JP2003319444A - Location information control method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a system which enables the process of delivering a cargo to be freely retrieved in any time. <P>SOLUTION: An electronic tag 80 having a communication function of a portable telephone module, etc., and the function for GPS-fixing own location is attached to a cargo 99. When located out of an area A set according to base station location information ϕ1 acquired from a communication with the electronic tag 80, the cargo provides the base station location information ϕ1 or, if located in this area, provides GPS location information ϕ2. In the most region of its delivery process, the electronic tag 80 has no need of the GPS fix. This reduces the battery power consumption to provide location information for a long time and provides high accuracy location information in the area where detailed location information are required. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a method and system for providing position information.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Portable information processing terminals such as mobile phones and PDAs have become popular. With these mobile devices,
The position information of the mobile terminal is acquired by a method such as mounting a system that measures the current position of the device by supplementing radio waves from satellites such as GPS, or acquiring the current position of the device from the position information of the base station. As a result, the position information of the user holding the mobile terminal can be acquired.

[0003]

With the widespread use of such portable terminals, a search service system for providing the current position of the user is being studied. As one of them, the use of location information as part of the delivery system service is being considered. For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-35192 discloses a delivery navigation device using a GPS positioning device. This navigation device uses a GPS to measure the current position of a delivery vehicle, a device for storing information such as the place of delivery and a telephone number, a device for displaying a map of the delivery area, and a current position by means of positioning. Is provided with a means for calling the delivery destination and confirming that he / she is at home when the distance to the delivery destination or the expected arrival time is less than a certain value, and for notifying the driver of the confirmation result. Therefore, when the vehicle of the delivery company approaches the delivery destination within a certain distance, the delivery time can be notified and it can be confirmed whether or not the vehicle is at home.

However, in this method, the arrival time is only notified to the recipient for the convenience of the delivery person, and the recipient cannot necessarily confirm the delivery status. When the car of the delivery company approaches the delivery destination within a certain distance, the recipient cannot confirm the delivery status if he is absent. In the absence of the recipient, the recipient does not always hear it even if the delivery is input to the answering machine. For example, if the recording tape is cut, the message will be wasted. Further, the timing of making a call to confirm whether the user is at home or not is a problem, and there is a problem whether it is too early or too late, and the feeling of the time varies depending on the user. Therefore, it is impossible to set them uniformly.

There is also a method of giving the recipient the freedom to confirm the position of the package. With this method, the location information of the package will be open to the recipient, so you can freely check it at any time and be sure to receive it at home when it is delivered, or at home when it is delivered. If you can't stay, adjust delivery time before that,
As soon as you go pick it up, the recipient is free to choose the delivery option.

Further, if the sender can be given the freedom to confirm the position of the package, it is possible to confirm whether the package arrives freely and when the package arrives.

However, if the recipient and / or the sender are given the freedom to confirm the location of the package, the recipient or the sender cannot specify how often and how often the location is confirmed. Mobile devices that are packed in or attached to luggage do not have infinite power because they must be battery-powered. If the position is frequently confirmed, power is consumed for GPS positioning, and thus the battery may be consumed before the parcel reaches the important recipient. It is better to make the battery larger, but if it is a size that can be bundled with individual luggage or attached to luggage, and it is not a disposable terminal almost, it will affect the shipping cost. And the battery capacity should be minimized.

On the other hand, if the location information is obtained by turning on the portable terminal of the package for the first time in the vicinity of the recipient and the arrival time is known, the schedule can be adjusted in advance,
It is impossible to adjust the shipping method. Also, if the movement of the baggage on the way is completely unknown, it cannot be said that the quality of the delivery confirmation service is high. Further, if the recipient cannot receive the position information at the timing, the timing for adjusting the delivery schedule cannot be adjusted, and the disadvantages such as waiting at home and wasting time cannot be eliminated.

A method of periodically informing the recipient or the sender of the location of the parcel by mail or the like is also conceivable. However, the movement status of the package after that is not known from the date and time when it was contacted by email. Therefore, compared to a system that allows the recipient or sender to freely check the location of the package, the information that the recipient or the sender can obtain is limited, and the sender can check the location of the package or receive the package at any time. This reduces the degree of freedom for people to adjust the schedule in advance and to shorten the waiting time to effectively use the time.

Therefore, in the present invention, the recipient and / or the sender can freely confirm the location of the package at any time, and further, the location information can be displayed until the delivery destination is reached by the portable terminal having the built-in small capacity battery. It is intended to provide a method of managing position information that can be reliably provided.

[0011]

According to the present invention, location information that is of low accuracy, such as location information of a mobile phone or a base station of a PHS, can be easily obtained by a mobile terminal in a communicable state or by performing communication. It is used as the location information of luggage. This low-precision position information can be obtained at any time when the mobile terminal is in the receiving state, and therefore the mobile terminal consumes the minimum power. Even if communication is performed with the mobile terminal to increase the certainty, since it is only necessary to send and receive short data, the power consumption hardly increases from the standby state. However, while the position information using GPS has an error of about several meters to several tens of meters, the position information of the PHS base station has an error of about several hundred meters, and the base of the mobile phone. The position information of the station has an error of about several kilometers, and the arrival time cannot be accurately grasped by the position information with low accuracy. Therefore,
As the position information for knowing the delivery time, accuracy as high as the position information using GPS is required.

Therefore, in the present invention, attention is paid to the fact that it is not always necessary to provide position information of the same accuracy in order to confirm the delivery status, and in the middle of delivery, low power consumption but low accuracy position information is provided. The present invention provides a position information management method capable of confirming the position of a package to a user at any time by switching between high power consumption and high accuracy position information. That is, the position information management method of the present invention determines that the first step of acquiring the first position information of the terminal by the first position acquisition method and the first position information are within the set area. Then, the second step of acquiring the second position information of the terminal by the second position acquisition method having higher accuracy than the first position acquisition method. The first position acquisition method is a method for acquiring the first position information from base station information for communication such as a base station of a mobile phone, and the second position acquisition method is, for example, a GPS Such is a method of acquiring the second position information by satellite positioning.

In this position information management method, a range in which a certain distance can be secured centering on the delivery destination is set in advance as the set area. The set area may be a circle centered on the delivery destination, or may be a regional boundary such as a municipality. Since the outside of this set area is far from the delivery destination, it is sufficient information to confirm the delivery status if the approximate position of the package is known. Therefore, first, the first position information indicating the approximate position, for example, the information such as the vicinity of Matsumoto city is acquired by the first position acquisition method with low power consumption, and if the first position information is outside the set area, Do not get more detailed location information. Therefore, outside the set area, power is hardly consumed no matter how many times the position information is acquired. Therefore, not only the receiver or the sender (hereinafter, the user), but also the distributor can receive a request for confirming the positional information of the package many times.

On the other hand, if the first position information is within the set area, the second position information is acquired with high accuracy by the second position acquisition method. Therefore, the user and the delivery person can grasp the arrival time at the delivery destination in detail.
In addition, if it is within the set area close to the delivery destination, the time that the package stays in the set area is limited. Therefore, the number of times the location information of the package is confirmed by the user or the delivery person is limited, so that a certain amount of power is consumed to obtain the second location information and there is no problem. Therefore, with the position information management method of the present invention, it is possible to check the position information any number of times during the delivery of the package while suppressing the power consumption,
On the other hand, if it is near the delivery destination, it is possible to provide position information with sufficient accuracy. Therefore, it is possible to completely open the opportunity for the user to confirm the location information of the package, and the user can confirm the location of the package at his / her desired timing, adjust the schedule, and adjust the delivery method. You can

The position information management method for the object to be searched can be recorded as a program or a program product on an appropriate recording medium, or can be provided through a network. That is, in the present invention, the program for managing the position information of the object to be searched includes a first process of acquiring the first position information of the terminal by the first position acquisition method and an area where the first position information is set. Is determined to be inside
A second process of acquiring second position information of the terminal by a second position acquisition method having higher accuracy than the first position acquisition method.

The position information management method of the present invention can be executed on a terminal side such as an electronic tag attached to a package, or on a server side managing position information from them. is there. When the method of managing position information of the present invention is executed on the server side, the first position information is obtained by communicating with the terminal, but the second position information needs to be acquired on the terminal side. Therefore, in the second step,
The terminal is instructed to acquire the second position information by the second position acquisition method, and the terminal receives the second position information by communication.

In the position information management method of the present invention, when it is determined that the first position information is outside the set area, the first position information is output and the first position information is output. If it is determined to be inside the set area, the second including the second position information
By providing the response step for outputting the response, it is possible to provide appropriate position information for confirming the position of the package from the user or the like. Therefore, according to the present invention, when it is determined that the first position information acquisition unit that acquires the first position information of the terminal by the first position acquisition method and the first position information are within the set area, Second position information acquisition means for acquiring the second position information of the terminal by the second position acquisition method which is more accurate than the first position acquisition method, and the first position information is judged to be outside the set area. And the first including the first position information
And a response unit that outputs a second response including the second position information when it is determined that the first position information is inside the set area. The position information providing system can freely provide the position information of the package to the user and the delivery person at any time.

Further, when the first position information is judged to be inside the set area, a response step for outputting a second response including the second position information is provided to automatically judge the present location of the package. Then, it is possible to construct a position information providing system that provides position information when approaching the delivery destination.

Therefore, according to the present invention, the step of attaching the terminal equipped with the means for acquiring the position information and the communication means to the carried package, and when the searcher requests the acquisition of the package position information, A step of returning a first response including the first position information when it is determined that the first position information obtained through communication with the terminal is outside the set area, and acquisition of the position information of the package from the searcher. When it is determined that the first position information obtained by communication with the terminal is within the set area when the request is made, the second position information obtained by the means for acquiring the position information of the terminal is displayed. And a step of returning a second response including the step of providing the package information. Further, when it is determined that the first position information obtained by communication with the terminal is inside the set area, the recipient receives information including the second position information obtained by the means for acquiring the position information of the terminal. It is possible to provide a package information providing method including a step of reporting to the sender and the sender. In addition, by providing a process to report information including delivery to the sender of the package when the terminal is removed from the package, a service to notify the sender of more reliable delivery is provided. it can.

[0020]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows an outline of a position information providing service for package delivery. In this example, the sender (sender) 91 of the parcel 99 consigns the shipment to the delivery company 92, and the driver 93 of the delivery company 92 delivers the parcel 99 to the recipient 95 of the delivery destination. Search system 30
Receives the location information regarding the current location of the parcel 99 via the public telephone network, the Internet 4, etc.
1 provides the location information providing service (luggage management service) 1 by which the status of the delivery process of the luggage 99 can be confirmed freely.

In order to provide the position information providing service 1, when the business office 97 of the delivery company 92 receives the parcel 99 from the sender 91, it acquires its own position information φ by GPS, and the public telephone network or the like is acquired. An electronic tag 80, which can communicate with the search system 30 via the electronic mail, is attached to the luggage 99. Then, the area including the delivery destination 96 of the parcel such as the recipient 95's home is set as the set area (area) A. Recipient 9
5 and terminals 91 and 85, respectively owned by the shipper 91
When there is a request from 1 to acquire the positional information φ of the parcel 99, the search system 30 operates the electronic tag 80 attached to the parcel 99.
To obtain the position information φ1 of the base station 7 used for the communication from the base station management server 8. If the location information φ1 is outside the set area A, a response (first response) including the location information φ1 of the base station is returned to the terminal 85 or 81.

If the position information φ1 is inside the area A,
The search system 30 communicates with the electronic tag 80 to acquire more accurate GPS position information φ2. And the terminal 8
A second response including the GPS position information φ2 is returned to 5 or 81. The position information providing service 1 can also be used by the delivery company 92 and the delivery person 93.

FIG. 2 shows an outline of the search system 30. The search system 30 undertakes shipping with the terminal 81 of the sender 91, the terminal 85 of the recipient 95, the electronic tag 80 attached to the parcel 99, and the like, the transmission / reception function 31 capable of communicating through the Internet 4, the public telephone network, and the like. Database 33 of the parcel 99 and this database 33
It is provided with a terminal / luggage management function 32 that attaches the electronic tag 80 to the package 99 that has been outsourced based on the above and manages the package.
Furthermore, a base station position information acquisition function (first position information acquisition means) 34 for acquiring the position information φ1 of the base station used for communication with the electronic tag 80, and an instruction to the electronic tag 80 to issue a GPS command. GPS for acquiring position information φ2
A position information acquisition function (second position information acquisition means) 35,
When the package 99 enters the area A based on the base station position information φ1 and the information of the area A set in the database 33, G
A position acquisition method determination function 36 for selecting the PS position information acquisition function 35 is provided. Further, it has a response function 37 for returning a first response or a second response including the obtained position information.

FIG. 3 shows a schematic configuration of the terminal (electronic tag) 80. This electronic tag 80 has a transmitting / receiving function 71 such as a mobile phone module capable of accessing a public telephone network via a base station and communicating with the search system 30, and a radio wave from a GPS satellite to receive a current position (GPS position information) φ2. And a GPS position information acquisition function (second position information acquisition means) 74 for positioning. Further, the area information management function 72 in which the area A is set, the base station position information acquisition function (first position information acquisition means) 73 for acquiring the position information φ1 of the base station used for communication, and the base station position A position information acquisition method determination function 75 for determining whether or not the GPS position information φ2 is necessary from the information of φ1 and area A is provided. Also,
A response function 77 that returns a response including position information is provided.
When the search system 30 determines whether the parcel 99 is inside the area A, the area information management function 72, the base station position information acquisition function 73, and the position information acquisition method determination function 75.
Is unnecessary. The electronic tag 80 only needs to have the communication function and the GPS position information acquisition function 74 for GPS positioning. Of course, although not shown in FIG. 3,
A function of identifying and managing the parcel 99, such as a function of managing and transmitting / receiving the identification information of the electronic tag 80, is necessary.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a process in which the search system 30 provides the position information φ of the package 99. In the present search system 30, the searcher, that is, the mobile phone 81 of the sender 91, the mobile phone 85 of the recipient 95,
Alternatively, when there is a search request for the current location of the package 99 from the delivery company 92 of the package 99, the positional information φ of the package 99 is provided at any time. Here, a case where the recipient 95 of the package 99 makes a search request will be described as an example.

First, in step 101, when the recipient 95 makes a search request for the package 99, step 102
Then, it communicates with the electronic tag (terminal) 80 attached to the luggage 99. In step 103, position information (base station information) φ1 of the base station used in communication with the electronic tag 80 is acquired, and in step 104, the base station position information φ1 is inside or outside the area A preset. To judge. Base station position φ1
However, if it is outside the area A, in step 105, a first response including the base station position information φ1 is returned to the searcher 95 to provide a position information providing service for the search request (first step). Therefore, at this stage, simply the electronic tag 80
The location information of the package 99 can be provided to the searcher 95 only by communicating with the searcher 95. Mobile phone module and PH
Since the base station position covering the S module is known even in the standby state, it is not necessary to communicate with the electronic tag 80 to obtain the base station position information φ1, and the power consumption can be further reduced. However, if the response is for a short period of time, the power consumption associated therewith is not so large, and the communication system can communicate each time to acquire the identification information of the electronic tag 80 and confirm it by the search system 30. Therefore, more reliable position information can be obtained and provided to the searcher without consuming much power of the electronic tag 80.

On the other hand, when it is determined in step 104 that the base station position information φ1 is inside the area A, step 106 is performed.
Then, the electronic tag 80 is requested to perform GPS positioning. Thereby,
In step 107, the GPS position information φ2 is obtained from the electronic tag 80.
Is obtained, the GPS position information φ is obtained in step 108.
A second response including 2 is returned to the searcher 95 (second step). Therefore, the searcher 95 can acquire the detailed position information of the parcel 99 and can know the detailed arrival time in advance.

The function of the search system 30 is recorded in an appropriate recording medium such as a CD-ROM as a program or a program product having instructions capable of executing these processes, or provided via a computer network. You can The location information providing service can be provided as the search system 30 by installing the computer in a computer system such as a server having a communication function.

The first response including the base station position information φ1 and the second response including the GPS position information φ2 can be transmitted as voice information, character information, or image information such as a map. Alternatively, it is possible to convert the information such as the estimated arrival date and time into more useful information and provide it to the searcher.

FIG. 5 shows how the location information providing service 1 for packages of this example is provided. First, in step 121, the sender 91 of the parcel 99 entrusts the parcel 99 to the sales office 97 of the delivery company 92.
Then, the delivery company 92 receives the parcel 99, and the retrieval system 3
0, in step 123, information about this package 99,
For example, a delivery address, a recipient, a recipient's contact information (means), a designated delivery date (time), etc. are registered as initial values. At the same time, in step 124, the electronic tag 80 having the communication function and the GPS function is attached to the slip (delivery slip).
Along with this luggage 99 is attached. Thereby, for example, the parcel 99 is delivered from "Tokyo", which is the shipping source, to "Matsumoto," where the recipient is.

In the meantime, regarding the current location of the parcel 99, from the delivery company (sales office) 97 (step 125a), from the terminal 85 of the recipient 95 of the parcel 99 (step 125).
b) When the search system 30 receives the search request D1 from the terminal 81 of the sender 91 of the parcel 99 (step 125c), the search system 30 accepts the request in step 101 and starts the search for the electronic tag 80. . Step 10
In step 2, the base station position management server 8 is accessed, and the position information φ1 of the base station used or used for communication with the electronic tag 80 of the luggage 99 at that time is acquired. It is confirmed whether the acquired base station position information φ1 is outside the set area A. For example, if the area A centered on the delivery destination "Matsumoto city" is bounded by "near Suwa city", when the truck carrying the luggage 99 is running "near Kofu", The acquired base station position information φ1 corresponds to outside the area. Therefore, in step 105, this base station location information φ1 is returned to the terminal of the searcher (sales office 97, recipient 95 or sender 91), and steps 132a, 1
32b or 132c, the searcher 97 who requested the parcel,
95 or 91 can know the approximate position.

At an early stage in the course of delivery, detailed position information regarding delivery of the package 90 is unnecessary, and the searcher is relieved if it is known that the package 90 is being transported smoothly, and if the approximate position of the package 99 is known, The approximate arrival date and time can be estimated. Since the electronic tag 80 only needs to be in a standby state or to carry out short communication, battery consumption can be minimized.

Thereafter, in step 133a, 133b or 133c, the business office 97, the recipient 95 or the sender 91.
Therefore, when there is a search request D2 for the parcel 99, the search system 30 receives the request in step 101 and acquires the base station position information φ1 of the electronic tag 80 in step 102 in the same manner as described above. At this time, if there is a parcel 99 in the suburbs of Matsumoto city, it is determined in step 104 that it is inside area A, so in steps 106 and 107, GPS position information φ2 is acquired from the electronic tag 80. In step 108,
The search system 30 returns a response including the detailed position information φ2, and at step 135a, 135b or 135c,
Each searcher (sales office 97, recipient 95 or sender 91) receives the detailed current position φ2 of the package 99.
Therefore, a detailed arrival time can be predicted.
Further, the driver 93 of the delivery company 92 uses the step 144.
It is also possible to send a "delivery guide" to the recipient 95 based on the detailed expected arrival time.

In step 146, the driver 93 delivers the parcel 99 to the recipient 95, and in step 147, the electronic tag 80 is removed from the parcel 99 and processed for collection, and in step 149, the retrieval system 30 is notified. Recognized as delivered As a result, on the search system 30 side, in step 150, a notification that the delivery is completed is displayed.
Notify the sender 91. Therefore, the sender 91 can know that the delivery is surely made in step 151.

As described above, by using the position information providing system of the present invention, the user can freely confirm the position of the package at any time. Further, the position information provided to the searcher can be provided using two types of positions, that is, the base station position and the GPS position, and low accuracy and low power consumption are provided while the destination (delivery destination) occupying most of the delivery process is far. By providing the base station information, the power of the electronic tag 80 can be saved. Then, when approaching the destination (delivery destination), that is, when entering the setting area A, by switching to GPS positioning, detailed position information φ2 can be economically provided. Therefore, the power consumption of the electronic tag can be suppressed to a low level, so that even if the compact and low-cost electronic tag is used for transportation over a long period of time, it is possible to provide the user with positional information during the transportation with appropriate accuracy.

Therefore, the recipient 95 can accurately know the arrival of the parcel 99 in advance (immediately before), and smoothly without wasting the time of the recipient 95 and the driver 93.
You can receive your luggage efficiently. For example, since the approximate arrival date and time can be known in advance, the schedule can be adjusted accordingly. Further, since the detailed arrival time can be known before arrival, the delivery can be smoothly carried out by preparing and waiting for the seal 99 and money in accordance with the arrival of the parcel 99. Further, from the viewpoint of the delivery company 97, the percentage of the recipient 95 staying at home is increased and the delivery efficiency is improved.
Further, since the position information of the parcel 99 can be opened to the sender 91, the shipment status of important parcels or urgent parcels can be grasped from the side of the consignor 91, so that the parcel can be entrusted with confidence.

As described in step 150 above, after the delivery of the package 99 is completed, the sender 91 is notified of the delivery of the package 99 directly from the search system 30 or via the delivery company 92. Thus, the sender 91 or the recipient 95 can add a service that reduces the complexity of the confirmation process.

6 and 7 show an example in which the position information management method of the present invention is realized on the side of the electronic tag 80 attached to the package 99. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a process regarding the position information φ that can be executed by the electronic tag 80 having the configuration shown in FIG. In this service, whether the electronic tag 80 is inside or outside the area is judged by itself, and when the inside of the area is entered, the GPS position information φ2 is sent to the delivery person 92,
Send to the recipient 95 or the sender 91.

First, in step 111, the position of oneself is periodically grasped. Therefore, in step 112, the base station position information acquisition function 73 acquires the position information φ1 of the base station used for communication by itself. further,
In step 113, it is determined whether the acquired position information φ is inside or outside the set area A. If it is outside the area A, the process returns to step 111 without transmitting the position information, and the position of the self is periodically detected (first step).

Further, the timing of periodically detecting one's own position may be changed depending on the distance between the present location and the destination. For example, if the detected current position is far from the destination, it is not necessary to detect the position frequently. Even outside the set area, the power consumption can be further reduced by shortening the detection timing as the current position approaches the destination.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step 113 that the vehicle has entered the inside of the area A, then in step 114 the GPS position information φ2 is acquired by the GPS position information acquisition function 74 (second step). Then, in step 115, the response function 77 sends the acquired GPS position information φ2 to the search system 30 via the transmission / reception function 71, and the position information of the parcel 99 is sent from the search system 30 to the preset user. To be

In this example, most of the electronic tags 80 attached to the luggage 99 are in the standby state and the position information φ of the base station 7 is obtained.
It checks its own position based on 1 and consumes almost no power. Then, when the position is within the set range and the target is approached, GPS positioning is performed and detailed position information φ2 is provided.
Thereby, unnecessary GPS positioning can be avoided, battery consumption can be suppressed, and stable and long-term service can be provided.

Further, FIG. 7 shows how the location information providing service 1 for packages of this example is provided. Also in this case, the electronic tag 80 is used as in the service shown in FIG.
Is attached to the luggage 99, and the electronic tag 80 starts operating. Then, the process of merely confirming the self-position based on the base station information φ1 is performed until the vicinity of “Matsumoto City” in the set area A is entered.

On the other hand, when entering the vicinity of Matsumoto city in the area, GPS position information φ2 is acquired in step 113, and the acquired GPS position information φ2 is transmitted to the search system 30 in step 115. As a result, the recipient 95 can find out from the search system 30 that the parcel 99 has come near, and can know the detailed arrival time. Therefore, it is possible to increase the at-home ratio and deliver efficiently. Also, the process after delivery is shown in FIG.
It can be performed in the same manner as the service shown in.

[0045]

As described above, according to the present invention, an area including a delivery destination is set, and during delivery, until the inside of the area, that is, most of the transportation period outside the area, the mobile phone, The position of itself is confirmed using the first position information, which has low accuracy but can be obtained almost in the standby state, such as base station information used in communication such as PHS. Then, if found, a response including the first position information is performed. On the other hand, when reaching the inside of the area, position information is acquired by a method such as GPS that consumes power with high accuracy, and a response including the position information is performed. By properly using these position information, it is possible to provide the searcher with sufficient information for indicating the position of the package with low power consumption. Furthermore, position information with low accuracy is sufficient as position information for selectively using the position information, that is, information for determining whether the area is inside or outside, and extra power is not used for selectively using the position information.

Therefore, according to the present invention, it becomes possible to provide a position information providing service in which the position information of a package can be freely searched at any time, and the recipient, the sender, and the delivery company each have various advantages as described above. Obtainable.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an outline of a package position information service system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a block diagram showing functions of the search system of FIG. 1. FIG.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing functions of the electronic tag of FIG.

4 is a flowchart showing a schematic operation of the search system shown in FIG.

5 is a timing chart showing a schematic operation of the package position information service system shown in FIG.

6 is a flowchart showing a schematic operation of the electronic tag shown in FIG.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a different example to which the package position information service system according to the present invention is applied.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Location information service system 4 Internet 6 GPS satellites 7 base stations 8 Base station location information management server 30 search system 31 Mail sending / receiving function 32 terminal / luggage management function 33 Luggage database 34 Base station location information acquisition function 35 GPS position information acquisition function by terminal 36 Position acquisition method decision function 71 Mail send / receive function 72 Area information management function 73 Base station location information acquisition function 74 GPS position information acquisition function 75 Position information acquisition method determination function 80 electronic tags 91 Shipper 95 recipient 99 luggage

Continued front page    F term (reference) 5J062 AA08 BB00 CC07                 5J070 AA04 AE08 AK14 AK21 BC06                 5K067 AA43 BB33 DD52 DD53 DD54                       EE02 EE10 EE16 EE23 FF03                       FF05 FF17 HH07 HH22 JJ52                       JJ56 JJ64

Claims (23)

[Claims] 1. A first step of acquiring first position information of a terminal by a first position acquisition method, and the first step when the first position information is determined to be inside a set area. The second step of acquiring the second position information of the terminal by the second position acquisition method having higher accuracy than the position acquisition method of 1. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first position acquisition method is a method of acquiring the first position information from communication base station information, and the second position acquisition method is satellite positioning. A method of managing position information, which is a method of acquiring the second position information by means of. 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein in the second step, the terminal is instructed to acquire the second position information by the second position acquisition method, and the second terminal is communicated with the second position information. Location information management method for receiving location information of. 4. The first position information according to claim 1, when the first position information is determined to be outside the set area, a first response including the first position information is output, and the first position information is output. The position information managing method includes a response step of outputting a second response including the second position information when it is determined to be inside the set area. 5. The position information according to claim 1, further comprising a response step of outputting a second response including the second position information when the first position information is determined to be inside the set area. Management method. 6. The method for managing position information according to claim 1, wherein the terminal is an electronic tag that can be attached to and detached from a package. 7. A first position information acquisition means for acquiring first position information of a terminal by a first position acquisition method; and when it is determined that the first position information is inside a set area, Second position information acquisition means for acquiring second position information of the terminal by a second position acquisition method having higher accuracy than the first position acquisition method; and the first position information outside the set area. If it is determined that the first response including the first position information is output, and if it is determined that the first position information is within the set area, the second response including the second position information is output. Position information providing system having a response means for outputting a response from the user. 8. The method according to claim 7, wherein the first position acquisition method is a method for acquiring the first position information from communication base station information, and the second position acquisition method is satellite positioning. A position information providing system, which is a method of acquiring the second position information by means of. 9. The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the second position information acquisition means instructs the terminal to acquire the second position information by the second position acquisition method, and the terminal communicates with the terminal. A position information providing system that receives the second position information. 10. The position information providing system according to claim 7, wherein the terminal is an electronic tag that can be attached to and detached from a luggage. 11. A first position information acquisition means for acquiring first position information by a first position acquisition method; and when it is determined that the first position information is inside a set area, A second position information acquisition unit that acquires second position information by a second position acquisition method that is more accurate than the first position acquisition method; and the first position information is determined to be inside the set area. , And a response unit that outputs a second response including the second position information. 12. The method according to claim 11, wherein the first position acquisition method is a method for acquiring the first position information from communication base station information, and the second position acquisition method is satellite positioning. A terminal which is a method of acquiring the second position information by means of. 13. The terminal according to claim 11, which is an electronic tag detachable from a luggage. 14. A program for a method of managing position information of an object to be searched for, comprising:
A first process for acquiring position information of the first position information, and when the first position information is determined to be inside the set area, the second position acquisition method with higher accuracy than the first position acquisition method A second process of acquiring second position information of the terminal. 15. The method according to claim 14, wherein the first position acquisition method is a method for acquiring the first position information from communication base station information, and the second position acquisition method is satellite positioning. A program that is a method of acquiring the second position information by means of. 16. The method according to claim 14, wherein in the second processing, the terminal is instructed to acquire the second position information by the second position acquisition method, and the second terminal is communicated with the second position information. A program that receives the location information of. 17. The method according to claim 14, wherein when the first position information is determined to be outside the set area, a first response including the first position information is output, and the first position information is output. A program having a response process for outputting a second response including the second position information when it is determined to be inside the set area. 18. The program according to claim 14, further comprising a response process for outputting a second response including the second position information when the first position information is determined to be inside the set area. 19. The program according to claim 14, wherein the terminal is an electronic tag that can be attached to and detached from luggage. 20. A step of attaching a terminal equipped with a means for acquiring position information and a communication means to a package to be carried, and communication with the terminal when a searcher requests acquisition of the position information of the package. A step of returning a first response including the first position information when it is determined that the first position information obtained by the step is outside the set area; and a request for obtaining the position information of the package from the searcher. When it is determined that the first position information obtained by communication with the terminal is within the set area, the second position obtained by the means for acquiring the position information of the terminal And a step of returning a second response including the information. 21. The baggage information providing method according to claim 20, wherein the means for acquiring the position information is satellite positioning. 22. Attaching a terminal equipped with a means for acquiring position information and a communication means to a package to be carried, and the first position information obtained by communication with the terminal is inside the set area. And a step of reporting the information including the second position information obtained by the means for acquiring the position information of the terminal when the determination is made. 23. The package information providing method according to claim 20, further comprising the step of reporting information including delivery when the terminal is removed from the package to the sender of the package.