Data processing: vehicles – navigation – and relative location – Navigation – Employing position determining equipment
Reexamination Certificate
1998-04-30
2001-12-25
Issing, Gregory C. (Department: 3662)
Data processing: vehicles, navigation, and relative location
Navigation
Employing position determining equipment
Reexamination Certificate
active
06334087
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to map information providing systems, and more specifically to a map information providing system including one or more movable terminals for providing map information therefor through telecommunications.
2. Description of the Background Art
In recent years, vehicles adopting a navigation system has increased in population. The information the navigation system provides also has been expanding from map information to information further including, for example, traffic information and event information (hereinafter referred to as map related information.) The navigation system is expected to become rapidly available in the future as it becomes more convenient.
The conventional vehicle navigation system generally provides information in such a way that a mobile terminal reads map information and map related information recorded in a read-only recording medium such as a CD-ROM as required.
However, in the conventional system using a read-only recording medium, it is difficult to provide map related information including information with a high degree of real-time characteristics such as traffic information and weather information.
Therefore, a vehicle navigation system capable of further providing map related information including information with a high degree of real-time characteristics is disclosed. For example, Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 9-8917 discloses an art as to a device which downloads map information and map related information from an information providing center through a communications circuit to a mobile terminal.
However, in the conventional system which provides information through telecommunications as disclosed in the above gazette, since telecommunications costs increase as the amount of information to be transmitted increases, it is impossible to provide detailed, wide-ranging map related information at low costs.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to realize a map information providing system capable of providing detailed, wide-ranging map related information from a server to a movable terminal through telecommunications at low costs.
The present invention has the following features to solve the problem mentioned above.
A first aspect is directed to a map information providing system provided with a server and one or more movable terminals for providing map information from the server to the one or more movable terminals,
the server comprising:
an information storage portion for storing map related information including the map information;
a route searching portion for performing a route search referring to the map information based on a position information of which the server is notified by the one or more movable terminals;
a route related information extracting portion for extracting information related to a route obtained by a search by the route searching portion from the map related information stored in the information storage portion; and
a communication portion for notifying the one or more movable terminals of the route related information obtained by extraction by the route related information extracting portion through telecommunication.
As described above, in the first aspect, stored in the server is map related information including map information, and the server performs route search referring to the map information based on the position information of which the server is notified from the movable terminal. The server then extracts information related to the route obtained by search (route related information) from the map related information and then notifies the movable terminal of the information. In this way, since the movable terminal side needs only the information that is closely related to the route in the map related information, only the route related information is transmitted, reducing the amount of information to be transmitted compared to that when the map related information is transmitted, and as a result it is possible to provide detailed, wide-ranging map related information through telecommunications at low costs.
According to a second aspect, in the first aspect, the one or more movable terminals are each mobile terminals.
As described above, in the second aspect, a memory or a hard disk with comparatively small capacity is installed in the mobile terminal because of the limitation of capacity. Thus, a reduction in the amount of information to be transmitted/stored is highly required, and therefore the effect obtained by reduction is significant.
According to a third aspect, in the first aspect, the one or more movable terminals are each portable terminals.
As described above, in the third aspect, a memory or a hard disk with small capacity is installed in the portable terminal because of the limitation of capacity. Thus, a reduction in the amount of information to be transmitted/stored is especially highly required, and therefore the effect obtained by reduction is extremely significant.
According to a fourth aspect, in the first aspect,
the communication portion notifies the one or more movable terminals of the route related information obtained by an extraction by the route related information extracting portion by converting the information into an identifier capable of identifying the information,
the one or more movable terminals each comprising:
a terminal side information storage portion for storing map related information equal to the map related information stored in the information storage portion; and
an information reading portion for reading information corresponding to the identifier of which the one or more movable terminals are notified by the server from the map related information stored in the terminal side information storage portion.
As described above, in the fourth aspect, the route related information is converted to an identifier of the information and then transmitted, thereby significantly reducing the amount of information to be transmitted.
According to a fifth aspect, in the fourth aspect, the one or more movable terminals are each mobile terminals.
According to a sixth aspect, in the fourth aspect, the one or more movable terminals are each portable terminals.
According to a seventh aspect, in the first aspect,
the communication portion notifies the one or more movable terminals of the route related information obtained by extraction by the route related information extracting portion by converting the information into a group of identifiers capable of identifying one or more elements which construct the map information;
the one or more movable terminals each comprising:
a terminal side information storage portion for storing elements which construct map related information equal to the map related information stored in the information storage portion; and
an element reading portion for reading one or more elements corresponding to the group of identifiers of which the one or more movable terminals are notified by the server from the elements stored in the terminal side information storage portion.
As described above, in the seventh aspect, the route related information is converted to a group of identifiers of the elements which construct the information and then transmitted, thereby significantly reducing the amount of information to be transmitted. Further, since the movable terminal side is only required to store the elements of the map related information, the amount of information to be stored is reduced compared to that when the route related information is converted into the identifier of the information and then transmitted, and as a result it is possible to make the capacity of a memory or a hard disk at the movable terminal side small. Further, it is possible to represent wide-ranging map related information by combinations of the group of identifiers, thereby obtaining high general versatility of the information contents to be transmitted considering the amount of information to be transmitted through telecommunications.
According to an eighth aspect
Fukuda Hisaya
Ihara Yasuhiro
Nakano Nobuyuki
Suzuki Akihiro
Issing Gregory C.
Matsushita Electric - Industrial Co., Ltd.
Wenderoth, Lind & Poncak, L.L.P.
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