Abstract:
The present invention provides a mobile terminal with navigation function which is able to display traveling directions on a photographed picture displayed on the display. The mobile terminal with navigation function of the present invention detects the present location of the cellular phone, detects the direction of the camera, sets the destination, receives the route information from present location to the destination from the server based on the destination and present location, calculates the traveling direction on the photographed picture based on the route information and direction of the camera and adds the traveling direction onto the photographed picture displayed on the display.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     This application is based upon and claims priority of Japanese Patent Application No. 2005-004985, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0003]     The present invention relates to a mobile terminal with navigation function.  
         [0004]     2. Description of the Related Art  
         [0005]     A navigation device generally provides a route guidance utilizing a digital map representing a road map. Further, a navigation device displaying received real pictures from an information center has been developed.  
         [0006]     However, a mobile terminal displaying a picture photographed by the camera of the mobile terminal on a display in real-time, the navigation device displaying traveling directions on the photographed picture being displayed on the display, has not been developed. (Refer to Japanese Tokkai-Hei 11-160080, Tokkai-Hei 9-126787, Tokkai-Hei 9-179491 and Tokkka-Hei 10-47978).  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0007]     An object of the present invention is to provide a mobile terminal with navigation function which is able to display traveling directions on a photographed picture displaying on the display, the mobile terminal displaying a picture photographed by a camera of the mobile terminal on the display in real-time.  
         [0008]     In order to solve the above problem, the preferred embodiment of the invention comprises following: a first detecting means for detecting a present location of the mobile terminal, a second detecting means for detecting a direction of a camera, a setting means for setting a destination, a receiving means for receiving a route information from the present location to the destination from the server based on the destination and the present location, a calculating means for calculating a traveling direction on photographed picture based on the information and the direction of the camera, and a display means for displaying an indicator indicating the traveling direction on the photographed picture.  
         [0009]     Moreover, another preferred embodiment of the invention comprises following: a first detecting means for detecting a present location of the mobile terminal, a second detecting means for detecting a direction of the camera, a memory for storing map data, a setting means for setting a destination, a first calculating means for calculating a route from the present location to the destination based on the destination, present location and the map data, a second calculating means for calculating a traveling direction on the photographed picture based on the route and the direction, and a display means for displaying an indicator indicating the traveling direction on the photographed picture.  
         [0010]     In these configurations, another preferred embodiment provides an arrow used as the indicator indicating the traveling direction.  
         [0011]     In these configurations, another preferred embodiment provides a bending arrow corresponding to the turning direction used as the arrow indicating the traveling direction if there is a change of the traveling direction within a predetermined distance from the present location.  
         [0012]     Further, in these configurations, the mobile terminal comprises a third detecting means for detecting the angle of the camera to the horizontal plane, the display control means for adding the arrow on the photographed picture based on said angle and displaying the arrow corresponding to the angle of the ground in the photographed picture.  
         [0013]     In accordance with the preferred embodiment of the invention, in the case of the mobile terminal displaying a picture photographed by the camera of the mobile terminal on the display in real-time, the mobile terminal with navigation function is able to display the traveling directions on the photographed picture displayed on the display. Moreover, in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the invention, it is not necessary to produce the digital map. 
     
    
     BREIF DESCRIPITION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0014]     The above and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following description of the preferred embodiments taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, of which:  
         [0015]      FIG. 1  illustrates an inside of the opened state of a cellular phone with the camera which is preferably used in accordance with embodiments of the present invention.  
         [0016]      FIG. 2  illustrates an outside of the opened state of the cellular phone with the camera which is preferably used in accordance with embodiments of the present invention.  
         [0017]      FIG. 3  is a function block diagram of the navigation device in the cellular phone which is preferably used in accordance with embodiments of the present invention.  
         [0018]      FIG. 4  is an illustration showing the route to destination X on the map data and the display of the cellular phone is displaying the image at A, B and C on the route.  
         [0019]      FIG. 5  is an illustration showing the three-dimensional arrow when the camera looks towards the horizontal direction.  
         [0020]      FIG. 6  is an illustration showing the three-dimensional arrow when the camera looks downward towards the horizontal plane.  
         [0021]      FIG. 7  is an illustration showing another example of display of the traveling direction. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0022]     Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout.  
         [0023]     The preferred embodiment of the present invention is applied to a cellular phone with a camera that will be explained in accordance with the drawings.  
         [0024]      FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2  show the external appearance of the cellular phone with the camera (hereafter called “cellular phone”).  
         [0025]     The cellular phone is foldable type.  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2  show the opened state of the cellular phone. The cellular phone  1  has a main unit  2 , a display section  3  is foldably fitted with the main unit  2 . The inside surface of the cellular phone  1  has an operating section  21  having a plurality of keys. The inside surface of the display section  3  has a display  31 . The outside surface of the display section  3  has a camera  32  which looks towards the outer direction.  
         [0026]      FIG. 3  is a function block diagram of a navigation device which is incorporated the cellular phone  1 .  
         [0027]     In  FIG. 3 , symbol  21  is the operating section, symbol  31  is the display, symbol  32  is the camera. Symbol  41  is a GPS (Global Positioning System) antenna, symbol  42  is GPS receiving circuit. Symbol  43  is an electronic compass which detects the direction of the camera. Symbol  44  is an access means which communicating with a navigation server  60 . Symbol  50  is a control device. The camera  32 , the display  31 , the operating section  21 , the GPS receiving circuit  42 , the electronic compass  43  and the access means  44  are respectively connected to the control device  50 .  
         [0028]     The destination is set by operating the operating section  21 . The GPS receiving circuit  42  detects the present position of cellular phone  1 . The electronic compass detects the direction of the camera  32 .  
         [0029]     The navigation function is started, then the control device  50  receives the present position of the cellular phone  1  from the GPS receiving circuit  42 . The control device  50  transmits the present position information of the cellular phone  1  to the navigation server  60  via the access means  44  if the destination is set by the user. The navigation server  60  calculates the route from the present location to the destination if the navigation server  60  received the destination and the present location of the cellular phone. The navigation server  60  transmits map data from the present location to the destination and the data indicating the route to the cellular phone  1 . The map data is sent by the navigation server  60  and the data indicating the route is received by the access means  44  and transmitted to the control device  50 .  
         [0030]     The control device  50  decides the traveling direction on the picture photographed by the camera  32  based on the map data received from the navigation server  60 , the data indicating the route, the information of the present location of the cellular phone received from the GPS receiving circuit  42  and the direction of the camera  32  received from the electric compass  43 .  
         [0031]     In other words, the control device  50  recognizes the traveling direction from the present location based on the map data received from the navigation server  60 , the data indicating the route and the present location of the cellular phone  1 . The control device  50  recognizes the direction of the picture photographed by the camera  32  based on the direction of the camera detected by the electric compass  43 . The control device  50  decides the traveling direction on the photographed picture based on the traveling direction from the present location and the direction of the photographed picture. Moreover, the control device  50  adds the indicator data indicating the traveling direction on the photographed picture to the photographed picture on the display  31 . The control device  50  merges the traveling direction on the picture to the photographed picture by the camera  32 . These operations are repeated within a predetermined period. Therefore, the indicator data indicating the traveling direction on the photographed picture is updated. The photographed picture by the camera  32  is updated in real-time. The three-dimensional arrow is used as the indicator data showing the traveling direction.  
         [0032]     In the case that there is the corner within a predetermined distance from the present location on the route to destination, it is preferable that the arrow indicating the traveling direction on the photographed picture bends to correspond to the turning direction. Moreover, in the case that the destination is within a predetermined distance from the present location, a mark indicating the destination is displayed at the position corresponding to the destination.  
         [0033]      FIG. 4  shows the route to the destination and the example of displayed pictures on the display  2  at the points A, B and C on the route.  FIG. 4  shows the case where the direction of the camera  32  is the same with respect to the traveling direction.  
         [0034]     The picture GA shows the display example displayed on the display  2  in the case that the present location is point A. The picture GB shows the display example displayed on the display  2  in the case that the present location is point B. In the picture GB, a bending arrow corresponding to the turning point is used as the arrow indicating the traveling direction because there is a corner within the predetermined distance from the present location on the route to the present location of the cellular phone  1 . The picture GC shows the display example displayed on the display  2  in the case that the present location is point C. In the picture GC, the mark M indicating the destination is displayed because the present location of the cellular phone  1  is within the predetermined distance from the destination.  
         [0035]     The angle of the camera  32  to the horizontal plane is detected by the gyroscopic stabilizer or the angular rate sensor, then the display configuration of the arrow indicating the traveling direction may change according to the detected angle of the camera  32  to the horizontal plane. In particular, the three-dimensional arrow becomes parallel to the ground of the photographed picture displayed. For example,  FIG. 5  shows the display when the camera  32  in the horizontal plane; that is,  FIG. 5  shows an example of the three-dimensional arrow when the camera  32  faces the horizontal direction.  FIG. 6  shows an example of the three-dimensional arrow when the camera  32  faces downward towards the horizontal plane.  
         [0036]     In the embodiment above, the calculation of the route from the present location to the destination is conducted by the navigation server  60 , but the control device  50  of the cellular phone  1  may calculate the route from the present location to the destination. In this case, the cellular phone  1  has a storing means storing the map data instead of the access means  44 . Nonvolatile memory, a removable disk, etc. is used as the storing means. The control device  50  receives the map data from the present location to the destination from the storing means, then the control device  50  calculates the route from the present location to the destination based on the received map data.  
         [0037]     In the embodiment above, the direction of the camera  32  is detected by the electric compass  43 . But, the moving direction of the cellular phone  1  may instead be calculated based on the present location information at a time point and comparing this present location information with location information from a different time point. The direction of the camera  32  may then be the calculated based on moving direction of the cellular phone  1 .  
         [0038]     In the embodiment above, the indicator showing the traveling direction is an arrow, but the indicator may be an indicator other than an arrow. For example,  FIG. 7  shows some blinking marks Q displayed with some interval in the traveling direction. The blinking of these marks may shift in sequence in the traveling direction.  
         [0039]     Although a few preferred embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes may be made in these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined in the appended claims and their equivalents.