Hitachi, Ltd.

Toshiichirou Sasaki

Shigeru Shimada

Kishiko Maruyama

A portable terminal with the function of walking navigation. The portable terminal displays information on its narrow screen so as to make it easy for the user (walker) to understand and realize an interface that enables the user to understand inputs of retrieving conditions intuitively, thereby saving the input labor. Assume now that a user (walker)is lost while walking towards a destination. In such a case, the present invention enables necessary information to be compressed, for example, so as to display both direction and distance to the destination from a present place with an orientation and a length of an arrow on a small screen and further so as to match the orientation of the arrow with the direction of the destination in the actual space. If the user (walker)specifies a compressed information item, orfor inquiry, the present invention controls so that the arrow always points the direction of the destination corresponding to each of those compressed information items, and. The condition of retrieval can also be set by turning, for example, the tip of the portable terminal directly in the desired direction h, or

Portable terminal with the function of walking navigation

A portable terminal has a function of walking navigation. The direction of a destination is displayed by an indicating arrow that always points in the direction of the destination. In the navigation processing, the user enters data to select a menu and/or set retrieving conditions on the setup screen. At first, the user gets the location information of the portable terminal, represented by a latitude/longitude or coordinates and an altitude, for example. Then, the user gets the direction information of the portable terminal, which is the direction of the tip of the portable terminal as determined by a compass, a gyro, or a clinometer. The location information and the direction information are set as terminal information for the retrieving conditions. The system controls retrieving of the database and retrieves the information corresponding to the selected menu, such as route guidance.

A portable terminal has a function of walking navigation. The direction of the destination is displayed by an indicating arrow that always points in the direction of the destination. In the navigation processing, the user enters data to select a menu and/or set retrieving conditions on the setup screen. At first, the user gets the location information of the portable terminal, represented by a latitude/longitude or coordinates and an altitude, for example. Then, the user gets the direction information of the portable terminal, which is the direction of the tip of the portable terminal as determined by a compass, a gyro, or a clinometer. The location information and the direction information are set as terminal information for the retrieving conditions. The system controls retrieving of the database and retrieves the information corresponding to the selected menu, such as route guidance.

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Iwaki, Japan

Toshiichirou Sasaki