JPH07128427A - Place-name input device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a place-name input device by which place names such as address, etc., can be inputted in a simplified manner in a portable computer. CONSTITUTION:A handy terminal 1 has a dictionary in which an area is divided into some blocks with a certain size and the place names within every blocks are recorded. When a GPS (global positioning system) information is supplied from a GPS antenna 4 and GPS receiver 5, the positional information showing present position is obtained based on the supplied information, and in which blocks in the area the position presented by the positional information is included, is found out through calculation. The place names included in the block are retrieved referring to the dictionary and all the place names are displayed on an LCD 2. After any one out of them is specified, it is fetched as an input data.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a place name input device suitable for use in a handy terminal which is a portable computer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, various portable computers called "handy terminals" have been put into practical use. This type of computer is provided with an LCD (liquid crystal display element) on which a transparent touch panel is displayed and operators such as ten keys and function keys, so that data can be input at the carrying destination. Such a handy terminal is used in the following fields, for example. A) Patrol work at factories and substations, etc. B) Support for workers outdoors C) Logistics fields such as customer orders and entry / exit management

In the case of A) above, maintenance information such as equipment inspection results and failure information is input at the site.
“Abnormality” is mainly input, and data is input by selecting “absence” or “absence” of abnormality. In addition, since the types of abnormalities are limited depending on the equipment, a specific situation in the case where there is an abnormality is displayed by displaying a menu of the types of abnormalities, and input is made by selecting one. In the case of B), man-hour management information such as work time at the site is input. In this case, time information is input by the ten-key pad, and data processing is performed based on the clock provided inside.

Further, in the case of C), business information such as records of sold products and customer information such as customer name and address are input. In this case, the master file for products and the master file for customers are
It is stored in advance in the handy terminal, and the name of the sold product and the customer name are input based on them. Each of the above data is, for example,
It is sent to the host computer via an optical fiber or the like.

[0005]

By the way, in the case of the above C), the information about the new customer is input in kana and romaji by the keyboard provided in the host computer, and the kanji conversion is performed. It was registered in the master file by. On the other hand, when a new contract is made at the customer, it is necessary to input information such as “name” and “address” from the handy terminal on the spot. However, as described above, since the handy terminal is a mobile terminal, a keyboard with a sufficient key pitch cannot be provided to emphasize portability, and the "address"
There is a problem that it is very difficult to input a place name such as.

Further, a method of providing a dictionary in which a postal code and a place name are associated with each other and searching the dictionary is also possible, but even if the city or ward level can be input, a more detailed place name (town name, town name, And the village name) cannot be entered. Furthermore, it is possible to register all place names with a personal computer in advance, select the necessary place name, copy it to the handy terminal, display the menu, and select it, but this method requires a dedicated application. In addition, it is not possible to respond when the planned visit destination is changed to an address that has not been copied to the handy terminal. Further, when there are many copied place names, there is a problem that the number of operations for selection increases.

[0007] It is an object of the present invention to provide a place name input device capable of inputting a place name such as an address in a portable computer in a simplified method.

[0008]

A place name input device according to the present invention includes a position detecting means for detecting a current position using a global positioning system and outputting it as position information, and a position indicated by the position information. Display means for displaying all place names belonging to an area within a predetermined range, designating means for designating any one of the place names displayed on the display means, and control means for fetching the place name designated by the designating means as input data It is characterized by having and.

[0009]

According to the above construction, when the current position is detected by the position detecting means using the global positioning system and is output as the position information, the position is detected within a predetermined range including the position indicated by the position information. All the place names that belong are displayed by the display means. When one of the place names displayed on the display means is designated by the designation means,
The control means fetches the designated place name as input data. Therefore, even if the place name is not input by the keyboard, it is possible to input the place name only by designating the place name displayed by the display means.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the structure of a place name input device according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, reference numeral 1 is a handy terminal, which is provided with an LCD 2 and an operator 3 including a numeric keypad and function keys. 4 is a GPS (Global Positioning System) used for navigation systems for automobiles.
m: Global Positioning System) Antenna, which is fixed to the car.

A GPS receiver 5 is connected to the GPS antenna 4 and the handy terminal 1 by a connector. GPS receiver 5 and handy terminal 1 are R
Data is exchanged by S-232C or a dedicated interface. The GPS receiver 5 and the handy terminal 1 are mounted on the vehicle, and the current position of the vehicle on which the handy terminal 1 is placed is detected by the GPS antenna 4 and the GPS receiver 5. Further, by removing the connector, only the handy terminal 1 can be carried.

Alternatively, the GPS antenna 4 and GPS
The receiver 5 may be integrated with the handy terminal 1 and carried as it is. In this case, it is possible to carry only the handy terminal 1 by removing it.

Next, FIG. 2 shows a place name input section of the handy terminal 1. As shown in this figure, the place name input unit of the handy terminal 1 includes a position information receiving unit 11, a position information / place name converting unit 12, and a dictionary 13. The position information receiving unit 11 receives GPS information from the GPS receiver 5 and generates position information P indicating the current position based on this GPS information. In addition, the position information / place name conversion unit 12
The area including the position represented by the position information P is calculated. Then, referring to the dictionary 13, the place name data PN in the area is searched and displayed on the LCD 2.

A specific example of the dictionary 13 will be shown below. Dictionary 13
Is a dictionary 13a, as shown in FIGS. 3 (a) and 3 (b).
And the dictionary 13b. The dictionaries 13a and 13b shown here indicate information on a certain area shown in FIG. The area shown in FIG. 4 is an area AR1 indicating “Aiueo town”, an area AR2 indicating “Kakikukeko town”,
It consists of an area AR3 indicating "Sashisuseso Village" and an area AR4 indicating "Tachitsutoto Town".

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a state in which the area of FIG. 4 is divided into sections of a certain size. As shown in this figure,
For example, in the horizontal direction, "A", "B", ...,
It is divided into eight "H" and vertically divided into "1" to "5". Then, each section is represented by a combination of a horizontal position and a vertical position. In FIG. 5, for example, a section whose horizontal direction is “C” and whose vertical direction is “2” is represented as “C-2”.

As shown in FIG. 3 (a), "B-2", "B-3", ..., "D-4" written in the dictionary 13a are the sections of the section shown in FIG. It corresponds to each one. Further, in the dictionary 13a, the place names (town name, village name) of the areas AR1 to AR4 included in each section are recorded for each section. Note that, if the place name is directly recorded, it is not efficient, so that numbers such as "1", "2", ... Are recorded. As shown in FIG. 3 (b), this number is associated with each place name 1: 1 in the dictionary 13b. For example, the areas AR1 and AR2 are included in the section D-3. In this case, the area AR1 is "Aiue Town" and the area AR2 is "Kakikuke Town", and in the dictionary 13b, "Aiue Town" is "1" and "Kakikuke Town".
Is represented by "2". Therefore, in the dictionary 13a, "D-
3 1, 2 ”is recorded.

According to such a configuration, for example, when it is required that the position represented by the position information P is in the section D-3, "Aiue town" and "Kakikuke town" belonging to this zone. The place name of is displayed on the LCD 2 as a menu. Then, the user inputs by selecting the place name displayed on the menu.

In some cases, the place name to be entered may not be displayed on the menu due to GPS error. Therefore, the place name is displayed in consideration of this error as described below.
As shown in FIG. 5, the position represented by the position information P is the point PT.
Suppose In FIG. 6, a section D- in which this point PT exists
The figure which expanded 3 is shown. Here, consider a circle CR having a GPS error of R and a radius of the error R. And
If the circle CR does not fit within one section, all the sections in which the protruding portion of the circle CR exists are obtained, and the processing for obtaining the place name belonging to the section is performed.

For example, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, when the circle CR extends over the sections D-4, E-3, and E-4, the sections D-4 include areas AR3 and AR4.
Since the section E-3 includes the areas AR1 and AR2 and the section E-4 includes the areas AR2 and AR4, in addition to “Aiue town” and “Kakikuke town”, “Sashisuse village” and "Tachitsute Town" is also the target of the menu display. The two place names "Sashisuse Village" and "Tachitsute Town" that have been added can be displayed together with the other two from the beginning, but at the beginning, only the other two are displayed and the "Next" It is also possible to display it as a new menu with a key such as “candidate”.

On the other hand, there are cases where the place name to be input is not displayed on the menu due to the difference between the resident display and the map display. Therefore, when the place name belonging to the section in which the position information P exists (for example, the section “D-3”) is displayed on the menu,
A section adjacent to this section (sections “C-3”, “D-2”, “D-
Place names belonging to "5", "E-3", etc.) are separately displayed.

Next, the operation of the place name input device according to this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
First, when a timer interrupt is generated from the application program AP at regular intervals, the position information receiving section 11 performs the following processing. In step SP1, the position information receiving unit 11 receives GPS information from the GPS receiver 5. Then, in step SP2, the current position information P is supplied to the position information / place name conversion unit 12 based on the GPS information. When the above process is completed, the position information receiving section 11 notifies the application program AP that the process is completed. Thus, each time a timer interrupt occurs, the position information P at that time is supplied to the position information / place name conversion unit 12.

Next, when the user performs an operation for inputting an address, the application program AP causes an interrupt to the position information / place name information conversion section 12.
As a result, the position information / place name information conversion unit 12 executes the following processing. First, in step SP3,
In which section the position (point PT) indicated by the position information P obtained in step SP2 exists is calculated. Next, in step SP4, the dictionary 13 is referred to search for a record relating to the partition obtained in step SP3. For example, if the point PT exists in the section D-3, the record of "D-3" is searched in the dictionary 13a. In this case, since “1” and “2” are recorded in the record of “D-3”, the dictionary 13
With reference to b, the place names of "Aiue Town" and "Kakikuke Town" are obtained.

After that, the process proceeds to step SP5, and it is determined whether or not it is necessary to consider the GPS error. That is, a circle CR with the point PT as the center and the error R as the radius is
Determine if it is in another section. If this determination result is "YES", that is, if the circle CR covers other sections, the process proceeds to step SP6, and those sections (for example, sections D-4, E-3, and E-4) are determined. To do. Next, proceeding to step SP7, the dictionary 13 is referred to search the record relating to the section obtained at step SP6, and the corresponding place name is obtained as in step SP4. Then, the process proceeds to step SP8.

On the other hand, when the result of the determination in step SP5 is "NO", that is, when the circle CR does not cover another section, the process proceeds to step SP8.

Next, in step SP8, the place name belonging to the target section is displayed on the LCD 2. For example, when the target section is the section D-3, the LCD 2
The place names of "Aiue Town" and "Kakikuke Town" are displayed on. In addition, when it is necessary to consider the error of GPS, other sections, for example, sections D-4, E-3, and E
When -4 is also a target, "Sashisuse Village" and "Tachitsute Town" are displayed on the LCD 2.

Next, in step SP9, the user is made to select one of the place names displayed on the LCD 2. Then, in step SP10, it is determined whether or not the place name is determined. If the result of this determination is "NO", that is, if there is no place name to be input in the displayed place names and the user has operated a predetermined key of the operator 3, the process proceeds to step SP11. . In this case, it is necessary to display the place names belonging to the adjacent sections. For example, when the section in which the point PT exists is the section D-3, the sections C-2, C-3, C-4, D-2, D-
4, E-2, E-3, and E-4 are determined as new target sections. Then, the process proceeds to step SP8 to search the records relating to each of the sections by referring to the dictionary 13 and display the place names belonging to them on the LCD 2.

Then, in step SP9, the user is made to select again. Then, it progresses to step SP10 and it is judged whether the place name was decided. When any one of the displayed place names is selected by the user, the determination result in step SP10 is "YES", and the process of the position information / place name information conversion unit 12 ends. Through the above processing, the place name selected by the user is input to the handy terminal 1 as the address of the customer.

As shown in FIG. 6, the horizontal length X and the vertical length Y for one section dividing the map is determined to be the optimum length according to the area, and the dictionary 13 is based on the optimum length. To create. When the horizontal length X and the vertical length Y are increased, the number of divisions of the section is reduced and the number of records in the dictionary 13a is reduced, but the place names belonging to one section are increased. Therefore, the menu is displayed on the LCD 2. The number of cases is increased. On the other hand, when the horizontal length X and the vertical length Y are reduced, the number of records in the dictionary 13a increases and the capacity of the dictionary 13 also increases. However, since the place names belonging to one section are reduced, the number of menus displayed on the LCD 2 is reduced, and the input is facilitated.

Further, for indoor input in which GPS cannot be used, position information is obtained in advance in a receivable outdoor position and recorded in a file or the like, and indoors, position information is obtained from the file and input. It is possible.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the following effects can be obtained. (1) The user does not need to input kana or romaji by only performing the operation of calling the address with one touch. (2) It is also possible to enter information such as a town name or a village name in addition to the city or ward. (3) There is no need to create a dedicated application. (4) The dictionary 13 can be copied to a memory card and managed by region. Therefore, you only need to carry the dictionary of the area you plan to visit.

[0031]

As described above, according to the present invention, the position detecting means for detecting the current position using the global positioning system and outputting it as position information, and the position indicated by the position information are included. Display means for displaying all place names belonging to an area within a predetermined range, designating means for designating any one of the place names displayed on the display means, and control means for fetching the place name designated by the designating means as input data With the provision of, there are the following effects. (1) Since it is not necessary to input the place name using the keyboard, it is possible to easily input the place name using the mobile terminal. (2) Since kana-kanji conversion and romaji conversion are not required, the place name can be input surely and quickly. (3) Not only the position indicated by the position information obtained by GPS, but also the place name of the surrounding area are displayed and selected. Therefore, when a GPS error occurs, and the house display and the display on the map are displayed. Even if they are different, it is possible to input the place name with a small number of key inputs. (4) It is also possible to input the name of a building or the like in an area where the positional information can correspond to the name of the building.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a place name input device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram showing a place name input section of the handy terminal 1 in the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing (a) dictionary 13a and (b) dictionary 13b inside the handy terminal 1 in the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a certain area.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a state in which the area shown in FIG. 4 is divided into fixed sections.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of section D-3 in FIG.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an operation of the handy terminal 1 in the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Handy terminal, 2 ... LCD (display means), 3 ... Operator (designating means), 4 ... GPS antenna (position detecting means), 5 ... GPS receiver (position detecting means), 11 ... ... Position information receiving unit (position detecting means), 12
...... Location information / place name conversion unit (control means) 13 ...... Dictionary,

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A position detecting means for detecting a current position by using a global positioning system and outputting it as position information, and a display for displaying all place names belonging to an area of a predetermined range including the position indicated by the position information. A place name input device comprising: a unit, a designation unit that designates any of the place names displayed on the display unit, and a control unit that captures the place name designated by the designation unit as input data. .