US 7,593,739 B2
Location estimating apparatus and location estimating method
Shin Oguri, Tokyo (Japan); and Masatoshi Kimoto, Yokohama (Japan)
Assigned to NTT DoCoMo, Inc., Tokyo (Japan)
Filed on Apr. 27, 2006, as Appl. No. 11/411,881.
Claims priority of application No. P2005-132723 (JP), filed on Apr. 28, 2005.
Prior Publication US 2006/0247890 A1, Nov. 02, 2006
Int. Cl. H04W 24/00 (2006.01)
U.S. Cl. 455—456.1  [455/456.2; 455/456.5; 455/456.6] 12 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A location estimating apparatus comprising:
information acquiring means for acquiring location information pieces and error information pieces of a mobile object measured at present and at a plurality of time points in the past; and
arithmetic processing means for arithmetically processing the location information pieces and the error information pieces acquired by the information acquiring means, for estimating a moving area per unit time of the mobile object from the location information pieces and the error information pieces of the mobile object measured at a plurality of time points in the past, acquired by the information acquiring means, for estimating an existing area at present of the mobile object from the moving area per unit time of the mobile object and from the location information piece and the error information piece of the mobile object measured at a time point in the past, acquired by the information acquiring means, and for estimating a location at present of the mobile object from the existing area at present of the mobile object and from the location information piece and the error information piece of the mobile object measured at the present time, acquired by the information acquiring means.