COMMUNICATION ENVIRONMENT PREDICTION TERMINAL, COMMUNICATION ENVIRONMENT PREDICTION METHOD AND COMMUNICATION ENVIRONMENT PREDICTION PROGRAM

• US 20110144905A1
• Filed: 06/26/2008
• Published: 06/16/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 06/26/2008
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Pioneer Corporation
• Original Assignee: Pioneer Corporation
• Inventors: Tahara, Kazushi
• Application Number:
  US13/000,901
• Publication Number:
  US 20110144905A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/201
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/26 specially adapted for navigation in a road network
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/14 specially adapted for specific applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services

Abstract

A signal receiving element of a communication environment prediction terminal receives GPS signals via satellite communication from GPS satellites. A position information detecting element detects position information indicating a position of a vehicle on which the terminal is mounted, based on the GPS signals received by the receiving element. Then, a position measurement information generating element generates position measurement information including the position information detected by the detecting element, that is, the position measurement information indicating a travel position of the vehicle positioned by the GPS signals. A communication information generating element generates communication information indicating a communication environment in an area to which the vehicle has moved, based on the position measurement information by making use of the characteristic that the GPS signal is difficult to receive in a point with an obstacle or the like.

Claims

1. A communication environment prediction terminal loaded on a vehicle, comprising:

a signal receiving means which receives GPS signals from GPS satellites by using satellite communication;

a position information detecting means which detects position information indicating a position of the vehicle based on the GPS signals;

a position measurement information generating means which generates a position measurement information including the position information; and

a communication information generating means which generates communication information indicating communication environment in an area to which the vehicle moves, based on the position measurement information.

2. The communication environment prediction terminal according to claim 1, wherein the position measurement information includes a receiving time of the GPS signals and the position information of the vehicle based on the GPS signals, corresponded with each other.

3. The communication environment prediction terminal according to claim 1,

wherein the position measurement information includes a receiving satellite number which is a number of the GPS satellites from which the GPS signals are received, and the position information of the vehicle based on the GPS signals, corresponded with each other, and

wherein the communication information generating means generates the communication information indicating that the communication environment is good at a point specified by the position information whose receiving satellite number is large and the communication environment is bad at the point specified by the position information whose receiving satellite number is small, based on the position measurement information.

4. The communication environment prediction terminal according to claim 1, wherein the communication information is corresponded with type information relating to a type of the communication environment prediction terminal.

5. The communication environment prediction terminal according to claim 3, wherein the communication information generating means comprises:

an interrupted point setting means which sets a point, specified by the position information whose receiving satellite number is zero, to a communication interrupted point; and

an interrupted section setting means which sets successive communication interrupted points to a communication interrupted section, and

wherein the communication information generating means generates the communication information based on information relating to the communication interrupted point and the communication interrupted section.

6. The communication environment prediction terminal according to claim 5, further comprising:

a map information storage means which stores map information;

a traveling route calculating means which calculates a traveling route of the vehicle based on the position information and the map information; and

a communication interrupted route information generating means which specifies a communication interrupted route by comparing the traveling route with the communication interrupted section and which is related to the communication interrupted route,

wherein the communication information generating means generates the communication information based on the position measurement information and the communication interrupted route information.

16. The communication environment prediction terminal according to claim 1, wherein the communication information generating unit generates the communication information indicating that the communication environment is good at a point specified by the position information whose receiving satellite number is large and the communication environment is bad at the point specified by the position information whose receiving satellite number is small, based on the position measurement information.

17. The communication environment prediction terminal according to claim 1, wherein the communication information is corresponded with type information relating to a type of the communication environment prediction terminal.

7. A communication environment prediction method executed by a communication environment prediction terminal loaded on a vehicle, comprising:

a signal receiving process which receives GPS signals from GPS satellites by using satellite communication;

a position information detecting process which detects position information indicating a position of the vehicle based on the GPS signals;

a position measurement information generating process which generates a position measurement information including the position information; and

a communication information generating process which generates communication information indicating communication environment in an area to which the vehicle moves, based on the position measurement information.

8. A communication environment prediction program executed by a computer loaded on a vehicle, making the computer to function as:

a signal receiving means which receives GPS signals from GPS satellites by using satellite communication;

a position information detecting means which detects position information indicating a position of the vehicle based on the GPS signals;

a position measurement information generating means which generates a position measurement information including the position information; and

a communication information generating means which generates communication information indicating communication environment in an area to which the vehicle moves, based on the position measurement information.

9. A storage medium on which the communication environment prediction program according to claim 8 is stored.

10. A communication environment prediction server capable of communicating with communication environment prediction terminals loaded on plural vehicles, respectively, comprising:

a position measurement information obtaining means which obtains, from the communication environment prediction terminal, position measurement information including position information indicating a position of the vehicle detected based on GPS signals; and

a communication information generating means which generates communication information indicating communication environment in an area to which the vehicle moves, based on the position measurement information.

11. A communication environment prediction system comprising communication environment prediction terminals respectively loaded on plural vehicles, and a communication environment prediction server which performs process based on information obtained from the communication environment prediction terminals, the communication environment prediction terminals and the communication environment prediction server capable of communicating with each other,

wherein the communication environment prediction terminal comprises:

a signal receiving means which receives GPS signals from GPS satellites by using satellite communication;

a position information detecting means which detects position information indicating a position of the vehicle based on the GPS signals;

a position measurement information generating means which generates a position measurement information including the position information; and

a communication information generating means which generates communication information indicating communication environment in an area to which the vehicle moves, based on the position measurement information, and

wherein the communication environment prediction server comprises;

a communication information obtaining means which obtains the communication information from the plural communication environment prediction terminals; and

a prediction information generating means which generates prediction information predicting the communication environment in a predetermined area, based on the plural communication information obtained by the communication information obtaining means.

12. A data generating method comprising:

a signal receiving process which receives GPS signals from GPS satellites by using satellite communication;

a position information detecting process which detects position information of a specific area based on the GPS signals;

a position measurement information generating process which generates position measurement information including the position information; and

a data generating process which predicts the communication environment in the specific area and generates data indicating the communication environment for each area.

13. The data generating method according to claim 12, further comprising:

a predicting process which predicts the communication environment between areas from the data generated by the data generating process.

14. A communication environment prediction terminal loaded on a vehicle, comprising:

a signal receiving unit which receives GPS signals from GPS satellites by using satellite communication;

a position information detecting unit which detects position information indicating a position of the vehicle based on the GPS signals;

a position measurement information generating unit which generates a position measurement information including the position information;

a communication information generating unit which generates communication information indicating a communication environment in an area to which the vehicle moves, based on the position measurement information;

a map information storage unit which stores map information; and

a traveling route calculating unit which calculates a traveling route of the vehicle based on the position information and the map information,

wherein the position measurement information includes a receiving satellite number which is a number of the GPS satellites from which the GPS signals are received, and the position information of the vehicle based on the GPS signals, corresponded with each other,

wherein the communication information generating unit comprises;

an interrupted point setting unit which sets a point, specified by the position information whose receiving satellite number is zero, to a communication interrupted point;

an interrupted section setting unit which sets successive communication interrupted points to a communication interrupted section; and

a communication interrupted route information generating unit which specifies a communication interrupted route by comparing the traveling route with the communication interrupted section and generates communication interrupted route information related to the communication interrupted route, and

wherein the communication information generating unit generates the communication information based on the position measurement information and the communication interrupted route information.

15. The communication environment prediction terminal according to claim 14, wherein the position measurement information includes a receiving time of the GPS signals and the position information of the vehicle based on the GPS signals, corresponded with each other.

18. A communication environment prediction method executed by a communication environment prediction terminal loaded on a vehicle, comprising:

a signal receiving process which receives GPS signals from GPS satellites by using satellite communication;

a position information detecting process which detects position information indicating a position of the vehicle based on the GPS signals;

a position measurement information generating process which generates a position measurement information including the position information;

a communication information generating process which generates communication information indicating a communication environment in an area to which the vehicle moves, based on the position measurement information;

a map information storage process which stores map information; and

a traveling route calculating process which calculates a traveling route of the vehicle based on the position information and the map information,

wherein the position measurement information includes a receiving satellite number which is a number of the GPS satellites from which the GPS signals are received, and the position information of the vehicle based on the GPS signals, corresponded with each other,

wherein the communication information generating process comprises;

an interrupted point setting process which sets a point, specified by the position information whose receiving satellite number is zero, to a communication interrupted point;

an interrupted section setting process which sets successive communication interrupted points to a communication interrupted section; and

a communication interrupted route information generating process which specifies a communication interrupted route by comparing the traveling route with the communication interrupted section and generates communication interrupted route information related to the communication interrupted route, and

wherein the communication information generating process generates the communication information based on the position measurement information and the communication interrupted route information.

19. A communication environment prediction program executed by a computer included in a communication environment prediction terminal loaded on a vehicle, making the computer to function as:

a signal receiving unit which receives GPS signals from GPS satellites by using satellite communication;

a position information detecting unit which detects position information indicating a position of the vehicle based on the GPS signals;

a position measurement information generating unit which generates a position measurement information including the position information;

a communication information generating unit which generates communication information indicating a communication environment in an area to which the vehicle moves, based on the position measurement information;

a map information storage unit which stores map information; and

a traveling route calculating unit which calculates a traveling route of the vehicle based on the position information and the map information,

wherein the position measurement information includes a receiving satellite number which is a number of the GPS satellites from which the GPS signals are received, and the position information of the vehicle based on the GPS signals, corresponded with each other,

wherein the communication information generating unit comprises;

an interrupted point setting unit which sets a point, specified by the position information whose receiving satellite number is zero, to a communication interrupted point;

an interrupted section setting unit which sets successive communication interrupted points to a communication interrupted section; and

a communication interrupted route information generating unit which specifies a communication interrupted route by comparing the traveling route with the communication interrupted section and generates communication interrupted route information related to the communication interrupted route, and

wherein the communication information generating unit generates the communication information based on the position measurement information and the communication interrupted route information.

20. A storage medium on which the communication environment prediction program according to claim 19 is stored.

21. A communication environment prediction server capable of communicating with communication environment prediction terminals loaded on plural vehicles, respectively, comprising:

a position measurement information obtaining unit which obtains, from the communication environment prediction terminal, position measurement information including position information indicating a position of the vehicle detected based on GPS signals;

a communication information generating unit which generates communication information indicating a communication environment in an area to which the vehicle moves, based on the position measurement information;

a map information storage unit which stores map information; and

a traveling route calculating unit which calculates a traveling route of the vehicle based on the position information and the map information,

wherein the position measurement information includes a receiving satellite number which is a number of the GPS satellites from which the GPS signals are received, and the position information of the vehicle based on the GPS signals, corresponded with each other,

wherein the communication information generating unit comprises;

an interrupted point setting unit which sets a point, specified by the position information whose receiving satellite number is zero, to a communication interrupted point;

an interrupted section setting unit which sets successive communication interrupted points to a communication interrupted section; and

a communication interrupted route information generating unit which specifies a communication interrupted route by comparing the traveling route with the communication interrupted section and generates communication interrupted route information related to the communication interrupted route, and

wherein the communication information generating unit generates the communication information based on the position measurement information and the communication interrupted route information.

22. A communication environment prediction system comprising communication environment prediction terminals respectively loaded on plural vehicles, and a communication environment prediction server which performs process based on information obtained from the communication environment prediction terminals, the communication environment prediction terminals and the communication environment prediction server capable of communicating with each other,

wherein the communication environment prediction terminal comprises:

a signal receiving unit which receives GPS signals from GPS satellites by using satellite communication;

a position information detecting unit which detects position information indicating a position of the vehicle based on the GPS signals;

a position measurement information generating unit which generates a position measurement information including the position information;

a communication information generating unit which generates communication information indicating a communication environment in an area to which the vehicle moves, based on the position measurement information;

a map information storage unit which stores map information; and

a traveling route calculating unit which calculates a traveling route of the vehicle based on the position information and the map information,

wherein the position measurement information includes a receiving satellite number which is a number of the GPS satellites from which the GPS signals are received, and the position information of the vehicle based on the GPS signals, corresponded with each other,

wherein the communication information generating unit comprises;

an interrupted point setting unit which sets a point, specified by the position information whose receiving satellite number is zero, to a communication interrupted point;

an interrupted section setting unit which sets successive communication interrupted points to a communication interrupted section; and

a communication interrupted route information generating unit which specifies a communication interrupted route by comparing the traveling route with the communication interrupted section and generates communication interrupted route information related to the communication interrupted route,

wherein the communication information generating unit generates the communication information based on the position measurement information and the communication interrupted route information, and

wherein the communication environment prediction server comprises;

a communication information obtaining unit which obtains the communication information from the plural communication environment prediction terminals; and

a prediction information generating unit which generates prediction information predicting the communication environment in a predetermined area, based on the plural communication information obtained by the communication information obtaining unit.

23. A data generating method comprising:

a signal receiving process which receives GPS signals from GPS satellites by using satellite communication;

a position information detecting process which detects position information of a specific area based on the GPS signals;

a position measurement information generating process which generates position measurement information including the position information;

a data generating process which predicts a communication environment in the specific area and generates data indicating the communication environment for each area;

a map information storage process which stores map information; and

a traveling route calculating process which calculates a traveling route of the vehicle based on the position information and the map information,

wherein the position measurement information includes a receiving satellite number which is a number of the GPS satellites from which the GPS signals are received, and the position information of the vehicle based on the GPS signals, corresponded with each other,

wherein the communication information generating process comprises;

an interrupted point setting process which sets a point, specified by the position information whose receiving satellite number is zero, to a communication interrupted point;

an interrupted section setting process which sets successive communication interrupted points to a communication interrupted section; and

a communication interrupted route information generating process which specifies a communication interrupted route by comparing the traveling route with the communication interrupted section and generates communication interrupted route information related to the communication interrupted route, and

wherein the communication information generating process generates the communication information based on the position measurement information and the communication interrupted route information.

24. The data generating method according to claim 23, further comprising:

a predicting process which predicts the communication environment between areas from the data generated by the data generating process.