JP2006125942A - Walk navigation system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce the time and labor required for maintenance etc. in a system for guiding persons in facilities. <P>SOLUTION: The walk navigation system comprises an IC tag 12 carried by a person to be guided; transmission/reception devices 14 arranged at prescribed locations of a building for communicating with IC tags by radio; announcing devices 18 for announcing a direction in which the person to be guided should proceed by speech and/or images to the person to be guided; and a control unit 16 for controlling the speech and/or images of the announcing devices on the basis of information read from the IC tag by the transmission/reception devices. The IC tag 12 and the transmission/reception devices 14 communicate with each other by radio by the principle of RFID. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for guiding a person in a building such as an energy facility, a theater, a welfare facility, or a hospital.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a system that guides and guides employees and visitors individually in public facilities such as hospitals, government offices, and event venues such as amusement parks and expositions is known.

As such a system, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-149150 (Patent Document 1) discloses that a portable transceiver is carried by a patient in a hospital and a fixed transceiver is installed at a place where it is easy to get lost such as a hospital branch point. There is disclosed a guidance system that is installed, obtains necessary information about a patient through communication between a portable transceiver and a fixed transceiver, and guides the patient in a direction to proceed by a display device or the like. In this system, personal information such as the patient's name, department, presence of physical disability, etc. is stored in the portable transceiver at the time of patient reception, and the portable transceiver is communicated with the fixed transceiver on the wall side. The patient's personal information stored in the transmitter / receiver is read, and the name, the direction of the examination room, etc. are displayed on the display device according to the information.
JP 2000-149150 A

  However, in the conventional system as described above, in order to perform communication between the portable transceiver and the fixed transceiver, a power source such as a battery is also required on the portable transceiver side. For this reason, it is necessary to periodically replace the battery of the portable transceiver, and in a facility such as a hospital where a large number of patients need to carry the portable transceiver, it is very important for maintenance management of a large number of portable transceivers. It took time and was not convenient.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to be able to reduce the trouble of maintenance management and the like in a system for guiding a person in a facility.

  In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, a walking navigation system according to the present invention includes an IC tag carried by a person to be guided, a predetermined position of a building, and the IC tag Based on a transmitter / receiver that communicates wirelessly, a notification device that notifies a person to be guided of a direction to travel by voice and / or image, and information read from the IC tag by the transmitter / receiver And a control device that controls sound and / or images of the notification device, and the IC tag and the transmission / reception device perform wireless communication based on the principle of RFID.

  In the walking navigation system according to the present invention, the IC tag stores destination information of the person to be guided.

  In the walking navigation system according to the present invention, the transmission / reception device is arranged on any one of a wall, a pillar, a ceiling, and a floor of the passage of the building.

  Further, in the walking navigation system according to the present invention, the antenna of the transmitting / receiving device is arranged so that at least a part thereof can be seen on any surface of a building material such as a wall, a pillar, a ceiling, or a floor of the passage of the building. It is characterized by being.

  In the walking navigation system according to the present invention, the notification device is arranged in the vicinity of the transmission / reception device.

  Further, in the walking navigation system according to the present invention, a plurality of the transmission / reception devices are arranged at predetermined positions of the building, and the person who is guided by the communication state between the plurality of transmission / reception devices and the IC tag. The position of is detected.

  In the walking navigation system according to the present invention, the IC tag includes a gyro.

  In the walking navigation system according to the present invention, the control device is a personal computer.

  In the walking navigation system according to the present invention, the notification device displays an image for guiding a destination by sign language or character input.

  In addition, the walking navigation system according to the present invention is carried by a visually impaired person who is an object to be guided, and is disposed on the floor of the building and the walking stick with the built-in transmission / reception device disposed therein. Based on information read from the IC tag tape by the transmission / reception device wirelessly with the transmission / reception circuit, the direction of the person to be guided is to be advanced by at least sound and its signal. The transmitter / receiver and the IC tag tape perform wireless communication based on the principle of RFID.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, it becomes possible to reduce the effort of maintenance management etc. in the system which guides a person in a facility.

  DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a system configuration of the first embodiment of the walking navigation system of the present invention.

  The system of this embodiment requires a person by carrying a portable transceiver in a building such as an energy facility, a theater, a welfare facility, or a hospital and communicating with a fixed transceiver installed in the building. It is a system that guides in any direction.

  In FIG. 1, a walking navigation system 10 according to the present embodiment includes an IC tag 12 that is a portable transceiver that is carried by a person, and a fixed-side transmission / reception that is installed on the wall surface of a passage of a building and that communicates with the IC tag 12 wirelessly. 14, a control terminal (personal computer) 16 that can communicate with the fixed-side transceiver 14 in a wired or wireless manner, and a notification device 18 that guides the destination to the user under the control of the control terminal 16. .

  For example, in the case of a hospital, the IC tag 12 is written with destination information such as a specific room to receive medical examinations and, in the case of an energy facility, a room requiring inspection. However, in order to prevent leakage of personal information, personal information such as the user's name, gender, affiliation, and physical characteristics may not be written in the IC tag 12.

  The required number of fixed-side transceivers 14 is installed in a building passage, particularly in a place where it is easy to get lost, such as a passage branch point, etc., communicates with the IC tag 12 wirelessly, and stores user destination information stored in the IC tag 12. Read and send the information to the control terminal 16. The fixed-side transceiver 14 can be appropriately installed in a necessary place such as a building wall, a pillar, a ceiling, or a floor.

  The control terminal 16 controls the notification device 18 based on the user destination information sent from the fixed-side transceiver 14, and outputs information for guiding the user.

  The notification device 18 includes a speaker, a display, and the like, and under the control of the control terminal 16, an announcement such as “Please turn right” is played by voice, or an arrow or a map is displayed on the screen to indicate the destination. In this way, the user is guided. Note that the notification device 18 may have a function of guiding a destination by sign language for a hearing-impaired patient. Alternatively, the patient may draw handwritten characters on the display screen, judge and interpret the characters on the control terminal 16 side, and present necessary information to the patient.

  Next, FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the principle of communication between the IC tag 12 which is a portable transceiver and the fixed-side transceiver 14.

  In FIG. 2, the IC tag 12 includes an IC chip 22, a memory 24 for storing or reading user destination information under the control of the IC chip 22, and destination information read from the memory 24 on the fixed-side transceiver 14. And the transmission / reception circuit 26 for receiving information transmitted from the fixed-side transmitter / receiver 14 and the exchange of signals between the transmission / reception circuit 26 and the fixed-side transmitter / receiver 14. The antenna 28 is configured to generate an electromotive force that serves as a power source for the IC chip 22 by electromagnetic waves transmitted.

  The fixed-side transceiver 14 includes an antenna 30 for transmitting electromagnetic waves or the like to the IC tag 12 and a transceiver circuit 32 for reading out user destination information from the IC tag 12.

  Here, the IC tag 12 constitutes a wireless IC tag, and constitutes a wireless communication system called a so-called RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) together with the fixed-side transceiver 14.

  For RFID, 125 KHz band electrostatic coupling method, 120 to 150 KHz or 13.56 MHz band short wave electromagnetic induction method, and 300 MHz band or 400 to 530 KHz long wave band electromagnetic coupling method There are an electromagnetic wave propagation method using a UHF band of 860 to 956 MHz, a microwave method of performing communication using a quasi-microwave band of 2.45 GHz, and a microwave method of 5.8 to 5.9 GHz. This method is also applicable to this embodiment.

  In a facility equipped with medical equipment such as a hospital, the power of communication between the IC tag 12 and the fixed-side transceiver 14 is preferably 0.3 W or less in order to prevent radio waves from affecting the medical equipment. , It is set so that it is suppressed to 1 W or less at maximum.

  FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view showing an example of the configuration of the IC tag 12 in the present embodiment.

  The IC tag 12 includes an IC chip 22 and a loop antenna 28 arranged so as to surround the IC chip 22 in a loop shape. An electromagnetic force generated by electromagnetic induction is generated in the loop antenna 28 by the electromagnetic wave transmitted from the fixed-side transceiver 14, and this electromotive force becomes a power source for driving the IC chip 22. In FIG. 3, the memory 24 and the transmission / reception circuit 26 are illustrated as being included in the IC chip 22.

  Next, a usage method when the walking navigation system configured as described above is applied to a hospital facility will be described.

  4A and 4B are diagrams showing a flow from the reception of a diagnosis at a hospital to the end of the diagnosis while guiding the patient to a target location, FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a concept of guiding the patient, and FIG. It is the top view which looked at from the top. 4A and 4B show an example in which a patient visits an internal medicine, for example. In the following description, the case of receiving an internal medicine will be described, but the flow is exactly the same when receiving other departments. . In the following description, it is assumed that only the information of the department receiving the examination is written in the IC tag.

  First, the patient goes to the reception of the hospital and receives a medical examination (step S2), and designates a department to receive medical examination (step S4). In the following, since it will be described that the reception is performed by the automatic reception machine, in steps S2 and S4 described above, the reception is performed by inserting the examination ticket into the automatic reception machine and designating the department on the display. Can do.

  When the patient designates the department to be examined with the automatic reception machine, a paper on which the department designated as the examination ticket is described is output from the automatic reception machine (step S6). Further, the IC tag 12 storing the destination information (ID) corresponding to the designated department (in this example, internal medicine) is output from the automatic reception machine (step S8). In addition, when writing destination information (ID) according to a patient's examination department to the IC tag 12 by the automatic reception machine, it is easy to arrange a known writing device using the principle of RFID in the automatic reception machine. The destination information can be written in the IC tag 12. Alternatively, a large number of IC tags in which destination information is written in advance for each department may be prepared.

  The patient receives the IC tag 12 in which the internal medicine ID is stored as the destination from the automatic reception machine, and proceeds toward the internal medicine (step S10).

  On the way to the internal medicine, if it is not clear in which direction to go by hitting a branch point as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 (step S12, Yes), the IC tag 12 is Hold it over the antenna of the nearby fixed-side transceiver 14 (step S14). Then, the fixed-side transceiver 14 reads the destination information (internal medicine) stored in the IC tag 12 and transmits it to the control terminal 16. The control terminal 16 controls the notification device 18 according to the read destination information (ID), and a sound such as “Please turn right at the internal medicine” is emitted from the speaker of the notification device 18. A map and an arrow indicating the direction of the turn are displayed on the display 18 (step S16). And a patient can arrive at an internal medicine easily by progressing according to the audio | voice and display of this alerting | reporting apparatus 18 (step S18).

  In addition, since there are a blind person, a hearing-impaired person, etc. in a patient, it is preferable that the alerting | reporting apparatus 18 alert | reports both by an audio | voice and an image display. It is also preferable to display a sign language screen for a hearing impaired person. Alternatively, the patient may draw handwritten characters on the display screen, judge and interpret the characters on the control terminal 16 side, and present necessary information to the patient. However, you may make it the alerting | reporting apparatus 18 alert | report only by either one of an audio | voice or an image as needed.

  When the patient arrives at the internal medicine, the patient puts the examination ticket and the paper received at the reception into the internal medicine post (step S20). Then, a medical examination is received according to the order of the patients (step S22).

  If the examination is completed as a result of the examination (step S24, the examination is completed), the process proceeds to step S48, where the IC tag 12 in which the reception ID is stored is received at the examination department, and the IC tag 12 is cleared at the reception. Return (step S50) and return home (step S52). Note that the IC tag 12 functions to guide the patient to the reception even while the patient proceeds from the consultation department to the reception. In the above description, the reception department has received the new IC tag 12 in which the reception ID is stored. However, the reception ID is newly written in the IC tag 12 carried by the patient until then. Also good.

  On the other hand, in step S24, if another examination or the like is necessary for the convenience of the examination (assuming that it is necessary to take X-rays here) (step S24, continuous examination), the patient is examined ( In the internal medicine), the IC tag 12 in which the ID of the X-ray room is stored is received (step S26). In this case as well, instead of receiving a new IC tag 12, a known writing device using the above-described RFID principle is installed in the examination room, and the doctor inputs an instruction such as an X-ray to the personal computer. The X-ray room ID may be automatically written as the next destination on the IC tag 12 carried by the patient.

  When the patient is not sure in which direction to go again while traveling to the X-ray room (step S28, Yes), the IC tag 12 is held over the antenna of the nearby fixed-side transceiver 14 (step S30). As a result, as in the case of step S16, sound is emitted from the speaker of the notification device 18, and an arrow indicating the direction of the map and the turn is displayed on the display (step S32). Then, the patient can easily reach the X-ray room by proceeding according to the sound and display of the notification device 18.

  Thereafter, when radiography (diagnosis) is completed in the X-ray room (step S34), since it is necessary to return to the internal medicine, the IC tag 12 storing the internal medicine ID is received. Or, the internal medicine ID is written in the IC tag 12 carried by the patient.

  The patient walks again to the medical examination room. In this case as well (steps S38 to S42), walking navigation is performed in exactly the same manner as in steps S12 to S16.

  When the patient arrives at the internal medicine, a medical examination is performed in the medical examination room based on the radiograph taken (step S44). When the medical examination is completed (step S46, Yes), the steps S48 to S52 described above are performed. Follow the procedure and go home.

  On the other hand, if it is necessary to receive a diagnosis from another department at step S46, the IC tag 12 storing the ID of the other department is received at step S54, or the IC tag 12 carried by the patient is received. The ID of the other department is written in, and the process proceeds to step S12. As described above, the patient is guided to the other consultation department by the IC tag 12 and the fixed-side transceiver 14. The above is repeated until the examination is completed.

  The walking navigation system described above can also be used for navigation in energy facilities.

  When the above walking navigation system is used for an energy facility, a danger zone always exists in the energy facility. Therefore, when the user walks into the danger zone, the danger may be notified by voice or image. Since wireless communication by RFID is possible even if the distance between the IC tag 12 and the fixed-side transceiver 14 is about 3 m, in such a case, the user connects the IC tag 12 to the fixed-side transceiver 14. It is possible to issue an alarm without holding it over.

  In addition, when a blind person uses this navigation system, the position where the patient is and the direction in which the person is facing may not be known. In this case, it is possible to provide a plurality of fixed-side transmitters / receivers 14 and detect the position of a blind patient from the communication state with the IC tags 12 of at least three fixed-side transmitters / receivers 14. . For example, if the first to third fixed-side transceivers 14 are arranged in that order, the first and second fixed-side transceivers 14 can both communicate with the IC tag 12, and the third fixed When the side transmission / reception 14 cannot communicate with the IC tag 12, it can be determined that the patient is at a position between the first and second fixed-side transmission / reception devices 14. Based on such a principle, it is possible to determine the position of the patient. In addition, a gyro sensor can be provided in the IC tag 12 in case the direction in which the user is facing is lost. By calculating the angle of the gyro sensor while the IC tag 12 communicates with the fixed transceiver 14. It is also possible to inform the visually impaired patient of the direction of the destination by voice successively. As a result, accurate guidance is possible even for visually impaired patients.

  As described above, according to the first embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.

  Communication between an IC tag as a portable transceiver carried by a user and a fixed-side transceiver is performed by using the principle of RFID, so that there is no need to have a power source on the IC tag side, and the battery of the portable transceiver Maintenance such as replacement becomes unnecessary and maintenance management becomes very easy.

  Instead of installing the fixed-side transceiver or its antenna in a position where it cannot be seen from the outside such as the inside, back, etc. of walls, pillars, ceilings, floors, etc., at least a part of it is exposed on the surface so that it can be seen from outside The installation facilitates the installation, facilitates the transmission of radio waves, and allows the user to easily know where the antenna is, thus enabling reliable communication.

  Leakage of personal information can be prevented by not writing personal information such as name and organization name on the IC tag.

  By setting the power of communication between the IC tag and the fixed-side transceiver to 1 W or less, preferably 0.3 W or less, it can be used in hospitals, etc., and use a frequency band that requires a license. Is also possible.

(Second Embodiment)
This 2nd Embodiment is an example in the case of applying the walk navigation system of 1st Embodiment to evacuation guidance.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a flow of evacuation guidance when, for example, a fire occurs, and FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a state in which an alarm is issued.

  First, in the event of a fire, information is transmitted to fixed-side transceivers 14 installed at various locations in the building, and wirelessly transmitted to IC tags 12a carried by people around the fixed-side transceivers 14 Send information. When the IC tag 12a receives information from the fixed-side transmitter / receiver 14, the IC tag 12a returns information indicating that the information has been received to the fixed-side transmitter / receiver 14, and the control is performed depending on which position the fixed-side transmitter / receiver 14 receives the return signal. The terminal 16 determines where the person carrying the IC tag 12a is in the building. Thereby, the control terminal 16 performs guidance in a safe direction according to the position of the person via the fixed-side transceiver 14.

  The IC tag 12a of the second embodiment is obtained by adding a function of emitting sound to the IC tag 12 of the first embodiment. The IC tag 12a is adapted to the position of the person from the fixed-side transceiver 14. When the information is received, depending on the person's position, for example, as shown in Fig. 8, "A fire has occurred, please go straight ahead" or "A fire has occurred, please turn left. ”Etc. to guide people in a safe direction. In addition, a map indicating the direction of evacuation is displayed on the display of a notification device installed near the fixed-side transceiver 14.

  By doing as described above, even if a disaster occurs, it is possible to promptly guide people in the building in a safe direction.

  As described above, according to the second embodiment, by having each person in the building carry the IC tag 12a, it is possible to promptly guide to a safe direction even when a disaster occurs. .

(Third embodiment)
In this third embodiment, a tape with a wireless IC tag arranged continuously is installed on a floor of a hospital or the like for a blind person, and a cane with a transceiver is attached to a blind person. (Stick) is held and the stick of the wireless IC tag (using the principle of RFID) is traced with the stick.

  Hereinafter, the case where this embodiment is used for the guidance of the pedestrian in a hospital is demonstrated concretely.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a flow from the reception of the diagnosis at the hospital to the end of the diagnosis while guiding the patient to the target location.

  First, the visually impaired patient goes to the hospital reception and receives a medical examination (step S62), and designates a department to receive medical examination (step S64). The reception operator stores the destination information according to the consultation department designated by the patient in the storage device inside the hospital stick (cane) lent by the hospital by operating the personal computer or the like. Then, the patient exchanges the personal stick (cane) he owns with the in-hospital stick, and receives paper on which the department is described (step S66).

  The patient who has received the in-hospital stick proceeds toward the consultation room of the department while placing the staff on the IC tag tape placed on the hospital floor.

  At this time, the location information in the hospital is registered in each IC tag on the IC tag tape as an ID, and the transmitter / receiver arranged in the hospital stick communicates with the IC tag on the IC tag tape at present. Read location information. Moreover, the hospital stick has a microcomputer and a speaker built therein, and the sound for guiding the patient is output from the speaker based on the current position information read from the IC tag under the control of the microcomputer. Note that when the hospital stick that the patient has protruded from the IC tag tape due to communication with the IC tag, the microcomputer reduces the sound from the speaker or prevents the patient from coming out of the IC tag tape. Warn you. Or you may make it notify by a vibration.

  Moreover, when the patient approaches a crossing road, the microcomputer notifies by voice from several meters before. In addition, in front of the corresponding department, the arrival is notified by voice.

  When the patient arrives at the consultation department by the navigation as described above (step S68), the patient hands the examination ticket and the paper received at the reception to the consultation department (step S70). Then, a medical examination is received according to the order of the patients (step S72).

  When the examination is completed, the reception department writes the reception ID on the storage device of the in-hospital stick (step S74), and walks to the reception according to the voice guidance of the in-hospital stick while keeping the in-hospital stick along the IC tag tape. Go. Then, at the reception, settlement is performed, and the in-hospital stick and the personal stick are exchanged (step S76), and the user returns home (step S78).

  In addition, as a result of examination, if other examinations such as X-rays are required, or if it is necessary to receive examinations of other departments, by writing a new destination ID in the storage device of the hospital stick Can respond.

  In addition, if the IC tag 12 of the first embodiment is attached to the upper part of the hospital stick, the first side transceiver 14 of the first embodiment installed on the wall of the building and the like communicates with the first tag. As with one embodiment, it is possible to guide the patient.

  As described above, according to the third embodiment, it is possible to reliably guide a visually impaired person to a target place even in a facility such as a hospital where it is difficult to install a braille block or the like. Become.

It is a schematic diagram which shows the system configuration | structure of 1st Embodiment of the walking navigation system of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the principle of communication between the IC tag which is a portable transmitter / receiver, and a fixed side transmitter / receiver. It is a typical top view showing an example of composition of an IC tag in a 1st embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the flow until a medical examination is complete | finished, guiding a patient to the target place from the medical examination reception in a hospital. It is a figure which shows the flow until a medical examination is complete | finished, guiding a patient to the target place from the medical examination reception in a hospital. It is a figure which shows the concept which guide | induces a patient. It is the top view which looked at FIG. 5 from the top. It is a figure which shows the flow of evacuation guidance when a fire occurs. It is a figure which shows a mode that a warning is issued. It is a figure which shows the flow until a medical examination is complete | finished, guiding a patient to the target place from the medical examination reception in a hospital.

Explanation of symbols

10 Walking Navigation System 12 IC Tag 14 Fixed Side Transceiver 16 Control Terminal (Personal Computer)
18 Notification device 22 IC
24 memory 26 transmission / reception circuit 28 antenna 30 antenna 32 transmission / reception circuit

Claims (10)

An IC tag carried by the person to be guided;
A transmitting / receiving device arranged at a predetermined position of the building and wirelessly communicating with the IC tag;
A notification device for notifying the person to be guided of the direction to be advanced by voice and / or image;
A control device that controls the sound and / or image of the notification device based on information read from the IC tag by the transceiver device;
A walking navigation system, wherein the IC tag and the transmission / reception device perform wireless communication based on an RFID principle.   The walking navigation system according to claim 1, wherein the IC tag stores destination information of the person to be guided.   2. The walking navigation system according to claim 1, wherein the transmission / reception device is disposed on any one of a wall, a pillar, a ceiling, and a floor of a passage of the building.   The antenna of the said transmission / reception apparatus is arrange | positioned so that at least one part can be seen on any surface of building materials, such as the wall of a passage of the said building, a pillar, a ceiling, a floor. Walking navigation system.   The walking navigation system according to claim 1, wherein the notification device is disposed in a vicinity of the transmission / reception device.   A plurality of the transmission / reception devices are arranged at predetermined positions of the building, and the position of the person to be guided is detected based on a communication state between the plurality of transmission / reception devices and the IC tag. The walking navigation system according to Item 1.   The walking navigation system according to claim 1, wherein the IC tag includes a gyro.   The walking navigation system according to claim 1, wherein the control device is a personal computer.   The walking navigation system according to claim 1, wherein the notification device displays an image for guiding a destination by sign language or character input. A cane that is carried by a visually impaired person, and that has a built-in transceiver,
An IC tag tape that is arranged on the floor of the building and wirelessly communicates with a transmission / reception circuit arranged in the cane
Based on the information read from the IC tag tape by the transmission / reception device, it comprises a notification device for notifying the person to be guided at least the direction to be advanced by voice and its signal,
The walking navigation system, wherein the transmission / reception device and the IC tag tape perform wireless communication based on an RFID principle.

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