JP2001218250A - Position information service system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To convert position information of a subscriber possessing a portable terminal and to inform a called terminal about the converted information with a means other than a call means. SOLUTION: The position information service system is provided with a storage means, that makes identification information of each terminal correspond to identification information that is informed in advance and stores it, a map information storage means that stores map information sets as a database, a position information retrieval means that retrieves position information of a mobile terminal, in response to a condition designated by the subscriber in advance, an information conversion means that arranges position information of the mobile terminal, obtained by the position information retrieval means onto the map information stored by the map information storage means to convert the position information corresponding to a display terminal being a notice destination designated in advance, and a means that maps the position information converted by the information conversion means onto a map as additional information with respect to an identification call request for sending the mapped information to a notice destination.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

2. Description of the Related Art The demand for mobile terminals has rapidly increased in recent years, and the number of users has reached tens of millions. Further, with the spread of such mobile terminals, they have been used not only as conventional terminals providing only voice but also as simple information tools for providing various additional services. As one end of this, provision of services using location information using mobile terminals is required.

[0002] Conventionally, PHS (personal han)
In a dy-phone system and a car navigation system mounted on an automobile, some information services have already been provided using position information.

[0003] The PHS can detect the current position of the person using the terminal, and by using the mechanism, the PHS
The S company and companies affiliated with it provide services for notifying users of their current location. Such a location information providing service is called P
By utilizing the features of HS and knowing which base station the PHS terminal is near by the location information center,
It specifies the approximate location of the user.

In order to acquire location information, in addition to using the PHS location information service, a GPS (Glob) is used.
al Positioning System (Global Positioning System). The GPS uses more than 20 NAVSTER satellites with a very accurate atomic clock and orbiting 21,000 km above the sky.
Radio waves from at least three satellites, preferably four or more satellites, are received, and the position of the ground moving object is measured.

In the GPS, if radio waves from three satellites can be received, a two-dimensional (latitude, longitude) position can be measured.
If radio waves from more than one satellite can be received, three-dimensional position measurement at sea level is possible. However, there is a problem that errors are always included in a certain range, and radio waves cannot be received in a tunnel or behind a building.

FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram showing a position information detecting operation by the GPS, and the basic principle of the GPS will be briefly described. As shown in FIG. 14A, the position measurement by GPS is based on triangulation from a satellite, and the distance is measured by the arrival time of radio wave information from the satellite to a measurement target on the ground. As shown in FIG. 14 (2), the distance a from the satellite A
The point of m is a radius am around the satellite A.
Shows a point somewhere on the virtual sphere of. Also, if the distance bm from the second satellite B is known, the distance a from the satellite A
It can be seen that the target of the position measurement is located somewhere on the circle where two spheres intersect by m and the distance bm from the satellite B. Further, if the distance cm from the third satellite C is known,
Two points meeting these conditions can be obtained.

Normally, one of these two points is a tremendous point not on the earth, and if one selects a common sense point on the earth, the position of the object to be measured can be obtained with three satellites. Can be.

The distance from such a satellite is calculated by measuring the time required for a radio wave (light speed) transmitted from the satellite to reach the ground, but the radio signal is transmitted from the satellite and received. In order to measure the arrival time of GPS, GPS has introduced a method of synchronizing the satellite and the receiver so as to simultaneously emit the same code in order to know the departure time of the radio signal. It receives a signal from the satellite called a pseudo-random code and observes how long ago the receiver at hand emitted the same signal.

A satellite orbiting the earth is equipped with an atomic clock, which is a precise time standard, but the time of a terrestrial receiver (called a user clock) is not always synchronized. , Correct the error of the receiver causing incomplete synchronization by measuring the fourth satellite. Thus, for accurate three-dimensional positioning, measured values from four satellites are required. Further, the more the radio waves from many satellites are used for error correction, the more accurate the measurement can be made. Such position information by GPS is used in car navigation systems and the like.

Further, if a technique called differential GPS is used as a more accurate measurement method based on the above solid-state GPS operation, an observation accuracy of 1 meter or less can be obtained. In the differential GPS, one GPS receiver is placed at a known place on the ground, and is used for accurately grasping what kind of error included in the error of the satellite is. The machine acts as a stationary reference point,
Calculate the error added to the satellite distance data. Then, the reference station receiver transmits the calculated information as error correction information to another GPS receiver, and the receiver that receives the information uses the error correction information to correct the position. That is, since the satellite is located at a very high position on the earth, the error observed by one receiver is considered to be almost the same for other receivers in the range that can be regarded as the same place, and is applied to all other receivers. In this way, error correction is performed.

[0011] Compared to GPS, using the PHS location information service consumes less power in the terminal and can be used easily. However, in the case of PHS, the location information is grasped outside the service area such as a mountain area. Can not do it. On the other hand, the GPS can receive position information even in a mountain area or the like, but the position may not be known in a valley of a building where satellites cannot be seen.

As a location information service using such a mobile terminal, there is an invention described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H11-164350, "Location Information Service Method" (see FIG. 15). In the prior art, the location information of the mobile terminal is obtained by a location registration response procedure between the base station and the mobile terminal.
The information is displayed on the display unit of another terminal that communicates with the mobile terminal and on the peripheral map displayed on the display unit of the mobile terminal itself. Also, for that purpose, the location information indicating your current location,
It has a function of recognizing the position information transmitted to another terminal in the communication slot and transmitted on the communication slot. By doing so, it is possible to easily inform the communication partner of his / her current location, and reduce the cost of the mobile terminal. Further, a display unit is provided on the receiving side, and a simple navigation function is provided by displaying the transmitted position information on a peripheral map displayed on a display. In the invention described in the above-mentioned publication, a method is used in which position information of the user is registered on the mobile terminal side and transmitted to another terminal as necessary.

[0013] The invention described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-231482 relates to a wireless telephone communication system, as shown in FIG. 16, which provides combined telephone services from different wireless telephone communication systems. Specifically, the first to provide public wireless telephone connection service
The terminal moves between the service area of the mobile terminal and the second service area for providing the private wireless telephone connection service, and mutually notifies the service area movement information of the mobile terminal, and manages the current position after moving the service area. It provides a management means to perform.

[0014] In this conventional technique, one terminal requires two terminals.
It is used when two different mobile network services are used, and detects the current position in order to know which area of the two networks the terminal is in. Then, when the originating terminal knows the position of the receiving terminal,
It determines which network to go through, and enables transfer between networks.

Further, in the mobile radio switching system of the invention described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-56474, the communication path is connected regardless of the current position of the called subscriber in the mobile radio switching system. By notifying the current position of the subscriber, it is possible for the calling subscriber to select whether or not to connect the communication channel according to the location of the called subscriber before connecting the communication channel.

[0016]

A fixed telephone can easily identify its location by using a calling number notification, but it is premised that a mobile telephone or a PHS is used while moving. In such a case, it is impossible to specify the position only by the telephone number. However, there may be situations where it is desired to inform the other party of the current location when making a call from a mobile phone or PHS, such as when meeting.

Highly convenient location information providing automatic location detection and notification in a situation where the current location must be explained, such as at an emergency call, when there is no sense of the land or when the user cannot speak. The purpose is to realize the system.

[0018]

The location information providing system of the present invention searches for the location information of a terminal in response to a call from the terminal, and sends the location information of the calling terminal to a predetermined destination. A location information providing system, comprising: storage means for storing identification information of each mobile terminal and identification information of a predetermined specific terminal in association with each other; and a map for storing a plurality of pieces of map information as a database. An information storage unit, a position information search unit that searches for position information of the mobile terminal according to a condition registered in advance by a subscriber, and a position information of the mobile terminal obtained by the position information search unit. Information conversion means for arranging on the map information stored by the information storage means and converting position information corresponding to a display terminal of a notification destination designated in advance; The location information converted by the broadcast conversion means comprises means for transmitting the notification destination mapped on the map as additional information for the incoming request.

[0019]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention is a service for notifying a current position to a partner when a call is made from a portable telephone or a PHS. First, a first embodiment will be described. In the first embodiment, the location information of the caller is displayed for an incoming call of a specific number.For example, when an emergency call is made to the police, fire department, etc. due to fire, accident, etc. The location information of the point is transmitted to the called party. That is, if the caller registers a position search request in association with the telephone number of the called party, and the call is made to that number, the position search is automatically executed regardless of the conditions of the calling party. The receiving side can receive the position of the transmitting side with map information or the like.

First, the configuration of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram of the first embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 1, a position information providing system 100 according to the present embodiment includes a position detecting device 101 for detecting a current position of a mobile terminal, and selecting and sending a map around the position from a result of accumulating map information and detecting a position. Control device 1 that controls connection with the map content server 102, the gateway 103 connected to the Internet, the position detection device 101, the map content server 102, and the gateway 103, and transmits and receives position detection information and the like to and from the mobile terminal 120.
04.

Further, between the devices in the position information providing system 100, for example, a local area network (LA)
N) 106, etc.
A control message is transmitted from the control device 104 that controls the entire position information providing system using CP / IP or the like. Also, the mobile terminal 120 and the exchange network 1
For example, a wireless section between the FDMA 30 and the FDMA (Freque
ncy Division Multiple Acc
ess), TDMA (Time Division M)
multiplexing Access), CDMA
(Code Division Multiple A
access), and performs data registration with the position information providing system and exchanges position information with the data packet or control channel (out-channel ) Is used to exchange information necessary for providing location information.

In this embodiment, an embodiment using a differential GPS system as a position measurement technique will be mainly described. However, the position measurement method is limited to this embodiment through the embodiments described below. Not something. In other words, it goes without saying that the location information providing service provided by the present invention can be implemented by replacing it with other location information detection functions such as electric field strength measurement and PHS.

The position detecting device 101 is provided with a latitude for each subscriber,
A server equipped with a correction and calculation algorithm for longitude and altitude (x, y, z).
Reference numeral 2 denotes a server having various contents and a map database. Internet gateway 10
3 has a function of transmitting information to the Internet.

The control device 104 further includes a system control unit 111 for controlling and controlling devices in the system in the position information providing system 100, and a service controller for providing switching network, service scenario control, and information transmission / reception functions. 112.

The mobile terminal 120 receives and stores signals for measurement transmitted from GPS satellites.
It has a function 121, a map content sent from the position information providing system 100, a content display function 122 for displaying position information, and a connection interface with a mobile phone or PHS as an external interface, and performs data transmission in a wireless section. It has a packet communication function 123.

The location server 106 in the position detecting apparatus 101 has a processing function equipped with a satellite position database and an algorithm for detecting a position from measured data. Thus, it plays the role of a reference station receiver in differential GPS.

Then, the mobile terminal 120 and the location server 106 communicate with each other by performing necessary error correction information to perform correction, thereby providing a user with a highly accurate position calculation function. That is, as shown in FIG. 5A, a mobile terminal having a GPS reception function for receiving and storing a signal for measuring a distance from a satellite, a position detection assistance function, and a location having a satellite position database and a position detection function. The server communicates with each other to exchange necessary error correction information, thereby causing the location server to bear the error correction information, thereby providing a more accurate position information system that reduces the processing load of the mobile terminal. providing.

FIG. 5 (2) shows a specific operation. As shown in the figure, a position search request from a mobile terminal (type terminal) transmits a wireless section using a packet or a control channel to a switching network. When the position information is transmitted to the nearest base station, the position information providing system returns, to the mobile terminal, orbit information and the like regarding a satellite having a good reception condition at the position detection device. Upon receiving this, the mobile terminal transmits the measurement signal C / A transmitted from the designated satellite.
A pseudo-random code called a code is observed, and the data thus observed is sent to a position detecting device via a switching network. The position detecting device calculates latitude / longitude information, which is the current position information of the mobile terminal, based on the information, and transmits the obtained position information to the mobile terminal.

As for the error correction, the mobile terminal receives the user's clock error as an unknown parameter and obtains the error correction information from the position detecting device. It can be configured using an inexpensive crystal oscillator instead of an oscillator or an atomic clock.

The position detecting device is installed in a place with a good view, passively tracks all the GPS satellites in the field of view via the GPS antenna 108 and the GPS receiver 107, and measures the position from the satellites. The receiver calculates the error added to the distance data of the satellite, notifies the mobile terminal of the error, and thus obtains accurate latitude / longitude information of the current position of the mobile terminal.

Next, the concept of the position information providing system of the present invention will be described. FIG. 2 shows an example of the concept of the service provided by the present invention. When requesting the dispatch of an ambulance vehicle due to an accident or the like in a place where there is no intuition of the land, it may be difficult to accurately tell the user's location. In such a case, it is important to transmit necessary information on the current position as soon as possible.

In the case where such an emergency is required, if an emergency call such as 119 is issued from a specific calling number, for example, a terminal in advance, the emergency call is immediately made when the switching network detects this call. If the location of the call terminal is known and can be confirmed by mapping it on a map, rescue operations can be started very quickly and efficiently. Specifically, a mobile terminal such as a mobile phone or a PHS registers a position search request in association with a specific number to be called to the switching network. After registering, if you make a call from a mobile phone or PHS, before connecting to the other party,
In the location information providing system, the location information of the calling terminal is searched, and the location detection result and the caller information are transmitted to a public institution system such as an external fire department or police station.

Next, a specific processing flow of this operation will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing the position detection processing operation of the system of the present invention. First, the subscriber registers data for notification of location information from the mobile terminal 120 such as a mobile phone in advance in the exchange network 13.
0 (step S301). The switching network 130 registers in the location information system of the present invention that the subscriber and the data registration for the location information notification have been performed. In this registration data, the identification information of the mobile terminal, the subscriber name, and the type of service required, for example, providing location information at the time of emergency call, and specifying other specific numbers, and providing location information to the destination terminal Information, such as to do.

When a call is made from the subscriber to a specific telephone number such as an emergency call (step S302), the switching network 130 detects the telephone number of the mobile terminal 120 as the calling source and the destination number. Then, a position information notification request is transmitted to the position information providing system (step S30).
3).

When the system control unit 104 in the position information providing system receives the position information notification request,
Based on the information included in the received request, a position search instruction is transmitted to the service controller 112 (step S304).

In response to the position search instruction, the service controller 112 transmits a position calculation request to the location server 106 having a position calculation function (step S3).
05).

The location server 106 exchanges position information such as provisional position information including satellite information and information to be corrected with the mobile terminal 120, and performs necessary error correction (step S306).

Then, the location server 106 transmits the position detection result thus obtained to the service controller 1.
12 (step S307), the service controller 112 transmits the position detection result (x, y, z coordinates) to the originating mobile terminal 12 via a dedicated line or the Internet.
A notification is sent to a public institution system such as a fire department together with the telephone number 0 (step S308).

Based on the position detection result notified in this way, the public institution system maps the information on a map and displays it, and after confirming the location of the caller,
Immediately, an emergency vehicle can be commanded to go to the place. As described above, such an example of use is a location information service such as an emergency call of 110 and 119.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the present embodiment, for an incoming call from a specific sender, the location information of the sender is displayed on the terminal of the receiver. FIG. 4 is a system configuration diagram showing a second embodiment of the present invention. In this configuration, the control device 21
4, an information conversion device 213 and an information reproducing mechanism 220 are provided. Each of the information conversion device 213 and the information reproduction mechanism 220 described here uses, based on the number of the receiving terminal detected by the control device 214, the information processing capability of the receiving terminal, that is, the capability of displaying image data on a display, the capability of displaying text, and the like. In response to this, the location information of the calling terminal is converted, each is converted into an appropriate medium, and transmitted to the receiving terminal. In the configuration example of the second embodiment, the information reproducing mechanism 220 includes the voice synthesizing / sending device 22.
1, text sending device 222, general-purpose description language sending device 2
23, and outputs the converted information to the receiving terminal via a wireless section or the like.

In the present embodiment, a destination such as a terminal for displaying a position search request and a search result from the receiving terminal to the exchange network is registered in advance, and after registration, the designated destination is designated from the mobile phone or PHS. When a call is made to the called telephone, the location information providing system detects the location of the calling terminal and inquires the map content server 212 of a target or an address from the detected location information such as latitude and longitude. The map content server 212 sends the corresponding address and target to the control device. The control device sends the result to the switching network and transmits the position detection result to the destination terminal. Examples of such uses include taxi calling, ordering before delivery, and meeting at a destination.

That is, when a mobile terminal calls a specific number registered in advance, location information is automatically searched in the system, and the destination mobile terminal or PDA (P
personal Digital Assistant
The additional information and the position are mapped and displayed on a portable information terminal such as s) or a contractor terminal (PC or the like) on the Internet.

The basic operation of the position detection processing according to the second embodiment is the same as the processing operation shown in FIG. 3, but in particular, the contents server, In the map database, the location of the destination is mapped on a map, and this location information is converted according to the type and capability of the receiving mobile terminal and output directly to the terminal. Such additional information to the mobile terminal may be configured to be provided by a short message or voice guidance.

FIG. 6 shows the operation of the second embodiment in a processing flow centered on the control device of the information providing system. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the processing operation of the control device according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

That is, when data is registered in the present location information providing system by specifying a service to be provided from the subscriber, the registration information is held in the location information providing system, and a call of the designated telephone number is made. (Step 60)
1). Then, upon receiving a location information notification request due to a call made at a number such as an emergency call, for example, number 119 (step 602), the data of the calling terminal is stored in the subscriber registration data stored in the system. A search is performed to determine whether or not it is registered.
3: Yes), a position detection request is made to the location server (step 604). Then, it waits for the position detection result to be received (step 605), and further acquires the information terminal type information of the called terminal (step 606).
The type information referred to here is a terminal number for each subscriber and information indicating what information the terminal can provide to the user.The type information is recognized based on the subscriber's telephone number, terminal information, etc. Refers to what can be done. Using such type information, specifically, information such as the resolution at which the terminal can display an image, the character display (up to the number of characters), the notification by voice message, and the like are given. You can know on the system. The identification information further includes:
It may be a predetermined identification number or the like indicating the command execution ability, other than the information storage ability.

Next, the location of the calling terminal that has detected the location, specifically, the latitude / longitude information, etc., is arranged and displayed on a map for the content server holding the map information (called mapping). A request is made (step 607). The map content server has at least the information of the wide area map, the area, and the detailed map of the area controlled by the target mobile terminal in cooperation with a database in the location information providing system or a content server having external map information. From these databases, map information at a desired position can be indexed by specifying position information such as latitude and longitude, and a target position can be pointed to the indexed map. Can be shown.

As described above, when the mapping result on the map is obtained (step 608), the mapping result is converted into the obtained information according to the information terminal type information of the called terminal (step 609). Conversion device 213
Then, by the processing of the information reproducing mechanism 220, the information is converted into an information format that can be handled by the receiving terminal, and the result of the position information is transmitted to the receiving terminal (step 610). As a specific example of the operation of the information reproducing mechanism, a medium corresponding to the processing capability of the information terminal transmitting the image, for example, in the case of image data, the number of display dots is reduced, the number of colors is reduced, and the display terminal can decode Java, HTML. (Hypertext Ma
rkup Language) to generate a command to execute a predetermined operation, or to generate position information data corresponding to not only the processing capability of an information terminal but also the transfer speed of an exchange network or a wireless section. To perform compression conversion and the like.

As described above, in the second embodiment, when a call is made to a pre-designated called terminal number,
It is configured such that the position information of the calling terminal is directly displayed on the called terminal and the like, and is particularly useful for, for example, a meeting such as a taxi call.

Next, a third embodiment will be described.
In the present embodiment, the display condition of the position information is designated in advance by the user to the position information providing system, and when a certain condition is satisfied, the information is newly provided according to the condition. is there.

For example, as shown in FIG. 7, when a vehicle or the like moves to a certain notified position, the degree of detail of the required map information becomes different as the distance increases and approaches the target point. . That is, from a remote location,
When heading for that point, more extensive map information is desirable, and for nearby points, detailed information such as what corner of the 4-chome address is required. For this reason, it is desirable to provide more detailed mapping information when a vehicle or the like equipped with a receiving terminal enters a certain distance from a target point.

FIG. 8 shows a processing flow of the operation of the terminal which requests the conversion of the information to be displayed from the terminal according to the distance to the destination. When the receiving terminal receives an incoming request from the transmitting terminal and receives position information from the transmitting terminal via the position information providing system (step 80).
1) Display the map information and the like converted by the information terminal type of the receiving terminal as described in the second embodiment (step 802).

Further, the G built in the receiving terminal and the transmitting terminal
The PS function communicates with the position information providing system to monitor whether the receiving terminal is within a predetermined distance from a target point (step 803), and when it is detected that the receiving terminal is within a certain distance (step 803). : Yes), the receiving terminal issues an information conversion display request to the location information providing system (step 804).

The position information providing system which has received the information conversion request from such a terminal accesses the map content server and provides more detailed map mapping information. Here, the mode in which the information conversion display request is transmitted from the receiving terminal has been described. However, the position information receiving system detects the position of the receiving terminal and automatically and stepwise provides detailed map information. It is also possible to carry out.

Further, as an application of the present embodiment, a method of specifying a position based on the electric field strength from a mobile terminal at a plurality of radio base stations and a position specifying method by GPS are combined, so that a fixed distance from a destination is fixed. When the distance comes, by switching the position detection method and providing information,
It is also possible to configure so that appropriate information can be provided while avoiding mutual disadvantages.

Also, depending on the type of the receiving side information terminal,
When map information as image data cannot be performed, call the calling terminal with an alarm etc. when approaching a certain distance to confirm the approach to the destination,
It is also possible to carry out confirmation of information by voice and display of a text message.

Further, in the third embodiment, the case where the receiving condition is registered from the receiving terminal is described. However, the processing is omitted such that a default value is set in advance, or the information providing terminal or Needless to say, it can be configured to be designated from the calling terminal. Such an embodiment is used for road guidance and the like.

Next, a fourth embodiment will be described.
In the present embodiment, a function for selecting the accuracy of the position information provided from the searched side is provided. As described above, the present invention notifies the designated notification destination of its own location information.However, with regard to privacy, there is a need not to notify the other party of very detailed current location information. Conceivable.

In response to such needs, the level of detail of the location information to be transmitted to the notification destination is divided into levels,
The information of the specified level of detail is notified to the other party. To explain with a specific example, (level 1) GP
Original position ascended in S, (level 2) 100 m around original position ascended in GPS, (level 3)
An address centered on the original position of the throne in GPS,
(Level 4) A function to select the level at which the searched side, such as the nearest station (level 4), notifies its position to the other party is provided.

To explain the above example, when level 1 is set, detailed original measurement position information (latitude, longitude) acquired by GPS measurement or the like is mapped on a detailed map. Next, when a level 2 is designated and a notification of how many meters are in the vicinity is requested, the width of the error correction of the position information detected by the position detecting device is set loosely in advance, and the error is set. Report the results included. Alternatively, exact position information may be observed, and when notifying the other party, specific and detailed information of several tens of meters or less may not be notified.

Further, in response to the service requests of the above-mentioned levels 3, 4 and the like, in the position information providing system, based on the output result of the position detecting device, information such as an address, station information, etc. It is configured to include location information, etc., and the obtained location belongs to which address on the map information, or the location information of the station existing in the corresponding area is compared with the original current location, and the nearest station And transmitting it to the receiving terminal.

As described above, by dividing the detail level to be notified and selecting and notifying the information level to be notified to the partner on the searched side, there is an advantage that unnecessary information is not notified to the partner. is there. In the present embodiment,
The position information providing system, in addition to the above-described solid configuration, sets and stores notification conditions classified into levels, and sets or obtains an error width of position information calculated by the position information detection device based on the conditions. It is configured to have a function of inquiring the obtained position information with information of a content server having map information and outputting information of conditions to be notified.

Next, a fourth embodiment will be described. In the present embodiment, the purpose is to allow a person having a portable terminal such as a mobile phone or a PHS to simultaneously know the positions of a plurality of other parties by means other than a telephone call, and to determine the position by GPS for this purpose. Then, the result is displayed on a portable terminal such as a PDA with a peripheral map and the current locations of a plurality of persons.

For example, there is no problem when all members are together for the same purpose while acting as a group. However, there are cases where an individual wants to act, for example, when he wants to go to a different place or wants to take a short stop. For example, when a plurality of people go to a theme park or go to a shopping mall, the target shop may be different. It would be time-consuming and labor-intensive to go all the way to the desired shop. If you decide the place and time for a meeting and take the measure of free action, you may be worried about time and may not be able to see it until you are satisfied.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, it is possible to check the current location of all the members on a map and to join together from the person who has finished business with the nearest person without being restricted by time or place. .

FIG. 9 is a configuration diagram of a position information providing system according to the fifth embodiment. The position information providing system according to the present embodiment includes, in addition to the position detection device and the control device, a broadcast service device for broadcasting group members of the same group with each other about position information.

With such a configuration, each piece of information is compounded from each group member's latitude / longitude information, which is the position information obtained from the position detecting device, and is transmitted to each group member's portable terminal as broadcast information. Notify.

The portable terminal referred to here has a character input function, a function for storing map data having latitude and longitude information, and a function for inputting member information to be searched for a position from an external interface. Function to accumulate,
When a member's latitude / longitude and information for identification are input from an external interface, it has a function of pointing the position on a map.

Further, when pointing, the input identification information is compared with the member information (name, mobile phone, PHS number, etc.) input from the external interface so that the name can be determined so as to determine which point is who. It is desirable to have a function of displaying such information together,
Although the upper limit of the number of points on the map is not particularly defined, it is appropriately set according to the application.

Further, it has a color classification and a name display function so that it can be understood who the point is. When displaying a map on the mobile phone or the PHS main body, latitude and longitude data from the network, instead of data from the external interface, are reflected and displayed on a map built in the mobile phone or the PHS.

Next, the operation flow of the present embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 10 is a process flow illustrating a service flow according to the fifth embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 10, when any one of the group wants to provide such a location information service, first, the user calls the location information center (step 901). The location information providing system that has received the service request via the switching network searches whether or not the data of the group member relating to the subscriber is registered. If the data is not registered, the location information providing system shown in FIG. An instruction to display a report group registration screen on the portable terminal is issued. FIG. 12 is an example of a location information broadcast group registration screen displayed on the display of the mobile terminal of the subscriber. In this way, the subscriber name and mobile or PHS number to be registered as a group are registered for all group members. For example, in the example shown in the figure, a service requester is registered in item number 1, and a name, a mobile number, and the like are input. At this time, the input name may be a nickname or the like that can be identified within the group members.

After all the group members have been registered as described above, a condition for searching for position information is input. As a specific example, a search start time or a search interval of position information is registered (step 904). In this manner, when the data registration and the position search condition are input to the position information providing system, when the registered position search start condition is met, for example, when a predetermined search start time comes, the position The information providing system starts searching for the location information of each mobile terminal belonging to the group identified internally by the management number, adds a name etc. corresponding to the location information such as latitude and longitude, and adds The data is edited so that it can be displayed on the terminal, and the data is displayed on the display periodically or when the display is designated on each of the mobile terminals of the group members. Further, the location information search and the information provision are executed until a call is made to the location information center of the subscriber and a service stop request is received by an operation on the terminal or a predetermined termination condition is satisfied.

Next, the detailed operation of this embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIG. From one of the mobile terminal groups a, b,..., N constituting the group,
When data registration is performed (step S921), the control device in the position information providing system assigns a management number for managing the registered group (step S92).
2), the control device notifies the broadcast notification service device of the registered data and the assigned management number (step S92).
3).

The broadcast service apparatus which has received the group data and the management number accumulates the data (step S924). In addition, the start time and the search interval which are the conditions for the position search transmitted from the portable terminal a are described. When such information is input (step S925), the control device similarly notifies the broadcast service device of these search conditions (step S926).

When the registered predetermined search condition is satisfied, the broadcast service device transmits a position search request using this as a trigger (step S927), and the control device sends the position search request together with necessary terminal information to the position search request. The information is transmitted to the detection device (step S928).

The position detecting device performs a series of position searching processes for each terminal of the group members (by performing step S929,
The position detection device calculates the latitude / longitude information of the portable terminal of the group member (step S930), and notifies the broadcast service device of the obtained latitude / longitude information (step S93).
1).

The broadcast service device edits and integrates the acquired position information data for each group (step S932), and sends the position information (latitude / longitude) and information such as the corresponding name to the control device. Notify (Step S
933), the position information providing system notifies the portable terminal groups a, b,..., N constituting the group of the current position information of the group members (step S314).

FIG. 13 is an image of a position information display screen according to the position information providing service of the fifth embodiment.

With this configuration, it is possible to confirm the positions of all the plurality of persons who are acting together on a map if all of them have portable terminals. The position measured to represent the current position on the map is assumed to have latitude / longitude information.

Next, an application example of the fifth embodiment will be described. In this application example, a message distribution function is provided at the same time as the broadcast notification of the position information. That is, after the position of the group member is displayed on the map, the meeting place or the like is indicated by C-HTML (Compact-HT).
ML) and WAP (Wireless AccessPr)
otocol), a short message, a text, etc., and displayed on the screen.

FIG. 13B shows an image. By configuring in this way, the current position of each group member can be known to each other, and at the same time, the schedule of meeting points, meeting times, precautions, etc. can be shared, so that all members of the group can share information. The desired action can be smoothly taken.

[0082]

The present technology seems to require the use of a location information detection method for location identification in portable telephones and PHSs.

In the present invention, a person who has a mobile phone or PHS registers his / her position detection request in the exchange network in advance, so that the current position of the calling terminal is searched, and only the person who wants to know the position can find his / her own position. It was possible to promptly notify the position detection result.

Further, when an outgoing call is made, for example, at the time of an emergency call, the location of the calling terminal is automatically searched for the specific number, so that there is an advantage that the emergency processing can be performed smoothly.

Further, by centrally managing the location information of the mobile terminal, there is an effect of relatively reducing the processing load and cost of the terminal. In addition, notification conditions can be set in advance by the subscriber of the calling terminal, and can be converted into necessary information and transmitted to the other party, so that the privacy of the caller, the convenience of the called side, etc. We also provide information means that take into account.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the concept of a service provided by the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a position detection processing operation according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a system configuration diagram of a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram for explaining an operation of position detection.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a processing operation according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing the concept of a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a processing flow showing an operation of a terminal according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a system configuration diagram of a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a processing operation according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a position detection processing operation according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is an image of a data registration screen from a portable terminal according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13A is a position information display screen image according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. (2) A position information display screen image of an application example of the fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram showing a position detection operation by GPS.

FIG. 15 is a system configuration diagram showing a conventional technique.

FIG. 16 is a system configuration diagram showing a conventional technique.

[Explanation of symbols]

100, 210 Location information providing system 101, 211 Location information detection device 102, 212 Map content server 103 Gateway 104, 214 Controller 105 External content server 106 Location server 107 GPS receiver 108 GPS antenna 109 Local area network 111 System control unit 112 Service Controller 120, 241 Mobile terminal 121 GPS function 122 Content display function 123 Packet communication function 130, 230 Switching network 131a, 131b, 131c Mobile phone or PHS 132a, 132b, 132c Mobile terminal (map display)
￥ 213 Information conversion device 220 Information reproduction mechanism 221 Speech synthesis / transmission device 222 Text transmission device 223 General-purpose description language transmission device 242 Moving vehicle (mounted mobile terminal) 301 Broadcast service device

Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat II (Reference) H04B 7/26 109S H04Q 7/04 D

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A location information providing system for performing a search for location information of a terminal in response to a call from the terminal, and providing the location information of the calling terminal to a notification destination designated in advance. The location information providing system includes a storage unit that holds identification information of each terminal in association with identification information of a predetermined notification destination by a registration operation from a subscriber, and stores the identification information of the terminal to a notification destination called from the terminal. A location information search unit that searches for the location information of the terminal by using the incoming call request as a trigger, and a unit that notifies the called party of the searched location information as additional information to the incoming call request. Information system. 2. A location information providing system for searching for location information of a mobile terminal and providing location information of the calling terminal to a designated notification destination, wherein the location information providing system comprises: A storage unit that stores a telephone number of a terminal and a predetermined specific telephone number in association with each other; a map information storage unit that stores a plurality of pieces of map information as a database; and a specific telephone called from the mobile terminal. A position information search unit that searches for position information of the mobile terminal, triggered by the occurrence of an incoming call request to a number, and the position information of the mobile terminal obtained by the position information search unit, An information conversion unit that arranges the map information to be stored and converts the position information corresponding to a display terminal of a notification destination specified in advance; Position information providing system characterized in that it comprises means for transmitting the converted location information, the notification destination mapped on the map as the supplementary information for the incoming request Te. 3. The location information providing system converts the location information obtained from the location information search means from a subscriber based on a notification condition set and registered in advance,
4. The location information providing system according to claim 3, wherein a notification is sent to a predetermined notification destination. 4. A location information providing system for performing a search for location information of a terminal in response to a call of the terminal, and providing the location information of the calling terminal to a notification destination designated in advance. The location information providing system includes: a storage unit that stores a telephone number of each mobile terminal and a predetermined specific telephone number in association with each other; a map information storage unit that stores a plurality of pieces of map information as a database; A position information search unit that searches for position information of the mobile terminal, triggered by the occurrence of an incoming call request to a specific telephone number called from the terminal; and a position of the mobile terminal obtained by the position information search unit. The information conversion is performed by arranging information on the map information stored by the map information storage means and converting the position information corresponding to the display terminal of the notification destination designated in advance. Conversion means, means for mapping the position information converted by the information conversion means on a map as additional information for the incoming call request and transmitting the information to a notification destination, and searching for a position between the calling terminal and the called terminal An observing means for measuring the mutual distance from time to time, based on a condition set in advance by the subscriber, and mapping and providing the map information with an accuracy corresponding to the observed distance. Information system. 5. Based on information about a group member registered in advance by a subscriber, position information of a plurality of terminals is grouped and managed, and the location of the registered group member is stored on a terminal owned by the group member. A location information providing system for displaying, wherein the terminal has a registration unit for inputting a group member belonging to a group, identification information thereof, and a search condition, and registering the location information in the location information providing system. Starting a search based on the registered search conditions based on the registered search conditions, searching for the position information of the terminal of each group member, and editing the position information data obtained for the group member. 3. A location information providing system according to claim 2, further comprising means for notifying on each terminal of the group. . 6. The location information providing system further comprises means for displaying, on each terminal of the group, all group member location information mapped on a map, and mutually transmitting message information from group members. The position information providing system according to claim 5, wherein 7. A location information providing system that searches for location information of a terminal in response to a call from the terminal, and provides location information of the calling terminal to a notification destination designated in advance. The position information providing system receives a position measurement signal transmitted from a satellite and exchanges the position measurement signal information obtained by each terminal with each other to specify a position information of each terminal. Control device for controlling the position information, a map content server for storing map information for mapping the position information, and an information conversion unit for converting the searched position information into information corresponding to the notification destination information terminal. The information conversion unit reads the terminal type information of the information terminal of the notification destination, converts the position information into a medium corresponding to the terminal type information, and transmits the medium. System. 8. The position information providing system according to claim 6, wherein said position information search means searches for position information using a position information providing service of GPS or PHS. 9. A location information providing system which searches for location information of a terminal in response to a call from the terminal and provides the location information of the calling terminal to a notification destination designated in advance. The location information system stores a notification condition of the location information of the terminal registered by the subscriber, and a means for observing whether or not the notification condition is satisfied. A location information providing system, comprising: means for editing the information, converting the information into an information format corresponding to the terminal type of the notification destination, and notifying the information. 10. The terminal according to claim 1, further comprising: a position detection assisting function for detecting position information;
Registration means for registering a notification condition of location information to a notification destination;
10. The position information providing system according to claim 9, further comprising a transmitting unit that transmits the registered notification condition and the control request, and a display unit that displays the acquired position information.