JP2007251439A - Personal digital assistant, location information notification system, its method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a technology for automatically transmitting a mail about location information to a pre-registered addressee from a communication equipment when the communication equipment satisfies a specified condition. <P>SOLUTION: A location information notification mail transmission condition monitoring part 14 instructs generation of a location information notification mail to a location information notification mail generating part 15 when an object satisfies a specified condition. The location information notification mail generating part 15 acquires a base station discrimination information of the base station being currently communicated with, to search an address memory part 16, for acquiring the address of a transmission destination of the location information notification mail. It generates a mail bearing a base station discrimination information with that address as a transmission destination, and transmits it to a mail server 4. The mail server 4 rewrites an address corresponding to the base station discrimination information written in the received mail, and transmits that mail. A PHS5 receives the location information notification mail in which an address is written. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a position information notification mail transmission method, system thereof, and control program, and in particular, a position information notification mail transmission that automatically transmits a mail with position information of the communication device when the communication device is in a predetermined condition. The present invention relates to a method, its system and a control program.

  Conventionally, a position information system using a mobile communication terminal has been proposed. For example, the PHS mobile terminal can receive a location information search service that informs the parent device of the location of the connected PHS cell site as current location information. When receiving this service, the PHS provider server recognizes the location of the PHS cell site to which the PHS mobile terminal is connected as current location information of the PHS mobile terminal (location information based on the PHS function). Then, the PHS provider server transmits the current position information to the parent device via the telephone line. The base unit displays the information on the display based on the current position information (position information based on the PHS function) sent.

  With such a service, for example, even if a child with a PHS mobile terminal is missing, the current position can be immediately checked on the parent device side.

  However, in the above-described conventional technology, since the parent device to which the current position information of the PHS portable terminal is notified is fixed, the parent device cannot track the PHS portable terminal while checking the current position information. .

  Then, the technique of the position information system which displays the own position and the position of the other party with character information using the mail function of the PHS portable terminal has been proposed (Patent Document 1).

  The technology of Patent Document 1 includes a PHS service center, a plurality of PHS base stations, and a PHS mobile terminal. Each time the PHS mobile terminal is handed off, the PHS base station after the handoff is an identifier of the PHS mobile terminal PS. Is transmitted to the PHS service center, and the PHS service center SC stores the data. When there is a service request for knowing the current location information from the PHS mobile terminal, the PHS service center uses the location of the PHS base station as the current location information based on the latest data to the PHS mobile terminal via the PHS base station. Send. Thereby, the PHS mobile terminal can display the received current position information on the display unit.

  Such position information systems have been increasingly used as a means of protecting children from crime.

Japanese Patent Application No. 2000-197101

  However, the technique of the above-mentioned Patent Document 1 is based on the assumption that the PHS terminal is in operation or is in a communicable state. If the PHS terminal cannot be operated due to some trouble, the position of the PHS terminal I can't know the information.

  There was also a desire to find out in a simple way what kind of place the child is, if it is a guardian who has a communication terminal for the child.

  Therefore, the present invention was invented in view of the above problems, and its purpose is to automatically send a location information mail from the communication device when the communication device such as a portable information terminal satisfies a specific condition. An object of the present invention is to provide a technique capable of transmitting to a destination registered in advance.

  The present invention for solving the above-mentioned problems is a portable information terminal capable of transmitting position information by e-mail, and monitors position information acquisition means for acquiring position information and a monitoring object in the portable information terminal, Condition detecting means for detecting whether or not an e-mail transmission condition is satisfied, and position information acquired by the position information acquiring means when the condition detecting means detects that a predetermined e-mail transmission condition is satisfied And an e-mail generating means for generating an e-mail attached with position information indicating the location of the portable information terminal and transmitting the e-mail to a specific destination.

  The present invention for solving the above-described problems is directed to a mobile information terminal having an e-mail transmission / reception function, position information acquisition means for acquiring position information, monitoring targets in the mobile information terminal, and predetermined e-mail transmission conditions. When the condition detection means for detecting whether or not a predetermined e-mail transmission condition is satisfied is detected by the condition detection means, and based on the position information acquired by the position information acquisition means, A position information notification system comprising: an e-mail generating unit that generates an e-mail with position information indicating the location of the portable information terminal and transmits the e-mail to a specific destination.

  The present invention that solves the above problem monitors the monitoring target of a communication device, detects whether or not a predetermined e-mail transmission condition is satisfied, and detects that the predetermined e-mail transmission condition is satisfied. And a position information notification method, wherein an e-mail attached with position information indicating the location of the communication device is created based on the position information acquired by the communication device and transmitted to a specific destination.

  The present invention for solving the above-described problems is a process for monitoring a communication target to detect whether or not a predetermined e-mail transmission condition is satisfied, a process for acquiring position information, and a predetermined e-mail transmission. When it is detected that the condition is satisfied, communication is performed based on the acquired position information, and an e-mail attached with position information indicating the location of the communication device is created and transmitted to a specific destination. A program that is executed by a device.

  The present invention automatically detects a communication device such as a portable information terminal from a communication device such as a portable information terminal without operating the communication device such as a portable information terminal when a communication device such as a portable information terminal held by a child satisfies a specific condition. Since the location information mail is configured to be sent to a pre-registered destination, the guardian who is the destination of the email is placed under a specific condition of the communication device such as a portable information terminal. As well as information on the current position of the owner of the communication device.

  In addition, when the battery of a communication device such as a portable information terminal held by a child or the like decreases, the present invention automatically sends a position information mail from the communication device without operating the communication device such as the portable information terminal. Since it is configured to transmit to a pre-registered transmission destination, the guardian who is the transmission destination of the mail can predict the inability to communicate due to running out of battery and information on the current location of the owner of the communication device Can be obtained.

  In addition, if the present invention is configured to transmit a location information notification mail when the power switch is turned off, a child who is an owner of a communication device such as a portable information terminal is at risk. Even if the communication device is turned off maliciously, the guardian who is the recipient of the email can know that the power has been turned off along with the location information, and prevent harm. Can do.

  Further, according to the present invention, when a communication device such as a portable information terminal is configured to transmit a location information notification mail when the communication device is changed from a communication disabled state to a communication enabled state, the communication device such as the portable information terminal can communicate. Because it is possible to quickly know that it has become possible, for example, even if you want to contact the owner of a communication device out of service area such as a portable information terminal as soon as it becomes possible to communicate, It is possible to get in touch as soon as possible.

  Furthermore, when the present invention is configured to send a location information notification email when receiving a specific mail from a specific person, the specific person can freely obtain the position information of the owner of the communication device such as a portable information terminal. I can know.

  A first embodiment according to the positional information notification system of the present invention will be described. In the following description, a PHS (Personal Handyphone System) will be described as an example of the portable information terminal.

  In the first embodiment, a case will be described in which the position information notification mail transmission condition is set to decrease the battery of the PHS.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a position information notification system according to the first embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 1, the position information notification system according to the first embodiment includes a PHS ₁ that transmits a position information notification mail, base stations 2 ₁ to 2 _n , a network 3, a mail server 4, PHS5 which receives an information notification mail is comprised.

The PHS 1 is owned by a child who notifies the guardian of location information, and as shown in FIG. 2, acquires the identification information of the transmitting / receiving unit 11 for transmitting and receiving data and the currently connected base stations 2 ₁ to 2 _n Instructions received from the base station information acquisition unit 12, the battery 13, the location information notification mail transmission condition monitoring unit 14 that monitors the battery 13 and detects transmission conditions, and the location information notification email transmission condition monitoring unit 14 A position information notification mail creating unit 15 that creates a position information notification mail based on the address information, and an address storage unit 16 that stores a transmission destination address of the position information notification mail.

  The base station information acquisition unit 12 acquires the base station identification information of the currently communicating base station, and outputs this base station identification information to the location information notification mail creation unit 15. The base station identification information will be described later.

  The location information notification email transmission condition monitoring unit 14 monitors the voltage of the battery 13 and instructs the location information notification email creation unit 15 to create a location information notification email when the voltage of the battery falls below a predetermined threshold. The predetermined threshold is preset and stored in the position information notification mail transmission condition monitoring unit 14.

  In the address storage unit 16, a transmission destination address for transmitting the position information notification mail is registered. FIG. 3 shows an example of addresses registered in the address storage unit 16. In the example of FIG. 3, several addresses are registered, and among these addresses, a flag indicating the transmission destination of the location information notification mail is set at the address “aaa@bb.ne.jp”, and the address “aaa” It can be seen that “@ bb.ne.jp” is the destination address of the location information notification mail. In this embodiment, the mail address of PHS5 is “aaa@bb.ne.jp”, which is the transmission destination of the position information notification mail.

  When receiving the location information notification email transmission instruction from the location information notification email transmission condition monitoring unit 14, the location information notification email creating unit 15 searches the address registered in the address storage unit 16 and acquires the transmission destination address. Then, a position information notification mail having the destination address as the destination is created. Base station identification information acquired by the base station information acquisition unit 12 is added to the location information notification mail. FIG. 4 shows an example of the position information notification mail created by the position information notification mail creating unit 15. As shown in FIG. 4, “aaa@bb.ne.jp”, which is the address of the location information notification email, is described in the To column (transmission destination) of the location information notification email, and in the Subject column, For example, “Battery remaining amount” is described. Further, in the text of the location information notification mail, for example, “the battery level is low” is described, and the base station identification information “1000” acquired by the base station information acquisition unit 12 is described. . The position information notification mail created in this way is transmitted to the PHS 5 via the transmission / reception unit 11.

The base stations 2 _{1 to} 2 _n are radio base stations that communicate with the PHS ₁ and the PHS 5. Each of the base stations 2 _{1 to} 2 _n is provided with base station identification information for uniquely identifying the base station. For the PHS in communication, the base station identification information is included in the transmitted data. Sending. Note that the configuration of the base stations 2 _{1 to} 2 _n is a known technique, and thus detailed description thereof is omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the mail server 4 includes a mail transmission / reception unit 41 that performs transmission / reception of mail, an address database 42 in which base station identification information and an address corresponding to the base station identification information are stored in association with each other. And an address conversion unit 43 that describes the address searched from the address database 42 in the position information notification mail.

  FIG. 6 shows an example of the address database 42. In FIG. 6, base station identification information “1000” and an address “Higashi Shimbashi 1-chome, Minato-ku, Tokyo” are stored in association with each other.

  The address conversion unit 43 identifies a location information notification mail whose base station identification information is described in the text of the received mail, and searches the address database 42 for an address corresponding to the described base station identification information. . Then, the base station identification information in the mail text is rewritten with the searched address, and this mail is transmitted via the mail transmitting / receiving unit 41. FIG. 7 shows an example of a mail in which the base station identification information is rewritten. In FIG. 7, the base station identification information “1000” described in the mail text is rewritten to the corresponding address “Higashi Shimbashi 1-chome, Minato-ku, Tokyo”.

  The PHS 5 is a PHS having a mail transmission / reception function. The PHS 5 is the same as a normal PHS terminal, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  Next, the operation of the position information notification system configured as described above will be described.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart of the operation of the position information notification system.

  First, the position information notification mail transmission condition monitoring unit 14 monitors the voltage of the battery 13 (Step 100). When the voltage of the battery 13 is higher than a predetermined voltage (threshold value) (Step 101), the voltage of the battery 13 is continuously monitored (Step 100).

  On the other hand, when the voltage of the battery 13 falls below a predetermined voltage (threshold) (Step 101), the location information notification email transmission condition monitoring unit 14 instructs the location information notification email creation unit 15 to create a location information notification email. (Step 102).

  When the creation of the location information notification email is instructed, the location information notification email creation unit 15 acquires the base station identification information of the currently communicating base station via the base station information acquisition unit 12 (Step 103). Further, the location information notification mail creating unit 15 searches the address storage unit 16 to acquire the address of the location information notification email (Step 104). Then, using the acquired address as a transmission destination, a mail describing the base station identification information is created (Step 105), and this mail is transmitted to the mail server 4 (Step 106).

  The mail server 4 receives the position information notification mail, and searches the address database 42 for an address corresponding to the base station identification information described in the received mail (Step 107). Then, the base station identification information described in the mail text is rewritten to the corresponding address (Step 108), and this mail is transmitted (Step 109).

  In PHS5, the location information notification mail in which the address is described is received (Step 110).

  Thus, the location information notification system of the present invention automatically registers the location information mail from the communication device automatically without operating the communication device when the battery of the communication device held by a child or the like is low. Therefore, a guardian who is a mail transmission destination can predict the inability to communicate due to battery exhaustion and can acquire information on the current position.

  In the above-described embodiment, the PHS is taken as an example of the portable information terminal. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a mobile phone having a communication function and capable of acquiring location information is a PDA (Personal Digital). Assistant) or any other communication device.

  In the above-described embodiment, the single threshold value of the battery has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a plurality of threshold values may be provided corresponding to a plurality of voltage levels of the battery. In this case, every time the voltage level of the battery falls below the threshold, a location information notification mail is transmitted, so that the battery status of the communication device can be grasped more accurately.

  Further, as the acquisition of the position information, the base station information acquisition unit 12 is configured to receive the identification information from the base station with which it is communicating. However, the present invention is not limited to this, so that the position information is acquired from a satellite such as GPS. It may be configured.

  Next, as a second embodiment, an example will be described in which a position information notification mail is transmitted when the PHS power supply is monitored and the power supply is turned off.

  FIG. 9 is a block diagram of the PHS 1 in the second embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the present embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that the monitoring target of the position information notification mail transmission condition monitoring unit 14 is the power switch 20. In addition, the location information notification email creation unit 15 is configured to perform email creation by the location information notification email creation unit 15 and transmission by the transmission / reception unit 11 in preference to the operation stop of the PHS 1 due to power-off of the power switch 20. ing.

  The location information notification email transmission condition monitoring unit 14 monitors the power switch 20 and instructs the location information notification email creation unit 15 to create a location information notification email when the power switch 20 is pressed. In the present embodiment, for example, “Power off” is described in the Subject column of the position information notification mail to be created, and “Power is turned off” is described in the text.

  Since other configurations and operations are the same as those in the first embodiment, description thereof will be omitted.

  With such a configuration, even if the child who is the owner of the PHS is in danger and the PHS power is turned off maliciously, the guardian who is the destination of the mail, It is possible to know that the power has been turned off along with the location information, and to prevent harm to children.

  Next, as a third embodiment, an example will be described in which a location information notification mail is transmitted when communication enters a communication range from outside the PHS communication range and communication is possible.

  FIG. 10 is a block diagram of the PHS 1 according to the third embodiment.

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 10, the monitoring target of the position information notification mail transmission condition monitoring unit 14 is a received electric field strength detecting unit 21 that detects the received electric field strength of radio waves. The form is different.

  The position information notification mail transmission condition monitoring unit 14 monitors the received electric field strength detection unit 21 and determines whether data communication is possible. When the communication is disabled and the communication is enabled, the location information notification email transmission condition monitoring unit 14 instructs the location information notification email creation unit 15 to create a location information notification email. In the above-described embodiment, it is determined whether communication is possible based on the received electric field strength. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and other methods such as received power may be used.

  Since other configurations and operations are the same as those in the first embodiment, description thereof will be omitted.

  With this configuration, it is possible to quickly know that the PHS 1 has become communicable. For example, the owner of the PHS 1 outside the service area that cannot communicate can be contacted as soon as it becomes communicable. It becomes possible to take.

  As a fourth embodiment, an example will be described in which a location information request mail in which a personal identification number is written is transmitted from the PHS 5 and a location information notification email is transmitted when the PHS 1 receives this email.

  FIG. 11 is a block diagram of the PHS 1 according to the fourth embodiment.

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 11, a received mail collating unit 22 that collates received mail is added, and the monitoring target of the location information notification mail transmission condition monitoring unit 14 is a collation result of the received mail collating unit 22. This is different from the first embodiment. In addition, a specific mail address is registered in advance in the address storage unit 16, and a password is set in advance in the received mail collation unit 22. Although not shown in detail because of a conventional technique, the PHS 1 has a mail history storage unit that keeps a history of sent and received mails.

  The received mail collation unit 22 collates whether the transmission source address of the received mail is a specific mail address registered in the address storage unit 16, and when the transmission source address is a specific mail address, Further, it is verified whether the character string (including alphanumeric characters and symbols) described in the Subject column of the received mail is a password registered in advance. Then, the collation result is transmitted to the position information notification mail transmission condition monitoring unit 14.

  Next, the operation of the position information notification system configured as described above will be described.

  FIG. 12 is a flowchart of the operation of the positional information notification system in the fourth embodiment. The same operations as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same step numbers, and detailed description thereof is omitted. In the following description, the PHS1 mail address is “xxx@bb.ne.jp”, the PHS5 mail address is “yyy@bb.ne.jp”, and the password is “abcdef”. In addition, it is assumed that yyy@bb.ne.jp is registered as a specific mail address in the address storage unit 16 and the password “abcdef” is registered in the received mail collation unit 22.

  First, the PHS 5 creates and transmits an e-mail in which the personal identification number is described in the Subject column to the address of the PHS 1 (Step 300). FIG. 13 shows an example of a mail created by PHS5. The mail address “xxx@bb.ne.jp” of PHS1 is described in the destination (To field), and the sender (From field). Is a PHS5 mail address "yyy@bb.ne.jp", and the Subject column contains a password "abcdef".

  In PHS1, a mail is received (Step 301), and the received mail collation unit 22 collates the address of the transmission source with a specific mail address registered in the address storage unit 16 (Step 302). As a result of the collation, if they match, the personal identification number described in the Subject column is collated (Step 303). If the passwords match, the location information notification email transmission condition monitoring unit 14 recognizes the received email as a location information request email. Then, the process proceeds to Step 102, where the same operation as in the first embodiment is performed, and a location information notification mail is transmitted.

  When the received mail collation unit 22 does not match the received mail address with the specific mail address or the password does not match, the position information notification mail transmission condition monitoring unit 14 does not recognize the mail as a position information request mail, The location information notification mail is not transmitted (Step 304). If the received mail address is not registered in the address storage unit 16, a process that does not accept the reception regardless of whether it is a position information request mail and does not leave it in the reception history is performed.

  In addition, the location information notification mail creating unit 15 performs processing so as not to leave a reception history for the mail recognized as the location information request mail and not to leave a transmission history of the location information notification mail based on this (Step 305). .

  This is because the received position information request mail is like an activation mail that notifies the position information notification mail, and it is not necessary to store a transmission / reception history. Further, there is an effect that the feeling of being monitored is not given to the owner of PHS1.

  With this configuration, the owner of the PHS 5 can know the position of the owner of the PHS 1 at any time by using the location information request mail.

  In the above-described example, the specific mail address and the personal identification number are used as the transmission conditions for the location information notification mail. However, only one of them may be used.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a position information notification system according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram of PHS1. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of addresses registered in the address storage unit 16. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of mail created by the location information notification mail creating unit 15. FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the mail server 4. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the address database 42. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a mail in which the base station identification information is rewritten. FIG. 8 is a flowchart of the operation of the position information notification system. FIG. 9 is a block diagram of the PHS 1 in the second embodiment. FIG. 10 is a block diagram of the PHS 1 according to the third embodiment. FIG. 11 is a block diagram of the PHS 1 according to the fourth embodiment. FIG. 12 is a flowchart of the operation of the positional information notification system in the fourth embodiment. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of mail created by the PHS 5.

Explanation of symbols

1,5 PHS
2 ₁ to 2 _n base stations 3 network 4 mail server

Claims (10)

A portable information terminal capable of sending location information by e-mail,
Position information acquisition means for acquiring position information;
Condition detection means for monitoring a monitoring target in the portable information terminal and detecting whether or not a predetermined e-mail transmission condition is satisfied;
When it is detected by the condition detection means that a predetermined e-mail transmission condition is satisfied, an electronic device attached with position information indicating the location of the portable information terminal based on the position information acquired by the position information acquisition means A portable information terminal comprising: an e-mail generating unit that creates an e-mail and transmits it to a specific destination. The monitoring target is a battery voltage of the portable information terminal,
2. The portable information terminal according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined e-mail transmission condition is that the voltage of the battery reaches at least one predetermined threshold value. The monitoring target is a power source of the portable information terminal,
The portable information terminal according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined e-mail transmission condition is a power-off of the power source. The monitoring target is a communication state of the portable information terminal,
The portable information terminal according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined e-mail transmission condition is that a communication state of the portable information terminal is a communication state incapable of communication. The portable information terminal further includes an address storage unit that stores an email address,
The monitoring target is a received mail received by the portable information terminal,
The portable information terminal according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined e-mail transmission condition is that an e-mail from a mail address stored in the address storage unit is received. The portable information terminal further includes a personal identification number storage unit that stores a registered personal identification number, and a verification unit that performs verification between the registered personal identification number and the personal identification number attached to the received mail,
The predetermined e-mail transmission condition is that, as a result of the collation by the collation unit, the code number attached to the received mail matches the code number stored in the code number storage unit. The portable information terminal according to claim 5. The portable information terminal further includes an email history storage unit that stores a history of sent and received emails,
7. One or both of the received mail and a transmitted mail transmitted by the e-mail generating unit as a response to the received mail are not left as a history in the e-mail history storage unit. Mobile information terminals. A portable information terminal equipped with an e-mail transmission / reception function;
Position information acquisition means for acquiring position information;
Condition detection means for monitoring a monitoring target in the portable information terminal and detecting whether or not a predetermined e-mail transmission condition is satisfied;
When the condition detecting means detects that a predetermined e-mail transmission condition is satisfied, position information indicating the location of the portable information terminal is attached based on the position information acquired by the position information acquiring means. A position information notification system comprising: an e-mail generating unit that generates an e-mail and transmits the e-mail to a specific destination.   The monitoring target of the communication device is monitored to detect whether or not a predetermined e-mail transmission condition is satisfied. When it is detected that the predetermined e-mail transmission condition is satisfied, the position information acquired by the communication device The position information notification method is characterized in that an e-mail attached with position information indicating the location of the communication device is created and transmitted to a specific destination. A process for monitoring the monitoring target of the communication device and detecting whether or not a predetermined e-mail transmission condition is satisfied;
Processing to acquire location information;
When it is detected that a predetermined e-mail transmission condition is satisfied, an e-mail attached with position information indicating the location of the communication device is created and transmitted to a specific destination based on the acquired position information A program that causes a communication device to execute processing to be performed.

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