Information output apparatus, information output method, information output program, information transmitting apparatus, information transmitting method, information transmitting program, and information output system

• US 7,469,277 B2
• Filed: 06/16/2004
• Issued: 12/23/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 06/17/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Hirata, Takashi, Fujii, Ken-ichi
• Primary Examiner(s): Najjar; Saleh
• Assistant Examiner(s): Ashraf; Waseem
• Application Number:
  US10/869,559
• Publication Number:
  US 20050010363A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,651 Days
• Field of Search: 709/243, 709/219, 342/357.08, 342/357.12
• US Class Current: 709/219
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0009 Transmission of position information to remote stations involving assistance data G01S5/0236
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/7243 with interactive means for internal management of messages
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72457 according to geographic location
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/10 including a GPS signal receiver

Abstract

An information output apparatus which is capable of limiting a range for outputting information based on a position. A position information acquiring section acquires first position information, a message receiving section receives information including second position information, and a message transferring section transfers the received information. The message transferring section transfers the received information when the first position information acquired by the position information acquiring section falls within a predetermined range of the second position information received by the message receiving section.

Claims

1. An internal information output apparatus comprising:

a receiving unit adapted to receive, from a first external information output apparatus, output information, position information of the first external information output apparatus, and a first transmission range of the output information;

a calculating unit adapted to calculate a distance between the internal information output apparatus and the first external information output apparatus based on position information of the internal information output apparatus and the position information of the first external information output apparatus; and

a transmission unit adapted to transmit to a second external information output apparatus, the output information received by said receiving unit, the position information of the internal information output apparatus, and a second transmission range which is obtained by subtracting the distance calculated by said calculating unit from the first transmission range, when the distance calculated by said calculating unit is within the first transmission range.

2. An internal information output apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising an acquiring unit adapted to acquire the position information of the internal information output apparatus by using a GPS.

3. An internal information output apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said transmission unit transmits the information as a radio signal.

4. An internal information output apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising an output unit adapted to output the output information on a display.

5. An internal information output apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising an acquiring unit adapted to acquire the first position information of the internal information output apparatus;

wherein said acquiring unit acquires second position information, and said transmission unit transmits the information received by said receiving unit, when it is determined that the second position information acquired by said acquiring unit falls within a predetermined range of the first position information acquired by said acquiring unit at a time the information has been received by said receiving unit, at a time said transmission unit determines whether or not the information received by said receiving device is to be transmitted.

6. An information output method for an internal information output apparatus comprising:

a receiving step of receiving, from the first external information output apparatus, output information, position information of a first external information output apparatus, and a first transmission range of the output information;

a calculating step of calculating a distance between the internal information output apparatus and the first external information output apparatus based on position information of the internal information output apparatus and the position information of the first external information output apparatus; and

a transmission step of transmitting to a second external information output apparatus, the output information received in said receiving step, the position information of the internal information output apparatus, and a second transmission range which is obtained by subtracting the distance calculated in said calculating step from the first transmission range, when the distance calculated in said calculating step is within the first transmission range.

7. A computer-readable medium storing a control program for controlling a computer which receives output information from an external information output apparatus, the control program containing instructions for:

calculating a distance between the internal information output apparatus and a first external information output apparatus based on position information of the internal information output apparatus and position information of the first external information output apparatus, in a case of receiving from the first external information output apparatus, position information of the first external information output apparatus and a first transmission range of the output information; and

performing processes to transmit to a second external information output apparatus, the output information received from the first external information output apparatus, the position information of the internal information output apparatus, and a second transmission range which is obtained by subtracting the distance calculated in said calculating step from the first transmission range, when the distance calculated in said calculating step is within the first transmission range position information acquired by said acquiring module falls within a predetermined range of the second position information received by said receiving module.

8. An information output system comprising:

an information transmitting apparatus; and

an internal information output apparatus,

wherein;

said information transmitting apparatus transmits first position information of the information transmitting apparatus and output information; and

said internal information output apparatus receives the first position information and the output information transmitted by said information transmitting apparatus, acquires second position information of the internal information output apparatus, and controls transmission of the received output information and the acquired second position information to a second internal information output apparatus, according to whether or not the acquired second position information falls within a predetermined range of the received first position information.

9. An internal information output apparatus comprising:

a receiving unit adapted to receive, from a source apparatus via a first external information output apparatus, output information, position information of a source apparatus, and a transmission range of the output information;

a determining unit adapted to determine whether a position of the internal information output apparatus is within a transmission range of the source apparatus based on the position information of the source apparatus, the position of the internal information output apparatus, and the transmission range of the output information; and

a transmitting unit adapted to transmit to a second external information output apparatus, the output information, the position information of the source apparatus, and the transmission range of the output information received via the first internal information output apparatus, when the determining unit determined that the position of the internal information output apparatus is within the transmission range of the source apparatus.

10. An information output method for an internal information output apparatus, comprising:

a receiving step of receiving, from a source apparatus via a first external information output apparatus, output information, position information of a source apparatus, and a transmission range of the output information;

a determining step of determining whether the position of the internal information output apparatus is within the transmission range of the source apparatus based on the position information of the source apparatus and the position of the internal information output apparatus and the transmission range of the output information; and

a transmitting step of transmitting to a second external information output apparatus, the output information, the position information of the source apparatus, and the transmission range of the output information received via the first external information output apparatus, when it is determined in said determining step that the position of the internal information output apparatus is within the transmission range of the source apparatus.

11. A computer-readable medium storing a control program for controlling a computer which receives output information from a source apparatus via an external information output apparatus, the control program containing instructions for:

determining whether the position of the internal information output apparatus is within a transmission range of a source apparatus based on position information of the source apparatus and the position of the internal information output apparatus and the transmission range of the output information, in a case of receiving the position information of the source apparatus and the range of output information; and

performing processes to transmit to a second external information output apparatus, the output information, and the position information of the source apparatus, and the transmission range of the output information, when it is determined in said determining step that the position of the internal information output apparatus is within the transmission range of the source apparatus.