Mobile object location providing device and mobile object location providing system

• US 7,761,228 B2
• Filed: 12/12/2008
• Issued: 07/20/2010
• 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): Black; Thomas G
• Assistant Examiner(s): Behncke; Christine M
• Application Number:
  US12/314,567
• Publication Number:
  US 20090125231A1
• Time in Patent Office: 585 Days
• Field of Search: 701/207, 701/209, 701/200, 701/204, 455/456.1, 455/456.2, 455/440, 455/441, 455/456.5, 340/988
• 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. An information center comprising:

a distribution data database that stores area information of a predetermined area;

an area information acquiring unit that, upon receiving an area information request from a mobile object location providing device, mounted on a mobile object, having a communicating unit, searches for area information of an area surrounding a location of the mobile object in the distribution data database and thereby acquires area information, and sends the acquired area information as distribution data to the mobile object location providing device;

a mobile object information storage unit that stores distribution condition information that includes information about time required for distribution of distribution data for a type of the communicating unit of the mobile object location providing device;

a distribution time estimating unit that, upon receiving an area information acquisition request from the mobile object location providing device, estimates distribution time that is time for distributing the distribution data to the mobile object location providing device based on input distribution condition information identified by the type of communicating unit of the mobile object location providing device; and

a movement amount estimating unit that estimates a future location of the mobile object after lapse of the distribution time based on input current location and input movement history of the mobile object, wherein the area information acquiring unit acquires area information of an area surrounding the estimated future location and sends to the mobile object location providing device, and wherein the distribution condition information is the distribution condition information recorded for the type of the communicating unit of mobile object location providing device according to the movement speed of the mobile object and a communication condition of the communicating unit, and the distribution time estimating unit estimates the distribution time by use of the type of the communicating unit of the mobile object location providing device, the movement speed of the mobile object and the distribution condition information in response to the communication condition of the communicating unit.

2. The information center according to claim 1, wherein the distribution condition information is the distribution condition information received from the mobile object location providing device.

3. The information center according to claim 1, wherein the movement history is a movement vector consisting of the movement speed and the movement direction of the mobile object going back the distribution time from the current location, and the future location estimating unit adds the movement vector to the current location and thereby estimates the future location of the mobile object.

4. The information center according to claim 1, wherein, when a running scheduled route of the mobile object is set, the movement history is the movement speed of the mobile object going back the distribution time from the current location, and the movement amount estimating unit adds the movement distance to be obtained from the movement speed to the current location on the running scheduled route and thereby estimates the future location of the mobile object.

5. A mobile object location providing system comprising:

a mobile object location providing device being mounted on a mobile object and having a communicating unit; and

an information center that, upon receiving an area information acquisition request from the mobile object location providing device, identifies a location of the mobile object, and acquires area information of an area surrounding the location of the mobile object from a distribution data database that stores area information of a predetermined area, and transmits the area information acquired as distribution data to the mobile object location providing device, wherein

the mobile object location providing device includes;

a current location movement history calculating unit that calculates a current location and a movement history of the mobile object; and

a communication controlling unit that acquires a type of the communicating unit of the mobile object location providing device, and sends the type of the communicating unit of the mobile object location providing device current location, and the movement history to the information center, and

the information center includes;

a mobile object information storage unit that stores distribution condition information including information about time required for distribution of distribution data to the mobile object for the type of the communicating of the mobile object location providing device;

a distribution time estimating unit that, upon receiving an area information acquisition request from the mobile object location providing device, extracts the distribution condition information based on the type of the communicating unit of the mobile object providing device from the mobile object information storage unit, and estimates distribution time that is time for distributing the distribution data to the mobile object based on the distribution condition information extracted;

a movement amount estimating unit that estimates a future location of the mobile object after lapse of the distribution time from the current location of the mobile object based on the movement history; and

an area information acquiring unit that acquires area information of the area surrounding the future location from the distribution data database and sends to the mobile object location providing device, wherein the distribution condition information is recorded for the type of the communicating unit of the mobile object location providing device according to the movement speed of the mobile object and a communication condition of the communicating unit, and the distribution time estimating unit of the information center extracts the distribution condition information from the mobile object information storage unit, and estimates the distribution time by use of the type of communicating unit of the mobile object location providing device, the movement speed of the mobile object, and the distribution condition information in response to the communication condition of the communicating unit.

6. The mobile object location providing system according to claim 5, wherein the communication controlling unit of the mobile object further has a function that acquires distribution condition information concerning the communicating unit and sends the distribution condition information to the information center.

7. The mobile object location providing system according to claim 5, wherein the mobile object information storage unit of the information center stores distribution data size information distributed to the mobile object in classification per the mobile object, and the distribution time estimating unit of the information center specifies the kind of distribution data to be determined based on the area information acquisition request, and estimates the distribution time by use of an estimated data size of distribution data corresponding to the distribution data size when the data size is known before distribution, or a kind of the distribution data to be obtained from the distribution data size information and the distribution condition information.

8. The mobile object location providing system according to claim 5, wherein the movement amount estimating unit of the information center extracts the movement vector consisting of the movement speed and the movement direction of the mobile object going back the distribution time from the current location of the mobile object 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 system according to claim 5, wherein when a running scheduled route of the mobile object is set, the future location estimating unit of the information center extracts the movement speed of the mobile object going back the distribution time from the current location of the mobile object as the movement history, and adds a 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.