JP2006157772A - Portable wireless terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a service to quickly guide a user to the nearest service area, by displaying a map information and and a current location information to show the service areas on a portable wireless terminal, when the portable wireless terminal, such as a mobile telephone or a wireless LAN, is located outside the service area. <P>SOLUTION: The portable wireless terminal communicates with other terminals via radio waves. The terminal comprises a map coordinate information processing unit for obtaining a map coordinate information relating to areas in which the portable wireless terminal can communicate, or to areas in which the portable wireless terminal cannot communicate; a location coordinate processing unit for obtaining a location information of the portable wireless terminal; a coordinate-combining unit for adding the location information to the map coordinate information; and a display unit for displaying the output of the coordinate-combining unit. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a terminal and a system for displaying service area information and current position information as map information on a portable wireless terminal such as a cellular phone or a wireless LAN.

  As the service area information of a general mobile phone, as shown in FIG. 13, the antenna (level) display shown in FIG. 13x is performed in the service area, and the antenna (out of service area) display shown in FIG. Provide information to users.

  When the user moves from the service area to the service area, the user can recognize that the user has moved out of the service area by the antenna display if the mobile phone display screen is monitored.

  However, when moving from the service area to the outside of the service area in a non-communication state, it has not been possible to identify from which point the service area has been out of the service area.

  For example, Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 are disclosed as devices for knowing the current position of a person or the like, although the purpose is different.

  Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H10-260260 discloses a current position reporting system using a portable terminal device that has a GPS reception function and can be used as a handset of a PHS cordless phone. According to this system, first, the mobile terminal device converts the current position information calculated based on the position information received from the GPS satellite into a radio signal based on the PHS protocol, and transmits the radio signal to the radio base station. On the other hand, the radio base station transmits the current position information of the mobile terminal device to the monitoring center via a telephone line. Then, the monitoring center checks where the caller is based on the current position information transmitted from the portable terminal device and arranges emergency activities.

  Further, Patent Document 2 includes a GPS unit and a mobile phone unit, and a position provided with a portable transceiver that transmits position information acquired by the GPS unit to a tracking person from the mobile phone unit via a mobile phone line. An information detection device is disclosed.

On the other hand, Patent Document 3 appropriately switches between position information based on the PHS function and position information based on a more accurate GPS function of the position information in order to improve the problems of Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 described above. A PHS mobile terminal with a GPS function that can be used is disclosed.
JP-A-8-180286 JP-A-8-65413 JP 2000-138961 A

  The above proposal is aimed at identifying the current position of a person and monitoring the behavior by notifying the management office and the report destination in the higher level network of the position information. The functions displayed on the screen are limited to the management office and the report destination of the upper network, and a mechanism for providing map information and current location information on the screen of the mobile wireless terminal held by the moving user is not considered.

  In order to solve the conventional problem, a portable wireless terminal according to a first aspect of the present invention is a portable wireless terminal that communicates with another terminal through wireless communication, and the area in which the portable wireless terminal can communicate and communication failure. A map coordinate information processing unit for acquiring map coordinate information related to possible areas, a position coordinate processing unit for acquiring position information of the portable wireless terminal, a coordinate composition unit for adding the position information to the map coordinate information, And a display unit for displaying the output of the coordinate synthesis unit.

  The second invention further comprises a storage unit that stores the movement history of the portable wireless terminal at a predetermined cycle, and reproduces the movement history based on the movement history. .

  The third invention is characterized by further comprising a memory medium for storing map information regarding an area in which the portable wireless terminal can communicate and an area incapable of communicating with the first invention.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in contrast to the first aspect of the invention, map information relating to an area where the portable wireless terminal can communicate and an area where the portable wireless terminal cannot communicate is acquired in response to a request from the portable wireless terminal. Features.

  The fifth aspect of the invention relates to the first aspect of the invention, a means for calculating a distance from the location information of the portable wireless terminal to the nearest communicable area, and a speaker that converts the distance into a voice message and outputs the voice message. It further has these.

  The sixth aspect of the invention relates to the first aspect of the invention, the means for calculating the distance from the location information of the portable wireless terminal to the nearest communicable area, and means for converting the distance into a text message and displaying it. Furthermore, it is characterized by having.

  The seventh invention is characterized by further comprising means for converting the direction to the nearest communicable area into a graphic message from the position information of the portable wireless terminal as a starting point with respect to the first invention.

  According to the present invention, the service area information and the current position information are displayed on the same map screen on a mobile wireless terminal such as a mobile phone and a wireless LAN, so that the user can easily confirm the current position. Further, when the mobile wireless terminal is outside the service area, the approximate distance and direction to the nearest service area can be confirmed, and movement from the service area to the service area can be efficiently realized.

  In addition, the approximate distance from the current position to the nearest service area can be provided by voice or text, and the convenience can be further improved by providing the direction as a graphic.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a configuration example of a display screen of the portable wireless terminal 1 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

  On the display screen of the mobile wireless terminal 1, map information near the current location, service area information (zones A, B, C, and D in the figure) in which the mobile wireless terminal 1 can communicate, and a pointer indicating the current position are displayed. It is displayed on the same map screen.

  FIG. 2 is a functional block configuration example when the mobile wireless terminal 1 according to Embodiment 1 is a mobile phone, and includes a mobile phone function and a position information processing function. The mobile phone function includes an operation unit 10 attached to the exterior, a microphone 17, a speaker 18, a display unit 12, a terminal control unit 11 having an image processing circuit 110, a switching unit 19 for selecting a display signal, an antenna 101, and an RF circuit 13. The modem circuit 14 includes a baseband processing circuit 15 and a codec circuit 16.

  On the other hand, the position information processing function includes an antenna 102, a GPS receiving unit 20, a position coordinate processing unit 21, a map coordinate processing unit 22, and a coordinate combining unit 23 that combines position coordinate information and map coordinate information. The map coordinate processing unit 22 inputs either the map coordinate information recorded on the external memory card 2 or the map coordinate information downloaded via the mobile phone network. In addition, service area information is added in advance to the map coordinate information.

  The current position detected by the position coordinate processing unit 21 is input to the map coordinate processing unit 22 as position coordinate information. The map coordinate processing unit 22 searches the map coordinate information based on the position coordinate information of the current position to match both map coordinates, and the coordinate composition unit 23 superimposes the current position on the map coordinate information on the display unit 12. Output.

  A user outside the service area can confirm the positional relationship to the nearest service area from the display information on the display unit 12 based on the display information.

(Embodiment 2)
FIG. 3 is a display screen configuration example of the portable wireless terminal 1 according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention.

  On the display screen of the mobile wireless terminal 1, as shown in FIG. 3, the map information near the current location, the service area (zones A, B, C, and D in the figure) that the mobile wireless terminal 1 can communicate with, A pointer indicating the current position is displayed on the same map screen, and history information (current location, current location-1, current location-2 in the figure) that is periodically measured and recorded is reproduced and displayed.

  FIG. 4 is a functional block configuration example when the mobile radio terminal 1 according to the second embodiment is a mobile phone. The outline is the same as FIG. 2, and thus the description is omitted, and only the main functions of the present invention are described.

  The coordinate composition unit 23 superimposes the current position information on the map coordinate information and periodically stores it in the history recording unit 24, and reproduces and displays it as necessary. In particular, the memory capacity can be saved by recording the history outside the service area after moving from the information immediately before leaving the service area.

  A user who is outside the service area can specify the target object that has passed through the above-described reproduction display information, and can improve the efficiency of movement to the nearest service area.

(Embodiment 3)
FIG. 5 is a first acquisition example of map information indicating a service area within which mobile wireless terminal 1 can communicate according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention.

  It is obtained from a memory card 2 or the like on which map information indicating a service area within which the portable wireless terminal 1 can communicate provided by a communication carrier is recorded. Instead of the memory card 2, a memory such as a ROM may be mounted inside.

(Embodiment 4)
FIG. 6 is a second acquisition example of map information indicating a service area within which communication is possible when the mobile wireless terminal 1 according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention is a mobile phone.

  Service area information registered in a management server or the like of the upper network managed by the communication carrier is downloaded at the request of the user. The information to be downloaded may be expanded to the adjacent service area information with the service area information to which the mobile wireless terminal 11 is currently connected as an essential condition.

(Embodiment 5)
FIG. 7 provides an approximate distance from the current position of the portable wireless terminal 1 to the nearest service area in the fifth embodiment of the present invention by voice message.

  FIG. 8 is a functional block configuration example when the mobile radio terminal 1 according to the fifth embodiment is a mobile phone. The outline is the same as FIG. 2, and thus the description is omitted, and only the main functions of the present invention are described.

  The distance calculation unit 25 obtains a coordinate difference between the current position information obtained by the position coordinate processing unit 21 and the map coordinate information obtained by the map coordinate processing unit 22, and the difference value is generated as voice information by the voice generation unit 26. Is output from the speaker.

  The service area to be selected has a great effect by controlling to select an area having the smallest difference from the current position information.

(Embodiment 6)
FIG. 9 measures the approximate distance from the current position of the mobile wireless terminal 1 to the nearest service area in the sixth embodiment of the present invention, and displays the result as a text message.

  FIG. 10 is a functional block configuration example when the mobile radio terminal 1 according to the sixth embodiment is a mobile phone. The outline is the same as FIG. 8, and thus description thereof is omitted, and only main functions of the present invention are described.

  A distance difference between the current position information obtained by the position coordinate processing unit 21 and the map coordinate information obtained by the map coordinate processing unit 22 within the service area is obtained by the distance calculation unit 25, and the difference value is generated by the character generation unit 27 as character information. The data is multiplexed by the multiplexing unit 29 and output to the display unit 12.

  The service area to be selected has a great effect by controlling to select an area having the smallest difference from the current position information.

(Embodiment 7)
FIG. 11 shows a route from the current position of the mobile wireless terminal 1 to the nearest service area in the seventh embodiment of the present invention by a graphic message.

  FIG. 12 is a functional block configuration example in the case where the mobile radio terminal 1 according to the seventh embodiment is a mobile phone. The outline is the same as FIG. 8, and thus description thereof is omitted, and only main functions of the present invention are described.

  The distance calculation unit 25 obtains a coordinate difference between the current position information obtained by the position coordinate processing unit 21 and the map coordinate information obtained by the map coordinate processing unit 22 to the service area, specifies the closest service area, and determines from the current position information. Are generated by the graphic generation unit 28 as graphic information such as arrows, etc., multiplexed by the multiplexing unit 29 and output to the display unit 12.

  The service area to be selected has a great effect by controlling to select an area having the smallest difference from the current position information.

  The portable wireless terminal 1 and the guidance system according to the present invention are effective means not only for a cellular phone but also for a portable terminal equipped with a wireless LAN that communicates via an access point. The effect can also be obtained by interlocking with the car navigation system.

Schematic diagram of display screen of portable wireless terminal 1 in Embodiment 1 of the present invention 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of a mobile wireless terminal 1 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. Schematic diagram of display screen of portable wireless terminal 1 in Embodiment 2 of the present invention The block diagram which shows the function structural example of the portable radio | wireless terminal 1 in Embodiment 2 of this invention. The conceptual diagram of display screen mounting of the portable radio | wireless terminal 1 in Embodiment 3 of this invention Conceptual diagram of display screen acquisition of portable wireless terminal 1 in Embodiment 4 of the present invention The conceptual diagram which shows the guidance method by the voice of the portable radio | wireless terminal 1 in Embodiment 5 of this invention. The block diagram which shows the function structural example of the portable radio | wireless terminal 1 in Embodiment 5 of this invention. FIG. 7 is a conceptual diagram showing a guidance method using characters of the portable wireless terminal 1 in Embodiment 6 of the present invention. The block diagram which shows the function structural example of the portable radio | wireless terminal 1 in Embodiment 6 of this invention. The conceptual diagram which shows the guidance method by the figure of the portable radio | wireless terminal 1 in Embodiment 7 of this invention. The block diagram which shows the function structural example of the portable radio | wireless terminal 1 in Embodiment 7 of this invention. Conceptual diagram showing a display method of the service area and the service area outside the conventional portable wireless terminal 1

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Portable wireless terminal 2 Memory card 3 Example of service area map information 4 Higher network 10 Operation part 11 Terminal control part 12 Display part 13 RF circuit 14 Modulation / demodulation circuit 15 Baseband processing circuit 16 Codec circuit 17 Microphone 18 Speaker 19 Switching part 20 GPS receiving unit 21 position coordinate processing unit 22 map coordinate processing unit 23 coordinate synthesis unit 24 history recording unit 25 distance calculation unit 26 voice generation unit 27 character generation unit 28 graphic generation unit 29 multiplexing unit 101, 102 antenna 110 image processing circuit

Claims (7)

A portable wireless terminal that communicates with other terminals via wireless,
A map coordinate information processing unit for acquiring map coordinate information related to an area where the portable wireless terminal can communicate and an area where communication is impossible;
A position coordinate processing unit for acquiring position information of the portable wireless terminal;
A coordinate composition unit for adding the position information to the map coordinate information;
A portable wireless terminal comprising: a display unit that displays an output of the coordinate composition unit. A storage unit for storing a movement history of the portable wireless terminal at a predetermined cycle;
The mobile wireless terminal according to claim 1, wherein the movement progress is reproduced based on the movement history. The portable wireless terminal according to claim 1, further comprising a memory medium that stores map information regarding an area in which the portable wireless terminal can communicate and an area incapable of communicating. 2. The portable wireless terminal according to claim 1, wherein map information relating to an area in which the portable wireless terminal can communicate and an area incapable of communicating is acquired in response to a request from the portable wireless terminal. Means for calculating the distance from the location information of the portable wireless terminal to the nearest communicable area;
The portable wireless terminal according to claim 1, further comprising a speaker that converts the distance into a voice message and outputs the voice message. Means for calculating the distance from the location information of the portable wireless terminal to the nearest communicable area;
2. The portable wireless terminal according to claim 1, further comprising means for converting the distance into a text message and displaying it. 2. The portable radio terminal according to claim 1, further comprising means for converting a direction to the nearest communicable area into a graphic message starting from position information of the portable radio terminal.