JP2008224520A - Position display device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a position display device easy to use in displaying one's own position and the other party's position on the same map. <P>SOLUTION: Determination of the direction of a map can be performed based on not only one's own position information but also the other party's position information while it is made possible to display a map viewed from the other party's view point. When the direction of the map cannot be determined from the position information, the north in the map is put on the topside. It can be arbitrarily selected whether the one's own position information is used or the other party's is used to determine the direction of the map. Further, when taking a photograph to be sent to the other party, the direction of the map is automatically determined based on the other party's position information. Taking a photograph in conformity with the moving direction of the map makes it possible to photograph a scene viewed from the other party's view point. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

The present invention relates to a position display device that displays a position of a moving object on a map.

As a position display device for displaying the position of a moving body on a map, a car navigation device using GPS information is generally used, but in recent years, a service for displaying one's position on a map has been started even on a mobile phone. ing. On the other hand, various proposals have been made to enable the user to grasp the mutual relationship between the opponent and the other person on the map by simultaneously displaying the positions of others in the vicinity on the same map.
JP 2000-33284 A JP 2005-17200 A

However, when displaying a position on a map, there are various problems that must be specifically considered. Conventionally, practical studies on these problems are not always sufficient, and an easy-to-use position display device has not been provided.

In view of the above, an object of the present invention is to provide a position display device that is easy to use when displaying one's own position and the position of another person on the same map.

In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention provides a wireless communication unit that receives externally acquired absolute position information, a map information providing unit that can provide map information, and the wireless communication on a map based on map information. There is provided a position display device comprising map display means for displaying a position based on absolute position information received by the means and determination means for determining a change in absolute position information. As a result, it is possible to take measures suitable for changes in the absolute position received from the outside.

According to a specific feature of the present invention, there is provided control means for determining the direction of the map displayed by the map display means based on the determination result of the determination means. This makes it possible to display the map in a direction that matches the change in the absolute position received from the outside using the determination result of the determination means, and display the map from the other party's viewpoint.

According to a more specific feature of the present invention, the direction of the map is determined as a predetermined direction when the determination result of the determination means is not obtained. As a result, for example, it is possible to cope with a case where a change in absolute position information cannot be determined at the start of reception of absolute position information acquired externally. The position display device according to claim 2, wherein:

According to another specific feature of the present invention, there is further provided absolute position acquisition means for acquiring its own absolute position information, and the map display means is arranged on the map based on the map information provided by the map information output means. The absolute position information acquired by the absolute position acquisition means and the absolute position information received by the wireless communication means are displayed so as to be distinguishable from each other. Thus, the present invention can cope with a change in the position of the opponent even when both the position of the opponent and the position of the opponent are displayed on the map.

According to the more specific feature of the present invention, a self-position change determining means for determining a change in absolute position information acquired by the absolute position acquiring means is provided. Thus, it is possible to cope with a change in the absolute position of itself.

According to the more specific feature of the present invention, the direction of the map displayed by the map display means is determined based on the determination result of the own position change determination means. As a result, it is possible to display a map in a direction that matches the absolute position change of the user.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an instruction means for instructing whether to determine the direction of the map based on the determination result of the position change determination means or the position change determination means. As a result, it is possible to display a map from either one's own viewpoint or the other party's viewpoint. The above instructions can be given arbitrarily. For example, when calling while viewing the same map, it is possible to arbitrarily change one's own map display to a map display in the direction in which the other party is viewing. On the other hand, it is possible to automatically detect that a predetermined condition has been met and to give an instruction for automatically determining which determination result should be adopted.

According to another feature of the invention, a first absolute position acquisition means for acquiring its own first absolute position information and a wireless communication means for receiving the second absolute position information acquired by an external second absolute position acquisition means Map information providing means capable of providing map information, map display means for displaying the position based on the first absolute position information and the position based on the second absolute position information on the map based on the map information so as to be distinguishable from each other; There is provided a position display device having instruction means for automatically instructing the direction of the map displayed by the map display means based on the second absolute position information prior to photographing by the photograph photographing means.

According to the above feature, prior to taking a picture, the orientation of the map displayed on the position display device is the direction based on the second position information. Therefore, if you hold your own position display device so that the direction of travel of the opponent by this display can be seen naturally, the optical axis of the photographic means attached to the position display device will be in a direction that can be seen from the line of sight of the other party. Therefore, if a photograph is taken and sent to the other party, the photograph becomes a landscape that can be seen in front of the other party's direction of travel and becomes useful guidance information for the other party together with the shared map information.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a first example of a position display device according to an embodiment of the present invention. The first embodiment constitutes a vehicle navigation system and includes a first vehicle 2, a second vehicle 4, and a car navigation base station 6. Although only two vehicles are illustrated in FIG. 1 for the sake of simplicity, the present invention is a system applicable to a plurality of vehicles including third and fourth vehicles.
The first vehicle 2 includes a first control unit 8 including a computer that controls the entire vehicle, and controls the first vehicle function unit 12 in accordance with an operation of the first operation unit 10 by a driver of the vehicle. The function of the first control unit 8 is executed by software stored in the first storage unit 14. The first storage unit 14 also temporarily stores various data necessary for controlling the entire vehicle. Further, the first control unit 8 controls the first display unit 16 to perform GUI display necessary for operation of the first operation unit 10 and display a control result.

The first GPS unit 18 obtains information on the latitude, longitude, and altitude, which are absolute position information of the first vehicle 2, from the satellite and the nearest broadcasting station based on the GPS system, and sends the information to the first control unit 8. The first car navigation function unit 20 processes absolute position information from the first GPS unit 18 obtained via the first control unit 8 and displays the position of the first vehicle 2 on the map on the first display unit 16. To do. The first vehicle 2 further includes a first telephone function unit 22 and a first telephone communication unit 24. These are for wireless communication via a telephone line including a normal call. The first vehicle 2 is further provided with a first short-range communication unit 26 using a wireless LAN or the like, and wireless communication with other vehicles traveling in the short-range communication area is possible.

On the other hand, the second vehicle 4 includes a second control unit 28, a second operation unit 30, a second vehicle function unit 32, a second storage unit 34, a second display unit 36, a second GPS unit 38, and a second car navigation system. A functional unit 40, a second telephone function unit 42, a second telephone communication unit 44, and a second short-range communication unit 46 are provided. The second short-range communication unit 46 exchanges absolute position information obtained by each GPS unit by communication with the first short-range communication unit 26 of the first vehicle 2. Details thereof will be described later. In addition, since the function of each other structure of the 2nd vehicle 4 is the same as that of the structure corresponding to the 1st vehicle 2, description is abbreviate | omitted. The car navigation base station 6 has a base station control unit 48 formed of a computer that controls the entire base station, and executes necessary functions by software stored in the base station storage unit 50. The base station storage unit 50 temporarily stores various data necessary for executing functions in the base station control unit 48. The base station telephone communication unit 52 can communicate with the first telephone communication unit 24 and the second telephone communication unit 44 via a telephone line. Supports the function of the two-vehicle 4. The base station car navigation management unit 54 and the base station GPS management unit relate to such support, and details thereof will be described later.

Next, the cooperation between the first vehicle 2 and the second vehicle 4 will be described focusing on the first vehicle 2. As described above, the first car navigation function unit 20 processes the absolute position information from the first GPS unit 18 obtained via the first control unit 8 and determines the position of the first vehicle 2 on the map. It is displayed on one display unit 16. In addition to the above, the first short-range communication unit 26 receives the absolute position information of the second vehicle 4 from the second GPS unit 38 via the second control unit 28 by communication with the second short-range communication unit 46. . The received absolute position information of the second vehicle 4 is sent to the first car navigation function unit 20 via the first control unit 8 and is similar to the absolute position information of the first vehicle 2 from the first GPS unit 18. Processing is performed by the first car navigation function unit 20, and the position of the second vehicle 4 on the map is displayed on the first display unit 16. As a result, the first display unit 16 displays the position of the first vehicle 2 and the position of the second vehicle 4 traveling in the short-range communication range on the map. Can be listed. This prevents the following vehicle from getting lost even if the preceding vehicle and the following vehicle cannot be seen from each other, such as when touring between friends. Such a cooperative state is hereinafter abbreviated as “twin navigation”. The above function is the same in the second vehicle 4, and the absolute position information of the first vehicle 2 received by the second short-range communication unit 46 is processed by the second car navigation function unit 40, and the second vehicle 4 itself The positions of the first vehicle 2 traveling in the near field communication range are displayed in a list on the same map. As described above, in “twin navigation”, the first vehicle 2 and the second vehicle 4 are in a state of sharing the absolute position information of the other party. In addition, regarding the cooperation between the first vehicle 2 and the second vehicle 4, in addition to the above, both vehicles receive the speed information obtained from the first vehicle function unit 12 and the second vehicle function unit 32 in the first short distance. The communication unit 26 and the second short-range communication unit 46 are exchanged. Use of these speed information will be described later.

The car navigation base station 6 performs system maintenance and supports when the vehicles are out of the short-range communication range. First, for the latter support, relay is performed when the first vehicle 2 and the second vehicle 4 cannot exchange the absolute position information by the short-range communication unit. When the above situation occurs, for example, the absolute position information of the second vehicle 4 is sent from the second telephone communication unit 44 to the base station telephone communication unit 52, and is controlled by the base station control unit 48 and, if necessary, the base station This is transferred from the base station telephone communication unit 52 to the first telephone communication unit 24 based on the processing in the car navigation management unit 54. Note that communication via a telephone line can be directly performed between the first telephone communication unit 24 and the second telephone communication unit 44 without using such a relay by the car navigation base station 6. However, according to the relay of the car navigation base station 6 as described above, each vehicle can use the car navigation base station 6 as a communication partner in any case. Settings and communication conditions can be unified. On the other hand, with regard to system maintenance, the base station telephone communication unit 52 is connected from the base station car navigation management unit 54 or the base station GPS management unit 56, such as when a function upgrade or maintenance data is generated for a car navigation system or GPS system. Then, upgrade data and maintenance data are transmitted to vehicles such as the first vehicle 2 and the second vehicle 4 that have joined the system. The first vehicle 2 and the second vehicle 4 receive these data at the first telephone communication unit 24 and the second telephone communication unit 44, and perform maintenance of the car navigation function units 20 and 40 and the GPS units 18 and 38, respectively. .

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the basic functions of the first control unit 8 or the second control unit 28 of FIG. 1 and starts when the vehicle engine is started or the car navigation function unit is turned on. The following description will be made with the first vehicle 2 as the center. Therefore, the following flowchart will be described as the function of the first control unit 8 unless otherwise specified. When the flow is started by starting the engine of the first vehicle 2 or turning on the first car navigation function unit, in step S2, it is checked whether or not “twin navigation” is requested from another vehicle through short-range communication. And if there exists a request | requirement, it will progress to step S4 and will check whether the 1st car navigation function part 20 of the own vehicle is turned on. At this time, if the first car navigation function unit 20 is not on, the process proceeds to step S6, which is automatically turned on and proceeds to step S8. On the other hand, if the first car navigation function unit 20 is turned on when the engine is started in step S4, the process directly proceeds to step S8. As described above, Step S4 and Step S6 execute a function of automatically turning on the car navigation system of the own vehicle by the control from the other vehicle.

In step S8, the menu display of the car navigation function is started, but the process further proceeds to step S9, and at this time, a display related to a “twin navigation” request from another vehicle is added to the menu. This menu is not displayed unless there is a “twin navigation” request from another vehicle. Next, in step S10, it is checked whether or not the first vehicle 2 is traveling. If the vehicle is traveling, a recommendation such as “stop and operate if possible” is made in step S11, and the process proceeds to step S12. If the vehicle is not traveling, the process proceeds directly to step S12. This is to alert the driver to the danger of performing a car navigation operation that distracts attention while driving. In step S12, it is checked whether or not a “twin navigation” consensus operation has been performed by the driver of the first vehicle 2. If there is an agreement operation, the process proceeds to step S14, and a response to the effect of agreement is transmitted to the other vehicle that has requested “twin navigation”. After that, in step S16, a “Twin Navi” stop operation is taken so that it can be accepted anytime, and the “Twin Navi” process in Step S18 is entered. Details thereof will be described later.

On the other hand, when there is no “twin navigation” request from another vehicle by short-range communication in step S2, the process proceeds to step S20 to check whether the first car navigation function unit 20 of the own vehicle is on. If it is not ON, the process proceeds to step S22, and it is checked whether or not there is an ON operation by the driver. If there is no on operation, the process returns to step S2, and the loop of step S2, step S20, and step S22 is repeated unless a "twin navigation" request from another vehicle or the driver's own on operation is performed. If it is detected in step S22 that the driver has operated to turn on the first car navigation function unit 20, the process proceeds to step S24, the first car navigation function unit 20 is turned on, and the process proceeds to step S26. If the first car navigation function unit 20 has already been turned on in step S20, the process proceeds directly to step S24.

In step S26, menu display of the car navigation function is started, and it is checked in step S28 whether another vehicle is within the communication range of the first short-range communication unit 26. If there is another vehicle in the communication range, the process proceeds to step S30. At this time, a display relating to the “twin navigation” request for the other vehicle is added to the menu, and the process proceeds to step S32. On the other hand, when there is no other vehicle in the communication range in step S28, the item related to “twin navigation” is not displayed on the menu, and the process directly proceeds to step S32. As a result of the "Twin Navi" request from the other vehicle in Step S2, the process reaches Step S12, and if the operation for agreeing to the "Twin Navi" request from the other vehicle is not performed, the process proceeds to Step S32. become. In step S32, the other vehicle is requested to “twin navigation”, and it is checked whether or not there is an agreement from the other vehicle. If there is another vehicle for which the request is agreed, the process proceeds to step S16 and the “twin navigation” process in step S18 is entered. On the other hand, if a "twin navigation" request is not made or requested in step S32, but no agreement response is received from any other vehicle, the process proceeds to step S34. In the above, when the process directly reaches step S32 from step S28, or when the process reaches step S32 from step S12, the process usually proceeds to step S34. In step S34, a “twin navigation” request from another vehicle is processed so that it can be received at any time, and the normal navigation process of step S36 is entered. Details of the process determination process in step S32 will be described later.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing details of the “twin navigation” process in step S18 of FIG. When the flow starts, identification information (ID) of the car navigation system of the other vehicle that has agreed to “twin navigation” in step S42 is confirmed. In step S44, it is checked whether or not the first car navigation function unit 20 has been set so as to be compatible with the car navigation system of other vehicles based on the confirmed identification information. In step S44, if the checked car navigation system of the other vehicle has not been set, the process proceeds to step S46, and the communication form that handles the latitude / longitude / altitude data of the other vehicle received from the car navigation system of the other vehicle is the first. Conversion is performed so that the car navigation function unit 20 can cope. Furthermore, in step S48, the data contents of the latitude, longitude, and altitude of the other vehicle are converted into expressions that can be handled by the first car navigation function unit 20. And the above conversion setting is memorize | stored in the 1st memory | storage part 14 for every identification information of another vehicle, and it progresses to step S52. On the other hand, if the car navigation system of the checked other vehicle is already set in step S44, the process proceeds directly to step S52. Therefore, in the case of another vehicle having identification information that has passed step S50 from step S46, the process directly goes from step S44 to step S52.

In step S52, it is checked whether the other vehicle is still in the commuting range of the first short-range communication unit 26 at that time. If it is within the near field communication range, the process proceeds to step S54, and the first near field communication unit 26 receives the absolute position information of the other vehicle, for example, the second vehicle 4 acquired by the second GPS unit 38 of the second vehicle 4. To do. In step S54, the speed information of the second vehicle 4 from the second vehicle function unit 32 is also received. In step S54, the received absolute position information and speed information are further stored and stored in the first storage unit 14 as a history until at least a series of “twin navigation” is completed. The use of this history information will be described later. In the above, for example, when the second vehicle 4 is ahead and the third vehicle is further following the first vehicle 2 in the near field communication range, the absolute position information and speed information of the second vehicle 4 are obtained in step S54. Relay to the third vehicle. As a result, even if the second vehicle 4 and the third vehicle are directly outside the short-range communication range, the relay function of the first vehicle 2 that is in the middle of both vehicles and is within the short-range communication range with each vehicle Both vehicles can exchange mutual absolute position information and speed information by short-range communication.

Next, in step S56, an inter-vehicle distance from another vehicle that has received the absolute position information is calculated. At this time, when there are three or more vehicles including the own vehicle, the inter-vehicle distances in all combinations are calculated. Further, in step S58, the map information of the first car navigation function unit 20 is acquired as information on the radio wave environment for near field communication between “twin navigation” vehicles. This is for grasping the situation where the radio wave environment is worse than normal from the topography even if short-distance communication is possible only from the inter-vehicle distance calculated in step S56. After the above, it will reach step S60 and it will be checked whether there is a risk of being outside the service area at the limit of the near field communication range. If there is a risk, a warning “out of service area” is displayed in step S62, and the process proceeds to step S64. On the other hand, if there is no near-field communication risk in step S60, the process directly proceeds to step S64. By contacting such “out-of-range caution” warning, it is possible to take measures such as reducing the speed of the leading vehicle and increasing the speed of the following vehicle while confirming safety, and can maintain short-range communication.

In step S64, a “twin navigation” display process is performed, details of which will be described later. After the process of step S64, the flow returns to step S52. Hereinafter, unless it is detected that the mobile phone is out of the short-range communication range in step S52, step S52 to step S64 are repeated to continue the “twin navigation” function. If it is detected in step S52 that the other vehicle has gone out of the near range, the process proceeds to step S66 to store the absolute position information and speed information of the other vehicle obtained by communication immediately before going out of the near range, Proceed to S68. In step S68, the “twin navigation” state is complementarily maintained by the out-of-range processing, details of which will be described later. Next, in step S70, it is checked whether or not the other vehicle has returned to the near field communication range. If the other vehicle has entered the communication range, the process proceeds to step S54 and returns to the loop from step S52 to step S64. On the other hand, if it is not detected in step S70 that the other vehicle is within the short-range communication area, the process returns to step S68. Hereinafter, unless a return to the short-range area is detected in step S70, the loop of steps S68 and 70 is complementary. Continue the "Twin Navi" state.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing details of the “twin navigation” request and agreement process in step S32 of FIG. When the flow starts, it is checked in step S82 whether or not an operation for requesting “twin navigation” from the own vehicle to another vehicle is performed. If there is a “twin navi” request operation for another vehicle, the process proceeds to step S84, and it is checked whether or not there is an operation for designating identification information of the other vehicle that requests “twin navi”. When step S84 is reached, the operation of the driver is waited for a predetermined time, and if there is no operation for designating other vehicle identification information within the predetermined time, the process proceeds to step S86. In step S86, the identification information of all other vehicles currently in communication range is automatically designated from the identification information stored in the past by the function of step S50, and the process proceeds to step S88. On the other hand, if the identification information is designated within the predetermined time at step S84, only the designated specific vehicle is designated as the designated state, and the process directly proceeds to step S88.

In step S88, a “twin navigation” request signal is transmitted from the first short-range communication unit 26 to all other vehicles having the specified identification information. Then, it is checked whether or not responses from all other vehicles designated in step S90 have been received. If there is another vehicle that does not respond, the process proceeds to step S92 to check whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed after transmission. If the predetermined time has not elapsed, the process returns to step S90, and thereafter, steps S90 and S92 are repeated until responses from all other vehicles are received or until the predetermined time elapses. When it is confirmed in step S92 that the predetermined time has elapsed, the process proceeds to step S94, and it is possible to interrupt when there is an agreement reply to “Twin Navi” from another vehicle that has not yet responded. Proceed to step S96. On the other hand, if it is confirmed in step S90 that the response has been received from all the vehicles that have specified the identification information and transmitted the “twin navigation” request signal, the process proceeds directly to step S96. In step S96, it is checked whether there is another vehicle that has agreed to “twin navigation” based on the received response. If there is even one vehicle that has agreed, the process proceeds to step S16 in FIG. On the other hand, if no vehicle has agreed to the “twin navigation” request in step S96, the process proceeds to step S34 in FIG. If no "twin navigation" request is made to another vehicle in step S82, the process directly proceeds to step S34.

FIG. 5 is a display screen diagram showing an example of the “twin navigation” display displayed on the first display unit 16 of FIG. 1, and is realized by the twin navigation display processing in step S64 of FIG. FIG. 5 shows a case where the first vehicle 2 is a leading vehicle, and the first vehicle 2 is displayed on the map 66 as the own vehicle index 64 on the display screen 62. FIG. 5 shows a case where there are two subsequent vehicles that have agreed to “twin navigation” including the second vehicle 4, where the second vehicle 4 is the first other vehicle index 68 and the third vehicle is the second other vehicle. Simultaneously displayed on a common map 66 as a vehicle index 70. The “Twin Navi” consensus vehicle display area 72 is for displaying the presence of vehicles currently participating in “Twin Navi”, and is displayed on the first other vehicle presence display 74 and the second other vehicle presence display 76 as a map. The same symbol as the other car above is displayed. It should be noted that the third vehicle presence display portion 78 indicated by a broken line is not currently displayed because there is no target vehicle.

In the short-range communication out-of-range display area 80, the “out of service area” warning in step S62 of FIG. 3, the “out of service area” warning, or a display indicating “not displayable” is displayed when a corresponding situation occurs. Is called. The significance of the “out of service” warning or the “not displayable” display will be described later. In the case of FIG. 5, nothing is displayed in the near field communication area display area 80 because it is in a state that does not correspond to any of them. In the subsequent vehicle status display area 82, a display is performed when it is determined whether or not the subsequent vehicle is following correctly. Since FIG. 5 is not an example of this situation, nothing is displayed. The display of the subsequent vehicle status display area 82 will be described later.

FIG. 6 shows a display state of the display screen 62 when the second other vehicle is traveling behind the position of FIG. It is assumed that the own vehicle and the first other vehicle are at the same positions as in FIG. In this case, if the scale of the map remains as shown in FIG. 5, the second other vehicle will be out of the display range. Accordingly, the scale of the map 92 in FIG. 6 is automatically changed so as to display a wider area than the scale of the map 66 in FIG. More specifically, an area 94 in FIG. 6 is a portion where the map 66 is displayed in FIG. 5, and the second other vehicle index 70 protrudes from the area 94. Therefore, in FIG. 6, the scale of the map is automatically changed so that the display range extends over a wide area including the second other vehicle index 70. FIG. 6 shows a state in which the second other vehicle is determined to have a risk of being out of the near field communication range in step S60 of FIG. "In this state, the second other vehicle is still in the short-range communication range." On the other hand, when the second other vehicle goes out of the near field communication area, the display in the near field communication area display area 80 changes to a warning display “out of area”. Even in this case, the display of the second other vehicle index 70 is continued based on the near-field outside processing in step S68 of FIG. In FIG. 6, scrolling is performed to automatically change the center position of the map display as the map scale is changed from the state of FIG. 5. FIG. 6 is scrolled based on the own vehicle index 64, and is scrolled so that the own vehicle index 64 is at the center of the map as much as possible while considering that the second other vehicle falls within the display range.

FIG. 7 shows the same state as FIG. 6, but when the scale is changed from the state of FIG. 5, the scrolling is automatically performed so that the centers of all the cars participating in “Twin Navi” become the center position of the map display. This is an example. Compared to FIG. 6, the entire map display is shifted upward as in the map 100 in FIG. 7. Whether the automatic scrolling is performed based on the own vehicle as in the display in FIG. 6 or the automatic scrolling is performed with the center of all vehicles as the central position as in the display in FIG. 7 can be arbitrarily set in advance. In addition, unless the driver makes a change setting, automatic scrolling based on the own vehicle is performed as shown in FIG. Auto-scrolling based on the above settings or auto-scrolling based on the center of the vehicle is always performed according to the progress of the vehicle, not only when the map scale is changed, but also when there is no scale change. Is done.

FIG. 8 shows that the distance between the vehicle and the second other vehicle becomes “out of range” after leaving the short range communication range, and the distance between the two vehicles further increases, and is no longer based on the near range out of step processing in step S68 of FIG. Also shows the display screen 62 in a state where it is meaningless to continue displaying the second other vehicle. At this time, the display in the short-range communication area display area 80 changes to “not displayable”. Further, in order to clearly indicate the vehicle that is in a display disabled state, a display disabled mark 102 is added to the second other vehicle presence display 76 in the “twin navigation” agreed vehicle display area 72. Further, the second other vehicle index 70 is not displayed on the map and is excluded from the display target. This is because displaying the position of an unreliable vehicle on the other vehicle on a map causes confusion.

When the second other vehicle index 70 is not displayed as shown in FIG. 8, the display changes as shown in FIG. 9 because it is no longer necessary to perform the wide area display considering the second vehicle. That is, in FIG. 9, the scale of the map is automatically changed from FIG. 8, and the display is based on the map 66 in an enlarged state. If the scale is not automatically changed, the map display at the scale of FIG. 8 is continued even when the second other vehicle index 70 is not displayed.

FIG. 10 shows a display screen 62 when the vehicle that is the leading vehicle turns right at the corner of the post office from the state of FIG. In this case, the map 104 is rotated by 90 degrees so that the traveling direction becomes the display upper direction with the own vehicle index 64 as a reference. Of course, the traveling directions of the first other vehicle index 68 and the second other vehicle index 70 that have not yet turned to the right are not above the map. Thus, the upper part of the map when there are a plurality of vehicles is always determined based on the traveling direction of the own vehicle. In addition, when it is set to display the north as the upper side of the map regardless of the traveling direction of the vehicle, the map is not rotated regardless of the traveling direction of the own vehicle and the other vehicle.

Further, in FIG. 10, in order to check whether the second vehicle and the third vehicle, which are the following vehicles, follow and turn right, in the subsequent vehicle status display area 82, the first other vehicle presence display 74 and the second other vehicle are displayed. A first other vehicle necessity confirmation mark 106 and a second other vehicle necessity confirmation mark 108 are displayed with a “?” Symbol adjacent to the vehicle presence display 76, respectively.

FIG. 11 shows FIG.
The display screen 62 is shown when a further time elapses from the state of 0 and the second vehicle correctly follows and turns right. In this case, the confirmation mark “?” That was displayed corresponding to the first other vehicle presence display 74 in the subsequent vehicle status display area 82 disappears, and the first other vehicle confirmation displayed by the “OK” symbol instead. A completed mark 112 is displayed. This “OK” display is a subsequent vehicle simplified display described later.

FIG. 12 shows a display screen 62 when a further time has elapsed from the state of FIG. 11 and the third vehicle has also correctly followed and turned right. In this case, in the subsequent vehicle status display area 82, the display corresponding to the second other vehicle presence display 76 also changes to the second other vehicle confirmed mark 114 and is displayed with the “OK” symbol together with the first other vehicle confirmed mark 112. The Furthermore, when it is confirmed that all the following vehicles have correctly followed the right turn in this way, the subsequent vehicle display is simplified, and the first other vehicle index 68 and the second other vehicle index 70 on the map are displayed. It is hidden. This is because it is cumbersome to display the following vehicle together with the own vehicle in a situation where the confirmation of the following vehicle is not required, for example, the road continues for a while, so the subsequent vehicle needs to be confirmed again such as the own vehicle approaching the intersection Until this occurs, the display of the following vehicle is omitted. Even when the display of the subsequent vehicle on the map is omitted in this way, the “OK” symbol of the first other vehicle confirmed mark 112 and the second other vehicle confirmed mark 114 is displayed in the subsequent vehicle status display area 82. Display continues. Although the following vehicle simplified display does not allow confirmation of the position on the map, it is possible to confirm that the subsequent vehicle is following correctly. In addition, when such a subsequent vehicle simplified display is not set in advance, the position of the displayable subsequent vehicle is always displayed on the map together with the own vehicle regardless of the necessity of the subsequent vehicle confirmation.

FIG. 13 shows the display screen 62 when the subsequent vehicle simplified display starts as shown in FIG. 12 and the display of the subsequent vehicle on the map becomes unnecessary. In FIG. 12, the map 104 is scrolled in consideration of all the cars entering the map, but in FIG. 13, the map 120 is scrolled exclusively based on the own vehicle. Specifically, when the own vehicle is a leading vehicle, scrolling is performed so that the own vehicle index 64 is lower than the screen in FIG. 13 than in FIG. When only the host vehicle is displayed as shown in FIG. 13, it is possible to scroll such that the host vehicle index 64 is arranged at the lower portion of the screen 62 with emphasis on forward information as in normal navigation. However, in “Twin Navi”, in order to cope with the need to display the following vehicle, scrolling is performed in consideration of ensuring a corresponding map space behind the vehicle as shown in FIG. Is called. Thus, even when only the own vehicle is displayed on the map, the scroll control of the map is performed so that the arrangement of the own vehicle index 64 is different between the normal navigation and the “twin navigation”.

FIG. 14 shows a display screen 130 of the third vehicle when each vehicle is in the position of FIG. In FIG. 14, the host vehicle index 134 is at the end following the first other vehicle index 136 and the second other vehicle index 138. That is, in FIG. 14, the first other vehicle is the leading vehicle, and the corner of the post office is turned right as in FIG. Correspondingly, in the “twin navi” consensus vehicle display area 72, a first other vehicle presence display 140 and a second other vehicle presence display 142 are displayed with the same symbols as on the map. In FIG. 14, since there is no current target vehicle in the third other vehicle presence display portion 78 indicated by a broken line, the other vehicle presence display is not performed. Further, since the vehicle in FIG. 14 has not yet turned right at the post office corner, the map 66 is in the same state as in FIG. 5 and is not rotated by 90 degrees as in FIG. In this way, with “Twin Navi”, where the indicators of multiple vehicles are displayed on the map at the same time, regardless of whether the vehicle is the lead vehicle, the following vehicle, or the direction of other vehicles, The upper direction is always determined based on the traveling direction of the vehicle. Furthermore, if there is no following vehicle in the host vehicle, no consideration is given to the following vehicle, so the following vehicle status display area 82 is not displayed on the display screen 130.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing details of the “twin navigation” display process in step S64 of FIG. 3, and is for realizing various displays described in FIGS. When the flow starts, in step S101, the presence / absence of a “Twin Navi” agreed vehicle is displayed. This corresponds to performing display in the agreed vehicle display area 72 in FIG. Next, the process which displays the own vehicle on a map at step S102 is performed. This corresponds to displaying the own vehicle index 64 of FIG. 5 or the own vehicle index 134 of FIG. 14 on the map 66 or the like. Next, in step S103, it is checked whether or not the own vehicle is a leading vehicle. If it is a leading vehicle, a subsequent vehicle status display area is displayed in step S104. This corresponds to displaying the subsequent vehicle status display area 82 in FIG. In step S105, it is checked whether a subsequent vehicle confirmation situation has occurred. This corresponds to a case where an option occurs in the course of the following vehicle at an intersection, such as when the vehicle turns right in FIG. The occurrence of this situation is determined based on the map information and the vehicle position information.

If a subsequent vehicle confirmation situation has occurred in step S105, the process proceeds to step S106, and a display is displayed indicating that confirmation is required for each target vehicle that needs confirmation. This corresponds to displaying the “?” Symbol of the first other vehicle necessity confirmation mark 106 and the second other vehicle necessity confirmation mark 108 in FIG. Next, in step S107, it is checked whether or not such a subsequent vehicle confirmation situation has been resolved. If it has been resolved, a normal follow-up confirmation display is performed for each target vehicle in step S108. This corresponds to displaying the “OK” symbol in the subsequent vehicle status display area 82 instead of the “?” Symbol in FIG. Subsequently, while continuing the confirmation display for each target vehicle, the process proceeds to step S109 to check whether the subsequent vehicle simplified display setting has been set in advance. If it is not detected that this setting has been made, the process proceeds to step S110. After a predetermined time, a process for deleting the confirmation display for each target vehicle is performed, and then the process proceeds to step S111.

In step S111, a process of displaying all displayable target vehicles participating in "twin navigation" on the map together with the own vehicle is performed. In step S112, map scale change / map rotation processing is performed, and the flow ends. When the flow of FIG. 15 is completed, the process returns to step S52 of FIG. 3. Therefore, “twin navigation” by short-range communication leads to the start of the flow of FIG. 15 through steps S52 to S62 of FIG. 15 flows are repeated. Details of step S112 will be described later.

If the own vehicle is not a leading vehicle in step S103 in FIG. 15, the process directly proceeds to step S111, and the entire target map scale changing / rotating process is entered. Furthermore, also in the case where the subsequent vehicle confirmation status has not been resolved in step S107, the process directly proceeds to step S111. In this case, the target vehicle-specific confirmation display performed in step S106 is continued. Further, if the subsequent vehicle confirmation situation has not occurred in step S105, the process proceeds to step S113, and the target vehicle-specific confirmation display is not displayed. This corresponds to a state in which nothing is displayed in the subsequent vehicle status display area 82 in FIG. In step S114, it is checked whether the subsequent vehicle simplified display setting has been made in advance. If it is not detected that this setting has been made, the process proceeds to step S111.

On the other hand, when it is detected in step S114 that the subsequent vehicle simplified display setting has been performed, the process proceeds to step S115, and normal tracking display for each target vehicle is performed. As this display, the same display as that performed in step S108 is used. Specifically, the first other vehicle confirmed mark 112 and the second other vehicle confirmed mark 114 expressed by the “OK” symbol in the subsequent vehicle status display area 82 are diverted. This is because the driver is interested in whether or not the following vehicle is currently following normally, and the history of whether or not the situation has to be confirmed is not a problem. If necessary, the confirmed display performed in step S108 and the normal follow-up display performed in step S115 may be different from each other. Next, the process proceeds to step S116, and a display for omitting the display of the target subsequent vehicle on the map is performed. This corresponds to the fact that the first other vehicle index 68 and the second other vehicle index 70 on the map are not displayed in FIGS. 12 and 13. Thereafter, the process proceeds to map scale change / map rotation processing in step S112. If it is detected in step S109 that the subsequent vehicle simplified display setting has been made, the process proceeds to step S114. In this case, the process always proceeds from step S114 to step S115. If it is not detected in step S114 that the subsequent vehicle simplified display setting has been made, the process proceeds to step S111.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing details of the map scale changing / rotating process in step S112 of FIG. When the flow starts, an initial value of the map scale is set in step S122. As the initial value, when “twin navigation” has already been started, the current map scale is set as the initial value. When a new “twin navigation” is started, the map scale set by the driver is set. In this case, the default map scale is set unless otherwise specified. In step S124, it is checked whether or not the setting for displaying the direction "north" fixed above the map regardless of the traveling direction of the vehicle has been made in advance. If it is not detected that the setting has been made, the process automatically proceeds to step S125 as a default. In step S125, in a state where a plurality of vehicles are displayed on the map, a process of automatically rotating the map is performed so that the traveling direction is always above the map with reference to the own vehicle, and the process proceeds to step S126. In step 125, the map is rotated 90 degrees as the host vehicle turns to the state shown in FIG. 5 to FIG. 10, or whether the host vehicle is the leading vehicle or the following vehicle in FIGS. Correspondingly, this corresponds to a state where the map is rotated 90 degrees. On the other hand, when it is detected in step S124 that the setting for fixing north upward is performed in advance by the driver, processing for fixing north above the map is performed in step S128, and the process proceeds to step S126. .

In step S126, it is checked whether or not all target vehicles that can be displayed in “twin navigation” are in the display range at the map scale set in step S122. If there is a vehicle that does not fall within the display range, the process proceeds to step S130, and it is checked whether or not the automatic scroll setting based on the own vehicle is set. When it is detected in step S130 that the vehicle reference automatic scroll setting is set, the process proceeds to step S132, and the process shifts to scrolling the map giving priority to the display of all vehicles. For example, when auto-scrolling based on the own vehicle with little rear space is performed as a leading vehicle, if the display position of the own vehicle is moved upward by scrolling, the succeeding vehicle does not have to change the map scale to a wide area. This is because it may be possible to display.

After attempting the above scrolling, it is checked again in step S134 whether all target vehicles that can be displayed are within the display range. If it is not possible to put all the vehicles in the display range by scrolling, the process proceeds to step S136, and automatic map widening to a map scale capable of displaying all the target vehicles in consideration of the own vehicle standard is performed, and then to step S138. Transition. On the other hand, when the automatic scrolling is not based on the own vehicle in step S130, the scrolling has already been attempted so that all the vehicles can be displayed most efficiently, and there is no room for the entire vehicle to be included in the display range by further scrolling. Proceed to In step S140, automatic widening to a map scale that can be displayed most efficiently by all target vehicles is performed, and the process proceeds to step S138. Usually, the map scale determined in step S136 is wider than the map scale determined in step S140.

If all the vehicles are within the display range in step S126, the setting consideration process in step S146 is performed, and the process proceeds to step S138. The process of step S146 automatically changes the map scale so that the map is enlarged in consideration of the initial setting when the inter-vehicle distance between the leading vehicle and the last succeeding vehicle is reduced and all the vehicles enter the display range. It is processing to do. Specifically, first, it is checked whether or not all the vehicles are in the display range at the map scale in the one-stage enlarged state, and if it is in the display range, the map is automatically enlarged. Thereafter, this is repeated if further enlargement is possible, and the enlargement is automatically repeated until the map scale becomes such that display of all vehicles becomes impossible when further enlargement is made or a map scale set by the driver. Note that, as in the case of wide area, when determining the possibility of displaying all vehicles and the scale, the determination criteria are changed depending on whether or not the vehicle reference automatic scroll setting is performed. Also in this case, when the vehicle-based automatic scroll setting is performed, a wider map scale is adopted. In the process as described above, when the process reaches step S138 from step S126, the initial value set in step S122 may not be changed as a result, and the map scale may not change. Rather, when all the vehicles are running stably in “Twin Navi”, there is usually no change in the map scale.

In step S138, it is checked whether or not the automatic scroll setting based on the own vehicle is set. When it is detected that the vehicle-based automatic scroll setting is set, the process proceeds to step S142, the vehicle-based automatic scroll is executed, and the flow ends. On the other hand, if it cannot be detected in step S138 that the vehicle-based automatic scroll setting is set, the process proceeds to step S144, the company-wide center automatic scroll is executed, and the flow ends. The difference between the automatic scrolls at step S142 and step S144 corresponds to the difference between the display of FIG. 6 and the display of FIG.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing details of the near field out-of-range processing in step S68 of FIG. When the flow starts, it is checked in step S152 whether a predetermined time has elapsed since the occurrence of the out-of-service vehicle. If the predetermined time has not yet elapsed, the process proceeds to step S154 to display “out of service”. This means that the display in the near field communication out-of-range display area 80 in FIG. 6 or 7 changes from the “out of service area” warning to the “out of service area” warning. Next, in step S156, it is checked whether or not a situation for confirming an out-of-service vehicle has occurred. The out-of-range vehicle confirmation situation corresponds to a case where the vehicle passes through an intersection or the like and an option is generated in the course of the following vehicle. The occurrence of this situation is determined based on the map information and the vehicle position information. If such a situation does not occur, the process proceeds to step S158, and it is checked whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed since the absolute position information of the out-of-range vehicle is obtained by communication. This communication corresponds to the case of communication by either the first telephone communication unit 24 or the first short-range communication unit 26.

If the predetermined time has not elapsed since the last communication, the process proceeds to step S160, and out-of-service vehicle position estimation processing based on the history is performed. In this process, the absolute position of the current out-of-service vehicle is estimated from a plurality of absolute position information received and accumulated in the past and the history of the time at that time. At this time, the speed information of the out-of-service vehicle when the last received absolute position information is generated is also supplementarily used. In step S162, the absolute position information estimated in this way is processed in the same manner as the absolute position information actually obtained from the GPS unit of the other vehicle, and the twin navigation display process in step S164 is entered. Step S164 is the same as step S64 in FIG. 3, and its contents are as shown in FIG. When the process of step S164 ends, the flow returns to step S156, and step S156 to step S164 are repeated unless an out-of-service vehicle confirmation situation occurs in step S156 or a predetermined time has not elapsed after communication in step S158.

When the out-of-service vehicle confirmation situation occurs in step S156 or when a predetermined time has elapsed after communication in step S158, the process proceeds to step S166, and the absolute position information of the own vehicle is transferred from the first telephone communication unit 24 to the base station telephone communication unit 52. Is automatically sent. This is for use of other vehicles outside the service area. In step S166, a signal requesting transmission of absolute position information from the designated out-of-service other vehicle to the base station telephone communication unit 52 is further automatically transmitted. The car navigation base station 6 automatically transfers this request signal to the designated other out-of-range vehicle. In response, the out-of-range other vehicle automatically transmits the absolute position information of the out-of-range other vehicle to the base station telephone communication unit 52, and this is stored in the base station storage unit 50. In step S168, the absolute position information of the designated out-of-range vehicle is automatically received from the base station telephone communication unit 52. Next, in step S170, based on the absolute position information of the other out-of-service vehicle received immediately before and the absolute position information received this time, information between both pieces of information is interpolated and future estimation information is created. Since communication by the telephone communication unit is charged, it is performed less frequently than free near field communication. However, it is the significance of step S170 to create the absolute position information in accordance with the frequency of near field communication in a pseudo manner. Further, in step S172, the absolute position information interpolated and estimated in this way is processed in the same manner as the absolute position information actually obtained from the GPS unit of the other vehicle, and the twin navigation display process in step S174 is entered. Step S174 is the same as step S64 in FIG. 3, and the contents are as shown in FIG. When the process of step S174 is completed, the flow is terminated, and the process proceeds to step S70 of FIG.

In the above, the reason for shifting from step S156 to step S166 is that when the out-of-range vehicle confirmation situation occurs, there are a plurality of options, and it is impossible to estimate the absolute position based on the history. Moreover, the reason for shifting from step S158 to step S166 is that the reliability of estimation decreases when a predetermined time has elapsed after the last communication. As described above, when the estimation of the absolute position of the out-of-range vehicle is inappropriate, the process proceeds to step S166, and the absolute position information of the out-of-range other vehicle is directly acquired by the telephone communication unit.

If it is determined in step S152 that a predetermined time has elapsed since the occurrence of the out-of-service vehicle, the process proceeds to step S176, and the display “not displayable” is performed. Further, in step S178, the corresponding out-of-range vehicle is hidden from the map. In step S180, a display for identifying an out-of-range vehicle is performed, and the process proceeds to step S174. In the processing from step S176 to step S180, in FIG. 8 or FIG. 9, “not displayable” is displayed in the near field communication area display area 80 and the second other vehicle presence display in the “twin navigation” agreed vehicle display area 72 is displayed. This corresponds to the fact that the display disabled mark 102 is added to 76 and that the second other vehicle index 70 is not displayed on the map. The significance of performing such processing is that if a predetermined time has elapsed since the occurrence of an out-of-service vehicle in step S152, if “twin navigation” is continued further, acquisition of absolute position information of other vehicles by a pay telephone communication unit is normal. Therefore, in order to avoid this, the corresponding target vehicle is excluded from “Twin Navi”.

During execution of the flow shown in FIG. 17, it is always checked whether or not the mobile phone has returned to the near field communication range. When returning to the near field communication range, an interrupt is immediately generated and the process jumps to step S54 in FIG. To do.

FIG. 18 is a block diagram showing a second example of the position display device according to the embodiment of the present invention. The second embodiment constitutes a mobile phone system and includes a first mobile phone 302, a second mobile phone 304, and a mobile phone base station 306. Although only two mobile phones are shown in FIG. 1 for the sake of simplicity, the present invention is a system applicable to a plurality of mobile phones including the third and fourth mobile phones.
The second embodiment shown in FIG. 18 basically has a configuration roughly corresponding to the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1. In FIG. 18, the reference numerals of the two hundreds in common with the first place and the tenth place are respectively shown. Since the reference numerals in FIG. 1 correspond to the corresponding configurations, the description is omitted unless particularly necessary. Each function described in the first embodiment is applicable to the second embodiment as long as it is not a function unique to car navigation. Therefore, the description will not be repeated unless particularly necessary.
18 also shows the absolute position information of the mobile phone holder obtained by the first GPS unit 218 and the second GPS unit 238 between the first mobile phone 302 and the second mobile phone 304, respectively. The exchange is performed through the first short-range communication unit 226 and the second short-range communication unit 246. Then, the absolute position information of the exchanged partner is simultaneously displayed on the map on the first display unit 216 and the second display unit 236 configured as a mobile phone display screen together with the information on the absolute position of the partner. As a result, “twin navigation” is possible as in the first embodiment, and it is possible to approach each other while simultaneously confirming each other's position on the map when waiting.

A characteristic of the second embodiment of FIG. 18 is that communication over the telephone line by the first telephone communication unit 224 and the second telephone communication unit 244 is an original function. Accordingly, the nature of the mobile phone base station 306 is slightly different from that of the car navigation base station 6 of the first embodiment. Specifically, the mobile phone base station 306 has a telephone line management unit 358, and the primary functions of the mobile phone base station 306 are the first telephone communication unit 224 and the second telephone communication unit. In the normal cellular phone function such as 244, it is in the management of conversations and mail communications between telephones of cellular phones.
The mobile phone base station 306 further includes a base station control unit 348, a base station storage unit 350, a base station navigation management unit 354, and a base station GPS management unit 356 that substantially correspond to the configuration of the first embodiment. However, these “twin navigation” functions are also slightly different from the first embodiment. Correspondingly, the first control unit 308, the second control unit 328, the first storage unit 314, the second storage unit 334, and the second related to “twin navigation” in the first mobile phone 302 and the second mobile phone 304. The functions of the one navigation function unit 320 and the second navigation function unit 340 are also slightly different from the first embodiment. Details thereof will be described later.
Further, the configurations corresponding to the first vehicle function unit 12 and the second vehicle function unit 32 in the first embodiment of FIG. 1 do not exist in the second embodiment of FIG. A second camera unit 304; Images taken by these camera units are attached and exchanged by mail communication by the telephone communication unit.

Next, functions unique to the second embodiment of FIG. 18 relating to “twin navigation” will be described. Since the first embodiment is a car navigation system that is an in-vehicle device, all necessary map information (for example, all over Japan) is stored in the first storage unit 14 or the second storage unit 34, and the first GPS unit 18 or The function of displaying the absolute position information from the second GPS unit on the map data can be executed by the first control unit 8 and the first car navigation function unit 20 or the second control unit 28 and the first car navigation function unit 40. it can. That is, in the first embodiment, as long as communication by the short-range communication unit is possible, the “twin navigation” function can function without the help of the car navigation base station 6. On the other hand, since the second embodiment is a system based on a mobile phone, the capabilities of the first control unit 308, the second control unit 328, the first navigation function unit 320, and the second navigation function unit 340 are limited. The storage capacities of the first storage unit 314 and the second storage unit 334 are also limited. Therefore, the “twin navigation” function is executed in cooperation with the mobile phone base station 306.

Specifically, the map information in the second embodiment of FIG. 18 is basically prepared by being stored in the base station storage unit 350 of the mobile phone base station 306. Then, the mobile phone base station 306 transmits map information of a predetermined scale for each section requested by the mobile phone via telephone line communication. Since the mobile phone stores the received map information of the block in the first storage unit 314, the second storage unit 334, etc., is the map of the block already stored in the mobile phone prior to requesting the map? If there is no storage, the cellular phone base station 306 will be requested for map information of a necessary section. Accordingly, for example, in the first mobile phone 302, the map information of the previously received section is stored, the map of the stored section is confirmed, the map of the new section is received as necessary, and the absolute position map of yourself and the other party Since it is in charge of display processing on a map of a necessary section based on one information, the burden on the first storage unit 314, the first navigation function unit 320, and the first control unit 308 is reduced. In the “twin navigation” between mobile phones as in the second embodiment, for example, the objective can be achieved if there is map information of a limited section near the meeting place, and the transition of the target map section at a high speed such as car navigation Therefore, it is possible to perform the processing as described above.

The second embodiment of FIG. 18 is based on a mobile phone as described above, and is premised on e-mail and conversation using the mobile phone. Accordingly, the “twin navigation” function may be configured to start in conjunction with a call through a mobile phone line. In this case, communication by the telephone communication unit and communication by the short-range communication unit are performed in parallel.

In FIG. 18, the mobile phone base station 306 is configured to have both the telephone line management and the “twin navigation” function. It is also possible to adopt a system in which the mobile phone base station has a separate configuration. Further, as a third embodiment, the configuration of FIG. 18 is modified so that the first GPS unit 218 and the second GPS unit 238 first transmit the absolute position information of themselves and the other party to the mobile phone base station 306 to be collected. In addition, the base station navigation management unit of the mobile phone base station 306 may create image information in which both are displayed on the map, and distribute them to the first mobile phone 302 and the second mobile phone 304, respectively. . According to such a configuration, the burden on the mobile phone side for “twin navigation” is further reduced. However, since the system is based on a telephone line regardless of short-range communication, the line usage is charged.

As described above, each embodiment includes functions unique to the car navigation system and the mobile phone, but most of the features can be commonly applied to both. Furthermore, the various features of the present invention are not limited to car navigation and mobile phones, but can be widely applied to mobile devices and mobile-to-communication devices having communication functions.

Here, a modified embodiment of the “twin navigation” display process in FIG. 15 will be described. FIG. 15 is configured so as not to enter step S104 to step S110 and step S113 to step S116 when the vehicle is not a leading vehicle by providing step S103. That is, the display differs depending on whether the vehicle is a leading vehicle or a following vehicle. On the other hand, in the modified embodiment, the process of FIG. 15 is executed regardless of whether the vehicle is a leading vehicle, and specifically, step S103 is omitted. When the confirmation status is eliminated in step S107, the process proceeds to step S111 as in FIG. In addition, in steps S104 to S110 and steps S113 to S116, “following vehicle” is replaced with “other vehicle”. In such a modified embodiment, step S106 and step S108 for confirming the trend of the preceding vehicle when the preceding vehicle is approaching the branching point even if it is the following vehicle are executed, and the other vehicle is simply displayed. If the setting has been made, step S115 and step S116 are executed so that the display on the map is not complicated.

Now, returning to the second embodiment of FIG. Here, although it is not a structure peculiar to this invention, since it has relation with the function mentioned later, some supplement is performed about the structure of FIG. As described above, the first telephone function unit 222 or the second telephone function unit 242 is for wireless communication via a telephone line including a normal call. These telephone function units have a voice processing unit for a telephone function like a normal mobile phone, and include a microphone for picking up a user's voice and a speaker arranged near the user's ear. The first telephone function unit 222 or the second telephone function unit 242 can also be used for videophones and has a videophone function. In the video phone mode, the sensitivity of the microphone is increased and the directivity is reduced in the first mobile phone 302 or the second mobile phone 304, and accordingly, the volume of the speaker is increased and the directivity is reduced. . Further, during a videophone call, the face of the caller photographed by the first camera unit 302 or the second camera unit 304 is displayed on the second display unit 236 or the first display unit 216 on the other party side. When the first mobile phone 302 and the second mobile phone 304 are foldable, the first display portion 216 and the second display portion 236 are provided when the mobile phone is folded with the main display portion provided on the folded inner side. The sub-display unit is provided on the outer surface of the mobile phone so that it can be observed. Each function described above is performed in the main display unit.

FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing the basic functions of the first control unit 308 or the second control unit 328 in the second embodiment of FIG. 18, and starts when the first mobile phone 302 or the second mobile phone 304 is turned on. Note that the following description will be focused on the first mobile phone 302. Therefore, the following flowchart will be described as the function of the first control unit 308 unless otherwise specified. When the flow starts, in step S202, it is checked whether or not there is a person who has another mobile phone in the communication range of the first short-range communication unit 226 of the first mobile phone 302. For example, it is checked whether or not the second mobile phone 304 having the second short-range communication unit 246 capable of communicating with the first short-range communication unit 226 exists in the short-range communication range. As will be described later, if there is a person newly entering the near field communication range, this step S202 detects it. If it is detected in step S202 that there is a person in the near field communication range, the process proceeds to step S204, and a navigation enable notification process is performed. This is to notify the holder of the first mobile phone 302 when there is a person in the near field communication range or when there is a new person entering the near field communication range. It will be described later.

When the navigation enabling notification process is completed, the process proceeds to step S206, and it is checked whether or not a twin navigation start operation has been performed. When there is no twin navigation operation, the process proceeds to step S208, and it is checked whether there is an incoming call from a normal mobile phone. If there is no incoming call, the process proceeds to step S210, where it is checked whether or not a normal mobile phone call operation has been performed. When a call operation is performed, the process proceeds to step S212, and it is checked whether the calling party's mobile phone is within a short range. If the other party is within a short distance, the process proceeds to step S214, and the first display unit 302 displays that twin navigation with the calling party is possible. Along with this, the speaker of the first telephone function unit 222 may be notified by voice that the twin navigation with the other party is possible. Next, in step S216, it is checked whether or not an operation for requesting twin navigation for the calling party has been performed. This is performed in response to the display in step S214. When this operation is performed, a twin navigation request signal is transmitted from the short-range communication unit 226. In step S218, it is checked whether a twin navigation agreement signal from the other party has been received. After the above process, if the twin navigation agreement signal from the partner cannot be received in step S218, the process proceeds to step S220 to check whether the telephone is connected. When step S220 is reached, the normal telephone mode without the twin navigation function is set. If the telephone is not connected in step S220, the process proceeds to step S222.

Note that if there is no telephone call operation in step S210, the process directly proceeds to step 220. As described above, when there is no incoming or outgoing call and the first mobile phone 302 is not used for normal conversation, no notification is given to the user even if there is a person within close range communication in step S202. Step S220 is reached, and since there is no telephone connection, step S222 is reached. In step S212, if the calling party is not in the short range, it means that the calling party is not in the short range, so the user is not notified anything and the process goes to step S220, and the call is answered. If not connected, the process proceeds to step S222. Furthermore, when the user does not operate the twin navigation request in step S216, the process proceeds to step S220, and if the telephone is not connected, the process proceeds to step S222.

In step S222, a map automatic preliminary download process is performed. This is a process for automatically preliminarily downloading a map necessary for twin navigation using a standby time when the telephone is not used, and details thereof will be described later. Then, the process returns from step S222 to step S202. If the telephone is connected in step S220, the process directly returns to step S202. Hereinafter, unless there is a person in the near field communication range and no navigation start operation is performed, no incoming call is received, and the telephone is connected and no twin navigation agreement signal is received from the other party, the processing from step S202 to step S222 is performed. repeat. In step S202, if there is no person in the near field communication range, the process proceeds directly to step S220.

On the other hand, when the twin navigation start operation is performed in step S206, the process proceeds to step S224 to check whether a telephone call is in progress. If the telephone call is not in progress, the process proceeds to step S226, and a list of persons in the near field communication area checked in step S202 is displayed on the first display unit 216. In step S228, an operation for designating the partner of twin navigation is awaited, and if designated, the process proceeds to step S230. In this specification, a plurality of opponents can be specified. If the telephone call is in progress in step S224, the partner of Twin Navi is automatically designated as the other party in the call and the process proceeds to step S230. In step S230, it is rechecked whether or not the designated partner is in the near field communication range. Normally, designation is performed from among the near field communication people checked in step S202. Therefore, unless the designated partner goes out of service within a short time, the result of the recheck is “yes”, and the flow is step. The process proceeds to S232. It should be noted that the process also proceeds to step S230 when there is an incoming call in step S208. In this case, there is no guarantee that the incoming call is from a person within the near field communication range checked in step S202. Step S230 is provided mainly for this purpose, and the process proceeds to step S232 only for incoming calls from persons within close range. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S230 that the partner is within the near field communication range, the process proceeds to step S220.

In step S232, it is checked whether a twin navigation request is received from the designated partner. Since this twin navigation request is made via the short-range communication unit, this request is not limited to an incoming call or a call. If there is a twin navigation request, the process proceeds to step S234, the first display unit 216 displays that there is a twin navigation request, and the process proceeds to step S236. When it is detected in step S236 that an operation for agreeing to twin navigation within a predetermined time from the display in step S234 is detected, the process proceeds to step S238, and a twin navigation agreement signal is sent to the requesting partner as the first short-range communication unit. Send from. Then, the process proceeds to the twin navigation process in step S240, the details of which will be described later. If it is not detected in step S236 that an agreement operation has been performed within a predetermined time from the twin navigation request display, the process proceeds to step S220.

If it is not detected in step S232 that the twin navigation request signal has been received from the designated party or the incoming call party, the process proceeds to step S212. Then, from step S212 to step S216, the process proceeds to step S218. When it is detected that an agreement signal has been received from the partner who made the twin navigation request, the process proceeds to step S240.

FIG. 20 is a flowchart showing details of the twin navigation process in step S240 of FIG. When the flow starts, first, in step S242, the ID of the navigation system of the other device which is the mobile phone of the other party who has agreed to the twin navigation is confirmed. Thereafter, the steps up to storing various conversion settings for each ID in step S250 are basically the same as steps S42 to S50 in FIG. In step S244 or step S250 to step S252, it is checked whether or not a telephone call is being made with the twin navigation partner. If the call is in progress, it is checked in step S254 if the call is in the videophone mode. If it is not the videophone mode, the process proceeds to step S256, the microphone and the speaker are switched from the normal call mode to the videophone mode, and then the process proceeds to the navigation screen display process of step S258. This is because the call cannot be continued if the mobile phone is spoken from the ear in order to view the twin navigation screen in the normal telephone mode. On the other hand, if it is the videophone mode in step S254, the process proceeds to step S258 as it is.

In step S252, if the telephone call is not in progress, the process proceeds to step S260, and it is checked whether a telephone call has arrived. When a call is received, the process proceeds to step S256 so as to start reception in the videophone mode. On the other hand, if no telephone call has been received, it is checked in step S262 if a telephone call operation has been performed. Here again, when the call operation is performed, the process proceeds to step S256 so that the subsequent call is performed in the videophone mode. If no telephone call operation has been performed in step S262, the process proceeds directly to step S258 because the twin navigation does not involve a telephone call.

FIG. 21 is a flowchart showing details of the twin navigation screen display process in step S258 of FIG. When the flow starts, first, the absolute position information of the first mobile phone 302 is received in step S272, and in step S274, this information is transmitted from the first short-range communication unit 226 to the mobile phone of the twin navigation partner. Next, in step S276, the first short-range communication unit 226 receives the absolute position information of the mobile phone of the twin navigation partner. In step S228, the ID of the twin navigation system of the other party's mobile phone is confirmed. Based on the confirmed ID, the absolute position information is converted into information that can be displayed on the mobile phone in step S280. If the ID indicates that the twin navigation system of the other party is the same as that of the other party, nothing is performed as a result in step S280.

Next, in step S282, it is checked whether or not an optimal scale map that can display the absolute positions of the user and the opponent has already been downloaded and stored in the first storage unit 314. If there is no memory, the process proceeds to step S284. In addition, in this check, not only when there is no map that can display the absolute position of both, but a map with a wide scale that can be displayed is downloaded, but the absolute position of both can be enlarged and displayed more appropriately. Even if the scale map has not been downloaded, the process proceeds to step S284. In step S284, it is checked whether or not a telephone call is being made with a partner of Twin Navi. If the telephone call is not being made, the map information download process of step S292 is entered. On the other hand, if the telephone call is in progress in step S284, the process proceeds to step S286, and “unsuitable map information” is displayed on the first display unit 216 of the first mobile phone 302. In this display, it may be displayed whether there is no map at all or whether the scale is too wide. Next, in step S288, information of “unsuitable map information” is transmitted from the first short-range communication unit 226 to the other party's mobile phone. As a result, the other party can be notified of the situation where the twin navigation display is possible. After the above, a telephone disconnection recommendation is made in step S290. This recommendation is made by voice and / or display. The purpose is that a map cannot be downloaded via the Internet if the line of the first telephone communication unit 224 is blocked during a telephone call. Then, the flow returns to Step S282, and Steps S282k and S290 are repeated until the necessary map changes due to the change of the position of the both or the telephone is disconnected. It is optional to continue the telephone call during this repetition.

Although details of the map information download process in step S292 will be described later, when this download is completed, the process proceeds to step S294. Note that if the two-machine displayable optimum scale map is already stored in the first storage unit 314 in step S282, there is no need to download, and the process directly proceeds to step S294. In step S294, twin navigation display processing is performed, details of which will be described later. In step S296, it is checked whether or not the first short-range communication unit 226 has received a signal indicating that the map information of the other party's mobile phone is incomplete. If there is a reception, the fact is displayed on the first display unit 216 in step S298, and the flow returns to step S272. If no other machine map information is received in step S296, the process immediately returns to step S272. Thereafter, steps S272 to S298 are repeated until an interrupt is generated by an operation to end the twin navigation, and a twin navigation screen display corresponding to a change in both absolute position information is executed.

FIG. 22 is a flowchart showing details of the twin-navigation possible notification process in step S204 of FIG. When the flow starts, it is checked in step S302 whether a telephone call is in progress. If the call is not in progress, the process proceeds to step S304, and it is checked whether the first short-range communication unit 226 has received a request for twin navigation from a person within close-range communication range. If there is a twin navigation request, the incoming melody of the twin navigation request is reproduced in step S306. This incoming melody is set to be different from the normal incoming telephone or mail incoming melody via the line of the first telephone communication unit 224. At the same time, in step S308, an external display indicating that a twin navigation request has been received is performed on the sub display section of the first display section 216. As described above, the telephone of the present invention can notify the user not only of an incoming call through a normal telephone line but also a local incoming call by short-range communication.

Next, in step S310, a menu related to twin navigation is added to the display menu so that the twin navigation operation is possible. These twin navigation menus are not added to the menu when there is no person in close range to avoid confusion in use. If there is no twin navigation request from a person in close range in step S304, it is not necessary to leave the user in the vicinity within a short period of time. The process proceeds directly to step S310. Subsequent to step S310, in step S312, display data is prepared to automatically display a list of short-distance communicators in response to the opening of the folding mobile phone. Further, in step S314, display data is prepared to automatically display a list of short-distance communicators when a telephone flash operation is performed, and the flow ends.

On the other hand, if the telephone call is in progress in step S302, the process proceeds to step S316 to check whether the person who has entered the short-distance range is the other party in the call. If the other party is talking, the process proceeds to step S318, and it is checked whether a videophone call is in progress. Since the first display unit 216 is observing during a videophone call, it is displayed on the first display unit 216 that twin navigation is possible with the other party on the call. In addition, in step S322, the same purpose is also notified by voice, and the flow ends. If it is not during the videophone call in step S318, the process proceeds directly to step S322, where only the voice notification is performed and the flow ends. If it is not the other party who is in the middle of a call that has entered the short-distance range in step S316, it is not the time of interest for the time being, so the flow is terminated without doing anything at this point.

FIG. 23 is a flowchart showing details of the map information download process in step S292 of FIG. When the flow starts, it is checked in step S332 whether or not there is no map in the first storage unit 314 that can display both the user and the partner. If there is no storage of both displayable maps, the process proceeds to step S334, a display to the effect that there is no map that can display both on the mobile phone is displayed on the first display unit 216, and the process proceeds to step S336. On the other hand, in step S332, if there is a map that is not optimal because the scale is too wide and can be displayed, the process proceeds directly to step S336. In step S336, it is checked whether or not the first mobile phone 302 is within the line range of the first telephone communication unit 224. This is the same as the determination in the so-called “out of service” display on the mobile phone. If it is within the line, the process proceeds to step S338, where the telephone line by the first telephone communication unit 224 is connected, and download of a necessary map is started from the mobile phone base station 306 via the Internet.

Then, while continuing the download, the process proceeds to step S340 to check whether a telephone call operation has been performed. When an operation is performed, a display indicating that a call cannot be made is displayed in step S342. This is to prevent the user who has performed this operation from being confused during the download without noticing that the telephone line is blocked and cannot make a call. After this display is started, the flow moves to step S344, but the display itself is continued for a predetermined time after the operation. On the other hand, if there is no telephone call operation, the process directly proceeds to step S344. In step S344, it is checked whether a mail transmission operation has been performed. When an operation is performed, a message indicating that transmission is not possible is displayed in step S346. This is to prevent the user who has performed this operation from being confused without noticing that the telephone line is blocked during download and the purpose is the same as in the case of telephone call operation. is there. After this display is started, the flow moves to step S348, but the display itself is continued for a predetermined time after the operation. On the other hand, if there is no mail transmission operation, the process directly proceeds to step S348.

In step S348, it is checked whether the download is completed. If completed, the process proceeds to step S350, and the downloaded map information is stored in the first storage unit 314. In step S352, the telephone line is disconnected and the flow is terminated. If the telephone line is out of range in step S336, the flow is immediately terminated. On the other hand, if the download is not completed in step S348, the process proceeds to step S354, and it is checked whether there is a map that can display the user and the partner even if the scale is too wide. If there is no map information that can be displayed, the process returns to step S340. Thereafter, the loop from step S340 to step S348 and step S354 is repeated until the download is completed. On the other hand, if there is a map that can be displayed in step S354, even if the download is incomplete, the flow is immediately terminated and the process proceeds to the next process. That is, the process proceeds to the twin navigation display process of step S294 in FIG. However, the download process is continued in parallel with the twin navigation display process. As described above, when there is no map information that can be displayed, the download process is not completed until the download of the necessary map is completed, whereas map information that can be displayed even if the scale is inappropriate is stored in the first memory. If it exists in the unit 314, the twin navigation display and the download process are performed in parallel without waiting for the completion of the download of the optimal map information.

FIG. 24 is a flowchart showing details of the map automatic preliminary download process in step S222 of FIG. When the flow starts, in step S362, it is checked whether or not the storage capacity allocated to the map storage in the first storage unit 314 remains a predetermined amount or more. As already mentioned, the automatic map pre-download process is a process that uses the standby time to predict and automatically download the map required for Twin Navi in advance, but it is not always clear whether the downloaded map will be used afterwards. . Therefore, step S362 is provided, and automatic download is performed only when the remaining storage capacity allocated to the map storage is greater than or equal to a predetermined value, so that the storage capacity is not occupied by a map with unknown availability. If the remaining storage capacity is greater than or equal to the predetermined value in step S362, the process proceeds to step S364, and it is checked whether or not map information whose scale is not normal is stored in the first storage unit 314. Non-scale map that is downloaded for purposes other than Twin Navi or an enlarged map of a specific area that has been downloaded to obtain detailed information and is not a scale that is commonly used for Twin Navi. It is. The map that is commonly used for twin navigation is a scale map that covers almost the communication area of the first short-range communication unit 226. If there is a regular outside scale map in step S364, the process proceeds to step S366, and a regular scale map corresponding to the map is selected based on communication with the mobile phone base station 306. Specifically, in the case of a wide area map, all of the common scale maps obtained by dividing the wide area map or those having a higher rank based on a predetermined priority rule are designated from the first mobile phone 302 side. In the case of a detailed map, a regular scale map centered on the area or expanded in accordance with a predetermined rule is designated from the first mobile phone 302 side. In the mobile phone base station 306, the common scale map closest to this designation is selected. And after said selection, it transfers to step S368. If there is no regular outside scale map in step S364, the process directly proceeds to step S368.

In step S368, the regular scale map stored in the first storage unit 314 is checked, and if there are a considerable number of regular scale maps for a certain area, it is determined whether there is a part missing from this. If there is a missing portion, the process proceeds to step S370, and a regular scale map corresponding to the missing portion is selected based on communication with the mobile phone base station 306. Specifically, based on the designation of the missing part from the first mobile phone 302 side, the mobile phone base station 306 selects the common scale map closest to the designation. And after said selection, it transfers to step S372. In step S368, if there is no common-scale area missing map in step S368, the process directly proceeds to step S372.

In step S372, based on communication with the mobile phone base station 306, it is checked whether there is new map information that matches the specified condition. Specifically, for example, when a condition such as “new shopping spot or sightseeing spot” is specified, if there is new map information including a spot that matches the condition, the process proceeds to step S374 and the corresponding regular scale map is displayed. Is selected by the mobile phone base station 306. After this selection, the process proceeds to step S376. If there is no new map information that matches the specified condition in step S372, the process directly proceeds to step S376. In step S376, it is checked whether there is a map selected by the above processing. If there is a selected map, a telephone line is connected to start downloading, and the process proceeds to step S378.

In step S372, it is checked whether or not a predetermined storage capacity remains in the first storage unit 314. This check is more gradual than the check of the remaining capacity in step S362, and does not check whether the capacity is imminently reduced. If the remaining storage capacity is equal to or less than the predetermined value, the process proceeds to step S380, where map information that has not been used for a long time is deleted from the first storage unit 314, and the process proceeds to step S382. On the other hand, if more than a predetermined storage capacity remains in step S378, the process proceeds directly to step S382.

In step S382, it is checked whether a telephone call operation has been performed. If there is no call operation, the process proceeds to step S384, and it is checked whether or not a mail transmission operation has been performed. If there is no transmission operation, it is checked in step S386 whether the download is complete. If complete, the process proceeds to step S390, where the automatically downloaded map information is stored in the first storage unit 314 and the telephone line is disconnected in step S392. To end the flow. If the download is not completed in step S386, the process returns to step S382. Thereafter, until the download is completed, steps S382 to S386 are repeated unless a telephone call or mail is transmitted. On the other hand, if there is a telephone call operation in step S382 or a mail transmission operation in step S384, even if the download is incomplete, the process immediately proceeds to step S392, where the telephone line is disconnected and automatic map preliminary download processing is performed. Interrupt and end the flow. This is to give priority to telephone call operation and mail transmission operation so that the line is not blocked by the emergency map automatic preliminary download process. If the remaining storage capacity is less than or equal to the predetermined value in step S362, or if there is no selected map and no telephone line is connected in step S376, the flow is immediately terminated.

FIG. 25 is a flowchart showing details of the twin navigation display process in step S294 of FIG. When the flow starts, in step S402, it is checked whether there is newly arrived map information stored in the first storage unit 314. If there is stored newly arrived map information, the selected map candidate used for twin navigation display in step S404. To step S406. If no new map information is stored, the process directly proceeds to step S406. In step S406, it is checked whether or not map information that can display the positions of both the mobile phone and the other party's mobile phone is stored in the first storage unit 314. If there is a memory, the process proceeds to step S408, and the map of the optimum scale is selected from the map information that can display both machines. Of course, if there is only one map information, it is selected.

When a map to be used for display is selected in step S408, the process proceeds to step S410, and it is checked whether or not the history of changes in absolute position information of the mobile phone every moment in the current twin navigation is stored in the first storage unit 314. Is done. If the history is stored, the process proceeds to step S412, where the traveling direction of his / her mobile phone in the present twin navigation is determined based on the own apparatus absolute position information change history, and the process proceeds to step S414. If the first storage unit 314 has no history of changes in its own absolute position information, the traveling direction cannot be determined, and the process directly proceeds to step S414. In step S414, it is checked whether or not the history of changes in absolute position information of the other party's mobile phone received in the current twin navigation is stored in the first storage unit 314. If the history is stored, the process proceeds to step S416, and the traveling direction of the other party's mobile phone in the current twin navigation is determined based on the other apparatus absolute position information change history, and the process proceeds to step S418. If the first storage unit 314 does not have a history of changes in other machine absolute position information, the traveling direction cannot be determined, and the process directly proceeds to step S418.

Step S418 and subsequent steps are for determining the direction in which the upper part of the map is displayed. First, in step S418, it is checked whether or not the display is the first display in the present twin navigation. If it is the first display, the process proceeds to step S420, and it is checked whether there is a direction determination of the own device. Even if it is the first display of twin navigation, if there are a plurality of absolute position information histories before the display is made, the traveling direction can be determined. If there is a determination, the process proceeds to step S424. In step S424, the direction of the map on the first display unit 216 is determined so that the traveling direction of the aircraft is on the map, and the positions of both aircraft with the traveling direction are determined on the map in which the direction is determined in step S326. Display and end the flow. If the direction of the aircraft is not determined in step S420, the process proceeds to step S422, the north of the map is set to be above the map, and the process proceeds to step S426.

If it is not the first display in the present twin navigation in step S418, the process proceeds to step S428, and it is checked whether or not there is a direction determination of another machine. If there is no other aircraft direction determination, the process proceeds to step S420, and the flow is the same as already described. On the other hand, if there is another device direction determination in step S428, the process proceeds to step S430, and it is checked whether or not the display is set to give priority to the traveling direction of the other device. The display setting that gives priority to the traveling direction of the other device is useful when talking with a shared map of the directions seen from the other side, such as when performing twin navigation while making a telephone call. If no other device priority setting is made in step S430, the process proceeds to step S432, and it is checked whether a preliminary operation for taking a picture by the first camera unit 302 has been performed. When this preliminary operation is performed, a map display in which the traveling direction of the other device is set above the map is performed. Since the optical axis of the photographing lens of the first camera unit 302 corresponds to the upper side of the first display unit 216, the display of such a display makes it possible for the direction of taking a picture by the first camera 302 to advance. It is the direction that can shoot the scenery that can be seen from. Thereby, it is possible to capture the scenery in a direction that can be easily seen by the other party and transmit it to the other party's mobile phone as reference information of the other party approaching to the other party. Even when the other-vehicle traveling direction is set in the map information in step S434, the process proceeds to step S426, and the positions of both aircrafts are displayed on the map in that direction.

When it is detected in step S430 that the display setting giving priority to the traveling direction of the other machine is detected, the process proceeds to step S434, and the setting for displaying the traveling direction of the other machine on the map is performed. On the other hand, if it is not detected in step S432 that the photo shooting preliminary operation is being performed, the process proceeds to step S420. Note that if there is no map that can display both machines in step S406, twin navigation display cannot be performed, and the flow is immediately terminated.

As described above, in the second embodiment, the twin navigation between the user and the other party has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to the two parties in the implementation on the mobile phone, but between the two parties described above. It is possible to enjoy twin navigation among more than three parties by combining these functions. For example, if there is a third mobile phone in FIG. 18, the relationship between the first mobile phone 302 and the second mobile phone 304 is the same as the relationship between the first mobile phone 302 and the third mobile phone, and the second mobile phone 304 and the second mobile phone 304. If replaced with the relationship with the three mobile phones, the positions of the three parties can be shared and displayed on the display units of the first mobile phone 302, the second mobile phone 304, and the third mobile phone. it can. Further, even if the distance between the two parties, for example, the distance between the first mobile phone 302 and the second mobile phone 304 is outside the range of short-range communication, the first mobile phone 302, the third mobile phone, and the second mobile phone If the telephone 304 and the third mobile phone are within the range of short-distance communication, twin navigation by the short-range communication unit is performed between the first mobile phone 302 and the second mobile phone 304 via the relay by the third mobile phone. It can be carried out.

In the above description of the embodiment, the display of the position of the user and the position of the other person has been described under the concept of twin navigation. However, the various features of the present invention relating to receiving the absolute position information of others and displaying it on their own map information are not limited to implementation in such “twin navigation”, This is also useful when only the position of the other person is displayed without displaying the position. Such implementation without displaying its own position is carried out by a modified embodiment in which, for example, “both units” is read as “other units” in the flow of FIG. Is possible. Specifically, in FIG. 21, step S272 and step S274 are omitted, and “both machines” in step S282 is read as “other machines”. However, since the map of the own machine is used, step S286 and the like are necessary. Of course, “twin navigation” in step S294 and the like is replaced with “other person position navigation”. In such a modified embodiment, the display regarding the display of the absolute position of the aircraft is not completely omitted, but the function of “twin navigation” as shown in FIG. You may comprise so that the performed function can be switched suitably.

The various features relating to the acquisition of map information in the present invention are also useful in normal navigation that does not handle the absolute position information of other aircraft. In carrying out navigation in such a manner that does not handle the absolute position information of other machines, for example, in FIG. 18 and the subsequent figures, a function related to “twin navigation” with other machines is omitted and there is “twin navigation”. Can be read as “navigation”. In such a modified embodiment, the function related to “twin navigation” is not completely omitted, but the function of “twin navigation” is preserved as it is, and the normal navigation with the above-described omission is performed. It may be configured such that the function or the function of “other person position navigation” as described above can be appropriately switched.

In the above embodiment, the map information download process of FIG. 23 prioritizes the downloading of map information over a telephone call or mail transmission operation, and the map automatic preliminary download process in FIG. A flow that prioritizes email sending operations. However, in carrying out the present invention, it may be configured such that the user can arbitrarily set in advance which of these cases has priority. In this case, in the map information download process of FIG. 23, when the telephone call or mail transmission operation is prioritized over the map information download, the telephone call operation is performed in step S340 or the mail is transmitted in step S344. When there is an operation, the process immediately proceeds to step S352 to disconnect the telephone line. In addition, when the map automatic preliminary download process in FIG. 24 is set so that downloading of map information is prioritized over telephone call or mail transmission operation, when a telephone call operation is performed in step S382 or mail transmission is performed in step S384. When there is an operation, it is displayed that these operations are not possible according to steps S342 and S346, and then the process proceeds to step S386 to wait for the download to be completed.

As described above, the second embodiment implemented as a mobile phone can perform various functions by combining the original telephone function and the position display function on the map. It is also possible to further enhance the incoming notification for the position display request. Specifically, for example, when the navigation request is displayed in step S234 in FIG. 19, the incoming melody as in step S306 in FIG. 22 is reproduced. Thus, even when a request for twin navigation is received during a telephone call, the user can know the fact by the incoming melody. On the other hand, for example, when a phone call is received in step S260 in FIG. Thus, even when there is an incoming call during twin navigation, the user can know the fact from the incoming melody. As described above, in the present invention, when one of the original telephone function and the position display function on the map is functioning with a specific partner, the start of the other function is requested from the same partner. This is characterized in that this is notified by an incoming melody.

FIG. 26 is a flowchart showing details of the normal navigation process in step S36 of FIG. 2 relating to the first embodiment of FIG. The normal navigation process is also possible in the second embodiment of FIG. 18, and an interruption is caused by performing a normal navigation operation in the basic function flowchart of FIG. 19, and the flow proceeds to the flow of FIG. Although FIG. 26 is performed based on the first embodiment, when understood as the second embodiment, “own vehicle” in the flow is read as “own device”. The flow in FIG. 26 is referred to as “normal navigation processing”, but has a function related to the present invention that is linked to the function of the twin navigation, not the function as in the past. That is, although it is a navigation function related only to the own vehicle, the navigation information is linked with a function related to the twin navigation. Now, when the normal navigation process in FIG. 26 starts, it is checked in step S442 whether the multiple destination display mode is set. The multi-destination display mode is a mode that displays multiple destinations on the map at the same time, and lists candidate destinations on the map regardless of whether you actually go to the destination. It is. Details thereof will be described later.

When it is not in such a multi-destination display mode, the process proceeds to step S444, and it is checked whether or not the setting for selecting only the reception destination is made. This part is related to the twin navigation, and the “reception destination” means that the absolute position information of the other vehicle is received and stored as the destination by the twin navigation function. Such storage is possible, for example, when the other vehicle has already reached the destination or when visiting a house where the other vehicle is located in the parking lot, the details of which will be described later. In step S444, it is checked whether or not the setting for displaying the destination menu by selecting only the destination received from the other vehicle is made. If the setting for selecting only the reception destination is not made in step S444, the process proceeds to step S446, and the destination stored in the destination menu indicating the list of stored destinations is stored as the normal setting. For example, by changing the display color. Then, the process proceeds to the destination list display in step S448. When the setting for selecting only the reception destination is made in step S444, since all the destinations displayed in the destination list are reception destinations, such processing is unnecessary, and the process directly proceeds to step S448. .

When the destination menu is displayed in step S448, the process proceeds to step S450, and it is checked whether one destination has been selected. If there is a selection, the process proceeds to step S452. On the other hand, if it cannot be confirmed in step S450 that the destination has been selected, the process returns to step S442. When it is detected in step S442 that the multi-destination display mode is set, the multi-destination display process in step S454 is followed to step S452. Thereafter, step S442 to step S450 are repeated until it is detected in step S442 that the multi-destination display mode has been set or until it is detected in step S450 that destination selection has been performed.

In step S452, the absolute position information of the destination selected in step S450 is read. Further, in step S456, the absolute position information of the own vehicle is read, and the process proceeds to step S458 to check whether there is route designation information from the current location to the destination. This route designation information may exist mainly when step S458 is reached via step S454, and when applicable, the route designation information is acquired in step S460 and step S462 is reached. If there is no route designation information in step S458, the map information preparation process is directly performed in step S462.

The map information preparation processing in step S462 corresponds to map scrolling and scale change in the first embodiment, but in the case of the second embodiment, map information acquisition processing by download is further included. In the case of step S462, the map is prepared in consideration of the route designation information, and the map scale is selected so that not only the current position and destination of the vehicle but also the route on the way is not deviated from the map. And scrolling is performed. Next, in step S464, the vehicle / route map display process for displaying the current position of the vehicle and the route to the destination on the map is performed based on the above information. In step S466, it is checked whether or not there is an operation for ending the navigation process. When this operation is detected, the flow is ended. If no navigation process end operation is detected in step S466, the process returns to step S456. Hereinafter, unless a navigation process end operation is detected, steps S456 to S466 are repeated corresponding to the change in the absolute position of the vehicle.

FIG. 27 is a flowchart showing details of the multiple destination display process in step S454 of FIG. In FIG. 27, the description will be made based on the first embodiment of FIG. 26. However, when understood as the second embodiment, “own vehicle” in the flow is read as “own device”. When the flow of FIG. 27 starts, the destination condition for extracting a plurality of destinations waits for setting in step S472, and when the setting is made, a list of destinations that match the condition is displayed in step S474. In step S476, it is checked whether or not narrowing is OK. This narrowing-down determination depends on whether or not a narrowing operation and a completion operation have been performed, but it is also determined that narrowing is OK even when a completion operation is performed without a narrowing operation as shown in the list. If it is OK, the process proceeds to step S478. On the other hand, if it is not detected in step S476 that the narrowing is OK, the process returns to step S472. Accordingly, it is possible to cope with a change in destination condition setting. Steps S472 to S476 are repeated until it is detected in step S476 that the narrowing is OK.

In step S478, the plurality of destination absolute position information determined in step S476 is read. The information read at this time includes the “reception destination” described in step S444 in FIG. Note that step S474 may be configured from step S444 to step S448 in FIG. 26 in order to distinguish this reception destination from a normal destination. If the destination narrowed down in step S476 is a single destination as a result, the destination absolute position information read in step S476 is naturally related to the single destination. It is possible to deal with such a single destination. Next, in step S480, the absolute position information of the own vehicle is acquired, and the process proceeds to step S482 to check whether the individual arrival path display mode is set. The individual arrival route display mode is a mode in which the arrival route is individually displayed for each of the plurality of destinations narrowed down in step S476. If applicable, the process proceeds to step S484, and each arrival route is calculated.

Next, it progresses to the map information preparation process of step S486. This process corresponds to step S462 in FIG. 26, but the map is prepared in consideration of the individual route calculated in step S484. In step S488, on-map display processing of the current position of the host vehicle and the individual arrival route to each destination is performed based on the prepared map information. In step S490, it is checked whether one of the sub-light destinations displayed with the individual destination is selected. If it is not selected, the process proceeds to step S492 to check whether or not a navigation process end operation has been performed. If a navigation process end operation has been performed, the flow ends. This case corresponds to a case where the user is satisfied that a plurality of destinations with individual destinations are listed on the map. On the other hand, when the navigation end operation is not detected in step S492, the process returns to step S480, and unless the individual destination display mode is canceled in step S482, the destination is selected in step S490, or the navigation process end operation is performed in step S492. Steps S480 to S492 are repeated, and the display on the map of a plurality of destinations with individual destinations is continued according to the change in the absolute position of the vehicle acquired in step S480.

On the other hand, if one destination is selected in step S490, the process proceeds to step S494, and it is checked whether or not a route designation operation has been performed. This operation is performed as part of the destination selection operation. When the operation for approving the destination displayed in step S488 is performed for the selected destination or when the operation is arbitrarily changed, “ Corresponds to “With route specification operation”. On the other hand, the case where the arrival route displayed in step S488 is canceled and no route is designated to change to this corresponds to “no route designation operation”. As a route designation operation performed as part of the destination selection operation in step S490, in addition to the above, a flow can be configured as follows. In other words, if one destination is selected as the final destination in step S490, in response to this selection, the final destination is selected via the other destinations in order instead of the individual destination. The most efficient route to reach the target is automatically calculated and displayed as a recommended route. It is assumed that there is an operation corresponding to “with route designation” by performing an operation of approving the recommended route or an operation of arbitrarily correcting the recommended route. If any route designation operation as described above is detected in step S494, the process proceeds to step S496, the designated route designation information is stored, and the process proceeds to step S452 in FIG. On the other hand, when the route designation operation is not detected, the process directly proceeds to step S452.

Next, the case where the individual destination display mode is not set in step S482 will be described. In this case, the process proceeds to step S498, and a map information preparation process is performed. This process is the same as the map information preparation process in step S486. However, since the map scale and scroll are determined without taking into account the individual destination, the process is simple and there are few restrictions on the map scale selection. Next, in step S500, a process of displaying a plurality of destinations and the position of the vehicle on a map is performed. Further, in step S502, a process for additionally displaying visit information is performed, and the process proceeds to step S490. In the processing of step S502, for a plurality of destinations displayed on the map, for example, whether or not a visit has already been made can be identified by the difference in display color, and if the visit has been made, the number of times is added on the map. It is processing such as making it display. Such functions include, for example, when dealing with customers in a relatively small area in the implementation of the present invention on a mobile phone according to the second embodiment, dealing with customers including new customer development, visit priority, route It is useful in determining such as. In other words, if this function is adopted, customers in the area are not simply a list but visually displayed as information on a map, which is useful information for the correspondence.

28 is a flowchart showing the function of the first control unit 8 or the second control unit 28 in the first embodiment of FIG. 1 and the function of the first control unit 308 or the second control unit 328 in the second embodiment of FIG. It is common to both. The following description will be focused on the first vehicle in FIG. 1 or the first mobile phone 302 in FIG. Therefore, unless otherwise specified, the subsequent flowchart will be described as a function of the first control unit 8 of FIG. When the flow in FIG. 28 is understood as the function of the first control unit 308 in FIG. 18, “other vehicle” in the flow is replaced with “other machine”. The flow of FIG. 28 relates to the storage processing of the absolute storage position used in the flow of FIG. 26, and an interrupt is generated by the absolute position storage instruction signal, and the flow starts. This absolute position storage instruction signal is received in the twin navigation process when a signal issued by another vehicle is stored to store the absolute position of the other person, and when it is generated by an operation on the host vehicle to store the absolute position of the host vehicle. There is. Note that when an absolute position storage instruction signal is issued from another vehicle and the absolute position information of the other vehicle is received for storage in response to this, the other vehicle is not necessarily within the short-range communication range. The absolute position storage instruction signal and the absolute position information are often received by communication by the telephone communication unit rather than by the distance communication unit.

When the storage process is started by the absolute position storage instruction signal, it is checked in step S512 whether the storage process is started by a storage instruction signal from another vehicle. If it is a storage instruction signal from another vehicle, the process proceeds to step S514, and it is checked whether or not the other vehicle absolute position information received at the time of the storage instruction is acquired during navigation. If it is not the other vehicle position acquired during the navigation, the process proceeds to step S516, and the received absolute position information of the other vehicle is stored as a reception destination. This memory is temporary. In the "Twin Navi" that has already been explained, the vehicle should normally be near another vehicle, so it receives the absolute position information acquired by the other vehicle at the location where the other vehicle actually exists, The significance of memorizing by instructions from the car is weak. However, if it is not in the middle of navigation, if the vehicle is placed in the parking lot of the house you are going to visit, or if the other vehicle that started on the previous day has already arrived at the destination, The position information corresponds to this, and in these cases, it is significant to receive the absolute position information of the other vehicle and store it as the destination of the own vehicle. That is, the series of functions from step S512 to step S516 in FIG. 28 is such that the other vehicle absolute position information that can be received at that time by receiving an instruction signal from the other vehicle side in the field in such a case. The destination can be stored much more easily than when the destination is independently searched for and input and stored on the vehicle side. This advantage is also useful in the mobile phone of the second embodiment, for example, when visiting the other party's home or when the other party is waiting in the coffee shop first.

Next, in step S518, information such as a destination name is received from the other vehicle side. This corresponds to performing transfer reception of information when the information on the destination has already been input to the other vehicle side. As can be seen also in this case, the absolute position information of the other vehicle received and stored is not only the absolute position information actually acquired by the other vehicle at the time when the storage instruction signal is transmitted, but also stored by the other vehicle. It may be absolute position information of the destination. In this case, there is no need for other vehicles to be in the field, so in order to share the destination at the start of twin navigation, if you want to have the absolute position information of the destination manually entered by any vehicle transferred by communication means It can also be used. The series of functions from step S512 to step S516 in FIG. 28 can also be used in the case of absolute position information from other vehicles that are not on site. If there is no information such as a destination name in the other vehicle, nothing happens in step S518. Next, in step S520, the received absolute position information stored in step S516, the destination name received in step S518, and the reception date and time are officially stored in the storage unit, and the flow ends. On the other hand, if the absolute position information received when there was a storage instruction signal from another vehicle in step S514 was acquired by the other vehicle during navigation, the other vehicle absolute position information at that time is displayed. Since storing as the destination is unreasonable, the received absolute position information of the other vehicle is stored as route designation information, and the flow is terminated. In this case, if the other vehicle is a leading vehicle that is familiar with the road guidance, it is useful to store the position of the important point of the route in accordance with the instruction of the other vehicle.

Next, a case where the storage instruction signal is not from another vehicle in step S512 will be described. In this case, it means that the flow is started by generating the storage instruction signal by the operation on the own vehicle, and therefore the process proceeds to step S524. In step S524, it is checked whether or not the own vehicle absolute position information acquired at the time of storage instruction is in the middle of navigation. If it is not the vehicle absolute position information during navigation, the process proceeds to step S526, and the acquired absolute position information of the vehicle is stored as a reception destination. This memory is temporary. Next, in step S528, the destination absolute name information and the acquisition date and time stored in step S526 are associated with the destination name input as necessary and formally stored in the storage unit, and the flow ends. In step S524, when the acquired absolute position information of the own vehicle is acquired during navigation, it is unreasonable to store the absolute position information of the own vehicle as the destination, so the acquired information is acquired. The absolute position information of the other vehicle is stored as route designation information, and the flow ends. In this way, at any point in time during navigation, it is possible to memorize the location of the important points of the route based on its own judgment.

Here, returning to the function of “twin navigation”, supplementary explanation will be given for map information deficiency information sharing with other devices in step S288 of FIG. 21, and further in steps S296 and S298. As already described, step S288 has a function of notifying other devices of the fact that the map information of the own device is incomplete. On the other hand, step S296 and step S298 have a function of receiving information on incomplete map information in another machine and displaying it on the own machine. As a result, if there is a situation in which there is a defect in the map information in the own machine or in another machine and the same map is not shared, it can be known to each other. In other words, it is possible to confirm that the same map is shared with each other when there is no such incomplete communication. Information can be exchanged about the display on the same map while confirming that both are viewing the same map. The confirmation function of what the other party is looking at is not limited to a map defect, and can be widely applied. For example, by providing a step for automatically transmitting to the other machine that the display on the position map of both machines has started after step S426 in FIG. 25, the other machine can confirm the display content on the own machine. Furthermore, by providing a step of automatically displaying the fact that the display on the two-device position map has started from another device thereafter, the display content on the other device can be confirmed by the own device. In this way, regarding the display contents, it is possible to exchange information on the assumption that the other party is looking at the same thing. This advantage is particularly useful when talking on a mobile phone while watching the twin navigation display in the second embodiment. In addition, the above-mentioned advantages that are exhibited when talking on a mobile phone while viewing the same display as the other party is seeing are not limited to the case where a map is displayed, but sent This is also useful when a photograph or internet screen is displayed.

It is a block diagram which shows the 1st Example of the position display apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. 3 is a flowchart showing basic functions of a first control unit 8 or a second control unit 28 in FIG. 1. It is a flowchart which shows the detail of step S18 of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the detail of step S32 of FIG. It is a display screen figure which shows an example of a display in case the own vehicle is a leading vehicle. It is a display screen figure when a succeeding vehicle is delayed and the map scale is widened. It is a display screen figure at the time of being automatically scrolled so that the center of all the vehicles may become the center position of a map display. It is a display screen figure in the state where display continuation of the 2nd other vehicles became impossible. It is a display screen figure when the scale of a map is automatically changed to the enlarged side. It is a display screen figure when the own vehicle which is a leading vehicle turns right. It is a display screen figure in case a 2nd vehicle follows and turns right. It is a display screen figure when the following right turn of all the following vehicles is completed and it becomes the simplified display which abbreviate | omitted map display. It is a display screen figure when it becomes the following vehicle simplified display and the automatic scroll based on the own vehicle is performed. It is a display screen figure of the 3rd vehicle in case each vehicle exists in the position of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the detail of step S64 of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the detail of step S112 of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the detail of step S68 of FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the 2nd Example of the position display apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the basic function of the 1st control part 308 or the 2nd control part 328 in the 2nd Example of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the detail of the twin navigation process in step S240 of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the detail of the twin navigation screen display process in step S258 of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the detail of the twin navi possible notification process in step S204 of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the detail of the map information download process in FIG.21 S292. It is a flowchart which shows the detail of the map automatic preliminary | backup download process in FIG.19 S222. It is a flowchart which shows the detail of the twin navigation display process in step S294 of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the detail of the normal navigation process in FIG.2 S36 regarding the 1st Example of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the detail of the multiple destination display process in step S454 of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the function of the control part of the 1st Example or 2nd Example regarding the memory | storage process of the absolute storage position used in the flow of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

226 Wireless communication means 314, 320 Map information providing means 216, 320 Map display means 308, 320 determination means 308 Control means 218 Absolute position acquisition means 308, 320 Self-position change determination means 308, 210, 302 Instruction means 302 Photography means

Claims (11)

Wireless communication means for receiving externally acquired absolute position information, map information providing means capable of providing map information, and the wireless communication means received on a map based on map information provided by the map information output means A position display device comprising map display means for displaying a position based on absolute position information, and determination means for determining a change in the absolute position information. The position display device according to claim 1, further comprising a control unit that determines a direction of a map displayed by the map display unit based on a determination result of the determination unit. 3. The position display device according to claim 2, wherein when the determination result of the determination unit is not obtained, the control unit determines the direction of the map displayed by the map display unit as a predetermined direction. Absolute position acquisition means for acquiring own absolute position information, and the map display means includes the absolute position information acquired by the absolute position acquisition means on the map based on the map information provided by the map information output means, and 4. The position display device according to claim 1, wherein the absolute position information received by the wireless communication means is displayed so as to be distinguishable from each other. 5. The position display device according to claim 4, further comprising own position change determination means for determining a change in absolute position information acquired by the absolute position acquisition means. 6. The position display device according to claim 5, further comprising a control unit that determines a direction of a map displayed by the map display unit based on a determination result of the own position change determination unit. Control means for determining the direction of the map displayed by the map display means based on the determination result of the determination means or the own position change determination means, and instructing the control means which determination result should be based on 7. The position display device according to claim 5, further comprising an instruction unit. First absolute position acquisition means for acquiring own first absolute position information, wireless communication means for receiving second absolute position information acquired by an external second absolute position acquisition means, and map information capable of providing map information Providing means; map display means for displaying a position based on the first absolute position information and a position based on the second absolute position information on a map based on the map information provided by the map information output means; A position display device comprising: instruction means for instructing whether the direction of the map displayed by the display means should be determined based on first absolute position information or second absolute position information. 9. The position display device according to claim 7, wherein the instruction means is capable of giving an arbitrary instruction. 9. The position display apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the instruction means automatically gives a predetermined instruction based on a predetermined condition. First absolute position acquisition means for acquiring own first absolute position information, wireless communication means for receiving second absolute position information acquired by an external second absolute position acquisition means, and map information capable of providing map information Providing means, map display means for displaying a position based on the first absolute position information and a position based on the second absolute position information on a map based on the map information provided by the map information output means so as to be distinguishable from each other, and photography And a pointing means for automatically instructing the direction of the map displayed by the map display means based on the second absolute position information prior to photographing by the photograph photographing means. Display device.