JP2006229285A - Positioning system, terminal, communication base station, control method of terminal, and control program for terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a positioning system or the like in a communication network adopting the inter-base-station asynchronous system capable of selectively providing information with relatively high accuracy used for positioning using a communication radio wave from a communication base station without the need for remarkable system revision of the communication base station. <P>SOLUTION: An information providing apparatus 20A or the like includes: a positioning accuracy information generating means for generating positioning accuracy information denoting the accuracy of positioning by a positioning means; a transmission satellite time information generating means for generating transmission satellite time information denoting a satellite time when a particular frame is transmitted; and a transmission time error information generating means or the like for generating transmission time error information denoting an error of the transmission time on the basis of frequency drift information denoting a drift of a basic frequency on which the transmission time generated by a communication base station 40 is based, and the communication base station 40 includes a time information selection means or the like for selecting the time information on the basis of the positioning accuracy information to acquire time information to be selected. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a positioning system, a terminal device, a communication base station, a terminal device control method, and a terminal device control 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. It is about the program.

Conventionally, for example, in a so-called digital mobile communication system of a code division multiple access (CDMA) system, a technique for ensuring time synchronization between a plurality of base stations has been proposed (for example, Patent Document 1). With such a technique, when time synchronization is established between base stations, the position can be detected based on the arrival time differences of received signals between a plurality of base stations and mobile radio terminal devices (for example, special features). (Kaihei 7-181242).
Special table 2003-509953 gazette (FIG. 1 etc.)

  However, there is a problem that an economic burden is large for the construction of a system for synchronizing time between base stations existing in large numbers throughout the country.

  Therefore, the present invention selectively provides information with relatively high accuracy for use in positioning using communication radio waves from the communication base station without requiring a significant system change of the communication base station. An object of the present invention is to provide a positioning system, a terminal device, a communication base station, a terminal device control method, and a terminal device control program in an asynchronous communication network between base stations.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a communication comprising: a terminal device that performs positioning; a communication base station that mediates communication of the terminal device; and a plurality of information providing devices that can communicate with the communication base station An asynchronous positioning system between base stations, wherein the information providing device generates positioning position information indicating a position of the information providing device based on satellite radio waves from a positioning satellite, and the positioning Positioning accuracy information generating means for generating positioning accuracy information indicating the accuracy of positioning by the position information generating means, positioning accuracy information transmitting means for transmitting the positioning accuracy information to the communication base station, and from the positioning satellite Satellite time information generating means for generating satellite time information indicating the satellite time that is the time of the positioning satellite based on the satellite radio wave, and transmission time information indicating the transmission time from the communication base station. Based on frame receiving means for receiving a frame, the satellite time at which the specific frame was received, base station position information indicating the position of the communication base station, and information providing apparatus position information indicating the position of the information providing apparatus Transmitting satellite time information generating means for generating transmission satellite time information indicating the satellite time at which the specific frame was transmitted, a basic frequency serving as a basis of the transmission time generated by the communication base station, and the basic Based on the information indicating the relationship between the frequency and the reference frequency of the communication radio wave of the communication base station and the reception frequency of the communication radio wave, frequency shift information indicating the shift of the fundamental frequency is generated, and the frequency shift Transmission time error information generating means for generating transmission time error information indicating an error in the transmission time based on shift information, and for the communication base station, the transmission satellite time information, Time information transmitting means for transmitting time information including transmission time error information, and the communication base station receives time information including the transmission satellite time information and the transmission time error information from a plurality of the information providing devices. Time information acquisition means for acquiring the positioning accuracy information acquisition means for acquiring the positioning accuracy information from the information providing device, and based on the positioning accuracy information, the time information is selected to select the selected time information. A terminal-side satellite time information generating unit that generates terminal-side satellite time information indicating the satellite time based on the satellite radio wave from the positioning satellite. Selected time information acquiring means for acquiring the selected time information from the communication base station, terminal-side frame receiving means for receiving the frame from the communication base station, and the specific frame Terminal-side received satellite time information generating means for generating terminal-side received satellite time information indicating the satellite time at which the satellite is received, the base station position information of the three or more communication base stations, the transmission time information, the transmitting satellite A communication radio station positioning means for positioning the position of the terminal device based on the time information, the transmission time error information, and the terminal-side reception satellite time information, by an asynchronous positioning system between communication base stations, Achieved.

According to the configuration of the first invention, since the information providing apparatus has the positioning position information generating means, the positioning position information can be generated. And since the said information provision apparatus has the said positioning accuracy information generation means, it can generate | occur | produce the positioning accuracy information which shows the precision of the positioning by the said positioning position information generation means.
And since the said information provision apparatus has the said positioning accuracy information transmission means, it can transmit the said positioning accuracy information with respect to the said communication base station. Here, the higher the positioning accuracy indicated in the positioning accuracy information, the better the reception state of the satellite radio wave.
And the said information provision apparatus can produce | generate the said satellite time information by the said satellite time information generation means. Based on the plurality of satellite signals, the current position is measured, and as a result, the accurate satellite time can be acquired together with the positioning position information.
Further, since the information providing apparatus has the transmission satellite time information generating means, the information providing apparatus can generate the transmission satellite time information, and since the information providing apparatus has the transmission time error information generating means, the transmission time error information is generated. be able to. Here, since the frequency shift information used for generating the transmission time error information is information indicating a deviation of the fundamental frequency, it may be used as information for generating the transmission time error information. It can be done.
The transmission satellite time information is information indicating the satellite time at which the specific frame is transmitted from the communication base station. On the other hand, the transmission time error information is information indicating an error in the transmission time itself generated by the communication base station. That is, the transmission satellite time information and the transmission time error information have different properties. Here, it is known that the accuracy of the time error information generated based on the frequency shift information is higher than the accuracy of the transmission satellite time information. Therefore, the time error information can be used to complement the transmission satellite time error information.
And since the said information provision apparatus has the said time information transmission means, it can transmit the said time information with respect to the said communication base station.
As described above, the information providing apparatus can transmit the positioning accuracy information and time information including the transmission satellite time information and the transmission time error information to the communication base station.

And the said communication base station can acquire the said positioning accuracy information by the said positioning accuracy information acquisition means, and can acquire the said time information from the said information provision apparatus by the said time information acquisition means.
Furthermore, since the communication base station has the time information selection means, it is possible to select the time information and acquire the selected time information based on the positioning accuracy information.
As described above, the higher the positioning accuracy indicated in the positioning accuracy information indicating the accuracy of the positioning position information generated based on the satellite radio wave, the better the reception state of the satellite radio wave is. To do.
On the other hand, the transmission satellite time information is generated using the satellite time indicated in the satellite time information generated based on the satellite radio wave. Therefore, the more accurate the satellite time, the higher the accuracy of the transmission satellite time information. That is, the better the satellite radio wave reception state, the higher the accuracy of the transmission satellite time information.
For this reason, the higher the accuracy of the positioning indicated in the positioning accuracy information, the higher the accuracy of the transmission satellite time information.
Therefore, the communication base station can receive the time information from a plurality of the information providing devices, and can select the time information with high accuracy based on the positioning accuracy information.
As described above, since the communication base station does not synchronize the transmission time with the satellite time, but only acquires the selected time information, the configuration is simple, and the communication base station Does not require significant system changes.
As a result, it is possible to selectively provide relatively highly accurate information for use in positioning using communication radio waves from the communication base station without requiring a significant system change of the communication base station. .

And the said terminal device can acquire the said selected time information from the said communication base station by the said selected time information acquisition means.
And the said terminal device can receive the said frame from the said communication apparatus by the said terminal side frame receiving means.
And, for the three or more communication base stations, when the base station position information, the transmission time information, the transmission satellite time information, the transmission time error information, and the terminal-side reception satellite time information, Since the propagation time until the communication radio wave reaches the terminal device from the communication base station can be accurately calculated, positioning by the communication radio wave positioning means is possible.
Since the selected time information is selected from the time information from the plurality of information providing devices as being highly accurate, positioning by the communication radio wave positioning means is also highly accurate.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information providing apparatus capable of communicating with a communication base station that mediates communication of a terminal device, wherein the position of the information providing apparatus is determined based on satellite radio waves from a positioning satellite. Positioning position information generating means for generating positioning position information to be indicated, positioning accuracy information generating means for generating positioning accuracy information indicating the accuracy of positioning by the positioning position information generating means, and the positioning accuracy for the communication base station Positioning accuracy information transmitting means for transmitting information, satellite time information generating means for generating satellite time information indicating a satellite time which is a time of the positioning satellite based on the satellite radio wave from the positioning satellite, and the communication base Frame receiving means for receiving a frame including transmission time information indicating a transmission time from the station, the satellite time at which the specific frame is received, and a base station position indicating the position of the communication base station Transmission satellite time information generating means for generating transmission satellite time information indicating the satellite time at which the specific frame is transmitted, based on information and information providing apparatus position information indicating the position of the information providing apparatus, and the communication base Based on a basic frequency that is a basis of the transmission time generated by a station, information indicating a relationship between the basic frequency and a reference frequency of a communication radio wave of the communication base station, and a reception frequency of the communication radio wave, the basic A transmission time error information generating means for generating frequency shift information indicating a frequency shift, and generating transmission time error information indicating an error in the transmission time based on the frequency shift information; and On the other hand, it is achieved by an information providing apparatus comprising: time information transmitting means for transmitting time information including the transmission satellite time information and the transmission time error information. .

  According to the configuration of the second invention, it is possible to select information with relatively high accuracy for use in positioning using communication radio waves from the communication base station without requiring a significant system change of the communication base station. Can provide information that is the basis for providing information.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a communication base station that mediates communication of a terminal device, wherein the information providing device determines a positioning accuracy of the information providing device based on satellite radio waves from a positioning satellite. Positioning accuracy information acquisition means for acquiring accuracy information, transmission satellite time information indicating a satellite time that is a time of a positioning satellite at which a frame is transmitted from the communication base station from a plurality of the information providing devices, and the communication base Time information for acquiring time information including transmission time error information indicating an error of the transmission time generated based on frequency shift information indicating a shift of a fundamental frequency that is a basis of the transmission time of the frame generated by the station By means of a communication base station, comprising: an acquisition means; and a selected time information acquisition means for selecting the time information based on the positioning accuracy information and acquiring the selected time information. It is achieved.

  According to the configuration of the third aspect of the invention, information with relatively high accuracy for use in positioning using communication radio waves from the communication base station is selected without requiring a significant system change of the communication base station. Can be provided.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the configuration of the third aspect of the invention, the positioning accuracy information includes information indicating a positioning accuracy reduction rate defined by an arrangement of the positioning satellites in the sky. is there.

  According to the configuration of the fourth aspect of the invention, since the positioning accuracy information includes information indicating a positioning accuracy decrease rate defined by the positioning satellite positioning in the sky, the communication base station is configured to receive the positioning accuracy decrease rate. Based on the above, it is possible to acquire the selected time information.

  A fifth invention is a communication base station according to any one of the third and fourth inventions, wherein the positioning accuracy information includes information indicating a positioning error.

  According to the configuration of the fifth invention, since the positioning accuracy information includes information indicating a positioning error, the communication base station can acquire the selected time information based on the positioning error.

  6th invention has the open sky area | region information storage means to store the open sky area | region information which shows an open sky area | region in the structure in any one of 3rd invention thru | or 5th invention, The said positioning accuracy information is Including information indicating a positioning position of the information providing device, wherein the time information selecting means is configured to select the time information depending on whether or not the positioning position is within the open sky region. Communication base station.

Here, the open sky region is, for example, a state where there is no shielding object in a range of an elevation angle of 5 degrees or more from the horizon. Therefore, in the open sky region, the satellite radio wave from the positioning satellite hardly reaches the information providing device as a direct wave and arrives as a reflected wave. For this reason, the accuracy of the time information is high.
In this regard, according to the configuration of the sixth invention, the time information selection means is configured to select the time information depending on whether or not the positioning position is within the open sky region. Based on the grounds, the selected time information with high accuracy can be acquired.

  According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, the information providing device capable of communicating with the communication base station that mediates communication of the terminal device is a positioning device that indicates the position of the information providing device based on satellite radio waves from a positioning satellite. A positioning position information generating step for generating position information; a positioning accuracy information generating step in which the information providing apparatus generates positioning accuracy information indicating the accuracy of positioning in the positioning position information generating step; and the information providing apparatus, A positioning accuracy information transmitting step for transmitting the positioning accuracy information to a communication base station, and the information providing device indicates a satellite time that is a time of the positioning satellite based on the satellite radio wave from the positioning satellite. A satellite time information generating step for generating satellite time information; and a frame in which the information providing apparatus receives a frame including transmission time information indicating a transmission time from the communication base station. Receiving step, the satellite time at which the information providing apparatus received the specific frame, the base station position information indicating the position of the communication base station, and the information providing apparatus position information indicating the position of the information providing apparatus A transmission satellite time information generating step for generating transmission satellite time information indicating the satellite time at which the specific frame was transmitted, and a basis for the transmission time generated by the communication base station by the information providing device. Frequency deviation indicating the deviation of the fundamental frequency based on the fundamental frequency, the information indicating the relationship between the fundamental frequency and the reference frequency of the communication radio wave, and the reception frequency of the communication radio wave of the communication base station A transmission time error information generating step for generating information and generating transmission time error information indicating an error in the transmission time based on the frequency shift information; and the information providing device Is achieved by a control method for an information providing apparatus, comprising: a time information transmission step of transmitting time information including the transmission satellite time information and the transmission time error information to the communication base station. The

  According to the configuration of the seventh invention, as in the configuration of the second invention, it is used for positioning using the communication radio wave from the communication base station without requiring a significant system change of the communication base station. It is possible to provide information serving as a basis for selectively providing information with relatively high accuracy.

  According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information providing apparatus capable of communicating with a communication base station that mediates communication of a terminal device to a computer based on satellite radio waves from a positioning satellite. A positioning position information generating step for generating positioning position information indicating the positioning position information, a positioning accuracy information generating step for generating positioning accuracy information indicating the accuracy of positioning in the positioning position information generating step, and the information providing apparatus A positioning accuracy information transmitting step for transmitting the positioning accuracy information to the communication base station, and a satellite in which the information providing device is a time of the positioning satellite based on the satellite radio wave from the positioning satellite. A satellite time information generating step for generating satellite time information indicating a time; and a frame including transmission time information indicating a transmission time from the communication base station. A frame receiving step for receiving a message, the satellite time at which the information providing apparatus received the specific frame, base station position information indicating the position of the communication base station, and information providing indicating the position of the information providing apparatus A transmission satellite time information generating step for generating transmission satellite time information indicating the satellite time at which the specific frame is transmitted based on device position information; and the transmission generated by the communication base station by the information providing device Based on the fundamental frequency that is the basis of time, the information indicating the relationship between the fundamental frequency and the reference frequency of the communication radio wave, and the reception frequency of the communication radio wave of the communication base station, the deviation of the basic frequency is indicated. A transmission time error information generating step for generating frequency shift information and generating transmission time error information indicating an error in the transmission time based on the frequency shift information; The information providing apparatus causes the communication base station to execute a time information transmitting step of transmitting time information including the transmission satellite time information and the transmission time error information. Achieved by the control program.

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 according to an embodiment of the present invention.
As shown in FIG. 1, the positioning system 10 includes a communication base station 40 (hereinafter referred to as a base station 40) located at a fixed position. The base station 40 is an example of a communication base station that mediates communication of a positioning terminal 60 and the like described later.

The positioning system 10 also includes terminals 20A, 20B, and 20C that can communicate with the base station 40. The terminal 20A and the like are an example of an information providing apparatus.
The positioning system 10 also has a positioning terminal 60 that can communicate with the base station 40. The positioning terminal 60 is an example of a terminal device.

The base station 40 transmits the communication radio wave CS and can communicate with the terminal 20A and the like and the positioning terminal 60 located in the communication area Z.
The terminal 20A and the like can receive, for example, satellite radio waves S1, S2, S3 and S4 which are satellite radio waves from GPS satellites 12a, 12b, 12c and 12d which are positioning satellites.

Examples of the terminal 20A and the positioning terminal 60 include, but are not limited to, a mobile phone, a PHS (Personal Handy-phone System), and a PDA (Personal Digital Assistance ₎ .
Although there are a plurality of base stations 40, the illustration is omitted. In this embodiment, base stations 40A, 40B, and 40C (not shown) may be described as meaning different base stations 40. And when calling it base station 40 grade | etc., Base station 40A, 40B and 40C are named generically.

Unlike the present embodiment, the number of GPS satellites 12a may be three, or five or more.
Unlike this embodiment, a quasi-zenith satellite may be used instead of the GPS satellite 12a or the like. The quasi-zenith satellite is an artificial satellite in a system that is operated in an orbit in which at least one of a plurality of quasi-zenith satellites has a high elevation angle in Japan, for example, an elevation angle of 70 degrees or more. In detail, the quasi-zenith satellite is a satellite system that places a circular orbit with an altitude of 36,000 kilometers (km) in an orbit inclined about 45 degrees from the equator, and synchronizes at least three quasi-zenith satellites. By locating, one quasi-zenith satellite always stays near the zenith in Japan. Thus, since the quasi-zenith satellite has a high elevation angle, the radio wave received from the quasi-zenith satellite has an advantage that it is less susceptible to multipath than the satellite radio wave S1 from the GPS satellite 12a or the like.

(Main hardware configuration of terminal 20A)
FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the main hardware configuration of the terminal 20A.
Note that the main hardware configuration of the terminals 20B and 20C is the same as that of the terminal 20A, and a description thereof will be omitted.
As shown in FIG. 2, the terminal 20 </ b> A has a computer, and the computer has a bus 22.
A CPU (Central Processing Unit) 24, a storage device 26, and the like are connected to the bus 22. The storage device 26 is, for example, a RAM (Random Access Memory) or a ROM (Read Only Memory).

The bus 22 is connected to an input device 28 for inputting various information and the like, a terminal GPS receiving device 30, and a terminal communication device 32. The terminal 20A can receive the satellite radio wave S1 and the like from the GPS satellite 12a and the like by the terminal GPS receiver 30. Then, the terminal 20A can receive the communication radio wave CS by the terminal communication device 32.
The bus 22 is connected to a display device 34 and a terminal clock 36 for displaying various information. As will be described later, the time of the terminal clock 36 is maintained in a state that is not different from the time of the GPS satellite 12a or the like (hereinafter referred to as GPS time).

(Main hardware configuration of base station 40)
FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the main hardware configuration of the base station 40.
As shown in FIG. 3, the base station 40 has a computer, and the computer has a bus 42.
A CPU 44, a storage device 46, an external storage device 48, and the like are connected to the bus 42. The external storage device 48 is, for example, an HD (Hard Disk).

In addition, an input device 50 and a base station communication device 52 for inputting various information and the like are connected to the bus 42. The base station communication device 52 is configured to transmit a communication radio wave CS.
The bus 42 is connected to a display device 54 and a base station clock 56 for displaying various information. The base station clock 56 is not synchronized with the base station clock 56 of the other base station 40, and is not synchronized with the time of the GPS satellite 12a or the like (hereinafter referred to as GPS time).
That is, time synchronization is not established between the base stations 40 and the like.

(Main hardware configuration of positioning terminal 60)
FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a main hardware configuration of the positioning terminal 60.
As shown in FIG. 4, the main hardware configuration of the positioning terminal 60 is the same as that of the terminal 20A.

(Main software configuration of terminal 20A)
FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing a main software configuration of the terminal 20A.
Since the main software configuration of the terminals 20B and 20C is the same as that of the terminal 20A, description thereof is omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the terminal 20A includes a terminal control unit 100 that controls each unit, a terminal GPS unit 102 that corresponds to the terminal GPS receiving device 30 in FIG. 2, and a terminal communication unit 104 that corresponds to the terminal communication device 32 in FIG. 2 includes a terminal timing unit 106 corresponding to the terminal clock 36 of FIG. 2, a terminal first storage unit 110 that stores various programs, and a terminal second storage unit 150 that stores various types of information.

  As illustrated in FIG. 5, the terminal 20 </ b> A stores operation mode information 151 in the second storage unit 150. The operation mode information 151 includes either a regular positioning mode 151a that is an operation mode in which the terminal 20A performs regular positioning by the GPS positioning program 112 described later, or a normal mode 151b that is an operation mode in which positioning is not performed regularly. Is information indicating whether or not is set.

As illustrated in FIG. 5, the terminal 20 </ b> A stores satellite orbit information 152 in the second storage unit 150. The satellite orbit information 152 includes an Almanac 152a that shows an approximate orbit of all the GPS satellites 12a and the like (see FIG. 1) and an ephemeris 152b that shows a precise orbit of each GPS satellite 12a and the like.
When the terminal 20A is set to the regular positioning mode 151a, the terminal GPS unit 102 receives the satellite radio wave S1 and the like from the GPS satellite 12a and the like, and the almanac from the satellite radio wave S1 and the like, for example, every 7 days, ephemeris It is extracted every 4 hours and is always kept valid.

  As illustrated in FIG. 5, the terminal 20 </ b> A stores a GPS positioning program 112 in the terminal first storage unit 110. The GPS positioning program 112 is used for the terminal control unit 100 to periodically receive the satellite radio wave S1 and the like by the terminal GPS unit 102, measure the position of the terminal 20A, and generate positioning position information 154a indicating the positioning position Q. It is a program. The positioning position information 154a is an example of positioning position information. The GPS positioning program 112 and the terminal control unit 100 are examples of positioning position information generating means.

  As illustrated in FIG. 5, the terminal 20 </ b> A stores a positioning condition information generation program 114 in the terminal first storage unit 110. The positioning condition information generation program 114 is a program for the terminal control unit 100 to generate positioning condition information 154 including PDOP (Position Dilution of Precision) information 154b and positioning accuracy information 154c indicating the accuracy of the positioning position information 154a. It is. The positioning condition information 154 is an example of positioning accuracy information. The positioning condition information generation program 114 and the terminal control unit 100 are examples of positioning accuracy information generation means.

Here, the PDOP indicated in the PDOP information 154b is an index indicating the influence on the positioning accuracy by the arrangement of the GPS satellite 12a or the like in the sky. The numerical value of PDOP indicates how many times it appears in the positioning result when there is a unit error in the pseudorange with the GPS satellite 12a or the like. The smaller the value of PDOP is, the higher the positioning accuracy is.
The terminal control unit 100 generates PDOP information 154b when generating the positioning position information 154a. The PDOP information 154b is an example of information indicating a positioning accuracy reduction rate.
The positioning accuracy information 154c is information indicating an index called PositionSigma. PositionSigma is a value obtained by multiplying the above-mentioned PDOP and a positioning error. The positioning accuracy information 154c is an example of information indicating a positioning error.
The above-described positioning condition information 154 includes PDOP information 154b and positioning accuracy information 154c corresponding to the above-described positioning position information 154a. That is, the positioning condition information 154 includes positioning position information 154a, PDOP information 154b, and positioning accuracy information 154c.

As illustrated in FIG. 5, the terminal 20 </ b> A stores a GPS time generation program 116 in the first storage unit 110. The GPS time generation program 116 is a program for the terminal control unit 100 to generate GPS time information 156 indicating the GPS time based on satellite radio waves S1 and the like (see FIG. 1) from the GPS satellites 12a and the like. The GPS time information 156 is an example of satellite time information, and the GPS time generation program 116 and the terminal control unit 100 are examples of satellite time information generation means.
The terminal control unit 100 uses the satellite orbit information 152 to measure the current position based on a plurality of satellite radio waves S1 received by the terminal GPS unit 102 and the like, and is accurate in milliseconds (ms). GPS time information 156 indicating the GPS time is generated and stored in the second storage unit 150.

As illustrated in FIG. 5, the terminal 20 </ b> A stores a clock correction program 118 in the first storage unit 110. The clock correction program 118 is a program for the terminal control unit 100 to maintain the time of the terminal clock unit 106 in a state that is not different from the GPS time based on the GPS time information 156 described above.
Thereby, the base station 40 can maintain the time measured by the terminal clock 36 (see FIG. 2) in a state where there is no difference from the GPS time.

  As illustrated in FIG. 5, the terminal 20 </ b> A stores a frame reception program 120 in the first storage unit 110. The frame reception program 120 is a program for the terminal control unit 100 to receive a frame F1 and the like (see FIG. 10) described later from the base station 40 by the terminal communication unit 104. That is, the frame reception program 120, the terminal control unit 100, and the terminal communication unit 104 are examples of frame reception means.

  As illustrated in FIG. 5, the terminal 20 </ b> A stores a time information generation program 122 in the first storage unit 110. The time information generation program 122 includes a transmission GPS time information generation program 124 and a bias information generation program 126.

The transmission GPS time information generation program 124 includes a GPS time tr (not shown) when the terminal control unit 100 receives each frame F1 (described later) (see FIG. 10) from the specific base station 40, and a base station position described later. This is a program for generating transmission GPS time information 162 indicating the GPS time ts at which each frame F1 etc. was transmitted from a specific base station 40 based on the information 254 (see FIG. 9) and the positioning position information 154a. The transmission GPS time information 162 is an example of transmission satellite time information, and the transmission GPS time information generation program 124 and the terminal control unit 100 are examples of transmission satellite time information generation means.
The terminal control unit 100 measures the GPS time tr at which each frame F1 or the like carried on the communication radio wave CS from the base station 40 is received by the terminal time measuring unit 106.
The terminal control unit 100 acquires the base station position information 254 (see FIG. 9) from the frame F1 and the like from the base station 40.
The terminal control unit 100 acquires the positioning position information 154a from the terminal second storage unit 150.

  For example, the distance d (not shown) between the base station 40 and the terminal 20A can be calculated from the position P of the base station 40 (see FIG. 9) and the position Q of the terminal 20A. Since the propagation speed of the communication radio wave CS or the like carrying the frame F1 or the like is the speed of light C (not shown), the propagation time td (not shown) required for the communication radio wave CS to propagate the distance d is accurately determined. Can be calculated. For example, the transmission GPS time ts can be calculated by tracing the propagation time td from the GPS time tr at which the frame F1 is received, and the transmission GPS time information 162 can be generated. The transmission GPS time ts is, for example, the GPS time at which a specific frame F1 is transmitted from the base station 40, and can be calculated in units of milliseconds (ms).

  The bias information generation program 126 includes information indicating a basic frequency that the terminal control unit 100 uses as a basis for timing by the base station clock 56 (see FIG. 3), and a relationship between the basic frequency and the reference frequency of the communication radio wave CS, This is a program for calculating the drift h, which is a deviation of the fundamental frequency, based on the reception frequency of the communication radio wave CS, and generating bias information 164 indicating the error of the base station clock 56 in nanosecond (ns) units. That is, the bias information generation program 126 and the terminal control unit 100 are examples of transmission time error information generation means.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a method for generating the bias information 164 by the bias information generation program 126.
A fundamental frequency H1 (see FIG. 6), which is the basis of time measurement by the base station clock 56 (see FIG. 3) of the base station 40, is generated by, for example, a crystal oscillator (not shown). The frequency of this crystal oscillator changes with temperature, and the frequency of the crystal oscillator becomes H1 + h. Here, the deviation h due to the temperature of the frequency of the crystal oscillator is called drift.

The reference frequency H2 of the communication radio wave CS is a times (a is a constant) the basic frequency H1. The terminal 20A stores base station frequency information 158 indicating the fundamental frequency H1 and the constant a in the second storage unit 150 in advance. The above-described fundamental frequency H1 is an example of the fundamental frequency. The reference frequency H2 is an example of the reference frequency. The constant a is an example of information indicating the relationship between the fundamental frequency H1 and the reference frequency H2.
As shown in FIG. 6A, the frequency of the communication radio wave CS transmitted by the base station 40 when the drift h does not occur is the reference frequency H2, and the reception frequency H3 of the communication radio wave CS received by the terminal 20A is H2 = equal to H1 × a. The reception frequency H3 is an example of the reception frequency. Here, there is no relative movement between the base station 40 and the terminal 20A, and the Doppler effect need not be considered.
On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 6B, the transmission frequency H2A from the base station 40 when the drift h is generated is (H1 + h) × a, and the communication radio wave CS received by the terminal 20A is received. The frequency H3 is H2A = (H1 + h) × a.
Here, since the terminal 20A can measure the reception frequency H3 and stores the base station frequency information 158 indicating the basic frequency H1 and the constant a in advance, the terminal 20A can calculate the drift h.
That is, the terminal control unit 100 can calculate the drift h that is a single unknown by solving the equation H3 = (H1 + h) × a.

Since the drift h is a shift in the basic frequency H1 of the base station clock 56 of the base station 40, it also indicates a shift in the time of the base station clock 56.
If the base station clock 56 measures, for example, 1 second when the vibration frequency H1 is 1 second, when the drift h is not generated, 1 second measured by the base station clock 56 is H1 / H1.
On the other hand, when the drift h is occurring, the base station clock 56 is H1 / H1 + h for one second.
It has been found that the drift in time of the base station clock 56 can be calculated in nanoseconds (ns) by using the drift h. Therefore, the bias information 164 in nanosecond (ns) units can be generated.
That is, by complementing the transmission GPS time information 162 with the bias information 164, it is possible to calculate a more precise transmission GPS time for each frame F1 and the like.
The transmission GPS time information 162 and the bias information 164 described above constitute time information 160. The time information 160 is an example of time information.
Unlike the present embodiment, terminal 20A may acquire base station frequency information 158 indicating basic frequency H1 and constant a from frame F1 received from base station 40 or the like.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of the time information 160.
As shown in FIG. 7, the time information 160 includes a frame number F1, a base station ID-1, a time tag t1, a transmission GPS time, and a bias.
The time tag t1 is the transmission time of the frame F1 generated by the base station 40, and is used as a search key for searching the base station transmission GPS time and bias together with the frame number and the base station ID.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a data structure example of the positioning condition information 154 and the time information 160.
The positioning condition information 254 and the time information 160 are collectively referred to as correction information.
As shown in FIG. 8, the positioning condition information 154 and the time information 160 are stored in the terminal second storage unit 150 corresponding to the frame number.

  As illustrated in FIG. 5, the terminal 20 </ b> A stores a correction information transmission program 128 in the first storage unit 110. The correction information transmission program 128 is a program for the terminal control unit 100 to transmit the time information 160 and the positioning condition information 154 to the base station 40 by the terminal communication unit 104. That is, the correction information transmission program 128, the terminal control unit 100, and the terminal communication unit 104 are an example of a time information transmission unit and an example of a positioning accuracy information transmission unit.

(Main software configuration of base station 40)
FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram showing a main software configuration of the base station 40.
As shown in FIG. 9, the base station 40 includes a base station control unit 200 that controls each unit, a base station communication unit 202 that corresponds to the base station communication device 52 in FIG. 3, and a base station that corresponds to the base station clock 56 in FIG. It has a station timing unit 204, a base station first storage unit 210 that stores various programs, and a base station second storage unit 250 that stores various types of information.

As illustrated in FIG. 9, the base station 40 stores base station identification information 252 indicating the base station ID-1 in the base station second storage unit 250. The base station identification information 252 is information for identifying a specific base station 40 from other base stations 40, and the base station ID-1 is, for example, a 4-digit number.
As illustrated in FIG. 9, the base station 40 stores base station position information 254 in the base station second storage unit 250. The base station position information 254 is information indicating the position P of the base station 40. For example, the position P of the base station 40 is indicated by latitude, longitude, and altitude. Base station position information 254 is an example of base station position information.

As shown in FIG. 9, the base station 40 stores a transmission frame generation program 212 in the base station first storage unit 210. The transmission frame generation program 212 is a program for the base station control unit 200 to generate a transmission frame 256 including base station position information 254 and transmission time information 256a.
The transmission frame generation program 212 includes a transmission time information generation program 212a.
The transmission time information generation program 212a is a program for generating the transmission time information 256a by measuring the time at which the base station control unit 200 transmits each frame F1 and the like (see FIG. 10) by the base station timing unit 204. It is.

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a transmission frame 256 transmitted by the base station communication unit 102 using the communication radio wave CS.
As shown in FIG. 10, the transmission frame 256 includes a plurality of frames F1 and the like.
Each frame F1 to F3 is a unit of information communicated using a communication network (not shown). That is, the base station 40 transmits information in units of frames F1 and the like.
Each frame F1 etc. is indicated by base station ID-1 and base station location information 254 indicated by base station identification information 252 such as F1 which is a frame number, transmission time t1 indicated by transmission time information 256a, etc. Position P is included. The transmission time t1 or the like is also called a time tag.
The base station 40 continuously transmits the communication radio wave CS carrying the frames F1 and the like and the timing signal TS1 by the base station communication unit 202.

As illustrated in FIG. 9, the base station 40 stores a correction information acquisition program 214 in the base station first storage unit 210. The correction information acquisition program 214 is a program for the base station control unit 200 to acquire time information 160 and positioning condition information 154 (see FIG. 5) from a plurality of terminals 20A and the like. That is, the correction information acquisition program 214 and the base station control unit 200 are examples of time information acquisition means and are also examples of positioning accuracy information acquisition means.
The base station control unit 200 stores the acquired time information 160 as the base station side time information 260 and the positioning condition information 154 as the base station side positioning condition information 258 in the correction information list database 257 of the base station second storage unit 250. To do.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a structure example of the correction information list 257L stored in the correction information list database 257.
As shown in FIG. 11, correction information 257a configured from base station side positioning condition information 258 and base station side time information 260 is stored in correspondence with the reception channel and frame number of the base station communication unit 202. .

  As illustrated in FIG. 9, the base station 40 stores open sky region information 266 in the base station second storage unit 250. The open sky area information 266 is information indicating an open sky area. As described above, the open sky region is a region where there is no shielding object in an elevation angle of 5 degrees or more from the horizon. In the open sky region, satellite radio waves S1 and the like from the GPS satellites 12a and the like can be received as direct waves instead of reflected waves, so that the accuracy of positioning and the like based on the satellite radio waves S1 and the like is good. The above-described open sky region information 266 is an example of open sky region information, and the base station second storage unit 250 is an example of an open sky region information storage unit.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of the open sky region information 266.
As shown in FIG. 12, for example, in the good condition list number 1, the latitude is 36 degrees north latitude (the description after the decimal point is omitted. The same applies hereinafter), the east longitude is 137 degrees, and the altitude is 652 meters (m). As shown in the figure, a range having a radius of 500 meters (m) is an open sky region.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the base station 40 stores a good condition correction information list generation program 216 in the base station first storage unit 210. The good condition correction information list generation program 216 allows the base station control unit 200 to rearrange the correction information 257a in the correction information list 257L based on the base station side positioning condition information 258 and the open sky region information 266. It is a program.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the correction information list 257L after the correction information is rearranged.
The base station control unit 200 includes correction information for PDOP less than the PDOP threshold R1 (not shown), correction information for positioning position accuracy less than the position accuracy threshold R2 (not shown), and positioning position outside the open sky region. Remove correction information from the correction information list. Then, for example, the correction information is rearranged in ascending order of PDOP (see FIG. 13).

  As illustrated in FIG. 9, the base station 40 stores a time information selection program 218 in the base station first storage unit 210. In the time information selection program 218, the base station control unit 200 selects the base station side time information 260 included in the correction information 257a having the highest rank from the corrected correction information list 257L (see FIG. 13), and the time This is a program for storing in the information database 270. The selected base station side time information 260 is the selected time information 270a. The selected time information 270a is an example of selected time information.

  As described above, the base station control unit 200 sorts the correction information by the base station side positioning condition information 258 and the open sky region information 266 by the good condition correction information list generation program 216, and ranks the highest by the time information selection program 218. The base station side time information 260 included in the correction information with high is selected. That is, the good condition correction information list generation program 216, the time information selection program 218, and the base station control unit 200 are examples of time information selection means.

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an example of the structure of the time information database 270.
As shown in FIG. 14, the time information database 270 stores base station identification information and frame numbers, transmission GPS time and bias in association with each other.
Unlike the present embodiment, the base station 40 does not have the time information database 270, but transmits the selected time information 270a to a server or the like arranged in an external information management device, and stores it. Also good. In this case, the external information management apparatus receives the selected time information 272a from the plurality of base stations 40 and stores the selected time information 270a in such a manner that it can be identified by the base station ID.

(Main software configuration of positioning terminal 60)
FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram illustrating a main software configuration of the positioning terminal 60.
As shown in FIG. 15, the positioning terminal 60 corresponds to a positioning terminal control unit 300 that controls each part, a positioning terminal GPS unit 302 corresponding to the positioning terminal GPS device 70 of FIG. 4, and a positioning terminal side communication device 72 of FIG. Positioning terminal communication section 304, positioning terminal timing section 306 corresponding to positioning terminal clock 76 in FIG. 4, positioning terminal first storage section 310 storing various programs, and positioning terminal second storage section 350 storing various information.

  As shown in FIG. 15, the positioning terminal 60 stores positioning terminal side satellite orbit information 352 in the positioning terminal second storage unit 350. The positioning terminal side satellite orbit information 352 is information including, for example, almanac and ephemeris. When the positioning terminal GPS unit 302 receives the satellite radio wave S1 or the like, the positioning terminal control unit 300 extracts the almanac and the ephemeris from the satellite radio wave S1 or the like.

  As shown in FIG. 15, the positioning terminal 60 stores a positioning terminal side GPS time information generation program 312 in the positioning terminal first storage unit 310. The positioning terminal side GPS time information generation program 312 generates positioning terminal side GPS time information 354 indicating the GPS time based on the satellite radio wave S1 and the like (see FIG. 1) from the GPS satellite 12a and the like. It is a program to do. The positioning terminal side GPS time information 354 is an example of terminal side satellite time information, and the positioning terminal side GPS time information generation program 312 and the positioning terminal control unit 300 are examples of terminal side satellite time information generation means.

As shown in FIG. 15, the positioning terminal 60 stores a positioning terminal clock correction program 314 in the positioning terminal first storage unit 310. The positioning terminal clock correction program 314 is a program for the positioning terminal control unit 300 to correct the time of the positioning terminal timer 306 based on the positioning terminal side GPS time information 354.
Thereby, the positioning terminal 60 can make the time of the positioning terminal clock 76 (refer FIG. 4) into a state without a difference with GPS time.

As illustrated in FIG. 15, the positioning terminal 60 stores a time information acquisition program 316 in the positioning terminal first storage unit 310. The time information acquisition program 316 is a program for the positioning terminal control unit 300 to acquire the selected time information 270a from the base station 40 by the positioning terminal communication unit 304. That is, the time information acquisition program 316, the positioning terminal control unit 300, and the positioning terminal communication unit 304 are examples of selected time information receiving means.
The positioning terminal control unit 300 stores the received selected time information 270a in the positioning terminal second storage unit 350 as the positioning terminal side time information 356.

As shown in FIG. 15, the positioning terminal 60 stores an aerial satellite number determination program 318 in the positioning terminal first storage unit 310. The sky satellite number determination program 318 is a program for the positioning terminal control unit 300 to determine the number of GPS satellites 12a and the like that are located above the positioning terminal 60 and can be observed.
Specifically, the positioning terminal control unit 300 is located above the positioning terminal 60 and can be observed at the current time measured by the terminal timing unit 306 using the almanac included in the terminal-side satellite orbit information 352. The number of GPS satellites 12a and the like is determined. Then, the positioning terminal control unit 300 stores the sky satellite number information 358 indicating the number of GPS satellites 12a and the like located in the sky in the positioning terminal second storage unit 350.

  As shown in FIG. 15, the positioning terminal 60 stores a satellite positioning program 320 in the positioning terminal first storage unit 310. The satellite positioning program 320 is a program for the positioning terminal control unit 300 to measure the position of the positioning terminal 60 based on satellite radio waves S1 and the like (see FIG. 1) from three or more GPS satellites 12a and the like. .

Specifically, the positioning terminal control unit 300 calculates the difference between the time when the satellite radio wave S1 etc. is transmitted from each GPS satellite 12a and the time when the satellite radio wave S1 etc. is received, and the satellite radio wave S1 etc. Based on the fact that the speed is the speed of light, the distance between each GPS satellite 12a and the like and the positioning terminal 60 (referred to as a pseudorange) 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 306 is calculated by the ephemeris included in the terminal-side satellite orbit information 352.
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 positioning terminal control unit 300 stores the satellite positioning position information 360 generated by positioning in the positioning terminal second storage unit 350.
Note that positioning performed by the positioning terminal control unit 300 using the satellite positioning program 320 is referred to as satellite positioning.

As illustrated in FIG. 15, the positioning terminal 60 stores a frame reception program 322 in the positioning terminal first storage unit 310. The frame reception program 322 is a program for the positioning terminal control unit 300 to receive the communication radio wave CS carrying the frame F1 and the like from the base station 40 by the positioning terminal communication unit 304. That is, the frame reception program 322, the positioning terminal control unit 300, and the terminal communication unit 304 are examples of terminal-side frame reception means.
The frame reception program 322 includes a base station information extraction program 322a. The base station information extraction program 322a is a program for the positioning terminal control unit 300 to extract base station identification information 252, base station position information 254, and transmission time information 256a (see FIG. 9) from the communication radio wave CS.
The positioning terminal control unit 300 stores the extracted base station identification information 252, base station position information 254, and transmission time information 256 a as positioning terminal side base station information 362 in the positioning terminal second storage unit 350. The positioning terminal side base station information 362 includes base station identification information 362a, base station position information 362b, and transmission time information 362c.

As shown in FIG. 15, the positioning terminal 60 stores a received GPS time information generation program 324 in the positioning terminal first storage unit 310. The reception GPS time information generation program 324 is a program for the positioning terminal control unit 300 to generate reception GPS time information 364 indicating the GPS time when the communication radio wave CS is received. The reception GPS time information 364 is an example of terminal-side reception satellite time information, and the reception GPS time information generation program 324 and the positioning terminal control unit 300 are examples of terminal-side reception satellite time information generation means.
Specifically, the positioning terminal control unit 300 uses the terminal timing unit 306 to measure the GPS time when the communication radio wave CS is received, and generates reception GPS time information 364.
The positioning terminal control unit 300 stores the generated reception GPS time information 364 in the positioning terminal second storage unit 350.

  As shown in FIG. 15, the positioning terminal 60 stores a base station positioning program 328 in the positioning terminal first storage unit 310. In the base station positioning program 328, the positioning terminal control unit 300 sets the base station position information 362b of three or more base stations 40, transmission time information 362c, transmission GPS time information 356c, bias information 356d, and reception GPS time information 364. This is a program for positioning the position of the positioning terminal 60 based on the above. That is, the base station positioning program 328 and the positioning terminal control unit 300 are examples of communication radio wave positioning means.

FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram of an example of a base station positioning method.
The positioning terminal 60 will be described below as receiving communication radio waves CS1 and the like from three base stations 40A and the like of base stations 40A, 40B, and 40C (not shown).
FIG. 16A shows the position of each base station 40A and the like. The position of the base station 40 or the like is known from the base station position information 362b.
FIG. 16B is a diagram showing the propagation time tb01 and the like of the communication radio wave CS1 and the like from each base station 40A and the like. The propagation time tb01 and the like are unknown numbers. Here, the propagation time tb01 of the communication radio wave CS1 etc. is used synonymously with the propagation time of the frame F1 etc.
FIG. 16C is a diagram showing the transmission time t1 and the like of each communication radio wave CS1 and the like. The transmission time t1 and the like are known from the transmission time information 362c. Here, the transmission time t1 and the like of the communication radio wave CS1 and the like are synonymous with the transmission time t1 and the like of the frame F1 and the like. In addition, since time synchronization is not performed between the base stations 40A and the like, t1, t2, and t3 are not necessarily the same time.
FIG. 16D is a diagram illustrating the time difference ta1 and the like of each base station 40 and the like. The time difference ta1 and the like can be calculated as a difference between the time indicated in the transmission time information 362c and a precise transmission time such as the frame F1 calculated from the positioning terminal side time information 356. The positioning terminal side time information 356 includes transmission GPS time information 356c indicating the transmission time of each frame F1 etc. of the communication radio wave CS1 etc. in milliseconds (ms), and the transmission time of each frame F1 etc. in nanoseconds (ns). Therefore, the positioning terminal 60 can accurately calculate the transmission time of each frame F1 and the like.
FIG. 16E is a diagram showing the propagation speed of the communication radio wave CS1 and the like. Since the communication radio wave CS1 and the like are carried on the radio wave, the propagation speed is the speed of light C.
FIG. 16F is a diagram illustrating a time difference td01 between the transmission time t1 and the like of the communication radio wave CS1 and the time when the positioning terminal 60 receives the communication radio wave CS1 and the like. As shown in FIG. 16 (g), the time when the positioning terminal 60 receives the communication radio wave CS1 or the like is assumed to be t0.
The position (X, Y, Z) of the positioning terminal 60 shown in FIG. 16 (h) is an unknown number.

Based on the above, the equations (1) to (9) shown in FIGS. 16 (i) to 16 (k) will be described.
First, since the distance between each base station 40A and the positioning terminal 60 is equal to the propagation time of the communication radio wave CS1 etc. multiplied by the speed of the radio wave (the speed of light C), the expressions (1) to (1) in FIG. Equation (3) holds.
Next, since the transmission time t1 includes the time difference ta1 with respect to the GPS time, equations (4) to (6) in FIG.
Further, for the time difference td01 in FIG. 16F, the transmission time t1 in FIG. 16C, the propagation time tb01 in FIG. 16B, and the time t0 in FIG. Equations (7) to (9) of k) hold.
Here, since there are six unknowns indicating the position of the positioning terminal 60, that is, X, Y, Z, propagation times tb01, tb02, and tb03, equations (1), (2), (3), (7), By calculating (8) and (9) simultaneously, all unknowns can be calculated.
The positioning terminal control unit 300 stores the base station positioning position information 366 generated in this way in the positioning terminal second storage unit 350.
The positioning terminal control unit 300 extracts corresponding information from the positioning terminal side time information 356 using each frame F1, etc., the frame number, the base station ID, and the time tag as search keys.

As shown in FIG. 15, the positioning terminal 60 stores a hybrid positioning program 330 in the positioning terminal first storage unit 310. In the hybrid positioning program 330, the positioning terminal control unit 300 sets the base station position information 362b such as the satellite radio wave S1, the transmission time information 362c, the transmission GPS time information 356c, the bias information 356d, and the reception GPS time information 364. Based on the above-mentioned base station positioning program 328 described with reference to FIG. 16, the positioning performed by the positioning terminal control unit 300 based on the hybrid positioning program 330 is a program for positioning the positioning terminal 60. In this positioning method, one or two base stations 40A are substituted for the GPS satellite 12a or the like.
Note that positioning performed by the positioning terminal control unit 300 based on the hybrid positioning program 330 is referred to as hybrid positioning.
The positioning terminal control unit 300 stores the hybrid positioning position information 368 generated by the hybrid positioning in the positioning terminal second storage unit 350.

As shown in FIG. 15, the positioning terminal 60 stores a positioning method selection program 332 in the positioning terminal first storage unit 310. The positioning method selection program 332 allows the positioning terminal control unit 300 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 sky satellite number information 358. It is a program.
Specifically, the positioning terminal control unit 300 selects satellite positioning when the number of GPS satellites 12a and the like indicated in the sky satellite number information 358 is three or more. Then, the positioning terminal control unit 300 selects the hybrid positioning when the number of the GPS satellites 12a or the like indicated in the sky satellite number information 358 is one or two. Positioning terminal control section 300 selects base station positioning when the number of GPS satellites 12a and the like indicated in sky satellite number information 358 is zero.

In general, the positioning accuracy based on the satellite radio wave S1 from the GPS satellite 12a or the like is higher than the positioning accuracy based on the communication radio wave CS1 or the like. One of the causes is that the base station 40A or the like has a small mediating device called a repeater. Since the repeater transmits the same communication radio wave CS1 and the like as the base station 40A and the like, the positioning terminal 60 that has received the communication radio wave CS1 and the like received via the repeater is the distance between the base station 40A and the positioning terminal 60 ( As a result of calculating the pseudo distance) longer than the case of receiving the communication radio wave CS1 or the like as a direct wave from the base station 40A or the like, the positioning error may increase. On the other hand, since the GPS satellite 12a and the like do not have a repeater, there is no deterioration in positioning accuracy due to the repeater.
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 positioning terminal 60 may perform positioning using only the satellite radio wave S1 or the like or the satellite radio wave S1 and the communication radio wave CS1 as long as the signal S1 and the like can be received from the GPS satellite 12a. it can.
Therefore, the positioning terminal 60 can perform positioning with the highest positioning accuracy according to the number of observable GPS satellites 12a and the like.
Note that satellite positioning also has the advantage that it is not necessary to communicate with the base station 40A or the like for positioning.
In contrast, in hybrid positioning or base station positioning, for example, in an environment where three or more GPS satellites 12a or the like cannot be observed, such as indoors, positioning can be performed using the communication radio wave CS1 that can be received indoors. There is an advantage.

  As shown in FIG. 15, the positioning terminal 60 stores a positioning position information display program 334 in the positioning terminal first storage unit 310. In the positioning position information display program 334, the positioning terminal control unit 300 displays any of the satellite positioning position information 360, the base station positioning position information 366, or the hybrid positioning position information 368 on the display device 74 (see FIG. 4). It is a program for.

The positioning system 10 is configured as described above.
As described above, the terminal 20A and the like can generate the positioning condition information 154 and the time information 160 (see FIG. 5) and transmit them to the communication base station 40. The positioning condition information 154 is information for determining the accuracy of the time information 160.
The base station 40 acquires the positioning condition information 154 and the time information 160 from the terminal 20A and the like, and stores them in the correction information list database 257 (see FIG. 9) as the base station side positioning condition information 258 and the base station side time information 260. can do. Then, the base station 40 can rearrange the correction information 257a in the correction information list based on the base station side positioning condition information 258 and the open sky region information 266, and acquire the selected time information 270a.
As described above, the terminal 20A and the like generate the transmission GPS time information 162 (see FIG. 5) by the terminal timing unit 106 corrected by the GPS time information 156 generated based on the satellite radio wave S1 and the like. Therefore, the more accurate the GPS time information 156, the higher the accuracy of the transmission GPS time information 162. Here, the GPS time information 156 is generated based on the satellite radio wave S1 and the like. On the other hand, the positioning position information 154a (see FIG. 5) is also generated based on the satellite radio wave S1 and the like. That is, the high accuracy of the positioning position information 154a means that the accuracy of the GPS time information 156 is also high.
Therefore, the base station 40 can receive the time information 160 from the plurality of terminals 20A and the like, and can select the time information 160 with high accuracy based on the positioning condition information 154.
As described above, the base station 40 does not synchronize the time of the base station timekeeping unit 204 (see FIG. 9) with the GPS time, but only acquires the selected time information 270a. Thus, no significant system change of the base station 40 is required.
As a result, it is possible to selectively provide relatively highly accurate information for use in positioning using communication radio waves from the communication base station without requiring a significant system change of the communication base station. .

Then, the positioning terminal 60 can acquire the selected time information 270a from the base station 40 or the like.
Then, the positioning terminal 60 can receive the frame F1 and the like carried on the communication radio wave CS from the base station 40 and the like.
Then, by receiving the frame F1 etc. from three or more base stations 40 etc., base station position information 362b (see FIG. 15), transmission time information 362c, transmission GPS time information 356c, bias information 356d, and reception GPS time information Since the propagation time until the communication radio wave CS reaches the positioning terminal 60 from each base station 40 or the like can be accurately calculated using 364, base station positioning is possible.
Since the selected time information 270a is selected with high accuracy from the time information 160 from the plurality of terminals 20A and the like, the base station positioning is also highly accurate.

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 with reference to FIGS. 17 and 18.
17 and 18 are schematic flowcharts showing an operation example of the positioning system 10 according to the present embodiment.
The base station 40 will be described on the assumption that the communication radio wave CS is continuously transmitted.

First, the base station 40 transmits a correction information request message to a plurality of terminals 20A and the like (step ST1 in FIG. 17).
Subsequently, the terminal 20A or the like receives a correction information request message from the base station 40 (step ST2).
Subsequently, the terminal 20A and the like determine whether or not the regular positioning mode 151a (see FIG. 5) is set (step ST3). In step ST3, when it is determined that the terminal 20A or the like is not set to the regular positioning mode 151a, the process ends as it is.
On the other hand, when the terminal 20A or the like determines that the regular positioning mode 151a is set in step ST3, the positioning position information 154a, PDOP information 154b, positioning accuracy information 154c, and GPS time information 156 (FIG. 5) (step ST4). This step ST4 is an example of a positioning position information generation step, an example of a positioning accuracy information generation step, and an example of a satellite time information generation step.

Subsequently, the terminal 20A and the like receive the frame F1 and the like from the base station 40 (step ST5). This step ST5 is an example of a frame receiving step.
Subsequently, the terminal 20A and the like generate, for example, transmission GPS time information 162 and bias information 164 (see FIG. 5) for the specific frame F1 that has arrived (step ST6). This step ST6 is an example of a transmission satellite time information generation step, and is also an example of a transmission time error information generation step.

  Subsequently, the terminal 20A and the like transmit correction information including the specified frame number, time information 160, and positioning condition information 154 to the base station 40 (step ST7). This step ST7 is an example of a positioning accuracy information transmission step, and is also an example of a time information transmission step.

Subsequently, the base station 40 acquires correction information from the terminal 20A or the like (step ST8).
Subsequently, the base station 40 acquires PDOP information 258b (see FIG. 9) from each correction information 257a (step ST9), and determines whether the PDOP is smaller than the PDOP threshold R1 (step ST10). In step ST10, the correction information 257a determined by the base station 40 that the PDOP is smaller than the PDOP threshold R1 is removed from the correction information list (step ST11A).
On the other hand, the correction information 257a determined by the base station 40 that the PDOP is not smaller than the PDOP threshold R1 remains in the correction information list (step ST11).

Subsequently, the base station 40 acquires position accuracy information 258c from each correction information 257a (step ST12), and determines whether the position accuracy is smaller than the position accuracy threshold R2 (step ST13). In step ST13, the correction information 257a that the base station 40 determines that the position accuracy is smaller than the position accuracy threshold value R2 is removed from the correction information list (step ST14A).
On the other hand, the correction information 257a determined by the base station 40 that the position accuracy is not smaller than the position accuracy threshold value R2 remains in the correction information list (step ST14).

Subsequently, the base station 40 acquires positioning position information 258a (see FIG. 9) from each correction information 257a (step ST15), and determines whether or not the positioning position Q is within the open sky region (step ST16). In step ST16, the correction information 257a determined by the base station 40 that the positioning position Q is not in the open sky region is removed from the correction information list (step ST17A).
On the other hand, the correction information 257a that the base station 40 has determined that the positioning position Q is within the open sky region is left in the correction information list (step ST17).

Subsequently, the base station 40 rearranges the correction information 257a into the quasi with good positioning conditions (step ST18).
Subsequently, the base station 40 acquires the correction information 257a with the best positioning conditions and stores it as the selected time information 270a (step ST19 in FIG. 18).

On the other hand, prior to starting positioning, positioning terminal 60 requests selected time information 270a from base station 40 (step ST20).
On the other hand, the base station 40 transmits the selected time information 270a to the positioning terminal 60 (step ST21).
Subsequently, the positioning terminal 60 receives the selected time information 270a from the base station 40 (step ST22).

Subsequently, the positioning terminal 60 determines the number of GPS satellites 12a and the like that are located above the positioning terminal 60 and can be observed (step ST23).
If the positioning terminal 60 determines that the number of GPS satellites 12a and the like that can be observed is three or more, the positioning terminal 60 performs satellite positioning (step ST101) and generates satellite positioning position information 360 (see FIG. 15). To do.
Then, positioning terminal 60 displays satellite positioning position information 360 on display device 74 (see FIG. 4) (step ST102).

In step ST23, when the positioning terminal 60 determines that the number of observable GPS satellites 12a and the like is one or two, hybrid positioning is performed (step ST201), and hybrid positioning position information 368 ( 15) is generated.
Then, positioning terminal 60 displays hybrid positioning position information 368 on display device 74 (see FIG. 4) (step ST202).

  In step ST23, if the positioning terminal 60 determines that the number of observable GPS satellites 12a and the like is zero, base station positioning is performed (step ST301), and base station positioning position information 366 (FIG. 15). In base station positioning, the positioning terminal 60 receives communication radio waves CS1 and the like from the base station 40 and the like, generates reception GPS time information 364 (see FIG. 15), and base station positions of three or more base stations 40 and the like. Based on the information 362b, transmission time information 362c, transmission GPS time information 356c, bias information 356d, and reception GPS time information 364, the position of the positioning terminal 60 is measured. Then, positioning terminal 60 displays base station positioning position information 366 on display device 74 (see FIG. 4) (step ST302).

As described above, according to the positioning system 10, the relative accuracy for use in positioning using the communication radio wave from the communication base station is not required without requiring a significant system change of the communication base station. High information can be selectively provided.
Unlike the present embodiment, hybrid positioning may be performed even when the number of GPS satellites 12a or the like is three or more in step ST23 described above. In hybrid positioning, both the satellite radio wave S1 from the GPS satellite 12a and the like and the communication radio wave CS1 from the base station 40 and the like can be used, and the number of radio waves that can be used for the positioning calculation increases. The positioning accuracy can be stably increased.

(About programs and computer-readable recording media)
In the computer, the positioning position information generation step, the positioning accuracy information transmission step, the satellite time information generation step, the frame reception step, the transmission satellite time information generation step, the transmission time error information generation step, the time It can be set as the control program of the information provision apparatus for performing an information transmission step etc.
Moreover, it can also be set as the computer-readable recording medium etc. which recorded the control program etc. of such an information provision apparatus.

  A program storage medium used for installing the control program of the information providing apparatus 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). Semiconductors in which programs are stored temporarily or permanently, as well as package media such as Only Memory (CD), Compact Disc-Recordable (CD-R), Compact Disc-Rewriteable (CD-RW), DVD (Digital Versatile Disc), etc. It can be realized by a memory, a magnetic disk, a magneto-optical disk, or the like.

  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 the schematic which shows the main hardware constitutions of a terminal. It is the schematic which shows the main hardware constitutions of a communication base station. It is the schematic which shows the main hardware constitutions of a positioning terminal. It is the schematic which shows the main software structures of a terminal. It is explanatory drawing of an example of the production | generation method of bias information. It is a figure which shows an example of time information. It is a figure which shows an example of correction information. It is the schematic which shows the main software structures of a communication base station. It is a figure which shows an example of a transmission frame. It is a figure which shows an example of a correction information list. It is a figure which shows an example of open sky area | region information. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the correction information list after rearrangement. It is a figure which shows an example of a time information database. It is the schematic which shows the main software structures of a positioning terminal. It is a figure which shows 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.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Positioning system, 12a, 12b, 12c, 12d ... GPS satellite, 20A, 20B, 20C ... Terminal, 40 ... Communication base station, 60 ... Positioning terminal, 112 ... GPS positioning 114, positioning condition information generation program, 116 ... GPS time generation program, 118 ... clock correction program, 120 ... frame reception program, 122 ... time information generation program, 124 ... Transmission GPS time information generation program, 126 ... Bias information generation program, 128 ... Correction information transmission program, 212 ... Transmission frame generation program, 212a ... Transmission time information generation program, 214 ... Correction information Acquisition program, 216... Good condition correction information list generation program, 218. Information selection, 312 ... Positioning terminal side GPS time information generation program, 314 ... Positioning terminal clock correction program, 316 ... Time information acquisition program, 318 ... Sky satellite number judgment program, 320 ... Satellite Positioning program, 322 ... Frame reception program, 322a ... Base station information extraction program, 324 ... Reception GPS time information generation program, 328 ... Base station positioning program, 330 ... Hybrid positioning program, 332 ... Positioning method selection program, 334 ... Positioning position information display program

Claims (8)

A terminal device for positioning;
A communication base station that mediates communication of the terminal device;
A plurality of information providing devices capable of communicating with the communication base station;
An asynchronous positioning system between communication base stations having
The information providing apparatus includes:
Positioning position information generating means for generating positioning position information indicating the position of the information providing device based on satellite radio waves from the positioning satellite;
Positioning accuracy information generating means for generating positioning accuracy information indicating the accuracy of positioning by the positioning position information generating means;
Positioning accuracy information transmitting means for transmitting the positioning accuracy information to 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 the satellite radio wave from the positioning satellite;
Frame receiving means for receiving a frame including transmission time information indicating a transmission time from the communication base station;
The specific frame is transmitted based on the satellite time at which the specific frame is received, base station position information indicating the position of the communication base station, and information providing apparatus position information indicating the position of the information providing apparatus. Transmission satellite time information generating means for generating transmission satellite time information indicating the satellite time;
Based on a basic frequency that is the basis of the transmission time generated by the communication base station, information indicating a relationship between the basic frequency and a reference frequency of a communication radio wave of the communication base station, and a reception frequency of the communication radio wave A transmission time error information generating means for generating frequency shift information indicating a shift of the fundamental frequency, and generating transmission time error information indicating an error of the transmission time based on the frequency shift information;
Time information transmitting means for transmitting the transmission satellite time information and time information including the transmission time error information to the communication base station;
Have
The communication base station is
Time information acquisition means for acquiring time information including the transmission satellite time information and the transmission time error information from a plurality of the information providing devices;
Positioning accuracy information acquisition means for acquiring the positioning accuracy information from the information providing device;
Time information selection means for selecting the time information based on the positioning accuracy information and acquiring selected time 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 radio wave from the positioning satellite;
Selected time information acquisition means for acquiring the selected time information from the communication base station;
Terminal side frame receiving means for receiving the frame from the communication base station;
Terminal-side received satellite time information generating means for generating terminal-side received satellite time information indicating the satellite time at which the specific frame was received;
Based on the base station position information, the transmission time information, the transmission satellite time information, the transmission time error information, and the terminal-side reception satellite time information of three or more communication base stations, the position of the terminal device is determined. Communication radio wave positioning means,
An asynchronous positioning system between communication base stations, comprising: An information providing device capable of communicating with a communication base station that mediates communication of a terminal device,
Positioning position information generating means for generating positioning position information indicating the position of the information providing device based on satellite radio waves from the positioning satellite;
Positioning accuracy information generating means for generating positioning accuracy information indicating the accuracy of positioning by the positioning position information generating means;
Positioning accuracy information transmitting means for transmitting the positioning accuracy information to 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 the satellite radio wave from the positioning satellite;
Frame receiving means for receiving a frame including transmission time information indicating a transmission time from the communication base station;
The specific frame is transmitted based on the satellite time at which the specific frame is received, base station position information indicating the position of the communication base station, and information providing apparatus position information indicating the position of the information providing apparatus. Transmission satellite time information generating means for generating transmission satellite time information indicating the satellite time;
Based on a basic frequency that is the basis of the transmission time generated by the communication base station, information indicating a relationship between the basic frequency and a reference frequency of a communication radio wave of the communication base station, and a reception frequency of the communication radio wave A transmission time error information generating means for generating frequency shift information indicating a shift of the fundamental frequency, and generating transmission time error information indicating an error of the transmission time based on the frequency shift information;
Time information transmitting means for transmitting the transmission satellite time information and time information including the transmission time error information to the communication base station;
An information providing apparatus comprising: A communication base station that mediates communication of a terminal device,
Positioning accuracy information acquisition means for acquiring positioning accuracy information indicating the positioning accuracy of the information providing device based on satellite radio waves from positioning satellites from the information providing device;
From a plurality of the information providing devices, transmission satellite time information indicating a satellite time that is a time of a positioning satellite at which a frame is transmitted from the communication base station, and a basis of a transmission time of the frame generated by the communication base station, Time information acquisition means for acquiring time information including transmission time error information indicating an error in the transmission time generated based on frequency shift information indicating a shift of the fundamental frequency,
Based on the positioning accuracy information, selected time information acquisition means for selecting the time information and acquiring selected time information;
A communication base station characterized by comprising:   4. The communication base station according to claim 3, wherein the positioning accuracy information includes information indicating a positioning accuracy decrease rate defined by an arrangement of the positioning satellites in the sky.   The communication base station according to claim 3, wherein the positioning accuracy information includes information indicating a positioning error. The positioning accuracy information has an open sky area information storage means for storing open sky area information indicating an open sky area,
The positioning accuracy information includes information indicating a positioning position of the information providing device,
6. The time information selection unit is configured to select the time information depending on whether or not the positioning position is within the open sky region. Communication base station. A positioning position information generating step in which an information providing apparatus capable of communicating with a communication base station that mediates communication of a terminal apparatus generates positioning position information indicating the position of the information providing apparatus based on satellite radio waves from a positioning satellite;
The information providing apparatus generates positioning accuracy information indicating positioning accuracy in the positioning position information generating step, and a positioning accuracy information generating step.
The information providing apparatus transmits a positioning accuracy information to the communication base station, the positioning accuracy information transmitting step;
The information providing device generates satellite time information indicating satellite time that is the time of the positioning satellite based on the satellite radio wave from the positioning satellite;
A frame receiving step in which the information providing apparatus receives a frame including transmission time information indicating a transmission time from the communication base station;
Based on the satellite time at which the information providing apparatus received the specific frame, base station position information indicating the position of the communication base station, and information providing apparatus position information indicating the position of the information providing apparatus, A transmission satellite time information generating step for generating transmission satellite time information indicating the satellite time at which the frame was transmitted;
The information providing apparatus includes a base frequency that is a basis of the transmission time generated by the communication base station, information indicating a relationship between the base frequency and a reference frequency of the communication radio wave, and a communication radio wave of the communication base station. Transmission time error information for generating frequency shift information indicating a shift of the fundamental frequency based on a reception frequency, and generating transmission time error information indicating an error of the transmission time based on the frequency shift information Generation step;
A time information transmission step in which the information providing device transmits time information including the transmission satellite time information and the transmission time error information to the communication base station;
A method for controlling an information providing apparatus, comprising: On the computer,
A positioning position information generating step in which an information providing apparatus capable of communicating with a communication base station that mediates communication of a terminal apparatus generates positioning position information indicating the position of the information providing apparatus based on satellite radio waves from a positioning satellite;
The information providing apparatus generates positioning accuracy information indicating positioning accuracy in the positioning position information generating step, and a positioning accuracy information generating step.
The information providing apparatus transmits a positioning accuracy information to the communication base station, the positioning accuracy information transmitting step;
The information providing device generates satellite time information indicating satellite time that is the time of the positioning satellite based on the satellite radio wave from the positioning satellite;
A frame receiving step in which the information providing apparatus receives a frame including transmission time information indicating a transmission time from the communication base station;
Based on the satellite time at which the information providing apparatus received the specific frame, base station position information indicating the position of the communication base station, and information providing apparatus position information indicating the position of the information providing apparatus, A transmission satellite time information generating step for generating transmission satellite time information indicating the satellite time at which the frame was transmitted;
The information providing apparatus includes a base frequency that is a basis of the transmission time generated by the communication base station, information indicating a relationship between the base frequency and a reference frequency of the communication radio wave, and a communication radio wave of the communication base station. Transmission time error information for generating frequency shift information indicating a shift of the fundamental frequency based on a reception frequency, and generating transmission time error information indicating an error of the transmission time based on the frequency shift information Generation step;
A time information transmission step in which the information providing device transmits time information including the transmission satellite time information and the transmission time error information to the communication base station;
A control program for an information providing apparatus, characterized in that

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