JP2004132732A - System, method, and program for searching article, and record medium in which article searching program is recorded - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To precisely locate an article, and to notify a user of that location information. <P>SOLUTION: A system comprises data tags 4 which are attached to searching objects and are capable of radio communication, two or more observing apparatuses 3 which perform radio communication with the data tags 4 having directivities, a terminal device 1 which performs inputting to the searching objects and displays searching results, and a server 2 for searching the inputted searching objects. The server 2 is provided with a memory 22 which stores for each searching object, information on the searching objects and the data tags 4 attached to these searching objects, and stores information on the positions and directions of the observing apparatuses 3, a LAN_IF 21 being a means for receiving communication results between the observing apparatuses 3 and the data tags 4 attached to the searching objects inputted from the terminal device 1, and a CPU 13 being a calculation means which finds the positions of the searching objects from communication results of two or more observing apparatuses 3 having succeeded in communication with the data tags 4. Location information on the searching objects by calculation in the CPU 22 is transmitted to the terminal device 1. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an article search system, an article search method, an article search program, and a recording medium on which an article search program is recorded for searching for lost articles in daily life.
[0002]
[Prior art]
When a person loses track of an item in his daily life, he follows his own memory and tries to remember where it is. However, if the event you are trying to recall is a distant past event or an unconscious action, your memory may be ambiguous and you may not be able to locate the object.
[0003]
In addition, when searching by relying on memory, a method of reproducing the action at that time again or searching for all possible places is used, but there is no guarantee that a lot of time is wasted and the person is found.
[0004]
Therefore, a tag system is provided as a technique for searching for an article whose location is unknown. This tag system attaches a tag including an external signal receiving device and a light emitting element and a sound emitting element that operate in response to an external signal to an article, and transmits a signal from the outside to the tag, thereby locating the tag by light or sound. (For example, see Patent Document 1).
[0005]
[Patent Document 1]
JP 2000-207657 A
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the case of the sound notification format, if the sound is too low, it cannot be heard by humans, and if the sound is too high, there is a problem. In addition, although it is possible to confirm the approximate location only by the sound, there is a problem that it is necessary to visually search around the area where the sound is made.
[0007]
On the other hand, what is notified by light is that the light emitting element must be visible, which is a necessary minimum condition, and there is a problem that the tag cannot be found when the tag is facing down or when the tag has been stored.
[0008]
The present invention has been devised to solve such a problem, and its object is not to rely on sound or light, but to accurately find the location of an article and notify a user of the article, and an article search method. Another object of the present invention is to provide an article search program and a recording medium on which the article search program is recorded.
[0009]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
An article search system according to the present invention includes a data tag attached to an object to be searched and capable of wirelessly communicating information with the outside, and at least two or more observation devices that wirelessly communicate with the data tag with directivity. And, while performing the input of the search object, a terminal device that displays a search result, and a search device that is connected to the observation device and the terminal device and performs a search for the search object input from the terminal device, The search device stores search object information storage means for storing information of a search object and the data tag attached to the search object for each search object, and stores information on the position and direction of the observation machine. Observation device information storage means, means for receiving a communication result between the data tag attached to the search target input from the terminal device and the observation device, and Calculating means for obtaining the position of the search object from the communication results of at least two or more observation devices that have successfully communicated with the tag; and means for outputting the position information of the search object by the calculation in the calculation means to the terminal device. It is characterized by having. In addition, the article search method of the present invention includes a data tag attached to a search object and capable of wirelessly communicating information with the outside, and at least two or more devices that wirelessly communicate with the data tag with directivity. A method of searching for a search target using an observation device, wherein the step of prompting each of the observation devices to communicate with a data tag attached to the search target based on an instruction of the search target from a user. Receiving a communication result between the data tag attached to the search target and each of the observation devices; and, based on the received communication result, the positions and positions of at least two or more observation devices that have successfully communicated with the data tag. The method includes a step of calculating the position of the search target based on the direction by calculation, and a step of notifying the user of the obtained position information of the search target.
[0010]
According to the present invention having such features, the search device requests each observer to communicate with a data tag attached to the search target based on an instruction of the search target from the terminal device, In response to this request, when a communication result with the data tag attached to the search target is received from each observation device, based on the received communication result, at least two or more observation devices that have successfully communicated with the data tag. The position of the search object is obtained by calculation based on the position and the direction. Then, the obtained position information of the search object is transmitted to the terminal device. In the terminal device, the received position information is displayed, for example, overlaid on the floor plan of the room. As described above, in the article search system of the present invention, the location (position information) of the article that is no longer known is displayed as a search target together with the floor plan of the room, so that the user can easily search for the lost article. Can be.
[0011]
In this case, the observation device is configured to communicate with the data tag by infrared rays through means for restricting a communication direction. The communication direction restricting means is configured to be able to change the restriction direction at any time. As a result, it is possible to search all over the room with the observation device installed in the room or the like. As the terminal device, a portable information device such as a mobile phone or a PDA which has been rapidly spreading recently can be used.
[0012]
Further, the article search method of the present invention can be realized as a program for executing this method.
[0013]
That is, the article search program of the present invention includes a data tag attached to a search target and capable of wirelessly communicating information with the outside, and at least two or more devices that wirelessly communicate with the data tag with directivity. A computer-readable program for searching for a search target using an observation device, the communication with a data tag attached to the search target being performed based on an instruction of the search target from a user terminal. , Receiving a communication result between the data tag attached to the search target and each of the observation devices, and based on the received communication result, at least two devices that have successfully communicated with the data tag. Calculating the position of the search target based on the position and direction of the observation device, and transmitting the position information of the search target obtained by the calculation to the user terminal. It is characterized by comprising the steps of.
[0014]
The article search program can be provided as a computer-readable recording medium on which the program is recorded.
[0015]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[0016]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of the article search system according to the present embodiment.
[0017]
The article retrieval system according to the present embodiment has, as a basic configuration, a terminal device 1 such as a personal computer, a mobile phone, or a PDA used by a user, a server 2, two or more observation devices 3, 3,. It consists of.
[0018]
The terminal device 1 includes a LAN interface (hereinafter abbreviated as “LAN_IF”) 11, a memory 12, a CPU 13, and a monitor 14, and is used for receiving input from a user and presenting information to the user.
[0019]
The server 2 includes a LAN_IF 21, a memory 22, and a CPU 23, and communicates with the terminal device 1 and the observation device 3 to record and process data.
[0020]
The observation device 3 includes a LAN_IF 31, a memory 32 storing its own ID information, a CPU 33, an infrared transmission unit 34, and an infrared reception unit 35, and performs communication between the server 2 and the data tag 4. .
[0021]
The data tag 4 includes a memory 42 storing its own ID information, a CPU 43, an infrared transmitting unit 44, and an infrared receiving unit 45.
[0022]
FIG. 3 shows an example of an arrangement state of the article search system having the above configuration.
[0023]
One or more observation machines 3 are installed in one room (in this example, one at each of the three corners of the room, three in total). The terminal device 1 is installed in a place such as a living room where the user can easily see and input. The server 2 may be installed anywhere, for example, under the floor or ceiling. The data tag 4 is attached to, for example, a wallet, a medicine bag, an eyeglass case, a remote control transmitter, and the like, which are easily lost. The position of the installed observation device 3 is input by the user using the terminal device 1. With respect to the mounting angle of the observation device 3, the observation devices 3, 3,... Communicate with each other, and the mounting angle is obtained based on the communication direction and the input layout.
[0024]
However, in the present embodiment, acquisition of the height information of the search article is not performed. That is, the communication direction in the width direction of the observation device 3 is regulated by the slit (not shown). Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4, the infrared light whose width direction is restricted is irradiation for performing communication in the height direction.
[0025]
FIG. 2 shows a data configuration example of the memory 22 provided in the server 2. The memory 22 has an article list 51 indicating the relationship between the article list set in advance by the terminal device 1 and the ID of the data tag attached thereto, and the position of each observation device 3 preset by the terminal device 1 A list storage area 221 for storing the observation device information list 52 indicating the correspondence relationship with the direction in which the observation device 3 is facing; a tag ID storage area 222 for storing the ID of the searched data tag 4 as a search tag ID 53; A communication result storage area 223 for storing a communication result 54 with the data tag 4 is provided.
[0026]
Next, in the article retrieval system having the above configuration, a case where the location of the “glasses case” to which the data tag 4 is attached is specified as an example, and the operation flow chart of the observation machine shown in FIG. The operation will be described.
[0027]
Here, it is assumed that the layout of the user's room is as shown in FIG. That is, except for sanitary, each room (Japanese-style room and living room) is provided with three observation devices 3 at the corners of each room. (X, y) shown in FIG. 5 indicates the position of each observation device 3. The direction of the observation device 3 is the direction in which the observation device 3 faces when the x-axis in FIG. 5 is 0 ° and the y-axis is 90 °.
[0028]
When the user makes an article search request using the terminal device 1, the terminal device 1 acquires the article list 51 stored in the memory 22 of the server 2 and displays it on the monitor 14.
[0029]
When the user specifies “glasses case” 51a from the article list 51 displayed on the screen, the terminal device 1 transmits the data tag ID “103” corresponding to the specified “glasses case” to the server 2. The server 2 stores the received ID “103” as the search data tag ID 53, and makes a communication request with the data tag 4 to all the observation devices 3, 3,. Note that the terminal device 1 may transmit the text of the article name to the server 2 instead of transmitting the data tag ID “103” corresponding to “glasses case”. In this case, the server 2 extracts the data tag ID corresponding to the article from the article list 51 of the memory 22, stores the extracted ID “103” as the search data tag ID 53, and stores all the observation machines 3, 3,. Request a communication with the data tag 3
[0030]
When receiving a communication request with the data tag 4 from the server 2 (determined as Yes in step S1), all of the observation devices 3, 3,... Start communication with the data tag 4 (step S2).
[0031]
That is, when the observation device 3 does not receive the data tag ID returned from the data tag 4 (when it is determined as No in step S3), the observation device 3 drives a slit (not shown) in the horizontal direction to communicate in the communication direction (communication). Are sequentially changed (step S4). In this way, even if the communication direction is continuously changed and the observation device 3 performs communication in all communicable directions, the data tag ID is not received by the reply from the data tag 4 (No is determined in step S5). In this case, the communication is terminated (step S7).
[0032]
On the other hand, when the observation device 3 receives the data tag ID returned from the data tag 4 (when determined Yes in step S3), the observation device 3 transmits its own observation device ID and its scanning direction to the server 2. (Step S6), the communication ends (step S7).
[0033]
Here, how the observation device 3 communicates with the data tag 4 will be described with reference to FIG.
[0034]
Each of the observation devices 3 (3A, 3B, 3C) that has received the data tag search request from the server 2 performs scanning in the communication direction (horizontal movement in the horizontal direction) as shown in FIG. The direction in which a reply is sent from the tag 4 is obtained. As a result, when the “glasses case” to which the data tag 4 with the ID “103” is attached is present in the room, finally, as shown in FIG. 6B, the observation devices 3A, 3B, and 3C (Θa, θb, θc) are obtained.
[0035]
As a result of each of the observation devices 3A, 3B, and 3C attempting communication in all communication directions, the observation device ID and the relative angle between the data tag 4 and the observation device ID are stored in the memory 22 of the server 2 as shown in FIG. Is obtained as the tag communication result 54. The observation devices 3A, 3B, and 3C related to the search data tag ID are extracted from the result, and the data tag 4 is extracted from the positions of the observation devices 3A, 3B, and 3C and the direction in which the observation devices 3A, 3B, and 3C face. The location of the attached "eyeglass case" can be specified.
[0036]
For example, the values in FIG. 6B are Ax = 0, Ay = 200, θa = 38.9 °, αa = 90 ° (1)
Bx = 400, By = 0, θb = 46.3 °, αb = 180 ° (2)
Cx = 400, Cy = 800, θc = 30.2 °, αc = −90 ° (3)
Where (x, y) = (160, 451) from equations (1) and (2) and (x, y) = (190, 439) from equations (2) and (3). The coordinates are obtained. Ideally, it is desirable to output only one point. However, if different values are obtained as described above due to errors in slit width, angle, etc., the coordinates of the center are set as the position of the search data tag 4.
[0037]
The server 2 transmits the position information (location) of the search data tag 4 thus obtained to the terminal device 1. The terminal device 1 displays this position information on the screen of the monitor 14. This allows the user to specify the location of the “glasses case”. In this case, the screen display method may be performed graphically together with the floor plan of the room, or by setting a place such as a desk or a TV in advance, such as "on the desk in the room". It may be displayed in characters.
[0038]
As a method of obtaining the direction of the search data tag 4 from each observation device 3, (a) a method of simply shifting the narrow-angle communication little by little (the method of the present embodiment shown in FIG. 6), ( b) A method of examining an approximate direction by attempting communication at a wide angle, and increasing the resolution again at a narrow angle to obtain an angle is conceivable.
[0039]
In the present embodiment, the height direction of the search article is omitted, and the plane position is obtained. However, a Z-axis direction slit for scanning in the Z direction (height direction) is attached to the slit of the observation device 3. Thus, a three-dimensional position including information in the height direction can be obtained.
[0040]
The article search system described above is realized by a program for causing a process of searching for a search target using a data tag and an observation device to function.
[0041]
The subject of the invention may be the program itself, or the program may be stored in a computer-readable recording medium.
[0042]
In the present invention, as the recording medium, a memory such as a ROM required for the processing to be performed by the server 2 shown in FIG. 1, for example, a ROM itself may be a program medium. A program reading device may be provided as an external storage device that is not provided, and may be a program medium that can be read by inserting a recording medium therein. In any case, the stored program may be configured to be accessed and executed by a microcomputer, or in any case, the program may be read, and the read program may be a program (not shown) of the microcomputer. The program may be loaded into the storage area and the program may be executed. It is assumed that the loading program is stored in the main unit in advance.
[0043]
Here, the program medium is a recording medium that is configured to be separable from the main body, such as a tape system such as a magnetic tape or a cassette tape, a magnetic disk such as an FD (flexible disk) or an HD (hard disk), An optical disk system such as MO / MD / DVD, a card system such as an IC card (including a memory card) / optical card, or a fixed program including a semiconductor memory such as a mask ROM, EPROM, EEPROM, flash ROM, etc. It may be a medium.
[0044]
Further, in the present invention, when the system configuration is connectable to a communication network including the Internet, the medium may carry a program in a fluid manner such that the program is downloaded from the communication network. When the program is downloaded from the communication network as described above, the download program may be stored in the apparatus main body in advance, or may be installed from another recording medium. The content stored in the recording medium is not limited to a program, but may be data.
[0045]
Further, in the present invention, the program itself may be the processing itself executed by the server 2 shown in FIG. 1, or may be acquired by accessing a communication network including the Internet, or may be acquired. It may be, or may be sent from here. Further, it may be a result of processing in the article search system based on the fetched program, that is, a generated program. Alternatively, it may be a result of processing in the article search system when sending out from here, that is, a generated one. Note that these are not limited to programs and may be data.
[0046]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention, the location of the retrieval article can be accurately obtained from the relative angle between the observation device and the data tag attached to the retrieval article, and can be displayed and output.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of an article search system according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a data configuration of a memory provided in a server.
FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of an arrangement state of a terminal device, a server, and an observation device that constitute the article search system of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which the communication direction in the width direction of infrared light emitted from the observation device is regulated.
FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a layout of a user's room and an arrangement state of an observation device.
FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a process in which an observation device obtains a direction of a data tag.
FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a processing operation of the observation device.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Terminal device 2 Server 3 Observation machine 4 Data tag 11, 21, 31, 41 LAN interface (LAN_IF)
12, 22, 32, 42 Memory 13, 23, 33, 43 CPU
14 monitors 34, 44 infrared transmitters 35, 45 infrared receivers

Claims (7)

A data tag attached to the search object and capable of wirelessly communicating information with the outside,
At least two or more observation devices that communicate with this data tag wirelessly with directivity;
A terminal device for inputting a search object and displaying a search result;
A search device connected to the observation device and the terminal device, and configured to search for a search target input from the terminal device,
The search device,
Search target information storage means for storing, for each search target, information of the search target and the data tag attached to the search target;
Observation machine information storage means for storing information on the position and direction of the observation machine,
Means for receiving a communication result between the data tag and the observation device attached to the search target input from the terminal device,
Calculating means for obtaining a position of a search target from communication results of at least two or more observation devices that have successfully communicated with the data tag, among the received communication results,
Means for outputting, to the terminal device, position information of the search object obtained by the calculation by the calculation means. The article search system according to claim 1, wherein the observation device communicates with the data tag by infrared rays via a unit that regulates a communication direction. The article search system according to claim 2, wherein the communication direction restriction unit is capable of changing a restriction direction. The article search system according to claim 1, wherein the terminal device is a portable information device. A data tag attached to a search target and capable of wirelessly communicating information with the outside, and at least two or more observation machines that communicate with the data tag wirelessly with the data tag are used to search for the search target. A search method,
A step of prompting each of the observation devices to communicate with a data tag attached to the search target based on an instruction of the search target from the user;
Receiving a communication result between the data tag attached to the search target and each of the observation devices,
Based on the received communication result, calculating the position of the search object based on the position and direction of at least two or more observation devices that have successfully communicated with the data tag;
Notifying the user of the obtained position information of the search target object. A data tag attached to a search target and capable of wirelessly communicating information with the outside, and at least two or more observation machines that communicate with the data tag wirelessly with the data tag are used to search for the search target. A computer-readable article search program for searching,
Instructing each of the observation devices to communicate with a data tag attached to the search target based on the search target instruction from the user terminal;
Receiving a communication result between the data tag attached to the search target and each of the observation devices,
Based on the received communication result, calculating the position of the search object based on the position and direction of at least two or more observation devices that have successfully communicated with the data tag,
Transmitting the position information of the search object obtained by the calculation to the user terminal. A computer-readable recording medium storing the article search program according to claim 6.

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