JP2009135689A - Positioning system and positioning method - Google Patents

Abstract

[PROBLEMS] To accurately perform positioning pulse transmission control for a mobile terminal within a limited area.
In a positioning system 50, a calculation server 400 controls a reader / writer 60 to transmit a radio wave to a mobile terminal 100, and a mobile terminal 100 holding a passive RF tag transmits a transmission pulse to base stations 200 and 300. The base stations 200 and 300 measure the reception time of the mobile terminal. Then, the calculation server generates position information from the difference in reception times measured by the base stations 200 and 300, controls the reader / writer 60, updates the movement direction information of the mobile terminal 100 with the position information, and the mobile terminal 100 Determines whether to transmit a positioning pulse based on the moving direction information.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention receives positioning pulses from a mobile terminal at a plurality of base stations whose positions are known, and measures the position of the mobile terminal based on a difference in reception time at which each base station receives the positioning pulse. The present invention relates to a positioning system having a calculation server and a positioning method thereof.

  One method for measuring the position of a mobile terminal is a TDOA (Time Difference Of Arrival) method. This method is a method in which a mobile terminal transmits a positioning pulse to each base station, and measures the position of the mobile terminal based on the time difference at which the positioning pulse arrives at each base station. FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining a conventional TDOA positioning system.

  As shown in FIG. 13, the TDOA positioning system includes a mobile terminal 10, base stations 20 to 24, and a calculation server 30, and the base stations 20 to 24 and the calculation server 30 are connected by a communication cable. Here, the base stations 20 to 24 are devices that have known positions, receive positioning pulses transmitted from mobile terminals, and transmit information on received times (hereinafter, reception time information) to the calculation server 30. The calculation server 30 is a device that calculates the position of the mobile terminal 10 based on the reception time information transmitted from each of the base stations 20 to 24.

  When the TDOA positioning system measures the position of the mobile terminal 10, the mobile terminal 10 first transmits a positioning pulse, and the transmitted positioning pulse is received by the base station. In this case, a plurality of base stations (for example, at least three if two-dimensional positions are measured) are arranged within the measurement range of the mobile terminal 10, and the reception time of the transmitted positioning pulse is set at each base station. taking measurement.

  And the calculation server 30 calculates the position of the mobile terminal 10 based on the reception time measured by each base station 20-24. There are various types of positioning calculation. For example, a time difference (propagation time difference) between two base stations is obtained from the reception times at the base stations 21 to 24, a hyperbola is obtained from the time difference, and a plurality of hyperbolic intersections are obtained. Is calculated as the position of the mobile terminal 10.

  By the way, since the frequency band of radio waves is limited, the allocation and conditions of available frequencies are set in detail by the country. For example, as shown in FIG. 14, there is a case where a condition that the use is limited to indoors in consideration of interference with other wireless systems may be imposed (FIG. 14 shows indoor / outdoor radio waves (positioning pulses)). It is a figure for demonstrating the use conditions. For example, such a condition is imposed on a 5.2 GHz band wireless LAN (Local Area Network) or UWB (Ultra Wide Band). Therefore, the user of the TDOA positioning system has to turn on / off the mobile terminal according to the situation, and the user is forced to perform extra operations.

  Therefore, in order to reduce the burden on the user, the mobile terminal is held with an RF tag (IC tag), a single reader / writer is installed in the vicinity of the boundary that limits the transmission of positioning pulses, and the positioning pulse of the positioning tag is placed on the RF tag. A technique has been devised in which information on whether transmission is possible is stored, and the mobile terminal determines whether to transmit a positioning pulse by referring to the information stored in the RF tag.

  Also, in Patent Document 1, two reader / writers are prepared, and whether or not to transmit the positioning pulse of the mobile terminal by identifying the moving direction from the difference in passing time of the mobile terminal (RF tag) with respect to the two reader / writers. The technique of judging is disclosed.

JP-A-9-231427

  However, the above-described conventional technique has a problem in that positioning pulse transmission control for a mobile terminal cannot be performed accurately within a limited area. 15 and 16 are diagrams for explaining the problems of the prior art.

  As shown in FIG. 15, when transmission control of the mobile terminal 10 is performed using a single reader / writer 40, the accurate position of the mobile terminal 10 cannot be measured, and communication with the reader / writer 40 is possible. It is only possible to determine whether a mobile terminal (RF tag) exists in the area. Therefore, when the user returns once after entering the communicable area, appropriate information cannot be stored in the RF tag, and transmission control of the mobile terminal 10 cannot be executed accurately.

  As in Patent Document 1, when two reader / writers 40a and 40b are prepared and transmission control of the mobile terminal is performed by identifying the moving direction, the communicable areas of the reader / writers 40a and 40b do not overlap. Since it is necessary to install the reader / writers 40a and 40b, the transmission control of the mobile terminal 10 cannot be executed using the method of Patent Document 1 within a limited area (see FIG. 16).

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems caused by the prior art, and provides a positioning system and a positioning method capable of accurately executing positioning pulse transmission control for a mobile terminal within a limited area. The purpose is to provide.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problems and achieve the object, this positioning system receives positioning pulses from mobile terminals at a plurality of base stations whose positions are known, and each base station receives the positioning pulses. A positioning system having a calculation server that measures the position of the mobile terminal based on a time difference, the mobile terminal holding a passive RFID tag that stores movement direction information indicating a movement direction of the mobile terminal And a transmission control means for performing transmission control of the positioning pulse based on the moving direction information, and a transmission means for transmitting the positioning pulse to the base station when a radio wave transmitted from a reader / writer is received. The calculation server includes update information generation means for generating update information for updating the movement direction information based on a positioning result of the mobile terminal, and based on the update information, And the reader-writer control means for updating the moving direction information of the RFID tag by controlling the reader-writer, by comprising the requirements.

  Further, in this positioning system, in the above positioning system, the update information generation unit divides the communication range of the reader / writer into a plurality of sections, and the mobile terminal is located based on the positioning result of the mobile terminal. It is a requirement to generate, as the update information, information that associates a section with the time when the position of the mobile terminal is measured.

  Further, in this positioning system, in the above positioning system, the movement direction information of the RFID tag stores the section and the time when the mobile terminal was located in the section in association with each other, and the transmission The control means determines the moving direction of the mobile terminal by comparing the time when the mobile terminal was located in the section for each section, and performs transmission control of the positioning pulse based on the determination result. And

  Further, this positioning system requires that the positioning pulse transmitted by the mobile terminal is a UWB (Ultra Wide Band) impulse wave in the above positioning system.

  In addition, this positioning method receives a positioning pulse from a mobile terminal at a plurality of base stations whose positions are known, and the position of the mobile terminal is based on a difference in reception time at which each base station receives the positioning pulse. A positioning method of a positioning system having a calculation server for positioning the mobile terminal, wherein the mobile terminal holds a passive RFID tag that stores travel direction information indicating the travel direction of the mobile terminal, and is based on the travel direction information A transmission control step for performing transmission control of the positioning pulse, and a transmission step for transmitting the positioning pulse to the base station when a radio wave transmitted from a reader / writer is received. A generation step of generating update information for updating the movement direction information based on the positioning result of the terminal, and the reader / writer is controlled based on the update information. It is a requirement that includes an updating step of updating the moving direction information of the RFID tag, the.

  According to this positioning system, a mobile terminal holds a passive RFID tag that stores movement direction information indicating the movement direction of the mobile terminal, performs transmission control of positioning pulses based on the movement direction information, When a radio wave transmitted from the writer is received, a positioning pulse is transmitted to the base station. On the other hand, the calculation server generates update information for updating the movement direction information based on the positioning result of the mobile terminal (the positioning result is calculated based on the reception time information transmitted from each base station). Based on this, the reader / writer is controlled and the moving direction information of the RFID tag is updated. Therefore, the transmission control of the positioning pulse to the mobile terminal can be executed accurately within the limited area.

  Further, according to this positioning system, the communication range of the reader / writer is divided into a plurality of sections, and based on the positioning result of the mobile terminal, the section where the mobile terminal is located and the time when the position of the mobile terminal is measured are determined. Since the associated information is generated as the update information, the moving direction information of the RFID tag can be updated appropriately, and positioning pulse transmission control can be executed efficiently.

  According to this positioning system, the movement direction information of the RFID tag stores the section and the time when the mobile terminal is located in the section, and stores the time when the mobile terminal is located in the section. Since the movement direction of the mobile terminal is determined by comparing each section and positioning pulse transmission control is performed based on the determination result, positioning pulse transmission control can be accurately executed.

  Exemplary embodiments of a positioning system and a positioning method according to the present invention will be explained below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  First, the configuration and outline of the positioning system according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining the configuration and outline of the positioning system according to the present embodiment. As shown in the figure, the positioning system 50 includes a reader / writer 60, a mobile terminal 100, base stations 200 and 300, and a calculation server 400. The reader / writer 60, base stations 200 and 300, The calculation servers are connected by a communication cable. Here, for convenience, only the base stations 200 and 300 are shown, but it is assumed that this positioning system has other base stations.

  The reader / writer 60 is a device that transmits radio waves to the RF tag (passive type) of the mobile terminal 100 and writes various information to the RF tag in response to a control command of the calculation server 400. Here, the passive RF tag is a tag (RFID tag) that does not require a power source for operation and operates by generating power from a radio wave received from the reader / writer 60.

  The mobile terminal 100 is a device having various functions corresponding to a mobile phone, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), etc. In particular, the mobile terminal 100 holds the above-described RF tag as closely related to the present invention. Based on information indicating the moving direction of the mobile terminal 100 stored in the RF tag (hereinafter referred to as moving direction information), transmission control of positioning pulses (for example, UWB impulse waves) is performed.

  Specifically, this movement direction information is stored in association with a section where the mobile terminal 100 is located and a time when the mobile terminal 100 was located. Then, by comparing the time at which the mobile terminal 100 was located for each section, the moving direction can be determined, and positioning pulse transmission control can be executed accurately.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 1, the mobile terminal 100 is located in the section A in a situation where the left side is outdoors (a region where transmission of positioning pulses is prohibited) and the right side is indoors (a region where transmission of positioning pulses is allowed). When the time when the mobile terminal 100 is located in the zone B is later than the time when the mobile terminal 100 is moving, the mobile terminal 100 moves to the right, and thus the mobile terminal 100 permits transmission of positioning pulses.

  On the other hand, when the time when the mobile terminal 100 is located in the section B is ahead of the time when the mobile terminal 100 is located in the section A, the moving direction of the mobile terminal 100 is on the left side. The mobile terminal 100 prohibits transmission of positioning pulses.

  This positioning pulse transmission control is periodically executed by a power source held by the mobile terminal 100. In addition to the transmission control, the mobile terminal 100 outputs a positioning pulse to the base stations 200 and 300 when receiving a broadcast (radio wave) as a response request from the reader / writer 60.

  When receiving a positioning pulse from the mobile terminal 100, the base stations 200 and 300 are devices that measure the time when the positioning pulse is received and output information of the measured reception time (reception time information) to the calculation server 400. .

  When the calculation server 400 receives the reception time information from the base stations 200 and 300 (or other base stations), the calculation server 400 calculates a section where the mobile terminal 100 is located, and the calculated section and the mobile terminal 100 correspond to the corresponding section. It is an apparatus which produces | generates the positional information which matched the time which was located in. Then, the calculation server 400 controls the reader / writer 60 to update the movement direction information stored in the RF tag of the mobile terminal 100 based on the position information.

  As described above, in this positioning system, the calculation server 400 acquires the reception time information from the base stations 200 and 300 to generate the position information, and the movement direction information stored in the RF tag of the mobile terminal 100 is transmitted to the reader / writer 60. Since the mobile terminal 100 performs positioning pulse transmission control based on the movement direction information stored in the RF tag, the positioning terminal transmission control for the mobile terminal 100 is accurately performed within a limited area. Can be executed.

  Next, the configuration of mobile terminal 100, base stations 200 and 300, and calculation server 400 shown in FIG. 1 will be described in order. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram illustrating the configuration of the mobile terminal 100 according to the present embodiment. As shown in the figure, the mobile terminal 100 includes antennas 101 and 102, a transmission unit 103, an RF tag (passive RFID tag) 104, and a positioning control unit 105. The positioning control unit 105 Includes a data reading unit 105a, a transmission availability determination unit 105b, and a positioning pulse timing generation unit 105c.

  Among these, the transmission unit 103 is a processing unit that transmits the positioning pulse (for example, UWB impulse wave) generated by the positioning pulse timing generation unit 105 using the antenna 101. After the transmission unit 103 transmits a positioning pulse, the RF tag 104 and the positioning control unit 105 shift to a sleep state in order to reduce power consumption.

  The RF tag 104 does not require a power source for operation, and is a tag that operates by generating power from radio waves received from the reader / writer 60, and holds an RF tag ID (Identification) and movement direction information.

  The RF tag ID is information that uniquely identifies the RF tag 104. The movement direction information indicates information related to the movement direction of the mobile terminal 100. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of movement direction information. As shown in the figure, this movement direction information is composed of section identification information and time (time when the mobile terminal 100 was located in the section).

  For example, as shown in FIG. 1, when the section A and the section B are divided and the time of the section B is later than the time of the section A, the moving direction of the mobile terminal 100 is from the section A to the section B. Direction (right direction in FIG. 1). On the contrary, when the time of the section A is later than the time of the section B, the moving direction of the mobile terminal 100 is the direction from the section B to the section A (the left direction in FIG. 1).

  The data reading unit 105a is a processing unit that reads the RF tag ID and movement direction information stored in the RF tag 104, and outputs each read information to the transmission permission / inhibition determining unit 105b. The data reading unit 105a may be activated periodically by a power source held by the mobile terminal 100, or may be activated when the RF tag 104 is activated by a radio wave received from the reader / writer 60 (described later). The same applies to the transmission availability determination unit 105b and the positioning pulse timing generation unit).

  When the RF tag 104 is activated by the radio wave received from the reader / writer 60 and receives a response request from the calculation server 400, the data reading unit 105a outputs information on the response request to the transmission permission determination unit 105b.

  The transmission permission / inhibition determination unit 105b is a processing unit that determines whether or not to transmit a positioning pulse based on movement direction information. Specifically, the transmission permission / inhibition determining unit 105b first determines the moving direction by comparing the times of the sections included in the moving direction information. Then, the transmission permission / inhibition determination unit 105b compares the determined moving direction with the determination reference information to determine whether or not to transmit a positioning pulse. The transmission permission / inhibition determination unit 105b outputs the determination result and the RF tag ID to the positioning pulse timing generation unit 105c.

  Here, the criterion information is information for determining whether or not to transmit a positioning pulse. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of determination criterion information. As shown in the figure, in the determination criterion information, the movement direction and the determination criterion are associated with each other. When the movement direction is from the section A to the section B, the transmission of the positioning pulse is permitted. When the section B is the section A, it is stored that the positioning pulse cannot be transmitted. This determination criterion information is held by the transmission permission / inhibition determination unit 105b.

  When the response request information is acquired from the data reading unit 105a, the transmission permission / inhibition determining unit 105b sends a determination result indicating that the positioning pulse is transmitted unconditionally and the RF tag ID to the positioning pulse timing generating unit. To 105c.

  The positioning pulse timing generation unit 105c generates a positioning pulse including the RF tag ID when the transmission of the positioning pulse is permitted based on the determination result output from the transmission permission determination unit 105b, and generates the generated positioning It is a processing unit that outputs a pulse to the transmission unit 103.

  As will be described later with reference to FIGS. 10 and 11, the mobile terminal 100 shifts to a sleep state according to a predetermined condition and releases the sleep state according to a predetermined condition. Also, when the mobile terminal 100 transmits a positioning pulse, the RF tag 104 is supplied by a battery for operating the terminal, unlike when the RF tag 104 receives a radio wave from the reader / writer 60 and transmits a power generation and response radio wave. A positioning pulse is generated with the generated power, and the generated positioning pulse is transmitted.

  Next, the configuration of base station 200 shown in FIG. 1 will be described. Note that the configuration of the base station 300 (or other base station) is the same as that of the base station 200, and thus the description thereof is omitted here. FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram illustrating the configuration of the base station 200 according to the present embodiment. As shown in the figure, the base station 200 includes an antenna 201, a reception unit 202, a timer 203, a reception time measurement unit 204, a reception time holding unit 205, a reception data holding unit 206, and a communication unit 207. And is configured.

  Among these, when receiving the positioning pulse using the antenna 201, the receiving unit 202 outputs the received positioning pulse to the reception time measuring unit 204, and extracts and extracts the RF tag ID included in the positioning pulse. The received RF tag ID is output to the received data holding unit 206.

  The reception time measurement unit 204 is a processing unit that measures the time when the base station 200 receives a positioning pulse. For example, the reception time measurement unit 204 always acquires the current time information from the timer 203, measures the time when the positioning pulse is acquired from the reception unit 202 as the reception time, and receives the reception time information (reception time information). ) Is output to the reception time holding unit 205.

  The reception time holding unit 205 is a storage unit that stores reception time information. The reception data holding unit 206 is a storage unit that stores the RF tag ID. The communication unit 207 acquires the reception time information stored in the reception time holding unit 205 and the RF tag ID stored in the reception data holding unit 206, and identifies the acquired reception time information, the RF tag ID, and the base station It is a processing unit that outputs station identification information to the calculation server 400.

  Next, the configuration of the calculation server 400 shown in FIG. 1 will be described. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of the calculation server 400 according to the present embodiment. As shown in the figure, the calculation server 400 includes a communication unit 401, a reception data holding unit 402, a reception time holding unit 403, a positioning calculation unit 404, a section determination unit 405, and a reader / writer control unit 406. It is configured with.

  The communication unit 401 is a processing unit that controls data communication with each of the base stations 200 and 300 (or other base stations; the same applies hereinafter). When the communication unit 401 acquires the reception time information, the RF tag ID, and the base station identification information from each of the base stations 200 and 300, the communication unit 401 outputs the acquired RF tag to the reception data holding unit 402 and receives the reception time. The information, the RF tag ID, and the base station identification information are associated with each other and output to the reception time holding unit 403.

  The reception data holding unit 402 is a storage unit that stores an RF tag ID. The reception time holding unit 403 is a storage unit that stores reception time management information in which reception time information, an RF tag ID, and base station identification information are associated with each other. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of reception time management information. As shown in the figure, this reception time management information is stored in association with base station identification information, RF tag ID, and reception time. In FIG. 7, for example, the base station identification information “K0001” corresponds to the base station 200, the base station identification information “K0002” corresponds to the base station 300, and the RF tag ID “T0001” corresponds to the mobile terminal 100.

  The positioning calculation unit 404 is a processing unit that calculates the position of the mobile terminal 100 based on the reception time management information stored in the reception time holding unit 403. Note that the position calculation unit 404 may calculate the position by using the well-known technique described in the background art. The positioning calculation unit 404 outputs the calculation result (information on the position of the mobile terminal 100) to the section determination unit 405.

  The partition determination unit 405 is a processing unit that compares the calculation result (position of the mobile terminal 100) output from the positioning calculation unit 404 with the partition management information to determine the partition of the mobile terminal 100. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of the partition management information. As shown in the figure, the partition management information stores a partition area and a partition in association with each other.

  Then, the zone determination unit 405 determines the determined zone (zone A or zone B) and the time when the mobile terminal 100 was present in the zone (for example, the time when the zone determination unit 405 performed zone determination may be used). The associated position information is generated, and the generated position information is output to the reader / writer control unit 406.

  The reader / writer control unit 406 controls the reader / writer 60 to transmit position information to the RF tag 104 of the mobile terminal 100 identified by the RF tag ID stored in the received data holding unit 402, and move the RF tag 104. A processing unit that updates direction information. The reader / writer control unit 406 controls the reader / writer 60 to broadcast a response request packet.

  Next, the processing procedure of the positioning system according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of the positioning system. As shown in the figure, in the positioning system 50, the reader / writer 60 broadcasts a response request packet (step S101), the mobile terminal 100 receives radio waves from the reader / writer 60 (step S102), and the mobile terminal 100 A positioning pulse is transmitted to the base stations 200 and 300 (or other base stations) (step S103).

  The base stations 200 and 300 receive the positioning pulse (step S104), measure the reception time when the positioning pulse is received (step S105), and output the reception time information to the calculation server 400 (step S106).

  The calculation server 400 receives the reception time information from each base station 200, 300, etc. (step S107), determines the section where the mobile terminal 100 is located (step S108), and the mobile terminal 100 exists in the section and the section. The position information including the current time is transmitted to the reader / writer 60 (step S109).

  The reader / writer 60 receives the position information from the calculation server 400 (step S110), and updates the moving direction information of the RF tag 104 of the mobile terminal 100 with the position information (step S111).

  Next, processing when the mobile terminal 100 receives radio waves from the reader / writer 60 will be described. FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of radio wave reception processing. As shown in the figure, the mobile terminal 100 receives radio waves from the reader / writer 60 (step S201), and determines whether or not it is position information (step S202).

  If it is position information (not response request packet broadcast) (Yes in step S203), the moving direction information is updated with the position information (step S204), and the process proceeds to step S207.

  On the other hand, when it is not position information (when the response request packet is broadcast) (No in step S203), the sleep state is canceled (step S205), a positioning pulse is transmitted (step S206), and the sleep state is entered (step S206). Step S207).

  Next, a transmission control processing procedure in which the mobile terminal 100 autonomously transmits a positioning pulse will be described. FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure of transmission control. As shown in the figure, the mobile terminal 100 determines whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed (step S301). If the predetermined time has not elapsed (step S302, No), the mobile terminal 100 continues the sleep state for a predetermined time. After (step S303), the process proceeds to step S301.

  On the other hand, when the predetermined time has elapsed (step S302, Yes), the sleep state is canceled (step S304), the moving direction information is read from the RF tag 104 (step S305), and the time of the section A is the time of the section B. It is determined whether it is later than the time (step S306).

  And when the time of the division A is later than the time of the division B (step S307, Yes), the mobile terminal 100 moves to step S301 without transmitting a positioning pulse. On the other hand, when the time of the section A is not later than the time of the section B (No at Step S307), a positioning pulse is transmitted (Step S308), and the process proceeds to Step S301.

  As described above, in the positioning system 50 according to the present embodiment, the calculation server 400 controls the reader / writer 60 to transmit radio waves to the mobile terminal 100, and the mobile terminal 100 holding the passive RF tag receives the positioning pulse. To the base stations 200 and 300, and the base stations 200 and 300 measure the reception times of the mobile terminals. Then, the calculation server generates position information from the difference in reception times measured by the base stations 200 and 300, controls the reader / writer 60, updates the movement direction information of the mobile terminal 100 with the position information, and the mobile terminal 100 Determines whether or not to transmit a positioning pulse based on the moving direction information, so that positioning pulse transmission control for the mobile terminal 100 can be accurately executed within a limited area.

  Further, in a building where a conventional TODA positioning system is introduced, positioning of the mobile terminal 100 is performed using some base stations of the TODA positioning system, and the calculation server 400 generates position information and moves. If the movement direction information of the terminal 100 is updated, the cost can be significantly reduced.

  By the way, among the processes described in the present embodiment, all or a part of the processes described as being automatically performed can be manually performed, or the processes described as being performed manually can be performed. All or a part can be automatically performed by a known method. In addition, the processing procedure, control procedure, specific name, and information including various data and parameters shown in the above-described document and drawings can be arbitrarily changed unless otherwise specified.

  The components of the mobile terminal 100, the base stations 200 and 300, and the calculation server 400 shown in FIGS. 2, 5, and 6 are functionally conceptual and are not necessarily physically configured as illustrated. I don't need it. In other words, the specific form of distribution / integration of each device is not limited to that shown in the figure, and all or a part thereof may be functionally or physically distributed or arbitrarily distributed in arbitrary units according to various loads or usage conditions. Can be integrated and configured. Furthermore, each processing function performed by each device may be realized by a CPU and a program that is analyzed and executed by the CPU, or may be realized as hardware by wired logic.

  FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of a computer constituting the calculation server according to the embodiment. As shown in FIG. 12, the computer (calculation server) 70 includes an input device 71, a monitor 72, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 73, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 74, a medium reading device 75 for reading data from a storage medium, An interface 76 that transmits and receives data to and from other devices (reader / writer 60, base stations 200 and 300), a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 77, and an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 78 are connected by a bus 79. The

  The HDD 78 stores a partition determination program 78b and a reader / writer control program 78c that exhibit functions similar to the functions of the calculation server 400 described above. When the CPU 77 reads and executes the partition determination program 78b and the reader / writer control program 78c, the partition determination process 77a and the reader / writer control process 77b are activated. The section determination process 77a corresponds to the processing executed by the positioning calculation section 404 and the section determination section 405 described above, and the reader / writer control program 77b corresponds to the processing executed by the reader / writer control section 406.

  Further, the HDD 78 stores various data 78 a held by the reception data holding unit 402 and the reception time holding unit 403. The CPU 77 reads out various data 78a stored in the HDD 78 and stores it in the RAM 73. The CPU 77 calculates position information using the various data 73a stored in the RAM 73, and uses the calculated position information to determine the moving direction information of the mobile terminal 100. Update.

  By the way, the partition determination program 78b and the reader / writer control program 78c shown in FIG. 12 are not necessarily stored in the HDD 78 from the beginning. For example, a “portable physical medium” such as a flexible disk (FD), a CD-ROM, a DVD disk, a magneto-optical disk, or an IC card inserted into a computer, or a hard disk drive (HDD) provided inside or outside the computer. The partition determination program 78b and the reader / writer control program 78c are included in the “fixed physical medium” of the above, and “another computer (or server)” connected to the computer via a public line, the Internet, a LAN, a WAN, or the like. May be stored, and the computer may read and execute the section determination program 78b and the reader / writer control program 78c from these.

(Supplementary note 1) A positioning pulse from a mobile terminal is received by a plurality of base stations whose positions are known, and each base station measures the position of the mobile terminal based on a difference in reception time at which the positioning pulse is received. A positioning system having a calculation server,
The mobile terminal holds a passive RFID tag that stores movement direction information indicating the movement direction of the mobile terminal, and performs transmission control of the positioning pulse based on the movement direction information.
A transmission means for transmitting the positioning pulse to the base station when a radio wave transmitted from a reader / writer is received;
The calculation server includes update information generation means for generating update information for updating the movement direction information based on a positioning result of the mobile terminal;
Reader / writer control means for controlling the reader / writer based on the update information to update the moving direction information of the RFID tag;
A positioning system characterized by comprising.

(Additional remark 2) The said update information production | generation means divides | segments the communication range of the said reader / writer into several divisions, and measures the location where the said mobile terminal is located, and the position of the said mobile terminal based on the positioning result of the said mobile terminal The positioning system according to supplementary note 1, wherein information that associates the time with the generated time is generated as the update information.

(Supplementary note 3) The moving direction information of the RFID tag stores the section and the time when the mobile terminal was located in the section in association with each other, and the transmission control means stores the movement in the section. 3. The positioning system according to appendix 2, wherein the moving direction of the mobile terminal is determined by comparing the time at which the terminal is located for each section, and transmission control of the positioning pulse is performed based on the determination result. .

(Supplementary Note 4) The positioning system according to Supplementary Note 1, 2, or 3, wherein the positioning pulse transmitted by the mobile terminal is a UWB (Ultra Wide Band) impulse wave.

(Additional remark 5) The positioning pulse from a mobile terminal is received in the some base station where a position is known, and each base station measures the position of the said mobile terminal based on the difference of the reception time which received the said positioning pulse. A positioning method for a positioning system having a calculation server,
The mobile terminal holds a passive RFID tag that stores movement direction information indicating the movement direction of the mobile terminal, and performs transmission control of the positioning pulse based on the movement direction information.
A transmission step of transmitting the positioning pulse to the base station when receiving a radio wave transmitted from a reader / writer,
The calculation server generates an update information for updating the movement direction information based on a positioning result of the mobile terminal;
An update step of controlling the reader / writer based on the update information to update the moving direction information of the RFID tag;
The positioning method characterized by including.

(Additional remark 6) The said generation | occurrence | production step divides | segments the communication range of the said reader / writer into several divisions, and measured the position where the said mobile terminal is located, and the position of the said mobile terminal based on the positioning result of the said mobile terminal The positioning method according to appendix 5, characterized in that information associating with is generated as the update information.

(Supplementary note 7) The movement direction information of the RFID tag stores the section and the time when the mobile terminal was located in the section in association with each other, and the transmission control step includes the movement to the section. 7. The positioning method according to appendix 6, wherein the moving direction of the mobile terminal is determined by comparing the time at which the terminal is located for each section, and transmission control of the positioning pulse is performed based on the determination result. .

  As described above, the positioning system and the positioning method according to the present invention are useful for a system that receives a positioning pulse transmitted from a mobile terminal and measures the position of the mobile terminal. This is suitable when transmission control for positioning pulses needs to be executed.

It is a figure for demonstrating the structure of the positioning system concerning a present Example, and its outline | summary. It is a functional block diagram which shows the structure of the mobile terminal concerning a present Example. It is a figure which shows an example of movement direction information. It is a figure which shows an example of criteria information. It is a functional block diagram which shows the structure of the base station concerning a present Example. It is a figure which shows the structure of the calculation server concerning a present Example. It is a figure which shows an example of reception time management information. It is a figure which shows an example of division management information. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence of a positioning system. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence of an electromagnetic wave reception process. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence of transmission control. It is a figure which shows the hardware constitutions of the computer which comprises the calculation server concerning an Example. It is a figure for demonstrating the conventional TDOA positioning system. It is a figure for demonstrating the utilization condition of the electromagnetic wave indoor / outdoor. It is a figure (1) for demonstrating the problem of a prior art. It is FIG. (2) for demonstrating the problem of a prior art.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10,100 Mobile terminal 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 200, 300 Base station 30, 400 Calculation server 40, 40a, 40b, 60 Reader / writer 50 Positioning system 70 Computer 71 Input device 72 Monitor 73 RAM
73a, 78a Various data 74 ROM
75 Media reader 76 Interface 77 CPU
77a Section determination process 77b Reader / writer control process 78 HDD
78b section determination program 78c reader / writer control program 79 bus 101, 102, 201 antenna 103 transmission unit 104 RF tag 105 positioning control unit 105a data reading unit 105b transmission availability determination unit 105c positioning pulse timing generation unit 202 reception unit 203 timer 204 reception time Measuring unit 205, 403 Reception time holding unit 206, 402 Received data holding unit 207, 401 Communication unit 404 Positioning calculation unit 405 Section determination unit 406 Reader / writer control unit

Claims (5)

It has a calculation server that receives positioning pulses from a mobile terminal at a plurality of base stations whose positions are known, and measures the position of the mobile terminal based on a difference in reception time at which each base station receives the positioning pulse. A positioning system,
The mobile terminal holds a passive RFID tag that stores movement direction information indicating the movement direction of the mobile terminal, and performs transmission control of the positioning pulse based on the movement direction information.
A transmission means for transmitting the positioning pulse to the base station when a radio wave transmitted from a reader / writer is received;
The calculation server includes update information generation means for generating update information for updating the movement direction information based on a positioning result of the mobile terminal;
Reader / writer control means for controlling the reader / writer based on the update information to update the moving direction information of the RFID tag;
A positioning system characterized by comprising.   The update information generation means divides the communication range of the reader / writer into a plurality of sections, and based on the positioning result of the mobile terminal, determines the section where the mobile terminal is located and the time when the position of the mobile terminal is measured. The positioning system according to claim 1, wherein the associated information is generated as the update information.   The moving direction information of the RFID tag stores the section and the time when the mobile terminal was located in the section in association with each other, and the transmission control means is configured to locate the mobile terminal in the section. 3. The positioning system according to claim 2, wherein the moving direction of the mobile terminal is determined by comparing the time that has been set for each section, and transmission control of the positioning pulse is performed based on the determination result.   The positioning system according to claim 1, 2, or 3, wherein the positioning pulse transmitted by the mobile terminal is a UWB (Ultra Wide Band) impulse wave. It has a calculation server that receives positioning pulses from a mobile terminal at a plurality of base stations whose positions are known, and measures the position of the mobile terminal based on a difference in reception time at which each base station receives the positioning pulse. A positioning method of a positioning system,
The mobile terminal holds a passive RFID tag that stores movement direction information indicating the movement direction of the mobile terminal, and performs transmission control of the positioning pulse based on the movement direction information.
A transmission step of transmitting the positioning pulse to the base station when receiving a radio wave transmitted from a reader / writer,
The calculation server generates an update information for updating the movement direction information based on a positioning result of the mobile terminal;
An update step of controlling the reader / writer based on the update information to update the moving direction information of the RFID tag;
The positioning method characterized by including.

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