KR20070042599A - Navigation system and method that complements position measurement using barcode - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a navigation system and a method for supplementing a position measurement using a barcode. In the navigation system, when the GPS receiver cannot generate GPS-based current position information using a satellite signal, By reading the barcode to generate the current location information, it is possible to generate location-based navigation information associated with the current location even in an environment where the navigator does not receive satellite signals.

Navigation, Location Information, Barcodes, GPS, Mobile Terminals

Description

NAVIGATION SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR SUPPORTING POSITION MEASUREMENT USING BARCODE}

1 is a diagram illustrating a method of generating conventional navigation information.

2 is a block diagram illustrating a navigation system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a bar code signage providing bar code information according to an embodiment of the present invention.

4 is a diagram illustrating navigation information included in barcode information according to one embodiment of the present invention.

5 is a diagram illustrating an example in which a navigation system is used according to an embodiment of the present invention.

6 is a view for explaining the operation of the navigation system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a view for explaining the interworking between the navigation system and the location-based service server of FIG. 1.

<Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

200: navigation system 210: GPS receiver

220: barcode reading unit 230: navigator

240: database

The present invention relates to a navigation system and method, and more particularly, to a navigation system and method for generating navigation information by reading an external barcode when location information cannot be generated using a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver. will be.

In today's society, navigation systems with built-in GPS receivers are widely used in automobiles to find directions or identify destinations. However, the conventional navigation system has a problem in that it cannot perform normal service in an area where the satellite cannot receive a signal or in bad weather.

1 is a diagram illustrating a method of generating conventional navigation information.

As shown in FIG. 1, a conventional navigation system receives a signal measured by a satellite and performs a satellite signal reception 110 operation for a GPS using a GPS receiver mounted in the navigation system. A conventional navigation system generates location information using a satellite signal received by the GPS receiver, and generates navigation information according to the location information 120 to provide destination guidance information or provide distance information to a destination. Provides base services.

As such, the conventional navigation system generates current location information based on the GPS signal reception 110 and generates navigation (or navigation) information from the current location information. Thus, when the GPS receiver does not receive a signal from the satellite, the navigation information is generated. Difficult to service Therefore, the user must bear the inconvenience that the service of the navigation information is interrupted every time the GPS signal reception area is not available, or when the user needs to bypass the GPS signal reception area if necessary.

Accordingly, a new technology is required that can provide location information and navigation information in an area where GPS signals can not only be generated as well as location information from GPS signals, but also assisted by a GPS receiver to receive GPS signals.

The present invention has been made to solve the problems of the prior art as described above, the object of the present invention is to enable the user to service the location-based navigation information in a situation that can not generate location information based on GPS, The present invention provides a navigation system that generates location-based navigation information by grasping location information from a bar code installed on a road.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a navigation method in which a navigation system services a location-based navigation information to a user by using a GPS receiver or reading an external barcode.

Navigation system according to the present invention for achieving the above object and to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art GPS receiver for generating GPS-based first current position information using a satellite signal; A barcode reading unit configured to read an external barcode to generate second current position information; And a navigator for generating location-based navigation information associated with a current location based on the first current location information or the second current location information.

The navigation method according to the present invention for achieving the above object comprises the steps of generating a GPS-based first current position information using a satellite signal; Generating second current location information by reading an external barcode; And generating location-based navigation information related to a current location based on the first current location information or the second current location information.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and the contents described in the accompanying drawings, but the present invention is not limited or limited to the embodiments. Like reference numerals in the drawings denote like elements.

Barcode as used herein encodes encoding information of letters or numbers by combining black bars and white spaces of different thicknesses in order to make the information readable by computers commonly used in the industry. Means a printed matter. Commonly used barcodes are usually composed of 13 digits, the first three digits of the encoding information are country names (e.g. 880 for Korea), the next four digits are the manufacturer's name, the next five digits are the product name, and the last one is the code. Numeric symbol to check for errors. Price is indicated separately.

In addition, the barcode used in the present invention may include the conventional configuration of the barcode described above, and may have various shapes such as one-dimensional (point), two-dimensional (plane), three-dimensional (stereoscopic). In another embodiment, the barcode of the present invention includes all shapes that can be shaped using various shapes or colors applied to the barcode as identification conditions, and can be continuously and periodically deformed according to time or situation, as well as a fixed form of output. You can. In addition, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the technical idea of the present invention may be applied to codes of other shapes that may be used as identifiers such as symbols, characters, and pictures.

2 is a block diagram illustrating a navigation system 200 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 2, the navigation system 200 according to the present invention may include a GPS receiver 210, a barcode reader 220, a navigator 230, and a database 240.

The navigation system 200 may provide navigation information, which is one of location-based services, to a user of the navigation system 200 even in an environment in which it is difficult to receive satellite signals using the barcode reader 220.

The navigation system 200 preferentially generates location-based navigation information using modern location information generated from satellite signals for GPS and displays it through a predetermined display means, and in an environment in which satellite signals cannot be received. Navigation information may be generated through the barcode reader 220 that reads an external barcode. Therefore, the user can always receive location-based navigation information regardless of environmental factors such as location or weather.

The GPS receiver 210 generates current location information based on a global positioning system (GPS) using a satellite signal. As is well known, the GPS receiver 210 is attached to a moving object such as an airplane, a ship, a car, and can locate the moving object by using satellites in any area, and is capable of positioning three-dimensional as well as latitude, longitude, and altitude. You can get accurate time with speed information. For example, the current position information from the GPS receiver 210 may be accurately calculated by a predetermined triangulation method according to satellite signals received from a plurality of satellites (eg, three).

The present invention includes a GPS receiver 210 as well as a separate position measuring device. That is, by further comprising a barcode reading unit 220 for reading an external barcode, the second current position information can be generated by including a device for measuring position information.

The barcode reader 220 may generate a predetermined code by scanning and reading a predetermined barcode using a camera like a general barcode reader. For example, decoded information can be generated by treating the black and white bars of the scanned barcode as machine words, changing them to one or more binary bits according to the width of each bar, and combining the changed information into ASCII characters. . Accordingly, the bar code reader 220 converts the regularly expressed symbols into digital data that can be accommodated by the computer, and the data decoded in the bar code reader is transferred to the computer or temporarily stored in a buffer in the reader. It can be sent at a time or used by an application in the reader, and its function can be selected or appropriately added or subtracted by the user as needed.

As such, the current location information generated by the barcode reading unit 220 may include a schedule code for notifying the current location and a schedule code for notifying the direction of travel. The barcode read by the barcode reader 220 may be installed on a street sign, a road, a roadside street, a traffic light, or a building that a vehicle or a person walks.

In addition, the barcode reader 220 may use a dedicated camera as a means for detecting the barcode. Alternatively, the navigation system 200 may be installed in a mobile communication terminal, in which case the barcode may be read using a camera of the terminal. As described above, the camera for scanning and reading a barcode may be a digital camera, a CMOS camera, a Charged Coupled Device (CCD) camera, or another image photographing device. At this time, the bar code installed on a sign such as a road may be detected continuously or at a predetermined cycle.

In addition, the mobile communication terminal is a computer terminal, a public switched telephone network (PSTN) terminal, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), Media Gateway Control Protocol (MGCP), MEGACO (MEdia GAteway COntrol), PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), cellular phone, personal communication service (PCS) phone, hand-held PC, CDMA-2000 (1X, 3X) phone, wideband CDMA (WCDMA) phone, dual band / dual mode ( It can be interpreted as a concept that collectively refers to Dual Band / Dual Mode (GSM) phones, Global Standard for Mobile (GSM) phones, Mobile Broadband System (MBS) phones, and Satellite / Terrestrial Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (DMB) phones. have.

The navigator 230 generates location-based navigation information related to the current location based on the current location information generated from the GPS receiver 210 or the barcode reader 220. In the navigation system 200, when the GPS receiver 210 does not receive a satellite signal, the navigation system 200 may perform an operation of reading the barcode to generate current location information, and the GPS receiver 210. And the bar code reader 220 may simultaneously generate current location information.

The navigator 230 may use the database 240 to generate the navigation information. That is, the navigator 230 extracts the corresponding map information from the database 240 according to the current location information generated from the GPS receiver 210 or the barcode reader 220, and at least the extracted map information and the Information indicating the current location in the map information may be generated and displayed as location-based navigation information associated with the current location.

The navigation information generated by the navigator 230 may be stored in the database 240 and updated according to a predetermined period, and the updated navigation information may be provided to the user. For example, the navigation system 200 presents navigation information in an updated manner or presents a plurality of movement paths when a new shortcut route to Seoul to Cheonan city, Chungnam, is created and presents a movement path to a destination. Can be presented.

In addition, according to another embodiment of the present invention, the navigation information may be corrected using the moving direction information or the moving distance information of the vehicle in which the navigation system 200 is installed. For example, a sensor may be attached to a steering device of a vehicle equipped with the navigation system 200 to calculate a distance and a direction in which the vehicle moves and provide the calculated value to the navigation system 200. In addition, a steering detector for detecting a moving direction or a moving distance of the vehicle is attached to the vehicle, and the navigation information is reflected by reflecting steering information detected by the steering detector using a Bluetooth communication module, an infrared communication module (IrDA), or the like. The navigation information may be generated by correcting the error of the predetermined time interval. The steering detector is a device that receives information about a distance and a direction in which the wheel of the vehicle is moved, and the steering detector may be included in the navigation system 200. Accordingly, the barcode measuring unit 220 can obtain more accurate location information, and detailed location recognition is also possible.

In addition, according to another embodiment of the present invention, the current position information generated by the bar code reader 220 may include a predetermined code indicating whether or not there is a speed prevention camera, the navigator 230 is the speed prevention A warning message can be generated according to a certain code indicating whether a camera exists. For example, in order to enable the navigation system 200 to output the message "There is a speed camera in front of 200 meters ahead" in the 200m front of the speed camera, a certain code indicating whether a speed camera is present is displayed on the barcode. Can be included.

In addition, according to another embodiment of the present invention, since the vehicle always knows the speed of the vehicle, the barcode reading unit 220 of FIG. 3 provides the navigation system 200 with the measured value of the vehicle speed. When the barcode including the speed limit regulation as shown in (b) is recognized and transmitted to the navigator 230, it may be checked whether the vehicle complies with the speed limit regulation.

At this time, according to the speed information of the vehicle in which the navigation system 200 is installed, another warning message may be generated when the speed of the vehicle is greater than or equal to a threshold. That is, the user may set the speed of the vehicle to a predetermined threshold and automatically generate a warning message according to the threshold.

In addition, according to another embodiment of the present invention, the current position information from the bar code reader 220 may include a certain code indicating the vehicle speed limit information, the navigator 230 is the vehicle speed limit information; You can notify the user by specifying a threshold. Therefore, the user can adjust the vehicle speed according to the warning message notified even if the vehicle speed is not currently recognized.

Hereinafter, an example in which the present invention is actually applied will be described.

3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a bar code signage providing bar code information according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3A illustrates an example of a traffic sign indicating a destination and a distance from a current location to a destination. Like the traffic sign, the user can recognize the contents of the traffic sign even with the naked eye, and the navigation system 200 detects the bar code installed on the traffic sign even if the user does not find the traffic sign. Location information or various navigation information may be provided.

3B illustrates an example of a warning sign indicating a speed limit of the vehicle in a specific section. The user may grasp the speed limit-related warning contents through the navigation system 200 or visually. The bar code of FIG. 3B is located in an area scanned by the camera of the navigation system 200 and used as identification information having a unique pattern related to speed limit.

When the navigation system 200 is operated, the navigator 230 may continue to search until a sign recognized as a barcode is displayed on the camera, and when the barcode is recognized, the barcode is read and the current location code information including a moving direction information. Can be generated. At this time, the navigator 230 may calculate the movement route through the bar code content from the traffic sign using the map information stored in the database 240.

4 is a diagram illustrating navigation information included in barcode information according to one embodiment of the present invention.

The database 240 may store various location-based navigation information according to current location information read from various barcodes (eg, barcode A1, barcode A2, etc.). Referring to FIG. 4, one bar code may include a map associated with the bar code, a current location, a destination, a distance to a destination, route information, and other information.

For example, when a traffic sign including a barcode as shown in FIG. 3 exists on the road, the navigation system 200 may read the barcode A1. As the information corresponding to the bar code A1, there is map data to be displayed through a predetermined output device such as a display of the navigation system 200, and location information corresponding to the traffic sign may be displayed as the current location on the map. In addition, a destination designated by the user may be displayed through the output device, and the distance from the current location to the destination may be measured and provided. In addition, the route information may indicate a route for moving from the current position to the destination, and other information related to various traffic laws such as the vehicle speed limit information of FIG. , Rockfall, crosswalk signs, etc.).

5 is a view for explaining an example in which the navigation system 200 is used in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 5, a vehicle located at 510 may receive a GPS satellite signal using the navigation system 200 or detect a barcode of a bar coded traffic sign ('bar code traffic sign) to provide location information. have. However, when the vehicle is located at 520, it is difficult to receive a GPS signal because it is blocked by an obstacle such as a tall building. In addition, when the navigation system 200 is located in a mountainous area, an underground driveway, cloudy weather, or an elevated road, the following environment may not provide navigation information. Thus, when the bar code traffic sign is arranged at a predetermined distance on a path through which a car passes, and the navigation system 200 detects the bar code, location information may be obtained from the recognized bar code information even if the GPS signal is not received.

Therefore, when the navigation information cannot be provided due to the characteristics of the GPS, as an auxiliary device for obtaining the navigation information, the route guidance can be effectively performed anytime and anywhere, and the GPS receiver 210 when the barcode traffic signs are sufficiently provided at various places. You can provide navigation information without using.

In addition, the navigation system 200 may increase the accuracy of the location information by searching for a plurality of location information for a plurality of barcodes, and generating the navigation information by combining the searched plurality of location information. In addition, when the location information is provided, the user may be more effectively guided by outputting information such as 'turn left in front of 100m' or 'turn right at the next crossroad' as a voice.

6 is a view for explaining the operation of the navigation system 200 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

First, the navigation system 200 is operated (S600), and it is checked whether it is an area capable of receiving satellite signals (S610). The navigation system 200 may be used in a form attached to a vehicle or the like and may be provided in the form of a portable terminal such as a mobile communication terminal. If it is possible to first generate the location information based on the GPS by receiving the GPS signal, the first current location information is generated based on the GPS (S620). When the navigation system 200 is in an area or a weather condition where GPS signals cannot be received, an external barcode is automatically read (S630). The barcode may be shaped using various shapes or colors as identification conditions, and may include all shapes that may be variously modified according to time or situation, as well as a fixed form of output.

The navigation system 200 generates second current location information based on the read barcode (S640). According to a user's setting, the first current location information and the second current location information may be set to be generated at the same time. In addition, the navigation information may be corrected not only by providing the navigation information but also by using the movement direction information or the movement distance information of the vehicle in which the navigation system 200 is installed. In addition, the bar code includes a schedule code indicating whether the speed camera is present, and the navigator 230 may generate a warning message according to a schedule code indicating whether the speed camera is present.

The navigation system 200 generates navigation information related to the current location based on the first current location information or the second current location information (S650). The navigation information may be output to the user in the form of a voice message or a text message. In addition, the mobile communication terminal 130 can transmit the navigation information to the user by outputting a ringtone, or by vibrating motor operation or lamp flashing operation. At this time, it is possible to control the plurality of users to use the service of the present invention by transmitting the generated navigation information collectively through a predetermined text service to a predetermined counterpart. The text service may be a short message, a multimedia message, a long message, or an integrated message transmitted and received through a short message service (SMS), a multimedia message service (MMS), a long message service (LMS), or a unified message service (UMS). It may be transmitted to one or more communication terminals by one means.

FIG. 7 is a diagram for describing an interaction between the navigation system 200 and the location based service server 730 of FIG. 1.

As shown in FIG. 7, the navigation system 200 may be connected to a base station 720 and a location-based service server 730 through a mobile communication network 710. The navigation system 200 may generate navigation information through the database 240 in the navigation system 200, but may use a separate location-based service server 730 when the capacity is large or needs to be updated from time to time. That is, the navigation system 200 transmits the current location information read from the GPS receiver 210 or the barcode reader 220 to the base station 720 via the mobile communication network 710 and to the location-based service server 730. Can transmit

The location based service server 730 may provide navigation information (eg, current location, destination, route information, etc.) corresponding to the read current location information. Also, the location based service server 730 may include a database 740. The database 740 may be an example of the contents mentioned in the database 240 described in FIG. 4 and vice versa.

In addition, the navigation system 200 is associated with the current location of at least the corresponding map information received from the location-based service server 730 connected to the mobile communication network and information indicating the current location on the map information according to the current location information. It can be generated as navigation information. The map information may include at least one of a route direction, a current location, a destination, a distance to a destination, a speed limit, and traffic sign information.

The embodiments mentioned in connection with the navigation system 200 herein may be applied to the location based service server 730 and vice versa.

The navigation method according to the present invention has been described so far, and the details mentioned in the embodiments of FIGS. 2 to 6 may be applied to the present embodiment as it is, and thus the detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The navigation method according to the present invention may be embodied in the form of program instructions that can be executed by various computer means and recorded in a computer readable medium. The computer readable medium may include program instructions, data files, data structures, etc. alone or in combination. Program instructions recorded on the media may be those specially designed and constructed for the purposes of the present invention, or they may be of the kind well-known and available to those having skill in the computer software arts. Examples of computer-readable recording media include magnetic media such as hard disks, floppy disks, and magnetic tape, optical media such as CD-ROMs, DVDs, and magnetic disks, such as floppy disks. Magneto-optical media, and hardware devices specifically configured to store and execute program instructions, such as ROM, RAM, flash memory, and the like. The medium may be a transmission medium such as an optical or metal wire, a waveguide, or the like including a carrier wave for transmitting a signal specifying a program command, a data structure, or the like. Examples of program instructions include not only machine code generated by a compiler, but also high-level language code that can be executed by a computer using an interpreter or the like. The hardware device described above may be configured to operate as one or more software modules to perform the operations of the present invention, and vice versa.

As described above, the present invention has been described by specific embodiments such as specific components and the like, but the embodiments and the drawings are provided only to help a more general understanding of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. For those skilled in the art, various modifications and variations are possible from such description.

Therefore, the spirit of the present invention should not be limited to the described embodiments, and all the things that are equivalent to or equivalent to the claims as well as the following claims will belong to the scope of the present invention. .

As described above, in the navigation system according to the present invention, since the user can generate the current location information by reading an external barcode, the location-based navigation information is easy even if the user is in an area where the current location information cannot be generated based on the satellite signal. It is effective to service.

In addition, the user can be equipped with a navigation system to the vehicle to determine the direction of movement or distance information, it is effective to identify more clear navigation information.

In addition, the user can grasp the location information of the speed prevention camera, there is an effect that can prevent the speed.

In addition, since the user may receive a warning message when the vehicle speed limit is exceeded, the user may expect an effect of preventing an accident in advance.

In addition, when a user uses a mobile communication terminal incorporating a navigation system, the user can conveniently use the navigation service while carrying the navigation system, and can also expect a cost reduction effect.

Claims (12)

A GPS receiver for generating GPS based first current location information using satellite signals; A barcode reading unit configured to read an external barcode to generate second current position information; And A navigator for generating location based navigation information related to a current location based on the first current location information or the second current location information. Navigation system comprising a. The method of claim 1, The second current location information includes a schedule code indicating a current position or a schedule code indicating a direction of travel. Navigation system characterized in that. The method of claim 1, The navigator, Correcting the navigation information using movement direction information or movement distance information of the vehicle in which the navigation system is installed; Navigation system characterized in that. The method of claim 1, The second current position information includes a schedule code indicating whether or not a speeding camera is present. The navigator generates a warning message according to a certain code indicating whether the speed camera is present. Navigation system characterized in that. The method of claim 4, wherein The navigator, Generating another warning message when the speed of the vehicle is greater than or equal to a threshold according to the speed information of the vehicle in which the navigation system is installed; Navigation system characterized in that. The method of claim 5, The second current location information includes a schedule code for notifying vehicle speed limit information. Wherein the navigator sets the threshold value according to a predetermined code informing the vehicle speed limit information. Navigation system characterized in that. The method of claim 1, The barcode reading unit reads the barcode using a dedicated camera or a camera of a mobile communication terminal in which the navigation system is installed. Navigation system characterized in that. The method of claim 1, Database that stores map information More, The navigator extracts the corresponding map information from the database according to the first current location information or the second current location information, and at least the extracted map information and the information indicating the current location on the map information and the current location. Generated as relevant navigation information Navigation system characterized in that. The method of claim 1, The navigator includes at least corresponding map information received from a location-based service server connected to a mobile communication network according to the first current location information or the second current location information, and information indicating a current location on the map information. Generated as relevant navigation information Navigation system characterized in that. The method according to claim 8 or 9, The map information includes at least one of a route direction, a current location, a destination, a distance to a destination, a speed limit, and traffic sign information. Navigation system characterized in that. Generating first GPS position information based on the satellite signal; Generating second current location information by reading an external barcode; And Generating location-based navigation information associated with a current location based on the first current location information or the second current location information. Navigation method comprising a. A computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon a program for executing the method of claim 11.

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