WO2019052839A1

WO2019052839A1 - Map device

Info

Publication number: WO2019052839A1
Application number: PCT/EP2018/073551
Authority: WO
Inventors: Mohamed Alsayed Ahmed Mohamed Ismail
Original assignee: Flexnavi Gmbh
Priority date: 2017-09-18
Filing date: 2018-09-01
Publication date: 2019-03-21

Abstract

A map device is provided, comprising: - a foldable carrier device, - visual orientation information permanently depicted on the carrier device, the visual orientation information representing a map of a fixed predetermined physical area, - at least one optoelectronic indicator device fixed on the carrier device at a first map position, the first map position corresponding to a first physical position within the fixed predetermined physical area, - a physical position determination unit, and - a control unit communicating with the physical location determination unit and the at least one optoelectronic indicator device, the control unit being designed to change the activation state of the at least one optoelectronic indicator device when the physical position of the map device, determined by the physical position determination unit, is in a predetermined spatial relationship to the first physical position corresponding to the first map position.

Description

Map device

Reference to earlier applications

[0001 ] This application claims benefit of U.S. provisional application 62/559892, filed on Sept. 18, 2017, which is incorporated by reference into this application for all purposes.

Background

[0002] The invention relates to a map device. Map devices have been used for orientation in physical locations unfamiliar to the user since many centuries. Historically, map devices consist of a carrier device made of foldable material like leather, paper, or the like, with visual orientation information permanently depicted on the carrier device. To name just a few, known map devices include nautical maps showing positions of coast lines, islands and the like, geographical maps showing position of mountains, rivers and cities, and city maps showing the position of roads and buildings within a city.

Object of the invention

[0003] One difficulty regularly arising when using a classical map device is to determine the position on the map, herein referred to as map position, which corresponds to the physical position of the user. For geographical maps or city maps, one common practice to determine the map position is to identify certain landmarks in the vicinity of the user, and to locate the position of those landmarks on the map. For nautical maps, where landmarks are not always available, certain technical devices have been developed to determine the user's position in terms of longitude and latitude. The use of such devices is cumbersome and prone to error. [0004] After global satellite positioning systems like GPS have become readily available, several attempts have been made to use satellite positioning together with a classical map device. Patent application WO90/08373A1 discloses devices for providing enhanced orientation using a paper map and a positioning sensor. The positioning sensor provides a numerical output of current position, which can be used to automatically place wire markers over the corresponding position. Patent application EP0 597500A2 describes a device for showing the current position on a map, comprising a printed map and a transparent LCD display to be laid over the map. The current position is determined by means of a GPS sensor and displayed on the LCD display, aligned with the respective position on the map. Patent application W095/22742A1 discloses a device for displaying position and navigation information on a paper map, using a GPS-based positioning sensor and a transparent electronic display, which can be laid over the map. The device reads identification

information of the applied map, e.g. through a barcode, and displays the current position or a travelling route on the corresponding positions of the transparent display. [0005] The describes approaches have been complicated and cumbersome. With the rapid technological progress in electronic devices and wireless internet communication it has become common practice to use electronic map devices including a GPS sensor for determining a user's physical position, a wireless communication unit for obtaining map information through the internet, and an electronic display for displaying the map information and an indicator of a map position corresponding to the user's physical position.

[0006] However, while the described electronic map devices are readily available and easy to use, they still have several drawbacks. The devices usually depend on a power supply through a rechargeable battery. Despite of technical progress in battery technology, the available time of device usage with a single charge is limited, and especially electronic displays have a high power consumption. If a battery runs empty while the user is moving in an unknown physical area, the user may get lost. Known devices also depend on availability of internet connection. If a user is moving in an unknown physical area with bad mobile internet availability, or no availability at all, the user may get lost. As a further drawback, despite of technical progress in display technology, readability of electronic displays can still be poor in certain lighting conditions like direct sunlight. It would be desirable to provide a map device which uses the benefits of global satellite positioning without suffering from the aforementioned drawbacks.

Summary of the invention

[0007] The invention meets this objective by providing a map device comprising a foldable carrier device, visual orientation information permanently depicted on the carrier device, the visual orientation information representing a map of a fixed predetermined physical area, at least one optoelectronic indicator device fixed on the carrier device at a first map position, the first map position corresponding to a first physical position within the fixed predetermined physical area, a physical position determination unit, and a control unit communicating with the physical location determination unit and the at least one optoelectronic indicator device, the control unit being designed to change the activation state of the at least one

optoelectronic indicator device when the physical position of the map device, determined by the physical position determination unit, is in a predetermined spatial relationship to the first physical position corresponding to the first map position. [0008] The carrier device may be made of normal paper of strong quality, as it is used for classical paper maps. The paper may withstand multiple folding and unfolding along predefined folding lines, so it can be folded for storage while not in actual use, and easily unfolded when needed. The carrier device may comprise several pieces of more rigid material like cardboard, plastics, textiles, or wood, connected through flexible joints. The visual orientation information may be printed on the carrier device like a classical map, thereby giving the map device the look and feel of a classical map. The carrier device with printed orientation information provides good readability in various lighting conditions like direct sunlight, artificial light, low light, and the like. With the control unit changing the activation state of the at least one optoelectronic indicator device when the physical position of the map device is in a predetermined special relationship to the first physical position corresponding to the first map position, a user of the map device can easily recognize his own position on the map device, without having to refer to landmarks or the like.

[0009] The map device may comprise a plurality of optoelectronic indicator devices fixed on the carrier device at a plurality of map positions, corresponding to a plurality of physical positions, and the control unit may be designed to change the activation state of a subset of the optoelectronic indicator devices in a predetermined pattern, the predetermined pattern indicating a spatial relationship between the physical position of the map device, as determined by the physical position determination unit, and the physical positions corresponding to the map positions of the subset of optoelectronic indicator devices.

[0010] The map device may comprise a memory device for storing physical positions corresponding to the map positions of the at least one optoelectronic indicator device. The memory device may comprise a RAM memory, a ROM memory, an SSD memory, a Flash memory, a hard-disk, or the like. Further information may be stored in the memory device, like audio files containing site information, navigation information, or the like, for on or more physical positions. The map device may further comprise a power supply unit. The power supply unit may comprise a battery. The term "battery" is supposed to cover rechargeable batteries (secondary batteries), non-rechargeable batteries (primary batteries), and the like. The power supply unit may comprise a photovoltaic cell. The term "photovoltaic cell" is supposed to cover any device for transforming light energy into electrical energy. The power supply unit may comprise a charging connector for connecting external charging devices like power banks, solar cell chargers, AC/DC converters, or the like.

[001 1 ] The physical position determination device may comprise a GPS receiver. In the context of this description, the abbreviation "GPS" shall not only refer to the US-operated satellite positioning system "NAVSTAR GPS", but shall also encompass similar systems operated by other authorities like ^"GLONASS^" (Russian Federation), "GALILEO" (European Union), or ^"Beidu^" (P.R. China), or other satellite positioning systems to be installed in the future. Satellite positioning systems are especially useful if the map device is designed for use in open terrain like a zoo, a theme park, or the like. The physical position determination device may comprise a Bluetooth transmitter and/or receiver. Possible systems for position determination using Bluetooth signals include ^"i Be a con^" or ^"Eddystone^". The physical location determination unit may comprise a WiFi transmitter and/or receiver. A possible system for position determination using WiFi is known as "Anyplace". The physical position determination unit may comprise an ultrasound signal transmitter and/or receiver. Physical position determination devices based on Bluetooth, WiFi, and/or ultrasound may especially be suitable if the map device is designed for use in an indoor environment like a museum or the like. The physical position determination device may include a radio frequency signal transmitter and/or receiver. Possible systems for position determination using radio signals may include "LORAN-C" or "CHAYKA". Physical position determination devices based on Bluetooth, WiFi, ultrasound, and/or radio frequency signals may work passively, i.e. by only receiving and evaluating externally generated signals, actively, i.e. by transmitting and receiving only internally generated signals, or interactively, i.e. by transmitting and receiving both internally and externally generated signals.

[0012] The at least one optoelectronic indicator device may comprise an element capable of changing its optical appearance in response to an electrical signal. Preferably, the at least one optoelectronic indicator device comprises an element capable of emitting light in response to an electrical signal. The at least one optoelectronic indicator device may comprise a light emitting diode (LED), an organic light emitting diode (OLED), a light emitting transistor (LET), or an organic light emitting transistor (OLET). The aforementioned elements provide high visibility with low energy consumption. Other possible optoelectronic indicator devices may comprise micro-lamps, i.e. miniature-sized incandescent light sources, liquid- crystal light emitters, or photoelectric inks. The at least one optoelectronic indicator device may be capable of emitting light of various colours.

[0013] The at least one optoelectronic indicator device may be connected to the control unit through flexible wiring affixed to the foldable carrier device. The flexible wiring maybe glued to the foldable carrier device. The flexible wiring may be sandwiched between multiple layers of the foldable carrier device. The flexible wiring may comprise single-threaded wires. The flexible wiring may comprise multi-threaded wires. The flexible wiring may comprise flexible printed circuit boards. The at least one optoelectronic indicator device may be connected to the control unit through conductive ink printed on the foldable carrier device. [0014] The map device may further comprise a wireless communication unit designed for communication with one or more second map devices. The wireless communication unit may comprise a WiFi communication unit, a Bluetooth communication unit, a GSM

communication unit, or the like. The control unit may designed change the activation state of the at least one optoelectronic indicator device when the physical position of one of the second map devices, determined by the physical position determination unit of the one of the the second map devices, is in a predetermined spatial relationship to the first physical position corresponding to the first map position. By this feature, the user of a first map device may locate the position of the user of a second map device on his first map device.

[0015] The map device may comprise an audio input/output device. The audio input/output device may comprise a speaker or the like. The audio input/output device may comprise a microphone or the like. The audio input/output device may comprise a connector for connecting portable earphones, often referred to as "earphone jack", and/or portable microphones. The audio input/output device may comprise a wireless interface for connecting portable earphones and/or microphones. The control unit may communicate with the audio input/output device for outputting location information, or general information related to the physical position of the map device, or other information, in an audible way. The information may be stored on the memory device. The control device may communicate with the audio input/output device for receiving acoustic commands from the user, like information requests, or the like.

Brief description of the drawings

[0016] The invention is explained in more detail with reference to the attached drawings. The drawings and description only serve for better understanding of the concept of the invention, without limiting the scope of the invention in any way. The scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims.

[0017] The drawings show:

Fig. 1 : a conceptual view of a map device according to the invention,

Fig. 2: an example of a map device according to the invention.

[0018] Figure 1 shows a map device according to the invention. The map device comprises a foldable carrier device 100, which may be a sheet of high-strength paper. The carrier device 100 may comprise multiple layers of paper or other suitable materials. The carrier device may be pre-folded along predetermined folding lines (not shown). Visual orientation information (not shown) may be permanently depicted on the carrier device, preferably by a printing process. The visual orientation information may represent a map. A plurality of optoelectronic indicator devices 101 are fixed on the carrier device at predetermined map positions. The optoelectronic indicator devices may comprise LEDs, OLEDs, LETs, OLETs, micro-lamps, liquid crystal light emitters, or photoelectric ink.

[0019] An antenna 102 and an electronic unit 103 are fixed on the carrier device in a peripheral area. The antenna 102 may comprise a GPS antenna, a Bluetooth antenna, a WiFi antenna, and/or a radio antenna. Instead of, or in addition to, the antenna 102, the map device may comprise an ultrasound transceiver (not shown). The electronic unit 103 may comprise a processor 104, a memory device 105, a battery 108, a photovoltaic cell 107, a wireless communication unit, and an audio output device 108. The processor 104 may be connected to the optoelectronic indicator devices 101 . The connection between the processor 104 and the optoelectronic indicator devices 101 may include a driving circuit (not shown) to adapt current and voltage output of the processor 104 to current and voltage requirements of the optoelectronic indicator devices 101 .

[0020] Connection between the processor 104 and the optoelectronic indicator devices 101 may include flexible wiring (not shown) affixed to the carrier device 100. The flexible wiring may comprise single-threaded or multi-threaded wires. The flexible wiring may comprise flexible printed circuit boards. The flexible wiring may be mounted on the surface of the carrier device 100, e.g. by gluing. The flexible wiring may be sandwiched between multiple layers of the carrier device 100. Connection between the processor 104 and the

optoelectronic indicator devices may comprise conductive ink printed on the carrier device. The conductive ink may be printed on an outer surface of the carrier device 100. The conductive ink may be printed on an internal surface of on or more layers of the carrier device 100.

[0021 ] The antenna 102 or the ultrasound transceiver and the electronic unit 103 may comprise one or more printed circuit boards, which may be flexible printed circuit boards. The one or more printed circuit boards may be fixed to the surface of the carrier device 100, or may be sandwiched between multiple layers of the carrier device 100. If the one or more printed circuit boards are sandwiched between multiple layers of the carrier device, the photovoltaic cell 107 may be separately provided on the surface of the carrier device 100. [0022] The antenna 102 or the ultrasound transceiver may include signal processing circuitry (not shown) for processing received signals to determine a physical position of the map device. Some or all of the signal processing may be done by the processor 104. The antenna 102 or the ultrasound transceiver and, if applicable, the processor 104 act as physical position determination unit. The details of the signal processing circuitry and/or signal processing program to be executed by processor 104 depend on the kind of signals used for physical position determination, and are well known for a person skilled in the art of physical position determination. If GPS signals are used for physical position determination, standard circuitry and/or programs may be simplified due to the fact that the physical area covered by the map device provides a viable starting point for mathematical approximation algorithms involved. Thereby, the time required to find the actual physical position after startup of the map device may be reduced from several seconds, e.g. 30 seconds, to fractions of a second, making it feasible to activate the electronic unit 103 only when the map device is unfolded. Output of the photovoltaic cell 107 can be evaluated to determine if the map device is unfolded.

[0023] The processor 104 further acts as a control unit. Program instructions for the functioning of the processor 104 may be stored on memory device 105. Information regarding the map position of the optoelectronic indicator devices 101 and corresponding physical position may be stored on memory device 105. The memory device 105 may comprise any of a RAM memory, a ROM memory, an SSD memory, a Flash memory, a hard disk, or the like.

[0024] For functioning as control unit, the program instructions may cause the processor 104 to execute following steps in a loop:

- Obtain current physical position of map device from physical position determination unit,

- Compare physical position of map device with physical positions corresponding to map positions of the optoelectronic indicator devices 101 ,

- If physical position of map device is in close vicinity of the physical position corresponding to the map position of a certain optoelectronic indicator device 101 ,

- change activation state of respective optoelectronic indicator device.

[0025] The term "close vicinity" may encompass distances smaller than 10 meters, smaller than 5 meters, or smaller than 1 meter. Changing the activation state of an optoelectronic indicator element may include activating or deactivating the optoelectronic indicator element. Changing the activation state of an optoelectronic indicator element may include deactivation and subsequent activation of the optoelectronic indicator element for causing a flashing action. [0028] The program instructions may further cause the processor 104 to execute following step:

- If physical position of the map device is not in close vicinity to a physical position

corresponding to the map position of any optoelectronic indicator device,

- determine a subset of optoelectronic indicator devices, the physical positions of which are closest to the physical position of the map device,

- change activation state of respective subset of optoelectronic indicator devices.

[0027] The program instructions may further cause the processor 104 to execute following steps in a loop:

- Obtain current physical position of a second map device through wireless communication unit 108,

- Compare physical position of second map device with physical positions corresponding to map positions of the optoelectronic indicator devices 101 ,

- change activation state of respective optoelectronic indicator device.

[0028] The program instructions may further cause the processor 104 to execute following step:

- If physical position of the second map device is not in close vicinity to a physical position corresponding to the map position of any optoelectronic indicator device,

- determine a subset of optoelectronic indicator devices, the physical positions of which are closest to the physical position of the second map device,

[0029] The program instructions may provide for different activation patterns like activation colour, flashing pattern, or the like, to discriminate between current position of the map device, past positions of the map device, current position of second map device, and the like. Additional activation patterns may be provided for points of interest still to be visited, meeting points, emergency facilities, or the like.

[0030] The program instructions may further cause the processor 104 to execute following steps:

- If physical position of map device is in close vicinity of the physical position corresponding to the map position of a certain optoelectronic indicator device 101 , - obtain audio information related to the physical position of the map device from memory device 105,

- output audio information through audio output device 109,

The audio information may include the current position, a description of a point of interest, like a certain animal in a zoo, a work of art in a museum, or the like. The audio information may further comprise information regarding service hours of a facility, schedule of events, or the like.

[0031 ] Figure 2 shows an example of a map device in more detail. Again, the map device comprises a flexible carrier device 200, with visual orientation information 201 printed thereon. Here, the orientation information represents a map of a wild life theme park.

[0032] A plurality of optoelectronic indicator devices 202 are fixed on the carrier device 200 at map positions corresponding to points of interest in the theme park. Most of the

optoelectronic indicator devices are in a first activation state, indicating that a user of the map device has not yet visited the respective points of interest. The fist activation state may be an "off" state, or an "on" with a certain colour of light emission, like yellow.

[0033] Another optoelectronic indicator device 203 is in a second activation state, indicating the current position of the user of the map device. The second activation state may be a flashing state. The second activation state may provide a certain colour of light emission, like green.

[0034] A further group of optoelectronic indicator devices 204 are in a third activation state, indicating that the user of the map device has already visited the respective points of interest. The third activation state may again be an "off' state, or an "on" state with a certain colour of light emission, like red. It is of course desirable that the first activation state, the second activation state, and the third activation state, are easily recognizable to the user.

[0035] A map device according to the invention may be leased or rented to a visitor of a theme park, a museum, a city, or the like. Depending on the preferences of the user, the map device may be provided in different configurations. For example, if the user plans a short visit to only view the most important points of interests, only a subset of optical indicator devices may be in the first activation state, guiding the user to those important points of interests. If instead the user plans for an extended visit, the map device may be configured to

sequentially provide different path proposals, e.g. for a morning tour and an afternoon tour. The map device may be configured so that the provided path proposal matches with event schedules at certain points of interests, like animal feeding sessions, dolphin shows, or the like.

Claims

1 . Map device, comprising:

- a foldable carrier device,

- visual orientation information permanently depicted on the carrier device, the visual orientation information representing a map of a fixed predetermined physical area,

- at least one optoelectronic indicator device fixed on the carrier device at a first map position, the first map position corresponding to a first physical position within the fixed predetermined physical area,

- a physical position determination unit, and

- a control unit communicating with the physical location determination unit and the at least one optoelectronic indicator device,

the control unit being designed to change the activation state of the at least one optoelectronic indicator device when the physical position of the map device, determined by the physical position determination unit, is in a predetermined spatial relationship to the first physical position corresponding to the first map position,

2. The map device of claim 1 , wherein

- the map device comprises a plurality of optoelectronic indicator devices fixed on the carrier device at a plurality of map positions, corresponding to a plurality of physical positions, and

- the control unit is designed to change the activation state of a subset of the optoelectronic indicator devices in a predetermined pattern, the predetermined pattern indicating a spatial relationship between the physical position of the map device, as determined by the physical position determination unit, and the physical positions corresponding to the map positions of the subset of optoelectronic indicator devices.

3. The map device of claim 1 or 2, further comprising a memory device for storing

physical positions corresponding to the map positions of the at least one

optoelectronic indicator device.

4. The map device of any of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a power supply unit,

wherein the power supply unit preferably includes a rechargeable or non- rechargeable battery, and/or a photovoltaic cell.

5. The map device of any of claims 1 to 4, the physical position determination unit

comprising one or more of the following:

i) a GPS receiver, ii) a Bluetooth transmitter and/or receiver,

iii) a WiFi transmitter and/or receiver,

iv) a radio frequency signal transmitter and/or receiver,

v) an ultrasound signal transmitter and/or receiver.

8. The map device of any of claims 1 to 5, wherein the at least on optoelectronic

indicator device comprises LEDs, OLEDs, LETs, OLETs, micro-lamps, liquid crystal light emitters and/or photoelectric ink,

7. The map device of any of claims 1 to 6, wherein the at least one optoelectronic

indicator device is connected to the control unit through flexible wiring and/or flexible printed circuit boards affixed to the foldable carrier device, and/or conductive ink printed on the foldable carrier device.

8. The map device of any of claims 1 to 7, the map device further comprising a wireless communication unit designed for communication with one or more second map devices.

9. The map device of claim 8, wherein the control unit is designed change the activation state of the at least one optoelectronic indicator device when the physical position of the second map device, determined by the physical position determination unit of the second map device, is in a predetermined spatial relationship to the first physical position corresponding to the first map position.

10. The map device of any of claims 1 to 9, further comprising an audio input/output device.