Mobile communication terminal and map display system

• US 8,725,406 B2
• Filed: 06/07/2005
• Issued: 05/13/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 06/24/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kyocera Corporation
• Original Assignee: Kyocera Corporation
• Inventors: Kitajima, Jiro
• Primary Examiner(s): Mawari, Redhwan K
• Application Number:
  US11/147,824
• Publication Number:
  US 20050288854A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,262 Days
• Field of Search: 701/202, 701/209, 701/211, 701/212, 455/550.1, 455/456.1, 455/425, 455/446
• US Class Current: 701/408
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/367 Details, e.g. road map scale, orientation, zooming, illumination, level of detail, scrolling of road map or positioning of current position marker
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3896 Transmission of map data from central databases

Abstract

A map display system has a server and a mobile communication terminal connected via a communication network. The communication terminal has a storage device for storing advance map data associated with position data; a position measurement device for measuring a present position and obtaining position present position data; a present map data obtaining device for obtaining present map data from the server via the communication network by sending the server the present position data; an instruction device for issuing an instruction for map display; and a display device for displaying a map based on either the present map data or the advance map data. The server has a storage device for storing map data; and a map providing device for searching the stored map data in accordance with the position data sent from the mobile communication terminal and sending the mobile communication terminal map data corresponding to the position data.

Claims

1. A mobile communication terminal which is one of a handheld cellular phone, a PDA, and a PHS, and is moved between a plurality of areas, the mobile communication terminal comprising:

a position-designating-section for designating at least one desired geographic position by a user prior to measuring a present position and issuing an instruction for map display, wherein the designated position is different from the present position of the terminal;

a map-data-obtaining-section for requesting and obtaining prior to measuring the present position and issuing the instruction for map display, in a first location area different from the designated position, advance map data of the designated position via a communication network;

a storage for storing prior to measuring the present position and issuing the instruction for map display the advance map data which is obtained in the first location area in advance of the terminal being in the designated position by the map-data-obtaining-section based on the designated position;

an instruction-section for issuing the instruction for map display;

a position-measurement-section for measuring the present position at which the instruction for map display has been issued from the instruction-section, and obtaining position data of the present position as present position data;

a determination-section for determining whether the present position belongs to the first location area or a second location area other than the first location area; and

a display-section for;

displaying a map based on present map data, which is obtained by the map-data-obtaining-section and associated with the present position data, when the present position belongs to the first location area; and

displaying a map based on the advance map data when the present position belongs to the second location area.

2. The mobile communication terminal as claimed in claim 1, wherein when the instruction for map display is issued from the instruction-section within the first location area, if the map-data-obtaining-section is accessible to the communication network, then the present map data is requested and obtained, and a map based on the present map data is displayed by the display-section.

3. The mobile communication terminal as claimed in claim 1, wherein when the instruction for map display is issued from the instruction-section within the second location area, if the map-data-obtaining-section is not accessible to the communication network, then a map based on the advance map data stored in the storage is displayed by the display-section.

4. The mobile communication terminal as claimed in claim 1, wherein the storage is searched for map data relating to the designated position, and a map based on the map data retrieved from the storage is displayed by the display-section.

5. The mobile communication terminal as claimed in claim 4, wherein when a start point and a destination are designated by the position-designating-section, the storage is searched for map data indicating a travel route from the start point to the destination, and a map based on the map data retrieved from the storage is displayed by the display-section.

6. The mobile communication terminal as claimed in claim 4, wherein when the map data relating to the designated position is not retrieved, map data relating to a position which is close to the designated position is searched for, and a map based on the map data retrieved from the storage is displayed by the display-section.

7. The mobile communication terminal as claimed in claim 1, wherein when the instruction for map display is issued from the instruction-section within the first location area, if no advance map data is stored in the storage and the map-data-obtaining-section is accessible to the communication network, the present map data is requested and obtained, and a map based on the present map data is displayed by the display-section.

8. The mobile communication terminal as claimed in claim 1, wherein the position-measurement-section measures the present position in accordance with the instruction for map display, issued from the instruction-section within the first location area.

9. The mobile communication terminal as claimed in claim 1, wherein the map-data-obtaining-section obtains the advance map data by requesting and obtaining map data relating to the designated position in advance via the communication network.

10. The mobile communication terminal as claimed in claim 9, wherein the map-data-obtaining-section obtains the advance map data by designating at least one of a place name, a station name, an airport name, and a facility name.

11. The mobile communication terminal as claimed in claim 1, wherein the map-data-obtaining-section obtains the present map data by designating at least one of a place name, a station name, an airport name, and a facility name.

12. The mobile communication terminal as claimed in claim 9, wherein when a start point and a destination are designated by the position-designating-section, the map-data-obtaining-section obtains the map data indicating a travel route from the start point to the destination, and the obtained map data is stored as the advance map data in the storage.

19. The mobile communication terminal as claimed in claim 1, wherein:

the first location area is a service area for performing wireless communication; and

the second location area is out of the service area.

20. The mobile communication terminal as claimed in claim 1, wherein:

the second location area is a roaming area for performing roaming access; and

the first location area is not the roaming area.

21. The mobile communication terminal as claimed in claim 1, wherein:

the first location area is a domestic area; and

the second location area is a foreign area.

22. The mobile communication terminal as claimed in claim 1, wherein:

the storage is a detachable external memory.

23. The mobile communication terminal as claimed in claim 22, wherein:

data associated with a store that sold the external memory is stored in the external memory in association with the advance map data.

13. A map display system in which a server having map data and a mobile communication terminal for obtaining the map data are connected via a communication network, wherein:

the mobile communication terminal is one of a handheld cellular phone, a PDA, and a PHS, and is moved between a plurality of areas, and comprises;

a position-designating-section for designating at least one desired geographic position by a user prior to measuring a present position and issuing an instruction for map display, wherein the designated position is different from the present position of the terminal;

a map-data-obtaining-section for requesting and obtaining prior to measuring the present position and issuing the instruction for map display, in a first location area different from the designated position, advance map data of the designated position from the server via the communication network by sending the server the position data;

a first storage for storing prior to measuring the present position and issuing the instruction for map display the advance map data which is obtained in the first location area in advance of the terminal being in the designated position by the map-data-obtaining-section based on the designated position;

an instruction-section for issuing the instruction for map display;

a position-measurement-section for measuring the present position at which the instruction for map display has been issued from the instruction-section, and obtaining position data of the present position as present position data;

a determination-section for determining whether the present position belongs to the first location area or a second location area other than the first location area; and

a display-section for;

displaying a map based on present map data, which is obtained by the map-data-obtaining-section and associated with the present position data, when the present position belongs to the first location area; and

displaying a map based on the advance map data when the present position belongs to the second location area, wherein;

the server is provided in the first location area and comprises;

a second storage for storing map data; and

a map-providing-section for searching the stored map data in accordance with the position data sent from the mobile communication terminal and sending the mobile communication terminal map data corresponding to the position data.

14. The map display system as claimed in claim 13, wherein:

when a start point and a destination are designated by the mobile communication terminal, the server computes a travel route from the start point to the destination and sends the mobile communication terminal the travel route as the map data; and

the mobile communication terminal receives the map data and stores the received map data as the advance map data into the first storage.

15. The map display system as claimed in claim 13, wherein the server adjusts the map data to be sent to the mobile communication terminal in a manner such that a size of the map data does not exceed a predetermined value.

16. The map display system as claimed in claim 15, wherein the size of the map data is adjusted by controlling a scale of the map data.

17. The map display system as claimed in claim 13, wherein the map-data-obtaining-section obtains the advance map data by requesting and obtaining map data relating to the designated position from the server in advance via the communication network by sending position data relating to the designated position to the server.

18. The map display system as claimed in claim 17, wherein when map data requested by the map-data-obtaining-section is not stored in the second storage, the server retrieves map data relating to a position which is close to the designated position and sends the retrieved map data to the mobile communication terminal.

24. The map display system as claimed in claim 13, wherein:

the first location area is a service area for performing wireless communication; and

the second location area is out of the service area.

25. The map display system as claimed in claim 13, wherein:

the second location area is a roaming area for performing roaming access; and

the first location area is not the roaming area.

26. The map display system as claimed in claim 13, wherein:

the first location area is a domestic area; and

the second location area is a foreign area.

27. The map display system as claimed in claim 13, wherein:

the first storage is a detachable external memory.

28. The map display system as claimed in claim 27, wherein:

data associated with a store that sold the external memory is stored in the external memory in association with the advance map data.

29. A mobile communication terminal which is one of a handheld cellular phone, a PDA, and a PHS, and is moved between a plurality of areas, the mobile communication terminal comprising:

a position-designating-section for designating at least one desired geographic position by a user prior to measuring a present position and issuing an instruction for map display, wherein the designated position is different from the present position of the terminal;

a map-data-obtaining-section for requesting and obtaining prior to measuring the present position and issuing the instruction for map display, in a first location area different from the designated position, advance map data of the designated position via a communication network;

a storage for storing prior to measuring the present position and issuing the instruction for map display the advance map data which is obtained in the first location area in advance of the terminal being in the designated position by the map-data-obtaining-section based on the designated position;

an instruction-section for issuing the instruction for map display;

a position-measurement-section for measuring the present position at which the instruction for map display has been issued from the instruction-section, and obtaining position data of the present position as present position data;

a determination-section that determines whether or not the present position data is included in the advance map data by searching the storage for the advance map data of the present position; and

a display-section that displays;

a map based on the advance map data when the present position data is included in the advance map data; and

a map based on present map data, which is obtained by the map-data-obtaining-section and associated with the present position data, when the present position data is not included in the advance map data.