JP2008249898A - Map information output system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enhance the use value of a map printed out by a printer 1000. <P>SOLUTION: A map information storage section 101 stores map information including the circumference of a destination to be retrieved, and specification information for specifying the destination. When a control section 104 receives request for retrieval of the destination, the control section 104 reads, out of the map information storage section 101, the map information and the specification information of the destination, encodes the specification information, combines the encoded specification information with the map information and outputs it. A two-dimensional bar code reading section 201 reads and decodes the coded specification information of the destination. A terminal position information acquisition section 203 acquires the present position of a portable terminal device. A control section 205 calculates and outputs, on the basis of the decoded specification information of the destination and the present position of the portable terminal device, the distance and direction to the destination. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a map information output system that outputs map information.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an image forming apparatus that enables acquisition of map information (see, for example, Patent Document 1) includes a destination database and a map database therein, and searches for map data using a destination as a search item from a user. When the request is accepted, the above two databases are searched, and when the destination can be detected from both, the search data are combined and printed as a search result on a recording sheet.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-055370

  However, in the conventional image forming apparatus that enables acquisition of map information, the search result is map information that is completely unrelated to the location of the user. Therefore, when a user searches for a destination based on the map, the positional relationship between the user's position and the destination cannot be immediately grasped, and the utility value of the acquired map is reduced. The problem to be solved was left.

  The present invention is a map information output system, a map information storage unit for storing map information including the periphery of a destination to be searched, and specific information for specifying the destination, and a search request for the destination. When accepted, an image forming apparatus comprising: a control unit that reads out the map information of the destination and the specific information from the map information storage unit, encodes the specific information, synthesizes the map information, and outputs the map information; A specific information decoding unit that reads and decodes the encoded specific information of the destination, a terminal position information acquisition unit that acquires its current location, and a destination decoded by the specific information decoding unit It includes a portable terminal device including specific information and a control unit that calculates and outputs the distance and direction to the destination based on the current location acquired by the terminal position information acquisition unit. To do.

  The image forming apparatus includes a control unit that synthesizes and outputs specific information encoded with the map information of the destination, and the mobile terminal device acquires a terminal position information acquisition unit that acquires its current location, and the output of the image forming apparatus The specific information is read from and decoded, and the decoded destination specific information and the distance and direction to the destination are calculated and output based on the current location acquired by the terminal position information acquisition unit. Since the control unit is provided, when the user searches for the destination based on the map, the user can immediately grasp the positional relationship between the user's position and the destination, and the map that is printed out by the image forming apparatus The effect of increasing the utility value of is obtained.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

Description of <Configuration> FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a map information output system according to the first embodiment.
As shown in the figure, the map information output system 5000 according to the first embodiment includes a printer apparatus 1000 as an image forming apparatus and a portable terminal apparatus 2000.

  The printer apparatus 1000 includes an operation panel 100, a map information storage unit 101, a two-dimensional barcode conversion unit 102, an output unit 103, and a control unit 104.

  The operation panel 100 includes a search key input unit 100a and a display unit 100b. The operation panel 100 accepts requirements from the operator and further displays search results and the like to the operator. It is the part that divides the role of the man-machine interface between the two.

  Here, the search key input unit 100a is a key including switches, buttons, and the like for inputting information when an operator performs a search process. The display unit 100b is a display panel configured by an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) that displays search results and the like to the operator.

  The map information storage unit 101 includes an address information table 101a, a landmark information table 101b, and map data 101c therein, and is a nonvolatile memory that stores map information in advance.

Here, the contents of the address information table 101a and the landmark information table 101b will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of an address information table.
As shown in the figure, the address information table 101a includes an address 101a1 and position coordinates 101a2. The address 101a1 is a unique value indicating the address. The position coordinate 101a2 is a coordinate corresponding to the address 101a1 composed of latitude and longitude.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of the landmark information table.
As shown in the figure, the landmark information table 101b includes a landmark name 101b1, a position coordinate 101b2, and an address 101b3. The landmark name 101b1 is a unique value indicating the name of the landmark. The position coordinate 101b2 is a coordinate corresponding to the landmark name 101b1 composed of latitude and longitude. The address 101b3 is an address corresponding to the landmark name 101b1.

Returning to FIG. 1, the description of the components of the map information output system 5000 will be continued.
The two-dimensional barcode conversion unit 102 two-dimensionally arranges information on the position coordinates 101b2 (FIG. 3) and the address 101b3 (FIG. 3) corresponding to the landmark name 101b1 (FIG. 3) for an arbitrary number of landmarks. This is a conversion unit that converts the data into a barcode.

  The output unit 103 displays the search result displayed on the display unit 100b, and the two-dimensionally arranged barcode of the position coordinates 101b2 (FIG. 3) and the address 101b3 (FIG. 3) converted by the two-dimensional barcode conversion unit 102. Is a part that prints out what is synthesized by the control unit 102.

  The control unit 104 includes a program ROM and a microprocessor (not shown), and the microprocessor executes a control program stored in advance in the program ROM to control the entire printer apparatus 1000. In particular, the present embodiment is a computer control means that achieves the object of the present embodiment by controlling each of the parts connected by the data line.

  The portable terminal device 2000 includes a two-dimensional barcode reading unit 201, a two-dimensional barcode conversion unit 202, a terminal position information acquisition unit 203, a display unit 204, and a control unit 205.

  The two-dimensional barcode reading unit 201 is a part that reads a two-dimensionally arranged barcode on a printed matter printed out from the output unit 103 of the printer apparatus 1000.

  The two-dimensional barcode conversion unit 202 is a part that converts the two-dimensionally arranged barcode read by the two-dimensional barcode reading unit 201 into text data.

  The terminal position information acquisition unit 203 is a part that acquires position information of the mobile terminal device 2000 at that time by using GPS or the like.

  The display unit 204 is an LCD or the like that displays peripheral information calculated from the data converted by the two-dimensional barcode conversion unit 202 and the position information of the mobile terminal device 2000 acquired by the terminal position information acquisition unit 203 to the operator. It is a display panel comprised from this.

The control unit 205 includes a program ROM and a microprocessor (not shown), and the microprocessor executes a control program stored in advance in the program ROM to control the entire portable terminal device 2000. In particular, the present embodiment is a computer control means that achieves the object of the present embodiment by controlling each of the parts connected by the data line.
The printer apparatus 1000 and the mobile terminal apparatus 2000 described above operate as follows.

<Description of <Operation> FIG. 4 is an operation flowchart of the printer apparatus according to the first embodiment.
The operation of the printer apparatus 1000 when the operator inputs an address as a search key will be described in detail in order from step S1-1 to step S1-9 while inserting FIG. .

Step S1-1
An operator inputs a search target address using the search key input unit 100a. Here, an example of the input screen will be described.
FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of an input screen.
The operator inputs the prefecture name, city name, town name, and street name of the address to be searched based on the display in the figure.

Step S1-2
The control unit 104 collates the input address with the address in the address information table 101a1 (FIG. 2), and acquires the position coordinates 101a2 (FIG. 2) of the address input as the destination.

Step S1-3
The control unit 104 searches the map data 101c for a map with an arbitrary scale centered on the position coordinates 101a2 (FIG. 2) of the destination.

Step S1-4
The control unit 104 displays the search result on the display unit 100b. An example of the display result will be described.
FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a search result display example.
As shown in the figure, a map of an arbitrary scale centered on the position coordinates 101a2 (FIG. 2) of the destination is displayed on the display unit 100b.

Step S1-5
If the operator changes the scale using the scale input bar of FIG. 6, the process returns to step S1-3 to re-search the map information, and if the scale is not changed, the process proceeds to step S1-6.

Step S1-6
When the map desired by the operator is searched and the print execution button in FIG. 6 is pressed, the control unit 104 displays landmark information in order from the closest to the destination among any number of landmarks included in the map. Is retrieved from the landmark information table 101b (FIG. 3). This step will be described in detail later again.

Step S1-7
When the search is completed, the control unit 104 first converts the address 101a1 (FIG. 2) input from the search key input unit 100a, the corresponding position coordinates 101a2 (FIG. 2), and landmark information into a two-dimensional barcode conversion unit. To 102.

Step S1-8
The control unit 104 accepts the two-dimensionally arranged barcode from the two-dimensional barcode conversion unit 102, and adds the landmark name existing on the map to each position coordinate on the map displayed on the display unit 100b. The print data is generated by combining the barcode and the barcode arranged two-dimensionally.

Step S1-9
The control unit 104 sends the print data to the output unit 103 to execute printing, and ends the flow. Here, the map printed out will be described.
FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of a map to be printed out.
As shown in the figure, the two-dimensionally arranged barcode is written on the printed map.

FIG. 8 is an operation flowchart of landmark search processing according to the first embodiment.
The detailed operation of step S1-6 will be described in detail in the order of steps from step S1-11 to step S1-13 with reference to FIG.

Step S1-11
The control unit 104 extracts landmarks included in the specified map range using the information of the position coordinates 101b2 (FIG. 3) in the landmark information table 101b (FIG. 3).

Step S1-12
The control unit 104 calculates the distance from the destination for the extracted landmark.

Step S1-13
All the information included in the landmark information table 101b (FIG. 3) of an arbitrary number of landmarks is extracted in order of increasing distance from the destination, and the flow ends.

FIG. 9 is an operation flowchart of the mobile terminal device according to the first embodiment.
An operation in which an operator reads information from a map printed out by the printer apparatus 1000 using the mobile terminal apparatus 2000 will be described in the order of steps from step S1-21 to step S1-26.

Step S1-21
The two-dimensional barcode reading unit 201 reads a two-dimensionally arranged barcode from the printed map.

Step S1-22
The two-dimensional barcode conversion unit 202 converts the two-dimensionally arranged barcode into text data.

Step S1-23
The control unit 205 extracts an arbitrary number of landmark information from the text data.

Step S1-24
The terminal position information acquisition unit 203 acquires the current position coordinates of the mobile terminal device 2000 configured from latitude and longitude.

Step S1-25
The control unit 205 calculates the destination, the direction to each landmark, and the distance from the current position of the mobile terminal device 2000 based on the acquired position coordinates of the current mobile terminal device 2000.

Step S1-26
When the calculation is completed, the control unit 205 displays on the display unit 204 the direction from the current position of the mobile terminal device 2000 to the destination and the distance to the destination, information on each landmark (landmark name, address, current position). To the landmark and the distance to the landmark), and the flow ends. A display example here will be described.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of distance / direction display from the current location to the destination.
As shown in the figure, the distance / direction for each destination is displayed as an example of the distance / direction display to the destination.

Explanation of <Effect> As described above, according to the present embodiment, a map searched by designating an address of a destination is printed. The map contains landmarks around the destination and a two-dimensional array of barcodes converted from the landmark information in the map. By importing the barcode with the mobile terminal device, the current location of each landmark is stored in the mobile terminal device. The direction and distance from is displayed. As a result, it is possible to mark landmarks in the middle of progress while aiming at the destination, so that the utility value of the map printed out by the printer apparatus 1000 is increased.

Description of <Configuration> FIG. 11 is a block configuration diagram of the map information output system of the second embodiment.
As shown in the figure, the map information output system 6000 of Example 2 includes a printer device 3000 as an image forming device and a portable terminal device 4000.

  The printer device 3000 includes an operation panel 100, a map information storage unit 101, a two-dimensional barcode conversion unit 102, an output unit 103, a portable terminal information reception unit 301, a map information transmission unit 302, a control unit 303, Is provided. Only portions different from the first embodiment will be described below, and portions similar to the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals as those of the first embodiment and description thereof is omitted.

  The mobile terminal information receiving unit 301 is a part that receives information transmitted from the mobile terminal device 4000 via a network (not shown). The map information transmission unit 302 is a transmission unit that transmits map information to the mobile terminal device 4000 via a network (not shown).

  The control unit 303 includes a program ROM and a microprocessor (not shown), and the microprocessor executes a control program stored in advance in the program ROM to control the entire printer device 3000. In particular, the present embodiment is a computer control means that achieves the object of the present embodiment by controlling each of the parts connected by the data line.

  The portable terminal device 4000 includes a two-dimensional barcode reading unit 201, a two-dimensional barcode conversion unit 202, a terminal position information acquisition unit 203, a display unit 204, a portable terminal information transmission unit 401, and a map information reception unit 402. And a control unit 403. Only the parts different from the first embodiment will be described below, and the same parts as those of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals as those of the first embodiment, and the description thereof will be omitted.

  The mobile terminal information transmission unit 401 is a part that transmits information from the mobile terminal device 4000 to the printer device 3000 via a network or the like (not shown). The map information receiving unit 402 is a part that receives map information transmitted from the printer device 3000 via a network (not shown).

The control unit 403 includes a program ROM and a microprocessor (not shown), and the microprocessor executes a control program stored in advance in the program ROM to control the entire mobile terminal device 4000. In particular, the present embodiment is a computer control means that achieves the object of the present embodiment by controlling each of the parts connected by the data line.
The printer device 3000 and the mobile terminal device 4000 described above operate as follows.

<Description of <Operation> FIG. 12 is an operation flowchart (part 1) of the printer apparatus according to the second embodiment.
The operation of the printer device 3000 when the operator inputs an address as a search key will be described in detail in order from step S2-1 to step S2-9 while inserting FIG. To do.

Step S2-1
An operator inputs a search target address using the search key input unit 100a. Here, as in the first embodiment, the operator inputs the prefecture name, city name, town name, and street name of the address to be searched based on the display of FIG.

Step S2-2
The control unit 303 collates the input address, the input address, and the address in the address information table 101a1 (FIG. 2), and obtains the position coordinate 101a2 (FIG. 2) of the address input as the destination. To do.

Step S2-3
The control unit 303 searches the map data 101c for a map with an arbitrary scale centered on the position coordinates 101a2 (FIG. 2) of the destination.

Step S2-4
The control unit 303 displays the search result on the display unit 100b. An example of the display result is shown in FIG. 6 as already described in the first embodiment.

Step S2-5
If the operator changes the scale using the scale input bar shown in FIG. 6, the process returns to step S2-3 to re-search the map information. If the scale is not changed, the process proceeds to step S2-6.

Step S2-6
When the operator searches for a desired map and presses the print execution button in FIG. 6, the control unit 303 displays landmark information in order from the closest to the destination among any number of landmarks included in the map. Is retrieved from the landmark information table 101b (FIG. 3). Details of this step are the same as those in FIG. 8 in the first embodiment.

Step S2-7
When the search is completed, the control unit 303 first converts the address 101a1 (FIG. 2) input from the search key input unit 100a, the corresponding position coordinates 101a2 (FIG. 2), and landmark information into a two-dimensional barcode conversion unit. To 102.

Step S2-8
The control unit 303 accepts the two-dimensionally arranged barcode from the two-dimensional barcode conversion unit 102, and adds the landmark name existing on the map to each position coordinate on the map displayed on the display unit 100b. The print data is generated by combining the barcode and the barcode arranged two-dimensionally.

Step S2-9
The control unit 303 sends the print data to the output unit 103 to execute printing, and ends the flow. The map printed out here is the same as FIG. 7 already described.

FIG. 13 is an operation flowchart (part 1) of the portable terminal device according to the second embodiment.
The operation in which the operator reads information from the map printed out by the printer device 3000 using the portable terminal device 4000 will be described in the order of steps from step S2-11 to step S2-15 with reference to FIG.

Step S2-11
The control unit 403 controls the two-dimensional barcode reading unit 201 to read a two-dimensionally arranged barcode from the printed map.

Step S2-12
The control unit 403 controls the two-dimensional barcode conversion unit 202 to convert the two-dimensionally arranged barcode into text data.

Step S2-13
The control unit 403 converts the information about the destination (address, position coordinates) and the scale of the map from the converted two-dimensionally arranged barcode to the printer device 3000 from the portable terminal device 4000 via a network (not shown). The printer information necessary for transmitting the mobile terminal information is acquired.

Step S2-14
The control unit 403 uses the terminal position information acquisition unit 203 to acquire the current position coordinates of the mobile terminal device 4000 including the latitude and longitude.

Step S2-15
After acquiring the current position coordinates, the control unit 403 does not illustrate the destination information (address, position coordinates), the scale of the map, and the current position coordinates of the portable terminal device 4000 by the portable terminal information transmission unit 401. The data is transmitted to the printer device 3000 via the network, and the flow ends.

FIG. 14 is an operation flowchart (part 2) of the printer apparatus according to the second embodiment.
The operation of receiving and returning a request from the mobile terminal device 4000 in the above step S2-15 will be described in detail in order from step S2-21 to step S2-26 while also using FIG. Explained.

Step S2-21
The mobile terminal information receiving unit 301 receives information (address, position coordinates), map scale, and current mobile terminal position coordinates related to the destination transmitted by the mobile terminal information transmitting unit 401 via a network (not shown). .

Step S2-22
The control unit 303 acquires the destination position coordinates and the scale.

Step S2-23
The control unit 303 searches for a map using the map data 101c.

Step S2-24
When the map desired by the operator is retrieved and the print execution button in FIG. 6 is pressed, the control unit 303 selects landmarks in order from the closest to the destination among any number of landmarks included in the map. Information is retrieved from the landmark information table 101b (FIG. 3). Details of this step are the same as those in FIG. 8 in the first embodiment.

Step S2-25
When the map is searched, the control unit 303 marks the current position coordinates of the portable terminal device 4000 on the map, and additionally adds the landmark name of the landmark on the map to be a transmission map.

Step S2-26
The portable terminal information transmission unit 401 transmits the transmission map generated in step S2-25 to the portable terminal device 4000 via a network (not shown) and ends the flow. Here, an example of the transmission map will be described.

FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram of a transmission map.
As shown in the figure, the transmission map is scaled based on a request from the mobile terminal device 4000, and the destination, landmark name, and current position of the mobile terminal device 4000 are displayed.

FIG. 16 is an operation flowchart (part 2) of the mobile terminal device according to the second embodiment.
An operation in which the operator reads information from a map printed out by the printer device 3000 using the mobile terminal device 4000 will be described in the order of steps from step S2-31 to step S2-32.

Step S2-31
The map information receiving unit 402 receives map information for transmission (FIG. 17) via a network (not shown).

Step S2-32
The control unit 403 displays the transmission map information (FIG. 17) on the display unit 204 and ends the flow.

Description of <Effect> As described above, according to the present embodiment, a map around the destination including the current position and destination of the mobile terminal device and each landmark is acquired from the mobile terminal device via the network. It becomes possible to do. Therefore, in addition to the effects of the first embodiment, it is easier for an operator who is progressing toward the destination to obtain this map via the network on the way to the destination, and to reach the destination even more easily. The effect of becoming.

  In the above embodiment, the example in which the present invention is applied to the printer apparatus has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this example. That is, as long as it is an apparatus for forming an image, it may be a copier, a FAX, a car navigation apparatus, or the like.

It is a block block diagram of the map information output system of Example 1. It is explanatory drawing of an address information table. It is explanatory drawing of a landmark information table. 3 is an operation flowchart of the printer apparatus according to the first exemplary embodiment. It is explanatory drawing of an input screen. It is explanatory drawing of the example of a search result display. It is explanatory drawing of the map printed out. 6 is an operation flowchart of landmark search processing according to the first exemplary embodiment. 3 is an operation flowchart of the mobile terminal device according to the first embodiment. It is explanatory drawing of the distance and direction display from a present location to the destination. It is a block block diagram of the map information output system of Example 2. 6 is an operation flowchart (part 1) of the printer apparatus according to the second exemplary embodiment. 6 is an operation flowchart (part 1) of the mobile terminal device according to the second embodiment. 6 is an operation flowchart (part 2) of the printer apparatus according to the second exemplary embodiment. It is explanatory drawing of the map for transmission. 9 is an operation flowchart (part 2) of the mobile terminal device according to the second embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Operation panel 100a Search key input part 100b Display part 101 Map information storage part 101a Address information table 101b Landmark information table 101c Map data 102 Two-dimensional barcode conversion part 103 Output part 104 Control part 1000 Printer apparatus

Claims (6)

In the map information output system that outputs the map information around the destination,
A destination condition input section for inputting a destination condition for specifying the destination;
Map information and a map information storage unit for storing specific information corresponding to each of a plurality of locations existing on the map;
When the destination condition input unit receives the input of the destination condition, the predetermined range map information including a place related to the destination condition is compared with the specific information in the map information storage unit; and A control unit configured to generate specific information code data obtained by encoding specific information of one or more places in a predetermined range, and to output combined map data obtained by combining the predetermined range map information and the specific information code data; Map information output system. The map information output system according to claim 1, wherein a specific information decoding unit that reads and decodes the specific information code data in a mobile terminal device;
The mobile terminal device is a terminal location information acquisition unit that acquires current location information;
The mobile terminal device calculates the destination specific information decoded by the specific information decoding unit, and the distance and direction to the destination based on the current location acquired by the terminal position information acquisition unit The map information output system according to claim 1, further comprising: a terminal control unit that outputs the map information.   3. The map information output system according to claim 2, wherein the control unit that outputs the composite map data further encodes specific information of a plurality of destinations, synthesizes and outputs the information to the map information, and the terminal control unit The map information output system further calculates distances and directions to the plurality of destinations, and arranges and outputs them in ascending order of the distances to the destinations.   3. The map information output system according to claim 2, wherein the control unit that outputs the composite map data further acquires current location information of the mobile terminal device from the mobile terminal device according to claim 2, and maps the destination A map information output system, wherein the current location information is combined with information and transmitted to the mobile terminal device.   5. The map information output according to claim 1, wherein the destination specifying information includes at least one of address information of the destination and landmark information. 6. system.   The map information output system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a bar code arranged two-dimensionally is used for the encoding.

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