Distance measuring device and program

Abstract

To measure a distance from a ball to a target even when a distance measuring device is at a position where the target is not visible.SOLUTION: The distance measuring device includes: a storage part for storing a reference position in a hole of a golf course; a current position specifying part for specifying a current position of the distance measuring device; a measurement part for irradiating a measurement object with measurement light and thereby measuring a distance from the current position to the measurement object irradiated with the measurement light and a direction from the current position to a position of the measurement object to measure an object position which is the position of the measurement object; and an output part for displaying a first distance which is a distance between the reference position and the object position, on a display part.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a distance measuring device and a program for use in a golf course. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, there is known a device for measuring the distance to the pin position on the green of a golf course by irradiating a laser beam (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Also known is a device for measuring the distance from the cart position to the ball, and then measuring the distance from the cart to the target, thereby measuring the distance from the ball to the target (see, for example, Non-Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] US Patent Publication No. 2017 / 0354858 [Non-patent literature]

[0004] [Non-Patent Document 1] “Distance measuring device with 3D measurement mode”, [online], COLFZON Japan Co., Ltd., [Retrieved June 23, 2023], Internet,<URL:http: / / caddytalk.jp / caddytalk-cube-jp> Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] In the distance measuring device described in Non-Patent Document 1, in order to measure the distance from the ball to the target, it was necessary to measure the distance from the distance measuring device to the target. Therefore, if the distance measuring device is located in a position where the target is not visible, it is not possible to measure the distance from the ball to the target.

[0006] The present invention has been made in consideration of these points, and has an object to make it possible to measure the distance from a ball to a target even if the distance measuring device is located in a position where the target is not visible. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] A first aspect of the distance measuring device of the present invention is a distance measuring device used on a golf course, and comprises a memory unit that stores a reference position on a hole on the golf course, a current position identification unit that identifies the current position of the distance measuring device, a measurement unit that measures the distance from the current position to a measurement object onto which the measurement light is irradiated and the direction from the current position to the position of the measurement object by irradiating measurement light, thereby measuring an object position, which is the position of the measurement object, and an output unit that displays a first distance, which is the distance between the reference position and the object position, on a display unit.

[0008] The output unit may cause an object image indicating the object position to be superimposed on a layout diagram of the hole and displayed on the display unit while causing the display unit to display the first distance.

[0009] The memory unit may further store green information indicating the range of the green of the hole, and the output unit may cause the display unit to display the first distance when the object position is not on the green, and cause the display unit to display a second distance, which is the distance between the current position and the object position, when the object position is on the green.

[0010] The output unit may cause the display unit to display a predetermined image indicating that the first distance is being displayed while displaying the first distance, and may not cause the display unit to display the predetermined image while displaying the second distance.

[0011] The output unit may operate in a first mode in which the first distance is displayed on the display unit when the object position is a predetermined distance or more from the green, and may operate in a third mode in which the distance between the current position and the reference position is displayed on the display unit after a predetermined time has elapsed since operating in the first mode.

[0012] The memory unit may store a plurality of the reference positions associated with a plurality of the holes, and the output unit may cause the display unit to display the first distance, which is the distance between the reference position of the hole corresponding to the current position and the object position.

[0013] The distance measuring device may further have a wireless communication unit for transmitting and receiving data between a communication terminal and an operation receiving unit for receiving a measurement operation for measuring the position of the object, wherein the measurement unit measures a plurality of the first distances each time the operation receiving unit receives the measurement operation, the memory unit stores the plurality of the first distances measured by the measurement unit, and the wireless communication unit transmits the plurality of the first distances to at least one of the plurality of communication terminals.

[0014] A second aspect of the distance measuring device of the present invention is a distance measuring device used on a golf course, and comprises: a memory unit that stores the altitude of each of a number of positions on the golf course; a current position identification unit that identifies the current position of the distance measuring device; a measurement unit that measures the distance from the current position to the measurement object onto which the measurement light is irradiated by irradiating measurement light, and the direction from the current position to the position of the measurement object, thereby measuring the object position, which is the position of the measurement object; and an output unit that displays on a display unit the elevation difference between the altitude corresponding to a reference position stored in the memory unit and the altitude corresponding to the object position.

[0015] A program of a third aspect of the present invention causes a computer to function as a current position identification unit that identifies the current position of the computer, a measurement unit that measures the distance from the current position to a measurement object onto which the measurement light is irradiated and the direction from the current position to the position of the measurement object by irradiating measurement light, thereby measuring the object position, which is the position of the measurement object, and an output unit that displays a first distance, which is the distance between a reference position on a golf course hole and the object position, on a display unit. Effect of the Invention

[0016] According to the present invention, it is possible to effectively measure the distance from the ball to the target even if the distance measuring device is located in a position where the target cannot be seen. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0017] [Figure 1A] FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining an overview of a distance measurement device 1. [Figure 1B] FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining an overview of a distance measurement device 1. [Diagram 2] FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining a process of measuring a distance from a ball B to a reference position in a first mode. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the display of the distance measurement device 1 when a user U measures in the first mode. [Figure 4] 13 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the display of the distance measurement device 1 when a user U measures the distance to a pin P in the second mode. FIG. [Diagram 5] 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a distance measurement device 1. FIG. [Figure 6] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing reference position information indicating the center position of the green G of each hole. [Figure 7A] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the concept of green information. [Figure 7B] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of reference edge distance information. [Figure 8] 13 is a diagram for explaining a method in which the measuring unit 172 calculates the distance between the ball B and the pin P. FIG. [Figure 9] 4 is a flowchart showing a process flow in the distance measurement device 1. [Figure 10] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic diagram of a state in which a user U and two other players V1 and V2 are playing together. [Figure 11] 13 is a flowchart showing an example of a process flow when the distance measurement device 1 transmits a first distance to the communication terminal 2. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0018] [Outline of distance measuring device 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining an overview of a distance measurement device 1. The distance measurement device 1 is a device for measuring distances on a golf course. The distance measurement device 1 is a device for a player or caddie (hereinafter sometimes referred to as "user U") who uses the distance measurement device 1 to play golf to measure the distance from the distance measurement device 1 to a reference position. The reference position is the position of the pin P, the center position of the green G, the edge position of the green G, or the position of a hazard. The distance measurement device 1 may be a dedicated machine for measuring distances, or may be an information terminal (for example, a smartphone) that can measure distances by executing a program.

[0019] 1 shows a state in which a user U measures distance using a distance measurement device 1. The distance measurement device 1 can measure distance in any of a first mode, a second mode, and a third mode.

[0020] The first mode is a mode in which the distance measurement device 1 outputs a first distance, which is a distance from a position of a measurement object irradiated with a laser light L used as a measurement light to a reference position. As shown in Fig. 1A, in the first mode, for example, a user U can measure the distance from the ball B to the position of a pin P, the edge position of the green G from the ball B, or the position of a hazard from the ball B by irradiating the ball B with the laser light L. The first mode is suitable for a case in which the user U wants to know the distance from the ball B to the pin P while being away from the ball B, such as when the user U is riding on a cart.

[0021] The second mode is a mode for outputting a second distance, which is the distance from the current position of the distance measurement device 1 to the position of the measurement object irradiated with the laser light L. As shown in Fig. 1B, in the second mode, for example, a user U can measure the distance from the user U's position to the pin P by irradiating the pin P with the laser light L. The second mode is suitable for a case where the user U approaches the green G and wants to accurately measure the distance to the pin P.

[0022] The third mode is a mode for outputting a third distance calculated based on the relationship between the position of the distance measurement device 1 identified by a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver built into the distance measurement device 1 and the position of a reference position stored in advance. The distance measurement device 1 can display the third distance without receiving an operation from the user U, so the third mode is suitable for a case where the user U wants to know the approximate position from the current position to the reference position.

[0023] The method of switching between the first mode and the second mode is arbitrary, but for example, the distance measurement device 1 operates in the first mode when the position of the object to be measured irradiated with the laser light L is in front of the green G, and operates in the second mode when the position of the object to be measured irradiated with the laser light L is on or behind the green G. The distance measurement device 1 may operate in the first mode when the laser light L is irradiated to a position at a predetermined distance or more in front of the green G, and may operate in the third mode after a predetermined time has elapsed since operating in the first mode.

[0024] Fig. 2 is a diagram for explaining the process of measuring the distance from ball B to a reference position in the first mode. In Fig. 2, ball B is on a fairway F, and user U is on a cart path outside fairway F. Distance measurement device 1 measures its own latitude and longitude (Nu, Eu) based on radio waves received from a GPS satellite.

[0025] Furthermore, the distance measurement device 1 irradiates ball B with laser light L in response to an operation by user U, and measures a distance D from the distance measurement device 1 to ball B. The distance measurement device 1 has a built-in orientation sensor, and measures the orientation of the distance measurement device 1 at the time when the laser light L is irradiated to ball B. The distance measurement device 1 calculates the latitude and longitude (Nb, Eb) of ball B at a position that is the distance D away in the direction of the distance measurement device 1, starting from the position of the distance measurement device 1.

[0026] The distance measurement device 1 stores the latitude and longitude (Np, Ep) of a reference position (e.g., the position of pin P) and calculates the distance from ball B to the reference position based on the difference between the latitude and longitude of the reference position and the latitude and longitude of the position of ball B. The distance measurement device 1 operates in this way, so that the user U can measure the distance from ball B to the reference position without using the distance measurement device 1 to measure the distance from the distance measurement device 1 to the reference position. The distance measurement device 1 operates in this way, so that the user U can grasp the distance from ball B to pin P by measuring the distance to ball B while, for example, being on a cart path where pin P is not visible.

[0027] Fig. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the display of the distance measurement device 1 when the user U measures the distance to the pin P in the first mode. Fig. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the display of the distance measurement device 1 when the user U measures the distance to the pin P in the second mode. In the third mode, a screen equivalent to that in Fig. 4 is also displayed.

[0028] In Fig. 3, an image (circle) indicating the position of user U and an image (▼) indicating the position of ball B are shown. When user U performs an operation to irradiate laser light L onto ball B, distance measurement device 1 displays the distance from the position of ball B to various reference positions. In Fig. 3, the distance (B) from the position of ball B to the back edge of the green, the distance (C) to the center of the green, the distance (P) to the pin, and the distance (F) to the front edge of the green are displayed. It also displays that the distance from the position of ball B to hazard H is 163 yards.

[0029] In FIG. 4, an image (●) showing the position of the user U (i.e., the position of the distance measurement device 1) is shown, and an image showing the position of the ball B is not shown. When the user U operates to irradiate the laser light L to the measurement object (e.g., the pin P), the distance measurement device 1 displays the distance from the position of the distance measurement device 1 to various reference positions. In FIG. 4, similar to FIG. 3, the distance from the position of the distance measurement device 1 to the back edge of the green (B), the distance to the center of the green (C), the distance to the pin (P), the distance to the front edge of the green (F), and the distance to the hazard H are displayed. In FIG. 4, the elevation difference (H) between the position of the distance measurement device 1 and the position of the pin P is also displayed. When the distance measurement device 1 operates in the second mode, the actual measured value of the distance between the distance measurement device 1 and the measurement object may be displayed on the screen shown in FIG. 4.

[0030] In this way, the distance measurement device 1 can switch between the first mode, the second mode, and the third mode to display the distance from the ball B to the reference position, or the distance from the distance measurement device 1 to the reference position. By operating the distance measurement device 1 in the first mode while the user U is in a cart away from the position of the ball B, the user U can know the distance between the ball B and the reference position, and can easily know which club to take.

[0031] Moreover, the user U can measure the distance to the pin P with high accuracy by operating the distance measurement device 1 in the second mode while being close to the ball B. Furthermore, while the distance measurement device 1 is operating in the third mode, the user U can grasp the approximate distance between the distance measurement device 1 and the reference position without irradiating the laser light L to the measurement target. The configuration and operation of the distance measurement device 1 will be described in detail below.

[0032] [Configuration of distance measuring device 1] 5 is a diagram showing the configuration of the distance measurement device 1. The distance measurement device 1 has a radio wave receiving unit 10, a laser unit 11, a sensor unit 12, a wireless communication unit 13, an operation receiving unit 14, a display unit 15, a storage unit 16, and a control unit 17. The control unit 17 has a current position identifying unit 171, a measurement unit 172, and an output unit 173.

[0033] The radio wave receiving unit 10 receives radio waves from a positioning satellite such as a GPS or a quasi-zenith satellite system. The radio wave receiving unit 10 inputs to the current position identifying unit 171 data included in the received radio waves.

[0034] The laser unit 11 emits laser light L under the control of the measurement unit 172. The laser unit 11 also receives reflected laser light that is the emitted laser light L reflected by an object. The laser unit 11 calculates a delay time from when the laser light L is emitted until when the reflected laser light is received based on, for example, the difference between the phase of the emitted laser light L and the phase of the received reflected laser light. The laser unit 11 inputs the calculated delay time to the measurement unit 172.

[0035] The sensor unit 12 has an orientation sensor for detecting the attitude of the distance measurement device 1. The sensor unit 12 has, for example, a three-axis acceleration sensor as the orientation sensor. The sensor unit 12 may have a geomagnetic sensor for detecting a direction in a horizontal plane as the orientation sensor. The sensor unit 12 inputs orientation data indicating the orientation detected by the orientation sensor to the measurement unit 172.

[0036] The wireless communication unit 13 has a communication interface for transmitting and receiving data between a communication terminal (e.g., a smartphone) used by the user U or a communication terminal used by another player playing together with the user U. The wireless communication unit 13 can transmit and receive radio waves of, for example, Bluetooth (registered trademark). The wireless communication unit 13 transmits the first distance or the second distance measured by the distance measurement device 1 to the communication terminal used by the user U or the other player.

[0037] The operation reception unit 14 has a device for receiving an operation from the user U. The operation reception unit 14 has, for example, an operation button or a touch panel. The operation reception unit 14 inputs, to the control unit 17, operation data indicating the content of the input operation.

[0038] The display unit 15 is a display that displays various information. For example, as shown in Fig. 3 and Fig. 4, the display unit 15 displays information indicating a first distance from the ball B hit by the laser light L to a reference position, or a second distance from the current position to the reference position.

[0039] The storage unit 16 has a storage medium such as a ROM (Read Only Memory) and a RAM (Random Access Memory). The storage unit 16 stores a program executed by the control unit 17. The storage unit 16 also stores various information used by the control unit 17 to calculate a first distance from the ball B to a reference position, or to calculate a second distance from the current position of the distance measurement device 1 to the reference position. These pieces of information may be, for example, information stored when the distance measurement device 1 is manufactured, or may be information transmitted from an external device via the wireless communication unit 13.

[0040] As an example, the memory unit 16 stores a plurality of reference positions associated with a plurality of holes on a golf course. Fig. 6 is a diagram showing reference position information indicating the center position of the green G of each hole. In the reference position information shown in Fig. 6, the hole number is associated with latitude and longitude information indicating the center position of the green G of each hole.

[0041] The memory unit 16 may also store hole numbers in association with latitude and longitude information indicating the location of hazards such as ponds, bunkers, or large trees on each hole. The memory unit 16 may also store hole numbers in association with latitude and longitude information indicating the location of the pin P on each hole. The memory unit 16 may further store hole area data indicating the latitude and longitude of the outer edge of each hole in association with the hole number.

[0042] The storage unit 16 may further store green information indicating the range of the green of each hole. In the green information, for example, in addition to the latitude and longitude of the center position of the green G, multiple distances from the center position of the green G to multiple edge positions on the edge of the green G (hereinafter, sometimes referred to as "reference distances") and multiple reference angles that are angles between the direction connecting the reference position and each of the multiple edge positions and the reference direction are associated.

[0043] Fig. 7A is a diagram showing the concept of green information. In Fig. 7A, a reference distance from a reference position C of the green G, indicated by a black rectangle, to the edge of the green G is shown at 30 degree intervals with respect to a reference direction (e.g., northward). Fig. 7B shows an example of reference edge distance information stored in the storage unit 16, and in this green information, a reference angle and a reference distance are associated with each other. In Fig. 7B, the reference angle is set at 30 degree intervals, but the intervals of the reference angle are preferably smaller, and may be set at 1 degree intervals, for example.

[0044] The green information may take any form, and may include the latitude and longitude of multiple positions on the green G. As an example, the green G may be divided into multiple quadrangles in a mesh pattern, and the green information may include the latitude and longitude of the center position of each quadrangle. The green information may also include the latitude and longitude of multiple edge positions on the outline of the green.

[0045] The control unit 17 includes, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit). The control unit 17 executes the programs stored in the storage unit 16 to function as a current position identification unit 171, a measurement unit 172, and an output unit 173.

[0046] The current position identifying unit 171 identifies the current position of the distance measurement device 1 based on data acquired from the radio wave receiving unit 10. The current position identifying unit 171 identifies the latitude and longitude of the current position of the distance measurement device 1 based on data acquired from the radio wave receiving unit 10 at the time when the operation accepting unit 14 accepts an operation for measuring a distance, for example. The current position identifying unit 171 notifies the measurement unit 172 of the identified current position. The current position identifying unit 171 may identify the number of the hole that the user U is playing by comparing the latitude and longitude corresponding to the outer edge of each hole indicated by the hole range data with the latitude and longitude of the current position to identify the hole that includes the current position.

[0047] When the operation receiving unit 14 receives an operation for measuring a distance, the measurement unit 172 measures the distance from the current position to the measurement object irradiated with the laser light L and the direction from the current position to the position of the measurement object by irradiating the laser light L, thereby measuring the object position, which is the position of the measurement object. When the user U irradiates the ball B with the laser light L as in the example shown in FIG. 2, the measurement unit 172 calculates the distance D from the current position to the ball B based on the delay time notified from the laser unit 11. In addition, the measurement unit 172 specifies the direction of the vector from the user U to the ball B based on the orientation data input from the sensor unit 12. The measurement unit 172 measures the latitude and longitude (Nb, Eb) of the position of the ball B based on the latitude and longitude (Nu, Eu) of the current position, the distance D, and the vector direction.

[0048] The measurement unit 172 reads out the latitude and longitude of the reference position stored in the memory unit 16, and calculates a first distance between the reference position and the position of the object to be measured by comparing the latitude and longitude of the reference position with the latitude and longitude of the position of the object to be measured. The measurement unit 172 notifies the output unit 173 of the calculated first distance.

[0049] FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining a method by which the measurement unit 172 calculates the distance between the ball B and the pin P. The measurement unit 172 calculates ΔN=(Nb-Np)×K1 and ΔE=(Eb-Ep)×K2 based on the latitude and longitude (Nb, Eb) of the measured position of the ball B and the latitude and longitude (Np, Ep) of the position of the pin P stored in the memory unit 16. K1 is a coefficient for converting the difference in latitude into distance, and K2 is a coefficient for converting the difference in longitude into distance. The measurement unit 172 calculates the first distance as √(ΔN 2 +ΔE 2 ) is calculated.

[0050] The output unit 173 outputs the result of the measurement by the measurement unit 172. For example, in the first mode, the output unit 173 causes the display unit 15 to display a first distance, which is the distance between a reference position and the object position. The output unit 173 refers to the hole range data to identify which hole the current position corresponds to, and causes the display unit 15 to display the first distance, which is the distance between the reference position and the object position of the hole corresponding to the current position (i.e., the hole where the user U is playing).

[0051] 3, while displaying the first distance on the display unit 15, the output unit 173 causes an object image indicating the object position (e.g., an image indicating the position of ball B) to be superimposed on the layout diagram of the hole and displayed on the display unit 15. By causing the output unit 173 to display the object image on the display unit 15 in this manner, even if the user U is in a position away from the ball B, it is easy for the user U to understand that the first distance displayed on the display unit 15 is the distance from the position of ball B to the reference position.

[0052] Meanwhile, the user U may irradiate the pin P with the laser light L to measure the second distance from the position of the user U to the position of a desired measurement object such as the pin P. In this case, the output unit 173 operates in a first mode in which the display unit 15 displays the first distance when it is determined that the object position (for example, the position indicated by the latitude and longitude of the ball B measured by the measurement unit 172) is not on the green G with reference to the green information. When it is determined that the object position is on the green G, the output unit 173 operates in a second mode in which the display unit 15 displays the second distance, which is the distance between the current position and the object position. By operating the output unit 173 in this manner, a distance appropriate to the measurement object irradiated with the laser light L by the user U is displayed without the user U performing an operation to switch between the first mode and the second mode.

[0053] In order to make it easier for the user U to know whether the device is operating in the first mode or the second mode, the output unit 173 may display a predetermined image indicating that the first distance is being displayed on the display unit 15 while the display unit 15 displays the first distance, and may not display the predetermined image on the display unit 15 while the display unit 15 displays the second distance. The predetermined image is, for example, an image indicating the position of the ball B, such as the image of ▼ shown in FIG. 3. The output unit 173 switches whether or not to display such a predetermined image depending on the first mode and the second mode, making it easier to determine whether the displayed distance is the distance from the ball B to the reference position or the distance from the current position of the user U to the reference position.

[0054] When the user U approaches the green G, the user U is not riding on a cart and often wants to measure the exact position of the pin P by irradiating the laser light L from the position of the ball B to the pin P. In such a case, even though the user U is trying to irradiate the laser light L to the pin P, the laser light L may hit an object (e.g., a tree) behind the pin P. In such a case, if the distance measurement device 1 operates in the first mode and a first distance from the object behind the pin P to the pin P is displayed, the user U may misunderstand the distance to the pin P.

[0055] Therefore, the output unit 173 operates in a first mode in which the first distance is displayed on the display unit 15 when the object position is a predetermined distance or more in front of the green G, and operates in a second mode in which the second distance is displayed on the display unit 15 when the object position is further back than the predetermined distance from the green G. The output unit 173 may operate in a third mode in which the third distance is displayed on the display unit 15 after a predetermined time has elapsed since the output unit 173 operated in the first mode or the second mode. In other words, the output unit 173 may switch to a state in which the third distance is displayed on the display unit 15 after a predetermined time has elapsed since the output unit 173 operated in the first mode or the second mode.

[0056] The predetermined distance is, for example, the maximum distance at which a wedge is likely to be used, and is, for example, 100 yards, but may be 0 yards. The predetermined distance may be a different value depending on the position of the user U. For example, when the user U is on the cart path, even if the target object position is near the green G, there is a high probability that the target object position is the ball B rather than the pin P. Thus, the predetermined distance when the user U is on the cart path may be smaller than the predetermined distance when the user U is not on the cart path.

[0057] The predetermined time is a time required for the user U to grasp the first distance, and may be, for example, 3 seconds. The predetermined time may be a time until the user U finishes the operation of irradiating the ball B with the laser light L.

[0058] When the distance to the target position measured by operating in the first mode is equal to or greater than a predetermined value (e.g., 150 yards or more) that is determined based on the distance at which the position of ball B can be measured, output unit 173 may automatically operate in the second mode to display the second distance on display unit 15. By operating output unit 173 in this manner, it is possible to prevent the distance from a hazard to a reference position from being displayed when user U is not attempting to irradiate laser light L to ball B but is attempting to measure the distance to a distant hazard.

[0059] [Processing flow in distance measuring device 1] Fig. 9 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing in the distance measurement device 1. Fig. 9 starts from the point when the power supply of the distance measurement device 1 is turned on.

[0060] The measurement unit 172 monitors whether or not a measurement operation has been performed in the operation reception unit 14 (S1). When the user U performs a measurement operation by, for example, pressing the measurement button (YES in S1), the measurement unit 172 identifies the current position of the distance measurement device 1 based on the latitude and longitude identified by the current position identification unit 171 (S2). The measurement unit 172 refers to the hole range data stored in the memory unit 16, searches for a hole number that is included in the range of the hole where the current position is, and identifies the current hole number where the user U is playing (S3).

[0061] While the measurement button is pressed, the measurement unit 172 measures the object position, which is the position of the object to be measured, by irradiating the laser unit 11 with the laser light L (S4). If the object position is within a predetermined range (for example, a range of 100 yards in front of the position of the pin P on the green G) (YES in S5), the measurement unit 172 calculates a first distance from the object position to a reference position corresponding to the identified hole number (S6). The output unit 173 causes the display unit 15 to display the calculated first distance together with an object image showing the object (S7).

[0062] If the object position is not within the predetermined range (NO in S5), the measurement unit 172 calculates a second distance from the current position to the object position (S8). The output unit 173 causes the display unit 15 to display the calculated second distance (S9).

[0063] When a predetermined time has elapsed since the output unit 173 caused the display unit 15 to display the first distance or the second distance (YES in S10), the output unit 173 causes the display unit 15 to display (S11) a third distance between the current position based on the radio waves received by the radio wave receiving unit 10 and a reference position previously stored in the storage unit 16. The control unit 17 repeats the processes from S1 to S12 until the power is turned off (NO in S12).

[0064] [Notification to other players] When another player V playing together with the user U does not have the distance measurement device 1, the other player V may want to know the distance from the ball B to the reference position. In this case, the distance measurement device 1 may transmit the first distance from the ball B of the other player V to the reference position measured by the user U to a communication terminal (e.g., a smartphone) used by the other player V.

[0065] 10 is a diagram showing a state in which a user U and other players V1 and V2 are playing together. The distance measurement device 1 transmits a first distance to the communication terminals 2 used by the players V1 and V2 via a wireless channel W. The wireless channel W is, for example, Bluetooth. The distance measurement device 1 and the communication terminal 2 are paired before the user U, the player V1, and the player V2 start playing, and destination information used to transmit the first distance to each of the multiple communication terminals 2 is stored in the storage unit 16.

[0066] In this case, the measurement unit 172 measures a plurality of first distances each time the operation acceptance unit 14 accepts a measurement operation, and the storage unit 16 stores the plurality of first distances measured by the measurement unit 172. The output unit 173 causes the wireless communication unit 13 to transmit the plurality of first distances to at least one of the plurality of communication terminals 2. The wireless communication unit 13 may transmit the first distances to the plurality of communication terminals 2 in sequence according to an order previously stored in the storage unit 16 each time the operation acceptance unit 14 accepts a measurement operation. The operation acceptance unit 14 may accept an operation to designate a communication terminal 2 to which the first distance is to be transmitted, and the wireless communication unit 13 may transmit the first distance to the designated communication terminal 2.

[0067] Fig. 11 is a flowchart showing an example of a process flow when the distance measurement device 1 transmits a first distance to the communication terminal 2. The flowchart shown in Fig. 11 starts from the point in time when the user U operates the device to operate in a mode for measuring the positions of the balls B of multiple players V.

[0068] When the user U performs a measurement operation to irradiate the ball B1 of the player V1 with the laser light L (YES in S11), the measurement unit 172 causes the laser unit 11 to irradiate the laser light L and measures the first distance corresponding to the ball B1 (S12). The measurement unit 172 stores the measured first distance in the storage unit 16 in association with the measurement order (S13). After measuring the first distance, the measurement unit 172 may display, via the output unit 173, on the display unit 15 a screen for selecting a communication terminal 2 to transmit the measured first distance, and store the first distance in the storage unit 16 in association with the communication terminal 2 selected on the screen.

[0069] The measurement unit 172 displays a screen on the display unit 15 to confirm whether or not to end the measurement, and if an operation to end the measurement is not performed (NO in S14), the process from S11 to S13 is repeated. This allows the user U to repeatedly measure the first distance from the position of the ball B of multiple players to the reference position.

[0070] When an operation to end the measurement is performed (YES in S14), the measurement unit 172 acquires destination information from the storage unit 16 (S15), and causes the wireless communication unit 13 to transmit the first distance stored in the storage unit 16 in association with the communication terminal 2 to the communication terminal 2 corresponding to the read destination information (S16). The measurement unit 172 transmits the multiple first distances corresponding to the multiple players V stored in the storage unit 16 to the multiple communication terminals 2. The measurement unit 172 may transmit only the first distance corresponding to each player V to the communication terminal 2 corresponding to each player V, or may transmit the multiple first distances corresponding to the multiple players V to the multiple communication terminals 2.

[0071] The measurement unit 172 may transmit the first distance to the communication terminal 2 every time it measures the first distance corresponding to one ball B. Alternatively, an order in which the first distances are transmitted to the multiple communication terminals 2 may be stored in advance in the storage unit 16, and the measurement unit 172 may transmit the first distance to the communication terminal 2 in accordance with the order every time it measures the first distance. By operating the measurement unit 172 in this manner, the user U does not need to set a transmission destination, and therefore the first distance can be quickly notified to each player V.

[0072] The user U can measure a plurality of first distances corresponding to the ball B of each of the players V while each player V is moving toward the ball B, for example, in a cart. The distance measurement device 1 transmits the first distance to the communication terminal 2 until each player V gets off the cart, so that each player V can know which club to take when getting off the cart. As a result, it is possible to shorten the playing time.

[0073] [Variations] Although the screen shown in Fig. 3 does not display the difference in elevation between the position of ball B and the position of pin P, the output unit 173 may display the difference in elevation between the position of ball B and the position of pin P on the display unit 15. To achieve this, the memory unit 16 stores the altitude of each of a plurality of positions on the golf course. The memory unit 16 stores, for example, three-dimensional map data of the golf course. In the three-dimensional map data, latitude, longitude and altitude are associated with each other.

[0074] When the measurement unit 172 identifies the latitude and longitude of the position of the ball B, it identifies the altitude associated with the latitude and longitude. The measurement unit 172 calculates the altitude difference based on the difference between the altitude of the pin P stored in the storage unit 16 and the identified altitude. The output unit 173 causes the display unit 15 to display the altitude difference calculated by the measurement unit 172. That is, the output unit 173 causes the display unit 15 to display the altitude difference between the altitude corresponding to the reference position stored in the storage unit 16 and the altitude corresponding to the position of the ball B, which is the target position. By the distance measurement device 1 displaying the altitude difference between the positions of the ball B and the pin P in this way, the user U can move to the position of the ball B with the club selected in consideration of the altitude difference.

[0075] [Effect of distance measuring device 1] As described above, the measurement unit 172 measures the distance from the current position to the ball B irradiated with the laser light L and the direction from the current position to the position of the ball B to measure the position of the ball B, and calculates the first distance between the position of the ball B and a reference position (for example, the position of the pin P). Then, the output unit 173 causes the display unit 15 to display the first distance.

[0076] With the distance measurement device 1 configured in this way, the user U can know the distance from the ball B to the pin P or the hazard when he is away from the ball B (for example, when he is in the cart), and can select an appropriate club and head to the position of the ball B. As a result, it is no longer necessary to go back to the cart after going to the position of the ball B and then select a club again, and it is possible to shorten the playing time.

[0077] Although the present invention has been described above using the embodiments, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the scope described in the above embodiments, and various modifications and changes are possible within the scope of the gist of the present invention. For example, all or part of the device can be configured by distributing or integrating functionally or physically in any unit. In addition, new embodiments resulting from any combination of multiple embodiments are also included in the embodiments of the present invention. The effect of the new embodiment resulting from the combination combines the effect of the original embodiment.

[0078] For example, the above description illustrates a case in which the distance measurement device 1 can operate in the first mode, the second mode, and the third mode. However, it is sufficient for the distance measurement device 1 to have at least the first mode, and it is optional whether or not it has the second mode and the third mode. [Explanation of symbols]

[0079] 1 Distance measuring device 2. Communication terminals 10 Radio wave receiving section 11 Laser section 12 Sensor section 13 Wireless Communication Section 14 Operation reception section 15 Display 16 Memory section 17 Control Unit 171 Current position identification part 172 Measuring section 173 Output section

Claims

1. A distance measuring device for use on a golf course, A memory unit that stores a reference position on a hole of the golf course; a current position determination unit for determining a current position of the distance measurement device; a measurement unit that measures a distance from the current position to a measurement object irradiated with the measurement light and a direction from the current position to a position of the measurement object by irradiating the measurement light, thereby measuring an object position that is the position of the measurement object; an output unit that causes a display unit to display a first distance, which is a distance between the reference position and the object position; A distance measuring device having:

2. The output unit causes the display unit to display an object image indicating the object position superimposed on a layout diagram of the hole while causing the display unit to display the first distance.

2. A distance measuring device according to claim 1.

3. the memory unit further stores green information indicating an area of ​​the green of the hole; the output unit causes the display unit to display the first distance when the object position is not on the green, and causes the display unit to display a second distance, which is a distance between the current position and the object position, when the object position is on the green.

2. A distance measuring device according to claim 1.

4. the output unit causes the display unit to display a predetermined image indicating that the first distance is being displayed while the output unit is causing the display unit to display the first distance, and does not cause the display unit to display the predetermined image while the output unit is causing the display unit to display the second distance.

4. A distance measuring device according to claim 3.

5. the output unit operates in a first mode in which the first distance is displayed on the display unit when the object position is a predetermined distance or more from the green, and operates in a third mode in which the distance between the current position and the reference position is displayed on the display unit after a predetermined time has elapsed since the output unit operated in the first mode.

5. A distance measuring device according to claim 3 or 4.

6. The storage unit stores a plurality of the reference positions in association with a plurality of the holes, The output unit causes the display unit to display the first distance, which is a distance between the reference position of the hole corresponding to the current position and the object position.

2. A distance measuring device according to claim 1.

7. A wireless communication unit for transmitting and receiving data between the communication terminal and the wireless communication device; an operation receiving unit that receives a measurement operation for measuring the position of the object; and the measurement unit measures a plurality of the first distances each time the operation reception unit receives the measurement operation; The storage unit stores a plurality of the first distances measured by the measurement unit, The wireless communication unit causes at least one of the communication terminals to transmit the first distances.

2. A distance measuring device according to claim 1.

8. A distance measuring device for use on a golf course, A storage unit that stores the altitude of each of a plurality of positions on the golf course; a current position determination unit for determining a current position of the distance measurement device; a measurement unit that measures a distance from the current position to a measurement object irradiated with the measurement light and a direction from the current position to a position of the measurement object by irradiating the measurement light, thereby measuring an object position that is the position of the measurement object; an output unit that causes a display unit to display an elevation difference between an elevation corresponding to the reference position stored in the storage unit and an elevation corresponding to the object position; A distance measuring device having:

9. Computer, a current location determination unit for determining a current location of the computer; a measurement unit that measures a distance from the current position to a measurement object irradiated with the measurement light and a direction from the current position to a position of the measurement object by irradiating the measurement light, thereby measuring an object position that is the position of the measurement object; an output unit that causes a display unit to display a first distance, which is a distance between a reference position on a hole of a golf course and the object position; A program to function as a

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