Method for transmitting location-related information between a control centre and a mobile terminal, a mobile terminal and a control centre

• US 20030164779A1
• Filed: 01/06/2003
• Published: 09/04/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 03/03/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
• Original Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
• Inventors: Gieseke, Arnold, Hans, Martin, Schmidt, Gunnar, Thoms, Dieter, Mundt, Frieder
• Granted Patent: US 6,960,997 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/993
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096811 where the route is computed offboard
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096822 where the segments of the route are transmitted to the vehicle at different locations and times
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096872 where instructions are given per voice
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096883 where input information is obtained using a mobile device, e.g. a mobile phone, a PDA

Abstract

A method for transmitting location-related data information between a main station (1) and a mobile terminal (5), a main station (1) and a mobile terminal (5) are proposed, which make possible the position tracing of the mobile terminal (5) or a navigational application on the display device of the mobile terminal (5). As to mobile terminal (5), this may be particularly a mobile telecommunications terminal. In a first step, a position of a mobile terminal (5) is ascertained and transmitted to the main station (1). In a second step, location-related data information for the mobile terminal (5) is formed in the main station (1), in dependence upon the ascertained position of the mobile terminal (5). In a third step, the location-related data information is transmitted from the main station (1) to the mobile terminal (5). In a fourth step, the location-related data information received is brought to reproduction on a reproduction device (10) of the mobile terminal (5).

Claims

1. A method for transmitting Location-related data information between a main station (1) and a mobile terminal (5), especially a mobile telecommunications terminal, in a first step, a position of a mobile terminal (5) being ascertained and transmitted to the main station (1);

in a second step, location-related data information for the mobile terminal (5) being formed in the main station (1) in dependence upon the ascertained position of the mobile terminal (5);

in a third step, the location-related data information being transmitted from the main station (1) to the mobile terminal (5); and

in a fourth step, the location-related data information received being brought to reproduction on a reproduction device (10) of the mobile terminal (5), wherein in the first step, information on the size of the map section reproducible on the reproduction device (10) is transmitted from the mobile terminal (5) to the main station (1).

2. The method as recited in claim 1,

wherein in the second step, a section of a geographical map is selected in the main station (1) which includes the ascertained position of the mobile terminal (5);

in the third step, the selected map section is transmitted from the main station (1) to the mobile terminal (5); and

in the fourth step, the transmitted map section having the ascertained position is brought to reproduction on a reproduction device (10) of the mobile terminal (5).

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2,

wherein in the second step, a route proposal between the ascertained position of the mobile terminal (5) and a specified destination is computed in the main station (1);

the route proposal is transmitted in the third step from the main station (1) to the mobile terminal (5); and

the route proposal is reproduced in the fourth step on the reproduction device (10) of the mobile terminal (5).

4. The method as recited in claim 3,

wherein the destination is input on the mobile terminal (5) in the first step, and is transmitted to the main terminal (1).

5. The method as recited in claim 3 or 4,

wherein the selected map section is transmitted to the mobile terminal (5) in coded form by a compression method, particularly by using one of image compression methods H.261 and H.263 according to ITU-T Standard H.32x (International Telecommunication Union).

6. The method as recited in one of claims 2 through 5,

wherein in a second step, the map section is selected in such a way that the position of the mobile terminal (5) ascertained in the first step lies essentially in a middle region of the selected map section.

7. The method as recited in one of claims 2 through 6,

wherein in a fifth step, a new position of the mobile terminal (5) is ascertained and transmitted to the main station (1);

in a sixth step, a new map section is selected in the main station (1), which includes the new position of the mobile terminal;

in a seventh step, image data are transmitted from the main station (1) to the mobile terminal (5), in dependence upon differences between the selected new map section and the present map section; and

in an eighth step, the present map section is brought updated to reproduction on the reproduction device (10) of the mobile terminal (5), in dependence upon the transmitted image data.

8. The method as recited in claim 7,

wherein in a sixth step, the new map section is selected in such a way that the new position of the mobile terminal (5) ascertained in the fifth step lies essentially in a middle region of the selected new map section.

9. The method as recited in claim 7 or 8,

wherein at the selection of the new map section in the sixth step, especially when using one of image compression methods H.261 and H.263, the present map section is subdivided into individual image blocks;

a movement vector is computed for each of the image blocks in dependence upon the change in position from the previous position to the new position of the mobile terminal (5);

the new map section is estimated starting from the present map section and the movement vectors;

the estimated map section is compared to the new map section by difference formation, so that a difference image is created;

using the image data in the seventh step, the difference image is transmitted to the mobile terminal (5);

in the seventh step, the movement vectors are also transmitted from the main station (1) to the mobile terminal (5); and

in the eighth step, the map section to be reproduced on the reproduction device (10) is computed from the present map section, in that the present map section is shifted block-wise with the aid of the movement vectors, and the shifted map section formed in this way is overlaid with the difference image.

10. The method as recited in claim 9,

wherein at specified times in the seventh step, the new map section is transmitted from the main station (1) to the mobile terminal (5) with the aid of the image data, and in the eighth step, the new map section having the new position is brought to reproduction on the reproduction device (10).

11. The method as recited in claim 7 or 8,

wherein during selection of the new map section in the sixth step, map regions are ascertained which are included only in the new map section and not in the present map section;

in the seventh step, the ascertained map regions are transmitted from the main station (1) to the mobile terminal (5) with the aid of the image data; and

in the eighth step, the map section to be reproduced on the reproduction device (10) is computed from the presently reproduced map section, in that the present reproduced map section is shifted with the aid of the overall movement vector computed based on the position change of the previous position to the new position of the mobile terminal (5), and the shifted map section formed in this manner is supplemented by the transmitted map sections.

12. The method as recited in one of claims 7 through 11,

wherein the image data are transmitted to the mobile terminal (5) coded by a compression method, particularly by using one of image compression methods H.261 and H.263 according to ITU-T Standard H.32x.

13. The method as recited in one of claims 2 through 12,

wherein the position of the mobile terminal (5) is ascertained by a position-finding receiver (15), especially a GPS receiver (Global Positioning System).

14. The method as recited in one of claims 2 through 13,

wherein the position of the mobile terminal (5) is input on an input device (20) of the mobile terminal (5).

15. A mobile terminal (5), especially a mobile telecommunications terminal (5), for carrying out a method as recited in one of the preceding claims, an evaluation unit (35) being provided which ascertains a new position of the mobile terminal (5);

a transmitting unit (25) being provided which transmits the ascertained position to a main station (1);

a receiving unit (30) being provided which receives location-related data information, generated in dependence on the ascertained position, from the main station (1); and

a reproduction device (10) being provided on which a reproduction of the location-related data information is carried out,

wherein the transmitting unit (25) transmits information to the main station (1) on the size of the map section reproducible on the reproduction device (10).

16. The mobile terminal (5) as recited in claim 15,

wherein the location-related data information is developed as a section of a geographical map and/or as a route proposal.

17. The mobile terminal (5) as recited in claim 15 or 16,

wherein the transmitting unit (25) transmits a new position ascertained by the evaluation unit (35) to the main station (1);

and the evaluation unit (35) updates a map section presently reproduced on the reproduction device (10) in dependence upon the image data received from main station (1) after the transmission of the new position.

18. The mobile terminal (5) as recited in claim 17,

wherein the receiving unit (30), by use of the image data, receives a difference image between a new map section and an estimated new map section from the main station (1);

the receiving unit (30) also receives movement vectors from the main station (1) which are allocated to individual blocks of the present map section;

the evaluation unit (35) computes the map section to be reproduced on the reproduction device (10) from the present map section, in that the present map section is shifted block-wise with the aid of the movement vectors, and the shifted map section formed in this way is overlaid with the difference image.

19. The mobile terminal (5) as recited in claim 17,

wherein the receiving unit (30) receives map sections from the main station (1) with the aid of the image data;

the evaluation unit (35) computes the map section to be reproduced on the reproduction device (10) from the presently reproduced map section, in that it ascertains an overall movement vector from the position change of the previous position to the new position of the mobile terminal (5), it shifts the presently reproduced map section with the aid of the computed overall movement vector and it supplements the shifted map section formed in this manner by the transmitted map sections.

20. The mobile terminal (5) as recited in one of claims 15 through 19,

wherein a location finding receiver (15), especially a GPS receiver, is provided which receives location finding data for position ascertainment.

21. The mobile terminal (5) as recited in one of claims 15 through 20,

wherein an input device (20) is provided on which the position of the mobile terminal (5) may be input.

22. A main station (1) for executing the method as recited in one of claims 1 through 14, a receiving unit (40) being provided which receives data about a position of a mobile terminal (5), especially a mobile telecommunications device;

an evaluation unit (50) being provided which forms location-related data information in dependence upon the position of the mobile terminal (5); and

a transmitting unit (55) being provided which transmits the location-related data information to the mobile terminal (5).

wherein the receiving unit (40) receives information on the size of the map section reproducible on the reproduction device (10) of the mobile terminal (5); and

the evaluation unit (50) selects the map section in such a way that it is completely reproducible on the reproduction device (10) of the mobile terminal (5).

23. The main station (1) as recited in claim 22,

wherein a memory (45) is provided in which geographical map material is stored;

the evaluation unit (50) selects a map section from the memory (45) which includes the position of the mobile terminal (5); and

the selected map section at least partially forms the location-related data information.

24. The main station (1) as recited in claim 22 or 23,

wherein the evaluation unit (50) computes a route proposal from the position of the mobile terminal (5) and an input destination received from the mobile terminal (5);

and the route proposal at least partially forms the location-related data information.

25. The main station (1) as recited in claim 23 or 24,

wherein the evaluation unit (50), upon receiving a new position of the mobile terminal (5) by the receiving unit (40), selects a new map section which includes the new position of the mobile terminal (5);

and the evaluation unit (50) transmits image data via the transmitting unit (55) to the mobile terminal (5), in dependence upon differences between the selected new map section and the present map section.

26. The main station (1) as recited in claim 25,

wherein the evaluation unit (50) subdivides the present map section into individual image blocks;

the evaluation unit (50) computes a movement vector for each of the image blocks in dependence upon the change in position from the previous position to the new position of the mobile terminal (5);

the evaluation unit (50) estimates the new map section starting from the present map section and the movement vectors;

the evaluation unit (50) compares the estimated map section to the new map section by difference formation, so that a difference image is created;

the transmitting unit (55) transmits the difference image to the mobile terminal (5) with the aid of the image data; and

the transmitting unit (55) also transmits the movement vectors to the mobile terminal (5).

27. The main station (1) as recited in claim 25,

wherein the evaluation unit (50), during selection of the new map section, ascertains map regions which are included only in the new map section and not in the present map section;

and the transmitting unit (55) transmits the ascertained map regions to the mobile terminal (5) with the aid of the image data.