JPH085394A - Portable terminal device and communication system using the device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To mutually confirm the positions of terminal devices owned by the members of a group by receiving the position transmitted from the other portable terminal device by the respective portable terminal devices. CONSTITUTION:The members of a group respectively have portable terminal devices 100a, 100b, 100c. The devices receive radio waves from GPS satellites 190a, 190b, 190c to specify the respective present positions. The devices 100a, 100b, 100c respectively have communication units, and exchange data among then. The devices 100a, 100b, 100c detect the positions by using them and respectively display them on screens. The devices 100a, 100b, 100c can externally obtain map data, display the members' positions on the maps displayed on the screens, and confirm the members' presences at a glance. Further, the devices can display the member's moving speeds and directions from moving speed information, and know that the members move toward correct directions.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a portable terminal device that can be carried and used, and a communication system using the portable terminal device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In portable terminal devices, there is a system that uses radio waves from satellites to detect the current position of the user and display it on a map. An example of such a system is an automobile navigation system equipped with a GPS (Global Positioning System).

[0003]

However, in the above-mentioned system, although the position of oneself can be known, there is a problem that the positions of scattered members of the group cannot be confirmed with each other when acting in a group.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to make it possible to visually confirm the positions of the portable terminal devices owned by the members of the group when they act in the group.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, map data storage means for storing map data and map data managed by the map data storage means are displayed on each mobile terminal device. Map display means, position detecting means for detecting the current position, transmitting means for transmitting the position detected by the position detecting means to another mobile terminal device, and receiving the position transmitted from the other mobile terminal device. The reception means and the position display means for displaying a mark at the position received by the reception means on the map data displayed by the map display means are provided. Furthermore,
In the present invention, in order to be able to display the position of the own mobile terminal device, the own position display means for displaying a mark at the position detected by the own position detection means on the map data displayed by the map display means. To be equipped with. Further, in order to be able to change the color depending on the distance between the own mobile terminal device and another mobile terminal device, the distance between the position received by the receiving means and the position of the own mobile terminal device. And a color management unit that manages the correspondence between the distance and the color, and reads the color from the color management unit according to the distance calculated by the distance calculation unit.
When displaying the mark on the map data by the position display means,
The mark is displayed in the previously read color. Further, in the present invention, in order to visually confirm the moving speed of each mobile terminal device, the speed calculation means for calculating the speed from the position received by the reception means, and the position displayed by the position display means as the starting point Is provided with a speed display means for displaying the speed calculated by the speed calculation means.

There is another method for visually confirming the moving speed of each portable terminal device. In this method, in each mobile terminal device, map data storage means for storing map data, map display means for displaying map data managed by the map data storage means, position detection means for detecting a current position, and current The speed detecting means for detecting the speed, the transmitting means for transmitting the position detected by the position detecting means and the speed detected by the speed detecting means to the other mobile terminal device, and the other mobile terminal device for transmitting the speed. The receiving means for receiving the position and the speed, the position displaying means for displaying the position received by the receiving means on the map data displayed by the map displaying means, and the speed received by the receiving means for the position displaying means The speed display means that displays with the arrow starting from the position displayed by
I am preparing to have it.

Further, according to the present invention, it is possible to display the information about the member having the portable terminal device represented by the mark displayed on the map. That is, in the present invention, in addition to the above-mentioned means, selection means for selecting the mark displayed on the screen, and information about the user represented by the selected mark when the mark is selected by this selection means is displayed. And a user information display unit that operates. Further, in order to be able to know the distance between the own mobile terminal device and another mobile terminal device and the time required for movement,
In addition to the selecting means, distance calculating means for calculating the distance between the mobile terminal device and the own mobile terminal device represented by the mark selected by the selecting means, and when the mark is selected by the selecting means, When the mark is selected by the selection means, the distance display means for displaying the distance calculated by the distance calculation means, the time calculation means for calculating the time required for movement from the speed received by the reception means and the distance calculated by the distance calculation means. In addition, a distance display means for displaying the distance calculated by the distance calculation means and a time difference display means for displaying the time required for the movement calculated by the time calculation means are provided.

Further, in the present invention, the traffic information is displayed on the map so that the member can confirm whether or not he / she is in a traffic jam. That is, in the present invention, in addition to the above-described configuration, it is provided with traffic information receiving means for receiving traffic information and traffic information displaying means for displaying the traffic information received by the traffic information receiving means on a map. I am trying to do it.

Further, according to the present invention, the still image captured by the portable terminal device can be transmitted and received together with the information regarding the position of the portable terminal device. That is, in the present invention, map data storage means for storing map data,
Map display means for displaying map data managed by the map data storage means, position detection means for detecting the current position, image input means for capturing an image, and position detected by the position detection means in another portable terminal device. , And a transmitting means for transmitting the image captured by the image input means, a receiving means for receiving the position and the image transmitted from another portable terminal device, and a position for receiving the image by the receiving means are displayed by the map display means. Position display means for displaying the map data overlaid on it, selection means for selecting the mark displayed by the position display means, and an image corresponding to the mark is displayed on the screen when the mark is selected by this selection means. And an image display means for performing the operation.

Further, according to the present invention, when the image is captured, the image display means for displaying the image captured by the image input means so that the user can capture the image while confirming the captured image. And a screen selection means for designating switching between the map display means and the image display means,
An image capture instruction means for instructing capture of an image when the image display means is selected by the screen selection means is provided.

Furthermore, the present invention provides a host station
It is also possible to send and receive information such as position between the mobile terminal devices. That is, according to the present invention, the host station receives the position transmitted from the portable terminal device in the host station, the position managing unit managing the position received by the host receiving unit, and the portable terminal managing the position managing unit. A map for storing map data in each mobile terminal device, and a map for displaying the map data managed by the map data storage device. Display means,
Position detecting means for detecting the current position, registration means for registering the position detected by the position detecting means, and second receiving means for receiving the position of another portable terminal device from the host station,
A position display means for displaying the position received by the receiving means on the map data displayed by the map display means is displayed.

[0012]

First, information on the position and speed of the portable terminal device a is
A method of displaying on the mobile terminal device b will be described. In this case, in the mobile terminal device a, the current position is acquired by the position detection means, and the position information detected by the transmission means is transmitted to the mobile terminal device b. In the mobile terminal device b, first, the receiving means receives the position information from the mobile terminal device a. Then, the map display unit displays the map data managed by the map management unit, and the position information received previously is displayed on the map by the position display unit. Further, in the mobile terminal device b, the current position of the mobile terminal device b itself can be displayed on the map by the own position display means. Further, when the mark is displayed at the position of the other mobile terminal device on the map by the position display means, the distance calculation means calculates the distance between the own mobile terminal device and the other mobile terminal device, and the distance calculated by the color management means. The color corresponding to can be read and the mark can be displayed in the previously read color. Further, the moving speed calculation means can calculate the moving speed of the other portable terminal device, and the speed display means can display the speed with an arrow.

Next, another method for displaying the position and speed information of the mobile terminal device a on the mobile terminal device b will be described. In another method of displaying the speed, in a certain portable terminal device a, the current position is acquired by the position detecting unit, the moving speed is acquired by the speed detecting unit, and the position and speed information detected by the transmitting unit are displayed. Mobile terminal device b
Send to. In the mobile terminal device b, first, the receiving means receives the position and speed information from the mobile terminal device a. Then, the map display means displays the map data managed by the map management means, and the previously received position information is displayed on the map by the position display means and the speed information is displayed on the map by the speed display means. .

Next, a method of displaying information about the user will be described. First, the information about the mark selected by the selection means is displayed by the user information display means. Further, as the information regarding the mark selected by the selection means, the distance calculated by the distance calculation means can be displayed by the distance display means, and the time difference obtained by the time calculation means can be displayed by the time difference display means.

Next, a method of displaying traffic information will be described. In this case, the traffic information receiving means receives the traffic information and displays it on the map.

Next, a method of transmitting a still image to the mobile terminal device b and displaying the still image together with the position information of the mobile terminal device a on the mobile terminal device b will be described. First, the mobile terminal device a
In, a still image is captured by the image input means. Then, the current position is acquired by the position detecting unit, and the position information detected by the transmitting unit and the still image captured previously are transmitted to the mobile terminal device b. In the mobile terminal device b, first, the receiving unit receives the position information and the still image from the mobile terminal device a. Then, the map display means displays the map data managed by the map management means, and the position information received previously is displayed on the map in a superimposed manner by the position display means. Then, when the mark displayed on the map is selected by the selection means, the still image is displayed on the screen by the still image display means.

Next, a method for capturing a still image will be described. First, the screen is switched by the screen selection means, and the image input by the image input means is displayed on the screen by the image display means. Then, when the image capture instructing means instructs the capture of the image, the image input means captures the image input.

Next, the portable terminal device a is passed through the host station.
A method of displaying the information such as the position of No. on the mobile terminal device b will be described. First, in the mobile terminal device a, the current position is acquired by the position detection means, and the position information detected by the registration means is transmitted to the host station. At the host station,
The host receiving unit receives the position information of the mobile terminal device a, and the position managing unit stores the position information. Then, the host station transmits the position information of the mobile terminal device a to the mobile terminal device b by the notification means. In the mobile terminal device b, first, the second receiving unit receives the position information of the mobile terminal device a from the host station. Then, the map data managed by the map management means is displayed by the map display means, and the position information previously received is displayed on the map by the position display means.

[0019]

The present invention will be described below with reference to the illustrated embodiments. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration outline of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention. First, the outline of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 1, 100a, 100b, 10
Reference numeral 0c is a mobile terminal device. The mobile terminal device 100 has, for example, one member for each group member. Further, 190a, 190b, 190c are GPS (Global
Positioning System) satellite. Mobile terminal device 10
0 can specify the current position by receiving radio waves from at least three or more GPS satellites. In addition, since the mobile terminal devices 100 exchange data with each other using wireless communication or the like, a certain member can know where the other members of the group are and can confirm each other's position. it can.

FIG. 3 shows the portable terminal device 100 shown in FIG.
3 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of FIG. In the figure, 101 is a control unit, which executes various processing programs relating to peripheral control, data request and processing, communication, and the like. 102
Is a storage unit that stores various programs and data related to data request, processing, communication, and the like. Storage unit 102
For example, RAM, ROM, flash memory, hard disk, etc. can be used. A communication unit 103 exchanges data with another mobile terminal device. The communication unit 103 will be described later. A display unit 104 is, for example, an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) display and a driver for driving the LCD. Display 1
04, CRT (CathodeRay Tube) instead of LCD
Can also be used. 105 is a GPS receiver,
It receives radio waves from three or more GPS satellites 190 and calculates the current position of the mobile terminal device 100 itself. Reference numeral 106 denotes a map management unit that searches and reads out map data.
The map management unit 106 uses a CD-ROM or a flash memory as a storage medium. Reference numeral 107 denotes a clock, which manages the time and generates periodic interrupts. An input unit 108 is, for example, a display-integrated touch panel, a button described later, or the like. Note that the button is not essential. 111 is a VIC for receiving traffic information
The CS receiving unit 113 is an image input unit for capturing an image. The VICCS receiving unit 111 and the image input unit 113 are not essential.

In the system having the configuration described above,
A method in which the mobile terminal device 100 detects the positions of the other terminal devices 100 and displays the positions on the screen of the mobile terminal device will be described.

First, the position management table 300 for managing the positions of the mobile terminal device 100 and its own will be described with reference to FIG. Location information management table 300
Is stored in the storage unit 102 of the mobile terminal device 100.

The location management table 300 includes ID 301,
It is composed of a position 302 and a time 303. For ID301,
The identifier for identifying the user is stored. In the position 302, information (position information) for specifying the position of the user specified by the ID 301 is stored. As the information for specifying the position, for example, a combination of latitude and longitude, a combination of direction and distance from a specific point, or the like is used. The time 303 stores the time when the position was measured.

Next, a member management table 3 for managing information about the member such as the telephone number of the member's portable terminal device.
50 will be described with reference to FIG. The member management table 350 is stored in the storage unit 102 of the mobile terminal device 100.

The member management table 350 has an ID 35.
1, a name 352, and a telephone number 353. ID35
1 stores an identifier for identifying a user. The name 352 stores the name of the user identified by the ID 351. The telephone number of the mobile terminal device owned by the user identified by the ID 351 is stored in the telephone number 353. A name or a telephone number can be directly used as the ID 351. In this case, it is not necessary to have the ID 351 including the above-mentioned identifier for specifying the user.

Next, the position detection processing 500 in which the mobile terminal device 100 detects its own current position will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

In the position detecting process 500, first, the GPS receiving section 105 makes at least three or more GPS satellites 190.
The current position is calculated using the radio wave from (step 501). Then, the control unit 101 receives the current position information and stores the position information and the time in the position management table 300 (step 502). In this step 502, the identifier of the owner of the mobile terminal device 100 and the ID 301
The position information is stored in the position 302 of the record that matches with, and the time read from the clock 107 is stored in the time 303 of the record.

Regarding the method of determining the position by the radio waves from the GPS satellites, refer to Document 1: "The GPS Navigation Message, Navigation Vol. 25, No. 2, No. 147-1.
Page 65 (The GPS Navigation Message, Navigation Vo
L.25, No.2); 1978 ”Reference 2:“ A Position Fixing Algorithm for the Lo ”
w Cost GPS Receiver, IEEE Trans. on AES); 197
March 1994 ”and the like.

The position detection processing 500 described above is
It is periodically executed by using the clock 107.

Next, the process of notifying the position of the mobile terminal device 100a to the mobile terminal devices 100b and 100c will be described. As the configuration of the communication unit 103, there are a method using a cellular phone, a method using a specific low power radio, and a method using both a cellular phone and a pager.

First, communication data 400 communicated between the mobile terminal devices 100 will be described with reference to FIG. The configuration of communication data is common to the above three methods.

Communication data 400 includes ID 401, position 4
02, time 403. The ID 401 stores an identifier for identifying the user. Also, position 402
In, the location information of the user identified by the ID 401 is stored. The time 403 stores the time when the position information stored in the position 402 was measured.

First, by using a cellular telephone as the communication unit 103, from the portable terminal device 100a to another portable terminal device 100.
The process of notifying the information of the position of the mobile terminal device 100a to the mobile terminal 100b will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The notification process includes an information transmission process 510 in the mobile terminal device 100a and an information reception process 520 in the mobile terminal device 100b.

In the information transmission processing 510, first, it is determined whether or not the communication data 400 has been transmitted to all the members registered in the member management table 350 (step 511). When the information has been transmitted to all, the information transmission processing 510 is ended. If it has not been sent to all, the members who have not sent it are selected, and the telephone number is read from the telephone number 353 of the member management table 350 (step 512). Then, the read telephone number is called to connect the line (step 513). Then, the position management table 300
From the position 302 of the record specified by the identifier of the owner of the mobile terminal device 100a, the position information of the mobile terminal device 100a is read and stored in the position 402 of the communication data 400, and from the time 303 of the record. The time is read and stored at time 403 of the communication data 400. Further, the identifier of the owner of the mobile terminal device 100a is stored in the ID 401 of the communication data 400. Then, the communication data 400 is transmitted to the mobile terminal device 100b through the line connected in step 513 (step 514). After the transmission is completed, the line is disconnected (step 515). After step 515 ends, the process returns to step 511.

In the information receiving process 520, first, the communication data 400 is received from the mobile terminal device 100a through the line established with the mobile terminal device 100a (step 521). Next, the position information stored in the position 402 of the communication data 400 is stored in the position 302 of the record of the position management table 300 specified by the ID 401 of the communication data 400 received in step 521, and the above-mentioned record is stored. The time stored in the time 403 of the communication data 400 is stored in the time 303 (step 522).

Although the cellular phone is used in the above embodiment, a PHP (Personal Handy P
Hone) can be used in the same way.

Next, the processing when the specific low power radio is used for the communication unit 103 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The process when using a specific low power radio is
An information transmission process 530 in the mobile terminal device 100a,
The information reception process 540 in the mobile terminal device 100b.

In the information transmission process 530, the mobile terminal device 1 is searched from the position 302 of the record specified by the identifier of the owner of the mobile terminal device 100a in the position management table 300.
The position information of 00a is read and stored in the position 402 of the communication data 400, and the time 3
The time is read from 03 and the time 40 of the communication data 400 is read.
Store in 3. Further, the identifier of the owner of the mobile terminal device 100a is stored in the ID 401 of the communication data 400.
Then, the communication data 400 is transmitted via the communication unit 103 at a preset frequency (step 53).
1).

In the information receiving process 540, first, the communication data 4 is transmitted from the mobile terminal device 100a with the same frequency as the frequency at which the mobile terminal device 100a starts.
00 is received (step 541). Next, step 5
Position 302 of record of position management table 300 specified by ID 401 of communication data 400 received in 41
The location information stored in the location 402 is stored in the
Stores the time stored in. (Step 54
2).

In the above example, the specific low power radio is used, but an amateur radio may be used instead of the specific low power radio in the same manner.

Next, the processing when the cellular telephone and the pager are used together will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The process when the cellular phone and the pager are used together is the information transmission process 550 in the mobile terminal device 100a.
And information reception processing 560 in the mobile terminal device 100b.
Consists of

In the information transmission processing 550, the group call function of the pager is used. The group call function is a function for calling a plurality of pagers at the same time. In the information transmission processing 550, first, the function of the cellular telephone is used to call the telephone number for making a group call and connect the line (step 551). next,
From the position 302 of the record specified by the identifier of the owner of the mobile terminal device 100a in the position management table 300,
The position information of the mobile terminal device 100a is read and stored in the position 402 of the communication data 400, and the time is read from the time 303 of the record, and the communication data 4
It is stored at time 403 of 00. In addition, the mobile terminal device 10
The identifier of the owner of 0a is the ID 40 of the communication data 400.
Store in 1. Then, the communication data 400 is transmitted through the line established in step 551 (step 55).
2). Finally, the line established in step 551 is disconnected (step 553).

Further, in the information receiving process 560, the communication data 4 transmitted by the portable terminal device 100a at the pager receiving unit is transmitted.
00 is received (step 561). Next, step 5
The position 302 of the record of the position management table 300 specified by the ID 401 of the communication data 400 received at 61
The location information stored in the location 402 is stored in the
The time stored in is stored (step 562).

In each of the examples described above, the information on the time when the position is measured is also transmitted from the mobile terminal device 100a to the mobile terminal device 100b. However, when only the position is displayed, the time information is Not necessarily required.

Next, a method of activating the above-mentioned information transmission processing 510, information transmission processing 530, and information transmission processing 550 will be described.

Information transmission processing 510, information transmission processing 53
0, there are two methods of activating the information transmission processing 550: a method of activating it periodically and a method of activating it when the user has moved a certain distance or more.

In the case of activating periodically, the clock 107 is used to activate the information transmitting process 510, the information transmitting process 530, and the information transmitting process 550 at regular time intervals.

In the case where it is activated when it moves by a certain distance or more, the storage unit 102 stores the position information when the information transmission process 510, the information transmission process 530, and the information transmission process 550 were activated last time. And position detection processing 5
The distance between the current position information obtained at 00 and the previously stored position information is calculated. If the calculated distance is equal to or greater than a certain value, information transmission processing 510, information transmission processing 530,
The information transmission process 550 is activated, and the position information obtained by the position detection process at that time is stored in the storage unit 102.

When the information transmission process 510, the information transmission process 530, and the information transmission process 550 are activated when the mobile terminal 100 has moved by a certain distance or more, the mobile terminal device 100 is not consumed when the mobile terminal device 100 is not moving. It can save power.

The portable terminal device 100 is manufactured by the method described above.
b can detect the position of the mobile terminal device 100a, that is, the position of a member who is using the mobile terminal device 100a.

Next, the position display processing 700 for displaying the information regarding the position received from the portable information terminal 100a on the portable information terminal 100b will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

In the position display processing 700, first, the position information of the mobile terminal device 100b is read from the position 302 of the record specified by the identifier of the owner of the mobile terminal device 100b in the position management table 300 (step 70).
1). Next, the map is read from the map management unit 106 (step 702). Next, the map read in step 702 is displayed on the display unit 104 (step 703). Next, the mobile terminal device 100b read in step 701.
A mark indicating the position of is displayed on the map (step 704). Next, it is determined whether the positions of all the members stored in the position management table 300 have been displayed (step 705). When the display of the positions of all the members is completed, the position display processing 700 is ended. If there is a member whose position is not yet displayed, the position of the member whose position is not yet displayed is read from the position management table 300 (step 706). Then, the mark indicating the position of the member read in step 706 is displayed on the map on the display unit 104 (step 707). After completion of step 707, step 70
Return to 5.

When the position of the portable terminal device 100b is not displayed on the screen, steps 701 and 704 are performed.
Can be omitted. Also, step 702
In the process of reading the map, the map including the position of the mobile terminal device 100b read in step 701 can be selected. Such a technique has already been realized in a vehicle navigation system or the like.

Further, by changing the process of step 702 to the map selection process 710 shown in FIG. 14, the positions of all the members stored in the position management table 300 can be displayed on one screen. It is possible.

In the map selection process 710 shown in FIG. 14, first, all the positions stored in the position management table 300 are read (step 711). And step 71
A map including all the positions read in 1 is read from the map management unit 106 (step 712).

Further, in the above embodiment, the map data is read from the map management unit 106, but in the present invention, the map data does not necessarily have to be held in the portable terminal device 100. For example, a database system for managing map data is prepared, and the mobile terminal device 100
It is also possible to provide a means for accessing the database to read map data from the database system. An example will be shown below. In this case, the communication unit 103 needs to have a cellular telephone function.

To read the map data from the database system, step 702 of the position display processing 700 is performed.
Instead of, the map data acquisition process 870 is performed. Also,
A map data management process 880 is performed in a database that manages map data. Map data acquisition processing 870,
The map data providing process 880 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

In the map data acquisition processing 870, first, a telephone is called to the database system to establish a line with the database system (step 87).
1). Next, a request for map data is transmitted to the database system (step 872). Then, the map data is received from the database system (87).
3).

In the map data providing process 880, first, the request from the portable terminal device 100 is received (step 881). Next, the map data is read according to the request (step 882). Next, the map data read in step 882 is transmitted to the mobile terminal device 100 (step 883).

By performing the above processing, it is possible to acquire map data from outside the portable terminal device 100.

Next, a display example of the screen of the mobile terminal device 100 will be described with reference to FIG. 17A is an example of a screen in which the position of the mobile terminal device 100a held by another member is displayed on the screen of the mobile terminal device 100b. In the figure,
A map 290 is displayed on the screen. Also, 201
(201a, 201b) is another mobile terminal device 100a
Is a mark indicating the position of.

Further, FIG. 17B shows the portable terminal device 1.
On the screen of 00b, the mobile terminal device 100 held by another member
It is an example of a screen which simultaneously displays the position of a and the position of the mobile terminal device 100b itself. In the figure, 201 is a mark indicating the position of the other mobile terminal device 100a, and 202
Is a mark indicating the position of the mobile terminal device 100b itself.

As described above, by displaying the position of the member on the map, it is possible to confirm at a glance where the member is.

In the present invention, the name of the member can be displayed together with the mark 201 indicating the position of the member. In that case, step 7 of the position display processing 700
In 07, the name of the member is read from the name 352 of the record specified by the member identifier read in step 706 of the member management table 350, and is displayed below the mark 201, for example.

FIG. 17 shows an example of the screen on which the names of members are displayed below the mark by the above processing. 231 in the figure
(231a, 231b) is the member name. By thus displaying the member name 231 under the mark 201, it is possible to confirm at a glance who is where.

When a plurality of positions of the mobile terminal device 100 are displayed on one screen, it is possible to display different marks for each mobile terminal device 100. In this case, the mark management table 360 is used. The mark management table is stored in the storage unit 102 of the mobile terminal device 100.

FIG. 20 shows the structure of the mark management table 360. The ID 361 stores an identifier for identifying the user. The mark displayed on the screen is stored in the mark 362 in, for example, a bitmap format.

In order to display different marks for each mobile terminal device 100, step 70 of the position display processing 700 is performed.
In step 4 and step 707, when displaying the mark, the mark to be displayed on the screen is read from the mark 362 of the record specified by the identifier of the user to be displayed in the mark management table 360 and displayed on the screen. .

17E and 17F of FIGS. 17A and 17B show examples of screens in which positions are displayed by using different marks for each mobile terminal device 100 by the above processing. In this way, by using different marks for each member (in the illustrated example, the mark 201a is a circle and the mark 201b is a square), it is possible to confirm at a glance where a particular member is.

In the present invention, the mobile terminal device 100b is also used.
The color of the mark can be changed according to the distance between the mobile terminal device 100 and another mobile terminal device 100. In this case, the distance / color correspondence table 370 is used. Distance / color correspondence table 3
70 is stored in the storage unit 102 of the mobile terminal device 100.

FIG. 29 shows the structure of the distance / color correspondence table. The distance / color correspondence table 370 includes a lower limit 371, an upper limit 372, and a color 373. For example, the lower limit 371 is 1 km, the upper limit 372 is 5 km, and the color 37
If red is included in 3 respectively, the mobile terminal device 100
When the distance from b is 1 km or more and less than 5 km, it means to display in red.

In order to change the color of the mark depending on the distance from the portable terminal device 100b, the color selection 860 is performed before step 707 of the position display processing 700. The color selection process 860 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

In the color selection process 860, first, step 7
Position information of the mobile terminal device 100b read in 01,
From the member position information read in step 706,
The distance between the two points is calculated (step 861). Next, it is determined whether or not the reading processing of the lower limit and the upper limit has been performed from all the records of the distance / color correspondence table 370 (step 862). When all the records have been read, the display color is set to a predetermined color (default color) (step 866). If there is a record that has not been read yet, the distance / color correspondence table 3
The lower limit 371 and the upper limit 372 of 70 are read out (step 864). Next, Step 86
It is determined whether the distance calculated in 1 is greater than or equal to the lower limit and less than the upper limit (step 864). If not less than the lower limit and not less than the upper limit, the process returns to step 862. If it is less than the lower limit and less than the upper limit, the color for displaying the mark is read out from the color 373 of the record whose lower and upper limits were read in step 864 (step 865). Then, in step 707 of the position display processing 700, the mark is displayed in the color determined in step 865 or step 866.

FIG. 31 shows an example in which the color of the mark is changed according to the distance from the portable terminal device 100b. 201 in the figure
(201a, 201b) is a mark indicating the position of the other mobile terminal device. Since colors cannot be expressed on paper, in this example, colors are expressed in shades. As described above, by changing the color according to the distance to the mobile terminal device 100b, the distance to other members can be confirmed at a glance.

In the above embodiment, the mobile terminal device 100b is used.
In the above, only the information on the position of the mobile terminal device 100a is displayed, but in the present invention, the information on the moving speed can also be displayed at the same time. An example will be shown below.

First, the table for storing the information on the moving speed will be described with reference to FIG.

When the moving speed is displayed in addition to the position, the position management table 300 in the previous embodiment is replaced with the position management table 310. Position management table 310
Is ID311, position 312, time 313, speed 314
It consists of. The same information as the ID 301 is stored in the ID 311. The same information as that of the position 302 is stored in the position 312. At time 313, the same information as at time 303 is stored. Further, the speed 313 stores information on the moving speed (moving speed information). As the information on the moving speed, for example, a combination of the speed and the direction is used.

As a method of detecting the moving speed of the portable terminal device 100a by the portable terminal device 100b, a method of calculating the moving speed of the portable terminal device 100a in the portable terminal device 100b, a moving speed of the portable terminal device 100a, There are two types of methods: a method in which the mobile terminal device 100b receives from the mobile terminal device 100a.

First, an example of the former method in which the information transmission process 510 and the information reception process 520 are used will be described. In this method, in the information receiving process 520,
Before performing step 521, speed calculation processing 800 is performed. The speed calculation process 800 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

In the speed calculation processing 800, first, the position management table 3 specified by the ID 401 of the communication data 400.
From record 10 (record A), time 313
Is read and the time difference of the communication data 400 from the time 403 is calculated (801). Next, position 31 from record A
2 is read out and compared with the position 302 of the communication data 400 to obtain the distance between the two positions (step 80).
2). The distance calculated in step 702 is calculated as step 801.
The speed is obtained by dividing by the time obtained in (step 803). Then, the speed obtained in step 803 is
Stored in the speed 314 of record A (step 80)
4).

Even when the information transmission process 530 and the information reception process 540 or the information transmission process 550 and the information reception process 560 are used, the speed calculation process 700 is inserted before the steps 542 and 562, respectively. As a result, the speed of the mobile terminal device 100a can be stored in the speed 314 of the location management table 310, and the mobile terminal device 10b can be stored in the mobile terminal device 100b.
It is possible to obtain information about the speed of 0a.

Next, the latter method will be described.
In the case of this method, the communication data 400 is replaced with the communication data 410.

Regarding the communication data 410, (b) of FIG.
Will be explained. Communication data 410 includes ID 401,
It is composed of a position 402, a time 403, and a speed 404. The speed 404 stores information about the speed of the mobile terminal device 100.

In this system, a speed sensor is attached to the mobile information terminal 100. The speed sensor is the mobile terminal device 1
00 movement speed information is detected.

Next, the process of acquiring the moving speed information in the portable information terminal 100a will be described. In the position detection process 500 of the mobile terminal device 100a, after step 502, the moving speed information obtained from the speed sensor is used as the speed 314 of the record specified by the identifier of the owner of the mobile terminal device 100a in the position management table 310. Store.

Next, the process of notifying the mobile information terminal 100b of the moving speed information of the mobile terminal device 100a will be described.
An example of using the information transmission process 510 and the information reception process 520 will be described.

In order to notify the moving speed information, in the information transmitting process 510, the speed 314 of the record specified by the identifier of the owner of the portable terminal device 100a in the position management table 310 is executed before performing step 514. , The mobile speed information of the mobile terminal device 100a is read and stored in the speed 404 of the communication data 410 (hereinafter,
This will be called speed information transmission preparation processing). Also, in the information reception process 520, before performing step 522, the speed 3 of the record of the position management table 310 specified by the ID 401 of the previously received communication data 410
The moving speed information stored in the speed 404 is stored in 14 (hereinafter, referred to as speed information storage processing).

Even when the information transmission process 530 and the information reception process 540 or the information transmission process 550 and the information reception process 560 are used, the speed information transmission preparation process is inserted before each of the steps 531 and 552. However, the speed of the mobile terminal device 100a can be stored in the speed 314 of the position management table 310 of the mobile terminal device 100b by inserting the speed information storage processing before each of steps 542 and 562,
The mobile terminal device 100b can acquire information about the speed of the mobile terminal device 100a.

According to the method described above, the portable terminal device 1
In 00b, it becomes possible to detect information about the speed of the mobile terminal device 100a.

Next, the process of displaying the moving speed information of the mobile terminal device 100a detected by the above method on the mobile terminal device 100b will be described. Other mobile terminal 100
In order to display the moving speed information of (for example, the mobile terminal device 100a) on the screen of the mobile terminal device 100b, the speed display process 81 is performed after step 707 of the position display process 700.
Try to add 0. Regarding the speed display processing 810,
This will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

In the speed display process 810, first, the moving speed information is read from the speed 314 of the same record as the record whose position information was read in step 706 of the position management table 310 (step 811). Next, using the position read in step 706 as a starting point, step 8
The moving speed information read in 11 is displayed by, for example, an arrow (step 812). At this time, the direction indicated by the arrow indicates the traveling direction of the mobile terminal device 100a.
Further, when displaying the arrow, the length of the arrow may be changed in proportion to the magnitude of the speed read in step 711. For example, the faster the moving speed, the longer the arrow.

FIG. 17C shows an example in which the position and speed of the portable terminal device 100 owned by another member are displayed. In the figure, the arrow 211 (211a, 211b) indicates the mark 20.
1 (201a, 201b) of the mobile terminal device 10
Indicates the moving speed and moving direction of 0.

Further, in the mobile terminal device 100b, it is possible to simultaneously display information on the speed of the mobile terminal device 100b itself. In this case, the moving speed information is read from the speed 314 of the record of the record specified by the identifier of the owner of the mobile terminal device 100b in the location management table 310, and in step 704, step 7 is performed.
Starting from the position read in 01, the moving speed information of the mobile terminal device 100b previously read is displayed by, for example, an arrow.

FIG. 17D shows an example in which the position and speed of the portable terminal device 100 owned by another member, and the position and speed of the member itself are displayed. In the figure, an arrow 212 indicates the moving speed and the moving direction of itself. As shown in the figure, by displaying the moving speed with an arrow, it is possible to visually confirm in which direction the member is moving.

In the above embodiments, the position and speed of the member are displayed, but in the present invention, information such as the distance to other members can be displayed. An example will be shown below. In this embodiment, in the storage unit 102, a position management table 310 for managing the positions of members and a member management table 3 for managing information about members.
There are 50.

First, the member information display processing 820 in the mobile terminal device 100b will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The member information display processing 820
Is activated when the user touches the touch panel of the input unit 108.

In the member information display processing 820, first, the position touched by the user on the touch panel of the input unit 108 is detected and converted into coordinates on the map (step 821). Next, the distance between the two points is calculated from the position detected in step 821 and the position information stored in the position 312 of the position management table 310. The distance is calculated for all members whose positions are managed in the position management table 310, the member closest to the position detected in step 821 is specified, and the user identifier is read from the ID 311 (step 822). Next, it is determined whether or not the distance between the member identified in step 822 and the position detected in step 821 is within a certain value (step 823).
If the distance is not within a certain value, member display processing 820
To end. If the distance is within a certain value, the member information is read from the record of the member management table 350 identified by the user identifier read in step 822 and displayed on the screen (step 824).

The information displayed on the screen is, for example,
The member name read from the name 352 may be used.
At the same time, step 82 of the position management table 310 is performed.
The information stored in the record of the member specified in 2 is read out and displayed. The information displayed at this time includes the position information stored in the position 312 and the speed 314.
And the time stored in the time 313. Regarding the information displayed in step 824, it is not necessary to display all of the information given above as examples.

Then, in step 824, by adding the following distance calculation processing, the distance between the position of the mobile terminal device 100b and the member designated by the user via the input unit 108 can be displayed.

In the distance calculation process, first, from the position 312 of the record specified by the identifier of the owner of the portable terminal device 100b in the position management table 310, the portable terminal device 1 is started.
The position information of 00b is read. Next, step 822.
Compared with the position information of the member identified in step 2, the distance between two points (straight line distance) is obtained and displayed on the display unit 104 together with other information displayed in step 824.

In the above distance calculation processing, the portable terminal device 1
The straight line distance between the position of 00b and the member designated by the user via the input unit 108 was obtained, but when the information about the road is also stored in the map, the distance can be obtained along the road. The distance obtained along the road will be called the actual distance. As a method of obtaining the actual distance, for example, a method of selecting the route that minimizes the distance along the road at two points, or a route that minimizes the distance along the road at two points for roads having a certain width or more. There is a method to select.

Further, the time required for the portable terminal device 100b to reach the position of the member specified in step 822, or the time difference calculation process described below is added to step 824, or It is possible to display the time required for the member identified in step 822 to reach the position of the mobile terminal device 100b (referred to as a time difference from the member).

In the time difference calculation process, first, the moving speed information is read from the speed 314 of the record specified in step 822 of the position management table 310, and the speed (for example, an hour speed) is obtained. Next, the time difference with the member can be calculated by dividing the actual distance obtained by the distance calculation process by the speed calculated previously. Then, step 824
It is displayed on the display unit 104 together with other information displayed in.

In the above-mentioned time difference calculation processing, the actual distance is used to obtain the time difference with the member. However, when the actual distance cannot be obtained, the straight line distance may be used. However, using a straight line distance results in less accuracy than using a real distance.

Although the location management table 310 is used in the above embodiment, the location management table 300 can also be used. If so, in step 824,
It is not possible to display moving speed information. Moreover, since the time difference calculation process cannot be performed, the time difference of the members cannot be displayed.

FIG. 24 shows an example of a screen displaying member information. In the figure, reference numeral 260 is information regarding members.
As described above, the user can know detailed information about the selected member only by selecting the mark on the screen.

In the above embodiment, the position information and the moving speed information are transmitted and received between the portable terminal devices 100.
By providing the mobile terminal device 100 with the image input unit 113, a still image can be transmitted and received. An example will be shown below.

Mobile terminal device 1 having image input unit 113
An example of the appearance of No. 00 is shown in FIGS.
In the figure, 151 is a view button, and 152 is an image capture button. Reference numeral 153 is an image pickup unit including a lens for capturing an image. The operation when the view button 151 and the image capture button 152 are pressed will be described later.

FIG. 25C shows an example in which the portable terminal device 100 having the image input section 113 is mounted on a car. In the figure, 171 is a front glass of an automobile, and 172 is a steering wheel. Reference numeral 155 is a connection line for connecting the mobile terminal device 100 and a camera (video camera) including the imaging unit 153. When mounted on a vehicle, the image pickup unit 153 including the lens is attached to the front glass 171
By installing it in the vicinity, it is possible to capture the same scenery as the scenery seen by the driver of the car.

Next, a still image management table 490 for managing still images in the mobile terminal device 100 will be described with reference to FIG.

The still image management table 490 is located at the position 49.
1 and an image 492. Position information regarding a still image is stored in the position 491. The image 492 stores still image data. The still image stored in the image 492 may be compressed. When the position information is not stored in the position 491 of the still image management table (for example, when the value is 0), it is assumed that the record is empty.

Next, regarding the communication data 420 used for transferring the still image between the portable terminal devices 100,
This will be described with reference to FIG. The communication data 420 is
It is composed of an ID 401, a position 402, a time 403, and an image 405. A still image is stored in the image 405.

Next, a still image taking process for taking a still image with the portable terminal device 100a will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. Still image capture process 8
30 is activated by pressing the view button 151.

In the still image capturing process 830, first,
The image displayed on the camera is captured via the image input unit 113 and displayed on the display unit 104. At this time, the original screen is saved in the storage unit 102 (step 831).
Next, wait until the user presses the view button 151 or the capture button 152. If the capture button 152 is pressed, the process moves to step 833. View button 1
If 51 is pressed, the process moves to step 834. In step 833, when the capture button 152 is pressed,
The image input via the image input unit 113 is stored in the storage unit 102. Note that the still image stored in the storage unit 102 uses the information transmission process to perform the mobile terminal device 100b.
Transfer to. In step 834, the screen saved in the storage unit 102 in step 831 is restored.

By the still image capturing process, the user
It becomes possible to capture while visually confirming the image to be captured. This allows the image that the user really wants to be captured.

Next, regarding the processing for transmitting the still image captured by the portable terminal device 100a to the portable information terminal 100b, an example in which the information transmitting process 510 and the information receiving process 520 described above with reference to FIG. 10 are used. explain.

In order to transmit the still image captured by the portable terminal device 100a to the portable terminal device 100b, in the information transmitting process 510, before the step 514 is performed, the storage unit 1 is stored in the step 833 of the still image capturing process 830.
The still image stored in 02 is stored in the image 405 of the communication data 420 ((c) of FIG. 7) (this process will be referred to as a still image transmission preparation process). In the information receiving process 520, the position information is read from the position 402 of the previously received communication data 420 and stored in the position 491 of the empty record of the still image management table 490 before performing step 522. Also, the image 492 of the same record in the still image management table 490
First, the still image read from the image 405 of the communication data 400 is stored (the above two steps are collectively referred to as a still image storage process).

Even when the information transmission process 530 and the information reception process 540 or the information transmission process 550 and the information reception process 560 are used, the still image transmission preparation process is inserted before the steps 531 and 552, respectively. By inserting a still image storage process before steps 542 and 562, respectively, the still images captured by the mobile terminal device 100a are transferred to the mobile terminal device 1
00b of the still image management table 490.

By the method shown above, the portable terminal device 1
At 00b, the still image captured by the mobile terminal device 100a can be received. The processing for transferring the still image described above is executed in the information transmission processing 510 immediately after the still image capturing processing 830 is performed.

Next, regarding the processing for displaying a still image on the terminal device 100b, the display example of FIG. 19 and FIG.
This will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. In the present invention, in order to display a still image, the image position display processing 84
0 and still image display processing 850 are performed.

First, the image position display processing 840 for displaying the position where the still image exists on the map will be described with reference to FIG.
This will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

In the image position display processing 840, first, it is judged whether or not the position information has been read out for all the still images stored in the still image management table 490 (step 841). When the position information is read out for all the still images, the image position display processing 84
0 ends. If there is a still image for which the position information has not been read, the position 491 of the record for which the position information has not been read in the still image management table 490.
The position information is read from (step 842). Next, it is determined whether or not the position read in step 842 is within the map currently displayed on the display unit 104 (step 843). If it is not in the map, the process returns to step 841. If it is in the map, the display unit 104
A corresponding mark is displayed at the position read in step 842 on the map displayed in step.

Through the above processing, the portable terminal device 100a
The position where the still image was captured can be displayed on the map.

Next, the still image display processing 850 for displaying the still image designated by the user on the screen will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The still image display process 850 is activated when the user touches the touch panel of the input unit 108.

In the still image display processing 850, first, the position touched by the user on the touch panel of the input unit 108 is detected and converted into coordinates on the map (step 851). Next, the distance between the two points is calculated from the position detected in step 851 and the position information stored in the position 491 of the still image management table 490. The distance is calculated for all still images stored in the still image management table 490, the record closest to the position detected in step 851 is specified, and the position 491 of the record is specified.
The position information is read from (step 852). Next, it is determined whether or not the distance between the position read in step 852 and the position detected in step 851 is within a certain value (step 853). If the distance is not within a certain value,
The still image display process 850 ends. If the distance is within a certain value, step 8 in the still image management table 490.
A still image is read from the image 492 of the record specified in 52 and displayed on the screen (step 854).

By the above processing, the still image designated by the user can be displayed on the screen.

FIG. 19A shows an example in which the position of the still image is displayed on the map. In the figure, 251 is a mark indicating the position of the still image. Although a star-shaped mark is used here, it is possible to use another mark by preparing various marks. Further, FIG. 19B shows an example of a screen displaying a still image. In the figure, 252 is a still image displayed when the user specifies the mark 251. When the still image can be transferred, for example, by capturing the image of the meeting place with the mobile terminal device 100a and transferring it to the mobile terminal device 100b, the user of the mobile terminal device 100b can surely grasp the meeting place. it can.

Although a still image is used in the above embodiment, a moving image can also be used in the present invention. In that case, the still image may be captured and displayed as a moving image.

According to the present invention, not only the captured still image can be transmitted to another portable terminal device 100b, but also the captured still image can be stored in the terminal device 100a. In this case, in step 833 of the still image capturing process 830, the position information is read from the position 312 of the record specified by the identifier of the owner of the mobile terminal device 100a in the position management table 310, and the empty record in the still image management table 490 is read. It is sufficient to store the image stored in the position 491 of the same record and the image captured via the image input unit 113 in the image 492 of the same record.

In the above embodiment, the communication data 42
I used 0 and sent a still image with location information,
By using the communication data 430, a still image can be transmitted together with position information and speed information. An example will be shown below.

First, regarding the structure of the communication data 430,
This will be described with reference to FIG. The communication data 420 is
It is composed of an ID 401, a position 402, a time 403, a speed 404, and an image 405.

Next, a method of transmitting a still image together with position information and speed information will be described. In order to transmit the still image together with the position information and the speed information, the information transmitting process 510 and the information receiving process 520, or the information transmitting process 5
30 and information reception processing 540 or information transmission processing 55
0 and information reception processing 560 are used respectively, step 514, step 531 and step 55.
The speed information transmission preparation process and the still image transmission preparation process may be inserted before 2, and the speed information storage process and the still image storage process may be inserted before steps 522, 542, and 562.

Further, in the present invention, the portable terminal device 1
VICCS receiver 11 for receiving traffic information on 00
1 is provided, and the received traffic information is displayed on the map displayed on the display unit 104 so that the traffic congestion information can be confirmed on the map, and it is possible to visually confirm that the member is involved in the traffic congestion. Can be confirmed. FIG. 32 shows an example in which traffic information is displayed on a map. 240 in the figure
Indicates that the section indicated by 240 is congested.

In the above embodiment, the portable terminal device 100a is used.
Although the example in which the information regarding the position is transmitted from the mobile terminal device 100b to the mobile terminal device 100b is described, the information regarding the position of the mobile terminal device 100b is transmitted to the mobile terminal device 100a.
The same applies when the position of the mobile terminal device 100b is displayed with 00a.

Here, in the system configuration of the above embodiment, the portable terminal device 100b has the same configuration as the portable terminal device 10
The information on the position of 0a is used for other mobile terminal device 100a.
Was received from. However, in the present invention, it is also possible to provide a host station and receive information regarding the position and the like of another portable terminal device from this host station. An example will be shown below.

FIG. 2 shows an outline of the configuration of the communication system when the host station is provided. In the figure, reference numeral 180 is a host station. Further, 100a, 100b and 100c are mobile terminal devices, and 190a, 190b and 190c are GPs.
S satellite.

Next, the configuration of the host station 180 will be described with reference to FIG. In the figure, reference numeral 181 denotes a control unit, which controls various peripheral units, requests and processes data, executes various processing programs relating to communication, and the like. A storage unit 182 stores various programs and data relating to data request, processing, communication, and the like. The storage unit 182 is, for example,
RAM, ROM, flash memory, hard disk, etc. can be used. A communication unit 183 exchanges data with the mobile terminal device 100. A display unit 184 is composed of, for example, a CRT display device. Reference numeral 187 is a clock, which manages the time and regularly generates interrupts.
An input unit 188 is, for example, a keyboard, a touch panel, a mouse, a pen type input unit, or the like.

When the host station 180 is provided, the data exchange method between the mobile terminal device 100 and the system configuration shown in FIG. 1 are different, but the data stored in the mobile terminal device 100, the position detection processing 500, and the position The display process 700 is the same. That is, in the case of the system configuration shown in FIG. 1, the information transmission process 510 and the information reception process 520, or the information transmission process 530 and the information reception process 540, or the information transmission as the data exchange method between the mobile terminal devices 100. Although the process 550 and the information receiving process 560 are used, in the case of the system configuration shown in FIG. 2, another data exchange method is used. The data exchange method in the case of the system configuration shown in FIG. 2 will be described below.

First, in the host station, the portable terminal device 1
The host position management table 450 that manages the position 00 will be described with reference to FIG. The host position management table 450 is stored in the storage unit 1 of the host station 180.
82.

The host position management table 450 has ID4
51, position 452, and time 453. ID451
Stores an identifier for identifying the user. In the position 452, the position information of the user identified by the ID 451 is stored. The time 453 stores the time when the position was measured.

Next, a process of notifying the position of the mobile terminal device 100a to the mobile terminal devices 100b and 100c will be described. In the case of this system configuration, the mobile terminal device 100
The position information of a is once stored in the host station 180, and then
The other mobile terminal devices 100b and 100c are notified. As a configuration of the communication unit 103 of the mobile terminal device 100, there are a method using a cellular phone and a method using both a cellular phone and a pager. Communication data 400 is used as communication data between the mobile terminal device 100 and the host station 180. In addition, in each mobile terminal device 100, the location management table 3 for managing the location of the member.
00 is used.

First, a method of using a cellular phone as the communication unit 103 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. This method includes a client process 600 in the mobile terminal device 100 a and a host process 610 in the host station 180.

In the client processing 600, first, the host station 180 is called via the cellular telephone of the communication unit 103 to connect the line (step 601). Then, the position information of the mobile terminal device 100a is read from the position 302 of the record specified by the identifier of the owner of the mobile terminal device 100a in the position management table 300, and the communication data 4
Stored in the position 402 of 00, the time is read from the time 303 of the record, and the communication data 400
Stored at time 403. In addition, the mobile terminal device 100a
The identifier of the owner is stored in the ID 401 of the communication data 400. Then, the communication data 400 is transmitted to the host station 180 through the line connected in step 601 (step 602). Next, from the host station 180,
Receive location information of other members. In receiving the position information of other members, first, it is determined whether or not an end code has been sent from the host station 180 (step 603). When the end code is sent, the line established in step 601 is disconnected (step 606). If the end code is not sent, communication data 4 from the host station 180
00 is received (604). At the position 302 of the record of the position management table 300 specified by the ID 401 of the communication data 400 received at step 604, the position 402
In addition to storing the position information stored in (3), the time stored in time 403 is stored in time 303 of the record (step 605). Then, the process returns to step 603.

In the host process 610, first, the communication data 400 transmitted in step 602 of the client process 600 is received (step 611). Next, the position information stored in the position 402 is stored in the position 452 of the record of the host position management table 450 identified by the ID 401 of the communication data 400 received in step 611, and the time 453 of the record is recorded. The time stored in the time 403 is stored in (step 6).
12). Next, the position information of the members registered in the host position management table 450 is transmitted to the mobile terminal device 100a. When transmitting, first, it is determined whether or not the position information of all the members stored in the host position management table 450 (excluding the member identified by the ID 401 of the communication data 400 received in step 611) is transmitted. A determination is made (step 613). When the position information of all the members has been transmitted, the end code is transmitted and the process ends (step 615). When the position information of all the members has not been transmitted, the record of the member who has not transmitted the position information is specified from the host position management table 450.
Next, the user identifier is read from the ID 451 of the specified record and stored in the ID 401 of the communication data 400, the position information is stored in the read position 402 from the position 452, and the time is stored in the read time 403 from the time 452. Then, the communication data 400 is transferred to the mobile terminal device 1
00a (step 614). Then, the process returns to step 613. The host process 610 is activated when a line with the mobile terminal device 100 is established.

Also in the other mobile terminal devices 100b and 100c, the position information of the mobile terminal device 100a can be acquired by performing the client processing 600.

Next, a method of using a cellular phone and a pager together in the communication section 103 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. This system includes a client information transmission process 620 and a client information reception process 640 in the mobile terminal device 100, and a host information reception process 630 and a host information transmission process 650 in the host station 180.

In the client information transmission processing 620, first, the host station 180 is sent via the cellular telephone of the communication unit 103.
And the line is connected (step 621). Then, the mobile terminal device 100a of the position management table 300
The position information of the mobile terminal device 100a is read from the position 302 of the record identified by the identifier of the owner of the record, stored in the position 402 of the communication data 400, and the time is read from the time 303 of the record, and the time 40 is read.
Store in 3. Further, the identifier of the owner of the mobile terminal device 100a is stored in the ID 401 of the communication data 400. Then, this communication data 400 is transmitted to the host station 180 through the line connected in step 621 (step 622). Then, the line established in step 621 is disconnected (step 623).

In the host information reception processing 630, the communication data 400 transmitted in step 622 of the client information transmission processing 620 is received (step 631). Next, I of the communication data 400 received in step 631
The position information stored in the position 402 is stored in the position 452 of the record of the host position management table 450 specified by D401, and the time stored in the time 403 is stored in the time 453 of the record. (Step 632). The host information reception process 630
Is activated when the line with the mobile terminal device 100 is established.

By the client information transmission process 620 and the host information reception process 630, the position information of the portable terminal device 100a can be registered in the host station 180. Next, a host information transmission process 650 and a client information reception process 640 for notifying the mobile terminal device 100a of the positions of other members will be described.

The host information transmission process 650 is periodically activated by using the clock 187. Further, in the one-time host information transmission process 650, the process is performed only for the information of one member managed by the host position management table 450, that is, for one record. The host information transmission processing 650 is, for example, the host position management table 450.
The position information of the members managed by is transmitted in order from the first record. In other words, if the host position management table 450 manages the information of three members A, B, and C, the information of A is transmitted in the first host information transmission processing, and the information of A is transmitted in the second time and B in the third time. Processing is performed in the order of C and A for the fourth time.

In the host information transmission processing 650, first, the user identifier is read from the ID 451 of the record in the host position management table 450, stored in the ID 401 of the communication data 400, and the position information is read from the position 452. The time is stored in the position 402, the time is read from the time 453, and the time is stored in the time 403. Then, the communication data 400 is transmitted to the mobile terminal device 100a using the broadcast communication function of the pager (step 651).

In the client information reception processing 640, first, the communication data 400 from the host station 180 is received via the pager of the communication section 103 (step 641).
Next, the position information stored in the position 402 is stored in the position 302 of the record of the position management table 300 identified by the ID 401 of the communication data 400 received in step 641, and the time 30 of the record is stored.
The time stored in time 403 is stored in 3 (step 642). The client information reception process 64
0 is activated when the pager of the communication unit 103 detects the communication data 400 from the host station 180.

Although the position management table 300 and the communication data 400 are used in the above embodiment, the position management table 310 is used instead of the position management table 300.
Alternatively, the communication data 410 may be used instead of the communication data 400. In this case, the host location management table 460 is used instead of the host location management table 450.

The structure of the host position management table 460 is
It is shown in FIG. Host location management table 460
Is ID 451, position 452, time 453, speed 454
It consists of. The speed information is stored in the speed 454.

First, a case where a cellular telephone is used as the communication unit 103 and a case where the position management table 310 and communication data 410 are used will be described. In this case, before the step 602 of the client processing 600, the speed information transmission preparation processing described in another embodiment is performed. Before step 605, speed information storage processing is performed. Further, in the host processing 610, step 61
2, the communication data 410 is added to the speed 454 of the record of the host position management table 460 specified by the ID 401 of the communication data 410 received in step 611.
The moving speed information stored in the speed 404 is stored (referred to as host speed information storage processing). Further, in step 614, before transmitting the data, the speed information is read from the speed 454 of the same record as the record from which the position information of the host position management table 460 is read as the speed 404 of the communication data 410,
It is stored (this is called a host speed information transmission preparation process).

Next, a case where a cellular telephone and a pager are used as the communication unit 103 and a case where the position management table 310 and communication data 410 are used will be shown. In this case, in the client information transmission processing 620, step 62
Before 2, the speed information transmission preparation process is performed. Also, in the host information reception processing 630, step 63
Before 2, the host speed information storage process is performed.
Further, in the host information transmission processing 650, the host speed information transmission preparation processing is performed before transmitting the communication data 410. Further, in the client information reception processing 640, speed information storage processing is performed before step 642.

According to the method described above, the host station 180
It is possible to notify the speed information of the mobile terminal device 100a to another mobile terminal device 100 via.

The still image management table 490 is used, and the communication data 42 is used instead of the communication data 410.
Still images can also be sent by using 0. In this case, the host location management table 470 is used instead of the host location management table 460.

The structure of the host location management table 470 is shown in FIG. The host location management table 470 is
It is composed of an ID 451, a position 452, a time 453, and an image 455. The image 455 stores still image data.

First, a method of transmitting / receiving a still image in the case of using a cellular phone as the communication unit 103 will be described. In this case, in the client process 600, the still image transmission preparation process is performed before step 602. Further, before step 605, the still image storing process is performed. Further, in the host processing 610, before the step 612, the previously received communication data 4
A still image is read from the 20 images 405 and stored in the image 455 of the record of the host position management table 470 specified by the ID 401 of the communication data 420 (this process will be referred to as a host still image storage process). Further, in step 614, before transmitting the communication data 420, a still image is read from the image 455 of the same record as the record from which the position information of the host position management table 470 is read and stored in the image 405 of the communication data 420. To do so. After the transmission, the image 455 is displayed.
Is cleared (for example, 0 is set) (the above two steps are collectively referred to as a host still image transmission preparation process).

Through the above processing, a portable terminal device 10
The still image captured in 0a is displayed on another mobile terminal device 100.
b.

Next, a method of transmitting and receiving a still image when a cellular phone and a pager are used as the communication unit 103 will be described. In this case, the client information transmission process 6
Before step 622 of 20, the still image transmission preparation process is performed. Further, before the step 632 of the host information reception processing 630, the host still image storage processing is performed. In step 651 of the host information transmission process 650, the host still image transmission preparation process is performed before transmitting the communication data 420. Further, in the client information reception processing 640, step 64
Before 2, the still image storing process is performed.

Through the above processing, a certain portable terminal device 10
The still image captured in 0a is displayed on another mobile terminal device 100.
b.

In the above embodiment, the communication data 42
I used 0 and sent a still image with location information,
By using the communication data 430, a still image can be transmitted together with position information and speed information. An example will be shown below. In this case, instead of the host location management table 470, the host location management table 480
To use. The configuration of the host location management table 480 is
It shows in (d) of FIG. Host location management table 480
Is ID 451, position 452, time 453, speed 45
4, image 455.

First, the processing when a cellular telephone is used as the communication unit 103 will be described. In this case, in order to transmit the still image together with the position information and the velocity information, the client process 600 inserts the velocity information transmission preparation process and the still image transmission preparation process before step 602, and before the step 605. A speed information storing process and a still image storing process are inserted. In addition, in the host processing 610, the host speed information storage processing and the host still image storage processing are inserted before step 612, and in step 614, the host speed information transmission preparation processing and the host still information storage processing are performed before transmitting the communication data 430. Perform image transmission preparation processing.

Next, the processing when the communication unit 103 uses a cellular telephone and a pager will be described. In this case, in the client information transmission processing 620, step 622
Before this, speed information transmission preparation processing and still image transmission preparation processing are performed. Further, in the host information reception processing 630, the host speed information storage processing and the host still image storage processing are performed before step 632. Also,
In the host information transmission process 650, the host speed information transmission preparation process and the host still image transmission preparation process are performed before transmitting the communication data 430 in step 651. Further, in the client information receiving process 640, the speed information storing process and the still image storing process are performed before step 642.

The host station 180 is configured as described above.
Even when the mobile terminal device 100b is provided, the speed information of the mobile terminal device 100a and the still image captured by the mobile terminal device 100a can be received by the other mobile terminal device 100b.

[0169]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to visually confirm the position of the member holding the portable terminal device. Further, since the moving direction of the member can be displayed, it is possible to confirm at a glance whether the member is heading in the correct direction. Also, by changing the color according to the distance between the user and the member, it becomes easy to grasp the distance between the member. Further, the moving speed of the member can be grasped at a glance by changing the length of the arrow according to the moving speeds of the other members.

When the still image can be transferred, for example, the user of the mobile terminal device b can confirm the meeting place by capturing the image of the meeting place with the mobile terminal device a and transferring it to the mobile terminal device b. Can be grasped. Further, in the present invention, since it is possible to capture an image to be captured while visually confirming it, it is possible to easily capture the image that the user really wants.

Further, by transmitting the position information to another portable terminal device only when the portable terminal device has moved for a certain distance or more, it is possible to suppress the power consumption of the portable terminal device when not moving.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an outline of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an outline of a communication system according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block configuration diagram of the mobile terminal device of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the host station of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram of a member management table used in an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram of a location management table used in an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a configuration diagram of communication data used in an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a configuration diagram of a host location management table used in an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing an outline of position detection processing according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing an outline of information transmission processing and information reception processing according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing an outline of information transmission processing and information reception processing according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing an outline of information transmission processing and information reception processing according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing an outline of position display processing according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing an outline of map selection processing according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing an outline of a client process and a host process according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing an outline of a client information transmission process, a client information reception process, a host information transmission process, and a host information reception process according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 17 is an explanatory diagram showing a display example of a screen according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 18 is a configuration diagram of a still image management table used in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 19 is an explanatory diagram showing a display example of a screen according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 20 is a configuration diagram of a mark management table used in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 21 is a flowchart showing an outline of speed calculation processing according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 22 is a flowchart showing an outline of speed display processing according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 23 is a flowchart showing an outline of member display processing according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 24 is an explanatory diagram showing a display example of a screen according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 25 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of an external appearance of a mobile terminal device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 26 is a flowchart showing an outline of still image capturing processing according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 27 is a flowchart showing an outline of image position display processing according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 28 is a flowchart showing an outline of still image display processing according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 29 is a configuration diagram of a distance / color correspondence table used in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 30 is a flowchart showing an outline of color selection processing according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 31 is an explanatory diagram showing a display example of a screen according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 32 is an explanatory diagram showing a display example of a screen according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 33 is a map data acquisition process according to an embodiment of the present invention;
9 is a flowchart showing an outline of a map data providing process.

[Explanation of symbols]

 100 portable terminal device 180 host station 101,181 control unit 102,182 storage unit 103,183 communication unit 104,184 display unit 105 GPS receiving unit 106 map management unit 107,187 clock 108,188 input unit 190 GPS satellite 151 view Button 152 Image capture button 153 Imager

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code Internal reference number FI Technical display location G09B 29/10 H04B 7/26 H04Q 7/34 H04M 11/00 302

Claims (27)

[Claims] 1. A mobile terminal device capable of displaying the position of another mobile terminal device in the mobile terminal device capable of communicating with the other mobile terminal device. 2. Receiving means for receiving the position transmitted from another portable terminal device, and map display means for displaying a map,
A mobile terminal device comprising: position display means for displaying a mark at the position received by the reception means on the map data displayed by the map display means. 3. A mobile terminal device comprising: position detecting means for detecting a current position; and transmitting means for transmitting the position detected by the position detecting means to another mobile terminal device. 4. A map data storage means for storing map data, a map display means for displaying map data managed by the map data storage means, a position detection means for detecting a current position, and another portable terminal device. A transmitting means for transmitting the position detected by the position detecting means, a receiving means for receiving the position transmitted from another portable terminal device, and a receiving means on the map data displayed by the map displaying means. A mobile terminal device, comprising: position display means for displaying a mark at the received position. 5. The self-position display unit according to claim 4, further comprising a self-position display unit that displays a mark at a position detected by the position detection unit of the map data displayed by the map display unit. Mobile terminal device. 6. The mobile phone according to claim 4 or 5, further comprising data indicating a correspondence between a mobile terminal device and a mark displayed on a screen and mark management means for managing the data, and the other mobile phone received by the receiving means. When displaying the position of the terminal device, a mark corresponding to another mobile terminal device is read by using the mark management means, and the mark is displayed on the map data by the position display means. apparatus. 7. The distance calculating means for calculating the distance between the position received by the receiving means and the position of the own mobile terminal device according to claim 4, 5 or 6, and the correspondence relationship between the distance and the color. A color management unit for managing the color, and when the color is read from the color management unit according to the distance calculated by the distance calculation unit and the mark is displayed on the map data by the position display unit, the color is displayed in the previously read color. A mobile terminal device characterized by: 8. The speed calculation means for calculating a speed from the position received by the reception means, and the arrow starting from the position displayed by the position display means as defined in any one of claims 4 to 7. A mobile terminal device comprising: speed display means for displaying the speed calculated by the speed calculation means. 9. A map data storage means for storing map data, a map display means for displaying map data managed by the map data storage means, a position detection means for detecting a current position, and a current speed detected. The speed detecting means, the transmitting means for transmitting the position detected by the position detecting means and the speed detected by the speed detecting means to another mobile terminal device, and the position and the speed transmitted by the other mobile terminal device. Receiving means for receiving, position displaying means for displaying the position received by the receiving means on the map data displayed by the map displaying means, and speed for receiving by the receiving means are displayed by the position displaying means. A mobile terminal device, comprising: speed display means for displaying with an arrow starting from the specified position. 10. The mobile terminal device according to claim 8, wherein the length of the arrow displayed by the speed display means is proportional to the absolute value of the speed. 11. The selection means for selecting the mark displayed on the screen according to claim 8 or 9, and the distance between the mobile terminal device represented by the mark selected by the selection means and the own mobile terminal device. A distance calculation means for calculating, a time calculation means for calculating a time required for movement from a speed received by the reception means and a distance calculated by the distance calculation means, and when the mark is selected by the selection means,
A mobile terminal device, comprising: a time difference display means for displaying the time required for movement obtained by the time calculation means. 12. The selection means for selecting a mark displayed on a screen according to claim 4, and a user who shows the selected mark when the mark is selected by the selection means. A mobile terminal device, comprising: a user information display means for displaying information about the user information. 13. The selection means for selecting the mark displayed on the screen according to claim 4, a portable terminal device and a self-portable terminal device represented by the mark selected by the selection means. Distance calculating means for calculating the distance between the distance and distance display means for displaying the distance calculated by the distance calculating means when the mark is selected by the selecting means,
A mobile terminal device characterized by being provided. 14. A map data storage unit for storing map data, a map display unit for displaying map data managed by the map data storage unit, a position detection unit for detecting a current position, and an image input for capturing an image. Means, transmitting means for transmitting the position detected by the position detecting means and the image captured by the image input means to another portable terminal device, and receiving for receiving the position and image transmitted by the other portable terminal device. Means, position display means for displaying the position received by the receiving means on the map data displayed by the map display means, selection means for selecting the mark displayed by the position display means, and the selection An image display means for displaying an image corresponding to the mark on the screen when the mark is selected by the means. 15. The image display means for displaying an image captured by the image input means on a display screen, and the screen selection means for designating switching between the map display means and the image display means. A mobile terminal device, comprising: an image capture instruction means for instructing capture of an image when the image display means is selected by the screen selection means. 16. The mobile terminal device according to claim 14, wherein a camera for inputting an image is installed near the front glass of the automobile as the image input means. 17. The traffic information receiving device according to claim 4, wherein the traffic information receiving device receives the traffic information, and the traffic information displaying device displays the traffic information received by the traffic information receiving device on a map. And a mobile terminal device. 18. The position storing means for storing the position detected by the position detecting means according to claim 4, wherein the current position detected by the position detecting means and the position storing means are When the distance to the position to be stored exceeds a certain value, the position is detected by the position detecting unit while transmitting by the transmitting unit,
A portable terminal device, characterized in that it is stored by the position storage means. 19. The mobile terminal device according to claim 4, wherein a wireless telephone is used for the transmitting unit and the receiving unit. 20. The mobile terminal device according to claim 4, wherein a wireless telephone is used as the transmitting unit, and a pager is used as the receiving unit. 21. The mobile terminal device according to claim 4, wherein a personal radio is used for the transmitting means and the receiving means. 22. Map data storage means for storing map data, map display means for displaying map data managed by the map data storage means, position detection means for detecting a current position, and image input for capturing an image. Means, position displaying means for displaying the position detected by the position detecting means on the map data displayed by the map displaying means, selecting means for selecting the mark displayed by the position displaying means, and the selecting means. An image display means for displaying an image corresponding to the mark on the screen when the mark is selected by the means. 23. The image display unit according to claim 22, wherein the image display unit displays an image captured by the image input unit on a display screen, and a screen selection unit that specifies switching between the map display unit and the image display unit. A mobile terminal device, comprising: an image capture instruction means for instructing capture of an image when the image display means is selected by the screen selection means. 24. A communication system using the mobile terminal device according to any one of claims 1 to 21. 25. In a communication system comprising a host station and a plurality of mobile terminal devices that communicate with the host station, position management means for managing the position transmitted from the mobile terminal device to the host station, A position notification unit for notifying the mobile terminal device of the position of the mobile terminal device managed by the position management unit, wherein the mobile terminal device stores map data and map data storage unit; Map display means for displaying map data managed by the data storage means, position detecting means for detecting the current position, registration means for registering the position detected by the position detecting means, and another portable terminal from the host station. Receiving means for receiving the position of the device, and position display for superposing the position received by the receiving means on the map data displayed by the map displaying means. Communication system, characterized in that the stage was provided. 26. The communication system according to claim 25, wherein a wireless telephone is used for the registration unit and the reception unit of the mobile terminal device, and the notification unit of the host station. 27. The wireless telephone according to claim 25, wherein a wireless telephone is used as the registration means of the mobile terminal device.
A communication system using a pager for the receiving means of the portable terminal device and the notifying means of the host station.