Portable terminal and information provision system utilizing the portable terminal

• US 7,719,417 B2
• Filed: 09/22/2008
• Issued: 05/18/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 03/27/2003
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Maxell, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Terui, Koichi
• Primary Examiner(s): Goins; Davetta W
• Assistant Examiner(s): LAI, ANNE VIET NGA
• Application Number:
  US12/234,748
• Publication Number:
  US 20090021368A1
• Time in Patent Office: 603 Days
• Field of Search: 340/573.1, 340/573.4, 340/539.11, 340/539.13, 340/539.22, 340/539.23, 340/825.49, 340/686.6, 340/435, 340/436, 340/903, 340/944, 340/988
• US Class Current: 340/539.11
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/005 including pedestrian guidance indicator
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/164 Centralised systems, e.g. external to vehicles

Abstract

A portable terminal comprising a transmission part that transmits to information provision equipment or a server, a signal indicating presence at a prescribed location, presence of a communications counterparty at a prescribed location, a reception part that receives from the information provision equipment or the server, a signal indicating the position of a moving body, a moving body is approaching or is present at the prescribed location, an alarm part that issues an alarm using the moving body in position signal received at the reception part, indicating the moving body is approaching or is present at the prescribed location, a light detection part detecting the degree of brightness, a part deciding whether or not to transmit a present in prescribed location signal that decides, using the brightness as detected by the light detection part, whether or not to send a present in prescribed location signal from the transmission part.

Claims

1. A portable terminal comprising:

a transmitter for transmitting a presence-at-prescribed-location signal, which indicates “

being present at a prescribed location,”

to information provision equipment or a server;

a receiver for receiving, from the information provision equipment or the server, a moving-body-presence-signal indicating that a moving body is approaching or present at the prescribed location;

a notifier (or alarm) for notifying that the moving body is approaching or present at the prescribed location by using the moving-body-presence-signal received by the receiver;

a light detector for detecting brightness; and

a transmission-decision unit determining whether or not the presence-at-prescribed-location signal is to be transmitted from the transmitter by using the brightness detected by the light detector.

2. The portable terminal according to claim 1, wherein the transmission-decision unit allows the transmitter to transmit the presence-at-prescribed-location signal when the brightness detected by the light detector is below a fixed level of brightness.

3. A portable terminal according to claim 2, wherein the portable terminal is capable of setting the brightness “

below a fixed level.”

4. The portable terminal according to claim 1, wherein the light detector is removable from main body of the portable terminal.