KR100984038B1 - Location tracking system - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a location transmitter for outputting a signal including unique location information; And a terminal that receives a signal output from the location transmitter and obtains its current location from the location information included in the received signal.

The present invention has an advantage in that collision does not occur between beacon signals because the beacon, which is a location transmitter, transmits a beacon signal for location recognition at its timing in a time-synchronized state, and a tag, which is a location receiver, Since the beacons only receive the beacon signals transmitted, there is no need for a separate communication protocol between the tag and the beacons, making it easy to install.Therefore, the number of users increases because the number of users does not increase the system complexity. According to the system, the scalability is excellent.

Description

Location tracking system {POSITIONING SYSTEM}

The present invention relates to a location tracking system, and more particularly, to a location tracking system capable of real-time location tracking indoors and outdoors.

In general, the location tracking system has separate systems for outdoor and indoor environments depending on the application environment.

Location tracking system in indoor environment is applied to museum, hospital, shopping mall and department store.

First of all, in the museum, the navigator can find out where the exhibits are of interest. That is, the viewer can use the personalized navigation information by grasping the current location and location information of the exhibit using the map information of the museum.

In another example, the hospital can share the location of the current doctors and nurses and the location of the patient to build a network that can provide effective medical support by using the location information of medical staff that can assist in case of an emergency patient. In this case, the position of the patient can be easily known.

In the case of a shopping mall or a department store, the user may provide an environment for viewing the store information and sale information at the current location.

The location tracking system for the indoor environment has a vision-based system using a camera, but the vision-based system has a problem of privacy protection and a large amount of data calculation.

On the other hand, the location tracking system in the indoor environment has been developed for the location tracking of the mobile communication terminal equipped with a location tracking system module via satellite communication. That is, the location tracking method of the mobile communication terminal uses information obtained from a GPS (Global Positioning System) satellite that generates the location information of the mobile communication terminal.

Here, location tracking using GPS satellites is arranged on six orbital planes which are inclined at 55 degrees with the earth's equator, so that four or five satellites are placed in each orbit and communicate with four or more satellites anywhere on the earth. It receives a signal containing a specific code from a GPS satellite and calculates its current position (longitude, latitude, altitude) at some point in time.

In addition, the location tracking method of the mobile communication terminal uses the location information of the base station for the mobile communication terminal to perform the mobile communication.

However, the GPS location tracking system cannot be used indoors where the GPS signal does not reach, and has a disadvantage that the precision is not high.

In addition, the existing indoor location tracking system must have gateways in each zone, and these gateways must be connected to servers through wired communication such as Ethernet, RS422 / RS485, etc., and support cross-zone handoff when a user moves to another zone. There is a problem in that the communication between the gateways using a complicated wireless protocol, and therefore consumes a lot of energy.

The present invention provides a location tracking system that improves the communication efficiency between beacons by transmitting the beacon signals of a plurality of beacons through time synchronization when tracking the location through a plurality of beacons installed in each area to solve this problem. There is this.

Another object of the present invention, since the tag provided in the terminal receives only the signals of the beacons in the vicinity, it does not need a separate communication protocol between the tag and the beacon, so that the beacon is easy to install, the complexity of the communication protocol even if the number of users increases By not increasing, the system provides a location tracking system that is highly scalable as the number of users increases.

Technical means of the present invention for achieving the above object is a position transmitter for periodically outputting a signal containing the unique position information; And a terminal that receives a signal output from the location transmitter and obtains its current location from the location information included in the received signal.

Also, the position transmitter has a plurality of beacons provided in one area, and the plurality of beacons are synchronized in time to sequentially output a beacon signal.

The beacon also outputs a beacon signal at a plurality of different levels.

Also, a plurality of beacons have a higher and lower relationship according to the order in which the beacon signals are output, and when one of the beacons does not receive the beacon signal of the upper beacon, one of the beacons is a beacon with its own lower beacon after a predetermined time. Output the signal automatically.

The beacon further includes a display unit, and when the beacon signal of the upper beacon is not transmitted to any one beacon, the beacon displays an operation error of the upper beacon.

The terminal also includes a tag unit for receiving the beacon signal of the beacon.

In addition, the terminal further includes a switch unit for inputting an emergency situation, the terminal determines the emergency situation of the user based on the input result of the switch unit.

In addition, the terminal further comprises a sensing unit for detecting the movement of the user, the terminal determines the emergency situation of the user based on the detection result of the sensing unit.

The apparatus further includes a server receiving emergency signals and location information from the terminal and transmitting emergency signals and location information to public institutions.

Also, the terminal extracts a beacon signal having the largest signal strength (RSSI) among the plurality of beacons, and obtains a current position based on the extracted beacon signal.

According to the present invention, since a mobile communication terminal such as a mobile phone is used as a mobile gateway, a separate gateway is not required and a handoff is automatically performed without a separate handoff mechanism.

In addition, if you use the built-in GPS receiver function, you can track the location of the indoor and outdoor.

In addition, since the tag is attached or operated in a dongle type that is embedded in the terminal or connected to the terminal charging connector, there is no need to manufacture a tag separately, thereby reducing the tag production cost and solving the battery capacity problem of the tag.

In addition, because the beacon transmits a beacon signal for position recognition at its timing in a time-synchronized state, collision does not occur between the beacon signals, and since the tag receives only the beacon signal transmitted by beacons in its vicinity. It is easy to install because there is no separate communication protocol between tag and beacon, and accordingly, the complexity of the system does not increase by increasing the number of users. Since the beacon signal is transmitted periodically, battery consumption can be minimized.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a block diagram of a location tracking system according to an embodiment of the present invention, a beacon (B11 to B55), the terminal 20, the mobile communication network 30, the Internet 40, the server 50 and the location transmitter It consists of a public institution 60.

The room A in which the location tracking service is provided is divided into a plurality of regions S1 to S5, and a plurality of beacons B11 to B55 are provided in each of the regions S1 to S5.

The number of beacons provided in each region is determined by the size of the region, the position recognition precision, and the RF transmission distance of the beacon signal.

That is, the beacons B11 to B55 which are location transmitters store unique location information and identifier (ID) information and transmit a beacon signal including the information.

If the terminal 20 exists in a distance adjacent to the beacon which transmitted the beacon signal, the terminal 20 receives the beacon signal transmitted from the beacon.

One of the beacons of the plurality of beacons B11 to B15 provided in the same area S1 is set to the header beacon B11, and the beacons set to the header beacon B11 are the plurality of beacons to be installed in the same area S1. The beacon signal is transmitted first among the beacons B11 to B15.

2 is an exemplary diagram of synchronizing the beacon signals of a plurality of beacons provided in one region according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2, when a plurality of beacons B11 to B15 provided in one region S1 are synchronized with each other in time, and the header beacon B11 of the first region S1 transmits a beacon signal A beacon signal is sequentially transmitted in order of beacon B12, beacon B13, beacon B14, and beacon B15.

When specifically describing the synchronization of the time according to the transmission of the beacon signal between a plurality of beacons installed in one area, the header beacon (B11) first transmits a beacon signal including its identifier (ID) information, the header After the beacon signal of the beacon B11 is received by another beacon B12, a new beacon signal added with its identifier ID information is transmitted to another beacon B13.

In this manner, beacon signals are sequentially transmitted in the order of beacon B13, beacon B14, and beacon B15.

Since the beacon signal transmission between the beacons proceeds sequentially, a hierarchical relationship between upper and lower layers is established between the plurality of beacons in transmission of the beacon signal.

That is, the header beacon B11 is the root and the parent beacon of the beacon B12, the beacon B12 is the parent beacon of the beacon B13 and the child beacon of the beacon B11, and among the remaining beacons. The same relationship holds.

3 is a periodic graph of a plurality of beacon signals according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 3, the period in which the beacon signals are transmitted by the plurality of beacons is an active period for transmitting the beacon signals and a power saving mode for the RF transceiver (not shown) and the CPU (not shown) after the beacon signals are transmitted. It is divided into a sleep section that switches to.

At this time, the remaining beacons (B12 to B15) except for the header beacon (B11) to switch from the sleep state to the active state in advance just before the start of the active period of the upper beacon in order to receive a beacon signal from its upper beacon Receive a beacon signal from the upper beacon of.

Since the beacon signal is transmitted in this manner, collision between the beacon signals can be prevented, and the time required for beacon signal transmission can be greatly reduced.

In addition, the beacons B11 to B55 adjust the output of the beacon signal when transmitting the beacon signal, so that accurate position information can be easily obtained.

That is, the beacon signal output of the beacons B11 to B55 transmits power level 1 (maximum power) to a degree that can be reached up to a radius of one region and a half of a radius of a region so that position information can be easily calculated. The output is adjusted and adjusted in three stages: the transmit power level 2 (intermediate power) of achievable degree and the transmit power level 3 (minimum power) of achievable up to about 3m.

At this time, when the output signal of the beacon is minimized, the beacon signal can be received only when the tag unit 21 is close to a specific beacon. Therefore, it is possible to know the exact position of the terminal 20 in which the tag unit 21 is provided.

4 is an exemplary diagram of synchronizing the beacon signals of a plurality of beacons provided in a plurality of regions according to an embodiment of the present invention. Synchronization of time between a plurality of beacons provided in the plurality of regions illustrated in FIG. 4 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 3.

First, the header beacon B11 of the area 1 S1 operates as a header beacon of the entire service area. That is, beacon signal transmission starts from the header beacon B11 of area 1 S1. After the beacon signal transmission is sequentially performed in the area 1 (S1), the last beacon B15 in the area 1 (S1) transmits the beacon signal to the header beacon (B21) in the area 2 (S2), and in the area 2 (S2) After the beacon signal is transmitted in sequence, the beacon signal is transmitted to the header beacon B51 in the area 5 (S5). In this manner, the beacon signal is transmitted to the last beacon B55 of the area 5 (S5).

In this case, a plurality of beacons provided in the same area and two beacons connecting different areas are installed in consideration of the communication distance, and identifier (ID) information of the beacons is given in order of installation.

As a result, beacons are only active when their parent beacons transmit beacon signals, so they do not receive beacon signals from non-higher beacons, even when other beacons transmit beacon signals in abnormal situations. Do not receive.

If a link between specific beacons is disconnected during the transmission of the beacon signal, and the beacon signal is not received from the upper beacon within a predetermined time, the lower beacon ignores the beacon signal from the upper beacon and automatically transmits its own beacon signal. Create and send to your own sub-beacons.

In addition, when each area is divided into each floor or each room of the building, beacon signals between the areas are blocked and in this case, the beacons between the two areas do not affect each other. Since no beacon signals are received, collisions between the beacon signals do not occur.

Accordingly, two beacons (for example, B15 and B21) that transmit and receive beacon signals between the two regions do not need to synchronize time.

In other words, the beacons in all areas of the service area do not have to be synchronized in time, and only the areas that interfer with each other need to be synchronized in time.

Each beacon B11 to B55 includes a battery for supplying operating power, an LED for displaying a low voltage alarm when the operating voltage falls below a predetermined voltage, and an LED for indicating that the beacon does not operate normally when the beacon signal is not transmitted. The same display unit is provided.

More specifically, if the beacon signal is not received from its upper beacon, the lower beacon has failed or the wireless link is disconnected. By recording the failure of the upper beacon in the beacon signal and transmits it so that the terminal 20 in the area can notify the abnormal beacon of the upper beacon.

5 is a block diagram of a terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 5, the terminal 20 includes a tag unit 21, a GPS receiver 22, a switch unit 23, a sensing unit 24, a control unit 25, a display unit 26, and a communication unit 24. Is provided.

The tag TAG 21 is provided in a terminal (for example, a mobile communication terminal such as a mobile phone, a PDA, or a TRS terminal) carried by a user, and receives the beacon signal from the beacons B11 to B55 to control the controller 25. To send).

Here, the tag unit 21 may be installed in the form of a dongle built in the terminal 20 or connected through a charging connector (not shown) of the terminal 20.

The GPS receiver 22 receives a signal from a GPS satellite and transmits the signal to the controller 25 when the user is outdoors.

The switch unit 23 is provided in the tag unit 21 and transmits an input signal of the emergency switch to the control unit 25 when the emergency switch is pressed by the user when the user is in an emergency situation.

In addition, by manufacturing a mechanism that can attach the terminal provided with the tag unit 21 to the user body, when the robbery switch is pressed when forcibly robbed the terminal attached to the user's body in a situation where the third party is not in a call The input signal of the switch is transmitted to the controller 25.

In addition, the switch unit 23 further includes a power on / off switch of the tag unit 21.

The sensing unit 24 is configured as an acceleration sensor or an inclination sensor and is provided in the tag unit 21, and detects a change in acceleration or a change in inclination according to a user's movement and transmits the detected signal to the control unit 25.

The control unit 25 receives the location information and the identifier (ID) information included in the beacon signal transmitted sequentially from the tag unit 21 according to the time synchronization procedure, RSSI (receive signal of the transmitted position information and beacon signal) Strength is calculated using Received Signal Strength Indication.

At this time, the control unit 25 extracts the beacon signal having the largest RSSI among the beacon signals transmitted from the tag unit 21 by obtaining the location information, and analyzes the extracted beacon signal to obtain the location information.

In addition, the control unit 25 obtains the position information based on the plurality of beacon signals transmitted from the tag unit 21 and the output of each beacon signal by another method of obtaining the position information.

In other words, the beacon signal transmitted to the control unit 25 has a transmission power level 1 (maximum power) that can be reached up to a radius of one region and a transmission power level 2 (intermediate power) that can be reached up to about half a radius of an region. ) And three levels of transmission power level 3 (minimum power) that can be reached up to about 3 m at minimum power.

At this time, the controller 25 waits for a time for receiving three or more beacon signals of different beacons, and calculates a position using the received beacon signals when at least three beacon signals are received.

The control unit 25 transmits the calculated position information to the server 50 using the mobile communication network 30.

In addition, when the output signal of the specific beacon is minimum, the control unit 25 can receive the beacon signal only when the tag unit 21 is close to the specific beacon, thereby obtaining accurate position information according to whether the beacon signal is received. .

The controller 25 analyzes the signal transmitted from the GPS receiver 22 to calculate the current position (longitude, latitude, altitude) of the terminal 20, and then calculates the position information of the terminal through the communication unit 27 through the server ( 50).

The controller 25 analyzes the danger signal and the robbery signal transmitted from the switch unit 23 and transmits the dangerous signal and the robbery signal to the server 50 through the communication unit 27 along with the location information.

The control unit 25 analyzes the signal transmitted from the detection unit 24 every time it is switched in the power-down mode to determine a change in the user's movement and transmits the determination result and the position information to the server 50 through the communication unit 27. send.

At this time, the control unit 25 transmits a danger signal to the server 50 until a change command is input if a change in other movement does not occur even after a predetermined time has elapsed since the change of the movement occurs.

The display unit 26 displays a battery low voltage alarm when the tag voltage falls below a predetermined voltage.

The communication unit 27 is connected to the server 40 through the mobile communication network 30 and then connected to the server 50 to transmit various information of the control unit 25 to the server 50, from the beacons B11 to B55. It becomes a gateway for transmitting the acquired location information to the server 50.

The terminal 20 and the server 50 connected to the Internet 40 are connected in real time through the mobile communication network 30.

The Internet 40 connects the terminal 20, the server 50, and the public institution 60 to each other so as to share location information and emergency information.

The server 50 analyzes the data transmitted from the control unit 25, that is, location information and emergency situation information, and informs the user of an emergency situation to an institution (a police station, a hospital, etc.) related to an emergency situation in an emergency situation.

1 is a block diagram of a location tracking system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is an exemplary diagram of synchronizing the beacon signals of a plurality of beacons provided in one region according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a periodic graph of a plurality of beacon signals according to an embodiment of the present invention.

4 is an exemplary diagram of synchronizing the beacon signals of a plurality of beacons provided in a plurality of regions according to an embodiment of the present invention.

5 is a block diagram of a terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Description of the Related Art [0002]

B11 to B55: Beacon 20: Terminal

30: mobile network 40: internet

50: server 60: public institution

Claims (10)

At least one beacon provided within a preset area and outputting a signal including unique location information; Receiving a signal output from the location transmitter and includes a terminal for obtaining its current location from the location information included in the received signal, The beacon outputs a beacon signal at a plurality of different power levels, And the terminal obtains its current location based on the plurality of different power levels. The method of claim 1, And a plurality of beacons, the plurality of beacons are synchronized in time to sequentially output a beacon signal. delete The method of claim 2, In the plurality of beacons, a higher and lower relationship is established according to the order of outputting the beacon signal, If the beacon signal of the upper beacon is not received by any one of the beacons, any one beacon automatically outputs a beacon signal to its lower beacon after a predetermined time. The method of claim 4, wherein The beacon further includes a display unit, And the display unit displays an operation error of the upper beacon if the beacon signal of the upper beacon is not transmitted to any one of the beacons. The method of claim 1, wherein the terminal Position tracking system including a tag unit for receiving the beacon signal of the beacon. The method of claim 1, The terminal further includes a switch unit for inputting an emergency situation, The terminal determines the emergency situation of the user based on the input result of the switch unit. The method of claim 1, The terminal further includes a sensing unit for detecting a user's movement, The terminal determines the emergency situation of the user based on the detection result of the detection unit. 9. The method according to claim 7 or 8, And a server for receiving the emergency signal and the location information from the terminal and transmitting the emergency signal and the location information to a public institution corresponding to the emergency situation. The terminal of claim 2, wherein the terminal A location tracking system for extracting a beacon signal of the largest signal strength (RSSI) of the plurality of beacons, and obtains a current position from the extracted beacon signal.

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