JP2006254223A - Position information management apparatus, position information management method, position information management program, computer-readable recording medium, and position information management system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To distribute a load imposed on arithmetic processing for calculation of position information or the like. <P>SOLUTION: A position information management server for managing position information of an object capable of being specified by detecting an active tag provided in the object by a reader includes: a storage section for storing prescribed information transmitted from the reader; a reception processing section for carrying out processing of receiving the prescribed information from the reader having detected the active tag; a tag information management section for storing the received prescribed information into the storage section; and a position information acquisition section for acquiring the position information denoting the position of the active tag having transmitted the prescribed information, on the basis of the stored prescribed information. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a position information management device, a position information management method, a position information management program, a computer-readable recording medium, and a position information management system, and particularly at a time when information is transmitted from a portable information storage medium. The present invention relates to a technique for acquiring position information regardless.

  Conventionally, indoor person and thing position information that can be identified from a signal received from a radio tag such as an RFID tag can be used in various applications such as article management and entrance / exit management.

  Therefore, a technique has been proposed in which information from a plurality of terminal devices such as a wireless tag and a PHS is acquired and processed collectively. By managing the positions collectively, it becomes possible for various applications to easily use the position information (for example, Patent Document 1).

  In the invention described in Patent Document 1, the position information of the terminal device is transmitted from the position information processing server when the application server requests the position information processing server to transmit the position information. Thereby, the application server can obtain position information.

JP 2002-315032 A

  However, in the invention described in Patent Document 1, the timing for detecting the radio wave transmitted from the wireless tag and converting it into position information is not specifically described. If so, it can be considered that the position information is calculated when the transmitted radio wave is detected. In this case, when information on a plurality of tags is transmitted from a detection station that detects radio waves at substantially the same timing, position calculation is performed almost simultaneously with data reception.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above, and includes a position information management device, a position information management method, a position information management program, a computer-readable recording medium, and a position information management system in which the processing load is distributed. The purpose is to provide.

  In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, the invention according to claim 1 is a position that manages position information of an object that can be identified by a detection device detecting a portable information storage medium provided in the object. In the information management device, a reception processing means for performing processing for receiving predetermined information from the detection device, a storage means for storing the predetermined information received by the reception processing means, and the predetermined information stored by the storage means And a position acquisition means for acquiring position information indicating the position of the portable information storage medium.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the position acquisition unit obtains the position information based on the predetermined information stored in the storage unit for each predetermined execution time. It is characterized by acquiring.

  The invention according to claim 3 is the invention according to claim 2, wherein the position acquisition means is a predetermined number indicating the interval for acquiring the position information by the number of detected portable information storage media. The position information is acquired on the basis of the predetermined information stored by the storage means for each execution time excluding the acquisition time.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to the second aspect, the position acquisition means stores the memory for each execution time determined based on an interval at which the portable information storage medium transmits a signal. The position information is acquired based on the predetermined information stored by the means.

  The invention according to claim 5 is the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein when the position information is acquired by the position acquisition means, the acquired position information is transferred to another application or process. And a notification processing means for performing a process of notifying to.

  The invention according to claim 6 is the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the storage means acquires the acquired position information when the position acquisition means acquires the position information. A request receiving unit that stores and receives a request to output the position information from another application or process; and the position stored in the storage unit when the request to output the position information is received by the request receiving unit. Notification processing means for performing processing for notifying information to the other application or process.

  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the positional information management method for managing positional information of an object that can be identified by detecting a portable information storage medium provided in the object, the predetermined information is received from the detecting device. A receiving process step for performing a receiving process; a storing step for storing the predetermined information received in the receiving process step; and a position of the portable information storage medium based on the predetermined information stored in the storing step. A position acquisition step of acquiring position information to be shown.

  The invention according to claim 8 is the invention according to claim 7, wherein, in the position acquisition step, the position information is obtained based on the predetermined information stored in the storage step for each predetermined execution time. It is characterized by acquiring.

  The invention according to claim 9 is the invention according to claim 8, wherein the position acquisition step is a predetermined number indicating the interval for acquiring the position information by the number of detected portable information storage media. The position information is acquired based on the predetermined information stored in the storage step for each execution time excluding the acquisition time.

  According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to the eighth aspect, the location acquisition step stores the memory for each execution time determined based on an interval at which the portable information storage medium transmits a signal. The position information is acquired based on the predetermined information stored in the step.

  The invention according to claim 11 is the invention according to any one of claims 7 to 10, wherein when the position information is acquired by the position acquisition step, the acquired position information is transferred to another application or process. And a notification processing step for performing a process of notifying to.

  The invention according to claim 12 is the invention according to any one of claims 7 to 10, wherein the storing step acquires the position information when the position information is acquired by the position acquiring step. A request receiving step for storing and receiving a request for outputting the position information from another application or process, and the position stored in the storing step when the request for outputting the position information is received in the request receiving step. A notification processing step for performing processing for notifying information to the other application or process.

  The invention according to claim 13 is characterized in that the location information management method according to any one of claims 7 to 12 is executed by a computer.

  The invention according to claim 14 is a computer-readable recording medium storing the positional information management program according to claim 13.

  According to a fifteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a portable information storage medium provided for an object existing in an area from which position information is acquired, and the portable information storage without contact with the portable information storage medium. A position information management system comprising: a detection device that detects a medium; and a position information management device that manages position information that manages position information of an object that includes the detected portable information storage medium. The management device is based on reception processing means for performing processing for receiving predetermined information from the detection device, storage means for storing the predetermined information received by the reception processing means, and the predetermined information stored by the storage means. And position acquisition means for acquiring position information indicating the position of the portable information storage medium.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the positional information is acquired regardless of the time when the predetermined information is received from the detection device, even when the predetermined information indicating a plurality of portable storage media is received in a concentrated manner. Since the position information can be calculated without any problem, it is possible to distribute the processing load.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the position information is obtained every predetermined execution time, the calculation processing load is not biased by time, so the calculation processing load is reduced. There is an effect that it can be dispersed.

  According to the invention of claim 3, the calculation interval time is obtained by acquiring the position information for each execution interval obtained by dividing the predetermined calculation interval time by the number of detected portable information storage media. Since the position information of all the portable information storage media can be acquired, the load of the arithmetic processing can be distributed and the accurate position information of the portable information storage medium can be acquired.

  According to the invention of claim 4, since the position information is acquired at every execution interval determined based on the interval at which the portable information storage medium is detected, the load of the arithmetic processing may be biased with time. As a result, there is an effect that the processing load can be distributed.

  According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, when the position acquisition unit acquires the position information, the process of notifying the acquired position information is performed so that the position information can be received even when the predetermined information is received in a concentrated manner. As long as the information acquisition is performed in a distributed manner, the processing for notifying the location information is also performed in a distributed manner, so that the load of the notification processing can be distributed.

  According to the invention of claim 6, it is necessary to calculate the position information every time a request for notification of position information is received by storing the position information and performing a process of notifying the position information in response to the request. Therefore, there is an effect that the processing load can be distributed.

  According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, since the positional information is acquired regardless of the time when the predetermined information is received from the detection device, even when the predetermined information indicating a plurality of portable storage media is received in a concentrated manner, Since the position information can be calculated without any problem, it is possible to distribute the processing load.

  According to the invention according to claim 8, since the position information is obtained every predetermined execution time, the calculation processing load is not biased depending on the time. There is an effect that it can be dispersed.

  According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, the calculation interval time is obtained by acquiring the position information for each execution interval obtained by dividing the predetermined calculation interval time by the number of detected portable information storage media. Since the position information of all the portable information storage media can be acquired, the load of the arithmetic processing can be distributed and the accurate position information of the portable information storage medium can be acquired.

  According to the tenth aspect of the present invention, the position information is acquired at every execution interval determined based on the interval at which the portable information storage medium is detected. As a result, there is an effect that the processing load can be distributed.

  According to the eleventh aspect of the present invention, when the position acquisition unit acquires the position information, the process of notifying the acquired position information is performed, so that the position information can be received even when the predetermined information is received in a concentrated manner. As long as the information acquisition is performed in a distributed manner, the processing for notifying the location information is also performed in a distributed manner, so that the load of the notification processing can be distributed.

  According to the twelfth aspect of the present invention, it is necessary to calculate the position information every time a request for notification of position information is received by storing the position information and notifying the position information in response to the request. Therefore, there is an effect that the processing load can be distributed.

  According to the invention of claim 13, the position information management method described in any one of claims 7 to 12 can be realized by using a computer by causing the computer to read and execute the method. The same effects as those of the position information management methods are achieved.

  According to a fourteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a recording medium storing the positional information management program according to the thirteenth aspect, and the positional information management program is executed by causing the computer to read the recording medium. There is an effect that is possible.

  According to the fifteenth aspect of the present invention, since the position information is acquired regardless of the time when the predetermined information is received from the detection device, even when the predetermined information indicating a plurality of portable storage media is received in a concentrated manner. Since the position information can be calculated regardless of the above, there is an effect that the processing load can be distributed.

  Exemplary embodiments of a position information management device, a position information management method, a position information management program, a computer-readable recording medium, and a position information management system according to the present invention will be explained in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. To do.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a location information management system according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the position information management system according to the present embodiment, active tags 161a to 161n provided to an object, readers 151a to 151n that receive identification signals transmitted from the active tags 161a to 161n, and readers 151a to 151n. The location information management server 100 is connected to. As shown in this figure, the readers 151a to 151n detect signals output from the active tags 161a to 161n. The readers 151a to 151n transmit the information included in the detected identification signal and the measured signal strength to the positional information management server 100 connected through the network. Then, the location information management server 100 transmits, for each application, information acquired based on the transmitted information and the measured signal strength.

  In this embodiment, the object includes not only an object but also a person. As a result, the tag is detected in various situations, for example, the user holds the active tag 161l, the active tag 161m is provided on an object such as a PHS held by the user, and the active tag 161n is provided on a package to be loaded. Thus, the processing described later can be performed.

  In other words, the active tags 161a to 161n correspond to portable information storage media and are provided for each object. In the present embodiment, the active tags 161a to 161n transmit identification signals every second by radio waves. In this embodiment, the portable information storage medium is not limited to a tag that actively transmits radio waves, and may be a passive one, for example. As a more specific example, communication may be performed using a passive RFID tag or the Bluetooth standard or ZigBee standard that actively emits radio waves.

  In other words, the readers 151a to 151n correspond to detection devices. When receiving the identification signals from the active tags 161a to 161n, the tags included in the received identification signals at the address and port indicating the location information management server 100 The ID and the measured signal strength are transmitted and associated with the reader IDs of the readers 151a to 151n in the position information management server 100. The reader ID can be specified from the correspondence between the reader ID and the reader address. The address of the source reader can be specified from the source address included in the header of the packet used when sending the information.

  Further, as a form different from the present embodiment, the readers 151a to 151n may transmit the above information in association with the reader IDs indicating the readers 151a to 151n.

  FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram conceptually showing the overall configuration of the location information management server 100 of the present invention. Each reader 151a-c transmits the detected identification signal together with the signal strength to the position information management server 100 via the network, and the position information management server 100 acquires the position information of the object based on the received information. The application A201 to application D204 are notified through the network. The notifications for the applications A201 to D204 are transmitted every predetermined time, or when there is a request from each application.

  Returning to FIG. 1, the location information management server 100 includes a storage unit 101, a reception processing unit 102, a tag information management unit 103, a location information acquisition unit 104, a location information DB management unit 105, and notification information generation. Unit 106, a notification processing unit 107, and a request receiving unit 108. After storing the identification signals and measured signal strengths transmitted from the readers 151a to 151n, the position information of the object is calculated, and the position information is obtained. The included notification information is generated and notified to another application, or the calculated position information is stored, and when there is a request from another application, the notification information including the position information is generated and notified.

  The storage unit 101 stores a device database 111, a position information database 112, and a transmission destination address. The transmission destination address is an address indicating a transmission destination to which notification information including position information is transmitted every time position information is acquired.

  The device database 111 holds a reader position management table and a tag signal management table. FIG. 3 shows the structure of the reader position management table. As shown in the figure, the reader position management table holds a reader ID, reader position information, reader address, and reader coordinate system in association with each other. By associating the reader ID with the address of the reader, the reader ID can be specified from the address of the reader of the information transmission source.

  Thereby, the coordinate system and the position information of the reader can be specified based on the reader ID. The coordinate system is a coordinate system used to indicate the position of the reader in position coordinates, and a different coordinate system is defined for each region. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that a different coordinate system is assigned to each floor. For this reason, the “coordinate system” field holds the rank.

  FIG. 4 shows the structure of the tag signal management table. As shown in the figure, the tag signal management table holds a tag ID, a reader ID, a signal intensity, and a detection time in association with each other. That is, the tag signal management table manages information in which detection time is associated with information transmitted from the readers 151a to 151n as a record. The tag ID is an ID used for specifying the object provided with the active tags 161a to 161n.

  The location information database 112 holds an ID location management table. FIG. 5 shows the structure of the ID location management table. As shown in the figure, the ID position management table holds a tag ID, a coordinate system, position information, and a detection time in association with each other. Each record held by the ID position management table is generated based on the record held by the reader position management table and the tag signal management table.

  The reception processing unit 102 performs processing for receiving information transmitted from the readers 151a to 151n. In the present embodiment, the reception processing unit 102 receives the tag ID and the measured signal strength received from the readers 151a to 151n via the network. When receiving, the IP address of the reader can be specified by referring to the header of the received packet. The tag ID, signal strength, and reader IP address are predetermined information transmitted from the readers 151a to 151n, in other words, correspond to predetermined information. The reception processing unit 102 requests the tag information management unit 103 to update the tag signal management table with information in which detection times are associated with the received information. The detection time is the time when the readers 151a to 151n are considered to detect the active tags 161a to 161n, in other words, the current time when the tag ID or the like is received from the readers 151a to 151n.

  The tag information management unit 103 performs processing on each table held in the device DB. In the present embodiment, the tag information management unit 103 refers to the reader position management table, identifies the reader ID from the reader IP address input from the reception processing unit 102, and inputs the specified reader ID. The corresponding record is updated using the information in which the tag ID, the signal intensity, and the detection time are associated with each other using the reader ID and tag ID of the tag signal management table as a key. Thereby, in the tag signal management table, the latest information on the signal intensity and the detection time associated with the reader ID and the tag ID is held.

  Further, the tag information management unit 103 extracts and outputs the number of unique tag IDs held in the tag signal management table in response to a request from the position information acquisition unit 104. Further, the tag information management unit 103 outputs a tag ID from the tag signal management table in association with the reader ID, the signal strength, and the detection time at every predetermined time in response to a request from the position information acquisition unit 104. At this time, the position information associated with the output reader ID is acquired from the reader position management table and output. In the present embodiment, the predetermined time is 3 seconds.

  Further, the tag information management unit 103 sets and updates the reader ID and the tag ID as keys when updating the record as described above. If the record is not updated, the record is held for a certain time. In the present embodiment, this fixed time is 3 seconds. Accordingly, for example, it is assumed that a predetermined active tag is detected by the reader 151a, the reader 151b, and the reader 151c one second ago. Then, when detected only by the reader 151a and the reader 151b this time, the record associated with the reader ID indicating the reader 151a and the reader 151b is updated, and the record associated with the reader ID indicating the reader 151c is 1 second. Previous information is retained.

  As a result, if the reader detects the tag once or more within 3 seconds, the record associated with the reader ID indicating this reader can be set as the position information calculation target. That is, the position information can be calculated even when a signal from the active tag cannot be detected temporarily due to some trouble.

  The position information acquisition unit 104 acquires a reader ID, a signal intensity, and a detection time associated with the tag ID held in the tag signal management table from the tag information management unit 103 every 3 seconds as a time for acquiring new position information. In addition, the coordinate system and position information associated with the reader ID held in the reader position management table are acquired. Then, the position information acquisition unit 104 calculates position information for each detected active tag for each time interval obtained by dividing the time interval for acquiring predetermined position information by the number of detected tag IDs. Thereby, the position information of all the active tags detected in 3 seconds can be acquired. Note that 3 seconds in the present embodiment corresponds to a predetermined time for acquiring position information, in other words, an acquisition time.

  Further, the position information acquisition unit 104 outputs the position information and the detection time associated with the tag ID indicating the active tag for which the position information has been acquired, to the position information DB management unit 105 and the notification information generation unit 106. In the present embodiment, the position information acquisition unit 104 sends the tag ID, position information, and coordinate system to the position information DB management unit 105 and the notification information generation unit 106 every time it acquires the position information of one detected active tag. Etc. are output in association with each other. Further, when outputting to the notification information generation unit 106, a request to generate notification information is also made. Accordingly, the notification information generation unit 106 can generate notification information using the acquisition of position information as a trigger.

  In addition, a method by which the position information acquisition unit 104 specifies position information will be described. For example, when there is only one reader that detects the active tag 161b, the coordinate system and position information of the detected reader are used as a coordinate system and position information indicating the position of the active tag 161b. In addition, as a method for calculating the position information of the active tag 161c when there are a plurality of readers that have detected the active tag 161c, any method among various methods may be used. As a calculation method of the position information, an average value of the detected position information of the reader, or a method of taking an average value after weighting the detected position information of the reader with a signal intensity, or the like can be considered.

  Further, the position information acquisition unit 104 determines an interval for calculating the position information every 3 seconds, and the tag information management unit 103 holds information for 3 seconds or more as described above. Thereby, the position information acquisition unit 104 can calculate the position information based on the updated information even in a radio wave situation in which the reader can receive a signal transmitted from the active tag only once every three times.

  Then, the position information acquisition unit 104 performs processing by distributing calculation of the position information of the detected active tag for 3 seconds.

  First, the position information acquisition unit 104 acquires the number of tag IDs currently detected from the tag information management unit 103 every 3 seconds. The position information acquisition unit 104 then reads the reader ID, signal intensity, and detection time associated with the tag ID detected within 3 seconds held in the tag signal management table from the tag information management unit 103 every 3 seconds. To get. Further, the position information acquisition unit 104 acquires a coordinate system and position information associated with the reader ID acquired from the tag information management unit 103. Note that the number of detected tag IDs acquired from the tag information management unit 103 is extracted from the tag IDs held in the tag signal management table.

  The position information acquisition unit 104 calculates position information for one tag ID at every calculation interval obtained by dividing 3 seconds by the number of tag IDs acquired. Note that this calculation interval is a time indicating the time at which the position information calculation process is executed, and in other words, corresponds to the execution time. Thereby, the position information of all the detected active tags can be acquired in 3 seconds, and the processing load can be distributed.

  The position information DB management unit 105 performs processing on each table held in the position information database 112. In the present embodiment, the position information DB management unit 105, when the position information, coordinate system, and detection time associated with the tag ID are input from the position information acquisition unit 104, the input tag ID, position information, The ID information management table is updated with the coordinate system and detection time as one record.

  In addition, the location information DB management unit 105, when a request to transmit location information together with a transmission destination and a transmission condition is input from the request reception unit 108, which will be described later, records satisfying the conditions for transmission from the ID location management table And the acquired record information is output to the notification information generation unit 106 together with the input destination and a request to generate notification information.

  The notification information generation unit 106 generates notification information based on the information input together with the request for generating the notification information, and outputs it to the notification processing unit 107 together with the transmission destination. In the present embodiment, the notification information generation unit 106 receives a request for generating notification information from the position information acquisition unit 104 or the position information DB management unit 105. Further, the notification information generation unit 106 generates notification information from the input tag ID, detection time, coordinate system, and position information.

  In addition, when a request for generating notification information is input from the position information DB management unit 105, the notification information generation unit 106 displays the transmission destination input from the position information DB management unit 105 together with the generated notification information. It outputs to 107.

  In addition, when a request for generating notification information is input from the position information acquisition unit 104, the notification information generation unit 106 acquires a transmission destination address stored in the storage unit 101, and notifies the acquired transmission destination together with the notification information. The data is output to the processing unit 107.

  When the notification information and the transmission destination are input from the notification information generation unit 106, the notification processing unit 107 performs a process of transmitting the notification information to the transmission destination. Any method may be used for transmission.

  As a transmission method, for example, “HTTP-GET” or “SOAP” may be used as a transmission protocol. Further, the transmission method may be changed for each transmission destination. When changing the transmission method, for example, the storage unit 101 may store the transmission destination and the transmission method in association with each other in advance.

  Further, when performing processing to be transmitted from the notification processing unit 107, encryption processing may be performed. By this encryption processing, the location information management server 100 is encrypted between the application and information leakage can be prevented. Any process may be used for the encryption process, such as Ipsec, https, SSL, or DES.

  The request reception unit 108 receives a request for transmitting position information from an application or process connected to the position information management server 100, and performs processing for outputting position information suitable for the request. In addition, the request receiving unit 108 receives a request for transmitting information from another application and a transmission condition. When a request is received from another application, the request reception unit 108 determines the application that requested transmission as a transmission destination, and sends a request to transmit the transmission destination, transmission conditions, and position information to the position information DB management unit. To 105.

  Next, processing from reception of information such as a tag ID to notification of notification information to the application in the position information management server 100 according to the present embodiment configured as described above will be described. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a procedure of the above-described processing in the location information management server 100 according to the present embodiment.

  First, the reception processing unit 102 receives information such as the tag IDs of the active tags 161a to 161n detected by the readers 151a to 151n from the readers 151a to 151n (step S601).

  Then, the tag information management unit 103 updates the tag signal management table in association with the tag ID received by the reception processing unit 102, the reader ID of the received reader, the signal intensity, and the detection time (step S602).

  Next, the position information acquisition unit 104 acquires the number of tag IDs held in the tag signal management table as the number of detected tags from the tag information management unit 103 every 3 seconds (step S603).

  Then, the position information acquisition unit 104 calculates position information of one active tag among the detected active tags for each time obtained by dividing 3 seconds by the number of tags acquired in step S603 (step S604). That is, the position information of all active tags detected in 3 seconds is acquired.

  Next, the position information DB management unit 105 updates the ID position management table with a record in which the tag ID, the position information, and the detection time calculated in step S604 are associated (step S605).

  The notification information generation unit 106 generates notification information based on the information input together with the request for generating the notification information, and outputs the notification information together with the transmission destination to the notification processing unit 107 (step S606). In addition, the notification information generation unit 106 acquires the transmission destination address stored in the storage unit 101 and outputs the acquired transmission destination to the notification processing unit 107 together with the notification information.

  Next, the notification processing unit 107 performs processing for notifying the generated notification information to the transmission destination input together with the notification information (step S607).

  With the above-described processing procedure, it is possible to transmit the position information of the active tags 161a to 161n updated every predetermined time while distributing the load. The above-described processing procedure shows an example of the processing procedure from reception of information such as a tag ID according to the present embodiment to generation of notification information and notification processing. The processing procedure is not limited.

  Next, a processing procedure for calculating position information by the position information acquisition unit 104 according to the present embodiment configured as described above will be described. FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of the above-described processing in the position information acquisition unit 104 according to the present embodiment.

  First, the position information acquisition unit 104 acquires the number of tag IDs updated within 3 seconds held in the tag signal management table from the tag information management unit 103 (step S701). Only when the number of tag IDs is not 0, the processing after step S702 is performed. If the number of tag IDs is 0, the process starts again from step S701 after 3 seconds.

  Next, the position information acquisition unit 104 acquires the reader ID, signal strength, and detection time associated with the tag ID held in the tag signal management table from the tag information management unit 103, and further acquires the reader ID The position information associated with is acquired (step S702).

  Then, the position information acquisition unit 104 obtains a calculation interval by dividing 3 seconds by the number of tag IDs in step S701 (step S703).

  Next, the position information acquisition unit 104 determines whether or not calculation of position information for all tag IDs has been completed (step S704). If it is determined that the position information of all the tag IDs has been calculated (step S704: Yes), the process starts from step S701.

  If it is determined that the position information of all the tag IDs has not been calculated (step S704: No), the position information acquisition unit 104 calculates the position information for one tag ID (step S705).

  Then, when the position calculation result is obtained, the position information acquisition unit 104 outputs the position information as the calculation result to the notification information generation unit 106 in association with the tag ID, the detection time, and the coordinate system (step S706). At this time, the position information acquisition unit 104 also outputs position information to the position information DB management unit 105 in association with the above information.

  Next, the position information acquisition unit 104 waits for the time indicated by the calculation interval (step S707). Then, the position information acquisition unit 104 resumes the process from step S704 after waiting.

  According to the processing procedure described above, it is possible to output the calculated position information to the notification information generation unit 106 while distributing the processing. The above-described processing procedure shows an example of the processing procedure from when the number of tag IDs according to the present embodiment is acquired until the calculated position information is output to the notification information generating unit 106. Is not limited to this procedure.

  Next, an example of the input / output flow of the above-described configuration will be described. First, an example in which the active tag 161a is detected by the readers 151a to 151c will be described. FIG. 8 is a sequence diagram showing a processing procedure from detection of the active tag 161a by the readers 151a to 151c to generation and output of notification information. In the example shown in this figure, the active tag detected is only the active tag 161a, and the application set as the transmission destination address is only the application A.

  Here, a sequence diagram will be described. Each rectangle arranged in the upper part of FIG. 8 shows the configuration as an object. A line extending downward from each object is a line (lifeline) indicating that each object is alive, and time is considered to flow from the top to the bottom. An elongated rectangle present on this line indicates a period during which the object is actually active (active period). Horizontal arrows connecting the lifelines indicate input / output by the object.

  As shown in FIG. 8, when a signal is transmitted from the active tag 161a, the readers 151a to 151c detect the signal from the active tag 161a (steps S801 to S803).

  Then, each reader 151a-c associates the tag ID and signal intensity of the detected active tag with the reader ID indicating the reader itself, and outputs it to the reception processing unit 102 (steps S804 to S806).

  Next, when receiving the tag ID, the signal strength, and the reader ID from the readers 151a to 151c, the reception processing unit 102 associates the current time with the detected time as the detection time and outputs the information to the tag information management unit 103 (step S807). To Step S809). The tag information management unit 103 updates the tag signal management table with the input information.

  Then, the tag information management unit 103 receives a request to output information of the tag signal management table from the position information acquisition unit 104 (step S810). Then, the tag information management unit 103 outputs the number of tag IDs and information associated with the tag ID to the position information acquisition unit 104 (step S811).

  Next, the position information acquisition unit 104 calculates position information associated with the tag ID from the input information (step S812). In the example shown in the figure, the position information calculated by the position information acquisition unit 104 is the position information of the active tag 161a.

  Then, the position information acquisition unit 104 outputs the calculated position information to the position information DB management unit 105 in association with the tag ID (step S813). Next, the position information acquisition unit 104 outputs the calculated position information to the notification information generation unit 106 in association with the tag ID (step S814).

  Then, the notification information generation unit 106 generates notification information from the input tag ID, position information, and the like (step S815). Next, the notification processing unit 107 notifies the generated notification information to the application A (step S816).

  Next, a case where a request for outputting position information from the application B is received will be described. The request receiving unit 108 receives a position information transmission request from the application B (step S817). At this time, the request receiving unit 108 also receives the conditions of the position information to be transmitted at the same time.

  Then, when receiving a transmission request, the request reception unit 108 sets the application B as a transmission destination and requests the positional information DB management unit 105 to transmit the positional information (step S818).

  Next, when the location information DB management unit 105 receives the request, the location information DB management unit 105 acquires information satisfying the condition from the ID location management table, and outputs the acquired information to the notification information generation unit 106 together with the transmission destination that received the information. Then, a request is made to generate notification information (step S819).

  Then, upon receiving a request for generating notification information, the notification information generation unit 106 generates notification information from the received information, and outputs the generated notification information together with the transmission destination to the notification processing unit 107 (step S820).

  The notification processing unit 107 performs processing for transmitting the received notification information to the transmission destination (step S821).

  In addition, since the active tag 161a transmits a signal regardless of whether or not a request for position information is received from the application B, the readers 151a to 151c receive the signal as in the above-described steps S801 to S809. After that, the tag information management unit 103 performs processing until the tag signal management table is updated (steps S822 to S836).

  According to the processing procedure described above, it is possible to output the calculated position information to the notification information generation unit 106 while distributing the processing. In addition, even when a request for notification of position information is received from another application, such as application B, notification information is generated using information stored in the ID position management table, so it is necessary to newly acquire position information. The notification information including the position information can be generated and transmitted immediately. As a result, the load is reduced and transmission can be performed immediately.

  Further, as shown in steps S822 to S836, even when the radio wave condition is bad and the readers 151a to 151c cannot detect the signal of the active tag 161a, they are received once within 3 seconds and stored in the tag signal management table. If so, the position information can be calculated. In the example shown in this sequence diagram, the input of step S828 is used as the signal detected by the reader 151a, the input of step S834 is used as the signal detected by the reader 151b, and the input of step S823 is used as the signal detected by the reader 151c. Thus, the position information can be calculated based on the predetermined information received from the three readers 151a to 151c that have detected the active tag 161a.

  Then, as shown in steps S810 to S816, position information is calculated, notification information is generated and transmitted to the application A (steps S837 to S843).

  The above-described processing procedure shows an example of the processing procedure from when the number of tag IDs according to the present embodiment is acquired until the calculated position information is output to the notification information generating unit 106. Is not limited to this procedure.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of a PC that executes a program for realizing the function of the location information management server 100. The PC 900 according to the present embodiment includes a control device such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 901, a storage device such as a ROM (Read Only Memory) 902 and a RAM (Random Access Memory) 903, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), a CD. (Compact Disk) An external storage device 904 such as a drive device, a display device 905 such as a display device, an input device 906 such as a keyboard and a mouse, a communication interface 907 connected to a network, and a bus 908 connecting them. And has a hardware configuration using a normal computer.

  The location information management program executed by the location information management server 100 of the present embodiment is a file in an installable format or an executable format, and is a CD-ROM, flexible disk (FD), CD-R, DVD (Digital Versatile Disk). And the like recorded on a computer-readable recording medium.

  Further, the location information management program executed by the location information management server 100 of the present embodiment may be provided by being stored on a computer connected to a network such as the Internet and downloaded via the network. Good. Further, the location information management program executed by the location information management server 100 of the present embodiment may be configured to be provided or distributed via a network such as the Internet.

  Further, the position information management program according to the present embodiment may be provided by being incorporated in advance in a ROM or the like.

  The location information management program executed by the location information management server 100 according to the present embodiment includes the above-described units (reception processing unit, tag information management unit, location information acquisition unit, location information DB management unit, notification information generation unit, notification It is a module configuration including a processing unit and a request receiving unit), and as the actual hardware, the CPU reads the location information management program from the recording medium and executes it to load each unit on the main storage device, A reception processing unit, a tag information management unit, a location information acquisition unit, a location information DB management unit, a notification information generation unit, a notification processing unit, and a request reception unit are generated on the main storage device.

  In the present embodiment, the position information of all the active tags 161a to 161n is updated every 3 seconds, but this update interval is not limited to 3 seconds.

  In the present embodiment, the transmission destination is not limited to an application, but may be transmitted to a process or another device.

  As described above, regardless of the interval transmitted from the active tags 161a to 161n, the position information is calculated for each calculation interval obtained by dividing the predetermined time indicating the update interval for acquiring the position information by the number of detected active tags. By acquiring, the load for calculating the position information can be distributed. Further, since all the position information is updated every predetermined time for acquiring the position information, it is possible to acquire accurate position information for every predetermined time.

  Further, since the position information is calculated after holding predetermined information including information such as the tag ID transmitted from the active tags 161a to 161n in the tag signal management table, the signal cannot be detected due to a radio interference or the like. Even in such a case, the position information can be calculated using the previously stored predetermined information. When there are a plurality of readers, for example, at a certain timing, predetermined information transmitted from a predetermined active tag is received from three readers, but at the next timing, it cannot be received from two readers due to radio interference or the like. Even in this case, since the position information can be calculated using the information detected by the reader last time as the information of the reader that could not be detected this time, the position information can be calculated more accurately.

(Modification)
Moreover, it is not limited to each embodiment mentioned above, The various deformation | transformation which is illustrated below is possible.

(Modification 1)
In the embodiment described above, the position information of one active tag is calculated at every calculation interval obtained by dividing a predetermined time (for example, 3 seconds) by the number of detected tag IDs as a procedure for calculating the position information. However, the position information may be calculated by another procedure. Therefore, in this modification, as an example different from the above-described embodiment, a case where the interval for calculating the position information is different for each tag ID is described.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a table structure of a calculation interval management table in which tag IDs held in the device DB stored in the storage unit of the location information management server of the present modification are associated with tag calculation intervals. As shown in the figure, the position information is calculated for the tag ID associated with the tag calculation interval when the position calculation interval has passed since the previous position information was calculated.

  That is, in the example of the calculation interval management table shown in FIG. 10, the position information is calculated when 1 second or more has elapsed when the tag ID is TAGID0001 and when 3 seconds or more have elapsed for TAGID0002. For TAGID0003 and TAGID0004, position information is calculated when 30 seconds or more have elapsed.

  In the present modification, the position information acquisition unit determines an interval for calculating position information every predetermined time (for example, 3 seconds). In this case, the number of tag IDs that have passed more than the tag calculation interval since the previous position information was calculated after 3 seconds have elapsed after the calculation interval was determined is acquired. Then, the position information of one tag ID is acquired at every calculation interval obtained by dividing this 3 seconds by the number of tag IDs.

  For example, when the position information acquisition unit determines the interval for calculating the position information, the predetermined time is set to every 3 seconds. In this case, the position information of TAGID0001 and TAGID0002 is calculated every time. TAGID0003 is excluded from the target when only 14 seconds have elapsed since the previous position information is calculated, and TAGID0004 calculates the previous position information. If 31 seconds have passed since then, it is determined as a target. That is, TAGID0001, TAGID0002, and TAGID0004 are to be calculated. Then, the position information acquisition unit calculates position information of one tag ID that is a target to be calculated every second obtained by dividing 3 seconds by 3.

  This makes it possible to increase the position information calculation interval for objects such as fixed assets whose position information is not changed much, and to shorten the position information calculation interval for people whose position information changes immediately. . That is, since the amount of calculation for a tag ID whose position information is not changed can be reduced, the calculation load can be reduced. In addition, for a tag ID whose position information is changed immediately, the position information can be accurately calculated by increasing the frequency of calculating the position information.

(Modification 2)
Further, as the interval for calculating the position information, the interval for calculating the position information may be fixed in advance based on the interval at which the active tag transmits a signal. For example, when the active tag transmits a signal once every 0.1 seconds, the position information acquisition unit may calculate the position information of one active tag every 0.1 seconds as the calculation interval. In this case, when the number of detected tag IDs becomes 100 or the like, 10 seconds elapse until all the position information associated with the detected tag ID is updated. In the case of this modification, there is an advantage in that the load for calculating the position information is always constant regardless of the number of detected tag IDs.

  As described above, the position information management device, the position information management method, the position information management program, the computer-readable recording medium, and the position information management system according to the present invention are techniques for managing the received tag position information and the like. It is useful and is particularly suitable for a technique for determining an optimal calculation interval for calculating position information.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the positional infomation management system concerning embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which showed notionally the whole structure of the positional infomation management server concerning Embodiment. It is the figure which showed the structure of the reader position management table memorize | stored in the memory | storage part of the position information management server concerning embodiment. It is the figure which showed the structure of the tag signal management table memorize | stored in the memory | storage part of the positional infomation management server concerning embodiment. It is the figure which showed the structure of the ID location management table memorize | stored in the memory | storage part of the location information management server concerning embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of a process from reception of information, such as tag ID in a positional information management server concerning embodiment, to notifying notification information to an application. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence which calculates the positional information in the positional information acquisition part concerning embodiment. It is a sequence diagram which shows the process sequence after detecting the active tag 161a in the position information acquisition system concerning embodiment by reader | leaders 151a-c, and producing | generating and outputting notification information. It is the figure which showed the hardware constitutions of PC which performed the program for implement | achieving the function of the positional infomation management server concerning embodiment. It is the figure which showed the table structure of the calculation interval management table which matched tag ID and tag calculation interval which are hold | maintained by device DB memorize | stored in the memory | storage part of the positional information management server concerning the modification 1. FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Position information management server 101 Storage part 102 Reception processing part 103 Tag information management part 104 Position information acquisition part 105 Position information DB management part 106 Notification information generation part 107 Notification processing part 108 Request reception part 111 Device database 112 Position information database 151a- n Reader 161a-n Active tag 201 Application A
202 Application B
203 Application C
204 Application D
900 PC
901 CPU
902 ROM
903 RAM
904 External storage device 905 Display device 906 Input device 907 Communication interface 908 Bus

Claims (15)

In a position information management device that manages position information of an object that can be identified by a detection device detecting a portable information storage medium provided in the object,
Reception processing means for performing processing for receiving predetermined information from the detection device;
Storage means for storing the predetermined information received by the reception processing means;
Position acquisition means for acquiring position information indicating the position of the portable information storage medium based on the predetermined information stored by the storage means;
A position information management device comprising:   The position information management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the position acquisition unit acquires the position information based on the predetermined information stored in the storage unit at predetermined execution times.   The position acquisition means is stored by the storage means for each execution time excluding a predetermined acquisition time indicating an interval for acquiring the position information by the number of detected portable information storage media. The position information management apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the position information is acquired based on the predetermined information.   The position acquisition means acquires the position information based on the predetermined information stored by the storage means at each execution time determined based on an interval at which the portable information storage medium transmits a signal. The position information management device according to claim 2. Notification processing means for performing processing for notifying the acquired position information to other applications or processes when the position information is acquired by the position acquisition means;
The position information management apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: The storage means stores the acquired position information when the position information is acquired by the position acquisition means;
Request accepting means for accepting a request to output the position information from another application or process;
A notification processing means for performing processing for notifying the other application or process of the position information stored in the storage means when a request for outputting the position information is received by the request receiving means;
The position information management apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: In a position information management method for managing position information of an object that can be identified by a detection device detecting a portable information storage medium provided in the object,
A reception processing step for performing processing for receiving predetermined information from the detection device;
A storage step for storing the predetermined information received by the reception processing step;
A position acquisition step of acquiring position information indicating a position of the portable information storage medium based on the predetermined information stored in the storage step;
A location information management method comprising:   The position information management method according to claim 7, wherein the position acquisition step acquires the position information based on the predetermined information stored in the storage step every predetermined execution time.   The location acquisition step is stored by the storage step for each execution time excluding a predetermined acquisition time indicating an interval for acquiring the location information by the number of detected portable information storage media. The position information management method according to claim 8, wherein the position information is acquired based on the predetermined information.   The position acquisition step acquires the position information based on the predetermined information stored in the storage step at each execution time determined based on an interval at which the portable information storage medium transmits a signal. The position information management method according to claim 8. A notification processing step of performing a process of notifying the acquired position information to another application or process when the position information is acquired by the position acquisition step;
The position information management method according to claim 7, further comprising: The storage step stores the acquired position information when the position information is acquired by the position acquisition step;
A request receiving step for receiving a request to output the position information from another application or process;
A notification processing step of performing a process of notifying the other application or process of the position information stored in the storage step when a request for outputting the position information is received in the request reception step;
The position information management method according to claim 7, further comprising:   A location information management program that causes a computer to execute the location information management method according to any one of claims 7 to 12.   A computer-readable recording medium storing the position information management program according to claim 13. A portable information storage medium provided in an object existing in an area from which position information is to be acquired; a detection device that detects the portable information storage medium in a non-contact manner with the portable information storage medium; In addition, a position information management system that manages position information for managing position information of an object including the portable information storage medium,
The location information management device includes:
Reception processing means for performing processing for receiving predetermined information from the detection device;
Storage means for storing the predetermined information received by the reception processing means;
A position information management system comprising: position acquisition means for acquiring position information indicating the position of the portable information storage medium based on the predetermined information stored by the storage means.

Images