JP2023069682A - Indoor positioning equipment and indoor positioning systems - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an indoor positioning device which does not interfere with construction work at a construction site.SOLUTION: An indoor positioning device is provided, having a first wireless communication function, second wireless communication function, and illumination function. The first wireless communication function is used for indoor positioning. The second wireless communication function is used to communicate with other devices. The indoor positioning device is integrated with illumination and is installed on a ceiling.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

One embodiment of the present invention relates to an indoor positioning device for measuring position indoors.

Patent Literature 1 discloses a positioning system that calculates the current position based on the radio wave intensity from beacon terminals that are uniformly arranged indoors.

Patent Literature 2 discloses a method of acquiring the current radio signal strengths received from a plurality of anchors and measuring the position of a mobile terminal using the three-point positioning method.

JP 2011-017684 A JP 2012-255673 A

A conventional three-point positioning system is composed of three or more positioning devices and devices to be positioned. When installing positioning equipment in a building, securing the installation location and power source is a problem. In particular, at a construction site, installation of a plurality of devices such as positioning devices that are not directly related to construction hinders construction.

Accordingly, an object of one embodiment of the present invention is to provide an indoor positioning device that does not interfere with construction work at a construction site.

An indoor positioning device according to an embodiment of the present invention has a first wireless communication function for indoor positioning, a second wireless communication function for communicating with other devices, and a lighting function, and is installed on the ceiling. , is an indoor positioning device with built-in lighting.

At construction sites, multiple lights are installed on the ceiling to perform work. An indoor positioning device according to an embodiment of the present invention is a lighting device installed on such a ceiling, and includes a first wireless communication function used for indoor positioning and a second wireless communication function for communicating with a server. Prepare. Therefore, the indoor positioning device according to one embodiment of the present invention does not interfere with construction work at the construction site, and does not pose a problem of securing an installation site or power source.

Further, the indoor positioning device according to one embodiment of the present invention receives supply of first AC power obtained by branching AC power, and uses the first AC power as first DC power to perform the first wireless communication function and the second wireless communication. a first AC/DC converter that supplies a function; and a second AC/DC converter that receives supply of second AC power branched from the AC power and supplies the second AC power as second DC power to the lighting function. .

Illumination such as LEDs can create noise. The generated noise is superimposed on the DC power and can affect wireless communication functions that operate on the same DC power. However, the indoor positioning device of the present embodiment splits the AC power into first AC power and second AC power and converts them into first DC power and second DC power, respectively. Therefore, noise generated by illumination does not affect the first wireless communication function and the second wireless communication function.

Further, the first wireless communication function and the second wireless communication function may each have antennas with different directivities.

Since a plurality of indoor positioning devices are all installed on the ceiling, they are installed at similar heights. On the other hand, since the indoor positioning terminal to be positioned is carried by a worker or the like, it is used at a position close to the floor. So, for example, the first wireless communication function has a vertically omnidirectional antenna. As a result, radio waves for communicating with the indoor positioning terminal reach a wide range in the vertical direction. Also, for example, the second wireless communication function includes a horizontally omnidirectional antenna. As a result, radio waves for communication between a plurality of indoor positioning devices reach a wide range in the horizontal direction.

Also, an indoor positioning device according to an embodiment of the present invention may comprise a sheet metal having a first surface and a second surface. The metal plate holds the LED of the illumination function on the first surface, holds the substrates of the first wireless communication function and the second wireless communication function on the second surface, and holds the substrates of the first wireless communication function and the second wireless communication function on the second surface. An aperture is provided for passing radio waves of the first wireless communication function and the second wireless communication function.

A lighting device includes a sheet metal for holding lighting such as an LED. An indoor positioning device according to an embodiment of the present invention realizes space saving by holding the substrates of the first wireless communication function and the second wireless communication function with the sheet metal. Furthermore, since the sheet metal has an opening through which the radio waves of the first wireless communication function and the second wireless communication function pass, the sheet metal does not interfere with communication.

An indoor positioning system according to this embodiment includes three or more of the above indoor positioning devices, and an indoor positioning terminal that communicates with the first wireless communication function of the indoor positioning devices.

Thereby, the indoor positioning system can appropriately measure the position of the indoor positioning terminal.

The indoor positioning terminal may comprise a power converter that generates power from light energy of the lighting function.

As a result, the indoor positioning device can be used not only as lighting for construction site construction but also as a power supply source for the indoor positioning terminal.

A first wireless communication function measures a radio wave intensity and a radio wave arrival time in communication with the indoor positioning device, and a second wireless communication function transmits measurement results of the first wireless communication function to the server.

The indoor positioning terminal includes an antenna having directivity different from that of the second wireless communication function of the indoor positioning device.

Since a plurality of indoor positioning devices are all installed on the ceiling, they are installed at similar heights. On the other hand, since the indoor positioning terminal to be positioned is carried by a worker or the like, it is used at a position close to the floor. Therefore, the second wireless communication function of the indoor positioning device has a horizontally omnidirectional antenna for communicating with other devices installed at the same height. On the other hand, an indoor positioning terminal is equipped with a vertically omnidirectional antenna for communicating with an indoor positioning device installed at a high position in the height direction.

The indoor positioning system receives the measurement result of the indoor positioning device, creates coordinate data of the indoor positioning terminal, and displays display data for displaying the position of the indoor positioning terminal on a drawing based on the coordinate data. a server for generating

Thereby, the user of the indoor positioning system can confirm the positions of a plurality of workers.

1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a building in which an indoor positioning system 1 is constructed; FIG. 1 is a partially see-through perspective view of an indoor positioning device 10. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of indoor positioning device 10. FIG. FIG. 4A is a partially transparent view of the indoor positioning device 10 as viewed from the bottom, FIG. 4B is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA, and FIG. 4C is line BB. is a cross-sectional view of.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the structure of a building in which an indoor positioning system 1 is constructed. The indoor positioning system 1 is installed inside a building under construction. The indoor positioning system 1 shown in FIG. 1 includes a server 3 , an administrator terminal 5 , a plurality of indoor positioning devices 10 and an indoor positioning terminal 20 . A plurality of indoor positioning devices 10 and indoor positioning terminals 20 are installed in building 7 .

A plurality of indoor positioning devices 10 are installed on the ceiling of building 7 . In a building under construction 7, a plurality of lights are installed for construction work. The indoor positioning device 10 of this embodiment has a lighting function and is used as lighting in construction work.

The indoor positioning terminal 20 is carried by a worker who performs construction work. Alternatively, the indoor positioning terminal 20 may be attached to a moving object such as a cart for work. The indoor positioning terminal 20 is, for example, a Bluetooth (registered trademark) tag. The indoor positioning terminal 20 transmits and receives a beacon signal conforming to the Bluetooth (registered trademark) Low Energy standard (hereinafter referred to as BLE). The worker carries the indoor positioning terminal 20 and moves within the construction site. Therefore, the indoor positioning terminal 20 is used at a position near the floor of the building 7. FIG.

As described above, the indoor positioning device 10 has, in addition to the lighting function, the first wireless communication function used for indoor positioning and the second wireless communication function communicating with other devices. The first wireless communication function transmits and receives radio waves (BLE beacon signals) for measuring the position of the indoor positioning terminal 20 . The second wireless communication function transmits/receives radio waves such as a wireless LAN for transmitting/receiving the position measurement result of the indoor positioning terminal 20 to/from other indoor positioning devices 10 and the server 3 .

FIG. 2 is a partially see-through perspective view of the indoor positioning device 10. As shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the indoor positioning device 10. As shown in FIG.

The indoor positioning device 10 has a cylindrical housing 11 and an LED cover 12, as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the indoor positioning device 10 has a disc-shaped sheet metal 15 inside a cylindrical housing 11 . The sheet metal 15 has a first surface directed toward the floor surface and a second surface directed toward the ceiling surface. The first side holds the light emitters (LEDs) of the lighting function. An LED cover 12 is attached to the second surface side of the housing 11 . The second side holds the communication board 17 for the first wireless communication function and the second wireless communication function. The second surface also holds the LED drive board 19 . The housing 11 and the LED cover 12 are made of resin or the like, and seal the internal space. As a result, the indoor positioning device 10 can be installed at construction sites because it is waterproof and dustproof.

FIG. 4A is a partially transparent view of the indoor positioning device 10 as viewed from the bottom, FIG. 4B is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA, and FIG. 4C is line BB. is a cross-sectional view of.

As shown in FIG. 4A, an LED 25 is attached to the first surface of the metal plate 15. As shown in FIG. A central portion of the second surface of the metal plate 15 has a plate-like member rising vertically. The metal plate 15 mounts the communication board 17 and the LED drive board 19 via the members that stand up in the vertical direction. The sheet metal 15 is provided with openings 501 through which radio waves of the first wireless communication function and the second wireless communication function pass through in the members that stand up in the vertical direction. In the example shown in FIG. 4C, the metal plate 15 has two openings 501 that allow the radio waves of the first wireless communication function and the second wireless communication function to pass therethrough.

The indoor positioning device 10 achieves space saving by holding the communication board 17 and the LED drive board 19 with the sheet metal 15 holding the LEDs. Furthermore, since the sheet metal 15 is provided with openings through which the radio waves of the first wireless communication function and the second wireless communication function pass, the sheet metal 15 does not interfere with communication.

As shown in FIG. 3 , the communication board 17 includes a first AC/DC converter 31 , a CPU 32 , a wireless LAN communication section 33 , a BLE communication section 34 , a wireless LAN antenna 35 and a BLE antenna 36 . The LED drive board 19 has a second AC/DC converter 41 and an LED driver 42 .

The first AC/DC converter 31 and the second AC/DC converter 41 are supplied with branched first AC power (AC 100 V) and second AC power (AC 100 V), respectively. The first AC/DC converter 31 converts the first AC power into first DC power (DC5V). The second AC/DC converter 41 converts the second AC power into a second DC power (several tens to hundreds of volts DC).

The second AC/DC converter 41 supplies power of several tens to several hundred volts DC to the LED driver 42 . LED driver 42 drives LED 25 . The LED 25 is attached to the first surface of the metal plate 15 shown in FIG. The first surface of the metal plate 15 is mirror-finished and reflects the light emitted by the LED 25 . Thereby, the light emitted from the LED 25 is guided toward the floor surface.

The first AC/DC converter 31 supplies 5V DC power to the CPU 32 , the wireless LAN communication unit 33 , and the BLE communication unit 34 . The CPU 32 controls the wireless LAN communication section 33 and the BLE communication section 34 . The wireless LAN communication unit 33 corresponds to the second wireless communication function, and the BLE communication unit 34 corresponds to the first wireless communication function.

The wireless LAN communication unit 33 communicates with other devices via the wireless LAN antenna 35 under the control of the CPU 32 . For example, the wireless LAN communication unit 33 communicates with the server 3 via an access point (not shown). Also, the wireless LAN communication unit 33 may communicate with another indoor positioning device 10 . The BLE communication unit 34 transmits and receives a beacon signal conforming to BLE via the BLE antenna 36 under the control of the CPU 32 .

The indoor positioning terminal 20 receives the beacon signal transmitted by the indoor positioning device 10 . The indoor positioning terminal 20 returns the radio wave intensity of the received beacon signal and the identification information of its own device. The identification information is unique information that is uniquely determined for each device, such as information such as the serial number or MAC address of the indoor positioning terminal 20 .

The indoor positioning device 10 receives radio wave intensity and identification information from the indoor positioning terminal 20 . The CPU 32 measures the distance to the indoor positioning terminal 20 based on the radio wave intensity of the beacon signal received by the BLE communication unit 34 . Since the radio wave intensity is inversely proportional to the square of the distance, it can be converted into distance information between the indoor positioning device 10 and the indoor positioning terminal 20 . Further, the CPU 32 may calculate the distance information based on the time difference (radio wave arrival time) between the transmission timing of the beacon signal and the reception timing of the identification information or the like. CPU 32 transmits the identification information and the distance information to other indoor positioning devices 10 and server 3 via wireless LAN communication section 33 .

A plurality of indoor positioning devices 10 transmit and receive their measurement results (identification information and distance information) to and from each other via wireless LAN communication section 33 . The server 3 aggregates measurement results of multiple indoor positioning devices 10 . The indoor positioning system 1 of this embodiment includes at least three indoor positioning devices 10 and an indoor positioning terminal 20 . By obtaining three or more measurement results, the indoor positioning system 1 can uniquely determine the position of the indoor positioning terminal 20 according to the principle of triangulation.

Thereby, the indoor positioning system 1 can appropriately measure the position of the indoor positioning terminal. The server 3 creates coordinate data of the indoor positioning terminal 20 based on the received measurement result. The server 3 also generates display data for displaying the position of the indoor positioning terminal 20 on the drawing of the building 7 based on the coordinate data. The drawing data is prepared in advance based on the design drawing of the building 7 or the like.

The administrator terminal 5 receives display data from the server 3 . The administrator terminal 5 displays a drawing of the building 7 on a display (not shown) based on the received display data, and further displays the position of the indoor positioning terminal 20 on the drawing. As a result, the construction site manager can easily determine where in the building 7 there are moving objects such as workers and carts.

Construction sites require multiple lights to be installed on the ceiling in order to perform work. On the other hand, indoor positioning equipment is not directly related to construction work, so it interferes with construction work. However, the indoor positioning device 10 according to this embodiment is a lighting device for installation on the ceiling. The indoor positioning device 10 is a lighting device used at a construction site and has a first wireless communication function used for indoor positioning and a second wireless communication function for communicating with a server. Therefore, the indoor positioning device 10 according to the present embodiment does not interfere with construction work at the construction site, and there is no problem in securing the installation location or power source.

According to the hardware configuration shown in FIG. 3, the indoor positioning device of the present embodiment splits AC power into first AC power and second AC power and converts them into first DC power and second DC power, respectively. Therefore, even if noise is generated in the LED 25 and superimposed on the DC power, the noise does not affect the wireless LAN communication unit 33 and the BLE communication unit 34 . In addition, when the noise of the LED 25 is small and the influence on the wireless LAN communication unit 33 and the BLE communication unit 34 is small, the AC power is branched into the first AC power and the second AC power, and the first DC power and the second DC power are respectively obtained. It is not necessary to convert to

(Modification 1)
The directivity of antenna 35 and antenna 36 may be different. That is, the first wireless communication function and the second wireless communication function may have antennas with different directivities.

Since the plurality of indoor positioning devices 10 are all installed on the ceiling, they are installed at similar heights. On the other hand, since the indoor positioning terminal 20 to be positioned is carried by a worker or the like, it is used at a position close to the floor. Therefore, for example, the antenna 36 of the BLE communication unit 34 has an omnidirectional antenna in the vertical direction. As a result, radio waves for communicating with the indoor positioning terminal 20 reach a wide range in the vertical direction. Further, for example, the antenna 35 of the wireless LAN communication unit 33 is provided with an omnidirectional antenna in the horizontal direction. As a result, radio waves for communication between the indoor positioning devices 10 reach a wide range in the horizontal direction.

Note that the antennas 35 and 36 may output radio waves of different polarizations. For example, antenna 35 may output horizontally polarized waves and antenna 36 may output vertically polarized waves. Alternatively, the plurality of indoor positioning devices 10 may output radio waves with different polarizations. For example, the first indoor positioning device 10 outputs vertically polarized waves, and the second indoor positioning device 10 outputs horizontally polarized waves. In this case, the access point (not shown) has an antenna capable of transmitting and receiving vertically polarized waves and horizontally polarized waves. When the access point receives the vertically polarized wave, it can determine that the radio wave is output by the first indoor positioning device 10 . When the access point receives a horizontally polarized wave, the access point can determine that the radio wave is output by the second indoor positioning device 10 . In this way, another device such as an access point can determine which device has transmitted the radio waves, based on the difference in the polarization of the received radio waves.

(Modification 2)
The indoor positioning terminal 20 has directivity different from that of the antenna 35 . As described above, the plurality of indoor positioning devices 10 are installed at the same height because they are all installed on the ceiling. On the other hand, since the indoor positioning terminal 20 to be positioned is carried by a worker or the like, it is used at a position close to the floor. Therefore, the antenna 35 of the wireless LAN communication unit 33 is provided with an omnidirectional antenna in the horizontal direction. On the other hand, the indoor positioning terminal 20 has a vertically omnidirectional antenna for communicating with the indoor positioning device 10 installed at a high position in the height direction.

Thereby, the indoor positioning device 10 can appropriately communicate with other devices and the indoor positioning terminal 20 .

(Modification 3)
The indoor positioning terminal 20 may include a power converter that generates power from light energy for lighting functions.

As a result, the indoor positioning device 10 can be used not only as lighting for construction at a construction site but also as a power supply source for the indoor positioning terminal 20 .

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the claims. included in the technical scope of

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Indoor positioning system 3... Server 5... Administrator terminal 7... Building 10... Indoor positioning device 11... Housing 12... LED cover 15... Sheet metal 17... Communication board 19... LED drive board 20... Indoor positioning terminal 25... LED
31... First AC/DC converter 32... CPU
33... Wireless LAN communication unit 34... BLE communication unit 35... Wireless LAN antenna 36... BLE antenna 41... Second AC/DC converter 42... LED driver 501... Opening

Claims (9)

a first wireless communication function used for indoor positioning;
a second wireless communication function for communicating with another device;
lighting function and
An indoor positioning device with integrated lighting that is installed on the ceiling. The indoor positioning device according to claim 1,
a first AC/DC converter that receives first AC power obtained by branching AC power and supplies the first AC power as first DC power to the first wireless communication function and the second wireless communication function;
a second AC/DC converter that receives supply of second AC power branched from the AC power and supplies the second AC power as second DC power to the lighting function;
The indoor positioning device of claim 1, comprising: The indoor positioning device according to claim 1 or claim 2,
The first wireless communication function and the second wireless communication function each include antennas with different directivities,
Indoor positioning equipment. The indoor positioning device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
a sheet metal having a first side and a second side;
The metal plate holds the light emitter of the illumination function on the first surface, holds the substrates of the first wireless communication function and the second wireless communication function on the second surface, and An opening is provided for passing radio waves of the first wireless communication function and the second wireless communication function,
Indoor positioning equipment. three or more indoor positioning devices according to any one of claims 1 to 4;
an indoor positioning terminal that communicates with the first wireless communication function of the indoor positioning device;
Indoor positioning system with The indoor positioning system according to claim 5,
The indoor positioning terminal includes a power conversion unit that generates power from light energy of the lighting function,
Indoor positioning system. The indoor positioning system according to claim 5 or claim 6,
The first wireless communication function measures radio wave intensity or radio wave arrival time in communication with the indoor positioning device,
The second wireless communication function transmits a measurement result of the first wireless communication function to the other device.
Indoor positioning system. The indoor positioning system according to any one of claims 5 to 7,
The indoor positioning terminal includes an antenna having a directivity different from that of the second wireless communication function of the indoor positioning device,
Indoor positioning system. The indoor positioning system according to any one of claims 5 to 8,
receiving measurement results of the indoor positioning device;
creating coordinate data of the indoor positioning terminal;
generating display data for displaying the position of the indoor positioning terminal on a drawing based on the coordinate data;
Indoor positioning system with server.

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