JP4280663B2 - POSITION INFORMATION NOTIFICATION DEVICE, POSITION INFORMATION NOTIFICATION METHOD, POSITION INFORMATION NOTIFICATION SYSTEM, AND COMMUNICATION ADDRESS GENERATION DEVICE - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a position information notification apparatus and method capable of notifying a device connected to a network of a communication address generated based on its own position information, and regenerates a communication address in real time when the position information changes. The present invention relates to a position information notification device and a position information notification method capable of notifying a device connected to a network.

There is a technique that can specify the area of the information transmission source by giving the communication address regional characteristics (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
JP 2002-176444 A

  However, when an information source requests the assignment of a communication address, it searches for a free address from a plurality of addresses assigned to the area where the information source exists, and the found free address is used as the information source. In the technology of enabling communication after being assigned to (1), it is necessary to manage free addresses for each region. (2) A free address assignment request is transmitted from a free address assignment request source to a free address management source. There is a problem that the empty address allocation request source cannot start communication until a response notifying the empty address is transmitted from the empty address management source to the empty address allocation request source.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a position information notification device and a position information notification method that do not require management of empty addresses and can start communication without waiting for allocation of empty addresses.

  A first feature of the present invention is a position information notification device, comprising: (1) a position information acquisition unit that acquires its own position information; (2) a reception unit that can receive data from an external device; ) A transmission unit capable of transmitting data to an external device, (4) a storage unit for storing a first communication address and its own ID, and (5) a communication address first part having position information is generated using the position information. The reception unit receives the second part of the communication address, generates a second communication address from the first part of the communication address and the second part of the communication address, sets the first communication address as the destination address, and the second communication address as the transmission source. And a control unit that causes the transmission unit to transmit the address and ID as transmission data.

  An example of a method in which the position information notification device receives the second part of the communication address from the external device will be described. For example, when a location information notification device is connected to a network, the location information notification device broadcasts a request packet called a router solicitation (RS) to the network, and the router that receives the request packet receives a communication address number. A packet called a router advertisement (RA) including two parts is returned to the RS transmission source (that is, the location information notification device).

  Further, the router advertisement may include not only the second part of the communication address but also the first communication address, and the first communication address included in the router advertisement may be stored in the storage unit.

  The second feature of the present invention is that (1) the storage unit stores the acquired position information, (2) the position information acquisition unit acquires its own position information every predetermined time, and (3) The control unit compares the position information that has already been acquired and stored with the position information that has been newly acquired, and if the position information that has been newly acquired is different from the position information that has already been acquired and stored. Generating a new communication address first part using the newly acquired position information, causing the receiving unit to receive the communication address second part, and from the new communication address first part and the communication address second part to The third communication address is generated, and the first communication address is set as the destination address, the third communication address is set as the transmission source address, and the ID is transmitted as transmission data.

  The communication address is an IPv6 format global address, the first part of the communication address is an interface ID, the second part of the communication address is a prefix, and the first communication address is the global address of the domain name system server. preferable.

  The domain name system server is a server that manages a host name and an IP address in association with each other. The domain name system server includes a dynamic domain name system server whose TTL (Time To Live) setting value is as short as several minutes.

  According to the first feature of the present invention, the position information notification device transmits the first communication address as a destination address, the second communication address including its own position information as a transmission source address, and its own ID as transmission data. By doing so, it is possible to notify the external device of its own location information.

  According to the second feature of the present invention, when the position information notification device changes, the position information notification device rewrites the communication address including the position information of itself and sets the first communication address as the destination address, and rewrites its own communication. By transmitting the address as the transmission source address and the own ID as the transmission data, it is possible to notify the external device of the current position information of the self.

  The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The following description is merely an example, and the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the following description.

  FIG. 1 shows an overall configuration of a communication system according to the first embodiment. The wireless ID tags 20 are regularly arranged on the floor 22 of the office, and the document box 10 includes a tag reader (not shown). The tag reader can transmit a communication packet to the router 40 via the wireless LAN access point 30, and can further transmit the communication packet to an arbitrary client 50 such as a personal computer via the router 40. The router 40 is an IPv6 router.

  Each wireless ID tag 20 has unique position information. The position information is, for example, latitude / longitude information of each wireless ID tag 20. Further, the position information may be information indicating a relative position with respect to any position in the floor 22 as a reference. Further, the reference position may be outside the floor 22.

  In principle, the wireless ID tags 20 are installed at regular intervals. However, when it is not optimal to install the wireless ID tags 20 at regular intervals in relation to office pillars, the wireless ID tags 20 do not necessarily have to be equidistant. Further, the vertical interval and the horizontal interval are not necessarily equal. Furthermore, the position does not necessarily have to be specified using two orthogonal axes. For example, the position may be specified using the distance and direction from the reference position.

  A tag reader included in the document box 10 reads position information held by the wireless ID tag 20, generates an IPv6 address including the position information (hereinafter, referred to as a global address or an IP address, as appropriate), and performs wireless LAN access. It communicates with the point 30, the router 40, the client 50, and the domain name system server 60a. The client 50 can know the position of the book box 10 from the IP address of the document box 10 at the same time as communicating with the document box 10.

  The length per unit of latitude / longitude varies depending on the position on the earth (latitude / longitude), but even if it is assumed to be about 30 m per second in the suburbs of Tokyo, it will not be a large error. In this case, an area of about 30 m square is absolutely designated at 35 degrees 41 minutes 5 seconds north latitude and 139 degrees 46 minutes 2 seconds east longitude (Otemachi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo). An absolute position (area) can be specified with an accuracy of about 3 m when the decimal number is increased by one digit in decimal and about 30 cm when it is increased by two digits. When considering binary numbers, the number of bits required to display the latitude and longitude in seconds is about 32 bits. By preparing about 40 bits, an absolute position with an accuracy of about 30 cm (a two-digit accuracy improvement) can be specified. Is possible. The address space in IPv6 is 128 bits, and of these, the address space that can be freely used in this embodiment is 64 bits or less. For example, in the office or the like, it is necessary to grasp the positions of various devices and fixtures. It is sufficiently accurate and can specify a detailed position. On the contrary, when the resolution is 1 cm, if 24 bits are assigned to the X and Y coordinates, about 40 m square can be covered as a positioning area.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of the tag reader according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2, the tag reader 100a
A tag reading unit 101 (position information acquisition unit) that reads position information from the wireless ID tag 20;
A receiving unit 102 capable of receiving data from an external device such as the router 40;
A transmission unit 103 capable of transmitting data to an external device such as the router 40;
A storage unit 105 for storing an IPv6 address (first communication address) of a domain name system (DNS) server 60a and an ID (own ID) of the tag reader 100a;
Using the position information read from the wireless ID tag 20, an interface ID (communication address first part) having the position information is generated, and the reception unit 102 receives the prefix (communication address second part). An IPv6 address (second communication address) of the tag reader 100a is generated from the prefix, the IPv6 address of the DNS server 60a is set as the destination IP address, the IPv6 address of the tag reader is set as the transmission source IP address, and the ID of the tag reader is transmitted to the transmission unit 103 as transmission data. A control unit 104 for transmission.

  The ID of the tag reader 100a is a name that can identify the tag reader 100a, for example, a combination of a server name and a domain name.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating the flow of IP address generation processing in the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 3, position information is acquired from the wireless ID tag in step S11,
In step S13, an interface ID is generated from the position information,
In step S15, a prefix is received from the router 40,
In step S17, a global address is generated with the prefix received from the router 40 being the first 64 bits and the interface ID generated from the position information being the second 64 bits.
In step S19, an IP packet is generated and transmitted using the generated global address as the source IP address, the IP address of the DNS server 60a as the destination IP address, and the ID of the tag reader 100a as the transmission data. The address and ID of the tag reader 100a are notified to the DNS server 60a.

  The DNS server 60a stores the IP address and ID of the tag reader 100a in association with each other.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a relationship between a prefix, an interface ID, and an IPv6 address, and an IP packet that is generated / transmitted. As shown in FIG. 4A, the IPv6 address is 128 bits, and the first 64 bits are called a prefix and the second 64 bits are called an interface ID. Then, as shown in FIG. 4B, the prefix is obtained from the router 40, the interface ID is generated from the tag information (position information acquired from the tag), and the IP address is generated from the prefix and the interface ID. To do. In this way, an IPv6 address including location information can be obtained. This IPv6 address is a global address that is unique not only in the network managed by the router 40 but also in the whole world. Various devices participating in the IPv6 network can use the global address to identify each device and perform communication based on the IP.

  As shown in FIG. 4C, the IP packet including the IP address of the DNS server 60a as the destination IP address, the generated IP address as the source IP address, and the ID of the tag reader 100a as transmission data is transmitted.

  The interface ID part of this global address contains the content corresponding to the location information of the device, and the various devices participating in the IPv6 network understand the rules so that the location information of the communication partner can be found in IPv6. It can be obtained from the address. The rule is, for example, a promise that from what bit to what bit in the 64 bits of the interface ID portion represents latitude and from what bit to what bit represents longitude.

  In the first embodiment, the tag reader 100a acquires position information from the wireless ID tag, generates a global address based on the acquired position information, and notifies the DNS server 60a together with the ID of the tag reader 100a.

  Therefore, the client 50 can acquire the IP address of the tag reader 100a by inquiring the DNS server 60a about the IP address of the tag reader 100a. Since the IP address includes position information, the client 50 can grasp the position of the document box 10 if the client 50 knows the rule for acquiring the position information from the IP address.

  FIG. 5 shows an overall configuration of a communication system according to the second embodiment. As shown in FIG. 5, it is assumed that the document box 10 moves from a position where the wireless ID tag 20a is read to a position where the wireless ID tag 20b is read. In addition, the router 40 can access the dynamic DNS server 60b. The rest of the configuration is the same as that of the first embodiment, and a description thereof is omitted.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the tag reader according to the second embodiment. As shown in FIG. 6, the tag reader 100b has the same configuration as the tag reader 100a of the first embodiment.
The storage unit 105b also stores the acquired position information,
The tag reading unit 101 acquires its own position information every predetermined time,
The control unit 104 compares the position information already acquired and stored in the storage unit 105b with the newly acquired position information, and the newly acquired position information is stored in the storage unit 105b. And generating a new interface ID (communication address first part) using the newly acquired position information, causing the receiving unit 102 to receive the prefix (communication address second part), and A new IP address (third communication address) of the tag reader 100b is generated from the interface ID and the prefix, and the IPv6 address (first communication address) of the dynamic DNS server 60b is set as the destination IP address, and the new IP address of the tag reader 100b is set. The transmission unit 103 is caused to transmit the tag reader ID as transmission data as the transmission source IP address.

  Note that the storage unit 105b stores the IPv6 address of the dynamic DNS server 60b as the first communication address instead of the IPv6 address of the DNS server 60a.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating the flow of IP address generation processing in the second embodiment. As shown in FIG. 7, the position information is acquired from the wireless ID tag 20b in step S21.
In step S23, it is determined whether the newly acquired position information is different from the position information stored in the storage unit 105b. If the position information is different, the process proceeds to step S25. If not, the process returns to step S21.

  When the position information newly acquired is “position information acquired from the wireless ID tag 20b” and the position information stored in the storage unit 105b is “position information acquired from the wireless ID tag 20a”. Since the position information is different, the process proceeds to step S25.

  In step S25, the position information stored in the storage unit 105b is updated to the newly acquired position information. When the position information newly acquired is “position information acquired from the wireless ID tag 20b” and the position information stored in the storage unit 105b is “position information acquired from the wireless ID tag 20a”. The position information stored in the storage unit 105b is updated to “position information acquired from the wireless ID tag 20b”.

In step S27, an interface ID is generated from the position information,
In step S29, the prefix is received from the router 40,
In step S31, a global address is generated with the prefix received from the router 40 as the first 64 bits and the interface ID generated from the position information as the second 64 bits.
In step S32, an IP packet having the generated global address as the transmission source IP address, the IP address of the dynamic DNS server 60b as the destination IP address, and the ID of the tag reader 100b as transmission data is generated and transmitted. The global address and the ID of the tag reader 100b are notified to the dynamic DNS server 60b.

  The dynamic DNS server 60b associates and stores the new IP address, ID, and host name of the tag reader 100b.

  In the second embodiment, the tag reader 100b acquires tag position information at predetermined time intervals. If the newly acquired position information is different from the already acquired and stored position information, the tag reader 100b newly acquires the position information based on the new position information. A global address is generated and notified to the dynamic DNS server 60b together with the ID of the tag reader 100b.

  Therefore, the client 50 can acquire the IP address of the tag reader 100b by inquiring the IP address of the tag reader 100b to the dynamic DNS server 60b. Since the IP address includes location information, if the client 50 knows the rule for acquiring location information from the IP address, the client 50 can move the document box 10 to the current state even if the document box 10 moves. The position can be accurately grasped.

  In the embodiment, as a method of acquiring the position information from the outside, the wireless ID tag is accessed using a tag reader, and the position information written in advance in the wireless ID tag is acquired. However, as a method for acquiring position information, a method of acquiring GPS information from a GPS (Global Positioning System) satellite to acquire latitude and longitude information, a wireless LAN, Bluetooth, a mobile communication base station, an arbitrary wireless station For example, a method using radio waves such as infrared rays or infrared rays may be used.

  In the embodiment, the client grasps the position of the document box 10. However, not only the document box but also all devices connected to the IP network, such as a printer, a FAX transmitter / receiver, a copier, and an information home appliance, can be targeted for position determination.

  Also, the client is provided with a tag reader, the client acquires its own position information, acquires the position information of a plurality of printing destination candidates, calculates the relative positional relationship between itself and each printing destination candidate, Alternatively, the nearest printer may be selected from the print destination candidates, and a print command and data may be transmitted to the printer. Selecting the nearest access destination from a plurality of access destination candidates in this way is particularly effective when the location where the client is used is not familiar to the user.

  Further, when the other party is an IP phone including the position information notification device as described above, the position of the other party can be known from the source IP address included in the IP packet transmitted from the other party.

  Furthermore, by transmitting a common control packet only to devices existing in a specific area, it becomes possible to power off all devices installed in the specific area, for example.

1 is a diagram illustrating an overall configuration of a communication system according to a first embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the tag reader of Example 1. FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of IP address generation processing in the first embodiment. It is a figure which shows the relationship between a prefix, interface ID, and an IPv6 address, and the IP packet produced | generated and transmitted. It is a figure which shows the whole communication system structure of Example 2. FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the tag reader of Example 2. FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of IP address generation processing in the second embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

10 ... Document box, 20 ... Wireless ID tag,
22 ... Floor, 30 ... Wireless LAN access point,
40 ... router, 50 ... client,
60 ... DNS server 101 ... Tag reading unit,
102: receiving unit, 103 ... transmitting unit,
104 ... Control unit, 105 ... Storage unit

Claims (6)

A tag reading unit that reads position information of the tag as its own position information from any of a plurality of tags each having unique position information ;
A receiver capable of receiving data from an external device;
A transmission unit capable of transmitting data to the external device;
A storage unit for storing the first communication address and its own ID;
Using the position information read by the tag reading unit , a communication address first part having position information is generated, and the receiving part receives the communication address second part, and the communication address first part and the communication address second And a control unit that generates a second communication address from the portion, and causes the transmission unit to transmit the first communication address as a destination address, the second communication address as a transmission source address, and the ID as transmission data. Notification device. The storage unit stores the position information read by the tag reading unit ,
The tag reading unit reads the position information from one of the plurality of tags at predetermined time intervals,
Wherein, if compared with the positional information and the newly read is position information that has already been read is in storage, different from the location information the position information which is newly read has already been read are in storage Generating a new communication address first portion using the newly read position information, causing the receiving unit to receive the communication address second portion, and the new communication address first portion and the communication address second The position information according to claim 1, wherein a third communication address is generated from the portion, and the first communication address is used as a destination address, the third communication address is used as a transmission source address, and the ID is transmitted as transmission data to the transmission unit. Notification device. The communication address is a global address in IPv6 format,
The first part of the communication address is an interface ID;
The second part of the communication address is a prefix;
The position information notification device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the first communication address is a global address of a domain name system server. The storage unit stores its own ID and the first communication address,
The tag reading unit reads position information of the tag as its own position information from any of a plurality of tags each having unique position information ,
The control unit generates a communication address first portion from the position information read by the tag reading unit ,
The receiving unit receives the second part of the communication address from the external device,
The control unit generates a second communication address from the communication address first part and the communication address second part, the first communication address is a destination address, the second communication address is a source address, A position information notification method for causing an ID to be transmitted as transmission data to the transmission unit.   A position information notification system having a plurality of tags and a position information notification device,
  Each of the plurality of tags has unique position information indicating a position where the tag is arranged,
  The position information notification device includes:
    A tag reading unit that reads position information of the tag as its own position information from any of the plurality of tags,
  A receiver capable of receiving data from an external device;
  A transmission unit capable of transmitting data to the external device;
  A storage unit for storing the first communication address and its own ID;
  Using the position information read by the tag reading unit, a communication address first part having position information is generated, and the receiving part receives the communication address second part, and the communication address first part and the communication address second And a control unit that generates a second communication address from the portion, and causes the transmission unit to transmit the first communication address as a destination address, the second communication address as a transmission source address, and the ID as transmission data. Notification system.   A tag reading unit that reads position information stored in the tag as its own position information from any of a plurality of tags in which unique position information is stored;
  A receiver capable of receiving data from an external device;
  Using the position information read by the tag reading unit, a communication address first part having position information is generated, and the receiving part receives the communication address second part, and the communication address first part and the communication address second And a control unit that generates its own communication address from the part.

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