Data processing: vehicles – navigation – and relative location – Navigation – Employing position determining equipment
Reexamination Certificate
2002-09-30
2004-10-19
Black, Thomas G. (Department: 3663)
Data processing: vehicles, navigation, and relative location
Navigation
Employing position determining equipment
C701S203000, C701S211000, C701S213000, C340S988000, C340S995190
Reexamination Certificate
active
06807479
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention belongs to a technical field of communication navigation using a public switched telephone network circuit, and in particular to the technical field wherein a plurality of terminal units having an identical telephone number (identification) are provided and communication navigation is performed by switching the communication terminal units.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, a vehicle navigation apparatus for guiding travel of a vehicle by displaying a map on a display such as a liquid crystal display panel mounted on the vehicle is widespread, and a research is underway lately toward practical use as to a communication navigation terminal unit for using an information server unit having a database of map information and a mobile communication line to distribute the map information to the vehicle navigation terminal unit so as to navigate the vehicle with vehicle data (mobile unit data) such as positional information obtained by the vehicle navigation terminal unit.
On the other hand, a research is also underway lately toward practical use as to a portable navigation terminal unit for, in a portable terminal unit such as a portable telephone, using a radio wave for performing communication to measure distances to a plurality of fixed telephone base stations and thereby obtain a position of the portable terminal unit so as to navigate a user having the portable terminal unit as with the vehicle communication navigation terminal unit.
In the case of performing the communication navigation with the information server unit and the communication navigation terminal unit, use of the public switched telephone network circuit is generally considered for the communication between the information server unit and the communication navigation terminal unit. In addition, it is desirable, considering that a large number of users have portable telephones due to diffusion thereof, to perform the communication navigation based on the identical telephone number (identification) with the portable terminal unit in terms of communication maintenance costs.
However, when using the portable terminal unit and the communication navigation terminal unit with the identical telephone number on the public switched telephone network circuit by switching between them, it is not possible to recognize two or more terminal units with the identical telephone number and capable of a communication state (existence of two or more terminal units with the identical telephone number is not allowed) in terms of a communication system (communication environment), that is, in terms of, of the public switched telephone network circuit, a system of the public switched telephone network circuit limited to a radio communication line (hereafter, referred to as public radio telephone network circuit). Therefore, it is necessary to consider the above-mentioned problem in establishing the communication line from the portable terminal unit to the communication navigation terminal unit or vice versa.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention has been implemented in consideration of the above problem, and an object thereof is to provide a navigation system capable of easily switching between the portable terminal unit and the communication navigation terminal unit with the identical telephone number (identification) and also having considered the communication environment.
The above object of the present invention can be achieved by a communication navigation system of the present invention having an information server unit and communication terminal units having identical identification and mounted on a plurality of mobile units for communicating with said information server unit or other communication terminal units via a mobile communication network, wherein only one of said plurality of communication terminal units is set as a communication capable terminal capable of communication with said information server unit or other communication terminal units, and in the case where a specific communication terminal unit which is one of said plurality of communication terminal units is set as said communication capable terminal, the communication is performed with said information server unit so as to at least navigate said mobile unit on which the specific communication terminal unit is mounted. The system is provided with: setting device which setting one of said communication terminal units as said communication capable terminal based on at least either start information indicating a start of said specific communication terminal unit or stop information indicating a stop thereof; and controller which performs communication control on the communication terminal unit set as said communication capable terminal and at least controls a start or an end of navigating operation on said specific communication terminal unit.
According to the present invention, one of the communication terminal units is set as a communication capable terminal based on start information or stop information of a specific communication terminal unit, and the communication on the set communication terminal unit is controlled and also a start or an end of navigating operation on the specific communication terminal unit is controlled.
Therefore, it is possible to set a communication capable terminal unit and control navigating operation without performing troublesome operation or complicated control when setting one of the communication terminal units as the communication terminal unit capable of the communication, in particular the troublesome operation when setting the specific communication terminal unit for performing navigation as the communication capable terminal or when switching the setting of the communication capable terminal from the specific communication terminal unit to another communication terminal unit, so that operability for a user can be improved.
In one aspect of the present invention, said information server unit comprises said setting device and controller.
According to this aspect, the information server unit has setting means and controlling means so that one of the communication terminal units can be set as the communication capable terminal and the navigation can be controlled by the information server unit.
In another aspect of the present invention, the information server unit is provided with: detecting device which receives said start information, and on receiving it, detecting whether or not there is any other said communication terminal unit set as said communication capable terminal; notifying device, in the case where the other communication terminal unit set as said communication capable terminal is detected, which notifies the other communication terminal unit of setting information to the effect that said specific communication terminal unit is set as said communication capable terminal; receiving device which receives permission information showing whether or not the setting is permitted from the said other communication terminal unit to said specific communication terminal unit. In addition, the receiving device receives said permission information for permitting said setting, said setting device sets said specific communication terminal unit as said communication capable terminal.
According to this aspect, in the case of switching the communication capable terminal from the other communication terminal unit to the specific communication terminal unit in the invention, the specific communication terminal unit is set as the communication capable terminal on obtaining permission of the communication terminal unit already performing the communication with the information server unit.
Therefore, in the case where there is the communication terminal unit already set as the communication capable terminal when setting the specific communication terminal unit as the communication capable terminal, it is possible to consider use situation of the set communication terminal unit and also to adequately set one of the communication terminal
Oda Tamami
Sato Tsuyoshi
Watanabe Tomo
Black Thomas G.
Donnelly Arthur D.
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