Data processing: vehicles – navigation – and relative location – Navigation
Reexamination Certificate
2002-07-17
2004-02-17
Nguyen, Tan Q. (Department: 3661)
Data processing: vehicles, navigation, and relative location
Navigation
C701S201000, C701S211000, C340S937000, C382S104000, C348S143000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06694251
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for information processing, a recording medium, and a program and, particularly, to an apparatus and a method for information processing, a recording medium, and a program that can efficiently deliver data via a network according to the degree of importance of the data.
The technology of delivering various data via a network is coming into common use. For example, a conventional car navigation apparatus calculates a current position from information obtained by a GPS (Global Positioning System) and an acceleration sensor in response to the input of a destination, retrieves a route from the current position to the destination from map data prerecorded on a CD (Compact Disc) or a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc), and displays a corresponding map data by CG (Computer Graphics) or the like. However, in an actual route display, simply displaying a route on a map often does not help the user traveling on an unfamiliar road choose a correct road. Hence, there is a desire to display images on the route. However, to record route image data on a CD or a DVD together with the map data requires an enormous amount of data. Moreover, when there are trees lining the route, for example, the color and amount of leaves of the trees and the like are varied with the season. To store image data corresponding to such conditions also requires an enormous amount of data. There is thus a limit to the amount of data that can be actually handled.
In order to solve this problem, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-32374 proposes a system in which a data generating apparatus generates data of images on the route, and a server manages the image data generated by the data generating apparatus and transfers the image data to a terminal apparatus as a car navigation apparatus for display as required via a network.
FIG. 1
is a diagram showing a car navigation system using a network, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-32374. A server
1
stores image data picked up by data generating apparatuses
2
-
1
to
2
-n installed in a plurality of different areas, in correspondence with a position on a map. Terminal apparatuses
3
-
1
to
3
-n, as car navigation apparatus mounted in a motor vehicle or the like driven by each user himself/herself, retrieve a route from a current position to a destination in response to the input of the destination, as with the foregoing conventional car navigation apparatus, receive corresponding image data from the server
1
via a network
4
, and then display the image data. Incidentally, in the description below, where there is no need to individually distinguish the data generating apparatuses
2
-
1
to
2
-n or the terminal apparatuses
3
-
1
to
3
-n, the data generating apparatuses
2
-
1
to
2
-n or the terminal apparatuses
3
-
1
to
3
-n will be referred to simply as a data generating apparatus
2
or a terminal apparatus
3
. The same applies to other apparatuses.
A control unit
13
is a so-called microcomputer formed of a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a RAM (Random Access Memory), and a ROM (Read Only Memory). The control unit
13
expands a program prestored in the ROM into the RAM and executes the program to thereby control an image retrieving unit
11
, a communication unit
12
, and a storage unit
14
that are each connected to the control unit
13
via a bus
15
. Also, the control unit
13
controls the communication unit
12
to store image data transmitted from the data generating apparatus
2
via the network
4
in the storage unit
14
together with positional information. In addition, the control unit
13
retrieves image data stored in the storage unit
14
on the basis of route information inputted from the terminal apparatus
3
to the communication unit
12
via the network
4
, and then controls the communication unit
12
to transmit the retrieved image data to the terminal apparatus
3
via the network
4
.
FIG. 2
shows a configuration of the data generating apparatus
2
.
The data generating apparatus
2
is mounted in a motor vehicle, for example. The data generating apparatus
2
picks up image data to be used as route image data in the storage unit
14
of the server
1
and transmits the image data to the server
A control unit
33
of the data generating apparatus
2
is a so-called microcomputer formed of a CPU, a RAM, and a ROM, and it controls the operation of the whole data generating apparatus
2
. An image pickup unit
31
is controlled by the control unit
33
and is formed by a CCD (Charge Coupled Device), for example. The image pickup unit
31
outputs picked-up still image data to a storage unit
34
to store the still image data in the storage unit
34
. The image pickup unit
31
also obtains the angular velocity from a gyro
31
a
included therein and outputs the angular velocity to the control unit
33
. A GPS receiver
32
receives radio waves emitted from a plurality of stationary satellites not shown in the figure, thereby determines positional information of latitude and longitude on the earth, and then outputs the positional information to the control unit
33
. The control unit
33
stores the image data picked up by the image pickup unit
31
in the storage unit
34
together with the corresponding angular velocity and positional information, including the latitude and longitude. The control unit
33
also controls a communication unit
35
to transmit the image data stored in the storage unit
34
to the server
1
via the network
4
.
The terminal apparatus
3
is a so-called car navigation apparatus mounted in a motor vehicle or the like used by a user. A control unit
56
is a so-called microcomputer formed of a CPU, a RAM, a ROM and the like. The control unit
56
controls an image retrieving unit
51
, a position detecting unit
52
, an image display unit
53
, a communication unit
54
, a storage unit
55
, and an input unit
57
that are each connected to a bus
58
.
When, for example, a destination is inputted from the input unit
57
on the basis of a current position detected by the position detecting unit
52
, the shortest route from the current position to the destination is retrieved from map data stored in the storage unit
55
. In this case, the image retrieving unit
51
retrieves corresponding route image data stored in the storage unit
55
. When the image retrieving unit
51
retrieves no data, the communication unit
54
is controlled to transmit the route information to the server
1
via the network
4
to request the image data. When receiving the image data from the server
1
, the communication unit
54
stores the image data in the storage unit
55
. The image retrieving unit
51
then reads the image data corresponding to the route and displays the image data on the image display unit
53
.
The processing of the server
1
of recording image data transmitted from the data generating apparatus
2
will be described next. The image pickup unit
31
of the data generating apparatus
2
picks up images on the retrieved route and stores the image data in the storage unit
34
. At this time, the control unit
33
stores the angular velocity outputted from the gyro
31
a
and positional information inputted from the GPS receiver
32
in the storage unit
34
in correspondence with the picked-up image data. The control unit
33
then controls the communication unit
35
to transmit the image data stored in the storage unit
34
in correspondence with the positional information. Specifically, as shown in
FIG. 4
, the image data are stored with the X set as an ID (Identifier) of still image data picked up by the image pickup unit
31
at a position indicated by positional information AA and with the Y set as an ID of still image data picked up by the image pickup unit
31
at a position indicated by positional information BB.
The control unit
33
then controls the communication unit
35
to transmit the image data stored in the storage unit
34
to the server
1
together with the positional informatio
Negishi Shinji
Yagasaki Yoichi
Yasuda Kazunori
Kananen Ronald P.
Nguyen Tan Q.
Rader & Fishman & Grauer, PLLC
Sony Corporation
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