Terminal apparatus and image information server

• US 20040252192A1
• Filed: 01/30/2004
• Published: 12/16/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 06/12/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Maxell, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Adachi, Makoto, Shimizu, Hiroshi
• Granted Patent: US 7,436,431 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/148
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096716 where the received information does not generate an automatic action on the vehicle control
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096775 where the origin of the information is a central station
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096791 where the origin of the information is another vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/18 Closed-circuit television [CCTV] systems, i.e. systems in which the video signal is not broadcast

Abstract

On a vehicle, such as a car, etc., a camera, a navigation, communication function are mounted, and an image picked up from the car is uploaded to a server. Road information uploaded from each the car is collected up to the server. Each the car downloads the information existing in the server at the time when it is running. With provision of such the system, the car itself can confirm the condition of a spot through which it will pass from now, by using the information which is picked up by other car passing through that spot just before.

Claims

1. A terminal apparatus, comprising:

a position measuring means for measuring a present position of a car;

an image pick-up means being able to pick up an image of a front or a rear of the car;

a transmitting means for transmitting the image picked up by said image pick-up means, together with the position information, to an image information server for managing a database of image information being indicative of condition of a road;

a receiver means for receiving a predetermined image from said image information server; and

a display means for displaying said image received thereon, wherein;

a place or a timing of picking up an image by said image pick-up means is controlled from said image information server.

3. The terminal apparatus, as described in the claim 1, wherein an image indicative of condition of a road, being picked up when the car having said terminal apparatus passes through a first spot on the road designated in advance, is transferred to said image information server for managing the database of the image information indicative of road condition, and a terminal apparatus of a second car, which locates in a front of said first spot and will pass through said first spot, receives the image indicative of the condition of said first spot from said image information server, thereby enabling display of the image indicative of the condition of said first spot.

2. An image information server for managing a database of image information indicative of condition of a road, comprising:

a terminal apparatus having, a position measuring means for measuring a present position of a car, and an image pick-up means being able to pick up an image of a front or a rear of the car;

a receiving means for receiving the image picked up by said image pick-up means, together with the position information; and

a transmitting means for transmitting a predetermined image to said terminal apparatus, wherein;

a place or timing where or when said image pick-up means owned by said terminal apparatus picks up an image is controlled from said image information server.

4. The image information server, as described in the claim 2, wherein the image indicative of the condition of the road, which is picked up when the first car passes through the first spot on the road designated in advance, is received, and the image indicative of the condition of said first spot is transferred to a terminal apparatus of a second car, which locates in a front of said first spot and will pass through said first spot, thereby enabling the terminal apparatus of said second car to display the image indicative of the condition of said first spot thereon.

5. A terminal apparatus, comprising:

a position measuring means for measuring a present position of a car;

an image pick-up means being able to pick up an image of a front or a rear of the car;

a transmitting means for transmitting the image picked up by said image pick-up means, together with the position information, to an image information server for managing a database of image information being indicative of condition of a road;

a receiver means for receiving a predetermined image from said image information server; and

a display means for displaying said image received thereon, wherein;

a price including a predetermined point, etc., can be obtained by picking up a condition of the road and/or transferring the image picked up to said image information server.

6. The terminal apparatus, as described in the claim 5, wherein

an image indicative of condition of a road, being picked up when passing through a first spot on the road designated in advance, is transferred to said image information server for managing the database of the image information indicative of road condition, and a terminal apparatus of a second car, which locates in a front of said first spot and will pass through said first spot, receives the image indicative of the condition of said first spot from said image information server, thereby enabling display of the image indicative of the condition of said first spot.

7. A terminal apparatus, comprising:

a position measuring means for measuring a present position of a car;

an image pick-up means being able to pick up an image of a front or a rear of the car;

a transmitting means for transmitting the image picked up by said image pick-up means, together with the position information, to an image information server for managing a database of image information being indicative of condition of a road;

a receiver means for receiving a predetermined image from said image information server; and

a display means for displaying said image received thereon, wherein;

a price including a predetermined point, etc., can be obtained by picking up a condition of the road and/or transferring the image picked up to said image information server, while a price including a predetermined point, etc., be paid by receiving the predetermined image from said image information server and displaying said image received thereon.