Portable telephone apparatus

• US 6,941,127 B2
• Filed: 12/12/2001
• Issued: 09/06/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 12/12/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Yamaha Corporation
• Original Assignee: Yamaha Corporation
• Inventors: Muramatsu, Toshihiko
• Primary Examiner(s): Young, W. R.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Phuong, Dai
• Application Number:
  US10/021,588
• Publication Number:
  US 20020115450A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,364 Days
• Field of Search: 455/404.2, 455/456.1, 455/457, 455/466, 455/456.3, 455/456.6, 455/430, 455/566, 342/357.01, 342/357.06, 342/357.08, 342/357.09, 342/357.1, 342/357.12, 342/357.13
• US Class Current: 455/404.2
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/18 Processing of user or subscriber data, e.g. subscribed services, user preferences or user profiles; Transfer of user or subscriber data

Abstract

A portable telephone apparatus comprises: an input unit; a RAM including a memory table for storing data used to specify a specific individual in correspondence with an arbitrary icon data, data used to specify a portable telephone apparatus owned by the specific individual, and positional information of the portable telephone apparatus; a display unit for displaying various data; and a CPU for executing a control operation that the CPU accesses the portable telephone apparatus corresponding to the arbitrary icon data, downloads the positional information of the portable telephone apparatus to automatically update the storage content of the memory table, and superimposes icon data as a position of the specific individual on a map displayed on the display unit based upon the positional information of the portable telephone apparatus which is owned by the specific individual in order to display thereon the icon data superimposed on the map.

Claims

1. A portable communication terminal capable of detecting a position of the portable communication terminal by using a Global Positioning System, the portable communication terminal comprising:

an input unit which inputs first data for specifying a specific individual and second data for specifying an another portable communication terminal owned by the specific individual in correspondence with icon data;

a storage unit which stores the inputted first and second data and positional information of the another portable communication terminal owned by the specific individual in correspondence with the icon data;

an azimuth measuring unit for measuring an azimuth of the specific individual;

a display;

a controller which accesses, via a base station, the another portable communication terminal corresponding to the icon data, downloads the positional information of the another portable communication terminal corresponding to the icon data, automatically updates the positional information of the another portable communication terminal corresponding to the icon data which is stored in the storage unit, and displays an icon based on the icon data so as to be superposed on a map displayed on the display;

wherein the map displayed on the display is provided based on map information downloaded through the base station according to the downloaded positional information of the another communication terminal; and

wherein an inclination angle of the icon character on the map is controlled based on the measured azimuth.

2. The portable communication terminal according to claim 1, wherein

the portable communication terminal is a portable telephone apparatus,

the second data is a telephone number, and

when the icon displayed on the display is selected, the controller reads out the telephone number corresponding to the selected icon data from the storage unit and executes a telephone calling process operation based on the read telephone number.

8. A method of controlling a portable communication terminal capable of detecting a position of the portable communication terminal by using a Global Positioning System, the method comprising the steps of:

inputting first data for specifying a specific individual and second data for specifying an another portable communication terminal owned by the specific individual in correspondence with icon data;

storing the inputted first and second data and positional information of the another portable communication terminal owned by the specific individual in correspondence with the icon data;

measuring an azimuth of the specific individual;

accessing, via a base station, the another portable communication terminal corresponding to the icon data;

downloading the positional information of the another portable communication terminal corresponding to the icon data;

automatically updating the positional information of the another portable communication terminal corresponding to the stored icon data; and

displaying an icon based on the icon data so as to be superposed on a map displayed on a display;

wherein the map displayed on the display is provided based on map information downloaded through the base station according to the downloaded positional information of the another communication terminal; and

wherein an inclination angle of the icon character on the map is controlled based on the measured azimuth.

3. The portable communication terminal according to claim 9, further comprising:

a detector which detects whether or not the position of the portable communication terminal corresponding to icon data is located within a predetermined range previously set by receiving the positional information indicating a position of the portable communication terminal corresponding to the icon data; and

a reproducing unit which reads out the musical data stored in the storage unit and reproduces music based on the read musical data when the detector detects that the portable communication terminal corresponding to the icon data is located within the predetermined range.

4. The portable communication terminal according to claim 3, wherein the icons registered in the register unit are different each other for every corresponding other portable communication terminal.

5. The portable communication terminal according to claim 3, wherein

the portable communication terminal is a portable telephone apparatus, and

the second data, input by unit, for specifying the portable telephone apparatus is a telephone number of the portable telephone apparatus.

6. The portable communication terminal according to claim 3, wherein the reproducing unit is capable of reproducing a plurality of the musical data which are different from each other for every corresponding other portable communication terminal.

7. The portable communication terminal according to claim 3, wherein the predetermined range is set as a distance from a predetermined target position.

9. The method according to claim 8 further comprising the steps of:

detecting whether or not the position of the another portable communication terminal corresponding to the icon data is located within a predetermined range previously set based on the received positional information; and

reading out the musical data and reproducing music based on the read musical data when the another portable communication terminal corresponding to the icon data is located within the predetermined range.

10. A computer readable recording medium including instructions, wherein the instruction, when executed by a computer provided in a portable communication terminal detecting a position of the portable communication terminal by using a Global Positioning System, cause the portable communication terminal to perform the steps of:

inputting first data for specifying a specific individual and second data for specifying an another portable communication terminal owned by the specific individual in correspondence with icon data;

storing the inputted first and second data and positional information of the another portable communication terminal owned by the specific individual in correspondence with the icon data;

measuring an azimuth of the specific individual;

accessing, via a base station, the another portable communication terminal corresponding to the icon data;

downloading the positional information of the another portable communication terminal corresponding to the icon data;

automatically updating the positional information of the another portable communication terminal corresponding to the stored icon data; and

displaying an icon based on the icon data so as to be superposed on a map displayed on a display;

wherein the map displayed on the display is provided based on map information downloaded through the base station according to the downloaded positional information of the another communication terminal; and

wherein an inclination angle of the icon character on the map is controlled based on the measured azimuth.

11. The computer readable recording medium including instructions according to claim 10 which causes the another portable communication terminal to further perform the steps of:

detecting whether of not the position of the another portable communication terminal corresponding to the icon data is located within a predetermined range previously set based on the received positional information; and

reading out the musical data and reproducing music based on the read musical data when the another portable communication terminal corresponding to the icon data is located within the predetermined range.

12. A portable communication terminal capable of detecting a position of the portable communication terminal by using a Global Positioning System, the portable communication terminal comprising:

an input unit which inputs first data for specifying a specific individual and second data for specifying an another portable communication terminal owned by the specific individual in correspondence with icon data;

a storage unit which stores the inputted first and second data and positional information of the another portable communication terminal owned by the specific individual in correspondence with the icon data;

a display;

a controller which accesses the another portable communication terminal corresponding to the icon data, downloads the positional information of the another portable communication terminal corresponding to the icon data, automatically updates the positional information of the another portable communication terminal corresponding to the icon data which is stored in the storage unit, and displays an icon based on the icon data so as to be superposed on a man displayed on the display; and

further comprising;

a musical piece reproducing unit which reproduces a musical piece, wherein

the input unit inputs target position data, and target distanced data for designating a target range by using the target position as a reference;

the storage unit includes;

a first storage unit including a positional information table which stores thereinto the first data, the second data, the target position data, the target distance data, and present positional information indicative of a present position of the portable telephone apparatus, and

a second storage unit which stores thereinto a distance/displacement angle table, various sorts of programs, and fixed data, the distance/displacement angle table including an arc distance with respect to a longitude displacement angle and an arc distance with respect to a latitude displacement angle at each of latitude positions, and

the controller acquires positional information indicative of a present position of the another portable telephone apparatus as a communication counter station, updates the present positional information of the positional information table based upon the acquired positional information, and calculates a first distance between the present position of the communication counter station and a target position from the acquired present positional information, the target position data, and the distance/displacement angle data based upon the arc distance with respect to the longitude displacement angle and the arc distance with respect to the latitude displacement angle at latitude in the vicinity of the target position, wherein the controller compares the first distance with a second distance indicated by the target distance data, and drives the musical piece reproducing unit when the calculated first distance is shorter than, or equal to the second distance.