JP2000194993A - Method and apparatus for providing position of moving object - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [PROBLEMS] To provide high-precision real-time location information for various terminals, if necessary, while protecting privacy without requiring special terminals. When a terminal (50) can display a map but does not have map information, a map information server (30) reads corresponding map information from a map database (28). In the reception server 24, the vehicle position acquisition server 32
The position information of the vehicle 10 acquired in step (1) and the corresponding map information are combined and transmitted to the requesting terminal 50 via the terminal connection unit 22. In the terminal 50, the map and the position of the vehicle are displayed on the display. If the terminal 50 has the map information, only the position information of the vehicle is transmitted to the terminal 50 that has made the request. At the terminal 50, the received vehicle position information and its own map information are combined and displayed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for providing a position of a moving body for providing position information of various moving bodies such as an automobile.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a background art for providing position information of a moving object, there is, for example, a position detection method and an apparatus thereof described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-247730. This is intended for the caregiver to grasp the current position of the elderly requiring care, and the elderly requiring care carries a terminal for the elderly. This elderly terminal includes GPS (Global Positioning System) and PH.
S (Personal handy-phone system). The caregiver uses the safety confirmation mobile terminal to call the PHS of the elderly terminal. Then, on the terminal for the elderly,
The position of the elderly in need of care is detected by GPS, and the position information is transmitted to the caregiver through PHS. On the caregiver side, the position of the elderly requiring care is displayed on a map. Thereby, the caregiver can know the position of the elderly requiring care.

[0003] As a position providing system which is currently put into practical use, there is a system using a PHS system. When receiving the service, the base station is notified of the PHS number owned by the person to whom the location is to be provided, the personal identification number for receiving the service, and the like. Then, the base station detects the position of the designated PHS, combines the position with the map, and transmits the combined position and the map.

[0004]

However, in the former background art, a terminal that requests position information also requires a dedicated terminal. In the latter background technology, the detection accuracy is low because the function (means) of the PHS is used for position detection. In any case, there is an inconvenience that a terminal for requesting position information needs a display function (means) of map data. For example, it is convenient that the position information can be obtained by telephone using voice or the like. Going further,
In some cases, the state of movement of a moving object is desired to be displayed in real time. On the other hand, in position detection, it is necessary to consider from the viewpoint of privacy protection that you do not want to know your position to a third party, and at the same time, it is necessary to provide position information from the police etc. as in the case of an incident or accident. It may be requested. However, the background art described above is not always satisfactory in these respects.

The present invention focuses on the above points,
The purpose is to provide high-precision position information in real time if necessary for various devices without requiring special terminals. Another object is to provide a location information providing system capable of responding to an emergency request while protecting privacy.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, a method for providing a position of a moving object according to the present invention includes the step of judging whether or not a terminal requesting position information can be connected or not;
A step of obtaining from the mobile body the position information of the mobile object whose position information is to be obtained when the connection is permitted; a step of determining the presence or absence of map information at the terminal that has made the request; Combining the location information of the moving object and the corresponding map information when it is determined that there is no information; transmitting the combined information to the terminal when the information is combined; Transmitting the location information of the mobile unit to the terminal.

[0007] The position providing apparatus for a mobile object according to the present invention is a connection permission / rejection means for judging connection permission / rejection of a terminal which requests position information acquisition; Position obtaining means for obtaining position information of the body from the moving body; terminal determining means for determining the presence or absence of map information at the terminal that has made the request; when it is determined that there is no map information, the position obtaining means Map information supply means for obtaining map information corresponding to the acquired position of the moving object; information synthesizing means for synthesizing the supplied map information with the position information of the moving object; Position transmitting means for transmitting the combined information to the terminal, and transmitting the position information of the mobile unit to the terminal when the information is not combined. The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings.

[0008]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail. FIG. 1 shows a main configuration of an embodiment of the present invention. In this example, the present invention is applied to position detection of a vehicle, and position information of the vehicle is provided to a request side via a center. First, a description will be given of a vehicle 10 (a vehicle whose position is to be detected) 10 for which provision of position information is required. The GPS 12 as a position measuring means is connected to a navigation device 14 which displays a road map and performs route guidance. I have. The navigation device 14 is connected to a mobile phone 18 such as a mobile phone or a car phone via a call control unit 16.

Next, the center 20 will be described. A terminal connection unit 22 for connecting to various terminals 50 requesting provision of location information is connected to a reception server 24. The reception server 24 includes a terminal registration table 25 for terminal determination and a connection permission table 26 for reception determination, and is connected to a map information server 30 having a map database 28. The reception server 24 is further connected to a vehicle position acquisition server 32. The vehicle position acquisition server 32 communicates with the corresponding vehicle via the telephone connection unit 34.

[0010] Of the above components, the GPS 1
2. The navigation device 14 is generally known as a car navigation system. In addition,
In the present embodiment, the GPS 12 which is a position measuring unit of the vehicle 10 is used.
Only the navigation device 14 need be provided. However, since a normal car navigation system includes both the GPS 12 and the navigation device 14, the navigation device 14 is also illustrated for the purpose of using it. Call control unit 16
When the mobile phone 18 receives a position request, the mobile phone 18 notifies the navigation device 14 of the fact, and
The result of measurement by the PS 12 is transmitted from the mobile phone 18 to the center 20.
This is for controlling the transmission to the user. Mobile phone 18
May be any as long as it can perform mobile communication.

The terminal connection section 22 of the center 20 is for connecting the center 20 to various telephones, personal computers, etc., which make requests for providing location information. Reception server 2
4 refers to the terminal registration table 25 to determine whether the requesting terminal 50 is registered or not, and refers to the connection permission table 26 to determine whether to accept the request from the terminal 50. Is provided. FIG. 2 shows an example of the connection permission table 26. In this example, information on the connection availability of the request destination is tabulated for each vehicle ID representing the position detection target. For example, the vehicle ID “VB83
In the case of "2", the request from the home of the telephone number "1234-5678" is "permitted", and the others are "not permitted". In the case of the vehicle ID “MT493”, all are “non-permitted”.

[0012] The map information server 30 is provided with the request terminal 5
When there is no map information on the 0 side, a function (means) for reading and supplying map information necessary for position display from the map database 28 is provided. The vehicle position acquisition server 32
It has a function (means) for communicating with the vehicle 10 whose position is to be detected and acquiring its position information.

Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described. At first,
The operation of requesting vehicle position information will be described with reference to FIG. When the terminal 50 connected to the terminal connection unit 22 specifies the terminal ID and the vehicle ID and makes a request for providing the location information, the reception server 24 receives the request. Upon receiving the request, the reception server 24 turns on a flag to that effect (Y in step S10). Then, it is determined with reference to the terminal registration table 25 whether the terminal 50 that has made the request is registered.
If the vehicle ID is registered (Y in step S12), the permission contents of the corresponding vehicle ID in the connection permission table 26 are referred to (step S14). Then, the reception server 24 determines whether the connection is permitted for the terminal 50 that made the request (step S1).
6). As a result, when the connection is permitted, the connection permission flag is set to ON (step S18).

For example, when there is a request from the home for the vehicle ID "VB832" in FIG. 2, the connection is permitted as shown in FIG. 2, and the connection permission flag is turned on. However, for the vehicle ID “MT493”, the connection is not permitted in any case, so the connection permission flag is off.

The connection permission flag of the reception server 24 is referred to by the vehicle position acquisition server 32. Then, the operation shown in FIG. 4 is performed in the vehicle position acquisition server 32 (Y in step S20). First, the telephone connection unit 34 makes a call to the vehicle of the corresponding ID, and the corresponding vehicle 1
The mobile phone 18 is connected to the mobile phone 18 (step S22). In the vehicle 10, the request from the center 20 is transmitted to the call control unit 1.
6 to the navigation device 14. The navigation device 14 measures its own position using the GPS 12. The measurement result is transmitted to the center 20 via the call control unit 16 and the mobile phone 18. Center 20
Then, the measured position information is acquired by the vehicle position acquisition server 32 via the telephone connection unit 34 (step S2).
4), and the fact is transmitted to the reception server 24.

The reception server 24 determines whether or not the terminal 50 that has transmitted the request has map information (step S26). This determination is made based on a transmission signal from the terminal 50. An inquiry is made to the terminal 50 through the terminal connection unit 22. Information as to whether or not each registered terminal has map information is prepared in advance in the terminal registration table 25. , Refer to it, etc. in an appropriate manner.

As a result, for example, as shown in FIG. 5A, when the terminal 50 is a personal computer, a videophone, or the like and can display a map but does not have map information (N in step S26). The corresponding map information is read from the map database 28 by the map information server 30 (step S28). Then, the reception server 24 combines the acquired position information of the vehicle with the corresponding map information (step S30), and further turns on the transmission flag (step S32). Then, the combined information is transmitted to the requesting terminal 50 via the terminal connection unit 22. In the terminal 50, the position of the corresponding vehicle is displayed together with the map on a display of a personal computer or a videophone.
Even when the terminal 50 has a navigation device,
When there is no corresponding map information, the composite information is transmitted to the terminal 50 similarly.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 5B, when the terminal 50 is a vehicle equipped with a navigation device, it generally has map information (Y in step S26). Therefore, in this case, the transmission flag is turned on without reading or synthesizing the map information, and only the position information of the vehicle is transmitted to the terminal 50 that made the request. The terminal 50 reads the corresponding map information from its own CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, or the like based on the received vehicle position information, and combines and displays them. The same applies to a personal computer that holds map information.

If the position information is sequentially transmitted from the vehicle 10 to be detected to the center 20 and further transmitted to the terminal 50, the movement of the vehicle 10 can be displayed on a map in real time. When an incident or accident occurs and a request is made from the police or the JAF, the reception server 24 receives the request without referring to the connection permission table 26, obtains the position of the vehicle 10, and provides it to the request side. I do. By providing such an emergency location, it is possible to contribute to finding a stolen vehicle, a runaway vehicle, or an accident vehicle.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the position information of the specific vehicle is combined with the map information on the center side as necessary and distributed to the request terminal. For this reason, even a general household, JAF, police or the like that does not hold the map image information can display the position on the map without requiring a special terminal. Further, since the position is measured by the GPS, highly accurate position information can be obtained. Further, since the center determines whether or not the connection is possible, privacy can be well protected and it is possible to respond to an emergency request.

Next, another embodiment will be described. As is well known, a general car navigation system is provided with information such as names of roads and intersections and voice information thereof. In the above-mentioned form,
Although the S information is acquired as vehicle position information, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5C, character information and voice information of a name such as an intersection are acquired as vehicle position information.

For example, when a request is received from a general subscriber telephone, the reception server 24 determines that fact, and the vehicle position acquisition server 32 requests the vehicle 10 to transmit the position information by voice. Then, in the vehicle 10, the GPS
Voice information corresponding to the current position measured at 12 is selected by the navigation device 14 and transmitted to the center 20. The center 20 transmits this voice information to the request terminal 50 side. In the terminal 50, guidance of the vehicle position is performed based on the received voice information. For example, a voice guidance “turning left at intersection XX” is performed.

When there is a request from a portable telephone or a PHS capable of displaying characters, the reception server 24 determines that the request has been made, and the vehicle position acquisition server 32 sends the position information in characters to the vehicle 10 so as to transmit the position information. Request. Then
In the vehicle 10, character information corresponding to the current position measured by the GPS 12 is selected by the navigation device 14 and transmitted to the center 20. The center 20 transmits this character information to the request terminal 50 side. In the terminal 50, guidance of the vehicle position is provided based on the received character information. For example, a character string “turning left at XX intersection” is displayed.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, even when a map cannot be displayed on the terminal 50 that has made the request, the position information can be received by voice or characters. In this example, the navigation device 14 of the vehicle 10 obtains voice and character information corresponding to the position. However, the center 20 is provided with an information generating unit, and performs map matching from GPS information and map information. Voice and character position information may be generated from the result. The determination that the terminal 50 can receive only information by voice or text is performed in the same manner as the determination of the presence or absence of the map information described above in the reception server 24.

The present invention has many embodiments, and various modifications can be made based on the above disclosure. For example, the following is also included. (1) In the above embodiment, the vehicle and the center communicate with each other by a mobile phone, but various systems capable of mobile communication may be used. (2) As the terminal 50 that makes the request, a facsimile or the like may be used. In this case, the map information indicating the position of the vehicle may be converted into a facsimile signal at the center 20 and transmitted to the terminal 50. (3) In the above-described embodiment, an automobile is assumed as the moving body. However, the present invention is applicable to any moving body provided with GPS or a position measuring unit corresponding thereto. .

[0026]

As described above, according to the present invention,
The following effects are obtained. (1) When there is no map information on the terminal side, the center combines the position acquired from the moving body with the map, and the combined information is transmitted to the terminal. For this reason, the position can be displayed even without a map. In addition, position information is transmitted in characters or voice depending on the terminal. Therefore, no special terminal is required. (2) GPS is used as the position measuring means, and it is possible to provide highly accurate position information in real time. (3) Because the connection is permitted or rejected, privacy is well protected and leakage of the vehicle position information to a third party is prevented.
In an emergency, the position information is promptly provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a connection permission table in the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a procedure of request acceptance in the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a procedure of obtaining position information and synthesizing a map in the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an overall operation in the above embodiment and other embodiments.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Vehicle 14 ... Navigation apparatus 16 ... Call control part 18 ... Mobile telephone 20 ... Center 22 ... Terminal connection part 24 ... Reception server 25 ... Terminal registration table 26 ... Connection permission table 28 ... Map database 30 ... Map information server 32 ... Vehicle Location acquisition server 34: telephone connection unit 50: request terminal

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) H04Q 7/34 H04B 7/26 106A F term (Reference) 2F029 AA02 AB07 AC02 AC14 AC16 5C086 AA21 AA28 AA55 BA22 BA30 CB27 DA08 DA16 EA41 EA45 FA06 FA18 5C087 AA09 AA10 AA25 AA37 AA44 BB12 BB20 BB76 DD05 DD14 EE05 FF01 FF02 FF17 FF19 FF23 FF30 GG08 GG12 GG19 GG21 GG23 GG66 5H180 AA01 BB05A33 GG05

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A step of determining whether to permit connection of a terminal that makes a request for obtaining position information; and a step of obtaining, from the mobile, the position information of a mobile object whose position information is to be obtained when the connection is permitted. Determining the presence or absence of map information at the terminal that made the request;
Synthesizing the map information corresponding to the position information of the moving object; transmitting the synthesized information to the terminal when the information is synthesized, and transmitting the position information of the mobile object to the terminal when the information is not synthesized. Transmitting the position to the mobile object. 2. A connection permission / rejection means for judging connection permission / prohibition of a terminal which makes a request for position information acquisition; when connection is permitted by this, acquisition of position information of a mobile object for which position information is to be acquired from the mobile object. A terminal obtaining unit that determines the presence or absence of map information in the terminal that has made the request; and, when it is determined that there is no map information, corresponds to the position of the moving object obtained by the position obtaining unit. Map information supply means for obtaining map information; information synthesis means for synthesizing the supplied map information and the position information of the moving object; when the information is synthesized by this, transmits the synthesized information to the terminal; Position transmitting means for transmitting position information of the moving object to the terminal when the information is not synthesized, the position providing device for a moving object.