Terminal device and recording medium

• US 8,775,075 B2
• Filed: 02/06/2008
• Issued: 07/08/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 02/19/2007
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Lenovo Innovations Ltd Hong Kong (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: NEC CASIO Mobile Communications Limited (NEC Corporation)
• Inventors: Suzuki, Hideo
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran, Khoi
• Assistant Examiner(s): Figueroa, Jaime
• Application Number:
  US12/012,896
• Publication Number:
  US 20080201069A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,344 Days
• Field of Search: 701/204, 701/208, 701/209, 701/213, 701/465, 701/409, 701/410, 701/412, 701/468, 455/456.4, 342/357.74, 340/988
• US Class Current: 701/465
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/20 Instruments for performing navigational calculations G01C21/24, G01C21/26 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72457 according to geographic location
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/10 including a GPS signal receiver
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0264 by selectively disabling software applications
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

A mobile phone terminal has a positional information acquisition unit acquiring present positional information indicating a present position, a destination information acquisition unit acquiring destination information specifying a destination (where to return, and where to go), a navigation unit navigating a route from a position specified by the present positional information acquired by the positional information acquisition unit to a destination specified by the destination information, upon activation, a distance acquisition unit acquiring a distance between a position specified by the present positional information acquired by the positional information acquisition unit and a destination specified by the destination information, and an activation control unit activating the navigation unit depending on a distance acquired by the distance acquisition unit.

Claims

1. A terminal device comprising:

a positional information acquisition unit which acquires positional information indicating a position of the terminal device;

a destination information acquisition unit which acquires destination information specifying a destination;

a navigation unit which acquires from a server, upon activation, data indicating a route from a position specified by the positional information acquired by said positional information acquisition unit to a destination specified by the destination information, and which navigates the routes;

a distance acquisition unit which acquires a distance between the position specified by the positional information acquired by said positional information acquisition unit and the destination specified by said destination information;

a determining unit which repetitively determines whether or not the distance acquired by said distance acquisition unit is larger than a specified value; and

an activation control unit which waits without activating said navigation unit until the determining unit determines that the distance is larger than the specified value, and activates said navigation unit to start navigation of the route from the position of the terminal device to the destination when the determining unit has determined that the distance is larger than the specified value,

wherein the destination information acquisition unit includes;

a counterpart information memory unit which stores counterpart information for each counterpart, and

a reception unit which receives, from the server, information specifying a position of a terminal device of a counterpart as the destination information, the counterpart being selected from among counterparts whose counterparts whose counterpart information is stored in the counterpart information memory unit,

wherein the activation control unit displays, on a monitor of the terminal device a route from the position of the terminal device to the position of the terminal device of the selected counterpart;

wherein data is sent from the server to the terminal device of the selected counterpart, the sent data being the same as the data indicating the route acquired by the navigation unit, and

wherein the terminal device of the selected counterpart displays, on a monitor of the terminal device of the selected counterpart, the route indicated by the data received from the server, the route displaced by the terminal device of the selected counterpart being the same as the route displayed by the activation control unit.

2. The terminal device according to claim 1, wherein said navigation unit navigates at least either at least one of routes from a present position to a destination, or an estimated time required to go to the destination from the present position.

3. The terminal device according to claim 1, wherein:

said destination information acquisition unit has a return position registration unit which registers a position-to-return where a user should return to, which is a present position indicated by the positional information acquired by said positional information acquisition unit, as the destination; and

said activation control unit activates said navigation unit when said determining unit has determined that a distance between the position-to-return and a present position indicated by the positional information acquired by said positional information acquisition unit after the position-to-return is registered as a destination by said return position registration unit is larger than the specified value.

4. The terminal device according to claim 1, further comprising:

a clock unit which counts a time;

a target arrival time memory unit which stores a target arrival time when to arrive at a destination; and

a time difference acquisition unit which acquires a time difference between a time acquired by said clock unit and a target arrival time stored in said target arrival time memory unit;

wherein

said activation control unit activates said navigation unit depending on a distance acquired by said distance acquisition unit and a time difference acquired by said time difference acquisition unit.

5. The terminal device according to claim 4, wherein said activation control unit activates said navigation unit when a distance acquired by said distance acquisition unit reaches a first specified value and a time difference acquired by said time difference acquisition unit reaches a second specified value.

6. The terminal device according to claim 1, further comprising:

a target arrival time memory unit which stores a target arrival time that is a target value of a time required until a user arrives at a destination;

a clock unit which counts an elapsed time; and

a time difference acquisition unit which acquires a time difference between a time stored in said target arrival time memory unit and a time counted by said clock unit, wherein

said activation control unit activates said navigation unit when a distance acquired by said distance acquisition unit reaches a first specified value and a time difference acquired by said time difference acquisition unit reaches a second specified value.

7. The terminal device according to claim 1, wherein

said activation control unit activates said navigation unit when said determining unit has determined that a distance between a position of the terminal device of the selected counterpart and a present position indicated by the positional information acquired by said positional information acquisition unit is larger than the specified value.

8. The terminal device according to claim 1, further comprising:

a condition-completion determining unit which determines whether or not a specified condition set beforehand is satisfied, wherein

said activation control unit activates said navigation unit based on a distance acquired by said distance acquisition unit and a result of the determination by said condition-completion determining unit.

9. The terminal device according to claim 1, further comprising:

a condition-completion determining unit which determines whether or not a specified operation is performed, wherein

said activation control unit activates said navigation unit based on a distance acquired by said distance acquisition unit and a result of the determination by said condition-completion determining unit that the specified operation has been performed.

10. The terminal device according to claim 1, wherein said activation control unit has a message output unit which outputs a message for inquiring necessity of activation of said navigation unit before said navigation unit is activated, and activates said navigation unit in response to an activation instruction by a user via an input unit.

12. The terminal device according to claim 7, wherein

the counterpart information includes information indicating whether or not the counterpart is a company to which a route is navigated when a distance between a user and the counterpart departs more than the specified value, and

said reception unit selects a counterpart set as a company from among counterparts whose counterpart information is stored in said counterpart information memory unit and receives information specifying a position of a terminal device of the selected counterpart, as the destination information.

11. A nontransitory recording medium in which a program is recorded, the program allowing a computer to perform:

a positional information acquisition step of acquiring positional information indicating a position of the terminal device;

a destination information acquisition step of acquiring destination information specifying a destination;

a distance acquisition step of acquiring a distance between the position indicated by the positional information and the destination indicated by the destination information;

a determination step of repetitively determining whether or not the distance is larger than a specified value; and

an activation control step of waiting without activating a navigation unit which acquires from a server data indicating a route from the position indicated by the positional information to the destination specified by the destination information and which navigates the route until it is determined that the distance is larger than the specified value, and activating the navigation unit to start navigation of the route from the position of the terminal device to the destination when it has been determined that the distance is larger than the specified value,

wherein in the destination information acquisition step;

information specifying a position of a terminal device of a counterpart is received from the server as the destination information, the counterpart being selected from among counterparts whose counterpart information is stored in a memory unit which stores counterpart information for each counterpart;

wherein the activation control unit displays, on a monitor of the terminal device a route from the position of the terminal device of the selected counterpart is displayed on a monitor of the terminal device;

wherein data is sent from the server to the terminal device of the selected counterpart, the sent data being the same as the data indicating the route acquired by the navigation unit; and

wherein the terminal device of the selected counterpart displays the route indicated by the data received from the server, the route displayed by the terminal device of the selected counterpart being the same as the route displayed in the activation control step.