US006999779B1
`
`(12) United States Patent
`Hashimoto
`
`(10) Patent N0.:
`(45) Date of Patent:
`
`US 6,999,779 B1
`*Feb. 14, 2006
`
`(54) POSITION INFORMATION MANAGEMENT
`SYSTEM
`
`(75) Inventor: Ken Hashimoto, Kawasaki (JP)
`
`(73) Assignee: Fujitsu Limited, Kawasaki (JP)
`
`(*) Notice:
`
`This patent issued on a continued pros
`ecution application ?led under 37 CFR
`1.53(d), and is subject to the tWenty year
`patent term provisions of 35 U.S.C. 154
`(a)(2)
`
`Subject to any disclaimer, the term of this
`patent is extended or adjusted under 35
`U.S.C. 154(b) by 0 days.
`
`(21) Appl. No.: 08/902,153
`
`(22) Filed:
`
`Jul. 29, 1997
`
`(30)
`
`Foreign Application Priority Data
`
`5,327,144 A
`5,389,934 A
`5,416,712 A *
`5,418,537 A *
`
`7/1994 Stilp et al.
`2/1995 Kass ........................ .. 342/357
`5/1995 Geier et al. .
`.... .. 701/216
`5/1995 Bird .................... .. 342/35709
`
`(Continued)
`FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`EP
`
`0 006 448
`
`1/1980
`
`(Continued)
`OTHER PUBLICATIONS
`UK Examination Report for corresponding application No.
`GB 9716207.7 dated Apr. 30, 2001.
`
`(Continued)
`Primary Examiner—Sonny Trinh
`Assistant Examiner—Sam Bhattacharya
`(74) Attorney, Agent, or Firm—Staas & Halsey LLP
`
`Feb. 6, 1997
`
`(JP)
`
`................................. .. 9-024106
`
`(57)
`
`ABSTRACT
`
`(51) Int. Cl.
`(2006.01)
`H04M 11/04
`(52) US. Cl. ............................. .. 455/456.2; 455/456.6;
`455/404.2
`(58) Field of Classi?cation Search .............. .. 701/213,
`701/214, 215, 216, 207, 208; 342/357, 385,
`342/386, 417, 419, 357.14, 357.1, 357.12,
`342/357.09, 357.13, 357.08; 455/440, 404,
`455/456, 457; 370/311
`See application ?le for complete search history.
`
`(56)
`
`References Cited
`
`U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`4,731,613 A *
`4,806,940 A
`4,953,179 A
`5,208,756 A
`5,223,844 A *
`5,317,321 A *
`
`3/1988 Endo et al. .......... .. 455/357.14
`2/1989 Harral et al. ............. .. 342/451
`8/1990 Mita et al.
`5/1993 Song
`6/1993 Mansell et al. ........... .. 455/404
`5/1994 Sass .................... .. 342/35709
`
`A position information management system in Which a
`portable remote terminal includes a plurality of kinds of
`positioning means for positioning based on a GPS, position
`ing based on a portable-telephone or PHS base station,
`positioning based on a radio marker, and independent posi
`tioning based on a direction detector, so that the holder of the
`portable remote terminal can be navigated anyWhere. The
`holder of the portable remote terminal can knoW the position
`of a third party similarly holding such a portable remote
`terminal, by inquiring of a central system, and he/she can
`supervise, for example, the action of an old person, a child,
`or a skier in a skiing area. Further, only the map data of a
`district Which is often used by the holder is stored in the
`portable remote terminal. In this regard, When the holder is
`in a district not contained Within the retained map data,
`he/she downloads corresponding map data from the central
`system and uses the downloaded map data.
`
`10 Claims, 10 Drawing Sheets
`
`D-GPS 13
`
`@GPS 12
`
`23
`
`5
`
`_ _____ __
`
`PORTABLE —
`ONE
`TELEPH
`EXCHANGE 25
`
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`RADIO
`I
`,
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`PORTABLE REMOTE I
`;
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`I
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`:
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`:
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`EXCHANGE 1
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`I
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`|
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`ESBIIgMENT
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`|
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`|
`EQUIPMENT
`26
`24
`158%?“ J'Lgz J‘
`138E518? CONTROLLER
`|
`‘
`[PHS
`{
`TERMINAL)
`INFORMATION PROVIDING Pom?"
`oTwE
`|
`(RADIO MARKER) 33L
`TERMINAL
`|
`17 W
`l
`|
`|
`.
`I
`l
`|
`I
`|
`l
`L ________________________ ___|
`
`14
`
`GPS
`
`I15
`EQBiEMENT
`@gE/g??m
`
`RADIO
`EQUIPMENT
`
`DISPLAY
`
`19
`
`20
`
`21
`
`Apple, Inc. Exhibit 1036 Page 1
`
`

`
`US 6,999,779 B1
`Page 2
`
`US. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`_
`342/357.14
`5/1995 FitZGerald et a1.
`5,420,594 A *
`6/1995 Schuchman et a1. ...... .. 455/440
`5,422,813 A *
`6/1995 Hikuma et al.
`455/421
`5,426,690 A *
`5,461,390 A 10/1995 Hoshen .................... .. 342/419
`5,504,491 A
`4/1996 Chapman .................. .. 342/357
`5,519,403 A
`5/1996 Bickley et a1. .
`342/352
`5,548,822 A
`8/1996 Yogo ........ ..
`. 455/68
`5,604,765 A *
`2/1997 Bruno et a1. .
`370/311
`5,642,398 A *
`6/1997 Tiedemann et al.
`455/426.1
`5,644,317 A *
`7/1997 Weston et al. ....... .. 455/357.14
`5,661,652 A *
`8/1997 Sprague et al. ........ .. 455/456.2
`5,669,061 A *
`9/1997 Schipper ................... .. 455/440
`5,689,269 A * 11/1997 Norris ......... ..
`. 342/357.08
`5,742,233 A *
`4/1998 Hoffman et a1.
`340/5731
`5,760,742 A *
`6/1998 Branch et a1. . . . . .
`. . . . .. 455/456
`5,832,394 A * 11/1998 Wortham ..... ..
`455/456
`5,848,373 A * 12/1998 DeLorme et al.
`701/200
`5,862,511 A *
`1/1999 Croyle et a1. ............. .. 701/213
`6,148,261 A * 11/2000 Obradovich et aL ______ __ 701/208
`
`.
`
`JP
`JP
`JP
`JP
`JP
`
`JP
`JP
`JP
`JP
`JP
`WO
`WO
`WO
`WO
`WO
`WO
`
`6-291716
`6-331367
`7459193
`7_28O583
`8037682
`
`8'211827
`8-212497
`8-293829
`8-305285
`9-018427
`83/02501
`92/13284
`94/15412
`95/17685
`95/27219
`97/01104
`
`10/1994
`12/1994
`6/1995
`“V1995
`2/1996
`
`8/1996
`8/1996
`11/1996
`11/1996
`1/1997
`7/1983
`8/1992
`7/1994
`6/1995
`10/1995
`1/1997
`
`OTHER PUBLICATIONS
`_
`_
`_
`_
`Japanese Of?ce Action for corresponding application H10
`
`6,167,277 A * 12/2000 Kawamoto . . . . .
`
`. . . . .. 455/457
`
`022996
`
`6,414,630 B1 *
`
`7/2002 Usui ................... .. 342/357.09
`
`FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS
`0 528 090
`2/1993
`0 601 293
`6/1994
`
`2 283 873
`63-292790
`7-332993
`4-122873
`5-205174
`
`5/1995
`11/1988
`12/1991
`4/1992
`8/1993
`
`EP
`EP
`E1];
`
`GB
`JP
`JP
`JP
`JP
`
`Notice of Rejection Grounds, dated May 19, 2004.
`Of?ce Action for corresponding Chinese Application No.
`031010199 dated May 13, 2005.
`Of?ce Action for corresponding Chinese Application No.
`031010180 dated May 13, 2005.
`Of?ce Action for corresponding Chinese Application No.
`
`Communication (Notice of Rejection Grounds) for cor
`responding Japanese Application No. 2004-114174 dated
`]u1_ 5, 2005
`
`* cited by eXarniner
`
`Apple, Inc. Exhibit 1036 Page 2
`
`

`
`Apple, Inc. Exhibit 1036 Page 3
`
`

`
`U.S. Patent
`
`Feb. 14, 2006
`
`Sheet 2 0f 10
`
`US 6,999,779 B1
`
`I START I
`
`SIGNAL
`OF OPS RECEIVED
`?
`
`;
`USE OPS
`
`POSITION OF PHS
`OR PORTABLE TELEPHONE BASE
`STATION FOUND
`'?
`
`USE POSITION OF I
`BASE STATION
`
`SIGNAL OF
`RADIO MARKER RECEIVED
`?
`
`USE SIGNAL OF
`RADIO EQUIPMENT
`
`DESIDE IMPOSSIBILITY OF
`POSITIONING
`
`E N D
`
`FIG. 2
`
`Apple, Inc. Exhibit 1036 Page 4
`
`

`
`U.S. Patent
`
`Feb. 14, 2006
`
`Sheet 3 0f 10
`
`US 6,999,779 B1
`
`:2
`
`z E _ 2::
`
`32::
`
`<5 3
`
`2.5
`
`:5
`
`. O _ n_
`
`7523
`
`if; _ Q
`
`Apple, Inc. Exhibit 1036 Page 5
`
`

`
`U.S. Patent
`
`Feb. 14, 2006
`
`Sheet 4 0f 10
`
`US 6,999,779 B1
`
`L I NSTRUCT CONTROLLER 22 TO
`DISPLAY CURRENT POSITION
`
`ACQUIRE CURRENT POSITION
`
`IS THERE MAP
`CORRESPONDING TO CURRENT
`POSITION '?
`
`INFORM CENTER OF CURRENT
`POSITION
`
`5I4\ DOWNLOAD MAP CORRESPONDING
`T0 CURRENT posmon
`
`\ DISPLAY MAP WITH CURRENT
`POSITION
`
`FIG. 4
`
`Apple, Inc. Exhibit 1036 Page 6
`
`

`
`U.S. Patent
`
`Feb. 14, 2006
`
`Sheet 5 0f 10
`
`US 6,999,779 B1
`
`PORTABLE TERMINAL
`
`HIIIIE IERII I NAI
`
`TRANSMIT' CURRENT
`POSITION
`
`TRHNSMITCURRENT
`POSITION
`
`lPOSS I BLE
`ARRIVAL
`?
`
`No
`
`RECKON POSITION
`FROM LOG
`
`FIG.
`
`5
`
`Apple, Inc. Exhibit 1036 Page 7
`
`

`
`Apple, Inc. Exhibit 1036 Page 8
`
`

`
`U.S. Patent
`
`Feb. 14, 2006
`
`Sheet 7 0f 10
`
`US 6,999,779 B1
`
`RECEIVE POSITIONS OF 110 POINTS /S5I
`I
`1111111111 011111111 11 311111111 'LINE f 55‘
`FRON POSITIONS OF TWO POINTS
`1
`FIND SORT ‘OF NNP ON BASIS OF OISTNNOE
`ANO TNBIE
`
`,saz
`
`SEARCH FOR SONIIESPONOINO NAP TRON SCALE
`OT MAP AND POSITIONS OF TWO POINTS
`1
`TRANSNIT NAP (FOR OISPLANI
`
`,353
`
`/ 354
`
`F I G .
`
`T A
`
`OISTNNOE IN STRNIOHT LINE
`(km)
`
`SCALE
`
`5 0 0
`
`200
`
`1 0 0
`
`0
`
`500
`
`2 0 0
`
`1 0 o
`
`1
`
`1
`
`1
`
`1
`
`T0 100,000
`
`T0
`
`50,000
`
`T0
`
`20,000
`
`T0
`
`10,000
`
`FIG. 7B
`
`Apple, Inc. Exhibit 1036 Page 9
`
`

`
`U.S. Patent
`
`Feb. 14, 2006
`
`Sheet 8 0f 10
`
`US 6,999,779 B1
`
`sET SITE TO-BE-SUPERVISED AND TIME DURATIUN J 350
`I,
`
`DISPLAY MAP ‘I,
`
`DESIGNATE ZONE IIIITII RECTANGLE
`~
`J,
`RECORD DESIGNATED ‘ZONE IN TERMS OF LATITUDE / 3 63
`AND LOGITUDE
`
`/ S 62
`
`6
`SET TIIIIE FOR SUPERVISION
`
`f3 64
`
`FIG.8A
`
`CLEAR COUNT
`
`_ ACQUIRE CURRENT POSITION Y e s f
`
`
`0F THIRD PARTY‘
`
`
`
`INCREMENT /
`
`ZONE AND TIME FOR SUPER
`
`RAISE ALARM / S72
`
`Apple, Inc. Exhibit 1036 Page 10
`
`

`
`Apple, Inc. Exhibit 1036 Page 11
`
`

`
`U.S. Patent
`
`Feb. 14, 2006
`
`Sheet 10 0f 10
`
`US 6,999,779 B1
`
`DISPLAY
`SCREEN 50
`
`I
`GPS ANTENNA 51
`
`GPS ANTENNA 51
`
`FIG. IOA
`
`FIG.
`
`108
`
`DISPLAY
`SCREEN 52
`
`INPUT
`BUTTON 55
`
`GPS ANTENNA 53
`
`GPS ANTENNA 53
`
`FIG. IOC
`
`FIG. 10D
`
`Apple, Inc. Exhibit 1036 Page 12
`
`

`
`US 6,999,779 B1
`
`1
`POSITION INFORMATION MANAGEMENT
`SYSTEM
`
`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
`
`1. Field of the Invention
`The present invention relates to a position information
`management system, and more particularly to a system for
`managing the position information of pedestrians.
`2. Description of the Related Art
`NoWadays, a car navigation system Wherein a terminal is
`mounted in an automobile so as to display the current
`position of the automobile has been put into practical use
`and put on the market. According to the car navigation
`system, anybody can reach a destination Without getting lost
`even in an area Which he/she visits for the ?rst time, because
`the map of his/her surroundings is displayed With the current
`position.
`The car navigation system eXecutes the processing of
`receiving radio Waves from satellites so as to acquire the
`current position in terms of a latitude and a longitude, and
`reading out map information Which contains the acquired
`latitude and longitude, from a memory device.
`Such car navigation operates to navigate the driving of the
`automobile. There has also been developed and put on sale
`a system Wherein a person holds or carries a terminal of a
`portable type, on Which his/her current position and perti
`nent map information are displayed so as to navigate the
`person.
`The personal navigation system also eXecutes the pro
`cessing of receiving radio Waves from satellites so as to
`acquire the current position in terms of a latitude and a
`longitude, and displaying the stored map information With
`the current position.
`The system Wherein the current position is determined by
`receiving the radio Waves from the satellites in this manner,
`is called the “GPS (Global Positioning System)”.
`MeanWhile, in the navigation system as stated above, the
`current position is acquired by catching the radio Waves
`from the satellites. Therefore, the system has the disadvan
`tage of failing to operate in a location Where the radio Waves
`cannot be received from any of the satellites.
`Besides, in the system for navigating the movements of a
`person, the terminal to be held or carried by the person tends
`to be someWhat large in siZe because a CD-ROM or the like
`for storing map information is built therein.
`
`SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
`
`An object of the present invention is to provide a position
`information management system of higher serviceability.
`According to the present invention, in a system Wherein
`information from a positioning system is acquired in an
`information terminal and is processed in a central system so
`as to manage information on a position of the information
`terminal, a position information management system is
`characteriZed by employing an information terminal Which
`is adapted to utiliZe a plurality of kinds of positioning
`systems and to automatically change from any of the posi
`tioning systems in an unavailable state, to an available one
`of the positioning systems, so as to acquire a current position
`thereof by the use of the available positioning system.
`Further, an information terminal for use in the present
`invention is one Which can communicate With a central
`system for managing position information, and Which
`acquires information from a positioning system so as to
`display information on a position of the information termi
`
`15
`
`25
`
`35
`
`40
`
`45
`
`55
`
`65
`
`2
`nal, and is characteriZed by being adapted to utiliZe a
`plurality of kinds of positioning systems, and to automati
`cally change from any of the positioning systems in an
`unavailable state, to an available one of the positioning
`systems, so as to acquire a current position of the informa
`tion terminal by the use of the available positioning system.
`Alternatively, a portable radio terminal in the present
`invention is characteriZed by comprising position informa
`tion acquisition means for obtaining current position infor
`mation; and means for transmitting the position information
`obtained by the position information acquisition means, to
`another equipment through a radio channel, in compliance
`With a request for the position information made through the
`radio channel by the other equipment.
`In another aspect, a portable radio terminal is character
`iZed by comprising position information acquisition means
`for obtaining current position information on the basis of a
`radio Wave from a satellite; means for connecting the
`portable radio terminal through a radio channel With a center
`Which manages current position information of a plurality of
`portable radio telephone terminals; means for registering the
`current position information obtained by the position infor
`mation acquisition means in the center through the connec
`tion means; and means for acquiring a current position of the
`portable radio terminal of a third party from the center
`through the connection means.
`In this Way, according to the present invention, a naviga
`tion function etc. does not become unusable for the reason
`that any of the positioning systems is unavailable, and the
`position information can be acquired and displayed by any
`method Without fail. Therefore, the position information
`management system is high in serviceability.
`Especially, according to the present invention, the infor
`mation terminal or portable terminal can comprise a direc
`tion detector for independently reckoning its oWn position.
`Thus, even in a case Where the GPS and other positioning
`systems are not available at all, the navigation function can
`be utiliZed as long as merely a starting point is knoWn.
`Moreover, the portable terminal or information terminal is
`endoWed With the function of retaining the minimum map
`data required of the terminal itself, in the form of an IC card,
`etc., Whereby the number of times of doWnloading from the
`central system can be decreased. Also, the IC card is
`employed as a detachable storage medium, Whereby the
`terminal itself can be made smaller in siZe than in case of
`employing a CD-ROM drive.
`The system of the present invention can offer a large
`number of other services, Which Will be eXemplarily
`described in conjunction With the draWings beloW.
`
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`
`FIG. 1 is a block diagram shoWing the system architecture
`of a position information management system according to
`the present invention;
`FIG. 2 is a ?oWchart of a system change over control
`process for acquiring position information, the control being
`performed by a controller (22) shoWn in FIG. 1;
`FIG. 3 is a diagram shoWing the relationship betWeen map
`data to be displayed on a portable terminal and the display
`screen of a display unit;
`FIG. 4 is a ?oWchart in the case of acquiring a current
`position and then displaying a map;
`FIG. 5 is a ?oWchart shoWing the general process of an
`inquiry system for inquiring about the position of the holder
`of a portable terminal, the inquiry system utiliZing the
`system of the present invention;
`
`Apple, Inc. Exhibit 1036 Page 13
`
`

`
`US 6,999,779 B1
`
`3
`FIG. 6 is a ?owchart showing processes in the case where
`the system of the present invention is applied to the position
`information acquisition between portable terminals;
`FIGS. 7A and 7B are diagrams for explaining the process
`of a central system among the processes shown in FIG. 6;
`FIGS. 8A and 8B are ?owcharts showing a process for
`supervising a third party on the side of a portable terminal;
`FIGS. 9A and 9B are diagrams each showing a display
`example which is presented on the display screen of a
`portable terminal in the system of the present invention; and
`FIGS. 10A—10D are views showing examples of the
`external appearances of the respective portable terminals of
`the present invention.
`
`DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED
`EMBODIMENTS
`
`15
`
`FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the system architecture
`of a position information management system embodying
`the present invention.
`The system of the present invention comprises a central
`system 10 which manages information in a uni?ed fashion,
`a portable remote terminal 11 which is carried by a person,
`a satellite 12 which serves for a GPS, a radio wave trans
`mission tower 13 which serves for a D-GPS (Differential
`GPS), and an information providing point (radio marker) 33
`which determines the position of the portable terminal 11 by
`radio waves.
`The portable terminal 11 includes the respective receivers
`of a GPS antenna 14, radio equipment 15 for a portable
`telephone, radio equipment 16 for a “PHS”, and radio
`equipment 17 for receiving radio waves from the radio
`marker 33. The respective receivers receive radio waves
`from corresponding radio-wave transmission stations, and
`deliver them to a controller 22. (Incidentally, the initials
`“PHS” stand for “Personal Handy-phone System” which is
`a digital type of mobile terminal communications system
`standardiZed in Japan and some other countries. Hereinafter
`we refer mainly to PHS, but the present invention is not
`restricted to PHS, instead any type of digital type mobile
`terminal communications system can be applicable.)
`The controller 22 acquires the current position of the
`portable terminal 11 by the use of the highest precision of
`position information among position information items
`obtained from the respective radio waves, and it lets the
`holder of the portable terminal 11 know the acquired current
`position by supplying a display unit 18 with the current
`position and a map of the surrounding area. Numeral 19
`indicates a speaker, which is used in the case of sounding an
`alarm to the holder of the portable terminal 11. In the
`portable terminal 11, the minimum map information, such as
`the map information of a district to which the holder often
`goes, is stored as map data 21. In a case where the portable
`terminal 11 lies within the limits of the map data 21, the
`controller 22 reads out the map data 21 and delivers it to the
`display unit 18. Further, the map data 21 stored in the
`portable terminal 11 should preferably be realiZed by mount
`ing a detachable storage medium such as an IC card or
`miniature card. Thus, only the minimum map data of the
`Zone where the holder wants to move need be installed, and
`an unnecessarily large storage capacity is not required. The
`embodiment therefore has the advantage that the portable
`terminal 11 can be reduced in siZe.
`A direction detector 20 in the portable terminal 11 serves
`to independently detect the movement of the portable ter
`minal 11 and specify the current position thereof in a case
`where none of the radio waves has arrived at the portable
`
`25
`
`35
`
`40
`
`45
`
`55
`
`65
`
`4
`terminal 11. The direction detector 20 includes a gyrocom
`pass and an acceleration sensor. The controller 22 calculates
`the moving direction and moved distance of the portable
`terminal 11 by processing information from the direction
`detector 20, and it outputs the resultant current position to
`the display unit 18. Particularly in a case where a three
`dimensional gyro is employed and where acceleration sen
`sors are arranged in three dimensions, the moving direction
`and moved distance of the portable terminal 11 in three
`dimensions can be calculated. In this case, therefore, the
`portable terminal 11 can effect navigation independently in
`the situation where none of the radio waves can be received.
`The central system 10 is connected to radio equipment (a
`portable-telephone base station) 23 through a portable
`telephone exchange 25 and also to radio equipment (a PHS
`base station) 24 through a PHS exchange 26, and it provides
`the exchange of position information with the portable
`terminal 11, etc. An information providing unit 27 in the
`central system 10 retains map data 28 which contains the
`position data of the portable-telephone and PHS base sta
`tions 23 and 24. In a case where the map data 21 retained in
`the portable terminal 11 is insuf?cient to display the current
`position, the central system 10 sends the map data 28 to the
`portable terminal 11 so as to permit the display of the current
`position. The position data of the portable-telephone or PHS
`base stations 23 or 24 respectively is used when the portable
`terminal 11 has to ?nd its position from the site of the nearest
`portable-telephone base station 23 or PHS base station 24
`for the reason that the radio waves from the GPS 12 and the
`D-GPS 13 are not receivable.
`In addition, the information providing unit 27 is con
`nected with a home terminal 32 through a network or the
`like. Thus, it offers the position information of the portable
`terminal 11 in order to locate, for example, an old person or
`a child, who holds the portable terminal 11.
`The information providing point (radio marker) 33 is used
`in order that the portable terminal 11 may acquire the current
`position in the case where signals from the GPS 12, D-GPS
`13, portable-telephone base station 23 and PHS base station
`24 are not available. The information providing point 33
`includes radio equipment 29, a controller 30 and position
`data 31. The position data 31 is the stored data of a latitude
`and a longitude where the information offer point 33 is
`disposed, and it is transmitted from the radio equipment 29
`to the portable terminal 11 through the controller 30. On the
`side of the portable terminal 11, the current position thereof
`is acquired on the basis of the latitude and longitude infor
`mation transmitted from the information offer point 33.
`FIG. 2 is a ?owchart showing a system changeover
`control process for the acquisition of the position informa
`tion as performed by the controller 22 depicted in FIG. 1.
`The portable terminal 11 can acquire the position infor
`mation by using any of the GPS, portable telephone, PHS
`and radio marker systems. The precision of the position
`information decreases in the order of the position informa
`tion from the GPS 12, those from the portable-telephone
`base station 23 and the PHS base station 24, and that from
`the radio marker 33. Therefore, the positioning systems or
`devices are automatically changed over successively toward
`those of lower precisions in such a manner that the GPS is
`used ?rst for the acquisition of the current position, and then
`the second highest precision system is used if the GPS is
`unavailable.
`At step S1 in FIG. 2, whether or not the signal from the
`GPS is being received is ?rst determined. If the signal from
`the GPS is receivable, the position of the portable terminal
`(11 in FIG. 1) is determined using the GPS (step S5).
`
`Apple, Inc. Exhibit 1036 Page 14
`
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`US 6,999,779 B1
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`5
`If the signal from the GPS is not receivable at the step S1,
`the How of the control process advances to step S2, Which
`serves to judge Whether or not the position of the base station
`of the PHS or portable telephone system is available. The
`position of the base station of the PHS or portable telephone
`system can be obtained in such a Way that a signal is
`transmitted from the portable terminal to the nearest base
`station, that the base station having received the signal
`transmits a signal to the central system 10, and that the
`central system at Which the signal from the base station has
`arrived sends the position of the base station having received
`the transmitted signal from the portable terrninal, back to the
`portable terminal. The position of the base station nearest to
`the portable terminal is regarded as the position of the holder
`of the portable terrninal upon the determination that the
`person holding the portable terrninal lies in the vicinity of
`the position of the base station.
`Accordingly, in a case Where the position of the base
`station of the PHS or portable telephone system is found at
`step S2, the position of the portable terminal or the holder
`thereof is acquired using the base station, as stated above, at
`step S6.
`In a case Where the position of the base station of the PHS
`or portable telephone system is not found at step S2, as in the
`case Where telephonic communication is impossible outside
`the service areas of the PHS and portable telephone system,
`Whether or not the signal from the radio marker 33 can be
`received is judged at step S3. Radio markers are disposed at
`each of the main or important spots of a toWn, and generate
`radio signals indicative of the latitude and longitude of the
`corresponding spot.
`If the portable terminal can receive the radio wave from
`the radio marker, the signal from the radio rnarker received
`by the radio equipment 17 is used at step S7. More speci?
`cally, the current position of the portable terminal or the
`holder thereof is regarded as being substantially identical to
`the latitude and longitude of the nearest radio marker, and is
`displayed on the display unit 18 as such.
`HoWever, if the radio wave from the radio marker is not
`receivable at step S3 either, the acquiring of the position is
`regarded as being impossible, and a display is presented to
`the holder to that effect (step S4).
`In the case Where the positioning is determined to be
`impossible at step S4, the direction detector 20 in FIG. 1 is
`used for calculating the moving direction and moved dis
`tance from the site Where the position of the portable
`terminal was measured last. The current position of the
`portable terminal is reckoned on the basis of the calculated
`rnoving direction and moved distance, and is displayed on
`the display unit.
`FIG. 3 illustrates the relationship betWeen the map data to
`be displayed on the portable terminal 11 (shoWn in FIG. 1)
`and the display screen of the display unit 18.
`The left part of FIG. 3 illustrates the relationship betWeen
`a screen display actually presented and the acquired map
`data. The map data includes data retained in the portable
`terminal and data downloaded from the central system 10.
`The map data items are divided into blocks in accordance
`With predeterrnined latitudinal and longitudinal limits and
`are managed by af?Xing numbers to the respective blocks, as
`shoWn at the right part of this ?gure.
`By Way of example, in the case shoWn in FIG. 3, the map
`data in a range Which is larger than the actual display screen
`is loaded for display, and the range de?ned by (X1, yl) and
`(X2, y2) in terms of latitudes and longitudes is displayed. As
`seen in the table at the right part of FIG. 3, the loaded map
`
`10
`
`15
`
`25
`
`35
`
`45
`
`55
`
`65
`
`6
`data corresponds to map No. 1. Herein, the latitudinal limits
`are from X1 to X2, While the longitudinal limits are from y1
`to y2.
`When the latitude and longitude of the portable terminal
`at the current time have been found, the table as shoWn at the
`right part of FIG. 3 is referred to, and the map data Whose
`latitudinal and longitudinal lirnits embrace the current lati
`tude and longitude of the portable terminal is loaded.
`When the current position of the portable terrninal has
`changed up to the end of the loaded map data, the neXt map
`is loaded. The map data items are set so that the peripheral
`edges of the maps overlap each other, and at least tWo map
`data items contain the latitude and longitude of a current
`position near the end of the map data. In a case Where the
`current position is near the end of the map data and Where
`either of the map data items to be loaded is not de?nite, the
`direction in Which the holder of the portable terrninal has
`proceeded or moved till then is computed, and a map ahead
`in the proceeding direction is loaded. Further, in a case
`Where the position of the portable terminal, is already at the
`end of the map data at the time of the turn-ON of the poWer
`source of the portable terminal, and Where the proceeding
`direction of the holder till then is unknoWn, it is possible, by
`Way of example, that a map of smaller number is once
`loaded so as to acquire the proceeding direction, Whereupon
`the neXt map of an adjacent Zone is loaded as may be needed.
`Incidentally, the map data need not alWays be prepared so
`as to cover a range larger than the display screen as
`eXernpli?ed in FIG. 3, but the map of the Zone Which the
`display screen covers may well be displayed by managing in
`smaller divided regions beforehand and joining a plurality of
`map data items so as to output the joined map data items to
`the display screen. Also in this case, the map data With the
`plurality of map data items joined together is set to be
`somewhat larger than the display screen, and new map data
`is loaded on occasions as the position of the holder of the
`portable terrninal changes.
`FIG. 4 is a ?oWchart shoWing a processing How in the
`case of acquiring the current position and displaying a map.
`The map data display How in the ?gure is performed by
`the controller 22 of the portable terminal 11. First, the user
`of the portable terminal 11 instructs the controller 22 to
`display the current position thereof at step S10. Then, the
`current position is obtained from the GPS at step S11. Here,
`as described With reference to FIG. 2, in the case Where the
`current position cannot be obtained With the GPS, it is
`obtained on the basis of the position of a base station of the
`PHS or portable telephone systems. Further, in the case
`Where the position of such a base station is unavailable, the
`radio marker is utiliZed. Still further, in the case Where the
`radio rnarker cannot be utiliZed, the direction detector 20 of
`the portable terminal 11 is used for calculating the proceed
`ing direction and moved distance of the holder and for
`estimating the current position from the last position infor
`rnation obtained. On this occasion, a display is presented to
`the effect that the current position cannot be acquired and is
`being estimated by the direction detector 20.
`When the current position has been acquired at step S11,
`the neXt step S12 is executed to judge Whether or not a map
`containing the current position is included in the map data 21
`stored in the portable terminal 11. On condition that the map
`containing the current position is included in the map data 21
`stored in the portable terminal 11, the How advances to step
`S15, at Which the map is displayed together With the current
`position.
`In contrast, if the map containing the current position is
`not included in the map data 21 stored in the portable
`
`Apple, Inc. Exhibit 1036 Page 15
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`7
`terminal 11, the controller 22 noti?es the central system 10
`of the current position at step S13. In the central system 10,
`the map data containing the received current position is
`searched for. The portable terminal 11 downloads the map
`data containing the current position from the central system
`10 (step S14). At step S15, the map is displayed on the
`display unit 18 of the portable terminal 11, and the current
`position is simultaneously displayed in the map. The doWn
`loaded map data is stored in a memory as the map data 21
`of the portable terminal 11. Thereafter, the How returns to
`step S11, and the acquisition of the current position and the
`display of the map as Well as the current position are
`continued.
`The operation of displaying the current position may Well
`be terminated by, for example, providing a display termi
`nation button in the portable terminal 11 beforehand and
`interrupting the How of FIG. 4 subject to a depression of the
`button. Alternatively, the display operation may Well be
`terminated by directly turning OFF the poWer source of the
`portable terminal 11.
`Incidentally, in the case of acquiring the map data, it is not
`ef?cient to doWnload the frequently used map data each
`time. Therefore, in addition to the map number and the
`latitude as Well as the longitude, the number of times of
`displ