JP2006214934A - Positioning system, terminal device, control method of terminal device, control program of terminal device, and computer readable recording medium having recorded control program of terminal device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a positioning system or the like in a communication network of an asynchronous system between base stations that can perform positioning even when signals from three or more base stations cannot be received without requiring a large system change of the base stations. <P>SOLUTION: The communication base station 20A or the like comprises a base station positional information storage means for storing base station positional information 152, and a time difference information producing means for producing time difference information 160 showing the time difference between the transmission time and satellite time at the transmission time. A managing device 80 has a base station information storage means 352 or the like. The terminal device 50 comprises a terminal-side base station information acquiring means for acquiring base station positional information and the time difference information from the managing device 80, a number-of-sky-satellites determining means for determining the number of sky satellites such as positioning satellites 12a positioned in the sky of the terminal device 50, and a positioning means selecting means or the like for selecting one of a satellite signal positioning means, a communication signal wave positioning means, and a compound positioning means, based on the number of sky satellites. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a positioning system, a terminal device, a terminal device control method, a terminal device control program, and a terminal device in an asynchronous communication network between base stations that do not have a common reference timing such as the same clock between communication base stations. The present invention relates to a computer-readable recording medium on which the control program is recorded.

Conventionally, for example, in a so-called digital mobile communication system of a CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) system, a received signal between a plurality of base stations and mobile radio terminal apparatuses is premised on ensuring time synchronization between the plurality of base stations. There is known a method for detecting a position based on a difference in arrival times (for example, JP-A-7-181242).
However, there is a problem that the construction of a system for synchronizing time between base stations that exist in large numbers throughout the country has a large economic burden.
On the other hand, in the asynchronous communication network between base stations, a technology has been proposed in which a location management station that manages time difference information between a plurality of base stations is provided and the location management station measures the location of the mobile terminal. (For example, Patent Document 1).
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-252632 (FIG. 1 etc.)

However, in the prior art, a system for obtaining the difference in arrival time between the timing signal transmitted from each base station and the timing signal received from another base station requires a significant system change of the base station, and the construction is economical. The burden is heavy.
In addition, when signals from three or more base stations cannot be received, there is a problem that the position of the mobile terminal cannot be measured.

  Therefore, the present invention provides an asynchronous inter-base station system that can perform positioning even when signals from three or more communication base stations cannot be received without requiring a significant system change of the communication base stations. It is an object of the present invention to provide a positioning system, a terminal device, a control method for the terminal device, a control program for the terminal device, and a computer-readable recording medium on which the control program for the terminal device is recorded.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the communication includes a plurality of communication base stations, a terminal device capable of communicating with the communication base station, and a management device capable of communicating with the communication base station and the terminal device. An asynchronous positioning system between base stations, wherein the communication base station stores base station position information storage means for storing base station position information indicating the position of the communication base station, and a communication signal transmitted from the communication base station A satellite signal that indicates the satellite time that is the time of the positioning satellite based on the communication signal radio wave generating means with transmission time information that carries the transmission time information that indicates the transmission time on the radio wave, and the satellite signal that is the signal from the positioning satellite Satellite time information generating means for generating time difference information generating means for generating time difference information indicating a time difference between the transmission time and the satellite time at the transmission time, and the base station position information for the management device. And base station information transmitting means for transmitting the time difference information, and communication signal radio wave transmitting means for transmitting the communication signal radio wave on which the transmission time information is placed to the terminal device, The management apparatus comprises: a management apparatus side base station information receiving means for receiving the base station position information and the time difference information from the communication base station; a base station information storage means for storing the base station information; and a position of the terminal apparatus Terminal-side base station information transmitting means for transmitting the base station information in response to the terminal-side satellite time indicating the satellite time based on the satellite signal from the positioning satellite. A terminal-side satellite time information generating means for generating information; a base station information acquiring means for acquiring the base station position information and the time difference information from the management apparatus; and the positioning satellite located above the terminal apparatus. Receiving the communication signal radio wave from the communication base station; satellite signal positioning means for positioning the terminal device based on the satellite signal; A communication signal radio wave receiving means; a reception time information generating means for generating reception time information indicating a time when the communication signal radio wave is received; the base station position information; the time difference information; the transmission time information; and the reception time. Communication signal radio wave positioning means for positioning the terminal device based on the information, based on the satellite signal, the base station position information, the time difference information, the transmission time information, and the reception time information, Based on the number of the sky satellites, the composite positioning means for positioning the terminal device, and the satellite signal positioning means, the communication signal radio wave positioning means, or the composite positioning means And positioning means selecting means for selecting. This is achieved by an asynchronous positioning system between communication base stations.

According to the configuration of the first invention, the communication base station can generate the satellite time information by the satellite time information generating means. For example, it is well known that the current position can be measured based on a plurality of the satellite signals, and as a result, the accurate satellite time can be obtained together with the positioning position information.
And the said communication base station can produce | generate the said time difference information which shows the time difference of the said transmission time and the said satellite time in the said transmission time by the said time difference information generation means.
That is, since the communication base station does not synchronize the transmission time with the satellite time, but only generates the time difference information, the configuration is simple, and the system change of the communication base station is significant. Do not need.

Then, the management device can receive the base station position information and the time difference information from the communication base station by the base station information receiving means, and the base station position information and the time difference information in the base station information storage means. Time difference information can be stored.
And since the said management apparatus has the said base station information transmission means, according to the position of the said terminal device, it can transmit the said base station position information and the said time difference information.

And the said terminal device can acquire the said base station position information and the said time difference information from the said management apparatus by the said base station information acquisition means.
In addition, the terminal device can receive the communication signal radio wave from the communication base station by the communication signal radio wave receiving means.
Then, the reception time information generating means can generate reception time information indicating the time when the communication signal radio wave is received. Here, since the terminal device can generate the satellite time information by the terminal-side satellite time information generation means, the reception time information can be in a state that is not different from the satellite time.
When the base station position information and the time difference information can be received from three or more communication base stations, and the communication signal radio wave can be received from the three or more communication base stations. In addition, since it is possible to accurately calculate the propagation time from each communication base station until the communication signal radio wave reaches the terminal device, positioning by the communication signal radio wave positioning means is possible.

However, when the communication signal radio wave can be received only from 0 to 2 communication base stations, positioning by the communication signal radio wave positioning means cannot be performed.
In this regard, since the terminal device includes the composite positioning means and the satellite positioning means, when the communication signal radio wave can be received only from 0 to 2 communication base stations, the communication Positioning can be performed based on the signal radio wave and the satellite signal or based only on the plurality of satellite signals.
For this reason, the terminal device can perform positioning even when signals from three or more communication base stations cannot be received.
As a result, according to the configuration of the present invention, positioning can be performed even when signals from three or more communication base stations cannot be received without requiring a significant system change of the communication base stations.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a terminal device capable of receiving communication signal radio waves carrying transmission time information indicating transmission times from a plurality of communication base stations in an asynchronous communication network between communication base stations. A terminal-side satellite time information generating means for generating terminal-side satellite time information indicating a satellite time that is a time of the positioning satellite based on a satellite signal that is a signal from a positioning satellite; and a position of the communication base station. Terminal side base station that acquires the base station position information and the time difference information from a management device that holds the base station position information and the time difference information indicating the time difference between the transmission time and the satellite time at the transmission time Information acquisition means; sky satellite number determination means for determining the number of sky satellites that are the positioning satellites located above the terminal apparatus; and satellites that position the terminal apparatus based on the satellite signals. Signal positioning means; communication signal radio wave receiving means for receiving the communication signal radio wave from the communication base station; and reception time information generating means for generating reception time information indicating a time when the communication signal radio wave is received. A communication signal radio wave positioning means for positioning the position of the terminal device based on the base station position information, the time difference information, the transmission time information and the reception time information, the satellite signal, and the base station position information. , Based on the time difference information, the transmission time information, and the reception time information, composite positioning means for positioning the terminal device, and based on the number of the sky satellites, the satellite signal positioning means, the communication signal This is achieved by a terminal device comprising radio wave positioning means or positioning means selection means for selecting either of the composite positioning means.

  According to the configuration of the second invention, as in the configuration of the first invention, when signals from three or more communication base stations cannot be received without requiring a significant system change of the communication base station. Even if there is, it can be measured.

  According to a third aspect, in the configuration of the second aspect, the positioning means selection means selects the satellite signal positioning means when the number of the sky satellites is three or more, and the number of the sky satellites is The composite positioning means is selected when the number is one or two, and the communication signal radio wave positioning means is selected when the number of the sky satellites is zero. Is a terminal device.

In general, the positioning accuracy based on the satellite signal is higher than the positioning accuracy based on the communication signal radio wave.
In this regard, the positioning means selection means of the terminal device selects the satellite signal positioning means when the number of the above-mentioned satellites is three or more, and the number of the above-mentioned satellites is one or two. In this case, the composite positioning means is selected, and when the number of the sky satellites is 0, the communication signal radio wave positioning means is selected, so that the satellite signal is received from the positioning satellite. As long as it can, positioning can be performed based only on the satellite signal or based on both the satellite signal and the communication signal radio wave.
Therefore, the terminal device can perform positioning with the highest positioning accuracy according to the number of the sky satellites.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the configuration according to the second aspect or the third aspect, the base station information acquisition unit of the terminal device is communicating from the management device according to the position of the terminal device. The terminal device is configured to acquire the base station position information and the time difference information of the communication base station and the communication base station that is in communication with the communication base station in communication. It is.

In order to perform positioning using the communication signal radio wave, it is necessary to receive the communication signal radio wave from at least three communication base stations. However, it is not always possible to receive the communication signal radio wave from three or more communication base stations. Here, for example, when the communication signal radio wave can be received from one communication base station, the base station position information and the time difference information of the communication base station are acquired from the management device. Next, when the number of communication devices that can receive the communication signal radio wave increases, the base station for the communication device that can newly receive the communication signal radio wave from the management device It is also conceivable to acquire the position information and the time difference information. However, if this is done, there is a problem that the terminal device and the management device need to communicate each time the number of communicable base stations increases.
In this regard, according to the configuration of the fifth aspect of the invention, the base station information acquisition unit of the terminal device communicates with the communication base station in communication according to the position from the management device to the terminal device, and the communication The base station position information and the time difference information of the communication base station whose communication area overlaps with the communication base station in the middle are acquired.
That is, when the communication signal radio wave can be received from one communication base station, not only the base station position information and the time difference information of the one communication base station but also the one communication The base station position information and the time difference information of the communication base station whose communication area overlaps with the base station are acquired in advance.
For this reason, it is not necessary for the terminal device and the management device to communicate each time the communication base station capable of communication increases.
Thereby, the communication amount between the said terminal device and the said management apparatus can be reduced.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the configuration according to the second aspect or the third aspect, the base station information acquisition unit of the terminal device is communicating from the management device according to the position of the terminal device. The base station position information and the time difference information of the communication base station located within a certain geographical range including the communication base station and the communication base station in communication are acquired. This is a characteristic terminal device.

For example, when the terminal device is moving at a high speed of 100 kilometers per hour (km / h), it is considered that the communication base station that can receive the communication signal radio wave frequently switches. Here, there is a problem that the amount of communication becomes excessive if the terminal device and the management device communicate each time the communicable communication base station is switched.
In this regard, according to the configuration of the fifth aspect of the invention, the base station information acquisition unit of the terminal device receives the communication base station in communication and the communication from the management device according to the position of the terminal device. The base station position information and the time difference information of the communication base station located within a certain geographical range including the communication base station are obtained.
That is, when the communication signal radio wave can be received from one communication base station, not only the base station position information and the time difference information of the one communication base station, but also the one The base station position information and the time difference information of the communication base station located within a certain geographical range including the communication base station are acquired in advance.
For this reason, it is not necessary for the terminal device and the management device to communicate each time the communication base station that can receive the communication signal radio wave is switched.
Thereby, the communication amount between the said terminal device and the said management apparatus can be reduced.

  According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a terminal device capable of receiving communication signal radio waves carrying transmission time information indicating transmission times from a plurality of communication base stations in an asynchronous communication network between communication base stations. A terminal-side satellite time information generating step for generating terminal-side satellite time information indicating a satellite time which is a time of the positioning satellite based on a satellite signal which is a signal from a positioning satellite; and the terminal device includes the communication base station A base station that acquires the base station position information and the time difference information from a management device that holds base station position information indicating the position of the base station and time difference information indicating the time difference between the transmission time and the satellite time at the transmission time A station information acquisition step; an upper satellite number determination step in which the terminal device determines the number of upper satellites that are the positioning satellites positioned above the terminal device; and the terminal device Satellite signal positioning means for positioning the terminal device based on the satellite signal based on the determination result in the satellite number determining step, the base station position information, the time difference information, the transmission time information, and the communication signal radio wave Communication signal radio wave positioning means for positioning the terminal device based on the reception time information indicating the time when the signal is received, the satellite signal, the base station position information, the time difference information, the transmission time information, and the reception time information This is achieved by a control method for a terminal device, comprising: composite positioning means for positioning the terminal device on the basis of; and a positioning means selection step for selecting one of the positioning means.

  According to the configuration of the sixth invention, similar to the configuration of the second invention, when signals from three or more communication base stations cannot be received without requiring a significant system change of the communication base station. Even if there is, it can be measured.

  According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a terminal capable of receiving a communication signal radio wave in which transmission time information indicating a transmission time is placed from a plurality of communication base stations in an asynchronous communication network between communication base stations. A terminal side satellite time information generating step for generating terminal side satellite time information indicating a satellite time which is a time of the positioning satellite based on a satellite signal which is a signal from a positioning satellite; and From the base station position information indicating the position of the communication base station and the time difference information indicating the time difference between the transmission time and the satellite time at the transmission time, the base station position information and the time difference information are obtained. A base station information acquisition step to acquire; a terminal satellite number determination step in which the terminal device determines the number of sky satellites that are the positioning satellites located above the terminal device; A satellite signal positioning means for positioning the terminal device based on the satellite signal based on a determination result in the number of sky satellites determining step; and the base station position information, the time difference information, the transmission time information, and Communication signal radio wave positioning means for positioning the terminal device based on reception time information indicating the time when the communication signal radio wave is received, the satellite signal, the base station position information, the time difference information, and the transmission time information And a composite positioning means for positioning the terminal apparatus based on the reception time information, and a positioning means selecting step for selecting one from the positioning apparatus.

  According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a terminal capable of receiving communication signal radio waves in which transmission time information indicating transmission times is placed from a plurality of communication base stations in an asynchronous communication network between communication base stations. A terminal side satellite time information generating step for generating terminal side satellite time information indicating a satellite time which is a time of the positioning satellite based on a satellite signal which is a signal from a positioning satellite; and From the base station position information indicating the position of the communication base station and the time difference information indicating the time difference between the transmission time and the satellite time at the transmission time, the base station position information and the time difference information are obtained. A base station information acquisition step to acquire; a terminal satellite number determination step in which the terminal device determines the number of sky satellites that are the positioning satellites located above the terminal device; A satellite signal positioning means for positioning the terminal device based on the satellite signal based on a determination result in the number of sky satellites determining step; and the base station position information, the time difference information, the transmission time information, and Communication signal radio wave positioning means for positioning the terminal device based on reception time information indicating the time when the communication signal radio wave is received, the satellite signal, the base station position information, the time difference information, and the transmission time information And a composite positioning means for positioning the terminal device based on the reception time information, and a positioning means selection step for selecting one from the computer-readable recording of a control program for the terminal device This is achieved with possible recording media.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
The embodiments described below are preferred specific examples of the present invention, and thus various technically preferable limitations are given. However, the scope of the present invention is particularly limited in the following description. Unless otherwise stated, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a positioning system 10 and the like according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
As shown in FIG. 1, the positioning system 10 has base stations 20A, 20B, 20C, 20D, and 20E. The base station 20A and the like are an example of a plurality of communication base stations.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the communication area A or the like of the base station 20A or the like.
As shown in FIG. 2, the communication area A of the base station 20A, the communication area B of the base station 20B, and the communication area C of the base station 20C have an overlapping range W1. Further, the communication area B, the communication area C, and the communication area D of the base station 20D have an overlapping range W2. Further, the communication area C, the communication area D, and the communication area E of the base station 20E have an overlapping range W3.
The communication area A or the like is a range in which, for example, signal radio waves S1 (hereinafter referred to as signal S1), S2, S3, S4, and S5 that are communication signal radio waves from the base station 20A and the like are reachable.

The positioning system 10 also includes a terminal 50 that can communicate with the base station 20A and the like. This terminal 50 is an example of a terminal device.
The positioning system 10 also includes a management server 80 (hereinafter referred to as a server 80) that can communicate with the base station 20A and the like and the terminal 50 via a communication network, for example, the Internet network 70. The server 80 is an example of a management device.
The base station 20A or the like has a base station GPS device 32, and receives satellite signals that are signals from positioning satellites such as GPS satellites 12a, 12b, 12c, and 12d, such as signals G1, G2, G3, and G4. Can be received.
The base station 20A and the like have the base station communication device 34 and can transmit the signal S1 and the like to the terminal 50 having the terminal communication device 62. Information for identifying each base station 20A and the like from other base stations is carried on the signal S1 and the like.
The base stations 20A and the like are not time synchronized with each other and constitute an asynchronous communication network between communication base stations.

The terminal 50 has a terminal GPS device 60 and can receive a signal G1 and the like from the GPS satellite 12a and the like. The terminal 50 is, for example, a mobile phone, a PHS (Personal Handy-phone System), a PDA (Personal Digital Assistance _), or the like, but is not limited thereto.

  Unlike the present embodiment, the number of GPS satellites 12a may be three, or five or more. Further, unlike the present embodiment, the number of base stations 20A and the like may be five or more, and the number of terminals 50 may be two or more.

(Main hardware configuration of base station 20A)
FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the main hardware configuration of the base station 20A.
Note that the main hardware configuration of the base stations 20B, 20C, 20D, and 20E is the same as that of the base station 20A, and thus description thereof is omitted.
As shown in FIG. 3, the base station 20 </ b> A has a computer, and the computer has a bus 22.
The bus 22 is connected to a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 24, a storage device 26, an external storage device 28, and the like. The storage device 26 is, for example, a RAM (Random Access Memory) or a ROM (Read Only Memory). The external storage device 28 is, for example, an HD (Hard Disk).

The bus 22 is connected to an input device 30 for inputting various information and the like, a base station GPS device 32, and a base station communication device 34. The base station communication device 34 is configured to transmit a signal S1 for communicating with the terminal 50.
The bus 22 is connected to a display device 36 for displaying various types of information and a base station clock 38. The base station clock 38 is not synchronized with the base station clock 38 of the other base station 20B or the like, and is not synchronized with the time of the GPS satellite 12a or the like (hereinafter referred to as GPS time).

Further, a base station second clock 40 is connected to the bus 22. As will be described later, the time measured by the base station second clock 40 can be maintained in a state that is not different from the GPS time.
Furthermore, a base station second communication device 42 is connected to the bus 22. As will be described later, the base station second communication device 42 is configured to transmit base station position information 152 and time difference information 160 (see FIG. 6).

(Main hardware configuration of the management server 80)
FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing the main hardware configuration of the server 80.
As shown in FIG. 4, the server 80 has a computer, and the computer has a bus 82.
A CPU 84, a storage device 86, an external storage device 88, an input device 90, a server communication device 92, and a display device 94 are connected to the bus 82.

(Main hardware configuration of terminal 50)
FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating a main hardware configuration of the terminal 50.
As illustrated in FIG. 5, the terminal 50 includes a computer, and the computer includes a bus 52.
A CPU 54, a storage device 56, an input device 58, a terminal GPS device 60, a terminal communication device 62, a display device 64, and a terminal clock 66 are connected to the bus 52. As will be described later, the time measured by the terminal clock 66 can be maintained in a state that is not different from the GPS time.

(Main software configuration of base station 20A)
FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing a main software configuration of the base station 20A.
The main software configurations of the base stations 20B, 20C, 20D, and 20E are the same as those of the base station 20A, and thus the description thereof is omitted.
As shown in FIG. 6, the base station 20A corresponds to the base station control unit 100 that controls each unit, the base station GPS unit 102 corresponding to the base station GPS device 32 of FIG. 3, and the base station communication device 34 of FIG. A base station communication unit 104; The base station communication unit 104 is an example of a communication signal radio wave transmission unit that transmits the signal S1.
The base station 20A also includes a base station timer 106 corresponding to the base station clock 38 in FIG. 3, a base station second timer 108 corresponding to the base station second clock 40 in FIG. 3, and a base station second in FIG. The base station second communication unit 110 corresponding to the communication device 42 is included.
The base station 20A further includes a base station first storage unit 120 that stores various programs and a base station second storage unit 150 that stores various types of information.

  As illustrated in FIG. 6, the base station 20 </ b> A stores base station position information 152 in the base station second storage unit 150. The base station position information 152 is information indicating the position of the base station 20A. For example, the position of the base station 20A is indicated by latitude, longitude, and altitude. The base station position information 152 is an example of base station position information, and the base station second storage unit 150 is an example of base station position information storage means.

As illustrated in FIG. 6, the base station 20 </ b> A stores satellite orbit information 154 in the base station second storage unit 150. The satellite orbit information 154 includes, for example, almanac, which is general orbit information of all GPS satellites 12a, and ephemeris, which is precise orbit information of each GPS satellite 12a. The satellite orbit information 154 is used for positioning based on the signal G1 from the GPS satellite 12a or the like.
The base station control unit 100 periodically receives a signal G1 or the like from the GPS satellite 12a or the like by the base station GPS unit 102, and extracts an almanac and an ephemeris from the signal G1 or the like. Almanac is updated every 7 days, for example, and ephemeris is updated every 4 hours, for example.

In the base station 20A, the base station timing unit 106 generates transmission time information 156 indicating the transmission time of the signal S1. The base station control unit 100 stores the transmission time information 156 in the base station second storage unit 150.
As illustrated in FIG. 6, the base station 20 </ b> A stores a transmission frame generation program 122 in the base station first storage unit 120. The transmission frame generation program 122 is a program for the base station control unit 100 to place the transmission time information 156 on the signal S1. That is, the transmission frame generation program 122 and the base station control unit 100 are an example of a communication signal radio wave generation unit with transmission time information.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a transmission frame FR that is placed on the signal S1 transmitted by the base station communication unit 104.
As shown in FIG. 7, the transmission frame FR is composed of, for example, subframes SF1 to SF7, and each subframe SF1 and the like includes information indicating transmission times t1 to t7 of each subframe SF1 and the like. ing. The transmission time t1 and the like are measured by the base station time measuring unit 106.
The base station 20A continuously transmits the signal S1 including the timing signal TS1 by the base station communication unit 104.

As shown in FIG. 6, the base station 20 </ b> A stores a GPS time generation program 124 in the base station first storage unit 120. The GPS time generation program 124 is a program for the base station control unit 100 to generate GPS time information 158 indicating the GPS time based on a signal G1 or the like (see FIG. 1) from the GPS satellite 12a or the like. That is, the GPS time generation program 124 and the base station control unit 100 are examples of satellite time information generation means.
The base station control unit 100 uses the satellite orbit information 154 to determine the current position based on a plurality of signals G1 received by the base station GPS unit 102 and generate accurate GPS time information 158. And stored in the base station second storage unit 150.

  Unlike the present embodiment, the base station 20A does not perform positioning, and for example, the GPS time information 158 may be generated based on the signal S1 from one GPS satellite 12a. It is well known that if the coordinates of the position of the base station 20A are clear, the GPS time can be obtained based on the signal S1 from one GPS satellite 12a.

As illustrated in FIG. 6, the base station 20 </ b> A stores a base station second clock correction program 126 in the base station first storage unit 120. The base station second clock correction program 126 is used for the base station control unit 100 to maintain the time of the base station second clock unit 108 in a state that is not different from the GPS time based on the GPS time information 158 described above. It is a program.
Accordingly, the base station 20A maintains the time of the base station second time measuring unit 108 in a state where there is no difference from the GPS time.

As shown in FIG. 6, the base station 20 </ b> A stores a time difference information generation program 128 in the base station first storage unit 120. The time difference information generation program 128 is used for the base station control unit 100 to generate time difference information 160 indicating the time difference between the transmission time indicated by the transmission time information 156 and the time difference between the base station second time counting unit 108 and the transmission time of the signal S1. It is a program. That is, the time difference information generation program 128 and the base station control unit 100 are examples of time difference information generation means.
Specifically, as shown in FIG. 5, the base station control unit 100 receives the transmission frame FR generated by the base station communication unit 104, and indicates the time difference td from the time t1a of the base station second time counting unit 108. Time difference information 160 is generated. Specifically, the time difference td is measured based on the timing difference between the timing signal TS1 generated by the base station timing unit 106 and included in the signal S1 and the timing signal TS2 generated by the base station second timing unit 108. Here, the propagation delay time of the transmission frame FR inside the base station 20A is considered to be absent because it is extremely short.
As described above, since the time of the base station second time measuring unit 108 is maintained in a state in which there is no difference from the GPS time, the time difference information 160 indicates the time difference between the transmission time t1 and the GPS time.
The base station control unit 100 stores the generated time difference information 160 in the base station second storage unit 150.

As illustrated in FIG. 6, the base station 20 </ b> A stores a time difference information transmission program 130 in the base station first storage unit 120. The time difference information transmission program 130 is a program for the base station control unit 200 to transmit the base station position information 152 and the time difference information 160 to the terminal 50 by the base station second communication unit 110. That is, the time difference information transmission program 130, the base station control unit 100, and the base station second communication unit 110 are examples of base station information transmission means.
Specifically, when the base station control unit 100 generates the base station position information 152 and the time difference information 160, the base station control unit 100 places the signal radio wave on a system different from the above-described signal S1 and transmits it to the server 80.

  As described above, the base station 20A does not synchronize the transmission time measured by the base station timekeeping unit 106 with the GPS time, but generates the time difference information 160 so that the transmission time signal is different from the communication signal S1. Since the signal is transmitted to the server 80 on the signal, the configuration is simple and does not require a significant system change of a general communication base station that is asynchronous between base stations.

(Main software configuration of management server 80)
FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing the main software configuration of the server 80.
As illustrated in FIG. 8, the server 80 includes a server control unit 300 that controls each unit, a server communication unit 302 that corresponds to the server communication device 92 illustrated in FIG. 4, and the like.
The server 80 further includes a server first storage unit 310 that stores various programs and a server second storage unit 350 that stores various types of information.

The server 80 receives the base station position information 152 and the time difference information 160 from the base station 20A and the like by the server communication unit 302. That is, the server communication unit 302 is an example of a management apparatus side base station information receiving unit.
The server control unit 300 stores the received base station position information 152 and time difference information 160 as server side base station information 354 in the base station information database 352 of the server second storage unit 350. That is, the base station information database 352 is an example of a base station information storage unit. The server side base station information 354 includes server side base station position information 356 corresponding to the base station position information 152 and server side time difference information 358 corresponding to the time difference information 160.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of the data structure of the base station information database 352.
As illustrated in FIG. 9, the base station information database 352 stores server-side base station information 354 in association with base stations whose base stations and communication areas overlap with the base station as a reference.
For example, when the base station 20A is used as the base station, the base stations 20B and 20C are associated as the communication range overlapping base stations. When the terminal 50 is located in the communication area A of the base station 20A (see FIG. 2) and is located in the overlapping portion W1 of the communication area B of the base station 20B and the communication area C of the base station 20C, 3 Positioning based on signals S1 and the like from two base stations 20A and the like is possible. That is, the base station information database 352 stores each server-side base station information 354 in association with a base station that is expected to be necessary for positioning by the terminal 50 located within the communication range of the base station. .

As shown in FIG. 8, the server 80 stores a communicating base station specifying program 312 in the server first storage unit 310. The communicating base station specifying program 312 is a program for the server control unit 300 to specify the base station 20A or the like with which the terminal 50 is communicating.
For example, when the terminal 50 is located in the communication area A (see FIG. 2), the terminal 50 communicates with the server 80 via the base station 20A.
The server control unit 300 identifies the base station 20A with which the terminal 50 is communicating, based on information for identifying the base station 20A that is placed on the signal S1 from the base station 20A.

  As illustrated in FIG. 8, the server 80 stores a base station information transmission program 314 in the server first storage unit 310. In the base station information transmission program 314, the server control unit 300 acquires the server side base station information 354 of the base station and the communication range overlapping base station from the base station information database 352 according to the position of the terminal 50, and the server side This is a program for transmitting base station information 354 to the terminal 50. That is, the base station information transmission program 314 and the server control unit 300 are an example of management device side base station information transmission means.

(Main software configuration of terminal 50)
FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating a main software configuration of the terminal 50.
As shown in FIG. 10, the terminal 50 includes a terminal control unit 200 that controls each unit, a terminal GPS unit 202 corresponding to the terminal GPS device 60 in FIG. 5, a terminal communication unit 204 corresponding to the terminal communication device 62 in FIG. 5 of the terminal clock 66 corresponding to the terminal clock 66 of FIG.
The terminal 50 also includes a terminal first storage unit 210 that stores various programs and a terminal second storage unit 250 that stores various information.

As illustrated in FIG. 10, the terminal 50 stores terminal-side satellite orbit information 252 in the terminal second storage unit 250. The terminal-side satellite orbit information 252 is information including, for example, almanac and ephemeris.
The terminal control unit 200 periodically receives a signal G1 or the like from the GPS satellite 12a or the like by the terminal GPS unit 202, extracts the almanac from the signal G1 or the like, for example, every 7 days, and the ephemeris, for example, every 4 hours. It is designed to keep it valid.
Unlike the present embodiment, the terminal control unit 200 may acquire satellite orbit information 154 (see FIG. 4) including the almanac and ephemeris from the base station 20A by the terminal communication unit 204.

  As illustrated in FIG. 10, the terminal 50 stores a terminal-side GPS time information generation program 212 in the terminal first storage unit 210. The terminal-side GPS time information generation program 212 is a program for the terminal control unit 200 to generate terminal-side GPS time information 254 indicating the GPS time based on a signal G1 or the like (see FIG. 1) from the GPS satellite 12a or the like. It is. The terminal-side GPS time information 254 is an example of terminal-side satellite time information, and the terminal-side GPS time information generation program 212 and the terminal control unit 200 are examples of terminal-side satellite time information generation means.

As illustrated in FIG. 10, the terminal 50 stores a terminal clock correction program 214 in the terminal first storage unit 210. The terminal clock correction program 214 is a program for the terminal control unit 200 to correct the time of the terminal clock unit 206 based on the terminal-side GPS time information 254.
Thereby, the terminal 50 can make the time of the terminal time measuring unit 206 not different from the GPS time.

  As illustrated in FIG. 10, the terminal 50 stores a base station information acquisition necessity determination program 216 in the terminal first storage unit 210. The base station information acquisition necessity determination program 216 is a program for determining whether the terminal control unit 200 has left the communication area A or the like such as the currently communicating base station 20A.

As illustrated in FIG. 10, the terminal 50 stores a base station information acquisition program 218 in the terminal first storage unit 210. The base station information acquisition program 218 is a program for the terminal control unit 200 to acquire server-side base station information 354 from the server 80. That is, the base station information acquisition program 218 and the terminal control unit 200 are examples of base station information acquisition means.
When the terminal control unit 200 determines, for example, that the base station information acquisition necessity determination program 216 has left the communication area A of the base station 20A, the terminal control unit 200 currently communicating with the base station 20B, and The server-side base station information 354 (see FIG. 8) of the base station 20D and the like whose communication area overlaps with the communication area B of the base station 20B is acquired. As a result, when the communication area A or the like such as the base station 20A leaves, the server-side base station information 354 whose base station is the base station 20B, for example, can be acquired and positioned after leaving. The positioning method will be described later.
The terminal control unit 200 stores the acquired server-side base station information 354 as terminal-side base station information 255 in the terminal second storage unit 250. The terminal-side base station information 255 includes terminal-side base station position information 256 and terminal-side base station time difference information 258.
In addition to the case where the terminal control unit 200 leaves the communication area A, such as the base station 20A, based on the base station information acquisition program 218, when the terminal 50 is turned on (not shown), Server-side base station information 354 is acquired. If the terminal 50 is powered off, the current communicable base station 20A or the like cannot be determined. Therefore, the server-side base station 20A or the like can communicate with the base station 20A communicable when the power is turned on again. Information 354 is acquired.
Furthermore, the terminal control unit 200 receives server-side base station information 354 from the server 80 periodically, for example, every 30 minutes based on the base station information acquisition program 218. In general, for example, a crystal oscillator that generates a reference frequency for measuring time changes in frequency due to temperature change, and therefore the time difference indicated in the time difference information 160 also changes due to temperature change. Since the server 80 continuously receives the time difference information 160 (see FIG. 6) from the base station 20A or the like, it has server side time difference information 358 reflecting changes due to temperature changes.
Therefore, by periodically receiving the server-side base station information 354, the server-side time difference information 358 can be acquired from the server 80 that has acquired the time difference information 160 after being changed due to a temperature change.

In order to perform positioning using the signal S1, etc., it is necessary to receive the signal S1, etc. from at least three base stations 20A. However, the signal S1 or the like cannot always be received from three or more base stations 20A or the like. Here, for example, when the signal S1 can be received from one base station 20A, the server-side base station information 354 of the base station 20A is acquired from the server 80, and then S2 is received from 20B. If the server side base station information 354 of the base station 20B is acquired from the server 80 and then S3 can be received from the base station 20C, the server 80 It is also conceivable to acquire the server side base station information 354 of the station 20C. However, if this is done, there is a problem that the terminal 50 and the server 80 need to communicate each time the communication base station 20A or the like capable of communication increases.
In this regard, the terminal 50 determines, for example, the base station 20A that is in communication and the base stations B and C of the base stations B and C that have overlapping communication areas with the base station 20A that is in communication depending on the position of the terminal 50 from the server 80. The station information 354 is obtained.
That is, for example, when the signal S1 can be received from one base station 20A, not only the server-side base station information 354 of the one base station 20A but also the base station whose communication area overlaps with the base station 20A The server side base station information 354 of the stations B and C is acquired in advance.
For this reason, it is not necessary for the terminal 50 and the server 80 to communicate each time the number of communicable base stations increases by 20A.
Thereby, the communication amount between the terminal 50 and the server 80 can be reduced.

As illustrated in FIG. 10, the terminal 50 stores an aerial satellite number determination program 220 in the terminal first storage unit 210. The sky satellite number determination program 220 is a program for the terminal control unit 200 to determine the number of GPS satellites 12 a and the like located above the terminal 50. That is, the sky satellite number determination program 220 and the terminal control unit 200 are examples of the sky satellite number determination means.
Specifically, the terminal control unit 200 uses the almanac included in the terminal-side satellite orbit information 252 and is located above the terminal 50 and can be observed at the current time measured by the terminal timing unit 206. The number of satellites 12a etc. is determined. And the terminal control part 200 stores the sky satellite number information 256 which shows the number of the GPS satellites 12a etc. which are located in the sky in the terminal 2nd memory | storage part 250. FIG.

As illustrated in FIG. 10, the terminal 50 stores a satellite positioning program 222 in the terminal first storage unit 210. The satellite positioning program 222 is a program for the terminal control unit 200 to measure the position of the terminal 50 based on signals G1 and the like (see FIG. 1) from three or more GPS satellites 12a and the like. That is, the satellite positioning program 222 and the terminal control unit 200 are examples of satellite signal positioning means.
Specifically, the terminal control unit 200 calculates the difference between the time when the signal G1 or the like is transmitted from each GPS satellite 12a and the time when the signal G1 or the like is received, and the speed of the signal G1 or the like is the speed of light. Based on the fact, the distance between each GPS satellite 12a and the like and the terminal 50 (referred to as a pseudo distance) is calculated. On the other hand, the position of each GPS satellite 12a or the like on the satellite orbit at the current time measured by the terminal timer 206 is calculated by the ephemeris included in the terminal-side satellite orbit information 252.
Then, the current position is measured based on the above-described pseudo distance and the position of each GPS satellite 12a or the like on the satellite orbit.
The terminal control unit 200 stores the satellite positioning position information 262 generated by positioning in the terminal second storage unit 250.
Note that positioning performed by the terminal control unit 200 using the satellite positioning program 222 is referred to as satellite positioning.

As illustrated in FIG. 10, the terminal 50 stores a communication signal reception program 224 in the terminal first storage unit 210. The communication signal reception program 224 is a program for the terminal control unit 200 to receive the signal S1 and the like from the base station 20A and the like. That is, the communication signal reception program 224 and the terminal control unit 200 are examples of communication signal radio wave reception means.
The communication signal reception program 224 includes a transmission time information extraction program 224a. The transmission time information extraction program 224a is a program for the terminal control unit 200 to extract the transmission time information 156 (see FIG. 6) from the signal S1 and the like.
The terminal control unit 200 stores the extracted transmission time information 156 in the terminal second storage unit 250 as terminal-side transmission time information 264.

As illustrated in FIG. 10, the terminal 50 stores a reception time information generation program 226 in the terminal first storage unit 210. The reception time information generation program 226 is a program for generating reception time information 266 indicating the time at which the terminal control unit 200 received the signal S1 and the like. The reception time information 266 is an example of reception time information, and the reception time information generation program 226 and the terminal control unit 200 are examples of reception time information generation means.
Specifically, the terminal control unit 200 measures the time when the signal S1 is received by the terminal timing unit 206, and generates reception time information 266.
The terminal control unit 200 stores the generated reception time information 266 in the terminal second storage unit 250.

As illustrated in FIG. 10, the terminal 50 stores a base station positioning program 228 in the terminal first storage unit 210. In the base station positioning program 228, the terminal control unit 200 measures the position of the terminal 50 based on the terminal-side base station position information 256, the terminal-side base station time difference information 258, the terminal-side transmission time information 264, and the reception time information 266. It is a program to do. That is, the base station positioning program 228 and the terminal control unit 200 are examples of communication signal radio wave positioning means.
Hereinafter, the positioning performed by the terminal control unit 200 using the base station positioning program 228 is referred to as base station positioning.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram of an example of a base station positioning method.
FIG. 11A shows the position of each base station 20A and the like. The position of the base station 20A or the like is known from the terminal-side base station position information 256.
FIG. 11B is a diagram showing the propagation time tb01 and the like of the signal S1 and the like from each base station 20A and the like. The propagation time tb01 and the like are unknown numbers.
FIG. 11C is a diagram illustrating the transmission time t1 of each signal S1 and the like. The transmission time t1 and the like are known from the terminal-side transmission time information 264. Here, since the time is not synchronized between the base stations 20A and the like, t1, t2, and t3 are not necessarily the same time.
FIG. 11D is a diagram illustrating the time difference ta1 and the like of each base station 20A and the like. The time difference ta1 and the like are known from the terminal-side base station time difference information 258.
FIG. 11E is a diagram illustrating the propagation speed of the signal S1 and the like. Since the signal S1 and the like are carried on radio waves, the propagation speed is the speed of light C.
FIG. 11F is a diagram illustrating a time difference td01 between the transmission time t1 of the signal S1 and the like and the time when the terminal 50 receives the signal S1 and the like. As shown in FIG. 11G, the time when the terminal 50 receives the signal S1 and the like is assumed to be t0.
The position (X, Y, Z) of the terminal 50 shown in FIG. 11 (h) is an unknown number.

Based on the above, the equations (1) to (9) shown in FIGS. 11 (i) to 11 (k) will be described.
First, since the distance between each base station 20A and the terminal 50 and the terminal 50 is equal to the product of the propagation time of the signal S1 and the like and the velocity of the radio wave (the speed of light C), the equations (1) to ( 3) holds.
Next, since the transmission time t1 includes the time difference ta1 from the GPS time, the equations (4) to (6) in FIG.
Further, the time difference td01 in FIG. 11 (f) is based on the transmission time t1 in FIG. 11 (c), the propagation time tb01 in FIG. 11 (b), and the time t0 in FIG. 7 (g). Equations (7) to (9) of k) hold.
Here, since there are six unknowns indicating the position of the terminal 50, that is, X, Y, Z, propagation times tb01, tb02, and tb03, the equations (1), (2), (3), (7), ( All unknowns can be calculated by calculating 8) and 9) simultaneously.
The terminal control unit 200 stores the base station positioning position information 268 generated in this way in the terminal second storage unit 250.
Note that the above-described base station positioning is based on the premise that the terminal 50 can communicate with the base station 20A and the like, and thus is located within the communication range of the base station 20A and the like. For this reason, when the region where the terminal 50 is located has less undulations and the altitude components Z1 and the like (see FIG. 11A) at the positions of the base stations 20A and the like are substantially equal, for example, It is also possible to perform the above-mentioned base station positioning using the value as the altitude component Z of the position of the terminal 50.

As illustrated in FIG. 10, the terminal 50 stores a hybrid positioning program 230 in the terminal first storage unit 210. The hybrid positioning program 230 allows the terminal control unit 200 to control the terminal 50 based on the signal G1 and the like, the terminal-side base station position information 256, the terminal-side base station time difference information 258, the terminal-side transmission time information 264, and the reception time information 266. This is a program for positioning. That is, the hybrid positioning program 230 and the terminal control unit 200 are examples of composite positioning means.
The positioning performed by the terminal control unit 200 based on the hybrid positioning program 230 is performed by positioning one or two base stations 20A in the positioning method performed based on the above-described base station positioning program 228 described with reference to FIG. This is performed in place of the satellite 12a.
In general, a positioning method combining two or more sensors such as positioning by artificial satellite, positioning by mobile communication information, acceleration sensor by gyroscope, vehicle speed pulse, etc. is called hybrid positioning. , Positioning performed by the terminal control unit 200 based on the hybrid positioning program 230, which combines information on the base station 20A and the like and information on the GPS satellites 12a and the like, is referred to as hybrid positioning.
The terminal control unit 200 stores the hybrid positioning position information 270 generated by the hybrid positioning in the terminal second storage unit 250.

As illustrated in FIG. 10, the terminal 50 stores a positioning method selection program 232 in the terminal first storage unit 210. The positioning method selection program 232 allows the terminal control unit 200 to select one of satellite positioning, base station positioning, or hybrid positioning based on the number of GPS satellites 12a and the like indicated in the number of satellites 260 above. It is a program. That is, the positioning method selection program 232 and the terminal control unit 200 are examples of positioning means selection means.
Specifically, the terminal control unit 200 selects satellite positioning when the number of GPS satellites 12a and the like indicated in the sky satellite number information 260 is three or more. And the terminal control part 200 selects hybrid positioning, when the number of the GPS satellites 12a etc. which are shown in the number information 260 of aerial satellites is one or two. And the terminal control part 200 selects base station positioning, when the number of the GPS satellites 12a etc. which are shown in the sky satellite number information 260 is zero.

In general, the positioning accuracy based on the signal G1 from the GPS satellite 12a or the like is higher than the positioning accuracy based on the communication signal S1 or the like. For example, in the case of satellite positioning, the positioning error is 0 meter (m) to 20 meters (m), whereas in the case of base station positioning, the positioning error is 5 meters (m) to 400 meters (m). ).
In this regard, the terminal 50 can perform positioning using only the signal G1 or the like or the signal G1 and the communication signal S1 or the like as long as the signal G1 or the like can be received from the GPS satellite 12a or the like. .
For this reason, the terminal 50 is located in the sky and can perform positioning with the highest positioning accuracy according to the number of GPS satellites 12a and the like that can be observed.
On the other hand, for example, in an environment where three or more GPS satellites 12a or the like cannot be observed, such as indoors, hybrid positioning or base station positioning can be performed using a communication signal S1 that can be received indoors.

  As illustrated in FIG. 10, the terminal 50 stores a positioning position information display program 234 in the terminal first storage unit 210. The positioning position information display program 234 is for the terminal control unit 200 to display any of the satellite positioning position information 262, the base station positioning position information 268, or the hybrid positioning position information 270 on the display device 64 (see FIG. 5). It is a program.

The above is the configuration of the positioning system 10 according to the present embodiment. Hereinafter, an example of the operation will be described mainly using FIGS. 12 and 13.
12 and 13 are schematic flowcharts showing an operation example of the positioning system 10 according to the present embodiment.

The following description will be made on the assumption that the terminal 50 has left the communication area D of the base station 20D that is currently communicating and has started communication with the base station 20A.
First, the terminal 50 generates terminal-side GPS time information 254 (see FIG. 10) (step ST1 in FIG. 12). This step ST1 is an example of a terminal side satellite time information generation step. By correcting the time of the terminal clock unit 206 (see FIG. 10) based on the terminal-side GPS time information 254, a state in which there is no difference from the GPS time can be obtained.

On the other hand, the base station 20A and the like continuously generate time difference information 160 (see FIG. 6) (step ST1A in FIG. 12).
Then, the base station 20A and the like transmit the generated time difference information 160 to the server 80 (step ST2A).
On the other hand, the server 80 receives the time difference information 160 from the base station 20A or the like and stores it in the base station information database 352 (see FIG. 8) (step ST3A).

Subsequently, the terminal 50 determines whether or not the communication area D of the base station 20D currently performing communication has left (step ST2).
When the terminal 50 determines that it has left the communication area D of the base station 20D that is currently communicating, the base station 20A and the base station 20A that are currently in communication are based on the server 80 via the base station 20A. The server side base station information 354 of the communication range overlapping base stations 20B and 20C to be a station is requested (step ST3).

  Receiving the request from terminal 50, base station 20A requests server-side base station information 354 from server 80 (step ST4).

  On the other hand, the server 80 receives the base station 20A that has transmitted the request for the server-side base station information 354, and the server-side base station information 354 of the base stations 20B and 20C that have overlapping communication ranges with the base station 20A. (Step ST5), and the server side base station information 354 is transmitted to the base station 20A (step ST6).

  When receiving the server side base station information 354 (step ST7 in FIG. 13), the base station 20A transmits the server side base station information 354 to the terminal 50 (step ST7).

  Subsequently, terminal 50 receives server-side base station information 354 from base station 20A or the like (step ST8). This step ST8 is an example of a base station information acquisition step.

Subsequently, the terminal 50 determines the number of GPS satellites 12a and the like that are located in the sky and can be observed (step ST9). This step ST9 is an example of a step for determining the number of sky satellites.
If the terminal 50 determines that the number of observable GPS satellites 12a and the like is three or more, the terminal 50 performs satellite positioning (step ST101) and generates satellite positioning position information 262 (see FIG. 10). . This step ST101 is an example of a positioning means selection step.
Then, terminal 50 displays satellite positioning position information 262 on display device 64 (see FIG. 5) (step ST102).

In step ST9, when the terminal 50 determines that the number of observable GPS satellites 12a or the like is one or two, the terminal 50 performs hybrid positioning (step ST201), and hybrid positioning position information 270 (FIG. 10). This step ST201 is also an example of a positioning means selection step.
Then, terminal 50 displays hybrid positioning position information 270 on display device 64 (see FIG. 5) (step ST202).

In step ST9, when the terminal 50 determines that the number of observable GPS satellites 12a and the like is zero, the terminal 50 performs base station positioning (step ST301), and base station positioning position information 268 (FIG. 10). Reference). This step ST301 is also an example of a positioning means selection step.
Then, terminal 50 displays base station positioning position information 268 on display device 64 (see FIG. 5) (step ST302).

  As described above, according to the positioning system 10, it is possible to perform positioning even when signals from three or more base stations cannot be received without requiring a significant system change of the base station. .

  Unlike the present embodiment, in steps ST101, ST201, and ST202 described above, the terminal 50 uses the pseudo distance between the GPS satellite 12a and / or the base station 20A and the orbit of the GPS satellite 12a and the like. Information regarding the upper coordinates may be provided to the server 80 via the base station 20A or the like, and the server 80 may perform the positioning calculation of the position of the terminal 50. The terminal 50 may receive position information as a result of the positioning calculation from the server 80.

(Second Embodiment)
Next, a second embodiment will be described.
The configuration of the positioning system 10A (see FIG. 1) in the second embodiment is similar to that of the positioning system 10 in the first embodiment, so the common parts are denoted by the same reference numerals and the like. Omitted, the following description will focus on the differences.
In the positioning system 10A, the first point is that the terminal 50A acquires the base station 20A in communication and the server side base station information 354 of the base station located within a certain geographical range with the base station 20A. This is different from the positioning system 10 of the embodiment.

(Main software configuration of management server 80A)
FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram showing a main software configuration of the management server 80A (hereinafter referred to as server 80A).
FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data structure of the base station information database 352A.
FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating an example of the wide zone X1 and the like.

As illustrated in FIG. 14, the server 80 </ b> A stores a base station information database 352 </ b> A in the server second storage unit 350.
For example, when the base station 20A is used as a reference, the base station information database 352A associates the base station 20A with the base stations 20B, 20C, 20D, 20E, and 20F, which are wide-area related base stations, and each server-side base station information 354 Is stored.
As shown in FIG. 16, the communication area A of the base station 20A, the communication area B of the base station 20B, and the like form a wide area zone X1. Similarly, the communication area G and the like such as the base station 20G form a wide area zone X2, and the communication area M and the like such as the base station 20M and the like form a wide area zone X3. The wide zone X1 and the like are an example of a certain geographical range.

  As illustrated in FIG. 14, the server 80A stores a base station information transmission program 314A in the server first storage unit 310. The base station information transmission program 314A is based on the base station 20A and the base station 20 when the server control unit 300 specifies the base station 20 that the terminal 50 is communicating with, for example, by the communicating base station specifying program 312. This is a program for transmitting server-side base station information 354 such as a wide area related base station 20B as a station.

(About main software configuration of terminal 50A)
FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram illustrating a main software configuration of the terminal 50A.
As illustrated in FIG. 17, the terminal 50A stores a base station information acquisition necessity determination program 216A in the terminal first storage unit 210. The base station information acquisition necessity determination program 216A is a program for the terminal control unit 200 to determine whether or not the wide area zone X1 or the like where the terminal 50A is located has been switched.
For example, the terminal control unit 200 cannot communicate with any of the base stations A to F belonging to the wide area zone X1 by the conventional terminal 50A, and can communicate with any of the base stations G to L belonging to the new wide area zone X2. If it is determined that the wide area zone X1 has been switched to the wide area zone X2.

As illustrated in FIG. 17, the terminal 50A stores a base station information acquisition program 218A in the terminal first storage unit 210. The base station information acquisition program 218A, when the terminal control unit 200 determines that the wide area zone X1 where the terminal 50A is located has been switched based on the above-described base station information acquisition necessity determination program 216A, the base station 20A This is a program for acquiring the server-side base station information 354 from the server 80A via, for example.
For example, if the terminal control unit 200 determines that the wide area zone X1 where the terminal 50 is located has been switched based on the above-described base station information acquisition necessity determination program 216A, the wide area zone where the terminal 50 is currently located is switched from the server 80. The server side base station information 354 such as the base station 20G located in X2 is acquired.

For example, when the terminal 50A is moving at a high speed of, for example, 100 kilometers per hour (km / h), the base station 20A that can receive the signal S1 and the like is frequently switched. Here, if the terminal 50A and the server 80A communicate each time the communicable base station 20 or the like is switched, there is a problem that the amount of communication becomes excessive.
In this regard, the terminal 50A is connected to the server side base station such as the base station 20A in communication and the base station 20B located in the wide area zone X1 including the base station 20A according to the position of the terminal 50A from the server 80A. Information 354 is acquired.
That is, when the signal S1 can be received from one base station 20A, not only the server-side base station information 354 of the one base station 20A but also within the wide zone X1 including the one base station 20A The server side base station information 354 such as the base station 20B located at is acquired in advance.
For this reason, it is not necessary for the terminal 50A and the server 80A to communicate each time the base station 20A or the like that can receive the signal S1 is switched.
Thereby, the communication amount between the terminal 50 and the server 80 can be reduced.

(About programs and computer-readable recording media)
A terminal device control program for causing a computer to execute a terminal side satellite time information generation step, a base station information acquisition step, an aerial satellite number determination step, a positioning means selection step, and the like in the above-described operation example. .
Moreover, it can also be set as the computer-readable recording medium etc. which recorded the control program etc. of such a terminal device.

  A program storage medium used for installing the control program of the terminal device in the computer and making it executable by the computer is, for example, a flexible disk such as a floppy (registered trademark), a CD-ROM (Compact Disc Read Only). Semiconductor memory in which programs are temporarily or permanently stored as well as package media such as Memory, CD-R (Compact Disc-Recordable), CD-RW (Compact Disc-Rewritable), DVD (Digital Versatile Disc), etc. It can be realized with a magnetic disk or a magneto-optical disk.

  The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above. Furthermore, the above-described embodiments may be combined with each other.

It is the schematic which shows the positioning system which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the communication area of a base station. It is the schematic which shows the main hardware constitutions of a base station. It is the schematic which shows the main hardware constitutions of a management server. It is the schematic which shows the main hardware constitutions of a terminal. It is the schematic which shows the main software structures of a base station. It is the schematic which shows the transmission frame FR etc. It is the schematic which shows the main software structures of a management server. It is a figure which shows an example of the data structure of a base station information database. It is the schematic which shows the main software structures of a terminal. It is explanatory drawing of an example of the base station positioning method. It is a schematic flowchart which shows the operation example of a positioning system. It is a schematic flowchart which shows the operation example of a positioning system. It is the schematic which shows the main software structures of a management server. It is a figure which shows an example of the data structure of a base station information database. It is a figure which shows an example of a wide zone. It is the schematic which shows the main software structures of a terminal.

Explanation of symbols

  10, 10A ... positioning system, 12a, 12b, 12c, 12d ... GPS satellite, 20A, 20B, 20C, 20D, 20E ... base station, 50, 50A ... terminal, 80, 80A ... management server, 104 ··· Base station communication unit, 106 ··· Base station timing unit, ····················································· • · .. GPS time generation program, 126... Base station second clock correction program, 128... Time difference information generation program, 130... Time difference information transmission program, 212. ... Terminal clock correction program, 216, 216A ... Base station information acquisition necessity judgment program, 218, 218A ... Base station information acquisition program 220 ... Sky satellite number judgment program, 222 ... Satellite positioning program, 224 ... Communication signal reception program, 226 ... Reception time information generation program, 228 ... Base station positioning program, 230 ... Hybrid positioning program, 232 ... Positioning method selection program, 234 ... Positioning position information display program, 312 ... Communication base station identification program, 314, 314A ... Base station information transmission program

Claims (8)

A plurality of communication base stations;
A terminal device capable of communicating with the communication base station;
A management device capable of communicating with the communication base station and the terminal device;
An asynchronous positioning system between communication base stations having
The communication base station is
Base station position information storage means for storing base station position information indicating the position of the communication base station;
A communication signal radio wave generation means with transmission time information for putting transmission time information indicating a transmission time on the communication signal radio wave transmitted from the communication base station;
Satellite time information generating means for generating satellite time information indicating a satellite time which is a time of the positioning satellite based on a satellite signal which is a signal from a positioning satellite;
Time difference information generating means for generating time difference information indicating a time difference between the transmission time and the satellite time at the transmission time;
Base station information transmitting means for transmitting the base station position information and the time difference information to the management device;
A communication signal radio wave transmission means for transmitting the communication signal radio wave carrying the transmission time information to the terminal device;
Have
The management device includes base station information receiving means for receiving the base station position information and the time difference information from the communication base station;
Base station information storage means for storing the base station information;
In accordance with the position of the terminal device, the management device side base station information transmitting means for transmitting the base station information,
Have
The terminal device
Terminal-side satellite time information generating means for generating terminal-side satellite time information indicating the satellite time based on the satellite signal from the positioning satellite;
From the management device, terminal side base station information acquisition means for acquiring the base station position information and the time difference information,
Sky satellite number determination means for determining the number of sky satellites which are the positioning satellites located above the terminal device;
Satellite signal positioning means for positioning the terminal device based on the satellite signal;
A communication signal radio wave receiving means for receiving the communication signal radio wave from the communication base station;
Reception time information generating means for generating reception time information indicating the time when the communication signal radio wave is received;
Based on the base station position information, the time difference information, the transmission time information and the reception time information, a communication signal radio wave positioning means for positioning the position of the terminal device,
Based on the satellite signal, the base station position information, the time difference information, the transmission time information and the reception time information, composite positioning means for positioning the position of the terminal device;
Positioning means selecting means for selecting one of the satellite signal positioning means, the communication signal radio wave positioning means, or the combined positioning means based on the number of the above-mentioned satellites;
An asynchronous positioning system between communication base stations, comprising: A terminal device capable of receiving communication signal radio waves carrying transmission time information indicating transmission times from a plurality of communication base stations in an asynchronous communication network between communication base stations,
Terminal-side satellite time information generating means for generating terminal-side satellite time information indicating a satellite time that is a time of the positioning satellite based on a satellite signal that is a signal from a positioning satellite;
From the management apparatus holding base station position information indicating the position of the communication base station and time difference information indicating the time difference between the transmission time and the satellite time at the transmission time, the base station position information and the time difference information Terminal side base station information acquisition means for acquiring
Sky satellite number determination means for determining the number of sky satellites which are the positioning satellites located above the terminal device;
Satellite signal positioning means for positioning the terminal device based on the satellite signal;
A communication signal radio wave receiving means for receiving the communication signal radio wave from the communication base station;
Reception time information generating means for generating reception time information indicating the time when the communication signal radio wave is received;
Based on the base station position information, the time difference information, the transmission time information and the reception time information, a communication signal radio wave positioning means for positioning the position of the terminal device,
Based on the satellite signal, the base station position information, the time difference information, the transmission time information and the reception time information, composite positioning means for positioning the position of the terminal device;
Positioning means selecting means for selecting one of the satellite signal positioning means, the communication signal radio wave positioning means, or the combined positioning means based on the number of the above-mentioned satellites;
The terminal device characterized by having.   The positioning means selecting means selects the satellite signal positioning means when the number of the above-mentioned satellites is 3 or more, and the composite positioning means when the number of the above-mentioned satellites is one or two. 3. The terminal device according to claim 2, wherein when the number of the above-mentioned satellites is zero, the communication signal radio wave positioning means is selected.   The base station information acquisition means of the terminal device, from the management device, according to the position of the terminal device, the communication base station in communication and the communication base station and the communication base station in communication overlap The terminal device according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the terminal device is configured to acquire the base station position information and the time difference information of a communication base station.   The base station information acquisition unit of the terminal device includes a certain geographical range including the communication base station in communication and the communication base station in communication according to the position of the terminal device from the management device. 4. The terminal device according to claim 2, wherein the terminal device is configured to acquire the base station position information and the time difference information of the communication base station located within. A terminal device capable of receiving communication signal radio waves carrying transmission time information indicating transmission times from a plurality of communication base stations in an asynchronous communication network between communication base stations is based on a satellite signal which is a signal from a positioning satellite. A terminal side satellite time information generating step for generating terminal side satellite time information indicating a satellite time which is a time of the positioning satellite;
From the management apparatus in which the terminal apparatus holds base station position information indicating the position of the communication base station and time difference information indicating a time difference between the transmission time and the satellite time at the transmission time, Base station information acquisition step for acquiring information and the time difference information;
The terminal device determines the number of sky satellites that determine the number of sky satellites that are the positioning satellites located above the terminal device; and
Satellite signal positioning means for positioning the terminal device based on the satellite signal, the base station position information, the time difference information, and the transmission time Communication signal radio wave positioning means for positioning the terminal device based on information and reception time information indicating a time when the communication signal radio wave is received, the satellite signal, the base station position information, the time difference information, the transmission Compound positioning means for positioning the terminal device based on time information and the reception time information, and positioning means selecting step for selecting one from
A control method for a terminal device, comprising: On the computer,
A terminal device capable of receiving communication signal radio waves carrying transmission time information indicating transmission times from a plurality of communication base stations in an asynchronous communication network between communication base stations is based on a satellite signal which is a signal from a positioning satellite. A terminal side satellite time information generating step for generating terminal side satellite time information indicating a satellite time which is a time of the positioning satellite;
From the management apparatus in which the terminal apparatus holds base station position information indicating the position of the communication base station and time difference information indicating a time difference between the transmission time and the satellite time at the transmission time, Base station information acquisition step for acquiring information and the time difference information;
The terminal device determines the number of sky satellites that determine the number of sky satellites that are the positioning satellites located above the terminal device; and
Satellite signal positioning means for positioning the terminal device based on the satellite signal, the base station position information, the time difference information, and the transmission time Communication signal radio wave positioning means for positioning the terminal device based on information and reception time information indicating a time when the communication signal radio wave is received, the satellite signal, the base station position information, the time difference information, the transmission Compound positioning means for positioning the terminal device based on time information and the reception time information, and positioning means selecting step for selecting one from
A control program for a terminal device, characterized in that On the computer,
A terminal device capable of receiving communication signal radio waves carrying transmission time information indicating transmission times from a plurality of communication base stations in an asynchronous communication network between communication base stations is based on a satellite signal which is a signal from a positioning satellite. A terminal side satellite time information generating step for generating terminal side satellite time information indicating a satellite time which is a time of the positioning satellite;
From the management apparatus in which the terminal apparatus holds base station position information indicating the position of the communication base station and time difference information indicating a time difference between the transmission time and the satellite time at the transmission time, Base station information acquisition step for acquiring information and the time difference information;
The terminal device determines the number of sky satellites that determine the number of sky satellites that are the positioning satellites located above the terminal device; and
Satellite signal positioning means for positioning the terminal device based on the satellite signal, the base station position information, the time difference information, and the transmission time Communication signal radio wave positioning means for positioning the terminal device based on information and reception time information indicating a time when the communication signal radio wave is received, the satellite signal, the base station position information, the time difference information, the transmission Compound positioning means for positioning the terminal device based on time information and the reception time information, and positioning means selecting step for selecting one from
A computer-readable recording medium on which a control program for a terminal device is recorded.

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