JP4694357B2 - Communication method, communication system, and communication terminal - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a one-to-many communication method using a communication terminal such as a cellular phone, a communication system therefor, and a communication terminal that performs one-to-many communication.

  In recent years, modes of communication by communication terminals such as mobile phones have been diversified, and in addition to conventional voice calls by circuit switching, new modes of communication such as packet communication using an IP (internet protocol) network are being performed. . For example, there is “chat mail” in which conversation is performed by exchanging characters between communication terminals in real time (see Patent Document 1). Chat mail is one of communication modes called “group communication” in which a group is formed between members registered in advance and data such as characters is communicated in real time within the group.

  In addition, one of group communications that has been attracting attention recently is called PTT (push to talk) or PoC (push to talk over cellular). In PTT, a plurality of communication terminals forming a group perform a real-time voice call by VoIP (voice over internet protocol). One-to-many voice communication can be performed by transmitting common voice data simultaneously from one communication terminal on the transmission side to a plurality of communication terminals on the reception side.

On the other hand, recent mobile phones have a function (hereinafter referred to as a GPS function) that acquires information on its geographical position using a GPS (global positioning system) and displays it on a map. Has appeared. If you use this GPS function, you can know exactly where you are now with a map, so you can reach places you have never been without getting lost.
JP 2003-174520 A

  By the way, the conventional GPS function described above displays only its own geographical position, and even if the mobile phone of the communication partner is equipped with the GPS function, the position cannot be displayed on its own mobile phone. . Therefore, when a plurality of mobile phones having a GPS function performs group communication, only the position of the mobile phone is displayed on each mobile phone, and the positions of other mobile phones cannot be displayed. Therefore, for example, when multiple people go to a common destination while performing group communication with a mobile phone, each member can only tell his / her position by voice call to the other members, even if the GPS function is used. Even if it is grasped, there is a disadvantage that it is easy to make a mistake.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a communication method and communication system in which each communication terminal participating in group communication can grasp the geographical position of another communication terminal, and such communication. It is to provide a communication terminal used in the system.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, when one communication terminal requests a management apparatus to start group communication with a plurality of communication terminals, the management apparatus participates in group communication with the plurality of communication terminals. And a communication method in which the first communication terminal performs group communication via the management device, and the communication method includes the group communication. A first step in which each of the communication terminals in the group acquires first information relating to a geographical position; and each of the communication terminals in the group communication transmits the acquired first information to the management device. A second step of transmitting, and the management device receives first information transmitted from each communication terminal, and based on the received first information, the geographical information of each communication terminal in the group communication Related to position A second step of generating second information and transmitting the generated second information to each communication terminal in group communication and each of the communication terminals in group communication received from the management device A fourth step of displaying second information on a display unit provided in each, and each of the communication terminals in the group communication receives the first information acquired by each and the received by each Based on the second information, a fifth step of determining whether or not the other communication terminals in the group communication approached within a predetermined distance, and each of the communication terminals in the group communication, And a sixth step of ending at least the group communication with the predetermined communication terminal when it is determined that the predetermined communication terminal is approached within a predetermined distance .

A second aspect of the present invention includes three or more communication terminals and a management device, and one communication terminal in the three or more communication terminals starts group communication with a plurality of communication terminals with respect to the management device. The management device transmits a notification requesting participation in the group communication to the plurality of communication terminals, and the communication terminal that has returned an acknowledgment to the notification and the first communication terminal specify the management device. In this communication system, the management apparatus relates to a communication unit that communicates with the communication terminal and a geographical position transmitted from each of the communication terminals that are performing the group communication. A reception control unit that receives the first information to be received by the communication unit, and a first information related to a geographical position of each of the communication terminals in the group communication based on the received first information. Having the information generation unit for generating information, a transmission control unit that transmits the second information the product to each communication terminal in the group communication from the communication unit. The communication terminal includes a communication unit that performs the group communication, a display unit that displays information, an information acquisition unit that acquires the first information related to a geographical position during the group communication, and the acquisition. A transmission control unit that transmits the first information from the communication unit to the management device, a reception control unit that receives the second information transmitted from the management device by the communication unit, and the received first information 2 based on the first information acquired by the information acquisition unit and the second information received by the communication unit based on the display control unit that displays the information of 2 on the display unit A determination unit that determines whether or not the communication terminal is within a predetermined distance with any one of the communication terminals, and at least the predetermined communication terminal when the determination unit determines that the communication terminal is within a predetermined distance with the predetermined communication terminal Said glue And a communication end control unit that ends the communication.

A third aspect of the present invention, when the first communication terminal to the management apparatus requests the start of group communication with the plurality of communication terminals, from the management device to the group communication to the plurality of communication terminals A communication terminal that transmits a notification requesting participation in the communication, and a communication terminal that returns a positive response to the notification and a communication terminal used in a communication system in which group communication is performed by the first communication terminal, the communication unit performing the group communication A display unit for displaying information, an information acquisition unit for acquiring first information related to a geographical position during the group communication, and transmitting the acquired first information from the communication unit to the management device Second information related to the geographical position of each of the other communication terminals, generated by the management device based on the first information from the other communication terminals in the group communication, Said A reception control unit that receives the received information, a display control unit that displays the received second information on the display unit, a first information acquired by the information acquisition unit, and a first information that is received by the communication unit. A determination unit that determines whether or not the communication unit is within a predetermined distance from any of the other communication terminals in the group communication based on the information of 2, and the determination unit approaches the predetermined communication terminal within a predetermined distance When it is determined that the communication has been performed, at least a communication termination control unit that terminates the group communication with the predetermined communication terminal.

  Preferably, the transmission control unit transmits the first information from the communication unit when the first information acquired by the information acquisition unit changes or at a constant cycle.

  The communication terminal according to the third aspect is any of the other communication terminals in the group communication based on the first information acquired by the information acquisition unit and the second information received by the communication unit. You may have the determination part which determines whether it approached within the predetermined distance. In this case, the display control unit may display information for notifying that there is a communication terminal approaching within the predetermined distance on the display unit according to the determination result of the determination unit.

Before SL communication end control unit, the case where it is determined that the closer to the predetermined communication terminal and within a predetermined distance in the determination unit, the third information for notifying the completion of the group communication from the communication unit The group communication may be terminated after transmission to another communication terminal during group communication.
In this case, the display control unit may display the third information from another communication terminal received by the communication unit on the display unit.

  The display control unit may display, on the display unit, a map image with a mark indicating a geographical position of each communication terminal in the group communication based on the second information.

  According to the present invention, based on the information related to the geographical position acquired in each communication terminal participating in the group communication, information related to the mutual geographical position of each communication terminal is generated, and this generated Information is provided to each communication terminal and displayed on the display unit, whereby each communication terminal participating in group communication can easily grasp the geographical position of the other communication terminal.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
The communication system according to the present embodiment includes a plurality of communication terminals (100-1, 100-2, 100-3, 100-4,...) And a communication management device 200 as shown in FIG.

  The communication terminal 100-i (i represents a natural number) is a wireless communication terminal such as a mobile phone, and is connected to the communication network 300 via base stations (300-1, 300-2, 300-3,...). Is done. The communication terminal 100-i performs data communication according to the control of the communication management apparatus 200 connected to the communication network 300. In this embodiment, as an example, it is assumed that group communication by PTT (push to talk) (hereinafter also referred to as PTT communication) is performed. The data transmitted in the PTT communication includes, for example, voice of a call, data such as images, characters, and music, information on the geographical position of each communication terminal, and the like.

  In this communication system, one communication terminal permitted by the communication management apparatus 200 is the other among a plurality of communication terminals (100-1, 100-2, 100-3, 100-4,...) Participating in PTT communication. Data such as voice and images can be transmitted to a plurality of communication terminals.

  When performing the PTT communication, the communication terminal 100-i acquires information (first information) related to its own geographical position using, for example, GPS (global positioning system) and manages the communication. To device 200. In addition, information (second information) related to the geographical position of another communication terminal sent from the communication management apparatus 200 during PTT communication is received and displayed on a display unit such as a liquid crystal display.

The communication management apparatus 200 manages PTT group communication performed by communication terminals (100-1, 100-2, 100-3, 100-4,...).
When the communication management apparatus 200 receives a request for starting PTT communication issued by one communication terminal (hereinafter also referred to as an organizer terminal), the communication management apparatus 200 sends a PTT to the group of communication terminals specified in the start request. Send notifications (e-mail, etc.) requesting participation in communications. Then, a communication session is established with each of the communication terminal and the organizer terminal that have returned an affirmative response to this notification, and PTT communication with these communication terminals as members is started.

  When the communication management apparatus 200 receives the above-described geographical position information (first information) transmitted from each communication terminal, the communication management apparatus 200 determines the geographical position of each communication terminal during PTT communication based on the received information. Relevant information (second information) is generated and transmitted to each communication terminal during PTT communication. For example, based on the information on the geographical position acquired from each communication terminal, the information on the map including the position of each communication terminal and the information on the position of each communication terminal on the map are generated. Information is transmitted to each communication terminal.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the communication terminals (100-1, 100-2,...) According to the embodiment of the present invention. Hereinafter, communication terminals having the configuration shown in FIG. 2 may be collectively referred to as “communication terminal 100”.
2 includes an antenna 101, a communication unit 102, a key input unit 103, an audio processing unit 104, a speaker 105, a microphone 106, a display unit 107, a storage unit 108, and GPS reception. Unit 109 and control unit 110.

  The communication unit 102 of the communication terminal 100 performs wireless communication with base stations (300-1, 300-2,...) Connected to the communication network 300. For example, the communication unit 102 performs predetermined modulation processing on transmission data supplied from the control unit 110 of the communication terminal 100 to convert the transmission data into a radio signal, and transmits the radio signal from the antenna 101. In addition, a predetermined demodulation process is performed on the radio signal from the base station received by the antenna 101 to convert the received signal into reception data, which is output to the control unit 110 of the communication terminal 100.

  The key input unit 103 has keys having various functions such as numeric keys, character keys, direction keys, and decision keys. When these keys are operated by the user, the operation contents are handled. A signal to be generated is generated and input to the control unit 110 of the terminal as a user instruction.

  The audio processing unit 104 processes an audio signal output from the speaker 105 and an audio signal input from the microphone 106. That is, the audio signal input from the microphone 106 is subjected to signal processing such as amplification, analog-digital conversion, encoding, and the like, converted into digital audio data, and output to the control unit 110 of the terminal. Further, the audio data supplied from the control unit 110 of the terminal is subjected to signal processing such as decoding, digital-analog conversion, amplification, etc., converted into an analog audio signal, and output to the speaker 105.

  The display unit 107 is configured using a display device such as a liquid crystal display panel or an organic EL panel, for example, and displays an image corresponding to the video signal supplied from the control unit 110 of the communication terminal 100. For example, various information such as the telephone number of the callee at the time of outgoing call, the telephone number of the callee at the time of incoming call, the contents of the received mail and the outgoing mail, the date, time, and the remaining battery level are displayed. Further, during PTT communication, information regarding the geographical position of each communication terminal is displayed.

The storage unit 108 of the communication terminal 100 stores various data used for processing in the control unit 110 of the communication terminal 100. For example, to reproduce a computer program provided in the control unit 110 of the communication terminal 100, an address book that manages telephone numbers and e-mail addresses, group information of communication terminals used at the start of PTT communication, ringtones, and alarm sounds Audio files, various setting data, etc. are stored. It also holds temporary data used in the program processing.
The storage unit 108 includes, for example, a non-volatile storage device (non-volatile semiconductor memory, hard disk device, optical disk device, etc.), a randomly accessible storage device (eg, SRAM or DRAM), or the like.

  The GPS receiving unit 109 receives radio waves transmitted from a plurality of satellites constituting the GPS.

  The control unit 110 of the communication terminal 100 comprehensively controls the overall operation of the communication terminal 100. That is, various processes of the communication terminal 100 (voice communication performed via a circuit switching network, group communication using PTT, acquisition of location information, creation and transmission / reception of e-mails, browsing of Internet websites, etc.) are key input units. The operation of each unit described above (execution of signal transmission / reception in the communication unit 102, input / output of audio in the audio processing unit 104, display of an image in the display unit 107, etc.) so that the unit is executed in an appropriate procedure according to the operation of 103. To control.

  For example, the control unit 110 includes a computer that executes processing based on a program (operating system, application, etc.) stored in the storage unit 108, and executes the above-described processing according to a procedure instructed by the program.

  The control unit 110 of the communication terminal 100 includes, as blocks related to PTT group communication, a position information acquisition unit 151, a transmission control unit 152, a reception control unit 153, a PTT control unit 154, an approach determination unit 155, A display control unit 156.

  The position information acquisition unit 151 acquires information related to the geographical position of the communication terminal 100 at the time of PTT communication based on the signal from the satellite received by the GPS reception unit 109. That is, information included in the reception signal of the GPS receiving unit 109 or information obtained by performing a predetermined calculation process for specifying the current position on this information is acquired as the position information of the communication terminal 100.

The transmission control unit 152 of the communication terminal 100 controls the transmission operation of the communication unit 102 during PTT communication.
For example, when a predetermined button (PTT button) of the key input unit 103 is pressed during PTT communication, audio data input from the audio processing unit 106 is transmitted from the communication unit 102.
Further, the position information acquired by the position information acquisition unit 151 is transmitted from the communication unit 102 to the communication management apparatus 200 during PTT communication. The transmission of the position information may be performed when the position information acquired by the position information acquisition unit 151 changes (for example, when the position change is longer than a predetermined distance) or at a constant cycle. Also good. Further, when transmission of position information is requested from the communication management apparatus 200, position information may be transmitted in response to this request.

The reception control unit 153 of the communication terminal 100 controls the reception operation of the communication unit 102 during PTT communication.
For example, during PTT communication, the communication unit 102 receives data (such as call voice data) sent from another communication terminal.
Further, during PTT communication, the communication unit 102 receives information (second information) related to the geographical position of each communication terminal sent from the communication management device 200.

The PTT control unit 154 performs control related to the start and end of PTT communication.
For example, the PTT control unit 154 selects one (or a plurality of communication terminals) of communication terminals registered in the storage unit 108 by operating the key input unit 103, and starts PTT communication using the selected group. If so, the communication unit 102 transmits a PTT communication start request to the communication management apparatus 200 so as to call each communication terminal of the group and start PTT communication.
In addition, when the communication unit 102 receives a notification of a participation request for PTT communication sent from the communication management apparatus 200 in response to a PTT communication start request issued by another communication terminal, the PTT control unit 154 The notification is displayed on the display unit 107 to prompt the user to select whether or not to participate in PTT communication. In this case, if participation in the PTT communication is selected by operating the key input unit 103, an affirmative response notifying that it will participate in the PTT communication is transmitted from the communication unit 102 to the communication management apparatus 200.

  Further, the PTT control unit 154 is instructed to end the PTT communication by operating the key input unit 103, or approaches within a predetermined distance from a predetermined terminal (for example, an organizer terminal) in an approach determination unit 155 described later. When it is determined that the PTT communication is completed, a process for terminating the PTT communication is performed. For example, the communication unit 102 transmits a PTT communication end request to the communication management apparatus 200 to end the communication session.

  Note that, when the PTT control unit 154 ends the PTT communication according to the determination result of the approach determination unit 155, information (end notification) for notifying the other communication terminal during the PTT communication of the end of the PTT communication. After transmitting from the communication unit 102, the PTT communication end processing may be performed.

  The approach determination unit 155 includes the position information (first information) of the communication terminal 100 acquired by the position information acquisition unit 151, and the position information (second information) of other communication terminals received by the communication unit 102. Based on the above, it is determined from the latitude and longitude of each communication terminal whether or not it has approached within a predetermined distance from any of the other communication terminals that are performing PTT communication.

  The display control unit 156 controls display of images on the display unit 107. For example, information on the geographical position of each communication terminal (second information) received by the communication unit 102 during PTT communication is displayed on the display unit 107. In addition, information for notifying that there is a communication terminal that has approached within a predetermined distance is displayed on the display unit 107 according to the determination result of the approach determination unit 155.

Next, the configuration of the communication management apparatus 200 will be described.
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the communication management apparatus 200.
For example, as illustrated in FIG. 3, the communication management apparatus 200 includes a communication unit 201, a user interface unit 202, a storage unit 203, and a control unit 204.

  The communication unit 201 of the communication management apparatus 200 performs processing related to communication via the communication network 300. For example, when performing group communication by PTT, the communication management apparatus 200 is connected to an IP (internet protocol) network. The communication unit 201 performs processing related to data transmission / reception via the IP network.

  The user interface unit 202 includes, for example, a keyboard, a mouse, a display device, and the like, and inputs / outputs information for operating the communication management device 200.

  The storage unit 203 of the communication management apparatus 200 stores various data used for processing in the control unit 204 of the communication management apparatus 200 and data of the processing result. For example, a computer program provided in the control unit 204 of the communication management apparatus 200, constant data used for the processing, variable data that needs to be temporarily stored during the processing, and the like are stored.

  In addition, the storage unit 203 stores a database of map information used when generating information (second information) on the geographical position of each communication terminal participating in PTT communication.

The control unit 204 of the communication management apparatus 200 performs various controls related to the overall operation of the communication management apparatus 200.
For example, when the communication unit 201 receives a PTT communication start request issued by one communication terminal serving as an organizer terminal, the group of communication terminals specified in the start request is requested to participate in PTT communication. Send notifications to Then, a communication session is established with each of the communication terminal and the organizer terminal that have returned an affirmative response to this notification, and PTT communication with these communication terminals as members is started.
In addition, when data transmission requests of a plurality of communication terminals overlap during PTT communication, processing (arbitration processing) for sequentially assigning data transmission rights to each communication terminal, and various information (PTT) for each communication terminal For example, information relating to communication terminals participating in communication).
Further, when the communication unit 201 receives a PTT communication end request issued by one communication terminal participating in the PTT communication, a process of ending the communication session with the communication terminal is performed.

  The control unit 204 has a computer that executes processing based on a program (operating system, application, etc.) stored in the storage unit 203, for example, and executes processing according to a procedure instructed by the program.

  The control unit 204 of the communication management apparatus 200 includes an information generation unit 252, a reception control unit 253, and a transmission control unit 254 as blocks related to PTT group communication.

The information generation unit 252 generates various notifications and information provided to each communication terminal in PTT communication.
For example, when a PTT communication start request is received from the organizer terminal, a notification requesting participation in the PTT communication is generated for the group of communication terminals specified in the start request.
Further, based on the geographical position information (first information) transmitted from each communication terminal during PTT communication, information indicating the mutual geographical position of each communication terminal participating in the PTT communication (second information) Information). The second information includes, for example, map information read from the storage unit 203 and position information of each communication terminal on the map. That is, the information generation unit 252 searches the database of the storage unit 203 for information on a map that includes all the positions of the communication terminals indicated by the first information, and reads the map information. Further, the position of each communication terminal on the map (for example, a coordinate value in a predetermined two-dimensional coordinate set on the map) is calculated.

The reception control unit 253 of the communication management apparatus 200 controls the reception operation of the communication unit 201.
For example, data transmitted from one communication terminal to other communication terminals (call voice data, etc.) and various requests transmitted from each communication terminal to the communication management device 200 (PTT communication start request, The communication unit 202 receives an end request or the like and information (first information or the like).

The transmission control unit 252 of the communication management apparatus 200 controls the transmission operation of the communication unit 201.
For example, data transmitted from one communication terminal participating in group communication (call voice data and the like) is transmitted from the communication unit 201 to another communication terminal.
In addition, various notifications (such as a PTT communication participation request notification) and information (second information) generated by the information generation unit 252 are transmitted from the communication unit 201 to each communication terminal.

  Here, an example of the operation of the communication system according to the present embodiment having the above-described configuration will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

  When one communication terminal serving as the organizer terminal requests the communication management apparatus 200 to start PTT communication, the communication management apparatus 200 participates in the PTT communication to the group of communication terminals specified in the start request. Send the requested notification by e-mail. Upon receiving this notification, the communication terminal displays on the display unit 107 that participation in PTT communication is requested, and prompts the user to select whether or not to participate in PTT communication. In response to this display, when an instruction is input from the key input unit 103 to participate in PTT communication, the communication terminal returns an affirmative response notifying the communication management apparatus 200 that it will participate in PTT communication. The communication management apparatus 200 establishes a communication session with each of the communication terminal and the organizer terminal that have returned an affirmative response to the participation request notification, and starts PTT communication with these communication terminals as members.

  When PTT communication is started, the communication management apparatus 200 requests each communication terminal (100-1 to 100-4 in the example of FIG. 4) participating in the PTT communication to periodically transmit position information, for example. (Steps ST101 to ST104).

  Receiving this request, each communication terminal acquires information on the current geographical position by the position information acquisition unit 151 (steps ST105 to ST108), and transmits it to the communication management apparatus 200 (steps ST109 to T112).

  When the position information from each communication terminal is received, the information generation unit 251 of the communication management apparatus 200 receives information indicating the mutual position of each communication terminal participating in the PTT communication (first) based on the received position information. 2 information) is generated (step ST113). For example, information on a map including all the current positions of the communication terminals and information indicating the positions of the communication terminals on the map are generated. Then, the generated second information is transmitted to each communication terminal (steps ST114 to ST117).

Each communication terminal, when receiving the second information transmitted from the communication management apparatus 200, updates the display of the second information on the display unit 107 (steps ST118 to ST121).
By periodically repeating the above-described processing, the position information of other communication terminals participating in the PTT communication is displayed in real time on the display unit 107 of each communication terminal in addition to its own position information.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of second information displayed on the display unit 107 of each communication terminal.
In the frame indicated by the dotted line in FIG. 5, a map image with marks A to D indicating the geographical positions of the communication terminals participating in the PTT communication is displayed. In the example of FIG. 5, the marks of the communication terminals are the same black circle figure, but the marks (color, shape, size, etc.) of the different modes for each communication terminal so that each communication terminal can be directly identified by the mark May be displayed. Further, a symbol for identifying each communication terminal (for example, the name or nickname of a member using the communication terminal) may be displayed next to the mark.

  Next, an example of an operation for automatically terminating PTT communication when a communication terminal performing PTT communication approaches another communication terminal will be described with reference to a flowchart shown in FIG.

  When PTT communication is started, communication terminal apparatus 200 transmits second information (information indicating the mutual geographical position of each communication terminal) to each communication terminal, as in the flowchart shown in FIG. Then, each communication terminal that receives this updates the display of the second information on the display unit 107 (steps ST205 to ST208).

  Here, for example, when the approach determining unit 155 of the communication terminal 100-2 determines that the communication terminal 100-2 has approached the other communication terminal within a predetermined distance (step ST209), the communication terminal 100-2 is, for example, “Mr. A message such as “Now approaching the terminal of the name of the member of the communication terminal” is displayed on the display unit 107.

  At this time, if the approaching communication terminal is a predetermined terminal such as an organizer terminal, the communication terminal 100-2 displays a message such as “End PTT communication” on the display unit 107, and performs group communication. An end notification of PTT communication is transmitted to other participating communication terminals (100-1, 100-3, 100-4) (steps ST210 to ST212). Then, a termination request for PTT communication is transmitted to communication management apparatus 200 (step ST213). The communication management apparatus 200 that has received the termination request executes a predetermined termination process for terminating the PTT communication of the communication terminal 100-2 (step ST214). By this termination processing, the communication terminal 100-2 is removed from the members of the ongoing PTT communication. Further, the other communication terminals (100-1, 100-3, 100-4) that have received the notification of termination of the communication terminal 100-2 delete the mark on the map corresponding to the communication terminal 100-2. The display screen of the second information on the display unit 107 is updated (steps ST215 to ST217). As a result, members of other communication terminals can grasp from the display of the map that the PTT communication has been terminated because the communication terminal 100-2 has joined a predetermined terminal (such as the organizer terminal).

  5, the diagram on the left represents a state in which the communication terminal with the mark “A” and the communication terminal with the mark “B” are approaching within a predetermined distance. When the terminal is the organizer terminal, the communication terminal with the mark “B” is close to the organizer terminal within a predetermined distance, so that the process related to the end of the PTT communication is executed. When the communication is terminated, as shown in the diagram on the right side of FIG. 5, the mark “B” is deleted from the map on the display unit 107 of the other communication terminal. Thereby, the user of another communication terminal (C, D) can grasp that the communication terminal of the mark “B” and the organizer terminal “A” have joined.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the first information related to the geographical position is acquired at each communication terminal in the group communication, and the acquired first information is transmitted to the communication management apparatus 200. Is done. In the communication management apparatus 200, second information related to the geographical position of each communication terminal in group communication is generated based on the first information received from each communication terminal, and the generated second information Is transmitted to each communication terminal in group communication. In each communication terminal that has received the second information, the received second information is displayed on the display unit 107 provided in each communication terminal.
As a result, each communication terminal participating in the group communication can easily grasp the geographical position of the other communication terminal, so that convenience can be significantly improved. For example, when multiple communication terminals gather at the same destination while performing group communication, it is easier to grasp the relative positional relationship with other communication terminals than when communicating positions by voice call. be able to. In addition, it is possible to easily confirm the gathering status to the destination at a glance.

  In addition, the transmission of the first information from the communication terminal 100 to the communication management apparatus 200 is performed when the first information acquired by the position information acquisition unit 151 changes or at a constant cycle, for example. It is possible to reflect the movement status of each communication terminal in the second information generated in 200. As a result, each communication terminal participating in the group communication can grasp the movement status of the other communication terminals every moment, so that convenience is further improved.

Further, in communication terminal 100, based on the first information acquired by position information acquisition unit 151 and the second information received by communication unit 102, within a predetermined distance from any of the other communication terminals in group communication. It is determined whether or not the communication terminal has been approached, and the presence of a communication terminal within a predetermined distance is displayed on the display unit 107 according to the determination result. Thereby, each communication terminal 100 participating in group communication can easily grasp whether or not it is approaching another communication terminal.
Further, when it is determined that the communication terminal 100 has approached a predetermined communication terminal (for example, the organizer terminal) within a predetermined distance, at least the group communication with the predetermined communication terminal is terminated, so the communication is manually performed. There is no need to finish with. In addition, it is possible to prevent the communication from being unnecessarily continued in a state where it is not necessary to communicate using the communication terminal, thereby reducing power consumption.
In addition, when the group communication is terminated when it is determined that the communication terminal 100 has approached the predetermined communication terminal within a predetermined distance, a group communication end notification is transmitted to another communication terminal. The end of the group communication can be reliably transmitted to the communication terminal.

  Up to this point, the embodiment of the present invention and one modification thereof have been described. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made.

  In the flowcharts of FIGS. 4 and 6, the communication management apparatus 200 requests each communication terminal to transmit position information, and each communication terminal that receives the request acquires the position information and transmits it to the communication management apparatus 200. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, each communication terminal may voluntarily acquire position information and transmit it to the communication management apparatus 200. In this case, each communication terminal may transmit the position information when the acquired position information changes (for example, when the change in position exceeds a predetermined distance), or the position information may be transmitted at a constant cycle. May be sent.

  In the above-described embodiment, the PTT communication is automatically terminated when the communication terminal approaches a predetermined terminal (for example, the organizer terminal) within a predetermined distance. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, when the communication terminal 100-2 approaches within a predetermined distance, the communication terminal 100-2 displays a message such as “Do you want to end PTT communication?” On the display unit 107, and selects whether to end PTT communication. The user may be prompted to end the PTT communication when the end of the PTT communication is selected by operating the key input unit 103 according to the display.

  In the display example shown in FIG. 5, a mark indicating the geographical position of each communication terminal is attached on the map, but the display mode of this mark may be changed according to the state in group communication. For example, the display control unit 156 of the communication terminal 100 may display on the display unit 107 a mark that represents a communication terminal that is acquiring a transmission right in group communication in a manner different from the mark that represents another communication terminal. Thereby, in addition to the geographical position of each communication terminal, it becomes easy to grasp the state of each communication terminal during group communication, and convenience is improved.

  In the above-described embodiment, an example is given in which a map is used as information indicating the mutual geographical positions of communication terminals participating in group communication. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the relative position of another communication terminal with respect to its current location may be displayed two-dimensionally simplified, or the position information may be displayed using characters. Also, the information display method is not limited to images, and the user may be notified of the position and proximity of other communication terminals by voice, for example.

  In the above-described embodiment, an example in which the present invention is applied to group communication by PTT has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. The present invention can also be applied to various other group communications that perform one-to-many data communications.

  All of the processing of the control unit 110 of the communication terminal 100 and the processing of the control unit 204 of the communication management apparatus 200 may be executed by a computer based on a program, or at least a part thereof may be executed by hardware. good.

  The communication terminal of the present invention is not limited to a mobile phone. For example, the present invention can be widely applied to portable devices having communication functions such as PDA (personal digital assistants) and portable game machines.

It is a figure which shows an example of a structure of the communication system which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of a structure of the communication terminal which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of a structure of a communication management apparatus. It is a flowchart which shows an example of operation | movement of the communication system shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the example of a display of the information regarding the geographical position of each communication terminal which participates in group communication. It is a flowchart which shows an example of operation | movement when the communication terminal in group communication approaches within a predetermined distance with another communication terminal.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 ... Antenna, 102, 201 ... Communication part, 103 ... Key input part, 104 ... Sound processing part, 105 ... Speaker, 106 ... Microphone, 107 ... Display part, 108, 203 ... Memory | storage part, 109 ... GPS receiving part, 110 , 204 ... control unit, 151 ... position information acquisition unit, 152, 252 ... transmission control unit, 153, 253 ... reception control unit, 154 ... PTT control unit, 155 ... approach determination unit, 156 ... display control unit, 202 ... user Interface unit, 100, 100-1 to 100-4 ... communication terminal, 200 ... communication management device, 300 ... communication network

Claims (8)

When one communication terminal requests the management device to start group communication with a plurality of communication terminals, the management device transmits a notification requesting participation in group communication to the plurality of communication terminals, and A communication method in which a communication terminal that has returned an acknowledgment to the notification and the first communication terminal perform group communication via the management device,
A first step in which each of the communication terminals in the group communication obtains first information related to a geographical location;
A second step in which each of the communication terminals in the group communication transmits the acquired first information to the management device;
The management device receives first information transmitted from each communication terminal, and based on the received first information, second information related to a geographical position of each communication terminal in the group communication A third step of transmitting the generated second information to each communication terminal in the group communication;
A fourth step in which each of the communication terminals in the group communication displays the second information received from the management device on a display unit provided in each;
Each of the communication terminals in the group communication is predetermined with any of the other communication terminals in the group communication based on the first information acquired in each and the second information received in each. A fifth step of determining whether or not the vehicle has approached within the distance;
A sixth step of ending at least the group communication with the predetermined communication terminal when it is determined that each of the communication terminals in the group communication approaches a predetermined communication terminal within a predetermined distance in each of the communication terminals; A communication method characterized by comprising: When three communication terminals and a management apparatus are provided, and one communication terminal in the three or more communication terminals requests the management apparatus to start group communication with a plurality of communication terminals, the management apparatus In a communication system in which a notification requesting participation in group communication is transmitted to a plurality of communication terminals, and the communication terminal that has returned an acknowledgment to the notification and the first communication terminal perform group communication via the management device There,
The management device
A communication unit communicating with the communication terminal;
A reception control unit that receives, in the communication unit, first information related to a geographical location transmitted from each of the communication terminals in the group communication;
Based on the received first information, an information generating unit that generates second information related to each geographical location of the communication terminals in the group communication;
A transmission control unit that transmits the generated second information from the communication unit to each communication terminal in the group communication;
The communication terminal is
A communication unit for performing the group communication;
A display for displaying information;
An information acquisition unit for acquiring the first information related to a geographical position during the group communication;
A transmission control unit that transmits the acquired first information from the communication unit to the management device;
A reception control unit that receives the second information transmitted from the management device at the communication unit;
A display control unit for displaying the received second information on the display unit;
Based on the first information acquired by the information acquisition unit and the second information received by the communication unit, whether or not the communication terminal has approached within a predetermined distance from any of the other communication terminals in the group communication A determination unit for determining;
A communication end control unit configured to end at least the group communication with the predetermined communication terminal when the determination unit determines that the predetermined communication terminal has approached within a predetermined distance. . When one communication terminal requests the management apparatus to start group communication with a plurality of communication terminals, a notification requesting participation in group communication is transmitted from the management apparatus to the plurality of communication terminals. A communication terminal used in a communication system in which group communication is performed by the communication terminal that has returned a positive response to the notification and the first communication terminal,
A communication unit for performing the group communication;
A display for displaying information;
An information acquisition unit for acquiring first information related to a geographical position during the group communication;
A transmission control unit that transmits the acquired first information from the communication unit to the management device ;
The communication unit receives second information related to the geographical position of each of the other communication terminals generated by the management device based on the first information from the other communication terminals in the group communication. A reception control unit;
A display control unit for displaying the received second information on the display unit;
Based on the first information acquired by the information acquisition unit and the second information received by the communication unit, whether or not the communication terminal has approached within a predetermined distance from any of the other communication terminals in the group communication A determination unit for determining;
A communication termination control unit configured to terminate at least the group communication with the predetermined communication terminal when the determination unit determines that the predetermined communication terminal has approached within a predetermined distance. . The said transmission control part transmits the said 1st information from the said communication part when the 1st information acquired in the said information acquisition part changes or a fixed period. Communication terminal. Based on the first information acquired by the information acquisition unit and the second information received by the communication unit, whether or not the communication terminal has approached within a predetermined distance from any of the other communication terminals in the group communication A determination unit for determining;
The display control unit displays information notifying that there is a communication terminal approaching within the predetermined distance on the display unit according to a determination result of the determination unit. 4. The communication terminal according to 4. When the determination unit determines that the communication end control unit has approached a predetermined communication terminal within a predetermined distance, the communication end control unit sends third information for notifying the end of the group communication from the communication unit. The communication terminal according to claim 3, wherein the group communication is terminated after transmission to another communication terminal in communication. The communication terminal according to claim 6, wherein the display control unit displays the third information from another communication terminal received by the communication unit on the display unit. The display control unit displays, on the display unit, a map image to which a mark indicating a geographical position of each communication terminal in the group communication is attached based on the second information. Item 7. The communication terminal according to any one of Items 3 to 6.

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