Display device and method, distance measurement system, and program

Abstract

To acquire highly accurate position information for any ranging target point.SOLUTION: A display device 20 includes: an acquisition unit 420 that acquires distance measurement data obtained by measuring the distance and direction to a distance measurement target point using a distance measurement device, from the distance measurement device; a location information acquisition unit 421 that acquires information regarding the current location; a calculation unit 450 that calculates location information on the distance measurement target point on the basis of the distance measurement data and information regarding the current location; and a display unit 460 that displays the location information on the distance measurement target point. When the distance and direction to a distance measurement target point is measured using the distance measurement device, highly accurate distance measurement data for any distance measurement target point can be obtained by combining the highly accurate location information with information regarding the current location of the display device 20.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3C

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a display device and method, a distance measuring system, and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, there is known a device that uses a GPS function to calculate the distance from the golf player's current position to the pin position on the green and the distance from the pin position to the green edge, and displays the calculation results superimposed on an image of the green to support the player in playing golf (see, for example, Patent Document 1). However, the position measurement accuracy of the GPS function is usually not necessarily sufficient, and only position information of points that have been registered in advance can be obtained. Patent Document 1: JP 2019-92685 A General Disclosure

[0003] (Item 1) The display device may include an acquisition unit that acquires distance measurement data from the distance measuring device, the distance measurement data being obtained by measuring the distance and direction to a distance measurement target point using the distance measuring device. The display device may include a location information acquisition unit that acquires information related to a current location. The display device may include a calculation unit that calculates position information of the target point of distance measurement based on the distance measurement data and information related to the current position. The display device may include a display section that displays the position information of the distance measurement target point. (Item 2) The position information of the distance measurement target point may be the distance and direction to the distance measurement target point based on the current position obtained from the distance measurement data. (Item 3) The position information of the distance measurement target point may be calculated by adding the distance and direction to the distance measurement target point based on the current position obtained from the distance measurement data to information about the current position. (Item 4) The display unit may display a direction object that indicates a direction to a distance measurement target point based on the current position. (Item 5) The display unit may display a moving object that indicates a moving route from a current position to a distance measurement target point. (Item 6) The acquisition unit may further store or acquire map information. (Item 7) The display unit may display the current position and the distance measurement target points superimposed on map information based on information about the current position and position information about the distance measurement target points. (Item 8) The display unit may display topographical information at the distance measurement target point based on map information. (Item 9) The map information may include location information of the object of attention. The calculation unit may determine, based on map information, whether or not an object of attention is present on the route connecting the current location to the distance measurement point, and if it determines that an object of attention is present, may further calculate the distance to the front and rear of the object of attention on the route. (Item 10) When the map information is information about a golf course, the attention objects may include at least one of a bunker, a pond, a river, and a penalty area. (Item 11) The map information may include position information of the caution line. The calculation unit may determine, based on map information, whether or not a caution line exists on the route connecting the current position to the distance measurement target point, and if it determines that a caution line exists, may further calculate position information of the intersection between the route and the caution line. (Item 12) The map information may include location information of the destination point. The calculation section may calculate the distance from the distance measurement target point to the target point. (Item 13) The navigation system may further include a setting unit that sets a destination point based on map information. (Item 14) The calculation unit may calculate information about the elevation difference between the distance measurement point and the target point based on map information. (Item 15) The display unit may display another moving object representing the moving route from the distance measurement target point to the target point. (Item 16) The calculation section may calculate the distance between the plurality of measurement target points based on distance measurement data relating to the plurality of measurement target points. (Item 17) The device may further include an alarm unit that determines whether the target distance measurement point is within a predetermined distance range from the current position, and if it is determined that the target distance measurement point is within the distance range, notifies the user of the approach to the target distance measurement point using at least one of sound, light, and vibration. (Item 18) The acquisition unit may further acquire position information of the distance measuring device. The calculation unit may correct the distance measurement data based on information relating to the current position and position information of the distance measuring device. (Item 19) The acquisition unit may acquire, from the distance measuring device, distance measurement data corrected based on position information of the distance measuring device and information relating to the current position. (Item 20) The display unit may display position information of the distance measuring device. (Item 21) The device may further include another notification unit that determines whether the distance measuring device is outside a predetermined distance range from its current position, and if it is determined that it is outside the distance range, notifies the user of the distance of the distance measuring device using at least one of sound, light, and vibration. (Item 22) When communication with the distance measuring device is interrupted, the notification unit may determine whether or not the distance measuring device is outside a predetermined distance range from the current position based on position information of the distance measuring device acquired before the communication is interrupted. (Item 23) The camera may further include a storage unit for storing the acquired distance measurement data. (Item 24) The storage unit may further store distance measurement data and information relating to the current position in response to an operation of the distance measuring device. (Item 25) The calculation unit may calculate the history of the travel distance from the history of information relating to the current position that is stored in response to the operation of the distance measuring device. The display unit may display a history of the measurement results of the distance to the distance measurement point included in the distance measurement data and a history of the travel distance in a comparative manner. (Item 26) The distance measuring device may further include a transmission unit that transmits at least one type of information of the measurement environment and user information to the distance measuring device and displays it on a display device of the distance measuring device.

[0004] (Item 27) A distance measuring device for measuring the distance and direction to a target point may include a display device according to any one of items 1 to 26.

[0005] (Item 28) A ranging system may include a ranging device that measures the distance and bearing to a ranging point. The distance measuring system may comprise a display device according to any one of items 1 to 26.

[0006] (Item 29) The method may comprise obtaining from a ranging device ranging data obtained by measuring a distance and a direction to a ranging target point using the ranging device. The method may comprise obtaining information relating to a current location. The method may comprise calculating position information of the ranging target point based on the ranging data and information regarding the current position. The method includes a step of displaying position information of the ranging target points.

[0007] (Item 30) The program may cause the processor of the display device to execute an acquisition process for acquiring, from the distance measuring device, distance measurement data obtained by measuring the distance and direction to a distance measurement target point using the distance measuring device. The program may cause the processor of the display device to execute a location information acquisition process for acquiring information related to a current location. The program may cause the processor of the display device to execute a calculation process for calculating position information of the distance measurement target point based on the distance measurement data and information regarding the current position. The program may cause the processor of the display device to execute a display process for displaying position information of distance measurement target points. (Item 31) The position information of the distance measurement target point may be the distance and direction to the distance measurement target point based on the current position obtained from the distance measurement data. (Item 32) The position information of the distance measurement target point may be calculated by adding the distance and direction to the distance measurement target point based on the current position obtained from the distance measurement data to information about the current position. (Item 33) The display process may further display a direction object that indicates the direction to the distance measurement target point based on the current position. (Item 34) The display process may further display a moving object that indicates the moving route from the current position to the distance measurement target point. (Item 35) The acquisition process may further include storing or acquiring map information. (Item 36) In the display process, the current position and the distance measurement target points may further be displayed superimposed on map information based on information relating to the current position and position information of the distance measurement target points. (Item 37) The map information may include location information of the object of attention. The calculation process may further determine, based on map information, whether or not an object of attention exists on the route connecting the current position to the distance measurement target point, and if it is determined that an object of attention exists, calculate the distance to the front and rear of the object of attention on the route. (Item 38) The map information may include position information of the caution line. The calculation process may further determine, based on map information, whether or not a caution line exists on the route connecting the current position to the distance measurement target point, and if it is determined that a caution line exists, calculate the position information of the intersection between the route and the caution line. (Item 39) The map information may include location information of the destination point. The calculation process may further include calculating the distance from the distance measurement target point to the target point. (Item 40) The program may further cause the processor to execute a setting process for setting a target point based on map information.

[0008] The above summary of the invention does not list all of the features of the present invention. Also, subcombinations of these features may also be inventions. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 shows a configuration of a distance measuring system according to the present embodiment. [Figure 2A] 1 shows the configuration of a distance measuring device according to the present embodiment. [Figure 2B] The principle of distance (horizontal distance and height) detection taking into account inclination is shown. [Figure 3A] 1 shows a configuration of a display device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3B] The hardware configuration of the display device (main unit) is shown below. [Figure 3C] The functional configuration of the display device (main body) is shown. [Figure 4] 4 shows an example of distance measurement data stored in a storage unit. [Diagram 5] 1 shows an example of map information. [Figure 6A] 1 shows an example of the display screen (display of the current position and the measurement target point). [Figure 6B] 13 shows another example of the display on the display screen (display of a directional object). [Figure 6C] 13 shows another example of the display on the display screen (display of the distance to the attention object). [Figure 6D] 13 shows another example of a display on the display screen (display of a moving object). [Figure 6E] 13 shows another example of the display on the display screen (display of the intersection between the flight route and the caution line). [Figure 7A] 13 shows an example of a display on a display screen (display of distances from a plurality of measurement points to a target point). [Figure 7B] 13 shows another example of the display screen (displaying the distance between a plurality of measurement target points). [Figure 7C] 13 shows another example of the display on the display screen (display of the distance from the measurement point to an arbitrarily selected target point). [Figure 7D] 13 shows another example of a display screen (display of a moving object from a measurement target point). [Figure 8] 13 shows an example of a comparative display of a history of travel distance and a history of distance measurement results. [Figure 9] 4 shows a flow of distance measuring and display operations executed by the distance measuring system according to the present embodiment. [Figure 10] 13 shows the configuration of a distance measuring device according to a modified example. [Figure 11] 13 shows a modified example of the display on the display screen (display of the current position and the position of the distance measuring device). [Figure 12] 13 shows a modified example of the display on the display screen (display of the distance measuring device being left behind). [Figure 13] 1 illustrates an example of a configuration of a computer according to the present embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] The present invention will be described below through embodiments of the invention, but the following embodiments do not limit the scope of the invention according to the claims. Furthermore, not all of the combinations of features described in the embodiments are necessarily essential to the solution of the invention.

[0011] FIG. 1 shows the configuration of a distance measuring system 500 according to this embodiment. The distance measuring system 500 is a system that measures the distance and direction to a distance measuring target point, and displays highly accurate position information on the distance measuring target point obtained based on the measurement result to a user. In this embodiment, an example of using the distance measuring system 500 will be described in which a user, who is a golf player, measures the distance and direction from an arbitrary position on the course where the user is located, such as a tee ground, fairway, or green, to a pin flag on a green or an arbitrary shot target point on a fairway, in order to support a round on a golf course. Note that measuring the distance and direction to a distance measuring target point is also simply referred to as distance measurement or distance measurement. The distance measuring system 500 includes a distance measuring device 1 and a display device 20.

[0012] FIG. 2A shows the configuration of a distance measuring device 1 according to this embodiment. The distance measuring device 1 is a device that measures the distance and direction to a distance measuring target point. Here, the distance is not limited to the horizontal distance but also includes the vertical distance (i.e., the difference in elevation). The distance measuring device 1 includes a housing 9, a light projecting unit 100, a reticle plate 140, an eyepiece lens 150, a control unit 132, a detection unit 200, a conversion unit 240, a posture sensor 250, an orientation sensor 260, a communication device 270, and a processing unit 300. Here, the direction in which the light projecting unit 100 emits the measurement light, i.e., the arrow direction of the light ray B3, is defined as the forward direction, and the opposite direction, i.e., the arrow direction of the light ray A3, is defined as the backward direction.

[0013] The housing 9 is a case that holds inside other components of the distance measuring device 1. An operation button 133 that is pressed by a user to operate the distance measuring device 1 is provided on the top surface of the housing 9.

[0014] The light projecting unit 100 is a unit that projects measurement light onto an object multiple times. The light projecting unit 100 includes a light emitting unit 130, an erecting prism 120, and an objective lens 110.

[0015] The light emitting unit 130 uses a light source to emit pulsed measurement light (i.e., light beam B1) at a constant cycle toward the erect prism 120. For example, a semiconductor laser that oscillates infrared light can be used as the light source. The light emitting unit 130 emits a predetermined number of pulsed measurement light, for example, 320 pulses, at a constant cycle, for example, 500 to 700 μsec, in one distance measurement operation.

[0016] The erecting prism 120 is an optical element that sends the measurement light emitted from the light emitting unit 130 forward and sends the incident light to the rear eyepiece lens 150. For example, a roof prism, a Porro prism, or the like can be used as the erecting prism 120. The erecting prism 120 has a dichroic reflecting surface 122 that reflects light in the visible light band and transmits light in the infrared band, and total reflection surfaces 124 and 126 that have high reflectance for both the visible light band and the infrared band. The measurement light (light ray B1) transmits through the dichroic reflecting surface 122 in the erecting prism 120, is reflected by the total reflection surface 124, and propagates forward inside the housing 9 as light ray B2. The incident light (light ray A1) is reflected by the dichroic reflecting surface 122, the total reflection surfaces 124 and 126, and other reflection surfaces in the erecting prism 120. Thereby, the inverted mirror image formed by the incident light is reversed to an erect image.

[0017] The objective lens 110 is an optical element that collimates the light beam B2 output from the erecting prism 120 and sends it to the front of the housing 9 as a light beam B3.

[0018] The reticle plate 140 is disposed at the focal position of the objective lens 110. The reticle plate 140 has a collimation index and a display unit (both not shown). The collimation index has a shape such as a crosshair, a rectangular frame, or a circular frame. The collimation index may be formed by printing or etching on a plate transparent to visible light, or may be displayed using a transmissive liquid crystal. The display unit uses a transmissive liquid crystal or the like to show the measurement result of the distance to the object to the user by characters, images, or the like. Instead of directly providing the display unit on the reticle plate 140, it may be configured by a reflective liquid crystal and an optical system that guides the display image using the liquid crystal to the reticle plate 140. The display unit may display the remaining battery level, an alert, a clock, and the like in addition to the distance measurement result.

[0019] The eyepiece lens 150 is an optical element that collects incident light rays and sends them backward as light rays A3.

[0020] The erecting prism 120, the objective lens 110, the reticle plate 140, and the eyepiece lens 150 constitute a collimation unit with which a user aims the distance measuring device 1 at an object. The collimation unit shares a part of the optical system with the light projecting unit 100, so that the apparent optical axes of the light projecting unit 100 and the collimation unit in the distance measuring device 1 coincide with each other.

[0021] Of the light reflected or scattered from an object located in front of the distance measuring device 1, light ray A1 propagating within the range of the angle of view of the objective lens 110 enters the collimation section. Light ray A1 is collected as light ray A2 via the objective lens 110, and is emitted as light ray A3 to the rear of the distance measuring device 1 via the erecting prism 120, the reticle plate 140, and the eyepiece lens 150. This allows the user to observe an erect image of the object through the eyepiece lens 150.

[0022] The collimation index arranged on the reticle plate 140 is superimposed on the image of the object observed by the user through the eyepiece 150. The user then collimates the distance measuring device 1 to the object by superimposing the collimation index on the image observed through the eyepiece 150. In this case, since the apparent optical axes of the light projecting unit 100 and the collimating unit coincide as described above, the measurement light is irradiated to the position indicated by the collimation index.

[0023] The control unit 132 is a unit that controls the intensity, number of times of emission, cycle, etc. of the measurement light emitted from the light projecting unit 100 (light emitting unit 130). The control unit 132 also transmits the emission timing of the measurement light to the processing unit 300. This allows the processing unit 300 to process a detection signal of the reflected light output from the detection unit 200 in response to each projection of the measurement light by the light projecting unit 100. The control unit 132 starts a distance measurement operation, which will be described later, by receiving an operation signal generated when a user presses an operation button 133 provided on the housing 9.

[0024] The detection unit 200 is a unit that detects reflected light from an object and outputs a detection signal in the form of an electrical signal. The detection unit 200 includes a light receiving lens 210, a band pass filter 220, and a light receiving element 230.

[0025] Light receiving lens 210 is an optical element that collects reflected light from an object (that is, light ray C1) and sends it as light ray C2 to light receiving element 230. Note that light receiving lens 210 has an optical axis different from that of objective lens 110 of light projecting unit 100.

[0026] The bandpass filter 220 is an optical element that transmits light in a narrow band including the reflected light and blocks or attenuates light in other bands. The bandpass filter 220 is disposed behind the light receiving lens 210.

[0027] The light receiving element 230 is an element that receives the reflected light and outputs an electrical signal (also called a light receiving signal) corresponding to the intensity of the reflected light. For example, a photodiode, a phototransistor, or the like having sensitivity to the band of the measurement light can be used as the light receiving element 230. The light receiving element 230 is disposed behind the band pass filter 220. From the viewpoint of eliminating the influence of background light on the measurement light, it is preferable that the light receiving area of ​​the light receiving element 230 is as small as possible.

[0028] In the detection unit 200 configured as described above, a light ray C1 reflected or scattered from an object located in front is incident on the light receiving lens 210. The light ray C1 is collected by the light receiving lens 210 and passes through the band pass filter 220 as a light ray C2, and is then received by the light receiving element 230. The light receiving element 230 outputs a light receiving signal corresponding to the intensity of the received light to the conversion unit 240.

[0029] The conversion unit 240 includes, for example, an amplifier, which amplifies the light receiving signal output from the light receiving element 230. The conversion unit 240 may further convert the light receiving signal into a differential signal, which can reduce transmission noise. The conversion unit 240 supplies the amplified light receiving signal to the processing unit 300 as a detection signal.

[0030] The attitude sensor 250 is a sensor or a group of sensors that detects the attitude of the distance measuring device 1. The attitude sensor 250 is provided on the housing 9 or a circuit board fixed inside the housing 9, so that the detection result of the attitude sensor 250 reflects the attitude of the distance measuring device 1. Here, the attitude means the inclination of the housing 9 and is represented by an angle θ in the reference coordinate system (i.e., an angle with respect to the horizontal plane or the vertical axis). Note that the angle can be detected from the detection result of the angular velocity or acceleration by an inclination sensor such as an angular velocity sensor or an acceleration sensor. The measurable angle range is, for example, ±89 degrees. These detection results are transmitted to the processing unit 300.

[0031] The orientation sensor 260 is a sensor that detects the direction (i.e., the orientation) φ in the horizontal plane in which the distance measuring device 1 faces. The orientation also includes the orientation to the point to be measured. A geomagnetic sensor that detects geomagnetism and determines the orientation based on this can be used as the orientation sensor 260. The measurable orientation range is, for example, ±180 degrees. By pointing the distance measuring device toward the point to be measured, the orientation of the point to be measured based on the current position can be measured.

[0032] The communication device 270 is a device for wirelessly communicating with the display device 20. For example, BLE (Bluetooth (registered trademark) Low Energy) can be adopted as the communication device 270. With this, distance data obtained by measuring the distance with the distance measuring device 1 is transmitted to the display device 20.

[0033] The processing unit 300 is a unit that determines the distance and inclination to the object and the height of the object based on the detection signal output from the conversion unit 240 and the detection result output from the attitude sensor 250. The linear distance D to the object can be determined by the time-of-flight method (TOF), that is, by determining the time (detection time of reflected light) T at which the detection unit 200 (light receiving element 230) detects the reflected light of the measurement light reflected by the object in response to the projection of each measurement light by the light projecting unit 100, and calculating from the determined detection time T of the reflected light using a calculation formula Tc / 2 (c is the speed of light). Note that the detection time T is the time required for light to travel a distance equivalent to a round trip from the measurement position where the measurement light is emitted to the object, so in the calculation formula, half the detection time T is multiplied by the speed of light c. The inclination to the object can be determined from the detection result of the angle θ output from the attitude sensor 250. The distance to the object (i.e., horizontal distance) d and the height h of the object can be determined from the formulas Dcos(θ) and Dsin(θ) based on the linear distance D and the inclination θ, as shown in Fig. 2B. Note that the linear distance D may be used as the distance to the object.

[0034] When the processing unit 300 detects that the user has pressed the operation button 133 provided on the housing 9 of the distance measuring device 1, it transmits an operation signal to the control unit 132 to start a distance measuring operation described later, and displays the distance, inclination, and height determined as described above (the data acquired by measuring the distance using the distance measuring device 1 are referred to as distance measurement data) on the reticle plate 140. As a result, the distance data is superimposed on the image of the object to be measured that the user observes through the eyepiece 150. At the same time, the processing unit 300 transmits the distance measurement data to the display device 20.

[0035] 3A shows the configuration of a display device 20 according to this embodiment. The display device 20 is a device that displays position information of a distance measurement target point obtained based on distance measurement data transmitted from the distance measuring device 1. As an example of this embodiment, the display device 20 is a wristwatch-type wearable device that is worn on the wrist of a user. The display device 20 includes a band 18 and a main body 20a.

[0036] The band 18 is a member for attaching the main body 20a to the user's arm (e.g., the left arm). The band 18 is, for example, a stretchable belt-like member, and both ends are fixed to the upper and lower sides of the main body 20a, respectively. The user can attach the main body 20a to the arm by stretching the band 18, passing the arm through a loop formed by the main body 20a and the band 18, and then shortening the band 18.

[0037] 3B shows a hardware configuration of the main body 20a of the display device 20. The main body 20a includes a housing 19 (see FIG. 3A), a storage device 21, a position sensor 22, a display device 25, a wireless communication device 26, a processing device 27, and an operation device 29.

[0038] The housing 19 is a case that holds the other components of the main body 20a inside. In this embodiment, the housing 19 has a cylindrical shape with a small height relative to its width, but is not limited to this and may have any shape as long as it can hold the components inside.

[0039] The storage device 21 is a device that stores distance measurement data and the like obtained by measuring the distance with the distance measuring device 1 and transmitted from the processing unit 300. As the storage device 21, for example, a non-volatile memory can be adopted.

[0040] The position sensor 22 is a sensor that detects information related to the current position of the display device 20. A satellite positioning system (GPS) device can be adopted as the position sensor 22. The information related to the current position is position information of the display device 20 when the position sensor 22 is activated, and may be expressed by latitude and longitude, for example. Furthermore, the position sensor 22 may detect the current time, that is, the time when the position sensor 22 is activated.

[0041] The display device 25 is a device that displays, on a display screen 25a, distance measurement data obtained by measuring the distance with the distance measuring device 1, the measurement time when the distance was measured, etc. As the display device 25, for example, a liquid crystal display can be adopted.

[0042] The wireless communication device 26 is a device for wirelessly communicating with communication devices other than the distance measuring device 1 and the display device 20. For example, BLE (Bluetooth (registered trademark) Low Energy) can be adopted as the wireless communication device 26. The wireless communication device 26 may be paired and further bonded with the communication device 270 of the distance measuring device 1 in advance or when the power is turned on.

[0043] The arithmetic processing device (CPU) 27 is a device that executes a dedicated program to operate each component of the display device 20 and realize various functional units. The functional configuration of the display device 20 will be described later. The dedicated program is stored in, for example, a ROM (not shown), and is started by the CPU reading it and expanding it in the RAM.

[0044] The operation device 29 is a device for operating the display device 20. As the operation device 29, for example, a plurality of operation buttons provided on the side surface of the housing 19 of the display device 20 so as to be pressable by the user can be adopted. Furthermore, a touch sensor provided over the display screen of the display device 25 may be adopted.

[0045] 3C shows a functional configuration of the display device 20 (main body 20a). The display device 20 includes a storage unit 410, an acquisition unit 420, a position information acquisition unit 421, a calculation unit 450, a display unit 460, a notification unit 470, a setting unit 480, and a transmission unit 490.

[0046] The storage unit 410 stores the distance measurement data received from the distance measuring device 1 in the storage device 21. When the storage unit 410 acquires distance measurement data by the acquisition unit 420 in response to the operation of the distance measuring device 1, the storage unit 410 acquires information on the current position from the position information acquisition unit 421, that is, the position information of the display device 20 at the time of distance measurement, and stores the distance measurement data and the information on the current position as a set. Map information and other information may also be stored.

[0047] 4, the storage unit 410 may further acquire information on the current time, i.e., time information when distance measurement was performed, together with information on the current location from the location information acquisition unit 421, and store the distance measurement data, information on the current location, and information on the current time as a set. In this example, the measurement time (e.g., "13:16"), which is information on the current time, is stored along with the latitude X and longitude Y of the measurement location (e.g., "x1, y1"), which is information on the current location, and the measurement results of the distance, altitude, and direction (e.g., "528y / 5y / N0E (north 0 degrees east)"), which are distance measurement data.

[0048] The acquisition unit 420 acquires from the distance measuring device 1 distance measurement data obtained by measuring the distance and direction to the distance measuring point using the distance measuring device 1 through mutual wireless communication with the distance measuring device 1 using the wireless communication device 26. Furthermore, the acquisition unit 420 accesses a map information center or the like to acquire map information of the area including the current position and the distance measuring point. The acquired data and information are transferred to the storage unit 410.

[0049] FIG. 5 shows an example of map information. In this embodiment, the map information includes map information of a golf course 600 on which a user (i.e., a golf player) will play a round. The golf course 600 includes a tee ground 610, a green 620, a fairway 630, a rough 640, a bunker 650, a pond / river 660, a penalty area 670, obstacles 680 such as trees, a path 690, and the like. The map information includes information on the topography (shape on a plane) included in the area and information on the elevation distribution within the area. The map information also includes position information of target points such as a pin cup and a green edge on the green 620. The map information also includes position information of objects of caution as information on the golf course. The objects of caution may be, for example, the bunker 650, the pond / river 660, and the penalty area 670. The map information also includes position information of caution lines such as an OB line (which is set on the boundary between the obstacle 680 and the rough 640, as an example).

[0050] The position information acquisition unit 421 acquires information about the current position of the display device 20 by the position sensor 22. The information about the current position is given by latitude and longitude, for example. The position information acquisition unit 421 may also acquire information about the current time by the position sensor 22. By using the position information acquisition unit 421 when the acquisition unit 420 acquires distance measurement data from the distance measuring device 1, it is possible to detect information about the current position when the distance measurement was performed (i.e., the measurement position) and information about the current time (i.e., the measurement time). The various acquired information is transferred to the storage unit 410 and the calculation unit 450.

[0051] The calculation unit 450 calculates the position information of the distance measurement target point based on the distance measurement data and information on the current position by the calculation processing device 27. Here, the position information of the distance measurement target point may be the distance and direction to the distance measurement target point based on the current position (i.e., the position of the display device) obtained from the distance measurement data (i.e., relative position information of the distance measurement target point based on the current position). It may also include the altitude (also called the elevation difference) of the distance measurement target point based on the altitude of the current position. The calculation unit 450 may also calculate the position information of the distance measurement target point by adding the distance and direction to the distance measurement target point based on the current position obtained from the distance measurement data to information on the current position. In such a case, the position information of the distance measurement target point is given as absolute position information represented by, for example, the latitude (X) and longitude (Y) of the distance measurement target point.

[0052] The calculation unit 450 may also calculate various distances based on map information. Based on the map information, the calculation unit 450 determines whether or not an object of attention exists on a route connecting the current position to the distance measurement target point, and if it determines that an object of attention exists, further calculates the distance to the front and rear of the object of attention on the route. Based on the map information, the calculation unit 450 determines whether or not an attention line exists on a route connecting the current position to the distance measurement target point, and if it determines that an attention line exists, further calculates position information of an intersection between the route and the attention line.

[0053] The calculation unit 450 may also calculate position information for each of the distance measurement target points, the target points included in the map information, and the target points selected by the user, as well as distance and elevation difference information between them. These calculations by the calculation unit 450 will be described in more detail later.

[0054] The display unit 460 displays, on the display screen 25a of the display device 25, topographical information of the distance measurement target point based on map information, and also displays the distance measurement result based on the distance measurement data acquired from the distance measuring device 1 and the position information of the distance measurement target point calculated by the calculation unit 450. An example of the display by the display unit 460 will be described later.

[0055] The notification unit 470 notifies the user of distance information based on the calculation result by the calculation unit 450. The notification unit 470 measures the distance using the distance measuring device 1, calculates the position information of the distance measuring target point using the calculation unit 450, stores the result, detects the current position using the position sensor 22, judges whether the distance measuring target point is within a predetermined distance range from the current position, and notifies the user of the approach to the distance measuring target point using sound, light, and / or vibration if it is judged to be within the distance range. As a result, when the user measures the distance to the distance measuring target point that is the shot target, shoots a golf ball, and moves toward the next shot position, the notification unit 470 notifies the user of the approach to the distance measuring target point, making it easy to find the shot golf ball. In addition, the notification unit 470 may calculate the position information of the intersection between the caution line existing on the route connecting the current position to the distance measuring target point and the route, store the result, and then notify the user of the approach to the intersection using the same method as described above. This makes it easy to find the shot position when starting a shot from a point where the ball crosses the OB line on a course where an OB line is set as a caution line, for example.

[0056] The setting unit 480 sets the target point based on the map information. Here, the user displays a golf course on the display screen 25a and selects any point on the course as the target point using the operation device 29. The selected target point is set by the setting unit 480 by including it in the map information and storing it in the storage device 21. This makes it possible for the calculation unit 450 to calculate the distance and elevation difference information between the distance measurement target point, the target point included in the map information, and the target point selected by the user. The target point is, for example, the center of the fairway or the pin position on the green.

[0057] The transmitting unit 490 transmits the measurement environment and user information to the distance measuring device 1 together with or independently of the position information of the distance measuring target point calculated by the computing unit 450, and causes the measurement environment and user information to be displayed on the display device (reticle plate 140, etc.) of the distance measuring device 1. Here, the measurement environment can be measured by an environmental sensor, which is a sensor or a group of sensors provided in the display device 20 and detects the environmental condition (temperature, humidity, air pressure, wind speed, wind direction, etc.) in which the display device 20 is placed. The environmental sensor may include, for example, a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, an air pressure sensor, a wind speed / wind direction sensor, etc. The user information is information such as the user's height, weight, and flying distance for each club, and may be stored in the storage device 21 in advance. By displaying this information on the distance measuring device 1, the golf player, who is the user of the distance measuring device 1, can predict the trajectory of the golf ball based on the environmental condition in addition to the distance measurement data.

[0058] 6A to 6E show examples of displays displayed on the display screen 25a by the display unit 460. In these examples, it is assumed that the user holds the distance measuring device 1 and the display device 20 and stands on a tee ground 610 or the like, and measures the distance and direction from there to a pin position 621 or the like on a green 620 using the distance measuring device 1. In such a case, based on map information, as shown in FIG. 6A, topographical information of the tee ground 610, green 620, fairway 630, rough 640, bunker 650, pond / river 660, penalty area 670, obstacles 680 such as trees, and travel path 690 included in the golf course 600 is displayed on the display screen 25a. In addition, when distance measurement is performed with a point on the golf course 600 such as the green 620 as a distance measurement target point, the topographical information of the distance measurement target point may be enlarged and displayed. Note that the display on the display screen 25a can be switched by the user operating the operation device 29. Instead of displaying the terrain information included in the golf course 600 from the tee ground 610 to the distance measurement target point, the course condition (e.g., fairway, rough) of the distance measurement target point and the slope of that point may be displayed as the terrain information.

[0059] The display unit 460 displays the current position and the distance measurement target point superimposed on the map information based on the information on the current position detected by the position information acquisition unit 421 and the position information (relative position and absolute position information) of the distance measurement target point calculated by the calculation unit 450. As shown in Fig. 6A, the display unit 460 displays the golf course 600 based on the map information, and displays a mark "x" indicating the current position of the display device 20 on the tee ground 610 superimposed thereon, displays the latitude and longitude (x, y) of the current position to the right of it, and displays a mark "◎" indicating the distance measurement target point on the pin position 621, and displays the latitude and longitude (X, Y) of the distance measurement target point to the right of it. The user can confirm the current position and the measurement target point on the golf course 600 from the display on the display screen 25a.

[0060] The display unit 460 also displays a direction object representing the direction to the distance measurement target point based on the current position, superimposed on the map information. Therefore, as shown in Fig. 6B, the display unit 460 displays a golf course 600 based on the map information, and displays an arrow 698 superimposed thereon, extending from a tee ground 610, which is the current position of the display device 20, toward a pin position 621 on a green 620, which is the distance measurement target point. In addition, next to the display of the golf course 600, the distance and elevation difference from the current position to the pin position 621 on the green 620, which is the distance measurement target point, are displayed as numerical values ​​(528y and 5y (y is yards) in this example), and the direction to the distance measurement target point is displayed using a mark 699 imitating the needle of a compass (in this example, it indicates the north direction (north 0 degrees east)). The direction object may be a mark of any shape, or may be, instead of or in addition to, a numerical value such as "N28E (North 28 degrees East)" or a text such as "Ahead" or "Right". The mark may be a straight line instead of an arrow. From the display on the display screen 25a, the user can confirm the direction from the current position on the golf course 600 to the measurement target point.

[0061] In addition, when the calculation unit 450 determines that there is an object of attention on the route connecting the current position to the distance measurement point, the display unit 460 further displays the distance to the front and back of the object of attention on the route. In the example shown in Fig. 6C, the calculation unit 450 determines that there are two ponds and rivers 660 as objects of attention on the route connecting the tee ground 610, which is the current position of the display device 20, to the pin position 621 on the green 620, which is the distance measurement point, and calculates the distance to the front and back of the two ponds and rivers 660 on the route. The display unit 460 displays a mark "△" in the front position of the two ponds and rivers 660 on the route and displays the calculated distance "196y" to the left of it, and displays a mark "◇" in the back position of the two ponds and rivers 660 on the route and displays the calculated distance "488y" to the left of it. From the display screen 25a, the user can check the objects of interest located on the route connecting the current position on the golf course 600 to the point to be measured, and can thereby consider a route to avoid the objects of interest or easily grasp the distance of the shot to avoid landing the ball on the objects of interest.

[0062] The display unit 460 also displays a moving object representing a moving path from the current position to the distance measurement target point, superimposed on the map information. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6D, the display unit 460 displays a golf course 600 based on the map information, and displays a moving path 697 from a tee ground 610, which is the current position of the display device 20, to a pin position 621 on a green 620, which is the distance measurement target point, superimposed on the golf course 600. From the display on the display screen 25a, the user can know the moving path from the current position on the golf course 600 to the measurement target point. In addition, when the moving path is displayed as a straight line path, the user can grasp the shortest path from the current position to the measurement target point. Note that when the shortest path from the current position to the measurement target point is displayed, the path is also the shortest moving (flying) path of the ball that is assumed when the ball is shot. For this reason, the moving object can also represent the moving path of the ball. Note that letters, symbols, etc. for distinguishing the moving path of the user from the moving path of the ball may be placed close to the moving object.

[0063] In addition, when the calculation unit 450 determines that a caution line exists on the route connecting the current position to the distance measurement target point, the display unit 460 displays position information of the intersection between the route and the caution line. In the example shown in FIG. 6E, it is assumed that a golf player, who is a user, hits a second shot from a point "x" on the fairway 630, which is the current position, into an obstacle 680 such as a tree, and measures the distance to a golf ball "◎" inside the obstacle 680. In this case, the calculation unit 450 calculates a route connecting the second shot point "x" which is the current position to the golf ball "◎" inside the obstacle 680 based on the map information, determines that the boundary of the obstacle 680, which is a caution line, exists on the route, and calculates position information of the intersection between the route and the caution line. The display unit 460 displays an arrow 698, which is a route object representing the route, and a mark "□" at the intersection between the route and the caution line, superimposed on the map information, and displays the latitude and longitude (x4, y4) of the calculated intersection to the left of it. From the display on the display screen 25a, the user can know the position of the next shot.

[0064] 7A to 7D show further examples of displays displayed on the display screen 25a by the display unit 460. The calculation unit 450 may calculate, based on the map information, not only the distance from the current position to the measurement target point, but also the distance and elevation difference between the measurement target point, the target point registered in advance in the map information, and the target point selected by the user, such as the distance from the measurement target point to a target point registered in the map information or a target point selected by the user, and the distance from the target point selected by the user to a target point registered in the map information.

[0065] FIG. 7A shows an example of display of distance measurement data from a plurality of measurement target points to a target point. The user selects a first point "●" and a second point "◆" on the fairway as targets for a tee shot, and measures them using the distance measuring device 1. The calculation unit 450 calculates the position information and altitude information of each of the first and second points based on the distance measurement data acquired from the distance measuring device 1, and further calculates the distance and elevation difference from each of the first and second points to a pin position 621 on a green 620 registered in the map information as a target point. The display unit 460 displays the calculation results together with a directional object (arrow 698) from each of the first and second points to the target point. In this example, the user can know that the first point is a shot up to the pin position 621 with a distance of 130y and an elevation difference of 5y, and that the second point is a shot down to the pin position 621 with a distance of 70y and an elevation difference of -3y. In this way, the user can easily grasp the flight distance and elevation difference of the second shot, and can therefore determine the target position of the first shot taking the second shot into consideration.

[0066] The calculation unit 450 may further calculate the distance and elevation difference between the first and second points, which are the points to be measured, based on the distance measurement data, and the display unit 460 may display the calculation results together with a direction object (arrow 698) as shown in Fig. 7B. In this example, the user can know that the launch from the first point to the second point will be a distance of 110y and an elevation difference of 8y.

[0067] FIG. 7C shows another example of display of distance measurement data from the measurement target point to a target point selected arbitrarily. The user selects a third point "■" as a target point, which is a point on the fairway 630 different from the first or second point, which is the target of the tee shot, and is suitable for a third shot to aim at the pin position 621 on the green because it is, for example, a downhill shot. In such a case, the calculation unit 450 selects the first point "●" on the fairway as the target of the tee shot, and measures the distance with the distance measuring device 1. The calculation unit 450 calculates the position information and altitude information of the first point based on the distance measurement data acquired from the distance measuring device 1, and further calculates the distance and elevation difference from the first point to the third point selected as the target point. The display unit 460 displays the calculation result together with a direction object (arrow 698) from the first point to the third point. This allows the user to know that the shot from the first point to the third point will be an uphill shot with a distance of 110y and an elevation difference of 8y. Furthermore, the calculation unit 450 may calculate the distance and elevation difference from the third point to the pin position 621 on the green 620 registered in the map information, and the display unit 460 may display the calculation result together with the direction object. This allows the user to know that the shot from the third point to the pin position 621 is a downhill shot with a distance of 70y and an elevation difference of -3y.

[0068] FIG. 7D shows an example of a display of a moving object representing a moving path from a distance measurement target point to a target point. The user selects a fourth point "◎" on the fairway as a distance measurement target point and measures it with the distance measurement device 1. The calculation unit 450 calculates the position information and altitude information of the fourth point based on the distance measurement data acquired from the distance measurement device 1. The display unit 460 displays the calculation result together with a direction object (arrow 698), and further displays a moving path 697 from the fourth point, which is a distance measurement target point, to a pin position 621 registered as a target point. It should be noted that the moving path to a target point selected by the user may be displayed in the same manner, not limited to the target point registered in the map information. This allows the user to know the moving path from the distance measurement target point selected arbitrarily to the target point registered in the map information. In addition, when the moving path is displayed as a straight line path, the user can grasp the shortest path from the fourth point to the target point. It should be noted that when the shortest path from the current position to the measurement target point is displayed, the path is also the shortest moving (flying) path of the ball assumed when the ball is shot. Therefore, the moving object can also represent the moving path of the ball. Note that letters, symbols, etc. may be placed near the moving object to distinguish between the moving path of the user and the moving path of the ball.

[0069] The golf player, who is the user, measures the distance to the target shot point as the distance measurement target point using the distance measuring device 1, selects a club (number) based on the result, hits the golf ball, and moves to the next shot point, repeating this process until the golf ball is carried onto the green. Here, the distance measuring device 1 performs a distance measuring operation to measure the distance to the distance measurement target point, etc., every time the user presses the operation button 133, and transmits distance measurement data including the result to the display device 20. When the display device 20 acquires the distance measurement data by the acquisition unit 420, the storage unit 410 stores the distance measurement data together with information on the current position (measurement position) and information on the current time (measurement time) (see FIG. 4). Therefore, a distance measurement result that reflects the user's target shot distance can be obtained from the history of distance measurement data obtained by the user measuring the distance for each shot, and a moving distance between shots that reflects the user's actual shot distance can be calculated from the history of the measurement position. Therefore, the calculation unit 450 further reads out from the memory device 21 the history of information (measurement position) relating to the current position stored in response to the operation of the distance measuring device 1, and calculates the distance traveled, and the display unit 460 displays the history of the calculated distance traveled in comparison with the history of the measurement results of the distance to the distance measuring point included in the distance measuring data.

[0070] FIG. 8 shows an example of a comparative display of the history of the moving distance and the history of the distance measurement result. From the history of the stored distance measurement data (FIG. 4), the moving distance from the first measurement position to the second measurement position (x2, y2) |(x2, y2)-(x1, y1)|=488y is obtained, which is lined up with the first measurement position (x1, y1), and is displayed in comparison with the distance measurement result 528y. This means that the actual distance was 488y compared to the target distance 528y of the tee shot. Also, the moving distance from the second measurement position to the third measurement position (x3, y3) |(x3, y3)-(x2, y2)|=282y is obtained, which is lined up with the second measurement position (x2, y2), and is displayed in comparison with the distance measurement result 265y. This means that the actual distance was 282y compared to the target distance 265y of the second shot. The user can consider, for example, the selection of a club (number) from these comparative displays.

[0071] 9 shows a flow of distance measurement and display operations executed by the distance measurement system 500 according to this embodiment. In this example, a user wears the display device 20 on his / her wrist, carries the distance measurement device 1, and plays a round on a golf course 600, and uses the distance measurement device 1 to measure the distance and direction from an arbitrary position on the course, such as a tee ground 610, to an arbitrary distance measurement point on the course, such as a pin position 621 on a green 620.

[0072] In step S100, the processing unit 300 of the distance measuring device 1 judges whether or not the user has pressed the operation button 133 of the distance measuring device 1. If it is judged that the button has been pressed, the distance measuring operation flow (steps S100 to S112) starts.

[0073] In step S102, a linear distance D to an object located at a distance measurement point is measured. First, under the control of the control unit 132, the light projecting unit 100 irradiates the measurement light toward the object along the reference axis L0. Next, the detection unit 200 detects the reflected light from the object. Finally, based on the detection result of the detection unit 200, the processing unit 300 determines the detection time T from the irradiation of the measurement light by the light projecting unit 100 to the detection of the reflected light by the detection unit 200, and calculates the linear distance D=Tc / 2 using the speed of light c. The detection time T may be determined by averaging the results obtained for multiple irradiations of the measurement light.

[0074] In step S104, the attitude of the distance measuring device 1 during distance measuring operation is detected by the attitude sensor 250. The inclination to the target object is determined based on the detection result of the angle θ detected by the attitude sensor 250. The result is transmitted to the processing unit 300.

[0075] In step S106, the processing unit 300 determines the distance (i.e., horizontal distance) d and the elevation difference h to the object based on the current location. The processing unit 300 calculates the horizontal distance d=Dcos(θ) and the elevation difference h=Dsin(θ) based on the straight-line distance D determined in step S102 and the inclination θ determined in step S104.

[0076] In step S108, the direction in the horizontal plane to which the distance measuring device 1 faces during distance measuring operation, that is, the direction φ of the object, is detected by the direction sensor 260. The result is transmitted to the processing unit 300.

[0077] In step S110, distance measurement data obtained by measuring the distance with the distance measuring device 1 is transmitted to the display device 20. The processing unit 300 transmits the distance measurement data, including the horizontal distance d and the elevation difference h to the object calculated in step S106, and the orientation φ of the object detected in step S108, to the display device 20 using the communication device 270. The processing unit 300 may also display the distance measurement data on the reticle plate 140.

[0078] In step S112, position information of the distance measurement target point transmitted from the display device 20 in step S210 described later, as well as measurement environment and user information, may be received, and these various pieces of information may be displayed on the reticle plate 140.

[0079] After executing step S112, the process returns to step S100. Every time the user presses the operation button 133, the distance measuring device 1 repeats the above-described distance measuring operation flow (steps S100 to S112).

[0080] On the other hand, prior to the display operation, the display device 20 acquires map information (see FIG. 5) by the acquisition unit 420 in step S198, and stores this in the storage device 21 by the storage unit 410.

[0081] In step S200, the acquisition unit 420 acquires distance measurement data from the distance measuring device 1. This starts the display operation flow (steps S200 to S210).

[0082] In step S202, the position information acquisition unit 421 acquires information about the current position of the display device 20 and information about the current time using the position sensor 22. Since this step is executed by acquiring distance measurement data from the distance measuring device 1 by the acquisition unit 420 in step S200, the acquired information about the current position and information about the current time indicate the position and time of the display device 20 when the distance measurement was performed by the distance measuring device 1, i.e., the measurement position and measurement time.

[0083] In step S204, the storage unit 410 stores the distance measurement data acquired in step S200 in the storage device 21 together with information on the current position (measurement position) and information on the current time (measurement time) (see FIG. 4).

[0084] In step S206, the calculation unit 450 calculates the position information of the distance measurement target point based on the distance measurement data and information related to the current position. The position information of the distance measurement target point, i.e., the relative position information of the distance measurement target point based on the current position and / or the absolute position information of the distance measurement target point, is calculated as described above. The calculation unit 450 may also calculate various distances based on map information. The calculation unit 450 may also calculate the position information of the distance measurement target point, the target point included in the map information, and the target point selected by the user, as well as the distance and elevation difference information between them. The details of the calculation of these various pieces of information are as described above.

[0085] In step S208, the display unit 460 displays the topographical information of the distance measurement target point based on the map information on the display screen 25a of the display device 25, and also displays the position information of the distance measurement target point calculated in step S206 (see Figs. 6A to 6E and Figs. 7A to 7D). The details of the display of the position information are as described above.

[0086] In step S210, the measurement environment and user information are optionally transmitted together with or independently of the position information of the distance measurement point calculated in step S206 by the transmission unit 490. The details of the measurement environment and user information are as described above.

[0087] After executing step S210, the process returns to step S200. Every time the display device 20 acquires distance measurement data from the distance measuring device 1, the display device 20 repeats the above-described display operation flow (steps S200 to S210).

[0088] The display device 20 according to this embodiment includes an acquisition unit 420 that acquires distance measurement data obtained by measuring the distance and direction to a distance measurement target point using the distance measurement device 1 from the distance measurement device 1, a location information acquisition unit 421 that acquires information regarding the current location, a calculation unit 450 that calculates location information of the distance measurement target point based on the distance measurement data and information regarding the current location, and a display unit 460 that displays the location information of the distance measurement target point. According to this, when the distance and direction to a distance measurement target point is measured using the distance measurement device 1, the highly accurate distance measurement data can be combined with information regarding the current location of the display device 20 to obtain highly accurate location information for any distance measurement target point.

[0089] The display method according to this embodiment includes the steps of acquiring distance measurement data obtained by measuring the distance and direction to a distance measurement target point using the distance measurement device 1 from the distance measurement device 1, acquiring information about the current position, calculating position information of the distance measurement target point based on the distance measurement data and information about the current position, and displaying the position information of the distance measurement target point. According to this, when the distance and direction to a distance measurement target point is measured using the distance measurement device 1, the highly accurate distance measurement data can be combined with information about the current position of the display device 20 to obtain highly accurate position information for any distance measurement target point.

[0090] In addition, the distance measuring device 1 and display device 20 that constitute the distance measuring system 500 of this embodiment are used in the same location, such as a user who is a golf player using the distance measuring device 1 on the golf course himself, and checking the distance measurement result on the display device 20 worn on his arm. However, instead, they may be used in different locations, such as another user such as a caddy or gallery member using the distance measuring device 1 to measure the distance outside the course, and a user on the course checking the distance measurement result on the display device 20 (or a user on the course using the distance measuring device 1 to measure the distance himself, and transmitting and recording the distance measurement result to the display device 20 located in another location).

[0091] 10 shows the configuration of a distance measuring device 1d according to a modified example. The distance measuring device 1d further includes a position sensor 280 in addition to the distance measuring device 1 described above. The position sensor 280 is a sensor that detects the position information of the distance measuring device 1. A satellite positioning system (GPS) device can be adopted as the position sensor 280. The position information is the position information of the distance measuring device 1 when the position sensor 280 is operating, and may be expressed by latitude and longitude, for example. The obtained position information of the distance measuring device 1 is transmitted to the processing unit 300.

[0092] 9, before step S110, the distance measuring device 1 detects the position information of the distance measuring device 1 using the position sensor 280. Since the position information of the distance measuring device 1 is detected following the measurement of the distance and direction to the object in steps S102 to S108, the obtained position information indicates the position of the distance measuring device 1 when the distance measurement was performed by the distance measuring device 1 (i.e., the measurement position). Then, in step S110, the processing unit 300 transmits distance measurement data including the horizontal distance d and elevation difference h to the object calculated in step S106, and the direction φ of the object detected in step S108, together with the position information of the distance measuring device 1, to the display device 20 using the communication device 270.

[0093] Meanwhile, in step S200, the display device 20 acquires distance measurement data from the distance measuring device 1 by the acquisition unit 420 together with position information of the distance measuring device 1. As a result, the display device 20 acquires position information (indicating the measurement position) of the distance measuring device 1 independently of information on the current position of the display device 20 detected in step S202 (which simply indicates the position information of the display device 20). In step S204, the display device 20 stores the distance measurement data in the storage device 21 by the storage unit 410 together with the position information of the distance measuring device 1, information on the current position of the display device 20, and information on the current time (measurement time).

[0094] Furthermore, in step S206, the display device 20 calculates the position information of the distance measurement target point based on the distance measurement data and information on the current position of the display device 20 by the calculation unit 450. Here, the distance measurement data is given as the distance and direction to the distance measurement target point based on the position of the distance measurement device 1. Therefore, the calculation unit 450 corrects the distance measurement data to indicate the distance and direction to the distance measurement target point based on the position of the display device 20, based on the information on the current position of the display device 20 and the position information of the distance measurement device 1. Then, in step S208, the display unit 460 displays topographical information of the distance measurement target point based on map information on the display screen 25a of the display device 25, and displays the position information of the distance measurement target point based on the position of the display device 20 calculated based on the corrected distance measurement data. This allows the user to know the position information of the distance measurement target point based on his own position from the display device 20, based on the distance measurement data obtained by the distance measurement device 1 at a place away from the user (i.e., the display device 20).

[0095] Instead of the display device 20 correcting the distance measurement data, the distance measurement device 1 may correct the distance measurement data. In this case, prior to step S200, the display device 20 acquires information on the current position by the position information acquisition unit 421 and transfers it to the distance measurement device 1, and prior to step S110, the distance measurement device 1 corrects the distance measurement data to indicate the distance and direction to the distance measurement target point based on the position of the display device 20, based on the position information of the distance measurement device 1 and the information on the current position of the display device 20. In step S110, the distance measurement device 1 transmits the corrected distance measurement data to the display device 20, and in step S200, the display device 20 (acquisition unit 420) acquires the distance measurement data corrected by the distance measurement device 1. This allows the user to know the position information of the distance measurement target point based on his / her own position from the display device 20, based on the distance measurement data acquired by the distance measurement device 1 at a location away from the user (i.e., the display device 20).

[0096] Alternatively, the distance measuring device 1 may correct the distance measurement data based on information on the current position of the display device 20 and the position information of the distance measuring device 1, and the display device 20 may receive the corrected distance measurement data and display the position information of the distance measurement target point on the display screen 25a as the distance and direction to the distance measurement target point based on the position of the distance measuring device 1, and further store it in the storage device 21. In this way, when the user uses the distance measuring device 1 to measure the distance and direction to the distance measurement target point, the distance measuring data corrected by the distance measuring device 1 is transmitted to the display device 20 located away from the distance measuring device 1, so that the position information of the distance measurement target point based on the position of the user who performed the distance measurement can be displayed and recorded on the display device 20.

[0097] In the distance measuring system including the distance measuring device 1d according to the modified example and the display device 20 described above, the display unit 460 of the display device 20 may display the position information of the distance measuring device 1 on the display screen 25a. For example, assume that a user who is a golf player stands on a teeing ground 610 wearing the display device 20 on his / her arm, and a caddy who is different from the user holds the distance measuring device 1 and stands behind the teeing ground 610. In such a case, as shown in FIG. 11, the display unit 460 displays a golf course 600 based on map information, and displays a mark "x" indicating the current position of the display device 20 on the teeing ground 610 superimposed thereon, displays the latitude and longitude (x, y) of the current position to the left of the mark, and displays a mark "*" indicating the position of the distance measuring device 1 behind the teeing ground 610 (toward the lower right of the drawing), and displays the latitude and longitude (X, Y) of the distance measuring device 1 to the right of the mark. Furthermore, the notification unit 470 may determine whether the distance measuring device 1 is outside a predetermined distance range from the current position of the display device 20, and if it is determined that it is outside the distance range, may notify the distance measuring device 1 by using sound, light, and / or vibration. The user can check the current position of the distance measuring device 1 from the display on the display screen 25a, and the notification by the notification unit 470 can prevent the distance measuring device 1 from being left behind or stolen.

[0098] Furthermore, when communication with the distance measuring device 1 is interrupted, for example because pairing between the display device 20 and the distance measuring device 1 becomes impossible, the notification unit 470 may determine whether the distance measuring device 1 is outside a predetermined distance range from the current position based on the position information of the distance measuring device 1 acquired before the communication is interrupted, and if it is determined that the distance measuring device 1 is outside the distance range, may notify the user of the distance of the distance measuring device 1 by using sound, light, and / or vibration. For example, suppose that after a tee shot, a user who is a golf player moves on the fairway 630 toward the second shot position, but the caddy who measured the distance using the distance measuring device 1 leaves the distance measuring device 1 behind the teeing ground 610. 12, the display unit 460 displays the golf course 600 based on the map information, and displays a mark "X" indicating the current position of the display device 20 on the fairway 630 superimposed thereon, the latitude and longitude (x, y) of the current position are displayed to the left of the mark "X", and a mark "*" indicating the position (the position of the distance measuring device 1 when the distance was last measured) obtained from the distance measuring device 1 before communication was interrupted is displayed behind the tee ground 610 (toward the lower right in the drawing), and the latitude and longitude (X, Y) of the distance measuring device 1 are displayed to the right of the mark "*". If the distance at which the distance measuring device 1 and the display device 20 can be paired is, for example, 10 m, the notification unit 470 detects that the user carrying the display device 20 is more than 10 m away from the position of the distance measuring device 1 last obtained from the distance measuring device 1, that is, from the rear of the tee ground 610 where the distance measuring device 1 was left behind, and causes a warning mark 696 to flash on the display screen 25a. When communication with the display device 20 is interrupted, the distance measuring device 1 may stop operating, for example by turning off the power. The user can prevent the distance measuring device 1 from being left behind or stolen by the notification from the notification unit 470. The location information of the distance measuring device 1 acquired before communication between the display device 20 and the distance measuring device 1 is interrupted may be the location information of the distance measuring device 1 immediately before communication between the display device 20 and the distance measuring device 1 is interrupted, or may be the location information of the distance measuring device 1 when the communication strength falls below a predetermined value.

[0099] The distance measuring system 500 according to the present embodiment includes the distance measuring device 1 and the display device 20, which are separate and capable of wireless communication with each other. However, the distance measuring device 1, which measures the distance and direction to a distance measuring target point, may be configured to detachably include the display device 20 according to the present embodiment. The display device 20 is not limited to a wristwatch-type wearable device, but may be a smartphone, a tablet terminal, or other terminal device of a portable size. It may also be a glasses-type terminal such as smart glasses. In such a case, the housing 9 of the distance measuring device 1 has, for example, a recess (not shown) on a part of the outer surface, and the display device 20 is housed in the recess with the display screen of the display device 25 and the operation part of the operation device 29 exposed on the outer surface of the housing 9. At this time, the display device 20 is connected to a connector (not shown) provided in the recess. This enables the display device 20 to transmit signals between the distance measuring device 1 (processing unit 300) via electrical wiring, for example, to transmit the processing result (i.e., distance measurement data) by the processing unit 300 to the display device 20 and store it in the storage device 21, and to transmit an operation signal from the operation device 29 of the display device 20 to the processing unit 300 to operate the distance measuring device 1. Note that the display device may display the distance measurement destination position acquired from the distance measuring device 1 and the current position of the display device on the display screen without displaying map information.

[0100] Furthermore, the distance measuring device 1 that measures the distance and direction to a target point of distance measurement may be integrally equipped with the display device 20 according to this embodiment. In such a case, the housing 9 of the distance measuring device 1 houses the display device 20 therein, with the display screen of the display device 25 and the operating portion of the operating device 29 exposed on the outer surface of the housing 9.

[0101] Note that, as an example of usage, the distance measurement system 500 of this embodiment has been described as measuring the distance to an arbitrary distance measurement point on a golf course, but the use is not limited to this and the system may also be used to measure the position and height of any object such as a tree or building.

[0102] In addition, in the distance measuring device 1 of this embodiment, a distance measuring method using TOF in projecting measurement light is adopted, but this is not limited to this, and any distance measuring method may be adopted, such as a distance measuring method using detection of the propagation time of a measurement wave such as an electric wave or a sound wave.

[0103] Any mark can be selected as the mark to be displayed on the display device (for example, a mark "x" indicating the current position).

[0104] Various embodiments of the present invention may be described with reference to flow charts and block diagrams, where the blocks may represent (1) stages of a process in which operations are performed or (2) sections of an apparatus responsible for performing the operations. Particular stages and sections may be implemented by dedicated circuitry, programmable circuitry provided with computer readable instructions stored on a computer readable medium, and / or a processor provided with computer readable instructions stored on a computer readable medium. Dedicated circuitry may include digital and / or analog hardware circuitry and may include integrated circuits (ICs) and / or discrete circuits. Programmable circuitry may include reconfigurable hardware circuitry including logical AND, logical OR, logical XOR, logical NAND, logical NOR, and other logical operations, memory elements such as flip-flops, registers, field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), programmable logic arrays (PLAs), and the like.

[0105] A computer-readable medium may include any tangible device capable of storing instructions that are executed by a suitable device, such that the computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon comprises an article of manufacture that includes instructions that can be executed to create means for performing the operations specified in the flowcharts or block diagrams. Examples of computer-readable media may include electronic storage media, magnetic storage media, optical storage media, electromagnetic storage media, semiconductor storage media, and the like. More specific examples of computer-readable media may include floppy disks, diskettes, hard disks, random access memories (RAMs), read-only memories (ROMs), erasable programmable read-only memories (EPROMs or flash memories), electrically erasable programmable read-only memories (EEPROMs), static random access memories (SRAMs), compact disk read-only memories (CD-ROMs), digital versatile disks (DVDs), Blu-ray (RTM) disks, memory sticks, integrated circuit cards, and the like.

[0106] The computer readable instructions may include either assembler instructions, Instruction Set Architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions, machine-dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions, state setting data, or source or object code written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including object-oriented programming languages ​​such as Smalltalk®, JAVA®, C++, etc., and conventional procedural programming languages ​​such as the “C” programming language or similar programming languages.

[0107] Computer readable instructions may be provided to a processor or programmable circuitry of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus, either locally or over a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), such as the Internet, etc., to execute the computer readable instructions to create means for performing the operations specified in the flowcharts or block diagrams. Examples of processors include computer processors, processing units, microprocessors, digital signal processors, controllers, microcontrollers, etc.

[0108] 13 illustrates an example of a computer 2200 in which aspects of the present invention may be embodied in whole or in part. Programs installed on the computer 2200 may cause the computer 2200 to function as or perform operations associated with an apparatus or one or more sections of the apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and / or to perform a process or steps of a process according to an embodiment of the present invention. Such programs may be executed by the CPU 2212 to cause the computer 2200 to perform specific operations associated with some or all of the blocks of the flowcharts and block diagrams described herein.

[0109] The computer 2200 according to this embodiment includes a CPU 2212, a RAM 2214, a graphic controller 2216, and a display device 2218, which are connected to each other by a host controller 2210. The computer 2200 also includes input / output units such as a communication interface 2222, a hard disk drive 2224, a DVD-ROM drive 2226, and an IC card drive, which are connected to the host controller 2210 via an input / output controller 2220. The computer also includes legacy input / output units such as a ROM 2230 and a keyboard 2242, which are connected to the input / output controller 2220 via an input / output chip 2240.

[0110] The CPU 2212 operates according to a program stored in the ROM 2230 and the RAM 2214, thereby controlling each unit. The graphic controller 2216 retrieves image data generated by the CPU 2212 into a frame buffer or the like provided in the RAM 2214 or into the graphic controller 2216 itself, and causes the image data to be displayed on the display device 2218.

[0111] The communication interface 2222 communicates with other electronic devices via a network. The hard disk drive 2224 stores programs and data used by the CPU 2212 in the computer 2200. The DVD-ROM drive 2226 reads programs or data from the DVD-ROM 2201 and provides the programs or data to the hard disk drive 2224 via the RAM 2214. The IC card drive reads programs and data from an IC card and / or writes programs and data to an IC card.

[0112] The ROM 2230 stores therein a boot program or the like executed by the computer 2200 upon activation, and / or a program that depends on the hardware of the computer 2200. The input / output chip 2240 may also connect various input / output units to the input / output controller 2220 via a parallel port, a serial port, a keyboard port, a mouse port, and the like.

[0113] The programs are provided by a computer-readable medium such as a DVD-ROM 2201 or an IC card. The programs are read from the computer-readable medium, installed in the hard disk drive 2224, the RAM 2214, or the ROM 2230, which are also examples of computer-readable media, and executed by the CPU 2212. Information processing described in these programs is read by the computer 2200, and brings about cooperation between the programs and the various types of hardware resources described above. An apparatus or method may be constructed by realizing information manipulation or processing according to the use of the computer 2200.

[0114] For example, when communication is performed between the computer 2200 and an external device, the CPU 2212 may execute a communication program loaded in the RAM 2214 and instruct the communication interface 2222 to perform communication processing based on the processing described in the communication program. Under the control of the CPU 2212, the communication interface 2222 reads transmission data stored in a transmission buffer processing area provided in the RAM 2214, the hard disk drive 2224, the DVD-ROM 2201, or a recording medium such as an IC card, and transmits the read transmission data to the network, or writes reception data received from the network to a reception buffer processing area or the like provided on the recording medium.

[0115] Furthermore, the CPU 2212 may cause all or a necessary portion of a file or database stored in an external recording medium such as the hard disk drive 2224, the DVD-ROM drive 2226 (DVD-ROM 2201), an IC card, etc. to be read into the RAM 2214, and perform various types of processing on the data on the RAM 2214. The CPU 2212 then writes back the processed data to the external recording medium.

[0116] Various types of information, such as various types of programs, data, tables, and databases, may be stored in the recording medium and undergo information processing. The CPU 2212 may perform various types of processing on the data read from the RAM 2214, including various types of operations, information processing, conditional judgment, conditional branching, unconditional branching, information search / replacement, etc., as described throughout this disclosure and specified by the instruction sequence of the program, and write back the results to the RAM 2214. The CPU 2212 may also search for information in a file, database, etc. in the recording medium. For example, when a plurality of entries each having an attribute value of a first attribute associated with an attribute value of a second attribute are stored in the recording medium, the CPU 2212 may search for an entry that matches a condition, in which an attribute value of the first attribute is specified, from among the plurality of entries, read the attribute value of the second attribute stored in the entry, and thereby obtain the attribute value of the second attribute associated with the first attribute that satisfies a predetermined condition.

[0117] The above-described programs or software modules may be stored in a computer-readable medium on the computer 2200 or in the vicinity of the computer 2200. Also, a recording medium such as a hard disk or a RAM provided in a server system connected to a dedicated communication network or the Internet can be used as a computer-readable medium, thereby providing the programs to the computer 2200 via the network.

[0118] 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. It is clear to those skilled in the art that various modifications and improvements can be made to the above embodiments. It is clear from the description of the claims that such modifications and improvements can also be included in the technical scope of the present invention.

[0119] It should be noted that the order of execution of each process, such as operations, procedures, steps, and stages, in the devices, systems, programs, and methods shown in the claims, specifications, and drawings is not specifically stated as "before" or "prior to," and that the process may be performed in any order unless the output of a previous process is used in a later process. Even if the operational flow in the claims, specifications, and drawings is described using "first," "next," etc. for convenience, it does not mean that the process must be performed in this order. [Explanation of symbols]

[0120] 1...distance measuring device, 1d...distance measuring device, 9...housing, 18...band, 19...housing, 20...display device, 20a...main body, 21...storage device, 22...position sensor, 25...display device, 25a...display screen, 26...wireless communication device, 27...arithmetic processing device, 29...operation device, 100...light projecting section, 110...objective lens, 120...erecting prism, 122...dichroic reflecting surface, 124...total reflecting surface, 126...total reflecting surface surface, 130...light emitting unit, 132...control unit, 133...operation button, 140...reticle plate, 150...eyepiece lens, 200...detection unit, 210...light receiving lens, 220...band pass filter, 230...light receiving element, 240...conversion unit, 250...attitude sensor, 260...orientation sensor, 270...communication device, 280...position sensor, 300...processing unit, 410...storage unit, 420...acquisition unit, 421...position information acquisition unit, 450...calculation 460...display unit, 470...notification unit, 480...setting unit, 490...transmission unit, 500...distance measuring system, 600...golf course, 610...tee ground, 620...green, 621...pin position, 630...fairway, 640...rough, 650...bunker, 660...pond / river, 670...penalty area, 680...obstacle, 690...movement path, 696...warning mark, 697...movement path, 698, 699...arrows, 2200...computer, 2201...DVD-ROM, 2210...host controller, 2212...CPU, 2214...RAM, 2216...graphics controller, 2218...display device, 2220...input / output controller, 2222...communication interface, 2224...hard disk drive, 2226...DVD-ROM drive, 2240...input / output chip, 2242...keyboard.

Claims

1. an acquisition unit that acquires distance measurement data obtained by wirelessly communicating with a distance measuring device that is physically separated from the display device and measuring a distance and a direction to a target point to be measured by the distance measuring device; a position information acquisition unit that acquires information regarding a current position of the display device; a calculation unit that calculates position information and altitude information of the distance measurement target point based on the distance measurement data and information regarding the current position, and calculates a distance and an elevation difference from the distance measurement target point to a target point registered in map information based on the calculation results of the position information and altitude information of the distance measurement target point; a display unit that displays the calculation results of the distance and the elevation difference; A display device comprising:

2. The distance measurement target points include a first point and a second point, The calculation unit calculates a distance and an elevation difference from each of the first point and the second point to the target point and / or a distance and an elevation difference between the first point and the second point. The display device according to claim 1 .

3. The target points include a third point and a fourth point, the calculation unit calculates a distance and an elevation difference from the distance measurement target point to the third point, and calculates a distance and an elevation difference between the third point and the fourth point; The display device according to claim 1 .

4. The display device according to claim 1 , wherein the position information of the distance measurement target point is calculated by adding the distance and direction to the distance measurement target point based on the current position obtained from the distance measurement data to information regarding the current position.

5. The acquisition unit further stores or acquires the map information, The display device according to claim 1 , wherein the display unit displays the current position and the distance measurement target point superimposed on topographical information obtained from the map information, based on information related to the current position and position information of the distance measurement target point.

6. The display device according to claim 1 , further comprising a setting unit that sets the target point based on the map information.

7. The acquisition unit further acquires position information of the distance measuring device, The display device according to claim 1 , wherein the calculation unit corrects the distance measurement data to indicate a distance and a direction to the distance measurement target point based on the position of the display device, based on information regarding the current position and position information of the distance measurement device.

8. A distance measuring device for measuring a distance and a direction to the distance measuring target point; A display device according to any one of claims 1 to 7; A ranging system comprising:

9. acquiring distance measurement data obtained by wirelessly communicating with a distance measurement device physically separated from the display device and measuring a distance and a direction to a distance measurement target point using the distance measurement device; obtaining information regarding a current location of the display device; calculating position information and altitude information of the distance measurement target point based on the distance measurement data and information about the current position, and calculating a distance and an elevation difference from the distance measurement target point to a target point registered in map information based on the calculation results of the position information and altitude information of the distance measurement target point; displaying the calculated distance and elevation difference; A display method comprising:

10. On the computer, a step of acquiring distance measurement data obtained by wirelessly communicating with a distance measuring device that is physically separated from the display device and measuring a distance and a direction to a distance measurement target point using the distance measuring device; obtaining information regarding a current location of the display device; calculating position information and altitude information of the distance measurement target point based on the distance measurement data and information about the current position, and calculating a distance and an elevation difference from the distance measurement target point to a target point registered in map information based on the calculation results of the position information and altitude information of the distance measurement target point; a step of displaying the calculation results of the distance and the elevation difference; A program that executes the following.

11. The distance measurement target points include a first point and a second point, In the step of calculating, a distance and an elevation difference from each of the first point and the second point to the target point and / or a distance and an elevation difference between the first point and the second point are calculated. The program according to claim 10.

12. The target points include a third point and a fourth point, the step of calculating includes calculating a distance and an elevation difference from the target point to the third point, and calculating a distance and an elevation difference between the third point and the fourth point; 12. The program according to claim 10 or 11.

13. The program according to claim 10 , wherein the position information of the distance measurement target point is calculated by adding a distance and a direction to the distance measurement target point based on the current position obtained from the distance measurement data to information about the current position.

14. The step of acquiring the distance measurement data further includes storing or acquiring the map information; The program according to claim 10 , wherein the display step displays the current position and the distance measurement target point superimposed on topographical information obtained from the map information based on information regarding the current position and position information of the distance measurement target point.

15. The program according to claim 10 , further comprising a setting unit that sets the target point based on the map information.

16. The step of acquiring the distance measurement data further includes acquiring position information of the distance measurement device; The program according to any one of claims 10 to 15, wherein the calculation step corrects the distance measurement data to indicate the distance and direction to the distance measurement target point based on the position of the display device, based on information regarding the current position and position information of the distance measurement device.

17. an acquisition unit that acquires distance measurement data obtained by measuring a distance and a direction to a distance measurement target point by the distance measurement device through wireless communication with the distance measurement device, and position information of the distance measurement device obtained by a position sensor provided in the distance measurement device; a position information acquisition unit that acquires information regarding a current position of the display device; a calculation unit that calculates position information of the distance measurement target point based on the distance measurement data and information about the current position, and corrects the distance measurement data to indicate a distance and a direction to the distance measurement target point based on the information about the current position and the position information of the distance measuring device, with the position of the display device as a reference; a display unit that displays topographical information of the distance measurement target point based on map information and also displays position information of the distance measurement target point with respect to the position of the display device calculated based on the corrected distance measurement data; A display device comprising:

18. The display device according to claim 17 , wherein the position information of the distance measurement target point is calculated by adding a distance and a direction to the distance measurement target point with respect to the current position obtained from the distance measurement data to information about the current position.

19. The acquisition unit further stores or acquires the map information, 19. The display device according to claim 17, wherein the display unit displays the current position and the distance measurement target point superimposed on topographical information obtained from the map information, based on information related to the current position and position information of the distance measurement target point.

20. The map information includes location information of a target point, The display device according to claim 17 , wherein the calculation section calculates a distance from the distance measurement target point to the target point.

21. The display device according to claim 20 , further comprising a setting unit that sets a destination point based on the map information.

22. The display device according to claim 20 , wherein the calculation section calculates information on a difference in elevation between the point of distance measurement and the target point based on the map information.

23. A distance measuring device for measuring a distance and a direction to the distance measuring target point; A display device according to any one of claims 17 to 22; A ranging system comprising:

24. a step of acquiring distance measurement data obtained by measuring a distance and a direction to a distance measurement target point by wireless communication with a distance measurement device physically separated from the display device and position information of the distance measurement device obtained by a position sensor provided in the distance measurement device; obtaining information regarding a current location of the display device; calculating position information of the target point based on the distance measurement data and information about the current position, and correcting the distance measurement data to indicate a distance and a direction to the target point based on the position of the display device based on the information about the current position and the position information of the distance measurement device; displaying topographical information of the distance measurement target point based on map information, and displaying position information of the distance measurement target point based on the position of the display device calculated based on the corrected distance measurement data; A display method comprising:

25. On the computer, a step of acquiring distance measurement data obtained by measuring a distance and a direction to a distance measurement target point by wireless communication with a distance measuring device physically separated from the display device and position information of the distance measuring device obtained by a position sensor provided in the distance measuring device; obtaining information regarding a current location of the display device; calculating position information of the distance measurement target point based on the distance measurement data and information about the current position, and correcting the distance measurement data to indicate a distance and a direction to the distance measurement target point based on the information about the current position and position information of the distance measurement device, with the position of the display device as a reference; a step of displaying topographical information of the distance measurement target point based on map information, and displaying position information of the distance measurement target point based on the position of the display device calculated based on the corrected distance measurement data; A program that executes the following.

26. 26. The program according to claim 25, wherein the position information of the distance measurement target point is calculated by adding a distance and a direction to the distance measurement target point with respect to the current position obtained from the distance measurement data to information about the current position.

27. The step of acquiring the location information further includes storing or acquiring the map information; 27. The program according to claim 25, wherein the display step displays the current position and the distance measurement target point superimposed on topographical information obtained from the map information, based on information about the current position and position information about the distance measurement target point.

28. The map information includes location information of a target point, 28. The program according to claim 25, wherein the step of correcting the distance from the distance measurement target point to the target point is performed.

29. 29. The program according to claim 28, further causing the computer to execute a procedure of setting a target point based on the map information.

30. 30. The program according to claim 28 or 29, wherein the step of correcting the distance includes calculating information on a difference in elevation between the point to be measured and the target point based on the map information.

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