JP2006031529A - Map information service method, map information provision device and map information provision program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a map information provision device and method, providing map information around a portable terminal without using position information obtained by use of a GPS satellite electric wave. <P>SOLUTION: A portable terminal user photographs specific 'a symbol, a numeral or a character' written on an object and a wall of a store near the user by use of the portable terminal 200, and transmits an imaged photograph to a server 300. The server 300 receives an image such as 'the symbol, the numeral or the character' from the portable terminal 200, retrieves the map information on the basis of image information thereof, acquires a map around a photographing position, and transmits it to the portable terminal 200. The portable terminal 200 receives the map information from the server 300, stores and displays the received map information, and provides the map information to the portable terminal user. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a map information service method, a map information providing device, and a map information providing program for providing map information to a mobile terminal or the like.

  In recent years, various services for providing information to mobile terminal users who have mobile terminals such as mobile phones have been provided. A map information providing service that provides map information, such as displaying a map image around the terminal itself on a display unit of a portable terminal, is also a type of service. For example, there is a service that provides mobile terminal users with map information around the position where the mobile terminal exists, using the position information of the mobile terminal obtained using GPS satellite radio waves.

  However, the map information providing service as described above searches for and acquires map information corresponding to the position information based on the position information of the mobile terminal obtained by using GPS satellite radio waves, and transmits the mobile terminal as a transmission source. In general, the map information is transmitted to the mobile phone. This service cannot be used in areas such as underground shopping centers that cannot receive GPS satellite radio waves. In addition, this service is not applicable to portable terminals that do not have a GPS device. Further, the position information obtained by using the GPS satellite radio wave is only position information relating to a plane such as latitude and longitude, and position information relating to height cannot be obtained. When using the service, the position information on the plane is the same, but the height is different, which may cause different maps to be displayed. For example, when there are mobile terminal users outdoors, indoors such as buildings, underground malls, etc., the map to be displayed is different even if they are the same position in the position information on the plane. As a result, it is difficult to provide map information corresponding to the location of the user.

  For example, there is an underground map search method disclosed in Patent Document 1 as a method for searching a map of an underground mall. In this underground map search method, image information of the underground map is stored in an electronic medium such as a memory card, a media card, or a flash ROM, and the electronic medium is stored in a mail transmission / reception terminal, a schedule management terminal, a portable personal computer, a digital camera, The mobile phone is installed in a mobile terminal such as a mobile phone, and an image of the underground map is displayed on the display unit of the mobile terminal. However, since this method does not provide a means for acquiring location information of the terminal itself, it merely displays a map of the underground shopping area and cannot display a map corresponding to the position of the terminal itself.

JP 2002-244549 A

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a map information providing apparatus and method for providing map information around a mobile terminal without using position information obtained by using GPS satellite radio waves. And

  The map information service method of the present invention is a map information service method for providing map image data using a network, the service request receiving step for receiving a map information service request including image data, and the service request reception Based on the image data included in the map information service request received in step, a shooting position specifying step for obtaining shooting position specifying information for specifying a shooting position of the image data, and the shooting obtained in the shooting position specifying step Based on the position specifying information, the map image data in a predetermined range including the shooting position, the map image acquisition step acquired from the map information database, and the map image data acquired in the map image acquisition step are received. A map image transmission step to be transmitted to the transmission source of the map information service request. Is shall.

  In the map information service method of the present invention, the shooting position specifying step includes extracting characters included in the received image data and specifying the shooting position based on the extracted characters.

  The map information service method of the present invention includes a method in which the map image transmission step superimposes and transmits image data indicating the photographing position on the map image data acquired in the map image acquisition step.

  The map information providing apparatus according to the present invention is a map information providing apparatus that provides map image data using a network, the image information receiving unit receiving a map information service request including image data, and the image information receiving Based on the image data included in the map information service request received by the image acquisition unit, shooting position specifying information for specifying the shooting position of the image data is obtained, and based on the shooting position specifying information, a predetermined range including the shooting position A map information acquisition unit for acquiring the map image data from a map information database; a map information transmission unit for transmitting the map image data acquired by the map information acquisition unit to a transmission source of the received map information service request; Is provided.

  In the map information providing apparatus of the present invention, the map information acquisition unit includes a unit that extracts characters included in the received image data and specifies the shooting position based on the extracted characters.

  The map information providing apparatus according to the present invention includes a device in which the map information transmitting unit superimposes and transmits image data indicating the shooting position on the map image data acquired by the map information acquiring unit.

  The map information providing program of the present invention executes each step in the map information service method using a computer.

  The map information provision program of this invention is for implement | achieving the said map information provision apparatus using a computer.

  According to the above-described configuration, even if the location information cannot be acquired using GPS satellite radio waves in a dead zone such as an underground shopping area, the surroundings of the transmission source can be obtained by photographing the symbol attached to the fixed object and transmitting the image information. Map information can be acquired.

  According to the present invention, even when the location information cannot be acquired using GPS satellite radio waves in a dead zone such as an underground shopping area, the image of the symbol attached to the fixed object is transmitted and image information is transmitted. Map information can be acquired.

  Hereinafter, a map guidance system for explaining embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a map guidance system.

  In FIG. 1, the map guidance system 100 includes a mobile terminal 200 possessed by a user of the mobile terminal, and a server 300 as a map information providing apparatus that provides the mobile terminal 200 with map information.

  The mobile terminal 200 has a photographing function, for example. When the mobile terminal user is walking in an underground city where it is not possible to make a call, the mobile terminal 200 is given in advance to a fixed wall such as a store wall or an object nearby. A unique “symbol, number, or character” or the like is photographed, and a photograph such as “symbol, number, or character” is transmitted as image information using a portable terminal. The mobile terminal 200 receives and displays the map information when the map information is sent from the server 300 described later.

  The server 300 stores map information such as an underground shopping area. When image information is sent from the mobile terminal 200, the server 300 searches the map information based on the image information and focuses on the current location of the mobile terminal user. Is acquired and transmitted to the mobile terminal 200. These functions are realized by executing a predetermined program.

  In the map guidance system 100, the mobile terminal user uses the mobile terminal 200 to acquire a map centered on his current position, and the uniqueness given in advance to the store walls and objects near him / her. The “symbol, number, or character” is taken, and the photograph taken via the network is transmitted to the server 300. The server 300 receives image information such as “symbols, numbers, or characters” from the mobile terminal 200, searches for map information based on the image information, acquires a map centered on the position, and stores the map information in the mobile terminal 200. Send. After the mobile terminal 200 receives the map information from the server 300, the received map information is stored, displayed on the display screen of the mobile terminal 200, and provided to the mobile terminal user.

Next, details of the mobile terminal 200 and the server 300 will be described.
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a detailed configuration of the mobile terminal 200 in the map guidance system. In FIG. 2, the mobile terminal 200 includes an image information photographing unit 201 that captures, as image information, a unique symbol or the like previously assigned to a store wall and a fixed object such as an object, and the server 300 stores the captured image information. An image information transmission unit 202 to transmit, a map information reception unit 203 to receive map information from the server 300, a map information storage unit 204 to store the received map information, and a map information display unit to display the stored map information 205.

The image information photographing unit 201 photographs a unique symbol given in advance to a store wall and an object. Here, when the portable terminal 200 has a photographing unit, the image information is photographed as the image information photographing unit 201 using the photographing unit. In the present embodiment, for example, a unique “symbol, number, or character” is given to the wall of each store in the underground shopping mall, for example. The given unique “symbol, number, or character” is photographed by the image information photographing unit 201. For example, the symbol of the restaurant is “◯ xx”, the clothing store is “Δxx”, and the symbol initial is taken as image information that is distinguished by the product being handled.

  The image information transmitting unit 202 transmits image information captured by the image information capturing unit 201 to the server 300. The map information receiving unit 203 receives map information from the server 300. The map information storage unit 204 stores the map information received by the map information receiving unit 203. The map information display unit 205 displays map information. Here, when the mobile terminal 200 carried by the mobile terminal user has a liquid crystal unit, the liquid crystal unit of the mobile terminal 200 is used as the display unit 205, and the map information is displayed to the mobile terminal user.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a detailed configuration of the server 300 in the map guidance system. In FIG. 3, the server 300 is based on an image information receiving unit 301 that receives image information from the mobile terminal 200, a map information database 302 that stores map information, and image information received by the image information receiving unit 301. A map information acquisition unit 303 that acquires a map centered on a position where the image information is photographed from the map information database 302, and a map information transmission unit 304 that transmits the acquired map information to the mobile terminal 200. Composed. The image information receiving unit 301 receives image information from the mobile terminal 200 via a network constructed in the dead zone.

  The map information acquisition unit 303 searches the map information stored in the map information database 302 based on the image information received by the image information receiving unit 301, and a map centering on the position where the image information is photographed. Is something to get. Here, the map information acquisition unit 303 extracts symbols and the like from the received image information, specifies a shooting position from the symbols and the like, and searches and acquires map information centered on the shooting position based on the shooting position information. Since the symbols and the like are given to the fixed material in advance, the position information such as the symbols is provided in the map information acquisition unit 303 in advance.

  The map information transmission unit 304 transmits the acquired map information to the mobile terminal 200 via the network. Note that image data indicating the shooting position may be superimposed on the map information to be transmitted.

About the map guidance system comprised by the above portable terminals 200 and the server 300, the operation | movement is demonstrated using FIG.

First, when the process is started (step 401), when a mobile terminal user walking in the underground shopping street does not know where he / she is, using the mobile terminal 200 he / she owns, Alternatively, a unique “symbol, number, or character” given to an object is photographed and used as image information (step 402).
The image information transmission unit 202 transmits a map information service request to the server 300 with the photograph taken through the network constructed in the dead zone as image information (step 403).
The image information receiving unit 301 of the server 300 receives the map information service request including the image information transmitted from the mobile terminal 200 (step 404).
The map information acquisition unit 303 acquires map information based on the image information sent from the mobile terminal 200 (step 405).
The map information transmission unit 304 transmits the map information acquired in step 405 to the mobile terminal 200 (step 406).
The map information receiving unit 203 of the portable terminal 200 receives the map information from the server 300 (step 407).
The map information storage unit 204 stores and stores the received map information from the server 300 (step 408).
The map information display unit 205 displays the map information around the current position of the mobile terminal user stored in the map information storage unit 204 (step 409), and the process ends.

  According to such a map guidance system of the embodiment of the present invention, in an underground shopping street where a mobile terminal cannot communicate, the “symbol, number or character” given to a store or an object in the underground shopping street is stored in the mobile terminal. By taking a picture with and sending the image to the server, the server searches for the location in the underground shopping area based on the sent image, and sends the map information to the mobile terminal user. The map information is displayed on the display unit of the mobile terminal user's mobile terminal, and the mobile terminal user can grasp in detail the location where the user is.

By the way, in the conventional dead zone map providing method, the portable information terminal uses a general-purpose mail transmission / reception terminal, a schedule management terminal, a portable personal computer, a digital camera or a mobile phone to search for an underground map. Although it can be achieved, since the image of the underground map is stored in an electronic medium such as a media card or flash ROM, the capacity of the storage medium is limited, and a map that is larger than the capacity of the electronic medium I can't remember. In addition, it is necessary to carry a storage medium storing map information corresponding to the dead zone where the user goes, which has a problem of placing a burden on the user.
In addition, the latest information such as underground shopping and store changes cannot be immediately reflected in the storage medium, and the underground map stored in the storage medium must be updated separately, which is inconvenient. was there.

  In this embodiment, a technique of acquiring map information from a server via a network is used. In this method, map information is stored in a server, so that it is not necessary to store map information of an underground shopping area that goes to a storage medium of a portable terminal in advance. Therefore, the capacity of the storage medium of the portable terminal is not a problem. Also, by updating the map information on the server, the user can always use the latest map.

  In addition, in the conventional map information providing service using GPS, position information relating to height cannot be obtained. Therefore, if there are mobile terminal users outdoors, indoors such as buildings, underground malls, etc., the map to be displayed is different even if they are the same position in the location information on the plane, but it corresponds to the location of the user It was difficult to provide map information. In the present embodiment, using the photographing function of the mobile terminal, a “symbol, number, or character” attached to a store or an object in an underground shopping area is photographed with the mobile terminal, and the photograph is transmitted to the server as image information. The above problem is solved because the configuration is not limited to the positional information on the plane.

  In the present embodiment, with respect to the example of the image information photographing unit, a photograph of the mobile terminal is used to photograph a “symbol, number, or character” attached to a store or an object in an underground shopping area with the mobile terminal. The case where the photograph is transmitted to the server as image information has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the push button on the mobile terminal is used to attach to the walls and objects of each store in each underground shopping street. Alternatively, “symbols, numbers, or characters” may be input and transmitted to the server as information instead of image information.

  Moreover, in this embodiment, about the example which transmits image information to a server from a portable terminal, it can implement in a various aspect. For example, the image information may be transmitted to the server via an infrared communication interface or the Internet.

  In the present embodiment, the image information to be transmitted to the server is exemplified by a symbol or the like given in advance to a store wall or an object, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, an address or the like originally written on the wall or signboard of each store in each underground shopping area may be taken and used as image information.

  In this embodiment, an example in which map information is transmitted from the server to the mobile terminal has been described. However, the information transmitted from the server may be information (position information) that specifies the position of the mobile terminal user. In this case, a lot of map information is stored in advance on the mobile terminal side. The server identifies the shooting position based on the image information sent from the portable terminal, and transmits the shooting position information to the portable terminal. On the portable terminal side, based on the received position information, map information centered on the photographing position of the portable terminal user is specified from map information recorded on the portable terminal, and displayed on the display unit. According to this configuration, since the mobile terminal user does not need to receive a large amount of map information to the mobile terminal, the time required for receiving the map information is shortened, which is convenient.

  The map information providing apparatus and method of the present invention captures a symbol or the like attached to a fixed object and transmits image information even when the location information cannot be acquired using GPS satellite radio waves in a dead zone such as an underground shopping center. Thus, it has the effect of being able to acquire map information around the transmission source, and is useful as a map information providing technique for providing map information to a mobile terminal or the like.

The figure which shows schematic structure of the map guidance system for describing embodiment of this invention The figure which shows the detailed structure of the portable terminal in a map guidance system The figure which shows the constitution of the server in the map guidance system The figure which shows the operation flow of the map guidance system

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Map guidance system 200 Portable terminal 201 Image information imaging | photography part 202 Image information transmission part 203 Map information reception part 204 Map information storage part 205 Map information display part 300 Server 301 Image information reception part 302 Map information database 303 Map information acquisition part 304 Map Information transmitter

Claims (8)

A map information service method for providing map image data using a network,
A service request receiving step for receiving a map information service request including image data;
Based on the image data included in the map information service request received in the service request reception step, a shooting position specifying step for obtaining shooting position specifying information for specifying a shooting position of the image data;
A map image acquisition step of acquiring a predetermined range of map image data including the shooting position from a map information database based on the shooting position specifying information obtained in the shooting position specifying step;
A map information service method comprising: a map image transmission step of transmitting the map image data acquired in the map image acquisition step to a transmission source of the received map information service request. The map information service method according to claim 1,
The imaging position specifying step is a map information service method in which characters included in the received image data are extracted, and the imaging positions are specified based on the extracted characters. The map information service method according to claim 1 or 2,
The map image transmitting step is a map information service method in which image data indicating the shooting position is superimposed and transmitted on the map image data acquired in the map image acquiring step. A map information providing device that provides map image data using a network,
An image information receiving unit for receiving a map information service request including image data;
Based on the image data included in the map information service request received by the image information receiving unit, photographing position specifying information for specifying a shooting position of the image data is obtained, and the shooting position is determined based on the shooting position specifying information. A map information acquisition unit that acquires map image data of a predetermined range including the map information database;
A map information transmission unit that transmits the map image data acquired by the map information acquisition unit to a transmission source of the received map information service request;
A map information providing device comprising: The map information providing device according to claim 4,
The said map information acquisition part is a map information provision apparatus which extracts the character contained in the said received image data, and specifies the said imaging | photography position based on the extracted said character. The map information providing device according to claim 4 or 5,
The map information transmitting unit is a map information providing device that superimposes and transmits image data indicating the shooting position on the map image data acquired by the map information acquiring unit.   The map information provision program for performing each step in the map information service method as described in any one of Claims 1 thru | or 3 using a computer.   The map information provision program for implement | achieving the map information provision apparatus as described in any one of Claim 4 thru | or 6 using a computer.

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