Mobile object location providing device and mobile object location providing system

• US 20050079877A1
• Filed: 08/19/2004
• Published: 04/14/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 08/22/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Ten Limited (DENSO Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Ten Limited (DENSO Corporation)
• Inventors: Ichimura, Atsushi
• Granted Patent: US 7,480,563 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/456.100
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3896 Transmission of map data from central databases

Abstract

In a mobile object location providing device, time required for distribution of distribution data per kind of the communicating unit is stored, a current location and a movement history of a mobile object is calculated, distribution time that is time required for distributing the distribution for a communicating unit is estimated based on the distribution condition information, and a future location of a mobile object after lapse of the distribution time is estimated based on use of the movement history, and a requests is made for distributing area information of an area surrounding the future location.

Claims

1. A mobile object location providing device installed in a mobile object, comprising:

a distribution condition information storage unit that stores distribution condition information that includes information about time required for distribution of distribution data;

a current location movement history calculating unit that, calculates a current location and a movement history of the mobile object;

a distribution time estimating unit that, upon receiving an area information acquisition request, estimates distribution time of distribution date based on the distribution condition information; and

a future location estimating unit that estimates a future location of the mobile object after lapse of the distribution time from the current location based on the movement history, and outputs a request for distributing area information that is information about an area surrounding the future location.

2. The mobile object location providing device according to claim 1, wherein the distribution condition information is stored per kind of the communicating unit, and the distribution time estimating unit estimates distribution time of the distribution data including the area information, by use of the distribution condition information stored per kind of the communicating unit.

3. The mobile object location providing device according to claim 1, further comprising:

a distribution condition information recording unit that acquires distribution condition information in the case of receiving distribution data, and records the distribution condition information into the distribution condition information storage unit.

4. The mobile object location providing device according to claim 1, wherein the distribution condition information is recorded according to the movement speed of the mobile object or the communication condition of the communicating unit, or according to both thereof, and the distribution time estimating unit estimates the distribution time by use of the distribution condition information.

5. The mobile object location providing device according to claim 3, wherein the distribution condition information is recorded according to the movement speed of the mobile object or the communication condition of the communicating unit, or according to both thereof, and the distribution time estimating unit estimates the distribution time by use of the distribution condition information.

6. The mobile object location providing device according to claim 1, further comprising:

a distribution date size storage unit that stores distribution data size information concerning data size for one piece of data per data kind, wherein the distribution time estimating unit specifies the kind of distribution data forecasted based on the area information acquisition request, and estimates the distribution time by use of estimated data size corresponding to the kind of the distribution data calculated from the distribution data size storage unit and the distribution condition information.

7. The mobile object location providing device according to claim 3, wherein the distribution condition information recording unit classifies communications by the communicating unit according to a specified standard, and the distribution condition information is recorded according to the classification.

8. The mobile object location providing device according to claim 1, wherein the distribution condition information is the distribution speed, or the data size of the distribution data and the distribution time of the distribution data concerned.

9. The mobile object location providing device according to claim 3, wherein the distribution condition information is the distribution speed, or the data size of the distribution data and the distribution time of the distribution data concerned.

10. The mobile object location providing device according to claim 1, wherein the future location estimating unit extracts a movement vector consisting of a movement speed and a movement direction of the mobile object going back the distribution time from the current location as the movement history, and adds the extracted movement vector to the current location and thereby estimates the future location of the mobile object.

11. The mobile object location providing device according to claim 1, wherein, when a running scheduled route of the mobile object is set, the future location estimating unit extracts the movement speed of the mobile object going back the distribution time from the current location as the movement history, and adds the movement distance to be obtained from the extracted movement speed to the current location on the running scheduled route and thereby estimates the future location of the mobile object.

12. The mobile object location providing device according to claim 2, wherein the distribution condition information storage unit further has a first default information that stores distribution condition information concerning a specified kind of communicating unit, and the distribution time estimating unit, when the kind of communicating unit cannot be specified, refers to the first default information and thereby estimates the distribution time.

13. The mobile object location providing device according to claim 2, wherein the distribution condition information storage unit further has a second default information that stores the distribution condition information of the communicating unit per kind of the communicating unit, and the distribution time estimating unit, when a specified number or more of the distribution condition information corresponding to the kind of the communicating unit is not recorded, refers to the second default information and thereby estimates the distribution time.

19. The mobile object location providing device according to claim 13, wherein, when a running scheduled route of the information providee is set, the movement history is the movement speed of the information providee going back the distribution time from the current location, and the movement amount estimating unit adds the movement distance to be obtained from the movement speed to the current location on the running scheduled route and thereby estimates the future location of the information providee.

14. A mobile object location providing device comprising:

a distribution data database that stores area information of a predetermined area;

an area information acquiring unit that, upon receiving an area information request from an information providee having a communicating unit, searches for area information of an area surrounding a location of the information providee in the distribution data database and thereby acquires area information, and sends the acquired area information as distribution data to the information provide;

a mobile object information storage unit that stores distribution condition information that includes information about time required for distribution of distribution data;

a distribution time estimating unit that, upon receiving an area information acquisition request from the information providee, estimates distribution time that is time for distributing the distribution data to the information providee based on input distribution condition information; and

a movement amount estimating unit that estimates a future location of the information providee after lapse of the distribution time based on input current location and input movement history of the information providee, wherein the area information acquiring unit acquires area information based on the estimated future location.

15. The mobile object location providing device according to claim 14, wherein the distribution condition information is the distribution condition information received from the information providee.

16. The mobile object location providing device according to claim 14, wherein the distribution condition information is the distribution condition information recorded according to the movement speed of the information providee or the communication condition of the communicating unit, or according to both thereof, and the distribution time estimating unit estimates the distribution time by use of the distribution condition information.

17. The mobile object location providing device according to claim 15, wherein the distribution condition information is the distribution condition information recorded according to the movement speed of the information providee or the communication condition of the communicating unit, or according to both thereof, and the distribution time estimating unit estimates the distribution time by use of the distribution condition information.

18. The mobile object location providing device according to claim 14, wherein the movement history is the movement vector consisting of the movement speed and the movement direction of the information providee going back the distribution time from the current location, and the future location estimating unit adds the movement vector to the current location and thereby estimates the future location of the information providee.

20. A mobile object location providing system comprising:

a mobile object having a communicating unit; and

an information center that, upon receiving an area information acquisition request from the mobile object, identifies a location of the mobile object, and acquires area information of an area surrounding the location of the mobile object from a distribution date database that stores area information of a predetermined area, and transmits the area information acquired as distribution data to the mobile object, wherein

the mobile object includes

a current location movement history calculating unit that calculates a current location and a movement history of the mobile object; and

a communication controlling unit that sends the current location and the movement history to the information center, and

the information center includes

a mobile object information storage unit that stores distribution condition information includes information about time required for distribution of distribution data to the mobile object;

a distribution time estimating unit that, upon receiving an area information acquisition request from the mobile object, extracts the distribution condition information corresponding to the mobile object from the mobile object information storage unit, and estimates distribution time that is time for distributing the distribution data to the mobile object based on the distribution condition information extracted;

a movement amount estimating unit that estimates a future location of the mobile object after lapse of the distribution time from the current location of the mobile object based on the movement history; and

an area information acquiring unit that acquires area information of the area surrounding the future location from the distribution data database.

21. The mobile object location providing system according to claim 20, wherein the communication controlling unit of the mobile object further has a function that acquires distribution condition information concerning the communicating unit and sends the distribution condition information to the information center.

22. The mobile object location providing system according to claim 20, wherein the distribution condition information is recorded according to the movement speed of the mobile object or the communication condition of the communicating unit, or according to both thereof, and the distribution time estimating unit of the information center extracts the distribution condition information from the mobile object information storage unit, and estimates the distribution time by use of the distribution condition information.

23. The mobile object location providing system according to claim 21, wherein the distribution condition information is recorded according to the movement speed of the mobile object or the communication condition of the communicating unit, or according to both thereof, and the distribution time estimating unit of the information center extracts the distribution condition information from the mobile object information storage unit, and estimates the distribution time by use of the distribution condition information.

24. The mobile object location providing system according to claim 20, wherein the mobile object information storage unit of the information center stores distribution data size information distributed to the mobile object in classification per the mobile object, and the distribution time estimating unit of the information center specifies the kind of distribution data to be determined based on the area information acquisition request, and estimates the distribution time by use of an estimated data size of distribution data corresponding to the distribution data size when the data size is known before distribution, or the kind of the distribution data to be obtained from the distribution data size information and the distribution condition information.

25. The mobile object location providing system according to claim 20, wherein the movement amount estimating unit of the information center extracts the movement vector consisting of the movement speed and the movement direction of the mobile object going back the distribution time from the current location of the mobile object as the movement history, and adds the extracted movement vector to the current location and thereby estimates the future location of the mobile object.

26. The mobile object location providing system according to claim 20, wherein when a running scheduled route of the mobile object is set, the future location estimating unit of the information center extracts the movement speed of the mobile object going back the distribution time from the current location of the mobile object as the movement history, and adds the movement distance to be obtained from the extracted movement speed to the current location on the running scheduled route and thereby estimates the future location of the mobile object.