Display device and method, ranging 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's golf round (see, for example, Patent Document 1). However, the position measurement accuracy of the GPS function is usually not always sufficient, and only position information of pre-registered points 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, from the distance measuring device, distance measurement data obtained by measuring the distance and direction to a target point of distance measurement using the distance measuring device. The display device may include a location information acquisition unit that acquires information about the 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 unit that displays the position information of the target distance measurement 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, which is 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 the direction to the distance measurement target point based on the current position. (Item 5) The display unit may display a moving object that represents a moving route from the current position to the 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 point superimposed on map information based on information about the current position and position information about the distance measurement target point. (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 there is an object of attention on the route connecting the current position to the distance measurement target point, and if it determines that there is an object of attention, may further calculate the distance to the front and back of the object of attention on the route. (Item 10) When the map information is information about a golf course, the attention object may include at least one of a bunker, a pond / river, and a penalty area. (Item 11) The map information may include location 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 the 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 unit 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 difference in elevation between the distance measurement point and the target point based on map information. (Item 15) The display unit may display another moving object that represents the moving route from the distance measurement target point to the target point. (Item 16) The calculation unit 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, uses at least one of sound, light, and vibration to notify the user of the approach to the target distance measurement point. (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 about 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 related to the current position. (Item 20) The display unit may display the position information of the distance measuring device. (Item 21) The device may further include another notification unit that determines whether the ranging device is outside a predetermined distance range from its current position, and if it determines that it is outside the distance range, notifies the user that the ranging device is far away 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 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 was interrupted. (Item 23) The device 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 operation of the distance measuring device. (Item 25) The calculation unit may calculate the history of the travel distance from the history of information about 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 transmitter 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 that measures the distance and direction to a target point to be measured may include the display device described in any one of items 1 to 26.

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

[0006] (Item 29) The method may comprise obtaining from the ranging device ranging data obtained by measuring the distance and direction to the ranging target point using the ranging device. The method may comprise obtaining information about a current location. The method may include calculating position information of the ranging target point based on the ranging data and information about the current position. The method includes a step of displaying location 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 about the 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 about the current position. The program may cause the processor of the display device to execute a display process for displaying the position information of the 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, which is 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 relative to the current position. (Item 34) The display process may further display a moving object that represents the moving route from the current position to the distance measurement target point. (Item 35) The acquisition process may further store or acquire map information. (Item 36) In the display process, the current position and the distance measurement target points may 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 there is an object of attention on the route connecting the current position to the distance measurement target point, and if it is determined that an object of attention exists, the calculation may further calculate the distance to the front and rear of the object of attention on the route. (Item 38) The map information may include location 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 calculate 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 destination point based on map information.

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

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 shows the configuration of a distance measuring system according to the present embodiment. [Figure 2A] 1 shows the configuration of a distance measuring device according to this embodiment. [Figure 2B] The principle of distance (horizontal distance and height) detection taking into account tilt is shown below. [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] 10 shows an example of distance measurement data stored in a storage unit. [Figure 5] An example of map information is shown below. [Figure 6A] An example of the display screen (display of the current position and the measurement target point) is shown. [Figure 6B] 10 shows another example of the display on the display screen (display of a direction object). [Figure 6C] Another example of the display on the display screen (display of the distance to the target of attention) is shown. [Figure 6D] 10 shows another example of a display on the display screen (display of a moving object). [Figure 6E] Another example of the display on the display screen (display of the intersection between the flight route and the caution line) is shown. [Figure 7A] 10 shows an example of a display on the display screen (display of distances from a plurality of measurement points to a target point). [Figure 7B] 10 shows another example of the display screen (display of distances between a plurality of measurement target points). [Figure 7C] Another example of the display on the display screen (display of the distance from the measurement target point to an arbitrarily selected target point) is shown. [Figure 7D] 10 shows another example of a display screen (display of a moving object from a measurement target point). [Figure 8] 10 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 measurement and display operations executed by the distance measurement system according to the present embodiment. [Figure 10] 10 shows the configuration of a distance measuring device according to a modified example. [Figure 11] 10 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] 10 shows a modified example of the display on the display screen (display of the distance measuring device being left behind). [Figure 13] 1 shows an example of the configuration of a computer according to the present embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[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 measurement system 500 according to this embodiment. The distance measurement system 500 measures the distance and direction to a distance measurement target point and displays highly accurate position information about the distance measurement target point based on the measurement results to the user. This embodiment describes an example of how the distance measurement system 500 is used to support a round on a golf course, where a user (a golf player) measures the distance and direction from any position on the course where the user is located, such as a tee ground, fairway, or green, to a pin flag on the green or any shot target point on the fairway. Note that measuring the distance and direction to a distance measurement target point is also simply referred to as distance measurement or ranging. The distance measurement system 500 includes a distance measurement 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 point to be measured. 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 150, a control unit 132, a detection unit 200, a conversion unit 240, an attitude 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 direction of the arrow of ray B3, is defined as the forward direction, and the opposite direction, i.e., the direction of the arrow of ray A3, is defined as the backward direction.

[0013] The housing 9 is a case that holds 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 erecting prism 120. For example, a semiconductor laser that oscillates infrared light can be used as the light source. In one distance measurement operation, the light-emitting unit 130 emits a predetermined number of pulsed measurement light beams, for example, 320 pulses, at a constant cycle, for example, 500 to 700 μsec.

[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 eyepiece 150 behind it. 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, as well as total reflecting surfaces 124 and 126 that have high reflectance in 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 reflecting surface 124, and propagates forward within the housing 9 as light ray B2. The incident light (light ray A1) is reflected by the dichroic reflecting surface 122, the total reflecting surfaces 124 and 126, and other reflecting surfaces in the erecting prism 120. As a result, 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 (neither of which are 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 that is transparent to visible light, or may be displayed using a transmissive liquid crystal display. The display unit uses a transmissive liquid crystal display or the like to show the user the measurement result of the distance to the object using characters, images, etc. Instead of providing the display unit directly on the reticle plate 140, it may be configured using a reflective liquid crystal display and an optical system that guides the display image using the liquid crystal display to the reticle plate 140. The display unit may also display the remaining battery level, an alert, a clock, etc. in addition to the distance measurement result.

[0019] The eyepiece 150 is an optical element that collects incident light rays and sends them backward as light rays A3. Inside the housing 9, the front end of the eyepiece 150 faces the rear end of the erecting prism 120.

[0020] The erecting prism 120, the objective lens 110, the reticle plate 140, and the eyepiece lens 150 constitute a collimation unit that allows a user to collimate the distance measuring device 1 with respect to 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, ray A1 propagating within the range of the angle of view of the objective lens 110 enters the collimation unit. Ray A1 is condensed as ray A2 through the objective lens 110, and is emitted as ray A3 to the rear of the distance measuring device 1 through 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. As a result, the user 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 at 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 accordance with the projection of each 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 detector 200 is a unit that detects light reflected from an object and outputs a detection signal in the form of an electrical signal. The detector 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 (i.e., 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 referred to as 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 bandpass 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 of the object 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 received light signal output from the light receiving element 230. The conversion unit 240 may further convert the received light signal into a differential signal, thereby reducing transmission noise. The conversion unit 240 supplies the amplified received light 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 within the housing 9, and the detection result of the attitude sensor 250 thereby reflects the attitude of the distance measuring device 1. Here, the attitude means the tilt of the housing 9 and is expressed 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 results of angular velocity and acceleration using 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 toward 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. As a result, distance data obtained by measuring the distance using 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, as well as the height of the object, based on the detection signal output from the conversion unit 240 and the detection results output from the attitude sensor 250. The linear distance D to the object can be determined by the time-of-flight (TOF) method, i.e., by determining the time T (detection time of reflected light) 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 each measurement light projected by the light projecting unit 100, and then calculating the distance D from the determined detection time T of the reflected light using the 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 was 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 using the formulas Dcos(θ) and Dsin(θ) based on the linear distance D and the slope θ, respectively, as shown in Figure 2B. Note that the linear distance D may also 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 sends an operation signal to the control unit 132 to start the distance measuring operation described below, and displays the distance, inclination, and height determined as described above (the data obtained by measuring the distance using the distance measuring device 1 is 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 sends 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 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 worn on the user's wrist. 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 (for example, 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 their arm by stretching the band 18, passing their arm through the loop formed by the main body 20a and the band 18, and then shortening the band 18.

[0037] 3B shows the 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 distances using the distance measuring device 1 and transmitted from the processing unit 300. As the storage device 21, for example, a nonvolatile memory can be adopted.

[0040] The position sensor 22 is a sensor that detects information related to the current location of the display device 20. A satellite positioning system (GPS) device can be used as the position sensor 22. The information related to the current location is the location information of the display device 20 at the time 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, i.e., 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 using 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 used.

[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 activated when the CPU reads it and expands it into a 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 of the housing 19 of the display device 20 so that the user can press them can be adopted. Furthermore, a touch sensor provided over the display screen of the display device 25 may also be adopted.

[0045] 3C shows the functional configuration of display device 20 (main body 20a). 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 using the acquisition unit 420 in response to an operation of the distance measuring device 1, the storage unit 410 acquires information about the current position from the position information acquisition unit 421, i.e., information about the position of the display device 20 when the distance measurement was performed, and stores the distance measurement data and information about 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 about the current time, i.e., time information when the distance measurement was performed, together with information about the current location from the location information acquisition unit 421, and store the distance measurement data, information about the current location, and information about the current time as a set. In this example, the measurement time (e.g., "13:16"), which is information about the current time, is stored along with the latitude X and longitude Y of the measurement location (e.g., "x1, y1"), which are information about 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 wirelessly communicates with the distance measuring device 1 using the wireless communication device 26, and acquires from the distance measuring device 1 distance measurement data obtained by measuring the distance and direction to the distance measurement target point using the distance measuring device 1. 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 measurement target 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 teeing ground 610, a green 620, a fairway 630, rough 640, bunkers 650, ponds and rivers 660, penalty areas 670, obstacles 680 such as trees, and a path 690. The map information includes information about the topography (shape on a plane) of these areas and information about the elevation distribution within the area. The map information also includes position information of landmarks on the green 620, such as the pinhole and the green edge. The map information also includes position information of objects of caution as information about the golf course. The objects of caution may be, for example, the bunkers 650, ponds and rivers 660, and penalty areas 670. The map information also includes position information of caution lines, such as an out-of-bounds line (which, for example, is located on the boundary between the obstacle 680 and the rough 640).

[0050] The position information acquisition unit 421 acquires information about the current position of the display device 20 from 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 from the position sensor 22. When the acquisition unit 420 acquires distance measurement data from the distance measuring device 1, the position information acquisition unit 421 can be used to detect information about the current position when distance measurement was performed (i.e., measurement position) and information about the current time (i.e., measurement time). The various acquired information is transferred to the storage unit 410 and the calculation unit 450.

[0051] The calculation unit 450 calculates, using the calculation processing device 27, position information of the distance measurement target point based on the distance measurement data and information related to the current position. 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 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 related to the current position. In such a case, the position information of the distance measurement target point is given as absolute position information represented, for example, by 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 caution exists on the route connecting the current position to the distance measurement target point, and if it determines that an object of caution exists, it further calculates the distances in front of and behind the object of caution on the route. Based on the map information, the calculation unit 450 determines whether or not an attention line exists on the route connecting the current position to the distance measurement target point, and if it determines that an attention line exists, it further calculates position information of the intersection of 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 below.

[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 and the position information of the distance measurement target point calculated by the calculation unit 450 based on the distance measurement data acquired from the distance measuring device 1. Display examples by the display unit 460 will be described later.

[0055] The notification unit 470 notifies the user of distance information based on the calculation results by the calculation unit 450. The notification unit 470 measures the distance using the distance measuring device 1, calculates position information of the distance measurement target point using the calculation unit 450, stores the result, detects the current location using the position sensor 22, determines whether the distance measurement target point is within a predetermined distance range from the current location, and if it determines that the distance measurement target point is within the distance range, notifies the user of the approach to the distance measurement target point using sound, light, and / or vibration. This allows the user to easily find the shot golf ball when the notification unit 470 notifies the user of the approach to the distance measurement target point when the user measures the distance to the distance measurement target point, hits a golf ball, and moves toward the next shot position. Alternatively, the notification unit 470 may calculate position information of an intersection between a caution line on a route connecting the current location to the distance measurement target point and the route, store the calculation 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 a target point based on map information. Here, the user displays a golf course on the display screen 25a and selects any point on the course as a 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 enables 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 transmitter 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 measurement target point calculated by the calculation unit 450, and displays the measurement environment and user information on the display device (e.g., reticle plate 140) of the distance measuring device 1. The measurement environment can be measured by an environmental sensor, which is a sensor or group of sensors provided in the display device 20 and detects the environmental conditions (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 includes the user's height, weight, and driving distance for each club number, and may be stored in advance in the storage device 21. 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 conditions 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, the user is standing on a teeing ground 610 or the like while holding the distance measuring device 1 and the display device 20, 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 this case, based on map information, topographical information of the teeing 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, as shown in FIG. 6A. Furthermore, when distance measurement is performed using 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. The display on the display screen 25a can be switched by the user operating the operation device 29. In addition, 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.

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

[0060] 6B , the display unit 460 displays a direction object superimposed on the map information, which indicates the direction to the distance measurement point relative to the current position. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6B , the display unit 460 displays a golf course 600 based on the map information, and superimposes an arrow 698 extending from a teeing 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 point. Next to the display of the golf course 600, the distance and elevation difference from the current position to pin position 621 on a green 620, which is the distance measurement point, are displayed numerically (in this example, 528y and 5y (y is yards)), and the direction to the distance measurement point is displayed using a mark 699 resembling the needle of a compass (in this example, indicating north (north 0 degrees east)). The direction object may be a mark of any shape, and instead of or in addition to this, it may be a numerical display such as "N28E (North 28 degrees East)" or a text display 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] Furthermore, when the calculation unit 450 determines that an object of caution exists on the route connecting the current position and the distance measurement point, the display unit 460 further displays the distances to the front and back of the object of caution on the route. In the example shown in Fig. 6C, the calculation unit 450 determines that two ponds / rivers 660, which are objects of caution, exist on the route connecting the teeing 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 distances to the front and back of the two ponds / rivers 660 on the route. The display unit 460 displays a "△" mark in front of the two ponds / rivers 660 on the route and displays the calculated distance "196y" to the left of it, and also displays a "◇" mark in the back of the two ponds / rivers 660 on the route and displays the calculated distance "488y" to the left of it. From the display on 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 measurement target point, and can thereby consider a route to avoid the objects of interest or easily understand the distance of the shot to avoid dropping the ball on the object of interest.

[0062] The display unit 460 also displays a moving object representing the path of movement from the current position to the distance measurement 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 superimposes a path of movement 697 from a teeing 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 point. From the display on the display screen 25a, the user can know the path of movement from the current position on the golf course 600 to the distance measurement point. Furthermore, when the path of movement is represented as a straight line, the user can ascertain the shortest path from the current position to the distance measurement point. When the shortest path from the current position to the distance measurement point is represented as the shortest path of movement (flight) of the ball when the ball is shot, the moving object can also represent the path of movement of the ball. Letters, symbols, or the like may be placed near the moving object to distinguish the user's path from the path of movement of the ball.

[0063] Furthermore, when the calculation unit 450 determines that a caution line exists on the route connecting the current location 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, assume that a golf player, who is the user, hits a second shot from the current location, point "x" on the fairway 630, into an obstacle 680 such as a tree, and measures the distance to the golf ball "◎" inside the obstacle 680. In this case, the calculation unit 450 calculates a route connecting the current location, point "x", of the second shot, to the golf ball "◎" inside the obstacle 680 based on map information, determines that the boundary of the obstacle 680, which is the 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 the arrow 698. The display on the display screen 25a allows the user to 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 location to the target point of distance measurement, but also the distance and elevation difference between the target point of distance measurement, the target point registered in advance in the map information, and the target point selected by the user, such as the distance from the target point of distance measurement to a target point registered in the map information or a target point selected by the user, or 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 a display of distance measurement data from multiple measurement points to a target point. The user selects a first point (●) and a second point (♦) on the fairway as targets for the tee shot and measures each point using the distance measuring device 1. The calculation unit 450 calculates the position information and elevation information for 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 the target point. The display unit 460 displays these calculation results together with directional objects (arrows 698) pointing from each of the first and second points to the target point. In this example, the user can see that, for the first point, the distance to the pin position 621 is 130 yards and the elevation difference is 5 yards, making it an uphill shot. For the second point, the user can see that the distance to the pin position 621 is 70 yards and the elevation difference is -3 yards, making it a downhill shot. 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] Note that the calculation unit 450 may further calculate the distance and elevation difference between the first and second locations, which are the locations 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 location to the second location will be a distance of 110 y and an elevation difference of 8 y.

[0067] FIG. 7C shows another example of displaying distance measurement data from the measurement target point to an arbitrarily selected target point. The user selects a third point (marked "■") as the target point. The third point is a point on the fairway 630 different from the first or second point (the target for the tee shot). The third point is suitable for hitting the ball downhill for the third shot, aiming at the pin position 621 on the green. In this case, the calculation unit 450 calculates the first point (marked "●") on the fairway as the target for the tee shot and measures the distance using 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 selected third point. The display unit 460 displays the calculation results together with a directional object (arrow 698) pointing 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 is an uphill shot with a distance of 110 yards and an elevation difference of 8 yards. 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 70 y and an elevation difference of -3 y.

[0068] FIG. 7D shows an example of a display of a moving object representing a movement path from a distance measurement point to a target point. The user selects a fourth point "◎" on the fairway as the distance measurement point and measures it using the distance measurement device 1. The calculation unit 450 calculates 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 movement path 697 from the fourth point, which is the distance measurement point, to the pin position 621 registered as the target point. Note that the movement path to a target point selected by the user may be displayed in the same manner, not limited to target points registered in the map information. This allows the user to know the movement path from the distance measurement point selected arbitrarily to the target point registered in the map information. Furthermore, if the movement path is displayed as a straight line, the user can grasp the shortest route from the fourth point to the target point. Note that when the shortest route from the current position to the measurement point is displayed, the route is also the shortest movement (flight) path of the ball expected when the ball is shot. Therefore, the moving object can also represent the path of the ball. Note that letters, symbols, etc. may be placed near the moving object to distinguish between the path of the user and the path of the ball.

[0069] A golf player, who is a user, measures the distance to a target shot point as a distance measurement target point using distance measuring device 1, selects a club (number) based on the measurement result, hits the golf ball, and moves to the next shot point, repeating this process until the golf ball is landed on the green. Here, distance measuring device 1 performs a distance measurement operation each time the user presses operation button 133, measures the distance to the distance measurement target point, and transmits distance measurement data including the measurement result to display device 20. When display device 20 acquires distance measurement data using acquisition unit 420, it stores the distance measurement data in storage unit 410 together with information about the current location (measurement position) and information about 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 distance traveled between shots that reflects the user's actual shot distance can be calculated from the history of measurement positions. Therefore, the calculation unit 450 further reads out from the storage 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 measurement point included in the distance measurement data.

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

[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, using the distance measurement device 1 to measure the distance and direction from an arbitrary position on the course, such as a teeing 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 determines whether the user has pressed the operation button 133 of the distance measuring device 1. If it is determined that the button has been pressed, the distance measuring operation flow (steps S100 to S112) starts.

[0073] In step S102, the linear distance D to the object located at the distance measurement point is measured. First, under the control of the control unit 132, the light projecting unit 100 irradiates the object with measurement light along the reference axis L0. Next, the detection unit 200 detects the light reflected 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. Note that 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 measurement 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 sent to the processing unit 300.

[0075] In step S106, the processing unit 300 determines the distance (i.e., horizontal distance) d to the object relative to the current location and the elevation difference h. 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 measurement, that is, the direction φ of the object, is detected by the direction sensor 260. The result is sent to the processing unit 300.

[0077] In step S110, distance measurement data obtained by measuring the distance using 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 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 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] Meanwhile, 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 about the current position (measurement position) and information about 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. Note that 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. 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 7A to 7D). 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 transmitter 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 measuring device 1 from the distance measuring device 1, a location information acquisition unit 421 that acquires information about the current location, a calculation unit 450 that calculates location information about the distance measurement target point based on the distance measurement data and information about the current location, and a display unit 460 that displays the location information about the distance measurement target point. When the distance and direction to a distance measurement target point are measured using the distance measuring device 1, the highly accurate distance measurement data can be combined with information about the current location of the display device 20 to obtain highly accurate location information about any distance measurement target point.

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

[0090] The distance measuring device 1 and display device 20 constituting the distance measuring system 500 of this embodiment are assumed to be used in the same location, such as when a user, for example a golf player, uses the distance measuring device 1 to measure distance on the golf course and checks the distance measurement results on the display device 20 worn on the wrist. However, they may alternatively be used in different locations, such as when another user, for example a caddy or gallery person, uses the distance measuring device 1 to measure distance outside the course and a user on the course checks the distance measurement results on the display device 20 (or when a user on the course uses the distance measuring device 1 to measure distance themselves and transmits and records the distance measurement results to a display device 20 located in another location).

[0091] FIG. 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 used 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 its position information 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 using the acquisition unit 420, along 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 about 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 using the storage unit 410, along with the position information of the distance measuring device 1, information about the current position of the display device 20, and information about the current time (measurement time).

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

[0095] Note that, instead of the display device 20 correcting the distance measurement data, the distance measuring device 1 may correct the distance measurement data. In this case, prior to step S200, the display device 20 acquires information about its current location using the location information acquisition unit 421 and transfers it to the distance measuring device 1. Prior to step S110, the distance measuring device 1 corrects the distance measurement data to indicate the distance and direction to the distance measurement target point relative to the position of the display device 20, based on the location information of the distance measuring device 1 and information about the current position of the display device 20. In step S110, the distance measuring 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 measuring device 1. This allows the user to know the location information of the distance measurement target point relative to his or her own position from the display device 20, based on the distance measurement data acquired by the distance measuring device 1 at a location distant 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 about 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 the data in the storage device 21. In this way, when the user measures the distance and direction to the distance measurement target point using the distance measuring device 1 himself, the distance measurement data corrected by the distance measuring device 1 is transmitted to the display device 20 located away from the distance measuring device 1, and 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 a 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, suppose that a user who is a golf player is standing on a teeing ground 610 wearing the display device 20 on his / her wrist, and a caddy, who is different from the user, is standing behind the teeing ground 610 holding the distance measuring device 1. In such a case, as shown in Fig. 11 , the display unit 460 displays a golf course 600 based on map information, and displays an "x" mark indicating the current position of the display device 20 on the teeing ground 610 superimposed thereon, with the latitude and longitude (x, y) of the current position displayed to the left of the mark, and a "*" mark indicating the position of the distance measuring device 1 displayed behind the teeing ground 610 (toward the lower right in the drawing), with the latitude and longitude (X, Y) of the distance measuring device 1 displayed 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 user of 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, if 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 its 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 using sound, light, and / or vibration. For example, suppose that after a tee shot, a user who is a golf player is moving on the fairway 630 toward the second shot position when 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 superimposes an "X" mark on the fairway 630 indicating the current position of the display device 20. To the left of the "X" mark, the latitude and longitude (x, y) of the current position are displayed. A "*" mark indicating the position obtained from the range finding device 1 before communication was lost (the position of the range finding device 1 when the distance was last measured) is displayed behind the teeing ground 610 (toward the lower right of the drawing), and the latitude and longitude (X, Y) of the range finding device 1 are displayed to the right of the "*" mark. If the distance at which the range finding device 1 and the display device 20 can be paired is, for example, 10 m, the alarm unit 470 detects that the user carrying the display device 20 has moved 10 m or more away from the position of the range finding device 1 last obtained from the range finding device 1, that is, from the rear of the teeing ground 610 where the range finding device 1 was left behind, and flashes a warning mark 696 on the display screen 25 a. 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 ranging system 500 according to the present embodiment includes the ranging device 1 and the display device 20, which are separate and capable of wireless communication with each other. However, the ranging device 1, which measures the distance and direction to a target point for ranging, 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 also be a smartphone, tablet terminal, or other portable terminal device. It may also be an eyeglass-type terminal such as smart glasses. In such a case, the housing 9 of the ranging device 1 may have, for example, a recess (not shown) on a part of its outer surface, and the display device 20 is housed in the recess with the display screen of the display device 25 and the operating portion of the operation device 29 exposed on the outer surface of the housing 9. In this case, the display device 20 is connected to a connector (not shown) provided in the recess. This allows the display device 20 to transmit signals to the distance measuring device 1 (processing unit 300) via electrical wiring, for example, to transmit the processing results (i.e., distance measurement data) by the processing unit 300 to the display device 20 and store them in the storage device 21, or 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 not display map information, but may instead display the distance measurement location acquired from the distance measuring device 1 and the current location of the display device on the display screen.

[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 how the ranging system 500 of this embodiment is used, it has been described as measuring the distance to an arbitrary ranging point on a golf course, but it is not limited to this and 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 measurement waves such as radio waves or sound waves.

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

[0104] Various embodiments of the present invention may be described with reference to flowcharts 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, OR, XOR, NAND, NOR, and other logical operations, flip-flops, registers, memory elements such as 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 an appropriate device, such that the computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon comprises an article of manufacture containing 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, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, and semiconductor storage media. More specific examples of computer-readable media may include floppy disks, diskettes, hard disks, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), static random access memory (SRAM), compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), digital versatile disc (DVD), Blu-ray (RTM) disc, memory stick, integrated circuit card, 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] The 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 wide-area network (WAN) such as a local area network (LAN), the Internet, etc., which executes 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 embodiments of the present invention, and / or to perform a process or steps of a process according to embodiments 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 in the flowcharts and block diagrams described herein.

[0109] A computer 2200 according to this embodiment includes a CPU 2212, a RAM 2214, a graphics controller 2216, and a display device 2218, which are interconnected 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 programs stored in the ROM 2230 and RAM 2214, thereby controlling each unit. The graphics controller 2216 acquires image data generated by the CPU 2212 into a frame buffer or the like provided in the RAM 2214 or into the graphics 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 that is executed by the computer 2200 upon activation, and / or programs that depend 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, etc.

[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, RAM 2214, or 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 configured by realizing information manipulation or processing in accordance with 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 into 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] The CPU 2212 may also cause all or a necessary portion of a file or database stored on 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 on the recording medium and may undergo information processing. The CPU 2212 may perform various types of processing on 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 sequences of the programs, and write the results back to the RAM 2214. The CPU 2212 may also search for information in a file, database, etc. on the recording medium. For example, if multiple entries each having an attribute value of a first attribute associated with an attribute value of a second attribute are stored on the recording medium, the CPU 2212 may search for an entry that matches a condition specified by the attribute value of the first attribute from among the multiple 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 or near the computer 2200. A recording medium such as a hard disk or RAM provided in a server system connected to a dedicated communication network or the Internet can also 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 embodiments, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the scope described in the above embodiments. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and improvements can be made to the above embodiments. It is clear from the claims that such modifications and improvements can also be included within 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," "prior to," etc., and that the processes can be performed in any order unless the output of a previous process is used in a subsequent process. Even if the operational flow in the claims, specifications, and drawings is described using "first," "next," etc. for convenience, this does not mean that the processes must be performed in this order. [Explanation of symbols]

[0120] 1...Range measuring device, 1d...Range 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...Analysis processing device, 29...Operation device, 100...Light projecting unit, 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...computation unit, 460...display unit, 470...notification unit, 480...setting unit, 490...transmission unit, 500...distance measurement 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 wirelessly communicates with a distance measuring device that is physically separated from the display device and acquires distance measurement data obtained by measuring the distance and direction to a distance measurement target point using the distance measuring device; a location information acquisition unit that acquires information about a current location 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 about the current position, and calculates the distance and 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; wherein the target points include a first point and a second point, and the calculation unit calculates the distance and elevation difference from the target point to the first point, and also calculates the distance and elevation difference between the first point and the second point.

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

3. 3. 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 about the current position.

4. The acquisition unit further stores or acquires the map information, 4. 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 about the current position and position information about the distance measurement target point.

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

6. 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 the distance and direction to the distance measurement target point based on the position of the display device, based on information about the current location and position information of the distance measurement device.

7. a distance measuring device for measuring the distance and direction to the target point; The display device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, A ranging system comprising:

8. a step of wirelessly communicating with a distance measuring device physically separated from the display device and acquiring distance measurement data obtained by measuring the distance and direction to a distance measurement target point using the distance measuring device; obtaining information about the 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 the distance and elevation difference from the distance measurement target point to a target point registered in map information based on the calculated position information and altitude information of the distance measurement target point; displaying the calculated distance and elevation difference; wherein the target points include a first point and a second point, and in the calculating step, a distance and an elevation difference from the target point to the first point are calculated, and a distance and an elevation difference between the first point and the second point are calculated.

9. On the computer, a step of wirelessly communicating with a distance measuring device physically separated from the display device, and acquiring distance measurement data obtained by measuring the distance and direction to a target point of distance measurement using the distance measuring device; obtaining information about 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 the distance and elevation difference from the distance measurement target point to a target point registered in map information based on the calculated 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; wherein the target point includes a first point and a second point, and the calculation step calculates the distance and elevation difference from the target point to the first point, and also calculates the distance and elevation difference between the first point and the second point.

10. the distance measurement target points include a third point and a fourth point, In the calculation step, a distance and an elevation difference from each of the third point and the fourth point to the target point and / or a distance and an elevation difference between the third point and the fourth point are calculated. The program according to claim 9.

11. The program according to claim 9 or 10, 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 about the current position.

12. The step of acquiring the distance measurement data further includes storing or acquiring the map information; 12. The program according to claim 9, 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.

13. The program according to claim 9 , further comprising a setting unit that sets the destination point based on the map information.

14. The step of acquiring the distance measurement data further includes acquiring position information of the distance measurement device; 14. The program according to claim 9, 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 about the current position and position information of the distance measurement device.

15. an acquisition unit that wirelessly communicates with a distance measuring device physically separated from the display device and acquires distance measurement data obtained by measuring the distance and direction to a distance measurement target point using the distance measuring device, and position information of the distance measuring device obtained by a position sensor provided in the distance measuring device; a position information acquisition unit that acquires information about a current position of the display device detected by a position sensor of the display device; a calculation unit that calculates position information of the target point of distance measurement based on the distance measurement data and information about the current position, and corrects the distance measurement data based on the information about the current position and the position information of the distance measuring device so as to indicate the distance and direction to the target point of distance measurement relative to the position of the display device; 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 the position of the display device calculated based on the corrected distance measurement data; A display device comprising:

16. 16. The display device according to claim 15, 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 the current position as a reference obtained from the distance measurement data to information about the current position.

17. The acquisition unit further stores or acquires the map information, 17. The display device according to claim 15, 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 about the current position and position information about the distance measurement target point.

18. the map information includes location information of a destination point; The display device according to claim 15 , wherein the calculation unit calculates the distance from the distance measurement target point to the target point.

19. The display device according to claim 18 , further comprising a setting unit that sets a destination point based on the map information.

20. The display device according to claim 18 , wherein the calculation unit calculates information about a difference in elevation between the point of distance measurement and the target point based on the map information.

21. a distance measuring device for measuring the distance and direction to the target point; A display device according to any one of claims 15 to 20; A ranging system comprising:

22. a step of wirelessly communicating with a distance measuring device physically separated from the display device, and acquiring distance measurement data obtained by measuring the distance and direction to a distance measurement target point using the distance measuring device, and position information of the distance measuring device obtained by a position sensor provided in the distance measuring device; obtaining information about a current position of the display device detected by a position sensor of the display device; calculating position information of the target point of distance measurement based on the distance measurement data and information about the current position, and correcting the distance measurement data based on the information about the current position and position information of the distance measuring device so as to indicate the distance and direction to the target point of distance measurement relative to the position of the display 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:

23. On the computer, a step of wirelessly communicating with a distance measuring device physically separated from the display device, and acquiring distance measurement data obtained by measuring the distance and direction to a distance measurement target point using the distance measuring device, and position information of the distance measuring device obtained by a position sensor provided in the distance measuring device; a step of acquiring information about a current position of the display device detected by a position sensor of the display device; calculating position information of the target point of distance measurement based on the distance measurement data and information about the current position, and correcting the distance measurement data based on the information about the current position and position information of the distance measuring device so as to indicate the distance and direction to the target point of distance measurement relative to the position of the display device; 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.

24. 24. The program according to claim 23, wherein the position information of the distance measurement target point is calculated by adding the distance and direction to the distance measurement target point from the current position obtained from the distance measurement data to information about the current position.

25. The step of acquiring the location information further includes storing or acquiring the map information; The program according to claim 23 or 24, 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.

26. the map information includes location information of a destination point; 26. The program according to claim 23, wherein the step of correcting the distance from the target point to the target point is to calculate the distance from the target point to the target point.

27. 27. The program according to claim 26, further causing the computer to execute a procedure of setting a destination point based on the map information.

28. 28. The program according to claim 26, wherein the step of correcting the distance includes calculating information about a difference in elevation between the target point and the target point based on the map information.

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