JP2004242121A - Method for retrieving article location - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method for detecting the present location of a target article which has little possibility that a theft performer recognizes or invalidates the method when the article is stolen. <P>SOLUTION: When an article owner 1 sends a research request for the target article 6 to a communication provider 2, the communication provider 2 periodically transmits a code corresponding to the serial number of the target article 6 to all base stations 3 to 5 and instructs the base stations 3 to 5 not to use an incoming communication channel for this invention for a second use for several mili-seconds after the transmission. A device for the invention built in the target article 6 transmits a prescribed pilot signal only for a very short period of time which is several mili-seconds upon the reception of a code of its own station. When the base station 3 notifies the communication provider 2 of the reception of the pilot signal, the communication provider 2 reports to the owner 1 that the target article 6 exists in the area of the base station 3. Unless the pilot signal is received even though the code is transmitted as many as the prescribed number of times, other communication providers that have introduced a system by the method of the invention are used to search the target article 6. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a system for retrieving the current position of an article that uses electricity, such as a car or a notebook computer, when the user notices the theft or loss of the article or wants to confirm that the article has not been stolen.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a stolen vehicle position detection system mounted on a vehicle, there is an apparatus that calculates a current position of a vehicle using a Global Positioning System (hereinafter, referred to as GPS) and transmits the calculated position using mobile communication. This transmits the current position calculated when an external call is received to the caller, so that the current position of the stolen vehicle can be confirmed. It should be noted that a device related to this type of device is, for example, a device described in Patent Document 1.
[Patent Document 1] JP-A-10-132917 [Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, since the above-mentioned conventional stolen vehicle position detection system uses a normal mobile communication system, it is necessary to transmit an uplink radio wave for cell registration every time the vehicle moves between cells. Therefore, there is a problem that the existence of the stolen vehicle position detection system and the position of the antenna are easy to find, and the antenna is easily removed or invalidated by the burglar. Further, the conventional stolen vehicle position detection method has a problem that it is necessary to allocate resources such as telephone numbers and cell registrations to systems that need to communicate only in rare cases such as theft. Furthermore, since a position detection system using GPS is used, there is a problem that it is difficult to obtain an effect when a target article mainly used indoors such as a personal computer is used as a target article.
[0003]
Therefore, the present invention limits the transmission from the embedded device to the target article to an extremely short time, makes it difficult for the thief to find the antenna position, and minimizes the consumption of resources such as telephone numbers and cell registrations, It is another object of the present invention to make it easier to obtain an effect not only on a vehicle but also on an article such as a notebook personal computer mainly used indoors.
[0004]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, a plurality of base stations that periodically transmit the same code, storage means for storing authentication information such as a serial number and a password of an article to be located, and a built-in self-installed article, Using an embedded device that transmits a predetermined pilot signal for several milliseconds only when a code corresponding to the serial number is received, when the owner of the article makes an inquiry to the communication carrier, the communication carrier stores Authentication is performed using the information stored in the means, and if the authentication is correctly performed, a code corresponding to the serial number is periodically transmitted from a plurality of base stations of the communication carrier and incorporated into the target article. Only when receiving the code corresponding to its own serial number, the device transmits a predetermined pilot signal using a predetermined uplink communication channel for several milliseconds.
[0005]
With the above configuration, if the owner of the target article inputs an appropriate authentication information and makes an inquiry, the communication carrier can know the base station that has received the response from the embedded device, and the article can recognize the base station of the base station. The owner can be notified that it is within range of the radio wave. At this time, the embedded device transmits for a very short time, and the transmission is performed irrespective of the action of the stealer. Therefore, there is little possibility that the stealer finds the antenna position of the device.
[0006]
In the present invention, it is sufficient that contact points (phone numbers, etc.) for the article owner to make inquiries to the telecommunications carriers are determined for each telecommunications carrier. The uplink communication channel used in the present invention can be used for normal communication like other communication channels as long as a situation that requires the search according to the present invention does not occur. Also, at the time of retrieval according to the present invention, the uplink communication channel is occupied only for about 10 milliseconds after code transmission from the base station.
[0007]
In the present invention, since a normal mobile communication channel is used without using GPS, the effect can be easily obtained indoors.
[0008]
In addition, as an embodiment of the present invention, a function of a device to be incorporated into a target article is mounted on a semiconductor chip. With this configuration, it is possible to further reduce the risk of the thief performing discovery of the embedded device.
[0009]
Further, as another embodiment of the present invention, the function of the device to be incorporated into the target article is mounted together with the semiconductor chip which is a component that originally constitutes the target article. With this configuration, it is possible to further reduce the risk of the embedded user discovering the embedded device, and to make it difficult to remove and invalidate the embedded device.
[0010]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an overall view of a first embodiment of a position detecting method for detecting a current position of an article according to the present invention, wherein 1 is an owner of the article, 2 is a communication carrier, and 20 is a mobile communication network of the communication carrier 2. Is a base station that includes the target article in the area, 22 and 23 are base stations that do not include the target article in the area, 3 is the target article, and 4 is the manufacturer of the target article.
[0011]
When the owner 1 of the article notices the loss or theft of the article, or wants to confirm that the article has not been stolen from a remote place, the telephone 20 dedicated to the method of the present invention is called to the management office 20 of the carrier 2. A telephone call is made with a number or access is made via the Internet or the like, and a search is requested by inputting authentication information registered in advance, for example, the serial number and password of the target article. Then, the management office 20 determines whether the authentication information is valid. If the authentication information is valid, the management office 20 transmits the serial number to the base stations 21 to 23 and instructs transmission of the corresponding code. The base stations 21 to 23 that have received the instruction periodically transmit the code corresponding to the serial number, and for a certain period after the transmission (for a longer time than a signal transmitted from a wireless communication device described later, for example, about 10 milliseconds). ) Is reserved for receiving a signal from the target article 3 without allocating an upstream communication channel determined to be used in the present invention to another use. The wireless communication device incorporated in the target article 3 does not emit radio waves unless it receives a code that matches the code of its own station, but when it receives a code that matches, it uses a predetermined uplink communication channel to use in the present invention. A predetermined pilot signal is transmitted for several milliseconds. When the base station 21 including the target article in the area receives the pilot signal, the base station 21 notifies the management office 20 of the reception. The management office 20 notifies the owner 1 of the article that the article is in the area of the base station 21. If the uplink radio wave is not returned even after transmitting the above code a predetermined number of times from all the base stations 21 to 23, a search is performed using another mobile communication carrier. At this time, the management office 20 contacts the maker 4 and searches using other mobile communication companies including overseas that have introduced the system according to the present method. Since the maker 4 has information on which communication system the wireless communication device incorporated in the target article 3 supports, it is possible to determine the mobile communication carrier to be requested and issue a search request.
[0012]
According to the present embodiment, since the position of the target article can be detected without transmitting radio waves for an extremely short time, it is difficult for the thief to find the existence of the system of the present invention and the antenna position when the article is stolen. is there. Further, in the present embodiment, since the GPS is not used, there is an effect that the retrieval is easy even when the target article is mainly used indoors such as a notebook personal computer. Further, in this embodiment, one telephone number may be determined for each communication carrier for this method, and the uplink communication channel used for this method may be used for normal communication when there is no search request. Even during the transmission, a code corresponding to the serial number of the target article is transmitted from the base station, and can be used for normal communication except for about 10 milliseconds, so that there is an effect of effective use of resources. Further, if the wireless communication device to be incorporated in the target article of the present embodiment is in the form of a semiconductor chip, it is possible to reduce the possibility that the position of the wireless communication device is invalidated by the thief. Furthermore, by incorporating the wireless communication device to be incorporated into the target article of this embodiment into a semiconductor chip which is originally a component of the target article, it is possible to further reduce the possibility that the position of the wireless communication device will be recognized by a thief and remove and invalidate the embedded device. Can be difficult.
[0013]
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a device incorporated into an article used in the article detection method of the present invention, wherein 31 is an antenna, 32 is a transmission / reception switch, 33 is a receiving unit, 34 is a processor, 35 is a P-ROM, and 36 is The pilot signal generator 37 is a transmission unit.
[0014]
The antenna 31 receives a radio wave from the base station. The transmission / reception switch 32 switches between transmitting and transmitting a transmission signal from the transmission unit 37 to the antenna 31 or transmitting a signal received by the antenna 31 to the reception unit 33 according to an instruction from the processor 34. The receiving unit 33 demodulates the received signal and restores the signal sent from the base station. The processor 34 has a role of instructing the transmission / reception switch 32, the reception unit 33, and the transmission unit 37 of signal transmission / reception timing, monitors codes received by the reception unit 33, and is stored in the P-ROM 35. If the code is the same as that of the own station, an instruction to transmit a pilot signal is issued to pilot signal generator 36 and transmitting section 37. The P-ROM 35 stores the code of the own station in advance and provides the processor 34 with the code received by the receiving unit 33 for comparison. The pilot signal generator 36 has a function of generating a predetermined pilot signal for the position detecting method of the present invention, and generates a pilot signal in accordance with an instruction from the processor 34. The transmitting section 37 modulates the pilot signal generated from the pilot signal generator 37 according to the instruction of the processor 34 and sends the modulated signal to the antenna 31 through the transmission / reception switch 32.
[0015]
When the code is received by the receiver 33 through the antenna 31, it is determined whether the code received by the processor 34 is the same as the code of the own station stored in the P-ROM 35. The processor 34 is also used for controlling the transmission / reception switch 32. If the processor 34 determines that the received code is the same as the code of the own station, the processor 34 instructs the pilot signal generator 36 and the transmitter 37 to transmit the pilot signal through the antenna 31.
[0016]
FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a base station used in the article detection method of the present invention. 211 is an antenna, 212 is a circulator, 213 is a normal receiving unit, 214 is a normal processor, and 215 is a normal transmitting unit.
[0017]
The antenna 211 receives radio waves from the communication terminal and the management office. The circulator 212 sends the signal from the antenna 211 to the normal receiving unit 213, sends the signal from the normal transmitting unit 215 to the antenna 211, and controls the signal from the normal transmitting unit 215 to be sent to the normal receiving unit 213. Hinder. The normal receiving unit 213 demodulates the signal transmitted from the antenna 211 and restores the signal transmitted by the terminal. The processor 214 issues a transmission / reception timing instruction in normal communication to the normal receiving unit 213 and the normal transmitting unit 215, and monitors a signal restored by the normal receiving unit 213. When the processor 214 detects that the receiving unit 213 has received the search request from the management office, the processor 214 instructs the normal transmitting unit 215 to transmit a code corresponding to the received serial number. At the same time, the normal transmission unit 215 is instructed to transmit a control signal to a general communication terminal so as not to use the uplink communication channel determined to be used in the present invention for a certain period after the transmission of the code. I do. The normal transmission unit 215 has a function of modulating a transmission signal and transmitting the modulated signal to the antenna 211 through the circulator 212. It also has a function of transmitting a control signal for instructing the communication terminal which uplink communication channel to use.
[0018]
The hardware of the base station used in the article detection method of the present invention shown in FIG. 3 may be the same as that of a conventional base station. Add new functions only for software. When the ordinary receiving unit 213 receives a search request from a communication carrier through the circulator 212 through the antenna 211, the ordinary processor 214 periodically transmits a code corresponding to the received serial number to the ordinary transmitting unit 215. Instruct to do so. At the same time, the processor 214 instructs the normal receiving unit 213 and the normal transmitting unit 215 to use the uplink communication channel used in the present invention for other communication for about 10 milliseconds from the transmission of the code. Give instructions.
[0019]
The location detection service can be provided by using the article search method of the present invention. That is, when a position detection request for an article is received from a service user, a code corresponding to the article is transmitted from the base station of the mobile communication network, and the code is attached to the article and communicates with the base station of the mobile communication network. Receiving, by a base station of the mobile communication network, a predetermined signal transmitted in response to the reception of the code by the device performing the detection, detecting a position of the article based on the received predetermined signal, This is a service for notifying the service user who has made the position detection request of the information on the position of the article. In this position detection service, a combination of a serial number and a password corresponding to each article to which the above device is mounted is registered in advance, and the service user requests the position detection of the article, with the serial number corresponding to the article. It is performed together with the input of the password, and when the combination of the serial number and the password is the registered one, the base station of the mobile communication network corresponds to the combination of the serial number and the password. By transmitting the code corresponding to the article to be registered, the location detection service can be provided only to service users who know the registered password in advance. Further, by transmitting the code a plurality of times in response to a position detection request from a service user, it is possible to increase opportunities for position detection. At this time, it is efficient if the transmissions are performed periodically. Also, by recording the number of times the position detection request is received or the time when the code is transmitted, the service user can be charged accordingly.
[0020]
FIG. 4 is an overall view of an article search method according to a second embodiment of the present invention, in which reference numeral 1 denotes an article owner, reference numeral 2 denotes a communication carrier, and reference numeral 20 denotes a management office that manages the mobile communication network of the communication carrier 2. , 21 are base stations including the target article in the area, 22 and 23 are base stations not including the target article in the area, and 3 is the target article.
[0021]
When the article owner 1 leaves the target article 3, the fact is transmitted using a mobile phone or the like. The base station 21 including the target article in the area receives it, and reports the combination of the serial number of the target article 3 and the base station 21 to the management office 20, and the management office 20 stores it. When the owner 1 of the article wants to confirm that the article 3 has not been stolen from a remote place, he calls the management office 20 with a telephone number dedicated to the method of the present invention, and obtains the serial number and password of the object article. And ask for confirmation. Then, the management office 20 determines whether the combination of the serial number and the password is valid, and when the combination is valid, notifies the serial number to the base station 21 registered in advance by the owner of the article, Indicate transmission of the corresponding code. The base station 21 that has received the instruction transmits a code corresponding to the serial number periodically, including monitoring. The incorporation device incorporated in the target article 3 does not emit radio waves unless it receives a code that matches the code of its own station. However, when it receives a code that matches the number, it uses a predetermined uplink communication channel to use the present invention. Transmit a predetermined pilot signal for milliseconds. When the base station 21 including the target article in the area receives the pilot signal, the base station 21 notifies the management office 20 of the reception. The management office 20 notifies the owner 1 of the article that the article is in the area of the base station 21. Alternatively, in the normal state, the owner 1 may not be contacted, and if it is determined that there is no response from the target article and that the article has gone out of the area of the base station 21, the fact may be notified.
[0022]
Also, in an area where the mobile station does not go out of the communication range even if it goes out of the area of the base station 21, when monitoring is started, a predetermined signal is transmitted when a code matching the code of the own station is not received. May be set so that the base station 21 starts monitoring immediately. In this case, when the target article goes out of the area of the base station 21 and the code that should be received periodically is no longer received, the embedded device may transmit a predetermined signal using a normal channel. .
[0023]
According to the present embodiment, when the detection method of the present invention is used only for confirmation purposes, the operation range can be limited to only the base station registered in advance, and the effect of reducing resource consumption as compared with the case of searching over the entire area can be obtained. is there.
[0024]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the current position detection method of the first embodiment of the present invention, the position of a stolen article can be detected without being perceived and invalidated by the thief, The effect is easy to obtain even when the article is indoors. In addition, it is possible to suppress the consumption of resources of normal mobile communication such as telephone numbers and communication channels.
[0025]
Further, by incorporating the embedded device for the present invention into a semiconductor chip, it is possible to reduce the risk that the position of the embedded device and the antenna will be perceived and invalidated by the thief.
[0026]
In addition, by incorporating the built-in device for the present invention into a semiconductor chip which is originally a component of the target article, it is possible to further reduce the risk of the position of the built-in device and the antenna being discovered by a thief, and to remove the built-in device. And invalidation can be made difficult.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an overall view of a first embodiment of a method for detecting a current position of an article according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a device incorporated into an article used in the article search method of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a base station used in the article search method of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is an overall view of Embodiment 2 of a method for detecting the current position of an article according to the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
1. 1. Owner of the article Telecommunications carrier 20. Management office 21. 22. Base station including target article in area 22. Base station not including target article in area 2. Base stations that do not include the target article in the area Target article 4. Manufacturer 31. Antenna 32. Transmission / reception switch 33. Receiving unit 34. Processor 35. P-ROM
36. Pilot signal generator 37. Transmission section 211. Antenna 212. Circulator 213. Normal receiving section 214. Normal processor 215. Normal transmitter.

Claims (11)

A position detection method for detecting the position of an article using a mobile communication network,
The base station of the mobile communication network transmits a code corresponding to the article,
A device attached to the article and communicating with the base station of the mobile communication network, when receiving a code corresponding to the article, transmits a predetermined signal,
A position detecting method comprising: detecting a position of the article based on the predetermined signal received by a base station of the mobile communication network. The position detection method according to claim 1, wherein
A predetermined time after transmitting the code from the base station is to allocate a predetermined uplink communication channel for transmitting the predetermined signal, and a time required for transmitting the predetermined signal is shorter than the predetermined time. A position detection method characterized by the above-mentioned. The position detection method according to claim 1, wherein
A position detecting method, wherein the position of the article is detected as being within an area of a base station that has received a predetermined signal transmitted from the article, among a plurality of base stations included in the mobile communication network. A position detection service providing method for detecting the position of an article using a mobile communication network,
When a position detection request of the above-mentioned article is received from the service user,
Transmitting a code corresponding to the article from a base station of the mobile communication network,
A predetermined signal transmitted in response to the reception of the code is received by the base station of the mobile communication network, and a device mounted on the article and communicating with the base station of the mobile communication network,
Detecting the position of the article based on the received predetermined signal,
A method for providing a position detection service, comprising: notifying the service user who has made the position detection request of information on the position of the detected article. The location detection service providing method according to claim 4, wherein
In advance, register the combination of serial number and password corresponding to each article to which the above device is attached,
The service user makes a request to detect the position of the article, together with the input of the serial number and the password corresponding to the article,
When the combination of the serial number and the password is the registered one,
A position detection service providing method, wherein a code corresponding to an article corresponding to the combination of the serial number and the password is transmitted from a base station of the mobile communication network. The location detection service providing method according to claim 4, wherein
A method for providing a position detection service, wherein the code is transmitted periodically in response to a position detection request from a service user. The location detection service providing method according to claim 4, wherein
A method for providing a position detection service, wherein the service user is charged according to the number of times the position detection request is received or the time when the code is transmitted. A wireless communication device attached to the article in a position detection method for detecting the position of the article using a mobile communication network,
A receiving unit that receives a signal from a base station of the mobile communication network,
A transmitting unit for transmitting a signal to a base station of the mobile communication network,
A signal generator for generating a signal to be transmitted to the mobile communication network,
Storage means for storing a predetermined code;
A processor that controls the transmitting unit and the signal generator according to the signal received by the receiving unit,
The processor, when a signal received from a base station of the mobile communication network matches a code stored in the storage means, generates a signal in the signal generator, and transmits the generated signal to the transmitting unit. A wireless communication device that performs control so as to transmit from a wireless communication device. The wireless communication device according to claim 8, wherein the wireless communication device is configured by a semiconductor chip. 9. The wireless communication device according to claim 8, wherein the wireless communication device is mounted on a semiconductor chip that is an essential component of the article. A base station in a position detection method for detecting the position of an article using a mobile communication network,
A transmitting unit that transmits a signal to a wireless communication device mounted on the article,
A receiving unit that receives a signal transmitted from the wireless communication device,
A processor and
Detecting the position of the article based on the signal received from the wireless communication device,
The processor according to the position detection request of the article,
Controlling the transmitting unit to transmit a code corresponding to the article,
A base station, wherein a predetermined uplink communication channel is allocated for the wireless communication apparatus to transmit a signal for a predetermined time after transmitting the code.

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