Position Display Apparatus

• US 20080154499A1
• Filed: 12/21/2007
• Published: 06/26/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 12/26/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: ROHM Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: ROHM Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Tanaka, Masahide
• Granted Patent: US 8,332,142 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/211
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/362 received from an external device or application, e.g. PDA, mobile phone or calendar application
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3647 Guidance involving output of stored or live camera images or video streams
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/367 Details, e.g. road map scale, orientation, zooming, illumination, level of detail, scrolling of road map or positioning of current position marker
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3673 Labelling using text of road map data items, e.g. road names, POI names

Abstract

A position display apparatus for own position and a position of an outside apparatus has: a position acquiring part adapted to acquire a first information indicative of the own position; a wireless communication part adapted to receive a second information indicative of the position of the outside apparatus; a map display adapted to display the own position and the position of the outside apparatus on a common map in response to the first information and the second information; and a controller adapted to control the map display in response to the first information and the second information so that the common map covers both the own position and the position of the outside apparatus on the map display.

Claims

1. A position display apparatus for own position and a position of an outside apparatus comprising:

a position acquiring part adapted to acquire a first information indicative of the own position;

a wireless communication part adapted to receive a second information indicative of the position of the outside apparatus;

a map display adapted to display the own position and the position of the outside apparatus on a common map in response to the first information and the second information; and

a controller adapted to control the map display in response to the first information and the second information so that the common map covers both the own position and the position of the outside apparatus on the map display.

2. The position display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the controller includes a sub-controller adapted to modify the scale of the common map for any one of the own position and the position of the outside apparatus not to stray from the common map on the map display.

3. The position display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the controller includes a judging part adapted to judge whether or not any one of the own position and the position of the outside apparatus strays from the common map on the map display.

4. The position display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the controller includes a scrolling part adapted to scroll the common map for any one of the own position and the position of the outside apparatus not to stray from the common map on the map display.

5. The position display apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the controller further includes a sub-controller adapted to modify the scale of the common map for any one of the own position and the position of the outside apparatus not to stray from the common map on the map display with a room for the scroll left.

6. The position display apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a map offering part adapted to offer the common map to the map display.

7. The position display apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a unificating part adapted to unify the data format of the own position and the position of the outside apparatus to display them on the map display.

8. The position display apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a detector adapted to display whether or not the wireless communication part can receive the position of the outside apparatus.

9. The position display apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a selector adapted to select whether or not to display the position of the outside apparatus on the map display.

10. The position display apparatus according to claim 9, further comprising a forcible setting part adapted to force the selector to display the position of the outside apparatus when the wireless communication part can receive the position of the outside apparatus even if the selector selects not to display the position of the outside apparatus on the map display.

11. The position display apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the selector is forcibly set not to display the position of the outside apparatus on the map display whenever the outside apparatus is out of the communication area.

12. The position display apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an informing part adapted to inform that the wireless communication part can receive the position of the outside apparatus.

13. The position display apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an informing part adapted to inform the outside apparatus is demanding to output the position of the outside apparatus on the map.

14. The position display apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a display control part adapted to vary the manner of displaying the own position and the position of the outside apparatus on a common map in response to whether or not the position display apparatus is preceding the outside apparatus.

15. A position display apparatus for own position and a position of an outside apparatus comprising:

a position acquiring part adapted to acquire a first information indicative of the own position;

a wireless communication part adapted to receive a second information indicative of the position of the outside apparatus;

a map display adapted to display the own position and the position of the outside apparatus on a common map in response to the first information and the second information; and

a judging part adapted to judge in advance an impossibility of establishing communication between the position display apparatus and the outside apparatus in response to the first information and the second information.

16. The position display apparatus according to claim 15, the judging part is adapted to judge the impossibility in consideration of the geographic factor between the own position and the position of the outside apparatus.

17. The position display apparatus according to claim 15, further comprising a warning part adapted to warn in case the distance between the position display apparatus and the outside apparatus will exceed the communication range in response to the output signal from the judging part.

18. A position display apparatus for own position and a position of an outside apparatus comprising:

a position acquiring part adapted to acquire a first information indicative of the own position;

a wireless communication part adapted to receive a second information indicative of the position of the outside apparatus;

a map display adapted to display the own position and the position of the outside apparatus on a common map in response to the first information and the second information; and

a judging part adapted to judge in response to the first information whether or not the second information is to be confirmed.

19. The position display apparatus according to claim 18, wherein the judging part is adapted to judge in response to the first information and the second information.

20. The position display apparatus according to claim 18, wherein the map display is adapted to display the position of the outside apparatus in addition to the own position on the common map in response to the judging part.