JP2002109680A - Wireless guide system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enhance barrier-free effects using radio guide. SOLUTION: A broadcasting machine 20, such as FM or the like, is provided on a signal 14 or the like, and a message of 'It is green light' or the like is radio transmitted. A loop antenna 16 is laid, so as to surround a guide Braille block 12 or the like which is located on this side of a crosswalk 10, and an area designation signal transmitter 18 transmits an ID by the use of the loop antenna 16. A portable receiver 22, carried by a user 102, detects its location on the inside of a message providing area regulated by the loop antenna 16 from the receipt and discrimination of ID, and outputs the message, and only when it is detected, from the broadcasting machine 20, together with a standard message such as 'this is a crosswalk' or the like by voice.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a radio guidance system for providing a user with a message according to the present location or the like using radio technology.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As an example, consider a museum where a large number of exhibits are open to the public. Usually, museums provide useful information to museum users by writing information such as the source, location of discovery, age, etc. of each exhibit beside each exhibit. In addition, a method has been adopted in which various guides are published and distributed in museums. However, with these methods, it is difficult to provide more detailed information about the exhibit to the user in the presence of the exhibit without delay. The wireless guidance system described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-68645 is a system developed for the purpose of providing useful information to a user under appropriate circumstances without delay.

[0003] The wireless guidance system described in the above publication is composed of a transmitter and a portable receiver. The portable receiver is a receiver carried by the user, and stores a table for associating an ID (identification code) unique to the transmitter with a message. When the portable receiver receives a certain ID, the portable receiver provides the user with a message associated with the ID on the table in the form of earphone sound output, screen display, or the like. The transmitter has a fixedly installed loop antenna, and wirelessly transmits its own ID using this loop antenna. The loop antenna is a conductor loop, and the direction of the magnetic flux generated when an electric signal is supplied to the antenna conductor is reversed between inside and outside of the loop, so that the portable receiver corrects the ID of the transmitter. The message that can be received in the phase and therefore can output the message corresponding to the ID can be output only in the area belonging to the inside of the loop. Outside the loop,
Since only the ID whose phase is inverted can be received, no message is output from the portable receiver.

[0004] As described above, in the radio guidance system described in the above-mentioned publication, portable reception is performed through radio transmission of an ID from a transmitter using a loop antenna and identification of a received signal in a portable receiver. An area for providing a message from the device to the user, that is, a message providing area is specified. Therefore, for example, a loop antenna is buried on the floor in front of the exhibit, and on the other hand, information for associating an ID transmitted using the loop antenna with a message related to the exhibit is stored in the portable receiver. If registered in the table, the operation of providing a message by the portable receiver is started immediately when the user carrying the portable receiver arrives in front of the exhibit. As a result, more detailed information on each exhibit can be provided to the user without delay in front of the exhibit. Also, ID
Since the portable receiver has a table for associating the message with the message, the user can always listen to the message from the beginning unlike a system that repeatedly broadcasts the message itself.

[0005] In the wireless guidance system described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-122165, furthermore, the loop antennas are allowed to partially overlap with each other, and a combination of IDs transmitted by using the loop antennas overlapping each other is determined. It is associated with a message or a conversion ID on a table in the portable receiver. The fact that the portable receiver has entered the overlapping area between the loop antennas is detected by illuminating the table with the combination of IDs received by the portable receiver. In the overlapping area, a message corresponding to the combination of those IDs is provided to the user. As a result, a larger and smaller message providing area can be realized without increasing the number of transmitters and loop antennas.

[0006]

The situations in which humans need to receive some kind of guidance include museums, art galleries, etc., as well as walking on streets and using various transportation means. For example, when operating on an unfamiliar land without a guide, the user may be wondering where to turn at this intersection and where to go to this bus stop. In addition, when approaching an intersection, a visually impaired person who has difficulty in visually recognizing the color of the signal and turning on / off the light may not be able to accurately determine whether or not to proceed. It is desired to provide a message by the wireless guidance system, that is, to perform the wireless guidance as referred to in the present application, even for these activities involving walking on the street and using various transportation means.

However, providing a user with a situation that changes in a short cycle such as seconds or minutes, such as a change in the color of a traffic light, is not possible because the table inside the portable receiver is fixed. It cannot be realized with the systems according to the publications mentioned above. The present invention has been made to solve such problems, and has been made.
One of the purposes is to be able to automatically change a message provided to a user following a frequent change in situation.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, a radio guidance system according to the present invention comprises: (1) transmitting an area designation signal for wirelessly transmitting an area designation signal for designating a message providing area; And (2) a timely message that is provided so that its broadcast area covers one or a plurality of message providing areas and is a part of a message to be provided to a user that changes at least in accordance with a change in circumstances. And (3) a portable receiver that is carried by the user and provides the received timely message to the user, and receives when the current location is within the message providing area when viewed from the received area designation signal. And a portable receiver that does not execute the timely provision of the message when it is not likely to execute it.

[0009] One of the points that the inventor of the present invention focused on in making the present invention is that a request to provide an appropriate message to a user depends on the time, place, and situation in which the message should be provided. This can be subdivided into a first request for providing a message and a second request for changing the content of the message to be provided according to the time, place, and situation of providing the message. In the systems described in each of the above publications, the message providing area can be precisely specified and specified using the loop antenna, so that the request regarding the message providing location among the first requests can be met. On the other hand, since the message is stored in the portable receiver, it is difficult to change the content of the message in accordance with the surrounding conditions and the like. We cannot respond to the request of 2.

In order to be able to change the contents of a message according to the surrounding conditions, the present invention employs a method of broadcasting a message. The timely message in the present invention is a message transmitted from the broadcaster, and is set at an arbitrary timing, as appropriate, in cooperation with external setting for the broadcaster, control of a traffic light, or operation of transportation.
It is possible to change. In the present invention, the timely message is received by the portable receiver and provided to the user, so that the request relating to the time / situation in the first request and the request relating to the time / situation in the second request are provided. I am responding.

[0011] Further, only the method of broadcasting a message in a timely manner cannot respond to the above-mentioned first request relating to a place and the second request relating to a place. Therefore, in the present invention, a message providing area is designated to the portable receiver using the area designation signal transmitter, and the portable receiver provides a timely message based on the area designation signal from the area designation signal transmitter. Or not, and a timely message to be provided is selected. In the present invention, the provision of the timely message by broadcasting and the designation / restriction by the area designation signal relating to the provision area of the timely message are suitably combined in this manner, so that the first and second requests described above are satisfied. We have been fully responding to location requests.

Therefore, according to the present invention, since radio guidance can be carried out even for actions involving walking on the street or using various means of transportation, it is easy to act in a place where there is no intuition on the land, and it is also useful for persons with visual impairments. As a result, the effect of promoting socio-economic activity and barrier-free society is brought about. In addition, since a timely message is received at any time, consumption and occupation of message storage / recording resources in the portable receiver can be suppressed.

The present invention can be understood as an invention having the following features or an invention belonging to the following categories.

First, the radio guidance system according to the present invention
Further, a plurality of area designating signal transmitters or broadcasters are provided in the area to be guided, and these plurality of area designating signal transmitters or broadcasters are connected to the management device, and the area designation signal or the timely It is characterized in that the content of the message or its transmission timing is controlled. This makes it easy to change the message in a timely manner or respond immediately to a change in the system configuration according to the occurrence / change / end of the construction status, and it is possible to provide guidance based on centralized management of the guidance target area. .

[0015] The wireless guidance system according to the present invention further comprises:
The portable receiver stores therein a fixed message, which is a part of the message to be provided to the user, which does not change according to the situation change, and the current location is within the message providing area when viewed from the received area designation signal. In the case of, the provision of the stored fixed message is not performed when the timely message is received, and when the message is not received, the stored message is not provided. . As a result, the information amount of the timely message can be suppressed, the burden on the broadcaster can be reduced, and the broadcaster itself can be omitted at a place where it is not necessary to transmit the timely message.

[0016] The radio guidance system according to the present invention further comprises:
A plurality of message providing areas are provided within the guidance target area, the area designating signal transmitter transmits a different ID for each message providing area as at least a part of the area designating signal, and the portable receiver stores the ID in advance. One of a plurality of fixed message stored in accordance with the corresponding relationship between the ID and the fixed message is selected and provided to the user. Thereby, a different fixed message can be provided for each message providing area.

The radio guidance system according to the present invention further comprises:
The broadcaster transmits a timely message related to the message providing area included in the broadcast area together with an ID related to the message providing area, and the portable receiver stores in advance from the timely messages received or about to be received. And selecting an ID having an ID corresponding to the ID being provided to the user. This allows
Even when a plurality of different message providing areas exist in the broadcast area, different timely messages can be provided for each message providing area.

The radio guidance system according to the present invention further comprises:
The mobile receiver detects its own moving direction based on the reception history of the ID, and provides a user with a fixed message according to the moving direction. This enables wireless guidance according to the moving direction.

The radio guidance system according to the present invention further comprises:
The broadcaster transmits a timely message set for each moving direction that can be taken by the portable receiver, and based on its own moving direction detected based on the reception history of the ID, the portable receiver outputs the timely message from the broadcaster. It is characterized in that a timely message according to the detected moving direction is provided to the user. As a result, even for a timely message, wireless guidance according to the moving direction becomes possible.

The radio guidance system according to the present invention further comprises:
The broadcaster transmits a timely message about each possible moving direction of the portable receiver, and the portable receiver detects a fixed message indicating its own moving direction detected based on the ID reception history, and receives all the moving directions. And providing a timely message to the user. This allows
Since the user can obtain information on the situation in each of the possible moving directions and information on his / her current moving direction, the user can obtain not only information on the situation about his / her current moving direction but also each direction around him / her. You can also get information about

[0021] The wireless guidance system according to the present invention further comprises:
The area designation signal includes a header, and the portable receiver
When an area designation signal having the same header is received a plurality of times in succession, it is ignored except for at least one of them. As a result, the load of reception processing on the portable receiver is reduced, and the power consumption on the portable receiver is reduced.

[0022] The wireless guidance system according to the present invention further comprises:
A portable receiver squelches or mutes a signal related to a timely message received from a broadcaster outside a message providing area. In particular, when a timely message is received via FM radio broadcasting, control according to the features of the present invention can be realized by diverting or applying a circuit conventionally provided in an FM radio receiver or the like.

The wireless guidance system according to the present invention further comprises:
The portable receiver outputs the timely message or the timely message and the fixed message in the form of vibration, voice, text or video, or a wireless call, or in the form of a combination thereof. As a result, the user or the person concerned can surely receive the message, and since the output form is a form conventionally used in various portable devices, a cost required for the implementation is required. And the like, and, in some cases, can be shared with the corresponding members of other devices.

[0024] The radio guidance system according to the present invention further comprises:
It is characterized by comprising an information providing facility for supplying at least one of a message providing area, a situation or a map of an area including the message providing area, and a fixed message to be provided in each message providing area to a portable receiver. I do. Thereby, the user can hold the latest information on the vicinity of the current location in the portable receiver.

The radio guidance system according to the present invention further comprises:
The information providing equipment includes equipment capable of wirelessly connecting to the portable receiver, and when the portable receiver receives emergency information from the equipment, provides the information to the user. As a result, guidance to the user in an emergency can be more reliably provided.

The radio guidance system according to the present invention further comprises:
The portable receiver detects the user's current location and notifies the user of the result of collating the detected location with the scheduled route.
Thus, it is possible to prevent the route taken by the user from deviating significantly from the planned route.

[0027] The wireless guidance system according to the present invention further comprises:
The area designation signal transmitter wirelessly transmits a signal indicating the location, and the portable receiver resets or corrects the detected current location or the result of comparison between the detected current location and the planned route based on the signal. As a result, the "outside" determination for the scheduled route can be accurately performed.

The radio guidance system according to the present invention further comprises:
The broadcaster or the information providing equipment is attached to an already installed member such as a lighting pole. As a result, the installation cost can be saved, the installation space can be secured, and the reliability of providing information to the user can be improved due to the geographical distribution of information sources.

[0029] The radio guidance method according to the present invention provides a portable receiver carried by a user with a broadcast message by transmitting a timely message which is at least a part that changes in accordance with a change in the situation among the messages to be provided to the user. On the other hand, a portable receiver that wirelessly instructs a message providing area, which is an area to which a message should be provided to a user, and detects that the user is within the instructed message providing area, And providing the user with a message including the timely message carried by the user. As a result, a message corresponding to the situation can be provided to the user only at an appropriate place.

[0030] The visually impaired person support system according to the present invention comprises:
The message providing area in the wireless guidance system according to the present invention is defined along the arrangement of the guide braille blocks, and the provision of the message to the user or the related person is output by vibration or sound from the portable receiver or the mobile communication system. It is characterized by making a call via the. Thereby, a visually impaired person can receive information that cannot be obtained only with the guided Braille block, for example, information on road construction, at a place where the guided Braille block is provided, for example, on the street, in a timely manner. Increase.

[0031] In the walk supporting system according to the present invention, the message providing area in the wireless guidance system according to the present invention is provided along a street or a passage and divided into a plurality of sections.
A broadcast area is set at least at a place or an area where information on the propriety of the passage, such as before a signal, should be received so that a message can be provided in a timely manner. This reduces embarrassment when acting on unfamiliar land or unfamiliar places.

[0032] The transportation use support system according to the present invention is characterized in that the message providing area in the radio guidance system according to the present invention is provided in a public transportation facility such as a station, a bus stop, a taxi stand, and the like. This makes it easier to use transportation that is not normally used on unfamiliar land.

[0033] The viewing support system according to the present invention is characterized in that the message providing area in the wireless guidance system according to the present invention is provided near an object to be viewed, such as in front of an exhibit in a museum. This makes it easier to take measures to enhance the appreciation effect, such as updating the information about the appreciation object to the latest information every day.

The sightseeing guide system according to the present invention is characterized in that the message providing area in the wireless guide system according to the present invention is provided at a point where the sightseeing board, an idol, a building, an observing place, etc. are temporarily stopped for sightseeing. Features.
This makes it possible to provide tourist information at an appropriate timing and at an appropriate place. A sightseeing guidebook is no longer necessary, so you can enjoy more comfortable sightseeing.

In the vehicle approach warning system according to the present invention, the portable information receiver in the wireless guidance system according to the present invention has a vehicle information receiving unit, and the vehicle running on the road has a vehicle-mounted transmitter. The in-vehicle transmitter wirelessly transmits information indicating the presence of the vehicle on which the vehicle is mounted, and the vehicle information receiving unit receives a signal from the in-vehicle transmitter, and the portable receiver carries the portable receiver based on the signal. It provides information on the approaching state of the vehicle to the user who is performing. More preferably, the in-vehicle transmitter transmits information indicating the vehicle behavior such as its position, moving speed, moving direction, etc., while the portable receiver detects the user's behavior such as its current location, moving speed, moving direction, etc. Then, based on the vehicle behavior given by the signal received from the onboard transmitter and the detected user behavior, information including numerical values related to the distance, relative speed, relative direction, etc. of the user to the vehicle is provided to the user. As a result, it is possible to issue a specific warning to the user regarding the approach of the vehicle.

An area designating signal transmitter according to the present invention is an area designating signal transmitter used in the radio guidance system according to the present invention, wherein an ID generating unit for generating an ID unique to itself is provided. A transmission unit for transmitting by a loop antenna, and the loop antenna are provided, and the position, shape, and size of the message providing area are defined by the position, shape, and size of the loop antenna. As a result, the message providing area is more precisely defined as compared with the method of defining the message providing area using a carrier wave with a limited transmission distance, and a message can be provided to the user at a more accurate position.

The area designating signal transmitter according to the present invention is the above-mentioned area designating signal transmitter, further comprising a block constituting a part of a road pavement, and a loop antenna at a peripheral portion of the block. And an ID generation unit and a transmission unit are housed inside the block body. As a result, an area designation signal transmitter integrated with a block body such as an induction braille block can be realized, and laying work can be facilitated and downsized.

[0038] The area designating signal transmitter according to the present invention is the area designating signal transmitter integrated with the block body, further comprising a solar cell or a block body provided on a surface of the block body exposed to outside air. The power supply power is provided by these solar cells or batteries. By thus integrating the power supply, a more compact and highly integrated area designation signal transmitter can be obtained.

The area designating signal transmitter according to the present invention is the area designating signal transmitter integrated with the block body, further comprising a sensor for detecting arrival or approach of a user, and used by the sensor. The transmission of the area designation signal is performed only when the arrival or approach of a person is detected. As a result, the execution frequency of the area designation signal transmission operation is reduced, and power consumption is suppressed.

The area designating signal transmitter according to the present invention is the area designating signal transmitter integrated with the block body, and is characterized by intermittently transmitting the area designating signal. As a result, the execution frequency of the area designation signal transmission operation is reduced, and power consumption is suppressed.

The portable receiver according to the present invention is a portable receiver used in the radio guidance system according to the present invention, and is provided with a means for receiving an area designation signal for designating a message providing area, and providing the user with the area designation signal. Means for receiving and extracting from the broadcast wave a timely message that is at least a part that changes according to a situation change of the message, means for determining whether or not the current location of the portable receiver is within the message providing area, and providing the message Means for providing the user with a message including the timely message received and extracted when the user is within the area. As a result, a message corresponding to the situation can be provided to the user only at an appropriate place.

[0042]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

(1) System Configuration First, as is well known, in Japan, in order to support the behavior of the visually impaired or the like, a guide braille block having irregularities arranged on its upper surface in accordance with a predetermined rule is provided by a sidewalk, a passage, or the like. Often arranged in. For example, on a sidewalk, a large number of guide Braille blocks are embedded so that a pedestrian can follow a row of guide Braille blocks along a road while keeping a sufficient distance from a roadway. In front of the pedestrian crossing, a plurality of guided Braille blocks are embedded side by side on the road surface on the side of the pedestrian side, that is, before the pedestrian crossing.

If the guide braille block is arranged, the location of the guide braille block and the irregularities on the upper surface thereof serve as one clue when the visually impaired person steps forward. Also,
The induction braille block is often colored yellow or the like. In the case where such coloring is performed, the weak-sighted person can easily visually recognize the location of the guide braille block, and furthermore, the location of the sidewalk, and the so-called barrier-free effect is further enhanced. Thus, the guided braille block is an effective technical means for supporting the visually impaired in social participation.

On the other hand, in recent years, wireless technologies such as mobile communication technology and remote sensing technology have been developed. The wireless guidance system described in JP-A-11-68645 and JP-A-11-122165 is one of the applications of this type of wireless technology. It is recognized that wireless guidance is useful for supporting the behavior of the visually impaired and realizing a barrier-free society, and for realizing a so-called pedestrian information system or pedestrian ITS.

One of the preferred embodiments of the present invention is a visually impaired person support system constructed by applying or modifying the technology used in the radio guidance system described in these publications. In addition, the present invention is not only a system aimed at barrier-free, for example, a pedestrian guidance system that supports walking and use of transportation in unfamiliar land, road traffic information, commercial information and tourism information The present invention can also be implemented as an information guidance system that provides users under appropriate circumstances. In the present application, the visually impaired person support system, the pedestrian guidance system, the information guidance system, and the like that involve wireless guidance are collectively referred to as a wireless guidance system.

FIG. 1 schematically shows a wireless guidance system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The example shown in this figure is an example in which the present invention is implemented as a system for guiding a visually impaired person or the like by radio, and particularly shows an example of device arrangement near a pedestrian crossing. In the example shown in this figure, a plurality of guiding Braille blocks 12 are embedded in front of the pedestrian crossing 10, that is, on the side of the sidewalk as viewed from a pedestrian, and a traffic light 14 is installed beside it.

The system according to the present embodiment generally includes an area designation signal transmitter 18 having a loop antenna 16 installed so as to surround the induction Braille block 12,
The guided Braille block 12 and its vicinity are broadcast area 1
And a broadcaster 20 provided at a high place such as a lower surface or a side surface of the traffic light 14 so as to be covered by
2 (or a companion of the user 102 such as a guide dog; the same applies hereinafter) and the area designation signal generator 18 and the broadcaster 2
It is configured by a portable receiver 22 that receives a signal from 0.

(2) Area Designating Signal Transmitter The area designating signal transmitter 18 is buried underground in FIG. 1, but may be installed on the ground or in a nearby indoor space if the installation environment permits. , May be stored in the induction braille block 12 as described later. As shown in FIG. 2, the area designation signal transmitter 18 includes an ID generation unit 24 for generating an ID unique to the area designation signal transmitter 18, and a transmission unit for transmitting the ID from the loop antenna 16 as an area designation signal. 26. ID generator 24
May be manually set before installation or at the time of maintenance and inspection, etc., but more preferably, the ID is remotely set from a management device described later, and updated as necessary. The transmitting unit 26 includes, for example, the ID generating unit 24
A simple, low-cost and power-saving circuit can be realized by the driving IC 30 that drives the driving unit 28 in accordance with the ID given by. The driving unit 28 includes, for example, the loop antenna 16
The output transistor 32 for outputting a signal to
It can be realized with a simple and power-saving configuration.

In the example of FIG. 1, the loop antenna 16 is provided so as to surround the plurality of guided Braille blocks 12 in front of the pedestrian crossing 10, but this is only an example.
For example, it may be provided so as to surround a single guided Braille block 12, or may be provided at a place where there is no guided Braille block 12. Other than just before the pedestrian crossing 10, for example, along the street (sidewalk), underpass entrance, bus stop, taxi stand,
It can be installed on the platform / passage of the station, elevator hall, escalator / stairs and its entrance, in front of doors, in front of exhibits, promenades, jogging courses, in parks, historic spots, etc. It can be provided not only on the ground or the road surface but also on the ceiling or the wall surface.

The loop antenna 16 is an antenna composed of a loop-shaped conductor. As is well known, the magnetic field (magnetic flux density B) generated when a current flows through the loop-shaped conductor is opposite between the inside and outside of the loop. Therefore, when radio radiation is performed from the loop antenna 16 by a signal whose phase or amplitude is modulated according to a binary code, the loop in a situation where the magnetic field appearing inside the loop antenna 16 indicates the binary number “1” The magnetic field appearing outside the antenna 16 is a magnetic field representing “0” in binary, and conversely, if the inner magnetic field is a magnetic field representing “0”, the outer magnetic field is a magnetic field representing “1”. Therefore, the ID generation unit 2
When the output transistor 32 is driven according to the ID generated in step 4, the ID received by the portable receiver 22 inside the loop antenna 16 and the ID received by the portable receiver 22 outside the loop antenna 16 are: , The values are reversed. Therefore, if the ID of each area designation signal transmitter 18 (ID that can be received in the message providing area 108) is registered in advance as described later, the portable receiver 22 is able to identify itself, that is, the user 102 based on the received ID. Is located inside or outside the loop antenna 16.

As described above, the loop antenna 16 defines an area having a certain extent in cooperation with the ID detection / determination operation in the portable receiver 22. This area is referred to as a message providing area 108 defined by the loop antenna 16 in the present application. The position, size, shape, and the like of the message providing area 108 defined by the loop antenna 16 are precisely determined by the position, size, shape, and the like of the loop antenna 16. As described later,
Although it is possible to define the message providing area 108 by radiation such as electromagnetic waves and ultrasonic waves having a limited carrier reach, the message providing area 108 defined by such means has a shape close to a circle. However, there are disadvantages in that the message providing area 108 having an arbitrary shape, for example, a rectangular or triangular shape, cannot be realized, the size is widened or narrowed depending on weather conditions, and an enclave may occur. By defining the message providing area 108 by the loop antenna 16, it is possible to define a precise area as if a line was drawn on the ground.

Regarding the definition of the message providing area 108 using the loop antenna 16, the one that does not involve broadcasting is described in each of the above-mentioned publications. Further, as long as the advantages of the present invention are not impaired, the configuration described in the present application can be modified according to the disclosures of the above-mentioned publications. The present invention is intended to cover such modifications.

(3) Broadcaster The broadcaster 20 is installed so that the broadcast area 100 can cover the guide braille block 12 and its vicinity as described above. In the example of FIG. 1, the broadcaster 20 is attached to the traffic signal 14.
It may be appropriately selected depending on where 0 should be set.
For example, if broadcasting is performed at the entrance of an underpass or at the entrance of a building, it is provided at a gate or a threshold. If broadcasting at a bus stop or taxi stand, install it on a signpost or on the roof of a waiting area. If broadcasting indoors, install it on the ceiling or the like. The broadcaster 20 is an FM radio broadcaster, more preferably an FM text multiplex broadcaster. Alternatively, a transmitter for electromagnetic waves, infrared rays, or ultrasonic waves, or a transmitter using a loop coil may be used. Further, the number of message providing areas 108 covered by one broadcast area 100 is one in the example of FIG. 1, but may be plural.

The broadcaster 20 is a means for broadcasting a message to be provided to the user 102, and has, for example, the configuration shown in FIG. The message to be broadcast is stored in the storage unit 34 in advance, and the transmission unit 36 reads the message from the storage unit 34 and wirelessly transmits the message from an antenna 38 (or a light source or a sound source; the same applies hereinafter). This message is received by the portable receiver 22 existing in the broadcast area 100.

The message transmitted by the broadcaster 20 by radio is different from a fixed message described later, and is changed according to the surrounding situation and the like (to be distinguished from the fixed message, it is referred to as "timely message"). ). For this reason, the storage unit 34 stores a plurality of timely messages so that the broadcast message can be changed according to a change in the situation. Further, in order to change a message to be broadcast, it is necessary to obtain information on a change in situation. Control unit 40
Obtains information related to a situation change from a management device or the like, which will be described later, and notifies the transmission unit 36 which timely message should be read.

For example, in the example of the road crossing shown in FIG. 1, a timely message such as "go ahead" or "do not go" is stored in the storage unit 34 in advance. The control unit 40 obtains information such as a green signal or a red signal from the traffic signal 14 at the installation location or from a management device that exchanges information with the traffic signal system. When the control unit 40 obtains the information "green light", it instructs the transmission unit 36 to transmit the "advance" of the timely message in the storage unit 34, and conversely, transmits the "red light" When the information is obtained, instruct the user to transmit "I cannot proceed." As a result, the portable receiver 22 in the broadcast area 100 receives a timely message according to the color of the signal in front.

Further, when the number of message providing areas 108 covered by the broadcast area 100 is plural, when storing the timely messages in the storage unit 34, the table 104 for associating the timely messages with the IDs.
(See FIG. 3) is desirably stored in advance. The IDs registered on the table 104 are a plurality of message providing areas 108 existing in the broadcast area 100.
, And a plurality of timely messages are generally registered in the table 104 in correspondence with each ID.

Further, a small message providing area 108 is simulated by partially overlapping the message providing areas 108 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-1).
No. 22165) describes a combination of IDs of a plurality of area designation signal transmitters 18 corresponding to a plurality of message providing areas 108 partially overlapping, or another type of ID for specifying the combination, in a corresponding timely manner. Along with the message, it is registered on the table 104 in advance.

A function of changing a timely message to be broadcast according to the direction of movement of the user 102 from the message providing area 108 to another message providing area 108, that is, the moving direction of the user 102 is realized. In this case, the combination and moving direction of the IDs of the plurality of area designation signal transmitters 18 corresponding to the source and destination message providing areas 108, or another type of ID that specifies the combination and the moving direction are corresponded. It is registered in advance on the table 104 together with the appropriate message.

(4) Portable Receiver The portable receiver 22, as shown in FIG.
2. It comprises an ID receiving unit 44, a processing unit 46, a storage unit 48, and an output unit 50. The broadcast receiving unit 42 receives the timely message transmitted from the broadcaster 20 using the antenna 52. When the broadcaster 20 is an FM radio broadcaster, the broadcast receiver 42 can be realized by an FM radio receiver. When the broadcaster 20 is broadcasting with infrared rays or ultrasonic waves, a light receiving element or an ultrasonic transducer is provided instead of the antenna 52. Further, the ID receiving unit 44 receives an area designation signal from the area designation signal transmitter 18 using the antenna 54. The signals received by the broadcast receiving unit 42 and the ID receiving unit 44 are both supplied to the processing unit 46.

The processing section 46 has an ID detecting section 56 for detecting an ID from the signal received by the ID receiving section 44. When the area designating signal transmitter 18 is transmitting an ID using the loop antenna 16 as shown in FIG.
The signal received by the D receiver 44 is stored in the storage
This can be performed by detecting that the code includes a code that matches any one of D (including the normal and reverse phases). Alternatively, if the ID transmitted from the area designating signal transmitter 18 includes a header which is a code common to each area designating signal transmitter 18, the in-phase header is detected from the signal received by the ID receiving unit 44. It can be executed by demodulating and decoding the code that follows. When a signal of the same header is received a plurality of times in succession, a subsequent signal may be ignored.

The processing section 46 has a squelch / mute control section 58. The squelch / mute control unit 58
The same ID as the ID registered in the storage unit 48
When the ID detection unit 56 has not been detected from the signal received by the reception unit 44, that is, when the portable receiver 22 is out of the message providing area 108, the broadcast reception is controlled by the control of the amplifier 60 constituting the broadcast reception unit 42 or the like. The output of the received signal from the unit 42 is suppressed or cut off (silence). Or,
The operation of the broadcast receiving unit 42, the output unit 50, or the members interposed therebetween is stopped by power control or the like. Therefore, when the portable receiver 22 is out of the message providing area 108, no message is output from the output unit 50 (except for messages that do not specify the message providing area 108 (described later)).

Conversely, when the ID detecting unit 56 detects an ID that matches the ID in the storage unit 48, the portable receiver 22 can be regarded as being in the message providing area 108 related to the ID, so that the squelch The / mute control unit 58 cancels the above-mentioned operation, and makes the signal received by the broadcast receiving unit 42 usable. Since the broadcast area 100 is set to include the message providing area 108, the broadcast receiving unit 42 at this point in time
The timely message transmitted from 0 has been received, and accordingly, the received signal also includes the timely message.

The processing section 46 has a message selection section 62. On the other hand, in the storage unit 48, the message selection unit 6
2 is stored.
The table 106 is a table that associates an ID with a fixed message. The sentence message referred to in the present application is a component of the message to be provided to the user 102 that does not need to be changed according to the situation. The fixed message is fixed or invariable for each message providing area 108, or is updated relatively infrequently even if it is updated.

Specifically, in the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the message for the user 102 is switched in the message providing area 108 provided in front of the pedestrian crossing 10 in accordance with the situation of the signal. For example, in the case of a green traffic light, provide `` It is a pedestrian crossing to XX, it is a green traffic light so you can cross it '', and for a red traffic light, `` It is a pedestrian crossing in the direction of XX, it is a red traffic light and you cannot cross it. '' Do
Such guidance is given. These multiple types of messages are
Each of them has a portion "It is a pedestrian crossing toward XX" which does not change whether the signal is green or red.
The fixed message registered on the table 106 refers to a message portion of this type which does not need to be changed according to the situation or has little necessity. Another example is
"There is a step", "There is a railroad crossing", etc. In general, since a plurality of message providing areas 108 are set within the action range of the user 102, the storage form of the fixed message on the storage unit 48 needs to be a form associated with the ID, for example, the table 106 shown in the drawing. There is.

The message selection unit 62 includes an ID detection unit 56
By referring to the table 106 on the storage unit 48 based on the ID detected by the above, a fixed message related to the message providing area 108 to which the current location of the portable receiver 22 belongs is selected. Also, at this point, the timely message is included in the signal received by the broadcast receiving unit 42, and thus the fixed message selected by the message selecting unit 62 is included in the signal received by the broadcast receiving unit 42. The output unit 50 in a form combined with the timely message
Supplied to

That is, according to the above example, the selected fixed message, “Pedestrian crossing to XX” is selected.
And the timely message included in the received signal, "It's a green light so you can cross it" (or "It's a red light so you can't cross it"), and "It's a pedestrian crossing towards XX, it's a green light so you can cross it The output is output from the output unit 50 in a form such as "mas". Since the timely message is provided from the broadcaster 20 in this way, the message corresponding to the situation is transmitted to the user 1.
02, and the storage unit 48 does not need to store timely messages (except for temporary storage).

The output unit 50 can take various forms. As an example of an implementation of the output unit 50, the processing unit 46
There is a vibrator 64 that vibrates when an instruction is given to output a message from. The vibrator 64 or its peripheral circuit, so that the vibration pattern, frequency, intensity, etc. of the vibrator 64 automatically switches according to the message content.
It is desirable to design a drive circuit.

As another example of the mode of realizing the output unit 50, a speaker 6 for outputting a message to be provided as sound is provided.
There are six. If an FM radio receiver or the like is used as the broadcast receiving unit 42, the output unit 50 is connected to the speaker.
The barrel speaker 66 can be used. When the portable receiver 22 is used by attaching it to a belt or the like as shown in FIG. 1, the speaker 66 may be used instead of the speaker 66 so that the message can be surely heard or other people's attention is not inadvertently drawn. Earphones may be used.

As still another example of the mode of realizing the output unit 50, there is a display 68 using a small display device such as an LCD. The display 68 displays a character or video indicating a message on the screen. As will be described later, a navigation function can also be realized by combining with map information and the like. Further, a display unit such as a wristwatch, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), a mobile phone terminal, or a PHS (Personal Handy phone System) terminal can be used as the display 68 as the output unit 50. Note that the portable receiver 22 may be realized by using a device such as a PDA, or a PDA or the like may be used as an external device for output of the portable receiver 22.

Further, as another example of the mode of realizing the output unit 50, there is a mobile communication terminal 70 such as a portable telephone, a PHS, etc., capable of making a call by radio. That is, for example, when the user 102 arrives at the station
It is also possible to automatically notify a person concerned of a message that the station is a "station."
5, as shown as a mobile communication terminal 96 in FIG. 5, can be used for obtaining and downloading various information from outside, and for performing voice communication, mail transmission / reception, and the like.

Further, it is also possible to appropriately use the above-described plural embodiments. For example, by vibrating the vibrator 64 at the time of providing a message, various effects can be expected by using and cooperating a plurality of realization forms, such as prompting the user 102 to view the display of the message on the display 68. Further, the connection between the output unit 50 and the processing unit 46 may be wired or wireless. In the case of wireless connection, an infrared ray, a radio wave, or the like can be used as a medium. As a modulation method for wireless connection, various methods including spread spectrum modulation and the like can be adopted. In particular, Bluetoot
h and the like can be suitably used. Bluetooth is a trademark of Ericsson.

Further, the processing unit 46 may be provided with a direction discriminating unit 72 for discriminating the moving direction of the portable receiver 22 and thus the user 102 based on the ID detected by the ID detecting unit 56. For example, if the ID has been changed to ID2 at some point after receiving ID1 as the ID, the user 102 moves from the message providing area 108 corresponding to ID1 to the message providing area 108 corresponding to ID2. It can be considered moved. The result of the discrimination by the direction discriminating unit 72 is output from the output unit 50, for example, the speaker 66 or the display 68, or is used for navigation to the user 102. For example, user 10
For the purpose of changing the message content according to the moving direction of 2,
Can be used.

When the direction discriminating section 72 is provided for this purpose,
The table 106 in the storage unit 48 stores information for associating the transition form of the ID with the fixed message. In the example shown in FIG. 4, the message “F4” is associated with the transition mode “ID2 → ID3”, and the message “F5” is associated with the transition mode “ID3 → ID2”. Specifically, codes corresponding to “ID2 → ID3”, “ID3 → ID2”, etc. are separately prepared and registered in the table 106.

The message selecting section 62 includes a direction determining section 72
Is input from the direction determination unit 72 in the form of information for specifying the transition mode of the reception ID, for example, “ID2 → ID3”. The message selector 62 reads a corresponding fixed message, for example, “F4” from the table 106 according to this information.

Further, the broadcasting device 2 corresponding to a plurality of moving directions
When a plurality of timely messages are transmitted simultaneously from zero, the message selection unit 62 may select any one of the plurality of timely messages according to the determination result of the direction determination unit 72. In the output unit 50,
The selected fixed message and the (selected) timely message are provided. For example, "In the direction of XX,
A message such as "I cannot pass because of road construction" is supplied to the output section. In this message example, the part of "fixed in the direction of XX" is an example of a fixed message selected, and the part of "impossible to pass due to road construction" is an example of a timely message selected. The direction determination will be described later with some examples.

Further, on the table 106 shown in FIG. 4, "F2" is associated with "ID1, ID2". This type of registration is performed when the message providing area 108 related to ID1 and the message providing area 108 related to ID2 partially overlap, and the overlapping area should provide the fixed message “F2”. Will be Specifically, a code corresponding to the combination of IDs “ID1, ID2” is registered in association with the corresponding fixed message “F2”.

When ID1 and ID2 are detected simultaneously or successively by the ID detection unit 56, the message selection unit 62 determines that the current location of the portable receiver 22 and thus the user 102 is the same as the message providing area 108 related to ID1. It is regarded as an overlapping area with the message providing area 108 related to ID2, and the fixed message “F2” corresponding to “ID1, ID2” is read from the table 106.

Further, "ID1, ID2"
If a timely message corresponding to has been sent,
The message selecting section 62 supplies this timely message to the output section 50 together with the selected fixed message.
In this way, by partially overlapping the plurality of message providing areas 108 (for example, partially overlapping the plurality of loop antennas 16) and providing an original fixed message in the overlapping portion, the message providing area 108 is pseudo-subdivided. It is possible to provide more precise guidance.

(5) Management of Area Designation Signal Transmitter, Broadcaster, and Portable Receiver The table 106 on the storage unit 48 provided in the portable receiver 22 has a limited storage capacity of the storage unit 48 and saves the space. Therefore, it is desirable that the table be provided for only a part of the areas to be subjected to the radio guidance service. Here, if the moving range of the user 102 and thus the mobile receiver 22 remains within the area covered by the table 106, the contents of the table 106 may be fixed and updating thereof may be impossible. Will.

However, for the purpose of expanding the area where the visually impaired can behave, and to be able to act even in unfamiliar land.
From the point of view, it is not desirable to fix the table 106. In addition, the contents of the table 106 may become obsolete with the improvement of the urban environment and the living environment, and may become unrealistic. From this point of view, the portable receiver 22 is provided with a function of updating the previous table 106 with a new table 106, and the new table 1
06 (or the new table 10 for the old table 106)
6 differences. It is desirable to provide a facility for providing the portable receiver 22 with information regarding the same. In particular, when the service area of the radio guidance service covers a large geographic area,
This kind of function and equipment is essential when a wide variety of guidance needs to be provided, although it is narrow, such as in an area with a lot of roads.

When the radio guidance service is implemented while updating the table 106 as appropriate, the service area of the radio guidance service is divided into a plurality of sufficiently small area divisions, and the message provision area 108 is defined in units of these area divisions.
(Or ID) and information on a fixed message to be provided must be handled. In this case, the information collected for each area division, that is, the information provided from the equipment side to the portable receiver 22 when updating the table 106 is
It is referred to as area information.

There are a variety of types of equipment that can provide sectioned area information. Similarly, a circuit provided on the portable receiver 22 side to receive the sectioned area information supplied from the equipment.
There can be various types of members. FIG. 5 shows various forms of the information providing facility 74 for providing the divided area information, and various forms of the input unit 76 for inputting the divided area information to the portable receiver 22. It is also possible to provide information provision facilities 74 of different forms side by side, and it is also possible to provide a plurality of forms of input units 76 in the portable receiver 22 corresponding to the information provision facilities 74 of different forms. 4 and the like are denoted by the same reference numerals or are not shown.

As the information providing equipment 74, firstly, there is a stand-shaped information terminal provided at a street, a station, or the like, that is, a kiosk terminal 78. The kiosk terminal 78 is installed in a state where the kiosk terminal 78 is connected to the portable receiver 22 by wire or wirelessly or in a state where an external recording (storage) medium such as a disk or an IC card is set. The section area information regarding the area section where the user is located is output in response to the operation of the user 102 or the assistant.

The input unit 76 in this case is represented as an interface 80 in the figure. Kiosk terminal 7
The connector 80 and the device for driving and managing the connector are used as the interface 80 when the cable 8 and the portable receiver 22 are connected by wire. If information is to be delivered using an external recording (storage) medium, an external recording (storage) device that can access the medium is connected to the interface 80.
Used as

The portable receiver 22 via the interface 80
Is input through the processing unit 46 or through a table creating / updating process by the processing unit 46.
It is stored in the storage unit 48. As a result, the table 106 on the storage unit 48 is updated to a table suitable for the current state of the area where the kiosk terminal 78, which is the direct provider of the area information, is located. Note that the kiosk terminal 78
In addition to downloading the map information described later, the portable receiver 2
2 can also be used to download peripheral facility information, event information, sightseeing information, etc.

Secondly, the information providing equipment 74 includes a beacon transmitter 82 for transmitting a beacon signal using a medium such as radio waves or infrared rays. The beacon transmitter 82 is provided, for example, on a lighting pole on the side of a road, a bridge section such as a pedestrian bridge / viaduct, a dedicated sign post, and the like, and thus scatteredly provided at various places.
By installing it together with equipment for other uses such as a lighting pole, it is possible to install a large number of beacon transmitters 82 in the installation space and other points and generally within the same area division, thereby improving the reliability and reliability of information provision. It is convenient in that the service is enriched.

The beacon signal transmitted from each beacon transmitter 82 carries section area information on the area where the beacon transmitter 82 is located. Input unit 7
6, a beacon receiver 84 provided on the portable receiver 22 side
Obtains the area information by receiving the beacon signal transmitted by the nearest beacon transmitter 82,
It is supplied to the processing unit 46. The processing in the processing unit 46 is the same as that when the kiosk terminal 78 is used.

Further, for example, a header is added to the beacon signal. The beacon receiver 84 determines whether or not the beacon signal has been received based on the header, and when the beacon signal has been received, does not execute the receiving process regarding the beacon. In addition, the area designation signal received from the area designation signal transmitter 18 has an ID not registered in the table 106.
If it is related to the message providing area 108 (more generally, the message providing area 108), the processing unit 46 causes the beacon receiver 84 to receive a beacon signal from the nearest beacon transmitter 82, and obtains new segmented area information.

As described above, the update using the kiosk terminal 78 is different from the update using the kiosk terminal 78 in that the update of the reception of the segmented area information using the beacon is automatically performed without any special operation of the user 102 and without being conscious. In comparison, it has an excellent surface.

Thirdly, as the information providing equipment 74, FM
There is an FM multiplex broadcaster 86 that transmits sectioned area information through multiplex broadcasting. The FM multiplex broadcaster 86 as the information providing equipment 74 broadcasts the divided area information on the vicinity of the location, and the FM receiver 88 provided in the portable receiver 22 as the input unit 76 receives the divided area information. The processing in the processing unit 46 is the same as that when the kiosk terminal 78 is used.

A plurality of subdivisions are defined by subdividing the vicinity of the location of the FM multiplex broadcaster 86, and a subdivision code for specifying each subdivision is transmitted from the FM multiplex broadcaster 86 via the character information channel. Preferably, it is transmitted. In such a case, in the portable receiver 22 in which the GPS receiver 90 is built or connected, the FM multiplex broadcaster 86
From the subdivision information sent with the divisional area information from the GP
By collating with the positioning result (current position or the like) obtained from the S receiver 90, only the information on the vicinity of the current position of the portable receiver 22 can be extracted from the received divided area information and used. Instead of the GPS receiver 90, location information services of various mobile communication systems may be used.

Strictly speaking, only information on the vicinity of the current location of the portable receiver 22 may be received,
It is also possible to temporarily receive the information on the entire area of the area and extract only the information on the vicinity of the current location of the portable receiver 22 from the area information. A different carrier frequency may be used for each subdivision.

Further, in an emergency, an alarm, a disaster information, a recommendation, and the like are transmitted from the FM multiplex broadcaster 86 in place of the divided area information, and the portable receiver 22 preferentially outputs the information from the output unit 50. By doing so, it is possible to realize quick and accurate evacuation behavior in unfamiliar land and accurate support for visually impaired persons and the like. In this case, it is desirable to link the FM multiplex broadcaster 86 with a system such as a disaster prevention radio.

The table 106 on the portable receiver 22 side
In addition, the table 104 of the broadcaster 20 and the ID of the area designation signal transmitter 18 also need to be updated or changed according to the situation.

First, regarding the timely message broadcast from the broadcaster 20, not only the daily broadcast content change in cooperation with the operation of the traffic light 14, etc., but also the broadcast content change at any time due to the start / end of road construction, etc. is necessary. Among them, the change in cooperation with the operation of the traffic light 14 and the like can be realized by controlling the reading from the storage unit 34 (table 104) as described above. Regarding the change accompanying the start / end of the road construction, for example, a timely message such as “cannot cross” or “detour in the direction of XX” may be stored in advance on the table 104 and broadcasted as necessary. Can be realized. However, for that purpose, it is necessary to notify the start / end of the road construction (and its contents) to the broadcaster 20 from outside.

Next, the ID transmitted from the area designating signal transmitter 18 is also changed to the ID for the impassable when the road construction makes it impossible to cross the pedestrian crossing 10. On the table 106 of the portable receiver 22, a fixed message for impassable traffic is registered in association with the ID for impassable traffic. Therefore, when the ID received from the area designation signal transmitter 18 is an ID for impassable traffic, the portable receiver 22 outputs a fixed message for impassable traffic from the output unit 50. In this case,
The timely message from the broadcaster 20 has also been changed to the one for when traffic is not possible, and the output of the output unit 50 is in accordance with that. Therefore, the user 102 can obtain information on the situation of the pedestrian crossing 10 in front of the user, It is possible to receive an instruction regarding the immediate action (such as a detour) accurately.

In order to execute the control and management for the broadcaster 20 and the area designation signal transmitter 18, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. A network in which the transmitter 18 is connected to the management device 92 is constructed.

The example shown in this figure is an example of a wireless guidance system in a part of a street (sidewalk) from one traffic light 14 to another traffic light 14, and a plurality of message providing areas 108 (loops) are provided along the sidewalk. An area inside the antenna 16) is set, and a broadcast area 100 is also set in front of the traffic light 14. Therefore, in the example of this figure, the content of the fixed message switches near the boundary of the loop antenna 16 as the user 102 proceeds on the sidewalk,
In the vicinity of the traffic light 14, a timely message is also provided. As described above, when implementing the present invention, it is possible to appropriately mix and arrange a place where only a fixed message is provided and a place where a timely message is also provided.

In the drawing, reference numeral 94 denotes a transmission line, which can be realized by both wired and wireless. It is desirable to use a dedicated transmission line, but depending on the use of the system, it can also be realized by a public line. The management device 92 is, for example, a computer provided in an office that manages the system.
It is not necessarily one device. In other words, it may be an aggregation or network of a plurality of devices.

(6) Direction Instruction and Navigation for User In this embodiment, each area designation signal transmitter 18 transmits a unique ID, and accordingly, a message providing area using the loop antenna 16 or the like. 10
Utilizing the fact that 8 is specified and limited, it is possible to notify the user 102 of the current moving direction. This can be positioned as one form of navigation for the user 102.

For example, as shown in FIG. 7, it is assumed that two message providing areas 108 are set side by side. Further, the user 102 carrying the portable receiver 22
Has walked along the line of the message providing area 108. At this time, depending on the moving direction of the user 102,
The manner in which the ID received by the portable receiver 22 changes is different.
That is, when walking in the direction 1 in the figure, the received ID changes from ID1 to ID2, while when walking in the direction 2, the received ID is ID2.
To ID1.

Therefore, the processing unit 46 of the portable receiver 22, particularly the direction discriminating unit 72, examines the reception history of the ID, and refers to the table 106 according to the result, so as to correspond to the moving direction of the user 102. The fixed message can be read from the storage unit 48 and provided to the user via the output unit 50. That is, it is possible to provide guidance such as "moving to the direction of XX" if moving in the direction 1 and "moving to the direction of XX" if moving in the direction 2.
Further, the one-dimensional direction discrimination and direction designation can be extended to a two-dimensional one. For example, it is possible to arrange three or more message providing areas 108 so as to form an L-shape, or to arrange four or more message providing areas 108 in a grid pattern (see FIG. 8). Such an arrangement can be used for signal guidance at intersections.

Further, according to the result of the direction discrimination by the direction discriminating section 72, the timely message output from the output section 50 can be selected and changed by the message selecting section 62. As shown in FIG. 9, in the present embodiment, the portable receiver 22 uses the table 10 based on the area designation signal (here, ID) received from the area designation signal transmitter 18.
6, the broadcaster 20 selects and transmits a timely message from the information on the table 104 according to the situation of the traffic light 14 and the like, and combines the two messages in the portable receiver 22. Output. Although the ID is also transmitted from the broadcaster 20 in FIG. 9, this can be omitted when the broadcast area 20 of the broadcaster 20 has only one message providing area 108. By using this mechanism, it is possible to take timely change measures for messages in accordance with the moving direction of the user 102.

For example, the broadcaster 20 broadcasts a timely message in each moving direction in association with the moving direction. As shown in FIG. 10, the broadcasting format is the first
There is a form in which a text information channel of FM radio broadcasting is used. That is, in the embodiment in which the broadcaster 20 is realized by the FM multiplex broadcaster, timely messages in each of a plurality of moving directions are sequentially transmitted on the voice channel, and the moving direction corresponding to the timely message is transmitted in the character information channel. Is transmitted to the portable receiver 22 so as to inform the portable receiver 22 of a timely message in each moving direction for each moving direction.

In addition to the mode using the character information channel, there is a second mode in which the carrier frequency used for broadcasting is changed for each moving direction. In this embodiment, the portable receiver 22
On the side, a timely message corresponding to the moving direction is obtained by automatically selecting a frequency channel according to the result of the direction determination. In both the first and second embodiments,
Whether to receive a timely message once in all directions and select it afterwards, or conversely, to make a selection first and receive only the selected timely message, may be determined as appropriate. Furthermore, whether to output the received timely message as it is from the output unit 50 or to output it after accumulating it may be determined as appropriate.

As shown in FIG. 11, there is a broadcast mode in which the broadcaster 20 broadcasts timely messages in each moving direction, but does not broadcast in the moving direction in which each timely message is provided to the user. in this case,
Guidance for each direction is provided by a timely message, and information on the current moving direction is notified by a fixed message.

For example, the broadcaster 20 broadcasts a timely message such as "North is a city hall" and "South is a station". On the other hand, on the table 106 of the portable receiver 22, fixed messages saying “heading north” and “heading south” are moving directions (strictly, a code specifying the movement direction).
Is registered in association with. When the direction discriminating unit 72 detects that the vehicle is currently heading north, for example, a fixed message saying "heading north" is read from the table 106, for example. The output unit 50 outputs the fixed message “Northern” as well as the received timely message “North is a city hall” and “South is a station”. By receiving these messages, the user can know what is in the north, what is in the south, and where he is currently going. You can judge whether you are heading to the city hall or the station.

In this embodiment, even if the area designation signal is not received (for example, the same ID as the ID registered on the table 106 is not received, and the divided area information is updated) Even when a corresponding item is not obtained), information broadcast from a specific point can be outputted from the output unit 50. This can also be positioned as one form of navigation. For example, the broadcast device 20 is installed at a station, and a message "Omae station" is always provided to the user when approaching the station.

In this type of broadcasting, several forms can be adopted as shown in FIG. For example, if the output of the portable receiver 22 is implemented based on the idea that no treatment such as mute or squelch is performed, the broadcaster 20
, Only the message is broadcasted, and the portable receiver 22 outputs the message without the ID as it is.

When the broadcaster 20 is an FM multiplex broadcaster, a mute / squelch control signal is transmitted using a character information channel, and the squelch / mute controller 58 of the portable receiver 22 transmits the mute / squelch control signal at a specific timing. Squelch / mute can be performed to reduce the frequency of message output.

The portable receiver 22 has a GPS receiver 90.
The broadcaster 20 may transmit the position of the broadcaster 20 using a character information channel or the like, assuming that the broadcaster 20 is built-in or connected. In this case, the portable receiver 22 collates the positioning result of the GPS receiver 90 with the position of the broadcaster 20 received from the broadcaster 20, and only when a proper positional relationship is reached (for example, when the station Squelch / mute control is performed so that a message is output.

Even in front of the station, in a place where the message providing area 108 is set, for example, in a taxi stand, a broadcast provided at the station head is provided to provide the user 102 with information on the taxi stand or a taxi available there. A separate broadcasting device 20 is provided for the taxi stand so as to avoid interference with the broadcast wave of the device 20 as much as possible, and a message providing area 108 is set in the taxi stand.

As another form of navigation, there is navigation based on map information. For example, map information around the current location is stored in the storage unit 48 in advance, or an external recording (storage) device is built in or connected to the portable receiver 22, and the processing unit 46 performs processing in the storage unit 48 or external recording (storage). It shall be possible to access map information on the medium. Further, it is assumed that a GPS receiver 90 is built in or connected to the portable receiver 22, and information on the current location of the portable receiver 22 can be obtained from the GPS receiver 90.
Under such a device configuration, the processing unit 46 can output an image of a map including the current location from the output unit 50, for example, the display 68, based on the information on the current location obtained from the GPS receiver 90. For visually impaired people,
The information such as the building name and the street name included in the map information is taken out, and the information is output from the speaker or the earphone 66 as a sound, or combined with the result of the direction discrimination to determine in which direction the building is located or in which direction the street is located. It is also possible to inform the user that he is moving to.

Note that such a configuration is similar to that of the card type GP.
This can be realized by a PDA or the like on which the S receiver can be mounted. If the portable receiver 22 has the interface 80, the beacon receiver 84, or the FM receiver 88 as the input unit 76, the kiosk terminal 78, the beacon transmitter 8
2 or the FM multiplex broadcaster 86, and the map information on the storage unit 48 or the external recording (storage) medium can be appropriately updated.

Further, as shown in FIG.
A mobile communication terminal 96 such as a mobile phone terminal or a PHS terminal is provided as an input unit 76 of the map information provider 202.
If there is an environment that can be connected to the network, initial installation and update download of map information can be executed by connecting the mobile communication terminal 96 to the provider 202. In this case, in particular, by specifying a necessary point or area from the processing unit 46 side, it is also possible to obtain map information on the destination, the waypoint, and the planned route along the user 102. That is, the present invention is not limited to the map information on the vicinity of the current location of the portable receiver 22.

Although not shown, a method of connecting to the provider 202 from the home PC to download the map information, and connecting the portable receiver 22 to the PC and installing the map information from the PC to the portable receiver 22 can also be adopted. .

Further, when the map information is installed and stored in the portable receiver 22 and the GPS receiver 90 can be used, the processing unit 46 can execute route guidance. That is, by manipulating an operation unit (not shown) (for example, by input operation to the PDA)
When a destination is set in the portable receiver 22, the processing unit 46 determines the destination from the departure place or the current location based on the destination and the map information held in the portable receiver 22 in advance or during travel. Calculate the planned route to the ground. Alternatively, a planned route is calculated by a PC at home before departure from home, and the portable receiver 22
Is given an instruction on the planned route. The processing unit 46 of the portable receiver 22 communicates this planned route with the GPS receiver 9
Based on the information on the current location obtained from 0, the output unit 50 outputs a sound or vibration so that the user 102 can move along the planned route. For example, when the current location is clearly out of the planned route, the output unit 50 outputs a message indicating that the current route deviates from the planned route.

The positioning accuracy of the GPS receiver is improving with the release of SA (Selective Availability) and the improvement of the positioning technology. However, the GPS receiver 90 used together with the portable receiver 22 is widely used in portable devices. Since it is necessary to be small and inexpensive, it is conceivable to use one with relatively low accuracy. Further, on a street or the like, G
Since the signal from the PS satellite is interrupted, a situation where positioning cannot be performed may occur. As a means for compensating for this, in the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the area providing signal transmitter 18 sends the message providing area 1 related to the area specifying signal transmitter 18.
08 representative position (for example, the message providing area 1
If 08 is a rectangle, information (differential information) on the latitude, longitude, altitude, and the like of the diagonal intersection is transmitted. Further, the representative position is precisely determined when the message providing area 108 is defined, and is provided for transmission. When receiving the differential information together with the ID, the portable receiver 22 corrects or resets the information obtained from the GPS receiver 90 based on the differential information.

That is, in the present embodiment, the accuracy of map matching is enhanced by providing the DGPS service in the limited area of the message providing area 108. The conventional DGPS (Differentia
l GPS) and DGPS in this embodiment are common in that they are GPS reinforcements, but the former is based on the method of broadcasting error information, while the latter is based on the method of positioning information in a limited area. It should be noted that this is based on an area-limited beacon-like method of transmitting, which is essentially different.

Still another function provided in this embodiment is an approach warning for a vehicle. This function can also be called navigation in a broad sense. When performing this, as shown in FIG. 5, the vehicle-mounted transmitter 204 as the information providing equipment 74 is mounted on the vehicle, and the vehicle information receiving unit 206 as the input unit 76 is provided in the portable receiver 22. Keep it. A specific low power, a weak electric field, Bluetooth, FM radio, or the like is used as a wireless propagation path for connecting the two.
The processing unit 46 issues a vehicle approach warning from the output unit 50 according to the signal reception status in the vehicle information receiving unit 206.

The simplest example is that a vehicle approach warning is issued when the signal reception intensity in the vehicle information receiving section 206 exceeds a predetermined level. However, in this example, it is only possible to realize the vague attention of the user 102. In a more preferred example, the onboard transmitter 204
Information obtained from the on-vehicle navigation system, for example, information on the position, moving speed, moving direction, and the like of the vehicle is transmitted, and the processing unit 46 transmits the information to the GPS receiver 90.
The information is collated and combined with information on the current position, the moving speed, the moving direction, and the like of the user 102 (and the result of the discrimination by the direction discriminating unit 72) obtained from the user. As a result of this operation, the processing unit 46 outputs from the output unit 50, for example, "The car comes from behind. The distance is about 50m. The speed is 30km / h."
Issue a vehicle approach warning including a message. In this way, a vehicle approach warning including specific numerical information can be issued to the user 102. In addition, depending on the system configuration, the inter-vehicle communication wireless device may be connected to the on-board
4, it is possible to cooperate with a road traffic information system (ITS).

(7) Example of Loop Antenna In FIG. 1 and FIG.
Is drawn as a member separate from the induction braille block 12. This is only to explain the message providing area specifying function, which is a basic function of the loop antenna 16, and particularly to clearly show that the message providing area 108 can have any shape in principle. .
Conversely, the loop antenna 16 is connected to the induction braille block 1.
2, etc., can be integrated with a block-shaped member that forms a part of the road pavement, so that the device can be made compact, the laying operation can be quickly performed easily, and the maintainability can be improved.

FIGS. 13 and 14 show the loop antenna 16.
Shows a configuration of an ID block 208 which is a block in which is embedded. In FIG. 13, a block body 210 having a flat block shape is, for example, a block in which guide Braille is provided on an exposed surface thereof, that is, a surface 212 facing upward after being laid. By doing so, the ID block 208 can be used as the guide braille block 12, but may be a block with a flat surface without guide braille.

The loop antenna 16 is mounted on the peripheral edge of the block 210, for example, by fitting it into a groove formed on the side surface thereof, or by embedding it together in the concrete forming the block 210. It has been incorporated. The block 210 is provided with a closed or downwardly opened storage chamber 214 in the form of an internal cavity or a cutout on the lower surface, and both ends of the loop antenna 16 are drawn into the storage chamber 214. Have been.

Further, on the exposed surface 212, a solar cell 216 for generating electric power in accordance with the irradiation of light is arranged. The electric power generated by the solar cell 216 is also transmitted through a lead from the solar cell 216 to the storage room 214.
4 has been sent. The position of the solar cell 216 can be set at any position on the exposed surface 212, but it is better to be as close as possible to the storage chamber 214 as much as possible in order to shorten the wiring.

As shown in FIG. 14, an area designation signal transmitter 18 is disposed in the storage room 214. The power from the solar cell 216 is used as power for driving the area designation signal transmitter 18. As described above, since the driving unit 28 in the transmitting unit 26 has a circuit configuration with low power consumption, the loop antenna 16 can be sufficiently driven even if the power obtained from the solar cell 216 is weak.

Further, in order to store the surplus of the output of the solar cell 216 with respect to the electric power required by the area designation signal transmitter 18 and make up for the shortage, the storage battery 214 is provided in the storage room 214.
Are also located. However, the secondary battery 218 can be omitted in applications such as wireless guidance of indoor exhibits, in which a stable amount of light is obtained from the ceiling light at the time of implementation and the ID transmission can be immediately stopped when the light is turned off. Conversely, in an environment where stable output cannot be expected from the solar cell 216, the solar cell 216
Is omitted. If there is a power source available in the surroundings, a circuit or a terminal for obtaining power from the power source is provided instead of or in addition to the solar cell 216 or the secondary battery 218.

In this configuration, not only the loop antenna 16 but also the area designation signal transmitter 18 and its power source are integrated with the block-shaped pavement component such as the induction Braille block 12, so that the configuration is compact. I have. Further, since the ID block 208 can be laid on the road by substantially the same process as when the guide Braille block 12 is laid, the cost and work time for the construction do not increase so much. In particular, as compared with the case where the loop antenna 16 is provided separately, the cost and the working time are reduced because the individual step for laying the loop antenna 16 is unnecessary. Further, since only the ID block 208 needs to be replaced at the time of maintenance or replacement, it is not necessary to dig up the loop antenna 16 or the area designation signal transmitter 18 as compared with the case where the loop antenna 16 is provided separately. It is also a device with excellent maintainability.

Although not shown, it is desirable to provide a wired or wireless connection means for connecting to the management device 92. In manufacturing the ID block 208, the interior of the storage room 214 may be sealed with concrete or the like after storing the area designation signal transmitter 18, the secondary battery 218, etc., or the opening / cavity may be left for maintenance or the like. You may leave. Since the accuracy of the direction discrimination based on the principle shown in FIG. 7 or FIG. 8 is higher when the size of the ID block 208 is smaller, it is preferable to make the size of the ID block 208 as small as possible. On the other hand, if the ID block 208 is too small, the labor required for laying work increases.
It is desirable that the size of the ID block 208 be substantially the same as that of the guide braille block 12 already used in traffic, taking into account the laying time, the road surface design and the like.
Further, different IDs may be assigned to a plurality of adjacent ID blocks 208, or the same ID may be assigned. When the same ID is assigned, with the plurality of loop antennas 16 related to the adjacent ID blocks 208,
One combined message providing area 108 can be defined.

[0132] Further, as shown in FIG.
It is desirable to provide a sensor 220 for detecting the arrival / approach of the vehicle. The sensor 220 is, for example, a pressure sensor, and is provided at the exposed surface 212 or a relatively shallow portion immediately below the exposed surface 212 as shown in FIG. Otherwise, I
A seat or a spring is laid below the D block 208 to detect the sinking of the ID block 208 due to the weight of the user 102 or the like. The area designation signal transmitter 18 has an approach determination unit 222 that uses this pressure for threshold determination and the like and detects the arrival of the user 102 or the like.
When the arrival is detected by the ID 22, the ID generation unit 24 and the transmission unit 26 can transmit the ID in response to the detection. As a result, the operation frequency of the area designation signal transmitter 18 can be suppressed, which can contribute to suppression of power consumption and extension of life. Further, as the sensor 220, a magnetic sensor or the like is used in place of the pressure sensor to detect the disturbance of the terrestrial magnetism or the bias magnetic field by the user 102 or the walking stick carried by the user 102 or the magnetism generated by the walking stick. , ID
ID transmission by the generation unit 24 and the transmission unit 26 can also be performed.

As shown in FIG. 16, an intermittent control section 224 is provided in the area specifying signal transmitter 18 so that the area specifying signal (ID) is intermittently transmitted at a predetermined frequency.
The intermittent control unit 224 controls the area designation signal transmitter 18.
Is desirable in terms of reducing power consumption. Specifically, various means can be used, such as interrupting the power supply to the transmission unit 26 and the like except for the transmission timing instructed by the intermittent control unit 224.

(8) Modification Further, as means for specifying the message providing area 108, means other than the loop antenna 16 can be used. For example, as shown in FIG.
Transmission unit 22 of relatively low power for wireless transmission using
8. For example, an apparatus including an FM broadcaster, a beacon transmitter, an ultrasonic transmitter, a magnetic field generator, an infrared generator, or the like may be used as the area designation signal transmitter 18. In this case, the role as the area designation signal is that the message provision area 1 transmitted wirelessly through the antenna 226 is used.
08 is a signal indicating the representative position.

The portable receiver 22 in this example is
As shown in FIG. 18, a position receiving unit 230 is provided instead of the ID receiving unit 44. This position receiving section 230 receives the area designation signal. The processing unit 46 determines, from the representative position of the message providing area 108 given by the area designation signal and the positioning result by the GPS receiver 90, whether or not the portable receiver 22 exists in the message providing area 108; A process for specifying the area specifying signal transmitter 18 that is the source of the area specifying signal or the message providing area 108 corresponding to the area specifying signal transmitter 18 is executed.
In the storage unit 48, for example, the message providing area 10
And information that associates the representative position of No. 8 with a fixed message to be output in the vicinity of the representative position.
Causes the output unit 50 to output an appropriate fixed message based on this information, and also outputs the timely message received from the broadcaster 38.

Further, the signal transmitted from the area specifying signal transmitter 18 as the area specifying signal may include information such as the size, position, and shape of the message providing area 108. Using this, the portable receiver 22 can determine whether to output the message.

Further, the position information measured in advance with high accuracy may be transmitted from the area designation signal transmitter 18 or, as shown in FIG.
Is provided with a GPS receiver 232, and the positioning result is transmitted to the transmitting unit 2
28 may perform wireless transmission. Here, GPS
It is known that the positioning errors included in the positioning outputs from the receivers 90 and 232 have different tendencies depending on the geometric positional relationship between them and the GPS satellites. In general, satellite selection in a GPS receiver is performed in accordance with a known ephemeris or the like, so that a plurality of GPS receivers located at the same position at the same time may perform positioning with the same satellite combination with each other. It is likely to have an error tendency. Therefore, by transmitting the position information from the GPS receiver 232 from the area designation signal transmitter 18,
A part of the positioning error in the GPS receiver 90 is canceled by that in the GPS receiver 232, and as a result, the area determination accuracy in the processing unit 46 of the portable receiver 22 increases.

Further, the antenna 38 of the broadcaster 20 is
As shown in FIG. 9, a loop antenna 23 buried on a road surface or the like.
4 can be substituted. Although not shown, broadcasting by infrared rays or ultrasonic waves is also possible.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway perspective view showing an installation image of a system.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example configuration of an area designation signal transmitter.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example configuration of a broadcast machine.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an example configuration of a portable receiver.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a relationship between a portable receiver and information providing equipment.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing an installation example of a system on a street and a network configuration.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view illustrating a principle of direction discrimination.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing an extended direction discrimination principle.

FIG. 9 is a conceptual diagram showing a flow of message selection and output.

FIG. 10 is a conceptual diagram showing the flow of message selection and output involving direction discrimination.

FIG. 11 is a conceptual diagram showing the flow of message selection and output with direction discrimination.

FIG. 12 is a conceptual diagram showing a flow of message transmission without ID limitation.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing a schematic structure of an ID block.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of an ID block.

FIG. 15 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an ID block provided with a sensor.

FIG. 16 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of an ID block provided with an intermittent control unit.

FIG. 17 is a block diagram showing another example configuration of the area designation signal transmitter.

FIG. 18 is a block diagram showing another example configuration of the portable receiver.

FIG. 19 is a block diagram showing another example configuration of the broadcast machine.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 pedestrian crossing, 12 guided Braille block, 14 traffic light, 16,234 loop antenna, 18 area designation signal transmitter, 20 broadcaster, 22 portable receiver, 24
ID generator, 26, 36, 228 Transmitter, 34, 48
Storage unit, 40 control unit, 42 broadcast receiving unit, 44 ID
Receiving section, 46 processing section, 50 output section, 56 ID detection section, 58 squelch / mute control section, 62 message selection section, 72 direction determination section, 74 information provision equipment, 7
6 input unit, 90, 232 GPS receiver, 92 management device, 100 broadcast area, 102 users, 104,
106 table, 108 message area, 2
08 ID block, 214 storage room, 216 solar cell, 218 secondary battery, 220 sensor, 222 approach determination unit, 224 intermittent control unit, 230 position receiving unit.

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 5H180 AA23 BB04 BB05 EE18 GG04 GG09 5K067 AA21 BB04 BB36 DD17 DD53 EE02 EE10 FF23 FF25 FF28 HH23 JJ52

Claims (30)

[Claims] An area designating signal transmitter for wirelessly transmitting an area designating signal for designating a message providing area, and a broadcasting area is provided so as to cover one or a plurality of message providing areas. A broadcaster for transmitting a timely message that is at least a part that changes according to a situation change in a message to be provided, and a portable receiver for carrying the timely message received by the user and providing the user with the received timely message. And a portable receiver that does not execute the timely provision of the received message when the current position is within the message providing area when viewed from the specified area designation signal. 2. The radio guidance system according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of area designation signal transmitters or broadcasters are provided in an area to be guided, and the plurality of area designation signal transmitters or broadcasters are managed. A wireless guidance system connected to a device, wherein the management device controls the content of the area designation signal or the timely message or the transmission timing thereof. 3. The wireless guidance system according to claim 1, wherein the portable receiver stores therein a fixed message, which is a part of the message to be provided to the user, which does not change according to a change in the situation. If the current location is within the message providing area as viewed from the received area designation signal, the stored fixed message is stored together with the timely message if it is being received and alone if it is not received. A wireless guidance system that does not execute the provision of the information if it is not likely to be performed. 4. The radio guidance system according to claim 3, wherein a plurality of message providing areas are provided in the guidance target area, and the area designation signal transmitter assigns a different ID for each message provision area to the area designation signal. The message is transmitted at least as a part, and the portable receiver selects one of a plurality of stored fixed messages according to the correspondence between the stored ID and the fixed message, and provides the selected message to the user. A wireless guidance system characterized by: 5. The radio guidance system according to claim 4, wherein the broadcaster transmits a timely message related to a message providing area included in the broadcasting area together with an ID related to the message providing area, and the portable receiver includes: A wireless guidance system, wherein a message having an ID corresponding to a previously stored ID is selected from timely messages received or about to be received and provided to a user. 6. The wireless guidance system according to claim 4, wherein the portable receiver detects its own moving direction based on the ID reception history, and provides a user with a fixed message according to the moving direction. A wireless guidance system characterized by: 7. The radio guidance system according to claim 4, wherein the broadcaster transmits a timely message set for each possible moving direction of the portable receiver, and the portable receiver receives the ID. A radio guidance system for providing a user with a timely message corresponding to a detected moving direction among timely messages from a broadcaster, based on the own moving direction detected based on a history. 8. The radio guidance system according to claim 4, wherein the broadcaster transmits a timely message in each of the possible directions of movement of the portable receiver, and the portable receiver transmits the ID reception history. A radio guidance system characterized by providing a user with a fixed message indicating the direction of movement of the user himself / herself detected on the basis of the message and a timely message received for all directions of movement. 9. The wireless guidance system according to claim 1, wherein the area designating signal includes a header, and the portable receiver receives the area designating signal having the same header a plurality of times consecutively. A radio guidance system characterized by ignoring at least one time at a time. 10. The radio guidance system according to claim 1, wherein the portable receiver squelches or mutes a signal related to a timely message received from the broadcaster outside the message providing area. Wireless guidance system. 11. The wireless guidance system according to claim 1, wherein the portable receiver is configured to transmit a timely message or a message in the form of vibration, voice, text or video, or a wireless call, or in the form of a combination thereof. A wireless guidance system for outputting a timely message and a fixed message. 12. The radio guidance system according to claim 1, wherein at least one of a message providing area, a situation or a map of an area including the message providing area, and a fixed message to be provided in each message providing area. A wireless guidance system comprising an information providing facility for supplying any one of the information to a portable receiver. 13. The wireless guidance system according to claim 12, further comprising, as information providing equipment, equipment capable of being connected to a portable receiver by radio, and when the portable receiver receives emergency information from the equipment. A wireless guidance system for providing the information to a user. 14. The radio guidance system according to claim 1, wherein the portable receiver detects a current location of the user and notifies the user of a result of collating the current location with a scheduled route. Wireless guidance system. 15. The wireless guidance system according to claim 14, wherein the area designation signal transmitter wirelessly transmits a signal indicating the location, and the portable receiver detects the current location or the detected current location and the planned route based on the signal. A wireless guidance system for resetting or correcting the result of the collation. 16. The wireless guidance system according to claim 1, wherein the broadcaster or the information providing equipment is provided alongside an existing member such as a lighting pole. 17. A method for providing a portable receiver carried by a user with a broadcast wave at least a timely message that is at least a part that changes according to a situation change among messages to be provided to the user. The message providing area, which is the area to provide the message to the user, is wirelessly commanded, and the portable receiver, which detects that it is within the commanded message providing area, receives the timely message carried by the received broadcast wave. Providing a user with a message including the following. 18. A visually impaired person assistance system constructed based on the wireless guidance system according to claim 1, wherein a message providing area is defined along an array of guidance braille blocks, Alternatively, a visually impaired person assistance system characterized in that a message is provided to a person concerned by outputting the message by vibration or sound from a portable receiver or by making a call via a mobile communication system. 19. A walking assistance system constructed based on the wireless guidance system according to any one of claims 1 to 16, wherein a message providing area is provided along a street or a passage and divided into a plurality of sections. A sole walking support system characterized in that a broadcast area is set at least at a place or an area where information on whether or not the traffic can be received, such as before a signal, so as to enable timely provision of a message. 20. A transportation use support system constructed based on the wireless guidance system according to claim 1, wherein a message providing area is used for a public transportation such as a station, a bus stop, a taxi stand, etc. A transportation use support system, which is provided in equipment. 21. An appreciation support system constructed based on the wireless guidance system according to any one of claims 1 to 16, wherein a message providing area is set in front of an exhibit in a museum.
An appreciation support system provided near an appreciation object. 22. A tourist information system constructed based on the wireless information system according to claim 1, wherein the message providing area includes a tourist information board, an idol, a building,
A sightseeing guide system that is set up at a point where you can stop and observe for a while, such as an observatory. 23. A vehicle approach warning system constructed based on the wireless guidance system according to any one of claims 1 to 16, wherein the portable receiver has a vehicle information receiving section, and the vehicle has a vehicle information receiving section. Each vehicle-mounted transmitter is mounted, the vehicle-mounted transmitter wirelessly transmits information indicating the presence of the vehicle on which the vehicle is mounted, the vehicle information receiving unit receives a signal from the vehicle-mounted transmitter, and the portable receiver includes: A vehicle approach warning system for providing information on the approaching state of a vehicle to a user carrying the portable receiver based on the signal. 24. The vehicle approach warning system according to claim 23, wherein the on-vehicle transmitter transmits information indicating a vehicle behavior such as a position, a moving speed, and a moving direction, and the mobile receiver transmits the current position, Detects user behavior such as moving speed, moving direction, etc., and determines the distance, relative speed, relative direction, etc. of the user to the vehicle based on the vehicle behavior given by the signal received from the onboard transmitter and the detected user behavior. A vehicle approach warning system that provides information including numerical values to users. 25. An area designation signal transmitter used in the wireless guidance system according to claim 1, wherein an ID generator for generating an ID unique to itself is provided by a loop antenna. An area designating signal transmitter, comprising: a transmitting unit for transmitting; and the loop antenna, wherein the position, the shape, and the size of the message providing area are defined by the position, the shape, and the size of the loop antenna. 26. The area designation signal transmitter according to claim 25, further comprising: a block constituting a part of the road pavement, wherein a loop antenna is arranged at a peripheral portion of the block, and An area designating signal transmitter in which an ID generating unit and a transmitting unit are housed. 27. The area designation signal transmitter according to claim 26, further comprising a solar cell provided on a surface of the block body exposed to the outside air or a battery housed inside the block body. An area designation signal transmitter, which supplies the power of the power source. 28. The area designation signal transmitter according to claim 26, further comprising a sensor for detecting the arrival or approach of the user, and the area designation signal only when the arrival or approach of the user is detected by the sensor. An area designation signal transmitter for performing transmission of a signal. 29. The area designation signal transmitter according to claim 26, wherein transmission of the area designation signal is performed intermittently. 30. A portable receiver used in the wireless guidance system according to claim 1, wherein: a means for receiving an area designation signal for designating a message provision area; and a message to be provided to a user. Means for receiving and extracting a timely message, which is a part that changes at least in accordance with a situation change, from a broadcast wave; means for determining whether or not the current location of the portable receiver is within a message providing area; Means for providing a user with a message including a timely message received and extracted when the user is within the mobile device.