information, the device becomes complicated. In addition, in order to install in a car, the installation location becomes a problem, and electrical wiring is also required. Furthermore, the car navigation system has a problem that the power consumption of the vehicle battery is heavy because of the large power consumption.

  Therefore, a position display device that is small, has a small installation location, and is movable is disclosed (for example, Patent Document 1). In Patent Document 1, map information corresponding to a paper-based map (for example, a map issued by the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan) is stored in advance in the memory of the mobile terminal, the current position is acquired by the mobile terminal, and the current position is posted. Displays the page of the paper-based map and the area of the corresponding location on the page.

JP-A-8-189958

  However, in Patent Document 1, since map information corresponding to a paper-based map is recorded in a memory in advance, when a new map is updated, the new map information must be re-registered in the memory. There was a problem of not becoming. Also, if the user owns several maps for each region, or if he owns not only a road map but also a tourist information map, the map information must be stored in memory beforehand. In other words, there is a problem that the memory capacity increases.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to display area information of a map owned by the user according to the position information of the user. It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved map information distribution system, map information distribution server, and map information distribution method capable of reducing the memory capacity of a mobile terminal by holding area information in a server.

  In order to solve the above problems, according to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a map information distribution system in which a mobile terminal owned by a user and a map information distribution server can be connected via a network; A position information acquisition unit for acquiring own position information; a map specifying information input unit for inputting map specifying information for specifying a map owned by the user; and a display for displaying information indicating the position of the user on the map The map information distribution server includes a server receiving unit that receives the position information transmitted from the mobile terminal and the map specifying information; one or more maps and the position information are stored in association with each other. A map information storage unit; a map information search unit for searching a map stored in the map information storage unit in accordance with the map specifying information; a position information on the map searched by the map information search unit A map information calculation unit for calculating area information corresponding to the above; a display data generation unit for generating display data of the area information calculated by the map information calculation unit; and display data generated by the display data generation unit as the mobile terminal A map information distribution system comprising: a server transmission unit for transmitting to the network.

  Here, the position information is address information, latitude / longitude information, and the like. Information transmitted from a GPS (Global Positioning System) satellite, PHS (Personal Handyphone System), or a base station installed for a mobile phone It is information acquired using the information obtained in The map is a map other than electronic data, and can be exemplified by a paper map. The paper map is, for example, a map issued by the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan, a general road map, a map of a tourist guide book, or the like.

  The map specifying information is information for specifying a map owned by the user, such as a paper map name or a guidebook name. When the map is revised, the map version may be included in the map specifying information. The area information is information indicating the current position of the user on the map, and is, for example, information indicating a page number of a paper map or a partial area obtained by subdividing the corresponding page.

  According to the above invention, the information indicating the current position of the user is displayed on the mobile terminal owned by the user, and the user can quickly and easily find the corresponding part of the map owned by the user. Further, since the map information distribution server holds the map information owned by the user, it is not necessary to store the map information in the memory of the mobile terminal. As a result, the memory of the mobile terminal can be reduced and the mobile terminal can be downsized.

  Furthermore, since the map information distribution server is provided with functions for calculating area information corresponding to location information and creating display data, the structure of the mobile terminal can be simplified.

  Further, the area information calculated by the map information calculation unit may be subdivided and displayed in a grid pattern on the display screen of the mobile terminal. As a result, the area information is displayed in a grid pattern on the display screen of the mobile terminal, and the user can easily visually determine his / her position on the area information.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, according to another aspect of the present invention, a mobile terminal capable of acquiring own location information and transmitting map specifying information for specifying a map owned by a user can be connected via a network. A map information distribution server; a server receiving unit that receives position information transmitted from a mobile terminal and map specifying information; a map in which one or more maps and position information are stored in association with each other An information storage unit; a map information search unit for searching a map stored in the map information storage unit in accordance with map specifying information; and area information corresponding to position information on the map searched by the map information search unit A map information calculation unit for calculating the display data; a display data generation unit for generating display data for the area information calculated by the map information calculation unit; and a display terminal for generating the display data generated by the display data generation unit A server transmission unit for transmitting, characterized in that it comprises a map information distribution server is provided.

  According to the above invention, the information indicating the current position of the user is displayed on the mobile terminal owned by the user, and the user can quickly and easily find the corresponding part of the map owned by the user. Further, since the map information distribution server holds the map information owned by the user, it is not necessary to store the map information in the memory of the mobile terminal. As a result, the memory of the mobile terminal can be reduced and the mobile terminal can be downsized.

  Further, the area information calculated by the map information calculation unit may be subdivided and displayed in a grid pattern on the display screen of the mobile terminal. As a result, the area information is displayed in a grid pattern on the display screen of the mobile terminal, and the user can easily visually determine his / her position on the area information.

  In order to solve the above problems, according to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a map information distribution system in which a mobile terminal owned by a user and a map information distribution server can be connected via a network; A position information acquisition unit that acquires its own position information; a mail generation unit that generates a mail including the position information and map specifying information for specifying a map owned by the user; and information that indicates its own position on the map A map information distribution server, a server mail receiving unit for receiving a mail including the position information transmitted by the mobile terminal and the map specifying information; one or more maps and position information; A map information storage unit stored in association with the map; a map information search unit for searching a map stored in the map information storage unit according to the map specifying information; and a map information search unit A map information calculation unit for calculating area information corresponding to the position information on the map; a display data generation unit for generating display data of the area information calculated by the map information calculation unit; and a display data generation unit A map information distribution system is provided, comprising: a server mail transmission unit that creates a mail including the displayed data and transmits the mail to the mobile terminal.

  According to the above invention, the information indicating the current position of the user is displayed on the mobile terminal owned by the user, and the user can quickly and easily find the corresponding part of the map owned by the user. Further, since the map information distribution server holds the map information owned by the user, it is not necessary to store the map information in the memory of the mobile terminal. As a result, the memory of the mobile terminal can be reduced and the mobile terminal can be downsized.

  In addition, the present invention can be realized without a special interface such as a selection screen for selecting the map specifying information by transmitting / receiving an email including the position information, map specifying information, display data, and the like.

  The area information calculated by the map information calculation unit may be subdivided and displayed in a grid pattern on the display screen of the mobile terminal. As a result, the area information is displayed in a grid pattern on the display screen of the mobile terminal, and the user can easily visually determine his / her position on the area information.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, according to another aspect of the present invention, a mobile terminal capable of acquiring own location information and transmitting map specifying information for specifying a map owned by a user can be connected via a network. A map information distribution server; a server mail receiving unit that receives mail including position information transmitted by a mobile terminal and map specifying information; and one or more maps and position information stored in association with each other A map information storage unit; a map information search unit that searches for a map stored in the map information storage unit according to map specific information; and a location information on a map searched by the map information search unit. A map information calculation unit that calculates corresponding area information; a display data generation unit that generates display data of the area information calculated by the map information calculation unit; and a display that is generated by the display data generation unit By creating a mail containing over data, a server mail sending unit to send mail to the mobile terminal; characterized in that it comprises a map information distribution server is provided.

  According to the above invention, the information indicating the current position of the user is displayed on the mobile terminal owned by the user, and the user can quickly and easily find the corresponding part of the map owned by the user. Further, since the map information distribution server holds the map information owned by the user, it is not necessary to store the map information in the memory of the mobile terminal. As a result, the memory of the mobile terminal can be reduced and the mobile terminal can be downsized.

  The area information calculated by the map information calculation unit may be subdivided and displayed in a grid pattern on the display screen of the mobile terminal. As a result, the area information is displayed in a grid pattern on the display screen of the mobile terminal, and the user can easily visually determine his / her position on the area information.

  In order to solve the above problems, according to another aspect of the present invention, map information realized using a mobile terminal owned by a user and a map information distribution server connected to the mobile terminal via a network. A distribution method; a step in which a map information distribution server receives location information acquired by a mobile terminal and map specifying information for specifying a map owned by a user; one or more depending on the map specifying information A step of searching a map stored in a map information storage unit in which the map and the location information are stored in association with each other; a step of calculating zone information corresponding to the location information on the searched map; A method for distributing map information is provided, comprising: creating display data of information and transmitting the display data to the mobile terminal.

  In order to solve the above problems, according to another aspect of the present invention, a map information distribution method realized using a mobile terminal owned by a user and a map information distribution server connected to the mobile terminal via a network. Wherein the map information distribution server receives an email containing the location information acquired by the mobile terminal and the map specifying information for specifying the map owned by the user; 1 or 2 depending on the map specifying information A step of searching a map stored in a map information storage unit obtained by associating the above map with location information; a step of calculating area information corresponding to the location information on the searched map; A map information distribution method comprising: creating display data of area information and transmitting an email including the display data.

  As described above, according to the present invention, the area information of the map owned by the user can be displayed according to the position information of the user, and the map information is held in the server to reduce the memory capacity of the mobile terminal. can do.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the present specification and drawings, components having substantially the same functional configuration are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted.

(First embodiment)
In the first embodiment, the map information distribution system 10 according to the present invention is applied to a map information distribution system 10 in which a mobile terminal owned by a user and a map information distribution server can be connected via a network.

<1. Overall configuration of map information distribution system>
First, the overall configuration of the map information distribution system 10 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram showing a map information distribution system 10 according to the present embodiment. The map information distribution system 10 includes a mobile terminal 100, a map information distribution server 200, a network 300, and the like.

  The mobile terminal 100 is an information processing apparatus having a function of acquiring the current position information of the user, and can be carried by the user, such as a mobile phone, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), or a small PC (Personal Computer). It is a mobile terminal. As a method for acquiring the position information, for example, the position information can be acquired using information transmitted from a GPS satellite or information obtained from a base station installed for PHS or a mobile phone. In addition, map specifying information for specifying a map owned by the user is input to the mobile terminal 100 by the user.

  Here, the map is a map other than electronic data, and for example, a paper map can be exemplified. A paper map is, for example, a map issued by the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan, a general road map, a map of a tourist guide book, etc. However, a map expressed in a medium other than paper may be used if it is a map other than electronic data. .

  The map specifying information is information for specifying a map owned by the user, such as the name of a paper map or the name of a guide book. Further, the map specifying information may include the version number of the map when the map is revised. The mobile terminal 100 transmits the acquired position information and the map specifying information input by the user to the map information distribution server 200.

  The map information distribution server 200 receives the position information and the map specifying information transmitted from the mobile terminal 100, specifies the map corresponding to the map specifying information, and further searches the current position of the user on the map. Then, the area information of the current position of the user on the map is transmitted to the mobile terminal. Here, the area information is information indicating the current position of the user on the map, and is, for example, information indicating a page number of a paper map or an area obtained by further subdividing the corresponding page.

  The mobile terminal 100 that has received the area information displays information that indicates the current position, and the user can immediately search for the same location on the owned map according to the information. Specifically, the mobile terminal 100 displays a map page number and area information obtained by further subdividing the page.

  Usually, the user finds the corresponding page of the map and the area within the corresponding page from the address or the like. However, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to save time and effort to find a page or area corresponding to the current position from address information or the like, and to quickly confirm the current position of the user on the map.

  The network 300 is a communication line network that connects the mobile terminal 100 and the map information distribution server 200 so that bidirectional communication is possible. The network 300 includes, for example, a public line network such as the Internet, a telephone line network, and a satellite communication network, and a dedicated line network such as WAN, LAN, and IP-VPN, and may be wired or wireless.

  The overall configuration of the map information distribution system 10 has been described above. Next, the functional configuration of the mobile terminal and the map information distribution server will be described with reference to FIG.

<2. Functional configuration of map information distribution server and mobile terminal>
FIG. 2 is a functional configuration diagram of the mobile terminal 100 and the map information distribution server 200 in the present embodiment. As described above, the mobile terminal 100 and the map information distribution server 200 are information processing apparatuses capable of bidirectional communication via a network.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the mobile terminal 100 includes a location information acquisition unit 102, a map specifying information input unit 104, a display unit 106, a mobile terminal transmission unit 108, a mobile terminal reception unit 110, and the like. .

  The location information acquisition unit 102 acquires information on the location of the user and provides the location information to the mobile terminal transmission unit 108. As described above, the position information of the user can be acquired using information transmitted from a GPS satellite or information obtained from a base station installed for PHS or a mobile phone. The position information acquisition unit 102 may always acquire the position information, or may acquire the position information in response to a user input. The position information acquired by the position information acquisition unit 102 is information for specifying the current position of the user, and examples thereof include latitude and longitude and an address.

  The map specifying information input unit 104 is an interface unit that receives input of map specifying information. As described above, the map specifying information is information for specifying a map owned by the user, for example, a map name or a guidebook name. If the map is revised and has a version number, the name and the version number may be entered. The map specifying information may be input by the user using an input means such as a keyboard, or the user may select the corresponding map specifying information on the selection display screen. The map specifying information input unit 104 provides the map specifying information input by the user to the mobile terminal transmitting unit 108.

  The mobile terminal transmission unit 108 is a communication interface configured with, for example, a communication line, a communication circuit, a communication device, and the like. The mobile terminal transmission unit 108 transmits the location information provided by the location information acquisition unit 102 and the map specification information provided by the map specification information input unit 104 to the map information distribution server 200.

  The mobile terminal receiving unit 110 is a communication interface configured with, for example, a communication line, a communication circuit, a communication device, and the like. The mobile terminal receiving unit 110 receives from the map information distribution server 200 information indicating the current position on the map corresponding to the position information acquired by the position information acquiring unit 102. In addition, the display unit 106 is provided with information indicating the current position on the received map.

  The display unit 106 includes a display device such as a liquid crystal display and an interface unit that displays data on the display device. On the display screen of the display unit 106, information that indicates the current position on the map provided by the mobile terminal receiving unit 110 is displayed. The information indicating the current position on the map is, for example, the number of pages of the paper-based map and the coordinates of squares obtained by subdividing the pages.

  The functional configuration of the mobile terminal 100 has been described above. Next, the functional configuration of the map information distribution server 200 will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the map information distribution server 200 includes a server reception unit 202, a server transmission unit 204, a map information search unit 206, a display data creation unit 208, a map information storage unit 210, and map information. The calculation unit 212 is configured.

  The server reception unit 202 is a communication interface configured by, for example, a communication line, a communication circuit, a communication device, and the like. The server receiving unit 202 receives the position information indicating the current position of the mobile terminal transmitted from the mobile terminal and the map specifying information of the paper map owned by the user, and provides it to the map information search unit 206.

  The map information search unit 206 searches the map information stored in the map information storage unit 210 based on the map specifying information provided from the server reception unit 202. As described above, the map specifying information includes information on the name and version number of the map, and the map information stored in the map information storage unit is specified based on the information. The map information search unit 206 provides the map information calculation unit 212 with the position information provided from the server reception unit and the result searched by the map information search unit 206.

  The map information storage unit 210 is a storage device that stores map information, and specifically stores map specifying information in association with the number of map pages and area information. For example, the paper map described above has pages for each area, or each page is divided into squares and numbers are assigned to the squares. In the map information storage unit 210, information for specifying a paper map and area information of the map are stored in association with each other. Moreover, you may enable it to add the map information memorize | stored in the map information storage part 210 as needed. For example, when the map is revised, information on the revised map may be added.

  The map information calculation unit 212 calculates in which area on the map the user is located according to the current position of the user. Specifically, the area where the user is located is calculated based on the position information provided by the map information search unit 206 and the map information stored in the map information storage unit 210 corresponding to the map specifying information. The map information calculated by the map information calculation unit 212 is provided to the display data creation unit 208.

  The display data creation unit 208 creates display data to be displayed on the display screen of the mobile terminal 100. Specifically, display data is generated that causes the mobile terminal to display a map page included in the map information provided by the map information calculation unit 212, a number of an area obtained by further dividing the page, and the like. The display data may be the number of the page or area number alone, or the display data may be created by displaying squares on the display screen so that the corresponding portions of the squares are known. The display data created by the display data creation unit 208 is provided to the server transmission unit 204.

  The server transmission unit 204 is a communication interface configured with, for example, a communication line, a communication circuit, a communication device, and the like. The server transmission unit 204 transmits the display data provided from the display data creation unit 208 to the mobile terminal reception unit 110.

  Thus, according to the present embodiment, map information can be stored in the map information storage unit 210 of the map information distribution server 200, and the memory of the mobile terminal can be reduced. In addition, since the map information storage unit 210 stores information on a plurality of maps, it can also cope with a user who owns a plurality of maps. For example, when a map is revised, information on the revised map can be provided by the user inputting the version number of the map. If the mobile terminal 100 owned by the user has a position information acquisition function and a network connection function, this embodiment can be realized.

  Further, the map information distribution server 200 is provided with functions for specifying the area where the user is located from map information and creating display data, and the mobile terminal 100 does not require a search function or display data creation function. Therefore, the structure of the mobile terminal 100 can be simplified, and the mobile terminal 100 can be downsized.

  The functional configurations of the mobile terminal 100 and the map information distribution server 200 have been described above. The functions provided in the map information distribution server 200 may be provided in different servers. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, a server transmission unit 202 and a server reception unit 204 are provided in the Web server 222, a map information search unit 206 and a display data creation unit 208 are provided in the application server 224, and map information The storage unit 210 and the map information calculation unit 212 may be provided in the map server (1) 226.

<3. Flow of map information distribution system>
Therefore, the processing flow of the map information distribution system will be described in detail by applying this embodiment to the example of the map information distribution system shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram showing an example of the map information distribution system according to the present embodiment.

  As described above, the map information distribution server 200 includes the Web server 222, the application server 224, the map server (1) 226, and the like. The map information distribution server 200 is connected to the network 300 by a router 220 which is a device that relays data flowing on the network to another network. The router 220 is connected to a firewall 221 that protects the server from unauthorized access from the network and viruses. The service center 400 includes the router 220, the firewall 221, and the map information distribution server 200.

  The Web server 222 transmits and receives information such as position information and map information search results to and from the mobile terminal 100 via the network 300. The application server 224 searches the map information storage unit 210 of the map server (1) 226 in which the corresponding map information is stored based on the position information and the map specifying information transmitted from the mobile terminal 100 via the Web server 222. , Request transmission of map information. Further, the map information received from the map server (1) 226 is transmitted to the mobile terminal 100 via the Web server 222. The map server (1) 226 calculates the corresponding area of the position information owned by the user from the map information stored in the map information storage unit 210.

  In addition, the map distribution center 500 may be connected to the network 300. The map distribution center 500 includes a router 502, a map server (2) 504, and the like. The map server (2) 504 is a server provided in a map publishing company, for example, and stores map information other than the map information stored in the map server (1). Since map server (2) 504 is a server provided by a map publisher, etc., refer to the supplementary map provided on the last page of the tourist guide book and the detailed map for explaining tourist points in the guide book. Information such as a less frequent map or the latest map may be stored.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the mobile terminal 100 is connected to a service center 400 and a map distribution center 500 via a network 300. For example, when the map information of the map owned by the user is not held in the map server (1) 226 of the service center 400, the map stored in the map server (2) 504 provided in the map distribution center 500 Information can be retrieved. As a result, information corresponding to the maps owned by each user can be provided, and even when the user owns a plurality of maps, information corresponding to each map can be provided.

  Next, based on FIG. 4, the flow of processing of the map information distribution system 10 according to the present embodiment will be described. In the description, the screen display example shown in FIG.

  First, a predetermined URL is input to the mobile terminal 100, and the mobile terminal 100 accesses the Web server 222 of the service center 400 (S102). When the mobile terminal 100 and the Web server 222 are connected via the network 300, a Top page corresponding to the URL input from the Web server 222 to the mobile terminal is transmitted (S104).

  Then, the mobile terminal 100 displays the map selection screen 600, the position acquisition inquiry screen 602, etc. shown in FIG. The user selects a map publisher owned by the user, a map name, a version number, and the like (S106). Furthermore, when the location acquisition inquiry screen 602 shown in FIG. 5 is displayed and the location acquisition confirmation button is selected by the user, the mobile terminal acquires location information (S108). The map specifying information selected by the user and the position information acquired by the mobile terminal are transmitted to the Web server 222 (S110).

  The web server 222 transmits the map specifying information received from the mobile terminal 100 and a search request based on the position information to the application server 224 (S112). The application server 224 selects the map server (1) 226 including the map information corresponding to the map specifying information from the received map specifying information (S114). The map specifying information and the position information are transmitted to the map server (1) 226 selected by the application server 224, and the application server 224 requests the map server 226 to calculate the map information (S116).

  The map server (1) 226 that has received the map specifying information and the position information calculates a corresponding area on the map according to the position information (S118). The calculation result calculated by the map server (1) 226 is transmitted to the application server 224 (S120). Here, the calculation result is the area information of the map owned by the user, and specifically, the number of pages of the map, a number representing the area obtained by subdividing the page, and the like. These pieces of area information may be calculated according to the acquisition accuracy of the position information. When the accuracy of the position information is good, it is possible to further subdivide the portion of the map page corresponding to the position information and specify the map area in detail.

  When the map server is selected in step S114, if there is no map information corresponding to the map owned by the user in the map server (1) 226, a calculation request can be transmitted to the map server (2) 504. (S122). The map server (2) 504 that has received the map information calculation request from the application server 224 calculates the corresponding area on the map in accordance with the position information (S124). The calculation result calculated by the map server (2) 504 is transmitted to the application server 224 (S126).

  Then, the calculated map information is transmitted from the application server 224 to the Web server 222 (S128). The Web server 222 to which the map information is transmitted in step S128 creates display data for displaying the map information on the mobile terminal, and transmits the display data to the mobile terminal 100. The mobile terminal 100 acquires display data and acquires information indicating the current position on the map (S130). The acquired display data is displayed on the display screen of the mobile terminal 100 (S132).

  The display data displayed on the display screen of the mobile terminal 100 will be described later, but the user can quickly confirm the current position on the map he has based on the map information displayed on the mobile terminal 100. It becomes possible. For example, in the case of a map on a paper medium, after confirming the current position, the periphery of the current position can be quickly confirmed in a wide range. For example, in the case of a map displayed electronically, such as in a car navigation system, if you try to check the surroundings of the current position over a wide area, the map displayed electronically can be reduced by button operation or scrolled up / down / left / right to be displayed electronically. You have to move the map.

  The first embodiment has been described above. Next, a second embodiment will be described.

(Second Embodiment)
Since the second embodiment has the same functional configuration as that of the first embodiment, a processing method different from that of the first embodiment will be mainly described.

<4. Process Flow of Second Embodiment>
FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a flow of processing according to the present embodiment. The mobile terminal 100 acquires location information in advance (S202). The position information acquired in step S202 may be acquired according to a user input, or the position information may be acquired at a predetermined interval. Next, a predetermined URL is input to the mobile terminal 100, and the mobile terminal 100 accesses the Web server 222 of the service center 400 (S204). At this time, the position information acquired in step S202 is added as a URL parameter and transmitted to the Web server 222. When the mobile terminal 100 and the Web server 222 are connected via the network 300, a Top page corresponding to the URL input from the Web server 222 to the mobile terminal is transmitted (S206).

  Then, the mobile terminal 100 displays the map selection screen 600, the position acquisition inquiry screen 602, etc. shown in FIG. The user selects a map publisher owned by the user, a map name, a version number, and the like (S208). The map specifying information selected by the user is transmitted to the Web server 222 (S210).

  The web server 222 transmits the map specifying information received from the mobile terminal 100 and the search request based on the position information to the application server 224 (S212). The application server 224 selects the map server (1) 226 including the map information corresponding to the map specifying information from the received map specifying information (S214). Map specifying information and position information are transmitted to the map server (1) 226 selected by the application server 224, and the application server 224 requests the map server (1) 226 to calculate map information (S216).

  The map server (1) 226 that has received the map specifying information and the position information calculates a corresponding area on the map according to the position information (S228). The calculation result calculated by the map server (1) 226 is transmitted to the application server 224 (S220). Here, the calculation result is the area information of the map owned by the user, and specifically, the number of pages of the map, a number representing the area obtained by subdividing the page, and the like. These pieces of area information may be calculated according to the acquisition accuracy of the position information. When the accuracy of the position information is good, it is possible to further subdivide the portion of the map page corresponding to the position information and specify the map area in detail.

  When the map server is selected in step S214, if there is no map information corresponding to the map owned by the user in the map server (1) 226, a calculation request can be transmitted to the map server (2) 504. (S222). The map server (2) 504 that has received the map information calculation request from the application server 224 calculates the corresponding area on the map in accordance with the position information (S224). The calculation result calculated by the map server (2) 504 is transmitted to the application server 224 (S226).

  Then, the calculated map information is transmitted from the application server 224 to the Web server 222 (S228). The Web server 222 to which the map information is transmitted in step S228 creates display data for displaying the map information on the mobile terminal, and transmits the display data to the mobile terminal 100. The mobile terminal 100 acquires display data and acquires information indicating the current position on the map (S230). The acquired display data is displayed on the display screen of the mobile terminal 100 (S232).

  According to this embodiment, since the location information can be transmitted when the mobile terminal 100 accesses the Web server 222, the user's input operation can be simplified. The second embodiment has been described above. Next, a third embodiment will be described.

(Third embodiment)
In the third embodiment, the mobile terminal owned by the user and the map information distribution server can be connected via the network, and the map information according to the present invention is added to the map information distribution system 20 capable of transmitting and receiving information by mail. A description will be given by applying a distribution system.

<5. Functional configuration of map information distribution server and mobile terminal>
FIG. 7 is a functional configuration diagram of the map information distribution server and the mobile terminal according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 7, the mobile terminal 150 includes a location information acquisition unit 102, a mail creation unit 112, a display unit 106, a mobile terminal mail transmission unit 116, a mobile terminal mail reception unit 118, and the like. .

  The position information acquisition unit 102 acquires information on the position of the user and provides the position information to the mail transmission unit 112. As described above, the position information of the user can be acquired using information transmitted from a GPS satellite or information obtained from a base station installed for PHS or a mobile phone. The position information acquisition unit 102 may always acquire the position information, or may acquire the position information in response to a user input. The position information acquired by the position information acquisition unit 102 is information for specifying the current position of the user, and examples thereof include latitude and longitude and an address.

  The mail creation unit 112 has a function of creating mail in response to user input. The mail creation unit 112 creates an email including the location information provided by the location information acquisition unit 102, and creates an email with the map specifying information added by the user's input. The mail creation unit 112 provides the mobile terminal mail transmission unit 116 with a mail including location information and map specifying information. As described above, the map specifying information is information for specifying a map owned by the user, for example, a map name or a guidebook name.

  The mobile terminal mail transmission unit 116 is a communication interface configured with, for example, a communication line, a communication circuit, a communication device, and the like. The mobile terminal mail transmission unit 116 transmits a mail including the position information and map specifying information created by the mail creation unit 112 to the map information distribution server 250.

  The mobile terminal mail receiving unit 118 is a communication interface configured by, for example, a communication line, a communication circuit, a communication device, and the like. The mobile terminal mail receiving unit 118 receives from the map information distribution server 200 a mail including information indicating the current position on the map corresponding to the position information acquired by the position information acquiring unit 102. In addition, information indicating the current position on the map included in the mail is provided to the display unit 106.

  The display unit 106 includes a display device such as a liquid crystal display and an interface unit that displays data on the display device. On the display screen of the display unit 106, information that indicates the current position on the map provided by the mobile terminal mail receiving unit 118 is displayed. The information indicating the current position on the map is, for example, the number of pages of the paper-based map and the coordinates of squares obtained by subdividing the pages.

  The functional configuration of the mobile terminal 150 has been described above. Next, the functional configuration of the map information distribution server 250 will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the map information distribution server 250 includes a server mail receiving unit 220, a server mail transmitting unit 222, a map information searching unit 206, a display data creating unit 208, a map information storage unit 210, The map information calculation unit 212 is configured.

  The server mail receiving unit 220 is a communication interface configured with, for example, a communication line, a communication circuit, a communication device, and the like. The server mail receiving unit 220 receives the mail transmitted from the mobile terminal, extracts the position information indicating the current position of the mobile terminal included in the mail and the map specifying information of the paper map owned by the user, and This is provided to the information search unit 206.

  The map information search unit 206 searches the map information stored in the map information storage unit 210 based on the map specifying information provided from the server reception unit 202. As described above, the map specifying information includes information on the name and version number of the map, and the map stored in the map information storage unit is specified based on the information. The map information search unit 206 provides the map information calculation unit 212 with the position information provided from the server reception unit and the result searched by the map information search unit 206.

  The map information storage unit 210 is a storage device that stores map information, and specifically stores map specifying information in association with the number of map pages and area information. For example, the paper map described above has pages for each area, or each page is divided into squares and numbers are assigned to the squares. In the map information storage unit 210, information for specifying a paper map and area information of the map are stored in association with each other. Moreover, you may enable it to add the map information memorize | stored in the map information storage part 210 as needed. For example, when the map is revised, information on the revised map may be added.

  The map information calculation unit 212 calculates in which area on the map the user is located according to the current position of the user. Specifically, the area where the user is located is calculated based on the position information provided by the map information search unit 206 and the map information stored in the map information storage unit 210 corresponding to the map specifying information. The map information calculated by the map information calculation unit 212 is provided to the display data creation unit 208.

  The display data creation unit 208 creates display data to be displayed on the display screen of the mobile terminal 100. Specifically, display data is generated for causing the mobile terminal to display a map page included in the map information provided by the map information calculation unit 212, a number of an area obtained by further dividing the page, and the like. The display data may be the number of the page or area number alone, or the display data may be created by displaying squares on the display screen so that the corresponding portions of the squares are known. The display data created by the display data creation unit 208 is provided to the server mail transmission unit 222.

  The server mail transmission unit 222 is a communication interface configured with, for example, a communication line, a communication circuit, a communication device, and the like. The server mail transmission unit 222 creates a mail including the display data provided from the display data creation unit 208 and transmits the mail to the mobile terminal mail reception unit 118.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, map information can be stored in the map information storage unit 210 of the map information distribution server 250, and the memory of the mobile terminal can be reduced. In addition, since the map information storage unit 210 stores information on a plurality of maps, it can also cope with a user who owns a plurality of maps. For example, when a map is revised, information on the revised map can be provided by the user inputting the version number of the map. If the mobile terminal 100 owned by the user has a position information acquisition function and a network connection function, this embodiment can be realized.

  Furthermore, the map information distribution server 250 is provided with functions for specifying the area where the user is located from the map information and creating display data, and the mobile terminal 150 does not require a search function or display data creation function. Therefore, the structure of the mobile terminal 150 can be simplified, and the mobile terminal 150 can be downsized. Further, by transmitting and receiving position information and map specifying information by e-mail, the present invention can be realized without a special interface such as a selection screen for selecting map specifying information.

  The functional configurations of the mobile terminal 150 and the map information distribution server 250 have been described above. The functions provided in the map information distribution server 250 may be provided in different servers. For example, as shown in FIG. 8, the server mail transmission unit 222 and the server mail reception unit 220 are provided in the mail server 252, the map information search unit 206 and the display data creation unit 208 are provided in the application server 254, The map information storage unit 210 and the map information calculation unit 212 may be provided in the map server (1) 256.

<6. Flow of map information distribution system>
Therefore, the processing flow of the map information distribution system 20 will be described in detail by applying this embodiment to the example of the map information distribution system 20 shown in FIG. FIG. 8 is a configuration diagram showing an example of the map information distribution system 20 according to the present embodiment.

  As described above, the map information distribution server 250 includes the mail server 252, the application server 254, the map server (1) 256, and the like. The map information distribution server 250 is connected to the network 300 by a router 220 which is a device that relays data flowing on the network to another network. The router 220 is connected to a firewall 221 that protects the server from unauthorized access from the network and viruses. A service center 450 is configured including the router 220, the firewall 221, and the map information distribution server 250.

  The mail server 252 transmits and receives mail including information such as position information and map information search results to and from the mobile terminal 150 via the network 300. The application server 254 receives the map information of the map server (1) 256 in which the corresponding map information is stored based on the position information and the map specifying information included in the mail transmitted from the mobile terminal 150 via the mail server 252. The storage unit 210 is searched to request transmission of map information. In addition, a mail including the map information received from the map server (1) 256 is transmitted to the mobile terminal 150 via the mail server 252. The map server (1) 256 calculates the corresponding area of the position information owned by the user from the map information stored in the map information storage unit 210.

  In addition, the map distribution center 500 may be connected to the network 300. The map distribution center 500 includes a router 502, a map server (2) 504, and the like. The map server (2) 504 is a server provided in, for example, a map publishing company, and stores map information other than the map information stored in the map server (1). Since map server (2) 504 is a server provided by a map publisher, etc., refer to the supplementary map provided on the last page of the tourist guide book and the detailed map for explaining tourist points in the guide book. Information such as a less frequent map or the latest map may be stored.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the mobile terminal 150 is connected to the service center 450 and the map distribution center 500 via the network 300. For example, if the map information of the map owned by the user is not held in the map server (1) 256 of the service center 450, the map stored in the map server (2) 504 provided in the map distribution center 500 Information can be retrieved. As a result, information corresponding to the maps owned by each user can be provided, and even when the user owns a plurality of maps, information corresponding to each map can be provided.

  Next, based on FIG. 9, the flow of processing of the map information distribution system 20 according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the flow of processing of the map information distribution system 20 according to the present embodiment.

  The mobile terminal 150 acquires position information in advance (S302). The position information acquired in step S302 may be acquired according to a user input, or the position information may be acquired at a predetermined interval. Next, a mail including the acquired position information is created, and map specifying information is added to the mail by a user input. The mobile terminal 150 transmits a mail including the position information and the map specifying information to the mail server 252 (S304). The mail server 252 extracts position information and map specifying information from the received mail, and requests the application server 254 to perform a search based on the extracted position information and map specifying information (S306).

  The application server 254 selects a map server (1) 256 including map information corresponding to the map specifying information from the received map specifying information (S308). Map specifying information and location information are transmitted to the map server (1) 256 selected by the application server 254, and the application server 254 requests the map server (1) 256 to calculate map information (S310).

  The map server (1) 256 that has received the map specifying information and the position information calculates a corresponding area on the map according to the position information (S312). The calculation result calculated by the map server (1) 256 is transmitted to the application server 254 (S314). Here, the calculation result is the area information of the map owned by the user, and specifically, the number of pages of the map, a number representing the area obtained by subdividing the page, and the like. These pieces of area information may be calculated according to the acquisition accuracy of the position information. When the accuracy of the position information is good, it is possible to further subdivide the portion of the map page corresponding to the position information and specify the map area in detail.

  When the map server is selected in step S308, if there is no map information corresponding to the map owned by the user in the map server (1) 256, a calculation request can be transmitted to the map server (2) 504. (S316). The map server (2) 504 that has received the map information calculation request from the application server 254 calculates the corresponding area on the map in accordance with the position information (S318). The calculation result calculated by the map server (2) 504 is transmitted to the application server 254 (S320).

  Then, the calculated map information is transmitted from the application server 254 to the mail server 252 (S322). The mail server 252 to which the map information is transmitted in step S322 creates display data for displaying the map information on the mobile terminal, further creates a mail including the display data, and transmits the mail to the mobile terminal 150 (S324). The display data of the map information included in the mail transmitted in step S324 is displayed on the display screen of the mobile terminal 150 (S326).

  Thus, in this embodiment, since map information is transmitted by e-mail, the user can display and confirm the map information immediately after receiving the e-mail, or receive it when desired by the user. You can also check the map information included in the email. For example, since map information cannot be confirmed during business negotiations with a customer during business, it is possible to later confirm the map information contained in the mail by opening the mail.

  The third embodiment has been described above. Next, display examples of map information on the mobile terminal will be described with reference to FIGS.

  First, a display example of a paper map will be described. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a display example of a paper map. As shown in FIG. 10, the page number 802 is attached to each page of the paper map. Also, a part of the area 808 divided into a matrix can be represented by a combination of numbers 804 on the upper and lower edges of the page and map and alphabets 806 on the left and right edges. Accordingly, the area 808 on the map of FIG. 10 can be represented by “P80-B-2”. Further, the areas 808 may be subdivided in a matrix and numbered. For example, when a segmented area “3” of the area 808 is represented, it can be represented as “P80-B-2-3”.

  When a user searches for a current position or the like from a paper map, first, it is confirmed how many pages the area corresponding to the address of the current position is included. After opening the corresponding page, search for the corresponding part in the page with detailed address information. At this time, if the user knows in advance that the corresponding location on the map is “P80-B-2”, the user can easily and quickly open the page of the corresponding location on the map and confirm the current position. . Furthermore, if the information “P80-B-2-3” is acquired in advance, the current position on the map can be confirmed more quickly.

  As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to notify the user of information on the corresponding area on the map according to the position information. For example, by notifying the area information to a mobile terminal such as a mobile phone or a PDA, the user can quickly confirm the current position on the map as long as there is a map and the mobile terminal. Next, a display example when notifying area information to the mobile terminal will be described.

  FIG. 11 is a display example of the display screen of the mobile terminal. As described above, the location information is acquired by the mobile terminal, and the map information of the map owned by the user is displayed on the mobile terminal according to the location information. As shown in the display example 610, the map specifying information “XXX map” and the map information “P80-B-2” are displayed on the display screen of the mobile terminal. The map information displayed here is the area information of the paper map shown in FIG. Further, when the accuracy of the position information is good, the map information “P80-B-2-3” is displayed, and more detailed area information can be notified to the user. As shown in FIG. 10, the area of “P80-B-2” is further divided into nine, and one of the areas is shown.

  Further, for example, when the mobile terminal owned by the user is a mobile phone, “P80-B-2” is divided into 12 according to the input key of the mobile phone, and one of those areas is designated as “P80-B”. -2- # "may be displayed. As a result, the user can visually confirm the current position easily.

  In addition, when the current position is indicated on different pages on the same map by changing the scale, a plurality of pieces of map information may be displayed. A display example 620 in FIG. 12 is an example in which a plurality of pages are displayed on the same map. Further, as shown in the display example 622, the map information “P80-B-2-3”, address information, and latitude / longitude information may be displayed.

  Further, as shown in the display example 624, the area information may be subdivided and explicitly displayed in a matrix form. As a result, the user can easily determine the current position information visually.

  As mentioned above, although preferred embodiment of this invention was described referring an accompanying drawing, it cannot be overemphasized that this invention is not limited to the example which concerns. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made within the scope of the claims, and these are of course within the technical scope of the present invention. Understood.

  In the above-described embodiment, the user's position information is acquired and map information corresponding to the position information is displayed on the mobile terminal, but the present invention is not limited to such an example. For example, the map information distribution server may store the map information and the address information in association with each other and display the map information corresponding to the address information input by the user. Alternatively, a landmark name, a station name, or the like may be input, and map information corresponding to the name may be displayed on the mobile terminal.

  The present invention is applicable to a map information distribution system, a map information distribution server, and a map information distribution method that display area information on a map in accordance with position information acquired by a mobile terminal.

1 is an overall configuration diagram of a map information distribution system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a functional block diagram of the mobile terminal and map information delivery server concerning the embodiment. It is the block diagram which showed the example of the map information delivery system concerning the embodiment. It is explanatory drawing explaining the flow of a process of the map information delivery system concerning the embodiment. It is the figure which showed the example of a screen display of the mobile terminal concerning the embodiment. It is explanatory drawing explaining the flow of a process of the map information delivery system concerning the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a functional block diagram of the mobile terminal and map information delivery server concerning the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is the block diagram which showed the example of the map information delivery system concerning the embodiment. It is explanatory drawing explaining the flow of a process of the map information delivery system concerning the embodiment. It is explanatory drawing explaining the example of a display of the mobile terminal concerning the 1st-3rd embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing explaining the example of a display of the mobile terminal concerning the 1st-3rd embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing explaining the example of a display of the mobile terminal concerning the 1st-3rd embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Mobile terminal 102 Location information acquisition part 104 Map specific information input part 106 Display part 108 Mobile terminal transmission part 110 Mobile terminal reception part 200 Map information distribution server 202 Server reception part 204 Server transmission part 206 Map information search part 208 Display data creation part 210 Map information storage unit 212 Map information calculation unit 300 Network

Claims (10)

A map information distribution system in which a mobile terminal owned by a user and a map information distribution server can be connected via a network;
The mobile terminal
A position information acquisition unit that acquires its own position information;
A map specifying information input unit in which map specifying information for specifying a map owned by the user is input by the user;
A display unit that displays information that indicates the position of the user on the map,
The map information distribution server
A server receiving unit for receiving the location information transmitted by the mobile terminal and the map specifying information;
A map information storage unit in which one or more maps and position information are stored in association with each other;
A map information search unit for searching a map stored in the map information storage unit according to the map specifying information;
A map information calculation unit for calculating area information corresponding to the position information on the map searched by the map information search unit;
A display data creation unit for creating display data of the area information calculated by the map information calculation unit;
A map information distribution system comprising: a server transmission unit that transmits the display data created by the display data creation unit to the mobile terminal.   The map information distribution system according to claim 1, wherein the area information calculated by the map information calculation unit is subdivided and displayed in a grid pattern on a display screen of the mobile terminal. A map information distribution server capable of connecting via a network to a mobile terminal capable of acquiring own position information and transmitting map specifying information for specifying a map owned by a user;
A server receiving unit for receiving the location information transmitted by the mobile terminal and the map specifying information;
A map information storage unit in which one or more maps and position information are stored in association with each other;
A map information search unit for searching a map stored in the map information storage unit according to the map specifying information;
A map information calculation unit for calculating area information corresponding to the position information on the map searched by the map information search unit;
A display data creation unit for creating display data of the area information calculated by the map information calculation unit;
A map information distribution server comprising: a server transmission unit that transmits the display data created by the display data creation unit to the mobile terminal.   The map information distribution server according to claim 3, wherein the area information calculated by the map information calculation unit is subdivided and displayed in a grid pattern on the display screen of the mobile terminal. A map information distribution system in which a mobile terminal owned by a user and a map information distribution server can be connected via a network;
The mobile terminal
A position information acquisition unit that acquires its own position information;
A mail creation unit that creates a mail including the position information and map specifying information for specifying a map owned by the user;
A display unit that displays information that indicates the position of the user on the map,
The map information distribution server
A server mail receiving unit for receiving a mail including the location information transmitted by the mobile terminal and the map specifying information;
A map information storage unit in which one or more maps and position information are stored in association with each other;
A map information search unit for searching a map stored in the map information storage unit according to the map specifying information;
A map information calculation unit for calculating area information corresponding to the position information on the map searched by the map information search unit;
A display data creation unit for creating display data of the area information calculated by the map information calculation unit;
A map information distribution system comprising: a server mail transmission unit that generates a mail including the display data generated by the display data generation unit and transmits the mail to the mobile terminal.   6. The map information distribution system according to claim 5, wherein the area information calculated by the map information calculation unit is subdivided and displayed in a grid pattern on a display screen of the mobile terminal. A map information distribution server capable of connecting via a network to a mobile terminal capable of acquiring own position information and transmitting map specifying information for specifying a map owned by a user;
A server mail receiving unit for receiving a mail including the location information transmitted by the mobile terminal and the map specifying information;
A map information storage unit in which one or more maps and position information are stored in association with each other;
A map information search unit for searching a map stored in the map information storage unit according to the map specifying information;
A map information calculation unit for calculating area information corresponding to the position information on the map searched by the map information search unit;
A display data creation unit for creating display data of the area information calculated by the map information calculation unit;
A map information distribution server comprising: a server mail transmission unit that generates a mail including the display data generated by the display data generation unit and transmits the mail to the mobile terminal.   The map information distribution server according to claim 7, wherein the area information calculated by the map information calculation unit is subdivided and displayed in a grid pattern on a display screen of the mobile terminal. A map information distribution method realized using a mobile terminal owned by a user and a map information distribution server connected to the mobile terminal via a network;
The map information distribution server is
Receiving position information acquired by the mobile terminal and map specifying information for specifying a map owned by a user;
Searching for a map stored in a map information storage unit in which one or more maps and position information are stored in association with each other according to the map specifying information;
Calculating area information corresponding to the position information on the searched map;
Creating display data of the area information and transmitting the display data to the mobile terminal;
A map information distribution method characterized by including: A map information distribution method realized using a mobile terminal owned by a user and a map information distribution server connected to the mobile terminal via a network;
The map information distribution server is
Receiving e-mail including location information acquired by the mobile terminal and map specifying information for specifying a map owned by the user;
Searching for a map stored in a map information storage unit that has been acquired in association with one or more maps and position information according to the map specifying information;
Calculating area information corresponding to the position information on the searched map;
Creating display data of the area information and sending an email including the display data;
A map information distribution method characterized by including:

Images