JP2001243129A - Map transmitting device and receiving device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Problem] To enable a map display from data transmitted by e-mail even for a device that does not have a map display function. SOLUTION: An image processing means 4 converts map data read by a map data reading means 3 corresponding to a current position detected by a current position detection means 1 into image data, and the mail transmission means 8 converts the data into electronic data. It is transmitted via the wireless communication means 7 in the mail. Alternatively, the map data of an arbitrary point registered in the point registration means 10 is included in the electronic mail and transmitted.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a map transmitting apparatus and a map receiving apparatus for transmitting and receiving map data of an arbitrary point by e-mail.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an on-vehicle navigation device has been known as a device for displaying map data at an arbitrary point. The detection of the current position of the in-vehicle navigation device can be considerably improved by receiving radio waves from a GPS (Global Positioning System) satellite. However, in a place where a radio wave from a GPS satellite cannot be received, such as in a tunnel or a valley of a building, the self-vehicle position may be lost, so self-contained navigation using a vehicle speed sensor and a direction sensor is also used. More recently, GPs received at reference stations located throughout the country
Calculate the error of the S radio wave, and use the data to correct the error as F
Conventionally, the navigation apparatus transmits the data through multiplex broadcasting from the M station, and the navigation apparatus that receives the data adopts the differential GPS that corrects the GPS information of the own vehicle.
The position error which was small can be reduced to about 10 m. In addition, a route search function is provided in which a shortest route from the current position to the destination is detected and displayed on a map by inputting a place name, a facility address, a telephone number, or a latitude and longitude as the destination.

In recent years, by accessing the Internet from a vehicle-mounted navigation device through a mobile phone such as a PHS, sending and receiving e-mails, transmitting position information of the vehicle, and acquiring map data from a server on the Internet. Also, a navigation device that does not need to hold map data in its own vehicle has been proposed.

[0004]

However, in the conventional navigation device capable of transmitting and receiving the e-mail, when it is desired to transmit the position information obtained by the own vehicle to the partner device, for example, the latitude and longitude obtained by the GPS receiver Even if information is attached to an e-mail and transmitted, there is a problem that a map cannot be displayed on a monitor unless the partner device has a map display function.

The present invention solves such a conventional problem, and a map transmitting apparatus and a receiving apparatus capable of transmitting and receiving an electronic mail including map data even to an apparatus having no map display function. Is provided.

[0006]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a map transmitting apparatus according to the present invention comprises: a map data reading means for reading map data corresponding to an arbitrary point from a recording medium; Image processing means for converting data into image data; mail transmission means connected to a communication line for creating and transmitting an e-mail including image data from the image processing means; and control for controlling each of the means. Means. With this configuration, an e-mail in which map data is converted to image data can be created and transmitted, so that a map can be displayed on the display screen even if the partner device receiving the e-mail does not have the map display function. You can do it.

The map transmitting apparatus of the present invention is characterized in that the mail transmitting means generates an electronic mail by including information of the detected current position in the image data. By displaying the current position of the transmitting side on the partner device, the own position can be transmitted to the partner device.

The map transmitting apparatus according to the present invention is characterized in that the mail transmitting means prepares an electronic mail by including the position information of the point in the image data, and sends the mail to an arbitrary point. By displaying on the device, the promised place and destination can be transmitted to the other party.

Further, the map receiving apparatus of the present invention comprises a mail receiving means for receiving and decoding the electronic mail transmitted from the above-mentioned map transmitting apparatus, and a display means for displaying the contents of the decoded electronic mail. Therefore, the message content can be displayed by receiving the e-mail from the partner device.

Further, in the map receiving apparatus according to the present invention, when the decrypted e-mail includes image data, the electronic mail is displayed on the display means including the image data. Will be able to display the map contained in the e-mail sent from.

Further, the map receiving apparatus of the present invention, when the decrypted e-mail includes position information, reads out corresponding map data from the position information from the map data reading means and displays the map data on the display means. And a map can be displayed based on the position information included in the e-mail sent from the partner device.

Further, the map transmitting apparatus or the map receiving apparatus of the present invention comprises a storage means for storing the transmitted or received e-mail, and can store a history of the transmitted or received e-mail. Become.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a configuration of a navigation device to which the present invention is applied. In FIG. 1, a current position detecting means 1 is a GPS using a GPS receiver.
The current position of the vehicle is detected by both navigation and self-contained navigation using a vehicle speed sensor and a direction sensor. The route searching means 2 calculates an optimal route from the detected current position to the destination. The map data reading means 3 reads out nationwide map information stored in a recording medium such as a CD-ROM or a DVD-ROM, and facility information such as a gas station, a convenience store, a family restaurant, a hotel, a bank, and a post office. It is. Image processing means 4
Converts the map data read by the map data reading means 3 into image data suitable for display. Display means 5
Is a device for displaying image information such as a map and character information on a monitor screen such as a liquid crystal display.
It also has the function of dividing and displaying. Operation input means 6
Includes various operation keys provided on a front panel of the apparatus, a touch panel provided on a monitor screen, and further includes a remote controller.

[0014] The wireless communication means 7 is for wirelessly transmitting and receiving the navigation device to and from a base station in order to connect the navigation device to a communication line such as the Internet. The e-mail sending means 8 creates an e-mail and sends the e-mail to the wireless communication means 7.
To send over. The e-mail receiving means 9 decodes and analyzes the e-mail received via the wireless communication means 7. The point registration means 10 registers an arbitrary place name, an address of a facility, a telephone number, or latitude and longitude as position information.
The storage unit 11 includes a ROM storing a program, a RAM storing read / write data required for processing, and an e-mail to be transmitted / received. The control means 12 is connected to each of the above means, and is constituted by a CPU for controlling the entire system.

Next, the operation of the navigation device will be described. When the device is started from the operation input means 6, the current position detecting means 1 detects the exact position of the vehicle based on the position data received from the GPS satellites and the position data obtained from the vehicle speed sensor and the direction sensor, and the position of the vehicle is detected. The map is read from the recording medium by the map data reading means 3 based on the information, and the image processing means 4 converts the map into image data suitable for display, and displays it on the screen of the display means 5 together with the own vehicle mark indicating the current position. I do. When the route search means 2 is activated and the name, address and telephone number of the destination are input from the operation input means 6, a recommended route from the current position to the destination is searched, and the recommended route is displayed on the screen of the display means 5. Displayed along the road. In addition, the display means 5 displays the position of the vehicle, which changes momentarily as the vehicle travels, and provides voice guidance such as a turning direction when approaching a junction such as an intersection according to a recommended route. When the vehicle reaches the ground, voice guidance to that effect is provided. These controls are executed by the control means 12 according to a program.

Next, a mail transmission / reception function according to the present embodiment will be described. When the apparatus is started by an operation from the operation input unit 6, a menu display screen 21 shown in FIG. When "Mail" is selected from this screen 21, an e-mail screen 22 is displayed. When "Write / Send Mail" is selected from the screen, a mail transmission screen 23 is displayed. On this mail transmission screen 23, the "destination", "carbon copy (C
c) "," Title ", and" Contents ", fill in the necessary items and select" Send ". The mail sending means 8 creates a mail in a predetermined format and sends it to the network via the wireless communication means 7. Send out.

When the user fills in predetermined items on the screen 23 of FIG. 2 to create a mail and then selects “attach map information”, the screen of the display means 5 displays the attached map information selection screen 24 of FIG. . When "current location" is selected on the screen 24, the map data reading means 3 reads out the map data including the current position detected by the current position detecting means 1 under the control of the control means 12, and the image processing means 4 Convert to image data and attach to e-mail. Then, by selecting "Send" on the screen 23, the mail sending means 8 sends the created mail to the network via the wireless communication means 7.

When the registered point (1) is selected on the screen 24 in FIG. 2, the screen is changed to a point input screen, and the name, the area number, the telephone number, or the latitude and longitude information of the point or facility desired to be registered is inputted according to the guidance instruction. When an input is made through the operation input unit 6, the point registration unit 10 registers it in the storage unit 11. In the same way, it is possible to input several points or arbitrary points that are relay points to the destination. When the registration is completed and "Execute" is selected, the map data including the registered point is read by the map data reading means 3, and the image processing means 4 converts the data into image data and attaches it to an e-mail. Then, on the screen 23, "Send"
Is selected, the mail sending means 8 sends out the created mail to the network via the wireless communication means 7.

When the partner device is a navigation device having a map display function, the map display function of the partner device is operated and displayed only by attaching only the position information without including the map information in the e-mail. A map can be displayed on the device. In this case, after creating an e-mail on the screen 23 of FIG. 2 and selecting “Attach point information”, a screen similar to the attached point information registration screen 24 of FIG. 2 is displayed on the monitor screen. When a required item is selected from the screen 24, the coordinate information of the current position or the point is attached to the mail created by the mail sending means 8 and sent to the network.

Since the navigation device of the present embodiment has a map display function, when an e-mail attached with point information is received from a partner device, the e-mail receiving means 9 analyzes the data and performs control. Under the control of the means 12, the map data reading means 3 reads the map data corresponding to the point information and displays it on the display means 5. Also, if the received email contains map information,
A map is displayed on the display means 5 based on the data.

When an e-mail is received, a notification of the arrival of the e-mail is sent from a server on the network. Therefore, when reading the e-mail, "mail" is selected from the screen 21 of FIG. When "read" is selected, the reception list screen 25 is displayed. For example, when the sender "Hanako Tanaka" is selected on the screen 25, a mail content display screen 26 is displayed, and the content of the mail can be confirmed. At this time, if point information or map information is attached to the mail, the display of the monitor screen is divided into two and a map is displayed on one screen 27, as shown in FIG.
The content of the mail is displayed on the other screen 28. Screen 27
On the map, a destination mark 30 indicating a destination, a destination, or a meeting place is also displayed in addition to the own vehicle mark 29 indicating the position of the own vehicle of the partner who transmitted the mail.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the current position detecting means 1 for detecting the current position of the own vehicle, and the route searching means 2 for searching for the optimum route from the current position to the destination.
Map data reading means 3 for reading map data from a recording medium; image processing means 4 for converting map data into image data; display means 5 for displaying map information on a screen based on the image data; Wireless communication means 7, an e-mail including image data from the image processing means 4, a mail transmission means 8 for transmitting the e-mail via the wireless communication means 7, and an e-mail receiving via the wireless communication means 7. E-mail receiving means 9 for analyzing the data, point registration means 10 for registering an arbitrary point, storage means 11 for storing each data,
Since it has the control means 12 for controlling each means, in addition to the normal navigation function, it is possible to transmit and receive e-mail including map data, and even if the partner device does not have the map display function, A map can be displayed on the display screen.

[0023]

As described above, the present invention is provided with an e-mail transmission / reception function including map data, and displays a map on a display screen even if the partner device does not have a map display function. This allows the other side to know the location of the vehicle, specify a meeting place, enjoy driving with confidence,
When the present invention is applied to a navigation device, it is possible to achieve the multimedia, and it is possible to further increase the added value.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram showing a configuration of a navigation device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a display screen transition diagram showing mail transmission / reception processing in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a display screen diagram of a received mail according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Current position detection means 2 Route search means 3 Map data reading means 4 Image processing means 5 Display means 6 Operation input means 7 Wireless communication means 8 E-mail transmission means 9 E-mail reception means 10 Location registration means 11 Storage means 12 Control means

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) H04Q 7/38 H04B 7/26 H 109M F-term (Reference) 2F029 AA02 AB01 AB07 AB09 AC02 AC04 AC14 AC18 5B089 GA21 GA23 HA11 JB03 KA11 KH11 LA01 LA11 LA18 LB17 LB25 5H180 AA01 BB04 BB13 FF04 FF05 FF22 FF25 FF27 FF33 5K067 AA34 BB03 DD20 DD52 FF03 FF23 GG01 GG11 HH23 JJ52 9A001 BB03 BB04Z18J18 CC06

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A map data reading means for reading map data corresponding to an arbitrary point from a recording medium; an image processing means for converting the read map data into image data; A map transmitting apparatus comprising: a mail transmitting unit that creates and transmits an electronic mail including image data from an image processing unit; and a control unit that controls each of the units. 2. The map transmitting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said mail transmitting means generates an electronic mail by including information on the detected current position in the image data. 3. The map transmitting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the mail transmitting unit generates an electronic mail by including the location information of the point in the image data. 4. A mail receiving means for receiving and decoding an electronic mail transmitted from the map transmitting apparatus according to claim 1, and a display means for displaying the contents of the decoded electronic mail. Map receiving device provided. 5. The map receiving apparatus according to claim 4, wherein when the decrypted e-mail includes image data, the electronic mail is displayed on the display unit including the image data. 6. The method according to claim 4, wherein when the decrypted e-mail includes position information, corresponding map data is read from the position data from the position information and displayed on the display means. 5. The map receiving device according to 5. 7. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising storage means for storing the transmitted or received electronic mail.
7. The map transmitting device or the map receiving device according to any one of items 1 to 6.