Mobile information apparatus and moving method therefor, and information system and position estimation method

• US 7,304,581 B2
• Filed: 08/30/2005
• Issued: 12/04/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 08/31/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Tamura, Masafumi, Kawabata, Shunichi, Miyazaki, Tomotaka
• Primary Examiner(s): TWEEL JR, JOHN ALEXANDER
• Application Number:
  US11/213,975
• Publication Number:
  US 20060045060A1
• Time in Patent Office: 826 Days
• Field of Search: 340/573.1, 340/3.1, 340/310.16, 318/568.11, 318/568.12, 318/568.25, 700/245, 700/250, 700/253, 455/405, 901/1
• US Class Current: 340/573.1
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0246 using a video camera in combination with image processing means
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0274 using mapping information stored in a memory device navigation using map-matching G01C21/30
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/028 using a RF signal

Abstract

A mobile information apparatus has a communication unit configured to collect usage states of a plurality of devices on a network, an estimation unit configured to estimate a position of a user on the basis of the usage states of the plurality of devices collected by the communication unit, and a moving unit configured to move a housing of the mobile information apparatus in accordance with the position of the user estimated by the estimation unit.

Claims

1. A mobile information apparatus comprising:

a communication unit configured to collect usage states of a plurality of devices on a network;

an estimation unit configured to estimate a position of a user on the basis of the usage states of said plurality of devices collected by the communication unit; and

a moving unit configured to move a housing of the mobile information apparatus in accordance with the position of the user estimated by the estimation unit.

2. The mobile information apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the communication unit includes a first communication unit included in a server connected to said plurality of devices via the network, and a second communication configured to make communication with the first communication unit, the second communication being provided at the housing of the mobile information apparatus.

3. The mobile information apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the estimation unit has map data denoting that said plurality of devices are provided at a plurality of respective rooms, determines a possibility of the presence of the user on the basis of the usage states of said plurality of devices collected by the communication unit, determines a possibility of user presence at each of said plurality of rooms, and estimates that the user is in a room having the highest possibility of user presence.

4. The mobile information apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the estimation unit makes a possibility of user presence to be a numeric value for each of said plurality of devices, makes a possibility of user presence to be a numeric value at each of said plurality of rooms by using the map data in accordance with the numeric value, and estimates that the user is in a room having the highest numeric value.

5. The mobile information apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the estimation unit stores a plurality of room information as the map data, device information corresponding to the room information, and evaluation information as numeric values denoting the possibilities of user presence corresponding to the respective usage states of the device information, and makes a possibility of user presence to be a numeric value at each room on the basis of those information.

6. The mobile information apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the evaluation information of the estimation unit are calculated such that an evaluation at the time of turning a start switch of the device on is made higher than an evaluation of the device in operation.

7. The mobile information apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the estimation unit registers a plurality of users in association with types of broadcast programs, determines that there is a high possibility that a specific user among said plurality of users is viewing the program in accordance with a type of a broadcast program received by a tuner device on the network, and estimates a position of the user on the basis of the determination.

8. The mobile information apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a display unit configured to display predetermined information after the moving unit moves the housing of the mobile information apparatus to a room estimated such that the user is in.

9. The mobile information apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a control unit configured to control to display predetermined information on the device by transmitting a predetermined signal to the device which is in the vicinity of the position of the user estimated by the estimation unit, via the network by using the communication unit.

10. An information system comprising:

a communication unit configured to collect usage states of a plurality of devices on a network; and

an estimation unit configured to estimate a position of a user on the basis of the usage states of said plurality of devices collected by the communication unit.

11. A moving method for a mobile information apparatus, comprising:

collecting usage states of a plurality of devices on a network;

estimating a position of a user on the basis of the collected usage states of said plurality of devices; and

moving a housing of the mobile information apparatus in accordance with the estimated position of the user.

12. The moving method according to claim 11, wherein communication carried out in the collecting is carried out by a first communication unit included in a server connected to said plurality of devices via the network, and a second communication unit provided at the housing of the mobile information apparatus configured to carry out communication with the first communication unit.

13. The moving method according to claim 11, wherein a possibility of user presence at each of said plurality of rooms is determined by using map data denoting that said plurality of devices are provided at a plurality of respective rooms on the basis of the collected usage states of said plurality of devices, and it is estimated that the user is in a room having the highest possibility of user presence.

14. The moving method according to claim 13, wherein a possibility of user presence is made to be a numeric value for each of said plurality of devices, a possibility of user presence is made to be a numeric value at each of said plurality of rooms by using the map data in accordance with the numeric value, and it is estimated that the user is in a room having the highest numeric value.

15. The moving method according to claim 13, wherein a plurality of room information as the map data, device information corresponding to the room information, and evaluation information as numeric values denoting the possibilities of user presence corresponding to the respective usage states of the device information are stored, and a possibility of user presence is made to be a numeric value at each room on the basis of those information.

16. The moving method according to claim 15, wherein the evaluation information are calculated such that an evaluation at the time of turning a start switch of the device on is made higher than an evaluation of the device in operation.

17. The moving method according to claim 11, wherein a plurality of users are registered in association with types of broadcast programs, it is determined that there is a high possibility that a specific user among said plurality of users is viewing the program in accordance with a type of a broadcast program received by a tuner device on the network, and a position of the user is estimated on the basis of the determination.

18. The moving method according to claim 11, wherein predetermined information is displayed after moving the housing of the mobile information apparatus to a room estimated such that the user is in.

19. The moving method according to claim 11, wherein control is achieved so as to display predetermined information on the device by transmitting a predetermined signal via the network to the device which is in the vicinity of the estimated position of the user.

20. A method of determining a position of an information system, comprising:

collecting usage states of a plurality of devices on a network via the network; and

estimating a position of a user on the basis of the collected usage states of said plurality of devices.