Telecommunications – Radiotelephone system – Zoned or cellular telephone system
Reexamination Certificate
1999-02-04
2001-12-11
Maung, Nay (Department: 2681)
Telecommunications
Radiotelephone system
Zoned or cellular telephone system
C455S457000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06330453
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to map information providing methods and a terminal device used in the methods, and more particularly to a map information providing method in which a base station provides a plurality of kinds of map information through a broadcast channel to a terminal device which can move freely in the service area and to the terminal device used in the method.
2. Description of the Background Art
Conventionally, for example, Japanese Patent Laying-Open No.8-22246 discloses a map information providing system in which a base station and terminal devices are communicably connected so that the terminal devices can receive and display map information transmitted from the base station. More specifically, the base station transmits predetermined map information to terminal devices. The terminal devices receive and display the map information so that the users can utilize the map information.
In this case, the users do not always utilize all map information transmitted from the base station, so they will want to store only necessary map information in storage devices. However, conventional map information providing systems do not allow the terminal devices to select required information out of the map information transmitted. Therefore they must store the map information including unnecessary information in the storage devices. This requires that the terminal devices be equipped with storage devices having larger capacity than required.
Further, the map information is frequently updated because of constructions of new roads and buildings, for example. However, the conventional terminal devices are incapable of managing versions of the map information, and they repeatedly receive map information of the same version and store the information in storage devices, which also leads to an increase in capacity of the storage devices.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a map information providing method in which a terminal device can select required information from among map information transmitted from a base station and the terminal device used in this method. The object of the present invention is achieved by the following characteristic aspects having the peculiar effects below.
A first aspect of the present invention is directed to a method in which a base station provides a plurality of kinds of map information through a broadcast channel to a terminal device mobile in a service area. In the map information providing method, the base station comprises an adding step of adding index information about areas and scales of individual pieces of map information respectively to the individual pieces of map information, and a transmitting step of transmitting the map information accompanied by the index information by using the channel, and the terminal device comprises a receiving step of receiving the map information transmitted on the channel, a map specifying step of specifying an area and a scale of a required piece of map information on the basis of an external input, and a first storage step of storing the map information corresponding to the specified area and scale among the map information received.
According to the first aspect, the base station transmits a plurality of kinds of map information together with the index information. The terminal device selects required information out of the map information received by utilizing the index information. Accordingly the terminal device does not store unnecessary map information. This allows the terminal device to use a storage device with smaller capacity than conventional ones.
According to a second aspect, in the first aspect, the base station further adds version information of the map information as the index information in the adding step, and the terminal device further comprises a second storage step of storing the newest map information among the received map information on the basis of the version information.
According to the second aspect, the terminal device can store only the newest map information transmitted from the base station. This allows the terminal device to use a storage device with smaller capacity than conventional ones.
According to a third aspect, in the first aspect, the base station further transmits traffic information and/or area information about the service area in the transmitting step, and the terminal device further comprises an information specifying step of specifying required traffic information and/or area information on the basis of an external input. The terminal device further receives the traffic information and/or the area information transmitted on the channel in the receiving step, and stores the specified traffic information and/or area information among the received traffic information and/or area information in the first storage step.
According to the third aspect, the terminal device can be used more conveniently because it can utilize traffic information and area information, too.
According to a fourth aspect, in the first aspect, a plurality of base stations are provided in the service area, and the service area is covered by cells respectively defining areas in which the base stations can transmit the map information, and the map information in the vicinity of a boundary between adjacent cells is transmitted from the individual base stations forming the cells.
According to the fourth aspect, the terminal device can smoothly acquire the map information even when moving over a plurality of cells, since the map information in the vicinity of boundaries between cells is transmitted from a plurality of base stations.
According to a fifth aspect, in the fourth aspect, in the transmitting step, the plurality of base stations periodically transmit the map information accompanied by the index information by using the different channels and also transmit identification signals so that the terminal device can identify the channels respectively assigned to the base stations, and the terminal device further comprises a search/identify step of automatically searching and identifying the channels respectively assigned to the base stations on the basis of the identification signals transmitted from the individual base stations.
According to the fifth aspect, the terminal device can search and identify channels of the base stations respectively on the basis of the identification signals, so that it can smoothly acquire the map information even when moving beyond a plurality of cells.
According to a sixth aspect, in the first aspect, the base station transmits newest road network data corresponding to the areas and scales of the map information in the transmitting step, thereby allowing the terminal device to execute a route search in accordance with an arbitrary distance.
According to the sixth aspect, when the terminal device has a route search function, it can perform the route search by using the newest road network data for each area and scale specified by the map specifying portion, and it can thus appropriately perform the route search in accordance with an arbitrary distance.
A seventh aspect of the present invention is directed to a terminal device constructed to be mobile in a service area and utilizing predetermined map information among a plurality of kinds of map information transmitted on a broadcast channel from a base station. The base station transmits the plurality of kinds of map information and index information about areas and scales of individual pieces of the map information by using the channel, and the terminal device comprises a map specifying portion for specifying an area and a scale of required map information on the basis of an external input, a receiving portion for receiving the map information transmitted on the channel, a discriminating portion for discriminating (to discriminate means to pick out the information a user specified from among pieces of transmitted information) the map information corresponding to the area and scale specified by the
Fukuda Hisaya
Nakano Nobuyuki
Suzuki Akihiro
Gelin Jean A
Matsushitas Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
Maung Nay
Wenderoth , Lind & Ponack, L.L.P.
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