JP2013200124A - Position information providing device and method therefor, computer program for providing position information, and recording medium recording computer program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a position information providing device and a method therefor that can suppress battery consumption when updating map display.SOLUTION: A method of providing position information to the position information providing device comprises: an azimuth information acquisition step that acquires azimuth information about the position information providing device; a map display step that displays a map on the basis of the position information of the position information providing device; and an update step that updates display of the map. The update step includes a rotation control step that controls a rotation of the map upon updating on the basis of the acquired azimuth information, and the rotation step controls the rotation of the map on the basis of a difference between azimuth information previously acquired by the azimuth information acquisition step and currently acquired azimuth information and a battery status of a battery provided in the position information providing device.

Description

  The present invention relates to a position information providing apparatus and method capable of suppressing battery consumption in updating a map display.

In recent years, with the spread of mobile terminal devices such as smartphones, provision of positional information on maps has been widely performed by smartphones and the like.
However, since the capacity of a battery built in a smartphone or the like is limited to some extent, it is required to reduce battery consumption by appropriately reducing processing.
On the other hand, in applications such as navigation, since the map is frequently updated, battery consumption associated with the update is a problem. In addition, in a smartphone, information on the position and direction (traveling direction) is likely to fluctuate due to shaking by a person's hand, vibration of the vehicle, etc., and updating based on such information increases the amount of update, which in turn consumes battery power. It will increase significantly.
As a technique related to the above, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for stopping positioning by GPS when a walking stop is detected by a walking detection unit provided in a mobile terminal device, while the walking is stopped. .

JP 2007-024700 A

  The present inventor has intensively studied to suppress the consumption of the battery provided in the position information providing apparatus without impairing the convenience for the user. As a result, the azimuth information acquisition unit came up with the idea of controlling the rotation of the map when updating the map with reference to the difference between the azimuth information acquired last time and the azimuth information acquired this time and the battery status.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and the first aspect is defined as follows. That is,
A position information providing device,
An orientation information acquisition unit for acquiring orientation information of the position information providing device;
A map display unit for displaying a map based on the position information of the position information providing device;
An update unit for updating the display of the map,
The update unit includes a rotation control unit that controls rotation of the map at the time of the update based on the acquired azimuth information,
The rotation control unit, based on the difference between the azimuth information previously acquired by the azimuth information acquisition unit and the azimuth information acquired this time, and the battery status of the battery provided in the position information providing device, Control the rotation,
Location information providing device.

  According to the position information providing apparatus of the first aspect defined as described above, the rotation control unit in the update unit provided in the position information providing apparatus acquires the direction information previously acquired by the direction information acquisition unit and the current acquisition. The rotation of the map displayed on the map display unit is controlled with reference to the difference from the orientation information and the battery status of the device. Thus, based on the difference of the azimuth information and the battery status, it becomes possible to display a map with accuracy according to the battery status. Examples of such position information providing devices include mobile terminal devices such as smartphones and in-vehicle navigation devices.

The rotation control unit can prohibit the rotation when the difference is less than a predetermined threshold (second aspect). In this way, when the difference between the orientation information acquired last time and the orientation information acquired this time is less than a predetermined threshold value, the map display is prohibited even if the battery status is taken into consideration by prohibiting the rotation of the map. Can be maintained.
The battery status may be the remaining battery level of the battery (fourth aspect).

  The map display unit can display the map in a heading-up mode based on the direction information acquired by the direction information acquisition unit (fifth aspect). When displaying a map in the heading-up mode, the map image is rotated and displayed in accordance with the traveling direction of the position information providing apparatus. That is, the update unit rotates and updates the map image so that the travel direction becomes upward every time the travel direction changes according to the orientation information acquired by the orientation information acquisition unit. For this reason, when the azimuth difference is less than a predetermined threshold value, it is possible to suppress battery consumption without impairing the convenience of the user by prohibiting the rotation of the map image at the time of updating.

The rotation control unit may cancel the prohibition of rotation when the difference is less than the predetermined threshold continuously for a predetermined number of times (sixth aspect). Even when the map is not allowed to rotate due to the difference being less than a predetermined threshold at the time of updating, the displayed traveling direction and the current traveling direction are large if such cases overlap. May be different. For this reason, when the difference is less than the predetermined threshold continuously for a predetermined number of times, the prohibition of rotation of the map is canceled, and the battery status is determined by rotating the map based on the direction information acquired by the direction information acquisition unit. It is possible to display a map in consideration of user convenience.
The predetermined threshold value can be determined based on a scale of the displayed map (seventh aspect).

The third aspect of the present invention is defined as follows. That is,
In the position information providing apparatus defined in the first or second aspect, the update unit includes a position adjustment prohibition unit that prohibits position adjustment of the map at the time of the update,
The position adjustment prohibition unit prohibits position adjustment of the map when rotation of the map is prohibited by the rotation control unit.
According to the position information providing apparatus of the third aspect defined as described above, the position adjustment prohibiting unit that prohibits the position adjustment of the map when the rotation control unit prohibits the rotation of the map. When the rotation of the map is prohibited, the battery consumption can be further suppressed by prohibiting the rotation and the position adjustment of the map.

The eighth aspect of the present invention is defined as follows. That is,
A method for providing position information to a position information providing apparatus,
An azimuth information acquisition unit for acquiring azimuth information of the position information providing device,
A map display step for displaying a map based on the position information of the position information providing device;
An update unit for updating the display of the map,
The updating step includes a rotation control step for controlling rotation of the map at the time of updating based on the acquired azimuth information,
The rotation control step is based on the difference between the azimuth information acquired last time in the azimuth information acquisition step and the azimuth information acquired this time, and the battery status of the battery provided in the position information providing device. Control the rotation,
Location information provision method.
According to the invention of the eighth aspect defined as described above, the same effect as that of the first aspect can be obtained.

The ninth aspect of the present invention is defined as follows. That is,
In the method defined in the eighth aspect, the rotation control step prohibits the rotation when the difference is less than a predetermined threshold.
According to the ninth aspect of the invention thus defined, the same effects as those of the second aspect can be achieved.

The tenth aspect of the present invention is defined as follows. That is,
In the method defined in the eighth or ninth aspect, the updating step includes a position adjustment prohibiting step for prohibiting position adjustment of the map at the time of the update,
The position adjustment prohibiting step prohibits position adjustment of the map when rotation of the map is prohibited in the rotation control step.
According to the tenth aspect of the invention thus defined, the same effect as the third aspect can be obtained.

The eleventh aspect of the present invention is defined as follows. That is,
In the method defined in any one of the eighth to tenth aspects, the battery status is a remaining battery level of the battery.
According to the eleventh aspect of the invention thus defined, the same effects as in the fourth aspect can be achieved.

The twelfth aspect of the present invention is defined as follows. That is,
In the method defined in any one of the eighth to eleventh aspects, the map display step displays the map in a heading-up mode based on the azimuth information acquired in the azimuth information acquisition step.
According to the twelfth aspect of the invention thus defined, the same effects as in the fifth aspect can be achieved.

The thirteenth aspect of the present invention is defined as follows. That is,
In the method defined in any one of the eighth to twelfth aspects, the rotation control step releases the prohibition of rotation when the difference is less than the predetermined threshold value continuously for a predetermined number of times.
According to the thirteenth aspect of the invention thus defined, the same effects as in the sixth aspect are achieved.

The fourteenth aspect of the present invention is defined as follows. That is,
In the method defined in any one of the eighth to thirteenth aspects, the predetermined threshold is determined based on a scale reduction of the displayed map.
According to the fourteenth aspect of the invention thus defined, the same effects as in the seventh aspect can be achieved.

Furthermore, the fifteenth aspect of the present invention is defined as follows. That is,
A computer program for providing position information to a position information providing apparatus, comprising:
Azimuth information acquisition means for acquiring azimuth information of the position information providing device;
Map display means for displaying a map based on the position information of the position information providing device;
Function as an update means for updating the display of the map,
The update means includes rotation control means for controlling rotation of the map at the time of update based on the acquired azimuth information,
The rotation control means is based on the difference between the azimuth information acquired last time by the azimuth information acquisition unit and the azimuth information acquired this time, and the battery status of the battery provided in the position information providing device. Control the rotation,
Computer program.
According to the fifteenth aspect of the invention thus defined, the same effects as those of the first aspect can be achieved.

The sixteenth aspect of the present invention is defined as follows. That is,
In the computer program defined in the fifteenth aspect, the rotation control means prohibits the rotation when the difference is less than a predetermined threshold.
According to the sixteenth aspect of the invention thus defined, the same effects as those of the second aspect can be achieved.

The seventeenth aspect of the present invention is defined as follows. That is,
In the computer program defined in the fifteenth or sixteenth aspect, the updating unit includes a position adjustment prohibiting unit that prohibits the position adjustment of the map at the time of the update,
The position adjustment prohibiting means prohibits position adjustment of the map when rotation of the map is prohibited by the rotation control means.
According to the seventeenth aspect of the invention thus defined, the same effects as in the third aspect can be achieved.

The eighteenth aspect of the present invention is defined as follows. That is,
In the computer program defined in any one of the fifteenth to seventeenth aspects, the battery status is a remaining battery capacity of the battery.
According to the eighteenth aspect of the invention thus defined, the same effects as in the fourth aspect can be achieved.

The nineteenth aspect of the present invention is defined as follows. That is,
In the computer program defined in any one of the fifteenth to eighteenth aspects, the map display means displays the map in a heading-up mode based on the direction information acquired by the direction information acquisition means.
According to the nineteenth aspect of the invention thus defined, the same effects as in the fifth aspect are achieved.

The twentieth aspect of the present invention is defined as follows. That is,
In the computer program defined in any one of the fifteenth to nineteenth aspects, the rotation control unit cancels the prohibition of rotation when the difference is less than the predetermined threshold value continuously for a predetermined number of times.
According to the twentieth aspect of the invention thus defined, the same effects as in the sixth aspect are achieved.

The 21st aspect of this invention is prescribed | regulated as follows. That is,
In the computer program defined in any one of the fifteenth to twentieth aspects, the predetermined threshold is determined based on a scale reduction of the displayed map.
According to the twenty-first aspect of the invention thus defined, the same effects as in the seventh aspect are achieved.

  The recording medium which records the computer program as described in any one of Claims 15-21.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the positional information provision apparatus of embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the positional information provision apparatus of embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the positional information provision apparatus of the Example of this invention.

A position information providing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described.
FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of the position information providing apparatus 1.
As shown in FIG. 1, the position information providing apparatus 1 includes a map data storage unit 3, a position information acquisition unit 5, an orientation information acquisition unit 7, a first storage unit 9, an orientation difference calculation unit 11, and a battery status detection unit 13. The update unit 15 and the map display unit 17 are provided.

Map information is stored in the map data storage unit 3. The map information includes information on road elements for defining map information such as links and nodes, information drawn on the map, and the like.
The position information acquisition unit 5 acquires the current position information and time information of the position information providing device using a GPS reception function or the like. The position information and time information are acquired by the user himself / herself, or automatically (for example, at intervals of 1 second).
The direction information acquisition unit 7 acquires information on the traveling direction of the position information providing device 1, that is, direction information. The azimuth information acquisition unit 7 can acquire current azimuth information and time information by a GPS reception function or the like. As another example, the current direction can be measured from geomagnetism, and the direction information can be obtained by using an electronic compass capable of detecting the direction in which the position information providing device 1 is facing. The azimuth information and time information are acquired when the user himself / herself registers the position or automatically (for example, at intervals of 1 second). The acquired azimuth information is stored in the first storage unit 9 together with the time information.

The azimuth difference calculation unit 11 refers to the first storage unit 9 and calculates the difference between the azimuth information acquired by the azimuth information acquisition unit 7 last time and the azimuth information acquired this time.
The battery status detection unit 13 detects the battery status of the battery provided in the position information providing apparatus 1. As the battery status, for example, the remaining battery level can be cited.
The update unit 15 refers to the map data storage unit 3, the position information acquisition unit 5, the direction information acquisition unit 7, the direction difference calculation unit 11, and the battery status detection unit 13 to update the map display. The update can be performed, for example, by the user registering the position or automatically (for example, at intervals of 1 second). The method of updating the display of the map is not particularly limited. For example, based on the position information acquired by the position information acquisition unit 5, the map is displayed so that the acquired position is positioned at the center of the displayed map. The display can be updated. The updating unit 15 includes a rotation control unit 19.

The rotation control unit 19 controls the rotation of the map when the map display is updated. The rotation control unit 19 includes an azimuth difference comparison unit 191, a battery status comparison unit 193, and a control main body unit 195.
The azimuth difference comparison unit 191 compares the azimuth difference with a predetermined first threshold based on the calculation result of the azimuth difference calculation unit 11. The first threshold value can be a constant threshold value. Moreover, it is good also as a threshold set in steps according to the battery remaining charge. In this case, the azimuth difference comparison unit 191 further refers to the detection result of the battery status detection unit 13, and compares the calculated azimuth difference with a threshold corresponding to the remaining battery level as the detected battery status. The threshold value may be set by the user based on input from an input unit described later. The result of the comparison is sent to the control main body 195.
The battery status comparison unit 193 compares the battery status with a predetermined second threshold based on the detection result of the battery status detection unit 13. Further, the threshold value may be set by the user based on input from an input unit described later.
The control main body 195 controls the rotation of the map based on the comparison results of the azimuth difference comparison unit 191 and the battery status comparison unit 193. As control of rotation of the map, for example, rotation of the map can be prohibited. The method for prohibiting the rotation of the map is not particularly limited. For example, as a result of the comparison, the azimuth difference is less than or equal to the first threshold value, and the remaining battery level as the battery status is less than or equal to the second threshold value. At that time, rotation of the map can be prohibited.
The map display unit 17 displays map data on a display to be described later based on the result updated by the updating unit 15. Further, the map display unit 17 can display a mark indicating the current position on the map based on the position information of the position information providing device 1 acquired by the position information acquisition unit 5.

An example of the operation of the position information providing apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to FIG.
First, in step 1, the position information acquisition unit 5 acquires the current position information of the position information providing apparatus 1.
In step 3, the azimuth information acquisition unit 7 acquires and stores the current azimuth information of the position information providing device 1.
In step 5, the battery status detection unit 13 detects the remaining battery level of the battery provided in the position information providing apparatus 1.
In step 7, the battery status comparison unit 193 compares the remaining battery level detected in step 5 with the second threshold value. As a result of the comparison, when the detected remaining battery level is equal to or less than the second threshold value (step 9: Yes), the process proceeds to step 11.
In step 11, the azimuth difference calculation unit 11 calculates the difference between the azimuth information acquired this time in step 3 and the previously acquired azimuth information stored in the first storage unit 9 in step 3.
In step 13, the azimuth difference comparison unit 191 compares the azimuth difference calculated in step 11 with a first threshold value. As a result of the comparison, when the calculated azimuth difference is equal to or smaller than the first threshold value (step 15: Yes), the process proceeds to step 17.

In step 17, the control main body 195 prohibits rotation of the map when displaying an updated map in step 19 described later, and the updating unit 15 updates the map display based on the current position information acquired in step 1. . That is, at the time of update, the azimuth information acquired last time is maintained without referring to the azimuth information acquired this time in Step 3.
In step 19, the map display unit 17 displays the map updated in step 17.
On the other hand, when the answer is No in Step 9 or Step 15, the updating unit 15 updates the map display based on the current position information acquired in Step 1 and the direction information acquired this time in Step 3 (Step 21). In this case, the map display unit 17 displays the map updated in step 21 (step 19).

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the position information providing apparatus 21 according to the embodiment of the present invention. 3, the same elements as those in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is partially omitted.
FIG. 3 shows a position information providing device 21 that can further suppress the reduction in battery consumption. That is, the device 21 further includes a control unit 23, a memory unit 24, an input unit 25, an output unit 26, and an interface unit 27 in the device 1 shown in FIG. 1 and includes an update unit 28 instead of the update unit 15. Yes.
The control unit 23 is a computer device including a CPU, a buffer memory, and other devices, and controls other elements constituting the position information providing device 21.
A computer program is stored in the memory unit 24, and this computer program is read into the control unit 23, which is a computer device, and causes it to function. This computer program includes a built-in hard disk or a built-in memory as a storage device of the position information providing device, an SD (registered trademark) memory card, a memory stick, a smart media, a compact flash (registered) as a storage medium replaceable with the position information providing device. Trademark), DVD, and other general-purpose media.

The input unit 25 is used for inputting a user command, for example. Specifically, it can be used to set a threshold value for the remaining battery level and a threshold value for the azimuth difference when the map rotation is prohibited. As the input unit 25, a mouse, a light pen, or a pointing device such as a touch panel that cooperates with display contents of a display, or a voice input device such as a keyboard or a microphone can be used.
The output unit 26 includes a display, displays input data, map data stored in the map data storage unit 3 with reference to the map display unit 17, position information of the current position acquired by the position information acquisition unit 5, direction The orientation information acquired by the information acquisition unit 7, the battery status detected by the battery status detection unit 13, and other information are displayed. The output unit 26 may include a voice transmission unit.
The interface unit 27 connects the position information providing device 21 to a wireless network or the like.
The update unit 28 includes a position adjustment prohibition unit 29 in addition to the rotation control unit 19 and appropriately updates the map display.
The position adjustment prohibition unit 29 refers to the rotation control unit 19 and prohibits the position adjustment of the map when the rotation control unit 19 prohibits the rotation of the map.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention has been described, you may implement combining 2 or more embodiment among these. Alternatively, one of these embodiments may be partially implemented. Furthermore, among these, two or more embodiments may be partially combined.

  The present invention is not limited to the description of the embodiments and examples of the invention described above. Various modifications may be included in the present invention as long as those skilled in the art can easily conceive without departing from the description of the scope of claims.

1 21 Position Information Providing Device 3 Map Data Storage Unit 5 Position Information Acquisition Unit 7 Direction Information Acquisition Unit 11 Direction Difference Calculation Unit 13 Battery Status Detection Unit 15 28 Update Unit 17 Map Display Unit 19 Rotation Control Unit 29 Position Adjustment Prohibition Unit

Claims (22)

A position information providing device,
An orientation information acquisition unit for acquiring orientation information of the position information providing device;
A map display unit for displaying a map based on the position information of the position information providing device;
An update unit for updating the display of the map,
The update unit includes a rotation control unit that controls rotation of the map at the time of the update based on the acquired azimuth information,
The rotation control unit, based on the difference between the azimuth information previously acquired by the azimuth information acquisition unit and the azimuth information acquired this time, and the battery status of the battery provided in the position information providing device, Control the rotation,
Location information providing device.   The position information providing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the rotation control unit prohibits the rotation when the difference is less than a predetermined threshold. The update unit includes a position adjustment prohibition unit that prohibits position adjustment of the map at the time of the update,
The position adjustment prohibition unit prohibits the position adjustment of the map when rotation of the map is prohibited by the rotation control unit;
The position information providing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2.   The position information providing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the battery status is a remaining battery level of the battery.   The position information providing device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the map display unit displays the map in a heading-up mode based on the direction information acquired by the direction information acquisition unit.   The position information providing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the rotation control unit cancels the prohibition of the rotation when the difference is less than the predetermined threshold continuously for a predetermined number of times.   The position information providing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined threshold is determined based on a scale of the displayed map. A method for providing position information to a position information providing apparatus,
An azimuth information acquisition unit for acquiring azimuth information of the position information providing device,
A map display step for displaying a map based on the position information of the position information providing device;
An update unit for updating the display of the map,
The updating step includes a rotation control step for controlling rotation of the map at the time of updating based on the acquired azimuth information,
The rotation control step is based on the difference between the azimuth information acquired last time in the azimuth information acquisition step and the azimuth information acquired this time, and the battery status of the battery provided in the position information providing device. Control the rotation,
Location information provision method.   The position information providing method according to claim 8, wherein the rotation control step prohibits the rotation when the difference is less than a predetermined threshold. The updating step includes a position adjustment prohibiting step for prohibiting position adjustment of the map at the time of the update,
The position adjustment prohibiting step prohibits position adjustment of the map when rotation of the map is prohibited in the rotation control step.
The position information providing method according to claim 8 or 9.   The position information providing method according to any one of claims 8 to 10, wherein the battery status is a remaining battery level of the battery.   The location information providing method according to any one of claims 8 to 11, wherein the map display step displays the map in a heading-up mode based on the orientation information acquired in the orientation information acquisition step.   The position information providing method according to any one of claims 8 to 12, wherein the rotation control step releases the prohibition of the rotation when the difference is less than the predetermined threshold continuously for a predetermined number of times.   The position information providing method according to any one of claims 8 to 13, wherein the predetermined threshold is determined based on a scale of the displayed map. A computer program for providing position information to a position information providing apparatus, comprising:
Azimuth information acquisition means for acquiring azimuth information of the position information providing device;
Map display means for displaying a map based on the position information of the position information providing device;
Function as an update means for updating the display of the map,
The update means includes rotation control means for controlling rotation of the map at the time of update based on the acquired azimuth information,
The rotation control means is based on the difference between the azimuth information acquired last time by the azimuth information acquisition unit and the azimuth information acquired this time, and the battery status of the battery provided in the position information providing device. Control the rotation,
Computer program.   The computer program according to claim 15, wherein the rotation control unit prohibits the rotation when the difference is less than a predetermined threshold. The update means includes position adjustment prohibiting means for prohibiting position adjustment of the map at the time of the update,
The position adjustment prohibiting means prohibits the position adjustment of the map when rotation of the map is prohibited by the rotation control means;
The computer program according to claim 15 or 16.   The computer program according to any one of claims 15 to 17, wherein the battery status is a remaining battery capacity of the battery.   The computer program according to any one of claims 15 to 18, wherein the map display unit displays the map in a heading-up mode based on the direction information acquired by the direction information acquisition unit.   The computer program according to any one of claims 15 to 19, wherein the rotation control unit releases the prohibition of the rotation when the difference is less than the predetermined threshold continuously for a predetermined number of times.   The computer program according to any one of claims 15 to 20, wherein the predetermined threshold is determined based on a scale of the displayed map.   The recording medium which records the computer program as described in any one of Claims 15-21.

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