Mobile object location providing device and mobile object location providing system

• US 7,480,563 B2
• Filed: 08/19/2004
• Issued: 01/20/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 08/22/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Ten Limited (DENSO Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Ten Limited (DENSO Corporation)
• Inventors: Ichimura, Atsushi
• Primary Examiner(s): To; Tuan C
• Application Number:
  US10/921,173
• Publication Number:
  US 20050079877A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,615 Days
• Field of Search: 714/798, 455/456.1, 455/456.2, 455/422, 701/207, 340/988, 340/991, 340/995.12, 340/995.13, 340/995.16, 340/426.16, 342/450
• US Class Current: 701/207
• 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, for receiving distribution data including information about an area surrounding a location information of the mobile object from a base station by using a communication unit and providing the distribution data, the mobile object location providing device comprising:

a distribution condition information storage unit configured to store distribution condition information that includes information about times required for distribution of the distribution data;

a current location movement history calculating unit configured to calculate a current location and a movement history of the mobile object;

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

a future location estimating unit configured to estimate a future location of the mobile object after lapse of the distribution time from the current location based on the movement history, and to output a request to the base station by using the communication unit for the base station to distribute area information that is information about an area surrounding the future location,

wherein the distribution condition information is recorded according to the movement speed of the mobile object or the communication condition of the communication unit, or according to both thereof, and the distribution time estimating unit estimates the distribution time based on the distribution condition information.

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

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

6. 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.

7. 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.

8. 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 to 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.

9. 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 to 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.

10. 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 communication unit, and the distribution time estimating unit, when the kind of communication unit cannot be specified, refers to the first default information and thereby estimates the distribution time.

11. 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 communication unit per kind of the communication unit, and the distribution time estimating unit, when a specified number or more of the distribution condition information corresponding to the kind of the communication unit is not recorded, refers to the second default information and thereby estimates the distribution time.