JP2007019575A - Terminal management apparatus, terminal management system, processing method in these, and program for causing computer to execute this method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable a terminal management apparatus to grasp the positions of terminal devices even in an environment in which a number of radio communication barriers exist. <P>SOLUTION: In order to confirm whether or not a communication terminal 20C to be searched exists within an area where the terminal management apparatus 10A can communicate, the terminal management apparatus 10A transmits a presence confirming signal to the communication terminal 20C. If a response signal to the presence confirming signal is not returned from the communication terminal 20C, it is determined that the communication terminal 20C does not exist in the area where the terminal management apparatus 10A can communicate. In this case, a searching request is transmitted from the terminal management apparatus 10A to a terminal management apparatus 10B through a cable 30. In response to this searching request, the terminal management apparatus 10B determines whether or not the communication terminal 20C exists within the area where the terminal management apparatus 10B can communicate in the same processes as the above, and then, detects the position of the communication terminal 20C and transmits a result thereof to the terminal management apparatus 10A. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a terminal management apparatus for managing communication terminals, and more particularly to a terminal management apparatus, a terminal management system, and a processing method therefor, and a method for the same in a computer. It relates to the program to be executed.

  In recent years, various devices in the home are controlled by a remote controller dedicated to the device (hereinafter abbreviated as a remote controller) from a location away from the device. This remote control transmits a predetermined command to the device by infrared rays or radio waves in response to an operation input by a user. In the future, it is expected that home appliances will become wireless in a WPAN (Wireless Personal Area Network) environment and the number of objects to be controlled by the remote controller will increase. Under such circumstances, it is convenient if a plurality of devices in the home can be managed by a single remote controller or other communication device.

As a technology for managing multiple devices with a single remote control or other communication device, the position of devices existing within the communicable range of the device is detected and the detection result is displayed as an icon on its own display screen. There has been proposed a communication device to be used. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1). This communication apparatus operates a device whose position is detected by performing an operation on an icon display on a display screen.
JP 2004-320209 A (FIG. 1)

  The above-described prior art assumes that a plurality of devices are operated by a single remote controller or other communication device. However, at present, it cannot be said that the situation where a plurality of existing devices are managed by a single remote controller or other communication device has spread to general users, and each device is controlled by a remote controller provided for each of the plurality of existing devices. It is mainstream to operate. Under such circumstances, it becomes necessary to manage the remote control provided for each of a plurality of devices.

  Moreover, although the above-mentioned prior art can grasp | ascertain the position of an apparatus in the range which can communicate with a communication apparatus, when an apparatus is located outside the range which can communicate with a communication apparatus, it cannot grasp | ascertain the position of an apparatus. In particular, in an environment where there are many walls that interfere with wireless communication, such as in the home, the communicable range of the communication device becomes narrow, and it is difficult to manage all the devices in the home. This problem also occurs when a remote controller provided for each of a plurality of devices is managed by a single communication device. That is, it is difficult to manage all remote controllers with a single communication device by wireless communication in an environment where there are many walls and the like that interfere with wireless communication as in a home.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a terminal management apparatus that grasps the position of a communication terminal even in an environment where there are many wireless communication failures.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and a first aspect thereof is a terminal management system including a first terminal management device, a second terminal management device, and a communication terminal. The first terminal management device is configured to check whether the communication terminal is within a communicable range of the first terminal management device, and the presence of the communication terminal. Search request means for requesting the second terminal management apparatus to detect the position of the search communication terminal when the communication terminal is not confirmed, and the communication detected by the second terminal management apparatus in response to the request Receiving means for receiving the position of the terminal, and display means for displaying the received position of the communication terminal; after the second terminal management apparatus receives the request, the communication terminal Communication range of the terminal management device Second presence confirmation means for confirming whether or not the communication terminal exists, position detection means for detecting the position of the communication terminal when the presence of the communication terminal is confirmed, and a result of the position detection A search request source reply unit that replies to the first terminal management device, and the communication terminal includes a presence confirmation response unit that responds to the presence confirmation transmitted from the first and second terminal management devices. Is a terminal management system. Thereby, when trying to grasp the position of a communication terminal that is not within the communicable range of the terminal management apparatus, the position is detected by another terminal management apparatus that can communicate with the communication terminal, and the position detection result is sent to the terminal management apparatus. By transmitting, the terminal management apparatus has an effect of grasping the position of the communication terminal.

  Further, the second aspect of the present invention is the presence confirmation means for confirming whether or not the search communication terminal to be searched exists in the search range of the terminal management apparatus; Position detection means for detecting the position of the search communication terminal in a predetermined area when the presence of the search communication terminal is confirmed, and position detection of the search communication terminal when the presence of the search communication terminal is not confirmed. Search request means for requesting another terminal management apparatus to perform, receiving means for receiving the position of the search communication terminal detected in the other terminal management apparatus in response to the request, and the received search communication terminal And a display means for displaying the position of the terminal management apparatus. This brings about the effect that the terminal management apparatus grasps the position of the communication terminal that is not within the communicable range of the terminal management apparatus.

  In the second aspect, the terminal management apparatus further includes an operation unit that selects the search communication terminal, and the presence check unit performs the presence check in response to the selection. Is. This brings about the effect | action of grasping | ascertaining the position of the selected communication terminal. That is, only the position of the communication terminal desired by the user can be grasped.

  Further, in the second aspect, the presence check means performs the presence check when an operation signal is received from a communication terminal. Thereby, every time a communication terminal transmits an operation signal to the terminal management device, the position of the communication terminal is grasped.

  Also, in this second aspect, when a request for position detection is received from another terminal management apparatus, a search request for returning the detection result in the position detection means to the other terminal management apparatus that has requested the position detection The apparatus further comprises original reply means. This brings about the effect | action of making the terminal management apparatus which issued the search request | requirement of the communication terminal grasp | ascertain the position of the communication terminal.

  Further, in this second aspect, the position detection means is configured to detect the distance measurement signal after the distance measurement signal for measuring the distance between the distance measurement means and the search communication terminal is transmitted to the search communication terminal. Based on the distance between the search communication terminal and the distance measuring means, two or more distance measurement means for calculating the distance between the search communication terminal and the distance measurement means based on the time until the response signal is returned And position determining means for determining the position of the search communication terminal in the area. Thus, the positional relationship between the terminal management device and the communication terminal is indicated to the terminal management device based on the time from when the distance measurement signal is transmitted from the terminal management device to when the terminal management device receives the distance measurement response signal. Bring the effect of grasping.

  In addition, the terminal management apparatus further includes a region setting unit that calculates a position of the boundary of the region based on a distance between the boundary of the region and the two or more ranging units, and sets the region. Each of the two or more distance measuring means calculates a distance between the boundary of the area and the distance measuring means in response to a request that the area transmitted from the communication terminal should be determined at the boundary of the area. It is what. This brings about the effect | action of determining the area | region which displays the position of a communication terminal based on the distance of a terminal management apparatus and the boundary of an area | region.

  Further, the display means displays a detection position of the search communication terminal in the area. This brings about the effect | action of grasping | ascertaining the specific position of a communication terminal. That is, when the area is the entire predetermined room in the house, it is possible to grasp where the communication terminal is located in the room.

  In the second aspect, the terminal management apparatus further includes battery remaining amount holding means for receiving and holding the remaining battery level of the communication terminal transmitted from the communication terminal, and the display unit includes: The remaining amount of the battery is displayed. This brings about the effect | action of displaying the battery remaining charge of a communication terminal on a terminal management apparatus.

  The terminal management apparatus further includes battery remaining amount management means for detecting that the remaining amount of the battery is equal to or less than a predetermined capacity and displaying the fact on the display means. is there. Thereby, when the battery remaining charge of a communication terminal becomes below a predetermined capacity | capacitance, the effect | action of displaying that on a terminal management apparatus is brought about.

  Further, in the second aspect, an operation means for instructing the request is further provided, and the search request means makes the request in response to the instruction. As a result, when the communication terminal is not located within the communication range of the terminal management apparatus, the other terminal management apparatus is requested to search for the communication terminal.

  Further, the third aspect of the present invention provides presence confirmation response means for responding to a confirmation inquiry as to whether or not the communication terminal is transmitted from the terminal management device, the terminal management device and the communication terminal. A distance measurement signal response means for responding to a distance measurement signal for measuring the distance to the communication terminal. This brings about the effect | action of making it respond to the inquiry of a presence confirmation from a terminal management apparatus, and a ranging signal.

  In the third aspect, the communication terminal further comprises battery remaining amount detecting means for detecting the remaining amount of the battery in the communication terminal and transmitting the remaining amount of the battery. This brings about the effect | action of making a terminal management apparatus grasp | ascertain the battery remaining charge of a communication terminal.

  Further, in the third aspect, the communication terminal is a communication terminal that performs remote operation. Thereby, even if the distance of a terminal management apparatus and the said communication terminal is separated, the effect | action of making the said communication terminal operate a terminal management apparatus is brought about.

  Moreover, the 4th side surface of this invention is a processing method in a terminal management apparatus provided with the display means to display the position of a communication terminal, Comprising: The said communication terminal exists in the range which can communicate with the said terminal management apparatus. The presence check procedure for performing the presence check in the terminal management device, the position detection procedure for detecting the location of the communication terminal when the presence of the communication terminal is confirmed, and the presence of the communication terminal have not been confirmed. A search request procedure for requesting another terminal management apparatus to detect the position of the communication terminal, and the display of the position of the communication terminal transmitted from the other terminal management apparatus that has received the request And a display procedure to be displayed on the means. This brings about the effect that the terminal management apparatus grasps the position of the communication terminal that is not within the communicable range of the terminal management apparatus.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to achieve an excellent effect of causing the terminal management device to grasp the position of the communication terminal even in an environment where there are many wireless communication failures.

  Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a terminal management system according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, as an example, the terminal management device 10A according to the embodiment of the present invention is provided on the second floor of a two-story house, and the terminal management device 10B according to the embodiment of the present invention is provided on the first floor. Assumes that. The terminal management device 10A and the terminal management device 10B are connected by a cable 30. The communication terminals 20A to 20C in the embodiment of the present invention have a function capable of wireless communication with the terminal management apparatus 10A or the terminal management apparatus 10B. The communication terminals 20A and 20B are located on the second floor and are in a range where communication with the terminal management apparatus 10A is possible. Further, the communication terminal 20C is located on the first floor and exists in a range where communication with the terminal management apparatus 10B is possible.

  The presence of the communication terminals 20A to 20C is registered in advance in the terminal management device 10A and the terminal management device 10B, and the terminal management device 10A and the terminal management device 10B manage the positions of the registered communication terminals 20A to 20C. It is. The positions of the communication terminals 20A to 20C recognized by the terminal management device 10A and the terminal management device 10B are displayed on the displays 13A and 13B provided in the terminal management device 10A and the terminal management device 10B. When the terminal management device 10A and the terminal management device 10B intend to grasp the positions of the communication terminals 20A to 20C, the terminal management device 10A and the terminal management device 10B transmit distance measurement signals for measuring the distance to the communication terminals 20A to 20C. The communication terminals 20A to 20C that have received the ranging signal return a ranging response signal that responds to the ranging signal. The terminal management device 10A and the terminal management device 10B grasp the positions of the communication terminals 20A to 20C based on the time from when the ranging signal is transmitted until the ranging response signal is received. In the embodiment of the present invention, a remote controller is assumed as the communication terminals 20A to 20C.

  In the case of a two-story house as shown in FIG. 1, if the radio signal strength of the distance measurement signal transmitted from the second floor by the terminal management apparatus 10A is weak, it may be assumed that the distance measurement signal is not received by the communication terminal 20C on the first floor. . Further, even if the distance measurement signal transmitted from the second floor by the terminal management apparatus 10A is received by the communication terminal 20C, if the radio wave intensity of the distance measurement response signal transmitted from the communication terminal 20C is weak, the terminal management on the second floor It is also assumed that the ranging response signal is not received in the device 10A. The same is assumed between the terminal management device 10B on the first floor and the communication terminal 20A and the communication terminal 20B on the second floor. In such a case, since the distance from the terminal management apparatus to the communication terminal cannot be measured, the terminal management apparatus cannot grasp the position of the communication terminal.

  Therefore, in the embodiment of the present invention, when communication between the terminal management device 10A and the communication terminal 20C cannot be performed as described above, the terminal management device 10A communicates with the terminal management device 10B through the cable 30. It requests to detect the position of the communication terminal 20C. Upon receiving this request, the terminal management apparatus 10B detects the position of the communication terminal 20C and transmits the result to the terminal management apparatus 10A through the cable 30. By receiving the result of the position detection, the terminal management apparatus 10A can grasp the position of the communication terminal 20C.

  Similarly, when communication between the terminal management device 10B and the communication terminal 20A or the communication terminal 20B is not possible, the terminal management device 10B transmits the communication terminal 20A or the communication terminal B to the terminal management device 10A through the cable 30. Request to detect position. Upon receiving this request, the terminal management apparatus 10A detects the position of the communication terminal 20A or the communication terminal B and transmits the result to the terminal management apparatus 10B through the cable 30. By receiving the result of the position detection, the terminal management apparatus 10B can grasp the position of the communication terminal 20A or the communication terminal 20B.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of the terminal management apparatus 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention. The terminal management apparatus 10 includes an antenna 101, a receiving unit 102, an existence confirmation unit 103, a search request unit 104, an operation unit 105, a search request source reply unit 106, a transmission unit 107, and a battery remaining amount holding unit. 108, a battery remaining amount management unit 109, a position detection unit 110, and a display unit 120.

  The antenna 101 plays a role of radiating radio waves into the space and capturing radio waves transmitted through the space. The receiving unit 102 performs processing such as demodulation processing and D / A conversion on the reception data supplied from the antenna 101.

  The existence confirmation unit 103 performs existence confirmation as to whether or not a communication terminal to be searched (hereinafter referred to as a search communication terminal) exists within a communicable range of the terminal management apparatus 10. The presence check in the presence check unit 103 is performed by selecting a search communication terminal in the operation unit 105. Further, the presence confirmation in the presence confirmation unit 103 is notified by the search request source reply unit 106 to confirm the presence of the communication terminal requested for the search after receiving a communication terminal search request from another terminal management device. Is done from. The presence check in the presence check unit 103 can also be performed when an operation signal requesting reproduction of image data and other operation signals for the terminal management apparatus 10 are received from the communication terminal.

  A specific flow of existence confirmation in the existence confirmation unit 103 will be described below. Existence confirmation unit 103 transmits an existence confirmation signal to the search communication terminal to confirm its existence. When a presence confirmation response signal in response to the presence confirmation signal is transmitted from the communication terminal and received by the terminal management device 10, the presence communication unit 103 has a search communication terminal within the communicable range of the terminal management device 10. It is judged. If the presence check unit 103 determines that the search communication terminal exists within the communicable range of the terminal management apparatus 10, the presence check unit 103 notifies the position detection unit 110 to that effect.

  On the other hand, when the terminal management device 10 does not receive the presence confirmation response signal, the presence confirmation unit 103 determines that the search communication terminal does not exist within the communicable range of the terminal management device 10. In this case, the existence confirmation unit 103 notifies the search request unit 104 to that effect.

  The search request unit 104 requests other terminal management devices to search for a search communication terminal. The request from the search request unit 104 is output when an instruction from the operation unit 105 is received after receiving a notification that the search communication terminal does not exist in the communicable range of the terminal management apparatus 10 from the presence check unit 103. The The request from the search request unit 104 may be output promptly without receiving an instruction from the operation unit 105 after receiving the notification from the presence confirmation unit 103.

  The position detection unit 110 detects the position of the search communication terminal in a predetermined area after receiving the notification that the search communication terminal exists from the presence confirmation unit 103. The position detection unit 111 and the area setting unit 112 A region holding unit 113, a position determining unit 114, and a position holding unit 115. In the embodiment of the present invention, it is assumed that the terminal management device 10 manages the position of the communication terminal in the room where the terminal management device 10 is installed. For this reason, the predetermined area is assumed to be the entire room where the terminal management apparatus 10 is installed, and the position of the search communication terminal is grasped as the position in the room.

  The distance measuring unit 111 measures the distance between a predetermined location of the terminal management device 10 and the communication terminal. This distance is measured according to the following procedure. First, the distance measurement unit 111 transmits a distance measurement signal for measuring the distance to the communication terminal. The communication terminal that has received the distance measurement signal transmits a distance measurement response signal that is a response to the distance measurement signal to the terminal management apparatus 10. When the terminal management device 10 receives the ranging response signal, the ranging response signal is supplied to the ranging unit 111. Based on the time from when the ranging signal is output from the ranging unit 111 to when the ranging response signal is supplied to the ranging unit 111, the distance between the predetermined location of the terminal management device 10 and the communication terminal is calculated. .

  The area setting unit 112 displays the position of the communication terminal on the display unit 120 based on the distance between the predetermined location of the terminal management device 10 measured by the distance measuring unit 111 and the boundary point of the area (for example, the corner of the room). The area to be set is set. The distance between the predetermined location of the terminal management device 10 and the boundary point of the area is measured through the process described in the distance measuring unit 111 with the communication terminal placed at the boundary point of the area. The area set by the area setting unit 112 is held in the area holding unit 113.

  The position determination unit 114 determines the position of the communication terminal within the area to be displayed on the display unit 120 based on the distance between the predetermined location of the terminal management device 10 calculated by the distance measurement unit 111 and the communication terminal. The position of the communication terminal determined here is held in the position holding unit 115. The area held by the area holding unit 113 and the position of the communication terminal held by the position holding unit 115 are supplied to the display unit 120 and displayed.

  The search request source reply unit 106 returns a position of a predetermined communication terminal to another terminal management apparatus when a search request for detecting the position of the predetermined communication terminal is received from another terminal management apparatus. is there. A flow in which the search request source reply unit 106 returns the position of a predetermined communication terminal to another terminal management device will be described below.

  First, when the search request source reply unit 106 receives the search request, the search request source reply unit 106 notifies the presence confirmation unit 103 to confirm the presence of the communication terminal requested to be searched. When the presence confirmation unit 103 determines that the communication terminal requested for search exists within the communicable range of the terminal management apparatus 10, the position detection unit 110 detects the position of the communication terminal requested for search. This detection result is supplied to the search request source reply unit 106. The search request source reply unit 106 transmits the detection result to the search request source terminal management apparatus.

  The transmission unit 107 transmits data after encoding and modulation. The battery remaining amount holding unit 108 receives and holds the remaining battery amount transmitted from each communication terminal. The battery remaining amount management unit 109 supplies a message to the display unit 120 when the remaining battery amount of each communication terminal held in the battery remaining amount holding unit 108 becomes a predetermined capacity or less. The display unit 120 is configured by, for example, an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) or the like, and displays data supplied from the region holding unit 113, the position holding unit 115, and the battery remaining amount management unit 109.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of the communication terminal 20 according to the embodiment of the present invention. The communication terminal 20 includes an antenna 201, a receiving unit 202, a presence confirmation response unit 203, a ranging signal response unit 204, a battery 205, a remaining battery level detection unit 206, an operation unit 207, and a transmission unit 208. Prepare. The antenna 201 plays a role of radiating radio waves into the space or capturing radio waves transmitted through the space. The receiving unit 202 performs processing such as demodulation processing and D / A conversion on the reception data supplied from the antenna 201.

  The presence confirmation response unit 203 responds to a presence confirmation signal transmitted from the terminal management apparatus 10 to confirm the presence of a predetermined communication terminal. That is, if the predetermined communication terminal is itself, the presence confirmation response unit 203 transmits a presence confirmation response signal to the presence confirmation signal. The determination as to whether or not the predetermined communication terminal is itself is made based on whether or not an identifier (for example, a MAC address) indicating the predetermined communication terminal included in the presence confirmation signal matches the own identifier. When the ranging signal response unit 204 receives the ranging signal from the terminal management device 10, the ranging signal response unit 204 transmits a ranging response signal that is a response to the ranging signal to the terminal management device 10.

  The battery 205 is a power source for operating the communication terminal 20. The battery remaining amount detection unit 206 detects the remaining amount of the battery 205 and supplies it to the terminal management apparatus 10. The operation unit 207 supplies, to the terminal management device 10, for example, an operation signal for requesting reproduction of image data and an operation signal for other terminal management devices 10. Specifically, when the terminal management apparatus 10 is provided with a television function, for example, a signal corresponding to an operation for changing a television channel corresponds to the operation signal here.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of the terminal management device 10 and the communication terminal 20 in the embodiment of the present invention. The terminal management device 10 includes a position detection unit 11, a position detection unit 12, and a display unit 13. The position detection unit 11 and the position detection unit 12 transmit a distance measurement signal and receive a distance measurement response signal from a position detection response unit 21 described later in the communication terminal 20. Communication with the terminal management apparatus 10 by measuring the distance from the position detection unit 11 and the position detection unit 12 to the position detection response unit 21 based on the time from when the distance measurement signal is transmitted until the distance measurement response signal is received. The positional relationship of the terminal 20 is calculated. The position detection unit 11 and the position detection unit 12 correspond to the position detection unit 110 in FIG. The display unit 13 corresponds to the display unit 120 in FIG. The position detection response unit 21 corresponds to the ranging signal response unit 204 of the communication terminal 20 in FIG.

  This calculation result is displayed on the display unit 13. The communication terminal 20 receives the distance measurement signals transmitted from the position detection unit 11 and the position detection unit 12 in the terminal management apparatus 10 at the position detection response unit 21, and measures the distance to each of the position detection unit 11 and the position detection unit 12. A response signal is transmitted. As the communication terminal 20, for example, a remote controller is assumed, but the communication terminal 20 is not limited to this, and may be a personal computer, a digital camera, or the like. Further, the remote controller here does not need to be a dedicated machine, and may be a mobile phone equipped with a remote control function, for example.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a terminal management device 50 according to another embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 4, the position detection units 11 and 12 are installed in the terminal management apparatus 10, but the terminal management apparatus 50 in FIG. 5 is not installed in the terminal management apparatus 50. In the terminal management device 50, the position detection units 61 and 71 are installed at the upper ends of the speakers 60 and 70 that are located away from the terminal management device 50, respectively. The detection results of the position detection units 61 and 71 are transmitted to the terminal management device 50 by the wireless communication method.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a timing example of distance measurement between the terminal management device 10 and the communication terminal 20 according to the embodiment of the present invention. First, the terminal management apparatus 10 transmits a distance measurement signal 310 to the communication terminal 20 in order to measure the distance to the communication terminal 20. When receiving the ranging signal 310 from the terminal management apparatus 10, the communication terminal 20 returns a ranging response signal 320. The terminal management apparatus 10 measures the time from when the ranging signal 310 is transmitted until the reception of the ranging response signal 320 is detected.

At this time, the time t _A from when the terminal management device 10 transmits the ranging signal 310 to when it is received at the communication terminal 20 is in addition to the space propagation time (t _AIR ), and the transmission unit of the terminal management device 10 The delay time (t _DT1 ) at 107 is included. In addition to the processing time (t _P2 ) of the communication terminal 20, the time t _B from when the communication terminal 20 receives the distance measurement signal 310 to when the distance measurement response signal 320 is transmitted is a reception unit of the communication terminal 20. 202 and the delay time (t _DR2 ) in the transmission unit 208 is included. Furthermore, the time t _C from when the communication terminal 20 transmits the ranging response signal 320 to when it is received by the terminal management apparatus 10 is the processing time of the terminal management apparatus 10 in addition to the space propagation time (t _AIR ). (T _P1 ) and the delay time (t _DR1 ) in the receiving unit 102 of the terminal management apparatus 10.

That is, the time t from when the terminal management apparatus 10 sends the ranging signal 310 to when the ranging response signal 320 from the communication terminal 20 is detected is
t = t _A + t _B + t _C = 2 × t _AIR + (t _P1 + t _P2 + t _DT1 + t _DR1 + t _DR2 )
Represented as: Since the time in parentheses is a specific time by the terminal management apparatus 10 and the communication terminal 20, the specific time is subtracted from the time actually required to receive the distance measurement response signal 320 after transmitting the distance measurement signal 310. Further, the value divided by 2 is the space propagation time t _AIR .

Thereby, the distance d between the terminal management apparatus 10 and the communication terminal 20 is:
d = V × t _AIR
Represented as: Where V is the propagation speed of radio waves (= 3 × 10 ⁸ [m / sec]).

  For an ultra-wideband signal such as UWB (Ultra Wide Band), high time resolution can be obtained in reception pulse detection or correlation detection. For example, if the time resolution is 1 nanosecond, the distance resolution is 30 cm according to the above equation.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of position detection in the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7A is a plan view showing a positional relationship among the position detection unit 11, the position detection response unit 21, and the position detection response unit 21 in the communication terminal 20 in the terminal management apparatus 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 7A, the distance between the position detection unit 11 and the position detection response unit 12 is _Xca . The distance between the position detection unit 12 and the position detection response unit 21 is X _bc . The position of the position detection response unit 21 corresponds to an intersection of a circle with a radius X _ca centered on the position detection unit 11 and a circle with a radius X _bc centered on the position detection unit 12.

FIG. 7B is a diagram showing the positional relationship between the position detection unit 11 and the position detection unit 12 and the position detection response unit 21 shown in FIG. The coordinates of the point A corresponding to the position detection unit 11, the point B corresponding to the position detection unit 12, and the point C corresponding to the position detection response unit 21 are (X1, Y1), (X2, Y2) and (X3, Y3). ), The following equation holds.
X _ca ² = (X3-X1) ² + (Y1-Y3) ^{2
_{X bc 2 = (X2-X3}} ) 2 + (Y2-Y3) 2

Of these X1, Y1, X2, Y2, X3, Y3, _Xca , and _Xbc , X1, Y1, X2, and Y2 are coordinates indicating the positions of the position detection unit 11 and the position detection unit 12, which are pre- It is a set value. Further, X _ca and X _bc can be obtained by the method described in FIG. Therefore, the above equation becomes a quadratic equation with X3 and Y3 as variables. Although there are two sets of (X3, Y3) that satisfy the solution of the two-dimensional equation, the value of (X3, Y3) within the area described in FIG. 8 is the position where the communication terminal 20 exists. .

  FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an outline when the region determination described in FIG. 2 is performed. It is assumed that the terminal management apparatus 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention is installed in the room 40 at the position shown in FIG. The area is assumed to be the entire room 40. In order to determine the area, the distance between the position detection unit 11 and the position detection unit 12 in the terminal management apparatus 10 and the corners 41 to 43 of the room may be measured. As described in FIG. 7B, the coordinates of the corner can be determined from the distance. In FIG. 8, the communication terminal 20 is placed in the corners 41 to 43 of the room 40 and the distances between the corners 41 to 43 and the position detection unit 11 and the position detection unit 12 are measured. Coordinates are determined.

  In the above case, only the coordinates of the corners are obtained, but since most of the room shapes are quadrangular, the area can be determined if the three points are known. If the shape of the room is not a quadrangle, the coordinates of the points at the boundary of the region that can determine the region are obtained.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a search display screen of the communication terminal in the embodiment of the present invention. Communication terminal information 410 and a communication terminal location search button 420 are displayed on the display screen 400 of the terminal management apparatus 10. The communication terminal information 410 includes a name 411, a type 412, and a previous position 413.

  The name 411 indicates the name of the communication terminal registered in the terminal management apparatus 10. The name of the communication terminal displayed on the name 411 may be set by the user or may be automatically determined by the terminal management apparatus 10. Type 412 indicates the use of the communication terminal. For example, if the communication terminal A is a television remote controller, “TV remote controller” is displayed.

  The previous position 413 indicates the position of each communication terminal currently grasped by the terminal management apparatus 10. When it is desired to obtain the latest location information of the communication terminal, the terminal management device 10 selects the desired communication terminal from the communication terminal information 410 via the operation unit 105 and then selects the communication terminal location search button 420, whereby the terminal management apparatus 10 The position of the selected communication terminal is searched. When the position of the communication terminal selected in the terminal management apparatus 10 is detected, the latest information is displayed at the previous position 413.

  In the previous position 413, the previous position of the communication terminal A is indicated as “room A”, which means that the room in which the communication terminal A currently known by the terminal management apparatus 10 exists is the room A. Show. More detailed position information such as where the communication terminal A is in the room A can be obtained by selecting the “room A” portion corresponding to the communication terminal A at the previous position 413 via the operation unit 105, for example. It is done. This will be described with reference to FIG. The previous position 413 serves as a clue to search for a communication terminal when, for example, the battery of the communication terminal is exhausted and communication is not possible.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a display screen of detailed position information of the communication terminal displayed when the previous position 413 of the predetermined communication terminal illustrated in FIG. 9 is selected. In the display screen 400, position information 430 and a position display 440 are displayed. In the position information 430, the name of the communication terminal and the name of the room displayed in the position display 440 are displayed. In the position display 440, the positions of the terminal management device 10 and the communication terminal 20 when the boundary of the region is an outer frame line are displayed as a terminal management device display 442 and a communication terminal display 441.

  FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a display screen when the terminal management apparatus 10 fails to detect the position of a desired communication terminal. In FIG. 11A, the search result display 450 indicates that the position detection of the desired communication terminal has failed, and whether or not a search request for the desired communication terminal is made to another terminal management device. . When a search request for a desired communication terminal is made to another terminal management apparatus, the “YES” button 461 is selected via the operation unit 105, and a search request for the desired communication terminal is sent to the other terminal management apparatus. If not, the “NO” button 462 is selected via the operation unit 105.

  In FIG. 11B, the search result display 470 displays that the detection of the position of the desired communication terminal has failed and that the search request for the desired communication terminal is made to another terminal management device. In the case of FIG. 11 (b), unlike the case of FIG. 11 (a), when the position detection of a desired communication terminal fails, a search request for the desired communication terminal is automatically sent to another terminal management device. Do.

  FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of a display screen displayed when the remaining battery level of the communication terminal is equal to or less than a predetermined capacity. For example, when image data is displayed on the display screen 400, if the terminal management apparatus 10 determines that the remaining battery level of the communication terminal A has become equal to or less than a predetermined capacity, “A battery is low” and a battery mark display are displayed. Thereby, the user can grasp the remaining battery level of the communication terminal.

  FIG. 13 is a diagram showing information held in the area holding unit 113 in FIG. The area information 500 held in the area holding unit 113 includes an area name 501 and an area 502. The area name 501 is the name of the area. In the embodiment of the present invention, since the entire room in which the terminal management apparatus 10 is installed is assumed as an area as described above, the area name 501 is represented as “room A” in FIG. An area 502 indicates the coordinates of the boundary of the area. As described with reference to FIG. 8, for example, when the region has a quadrangular shape, the region can be specified from the coordinates of three points. In FIG. 13, an area 502 is specified by coordinates of three points.

  FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating the position information of the communication terminal held in the position holding unit 115. The position information 510 held in the position holding unit 115 includes a communication terminal name 511, an area name 512, and a position 513. The communication terminal name 511 indicates the name of the communication terminal. The area name 512 indicates the name of the area where the communication terminal is located. This area name 512 corresponds to the area name 501 in FIG. A position 513 indicates coordinates in an area corresponding to the area name 512 where the communication terminal is located. The position of the communication terminal is specified by these coordinates.

  FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating a packet format related to a search request that the terminal management apparatus 10 requests to another terminal management apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 15A is a diagram illustrating a format of a search request packet 600 that the terminal management apparatus 10 requests from another terminal management apparatus. Search request packet 600 includes a header 610 and a payload including search request command 621 and search communication terminal identifier 622. The header 610 includes packet control information such as a packet source address, a packet destination address, and a payload length. The search request command 621 is a command for requesting a search for a communication terminal. The terminal management apparatus 10 that has received the packet including the search request command 621 starts searching for a communication terminal. Search communication terminal identifier 622 is a unique identifier that uniquely represents a communication terminal to be searched. For example, a MAC address is assumed as the identifier, but the identifier is not limited thereto.

  FIG. 15 (b) is a diagram showing a format of a search result packet 630 used when the terminal management apparatus in the embodiment of the present invention requested to search for a communication terminal returns a search result. Search result packet 630 includes header 640 and a payload including search result command 651, search communication terminal identifier 652, measurement device identifier 653, measurement device peripheral attribute information 654, and search communication terminal location information 655. The header 640 and the search communication terminal identifier 652 are the same as the header 610 and the search communication terminal identifier 622 described with reference to FIG.

  The search result command 651 is a command indicating that the transmitted packet is a search result for the search request. The measurement device identifier 653 is a unique identifier that uniquely represents a terminal management device that has searched for a communication terminal. For example, a MAC address is assumed as the identifier, but the identifier is not limited thereto. Search communication terminal position information 655 includes a specific position of the search communication terminal. The measurement device peripheral attribute information 654 will be described with reference to FIG.

  The measurement device peripheral attribute information 654 includes a measurement device name 661, position detection unit information 662, and region information 663. The measurement device name 661 indicates the name of the terminal management device that has searched the communication terminal and measured the position of the communication terminal. The position detection unit information 662 indicates information related to the position detection unit. The information regarding the position detection unit includes information such as the number and position of the position detection units, for example. The area information 663 indicates information related to the area where the communication terminal is searched.

  Next, the operation of the terminal management system in the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 16 shows a flow from when a search request is transmitted from the terminal management apparatus 10A to another terminal management apparatus 10B in the embodiment of the present invention until a search result is returned to the terminal management apparatus 10A that requested the search. FIG. The exchange described below may be realized by either unicast communication or broadcast communication.

  First, when the communication terminal 20 does not exist within the communicable range of the terminal management apparatus 10A, a search request 701 is transmitted from the terminal management apparatus 10A to the terminal management apparatus 10B. The terminal management apparatus 10B that has received the search request 701 transmits an existence confirmation signal 702 to the communication terminal 20 in order to confirm whether or not the communication terminal 20 exists within the communicable range of the terminal management apparatus 10B. The communication terminal 20 that has received the presence confirmation signal 702 transmits a presence confirmation response signal 703 to the terminal management apparatus 10B when determining that the presence confirmation signal is a signal for confirming the existence of the communication terminal 20.

  Upon receiving the presence confirmation response signal 703, the terminal management apparatus 10B transmits a ranging signal 704 to the communication terminal 20. The communication terminal 20 that has received the distance measurement signal 704 transmits a distance measurement response signal 705 to the terminal management apparatus 10B. When the terminal management device 10B receives the distance measurement response signal 705, the distance between the predetermined location of the terminal management device 10B and the communication terminal 20 based on the time from when the distance measurement signal 704 is transmitted until the distance measurement response signal 705 is received. Is calculated. Similarly, the terminal management apparatus 10B transmits / receives the distance measurement signal 706 and the distance measurement response signal 707, and calculates the distance between the communication terminal 20 and another predetermined location of the terminal management apparatus 10B.

  Using this calculation result, the position of the communication terminal is determined in the terminal management apparatus 10B. When the position of the communication terminal is determined, the terminal management apparatus 10B transmits a search result 708 to the terminal management apparatus 10A. The search result 708 is received by the terminal management apparatus 10A, and the position of the communication terminal 20 is displayed on the terminal management apparatus 10A.

  FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating an operation flow of the terminal management system including the terminal management apparatus 10A, the terminal management apparatus 10B (another terminal management apparatus), and the communication terminal 20. First, a desired communication terminal 20 to be searched for is specified in the terminal management apparatus 10A (S901). Next, a confirmation presence signal is transmitted from the terminal management apparatus 10A to the communication terminal 20 (S902). Next, it is determined whether or not the communication terminal is within a communicable range of the terminal management apparatus 10A (S903).

  When the terminal management device 10A receives the presence confirmation response signal that is a response to the presence confirmation signal in step S902, it is determined that the communication terminal 20 exists within the communicable range of the terminal management device 10A. In this case, the position detection process of the communication terminal 20 is performed (S904). The position of the communication terminal 20 is transmitted from the terminal management apparatus 10A to the communication terminal 20 and then a distance measurement response signal is returned from the communication terminal 20 as a response to the distance measurement signal, and is received by the terminal management apparatus 10A. It is calculated based on the time until.

  If the terminal management device 10A does not receive the presence confirmation response signal, it is determined that the communication terminal 20 does not exist within the communicable range of the terminal management device 10A. In this case, it is determined whether or not the terminal management apparatus 10B (another terminal management apparatus) exists (S905). If it is determined that there is no terminal management apparatus 10B (another terminal management apparatus), whether or not to display the position of the communication terminal 20 that the terminal management apparatus 10A currently holds (hereinafter referred to as the current holding position) is displayed. It is judged (S911).

  The criterion for determining whether or not to display in step S911 is whether or not an instruction to display the current holding position is given through the operation unit 105. When it is determined that the current holding position is displayed in the terminal management apparatus 10A, the position of the communication terminal 20 is displayed on the display unit of the terminal management apparatus 10A (S912).

  If it is determined in step S905 that the terminal management apparatus 10B (another terminal management apparatus) exists, it is determined whether or not a search request is to be sent to the terminal management apparatus 10B (another terminal management apparatus) (S906). . The criterion for determining whether or not to make a search request in step S906 is whether or not an instruction to make a search request is given to the terminal management apparatus 10B (another terminal management apparatus) through the operation unit 105. Note that step S906 may be omitted, and if it is determined in step S905 that the terminal management apparatus 10B (another terminal management apparatus) exists, a search request may be made.

  If it is determined in step S906 that no search is requested, the above-described processing in step S911 is performed. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S906 that a search is requested, a search request is made to the terminal management apparatus 10B (another terminal management apparatus) (S907). Upon receiving the search request, the terminal management device 10B (another terminal management device) transmits a confirmation presence signal to the communication terminal 20 (S908). Next, in the terminal management device 10B (other terminal management device), it is determined whether or not the communication terminal 20 exists within a communicable range of the terminal management device 10B (other terminal management device) (S909).

  In step S909, if the terminal management device 10B (other terminal management device) determines that the communication terminal 20 is within the communicable range of the terminal management device 10B (other terminal management device), the terminal management device 10B (others) The terminal management apparatus) performs a position detection process for the communication terminal 20 (S913). The result of the position detection process in the terminal management apparatus 10B (another terminal management apparatus) is transmitted to the terminal management apparatus 10A (S914). When receiving the result of the position detection process, the terminal management apparatus 10A displays the position of the communication terminal 20 on the display unit 120 based on the result of the position detection process.

  If it is determined in step S909 that the communication terminal 20 does not exist within the communicable range of the terminal management device 10B (other terminal management device), the terminal management device 10B (other terminal management device) further determines another terminal. It is determined whether or not a management device exists (S910). If it is determined in the terminal management apparatus 10B (another terminal management apparatus) that there is another terminal management apparatus, the process returns to step S906. On the other hand, if it is determined in the terminal management apparatus 10B (another terminal management apparatus) that no other terminal management apparatus exists, the process proceeds to step S911.

  In the above description, two position detections are assumed, but three or more position detection units may be provided. If there are two position detection units, the position of the communication terminal can be grasped two-dimensionally, but if there are three position detection units, the position of the communication terminal can be grasped three-dimensionally.

  As described above, according to the embodiment of the present invention, when the communication terminal 20 is outside the communicable range of the terminal management apparatus 10, the search request unit 104 issues a search request for the communication terminal 20 to another terminal. Thus, the position of the communication terminal 20 can be detected by another terminal management device. And the terminal management apparatus 10 can grasp | ascertain the position of the communication terminal 20 outside the communicable range by making the terminal management apparatus 10 return the position of the communication terminal 20 detected by another terminal management apparatus. In addition, by transmitting the remaining battery level from the communication terminal 20 to the terminal management apparatus 10, the remaining battery level of the communication terminal can be grasped in the remaining battery level management unit 109.

  The embodiment of the present invention is an example for embodying the present invention and has a corresponding relationship with the invention-specific matters in the claims as shown below, but is not limited thereto. However, various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

  In other words, in claim 1, the first existence confirmation unit corresponds to, for example, the existence confirmation unit 103. The search request unit corresponds to the search request unit 104, for example. A receiving unit corresponds to the receiving unit 102, for example. The display means corresponds to the display unit 120, for example. Also, the second presence confirmation unit corresponds to the presence confirmation unit 103, for example. The position detection unit corresponds to the position detection unit 110, for example. The search request source reply unit corresponds to the search request source reply unit 106, for example. The presence confirmation response unit corresponds to, for example, the presence confirmation response unit 203.

  In addition, in claim 2, the presence confirmation unit corresponds to, for example, the presence confirmation unit 103. The position detection unit corresponds to the position detection unit 110, for example. The search request unit corresponds to the search request unit 104, for example. A receiving unit corresponds to the receiving unit 102, for example. The display means corresponds to the display unit 120, for example.

  Further, in claim 3, an operation unit corresponds to the operation unit 105, for example.

  Further, in claim 5, the search request source reply unit corresponds to, for example, the search request source reply unit 106.

  Further, in claim 6, the distance measuring means corresponds to the distance measuring unit 111, for example. The position determining unit corresponds to the position determining unit 114, for example.

  Further, in claim 7, the region setting means corresponds to, for example, the region setting unit 112.

  Further, in claim 9, the battery remaining amount holding unit corresponds to, for example, the battery remaining amount holding unit 108.

  Further, in claim 10, the battery remaining amount management means corresponds to, for example, the battery remaining amount management unit 109.

  In claim 11, the operation means corresponds to the operation unit 105, for example.

  In the twelfth aspect, the presence confirmation response means corresponds to, for example, the presence confirmation response unit 203. The ranging signal response means corresponds to the ranging signal response unit 204, for example.

  Further, in claim 13, the remaining battery level detection means corresponds to, for example, the remaining battery level detection unit 206.

  In claim 15, display means corresponds to the display unit 120, for example. The existence confirmation procedure corresponds to, for example, step S902. The position detection procedure corresponds to, for example, step S904. The search request procedure corresponds to, for example, step S906 and step S907. The display procedure corresponds to, for example, step S911 and step S912.

  The processing procedure described in the embodiment of the present invention may be regarded as a method having a series of these procedures, and a program for causing a computer to execute these series of procedures or a recording medium storing the program May be taken as

It is a figure which shows an example of the terminal management system in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of a function structure of the terminal management apparatus 10 in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of a function structure of the communication terminal 20 in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the terminal management apparatus 10 and the communication terminal 20 in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the terminal management apparatus 50 in another embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of a timing of the distance measurement of the terminal management apparatus 10 and the communication terminal 20 in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the content of the position detection in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the outline at the time of determining the area | region demonstrated in FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the search display screen of the communication terminal in embodiment of this invention. It is the figure which showed an example of the display screen of the detailed positional infomation on the communication terminal displayed when the last position 413 of the predetermined | prescribed communication terminal shown in FIG. 9 was selected. It is a figure which shows a display screen when the position detection of a desired communication terminal fails in the terminal management apparatus. It is a figure which shows that the battery remaining charge of the communication terminal became below predetermined capacity | capacitance. The information currently hold | maintained at the area | region holding | maintenance part 113 in FIG. 2 is shown. The information currently hold | maintained at the position holding part 115 in FIG. 2 is shown. It is a figure which shows the format of the packet regarding the search request | requirement which the terminal management apparatus 10 in embodiment of this invention requests | requires another terminal management apparatus. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an operation flow of a terminal management system including a terminal management device 10A, a terminal management device 10B, and a communication terminal 20. It is a figure which shows the flow after transmitting a search request from 10 A of terminal management apparatuses to other terminal management apparatus 10B in embodiment of this invention until a search result is returned to 10 A of terminal management apparatuses which requested | required search.

Explanation of symbols

10, 10A, 10B Terminal management device 11, 12 Position detection unit 13, 13A, 13B Display unit 20, 20A, 20B, 20C Communication terminal 21 Position detection response unit 30 Cable 101 Antenna 102 Receiving unit 103 Existence confirmation unit 104 Search request unit 105 Operation unit 106 Search request source reply unit 107 Transmitter 108 Battery remaining amount holding unit 109 Battery remaining amount management unit 110 Position detecting unit 111 Distance measuring unit 112 Area setting unit 113 Area holding unit 114 Position determining unit 115 Position holding unit 120 Display Unit 201 Antenna 202 Receiving Unit 203 Presence Confirmation Response Unit 204 Distance Measurement Response Unit 205 Battery 206 Battery Remaining Battery Detection Unit 207 Operation Unit 208 Transmission Unit

Claims (15)

A terminal management system comprising a first terminal management device, a second terminal management device, and a communication terminal,
The first terminal management device includes:
First presence confirmation means for confirming whether or not the communication terminal is within a communicable range of the first terminal management device;
Search request means for requesting the second terminal management device to detect the position of the search communication terminal when the presence of the communication terminal is not confirmed;
Receiving means for receiving the position of the communication terminal detected in the second terminal management device in response to the request;
Display means for displaying the received position of the communication terminal,
The second terminal management device
Second presence confirmation means for confirming whether or not the communication terminal is within a communicable range of the second terminal management apparatus after receiving the request;
Position detecting means for detecting the position of the communication terminal when the presence of the communication terminal is confirmed;
Search request source reply means for returning the result of the position detection to the first terminal management device;
The communication terminal is
A terminal management system comprising presence confirmation response means for responding to the presence confirmation transmitted from the first and second terminal management devices. Presence checking means for checking whether or not the search communication terminal to be searched exists within a communicable range of the terminal management device;
Position detecting means for detecting the position of the search communication terminal in a predetermined area when the presence check means confirms the presence of the search communication terminal;
Search request means for requesting another terminal management device to detect the position of the search communication terminal when the presence of the search communication terminal is not confirmed;
Receiving means for receiving the position of the search communication terminal detected in the other terminal management device in response to the request;
A terminal management apparatus comprising: display means for displaying the received position of the search communication terminal. Further comprising an operation means for selecting the search communication terminal;
The terminal management apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the presence check unit performs the presence check according to the selection.   The terminal management apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the presence confirmation unit performs the presence confirmation when an operation signal is received from a communication terminal.   A search request source reply unit that, when receiving a request for position detection from another terminal management device, returns a detection result in the position detection unit to another terminal management device that has requested the position detection; The terminal management apparatus according to claim 2, wherein: The position detecting means includes
The search communication based on a time from when a distance measurement signal for measuring the distance between the distance measurement means and the search communication terminal is transmitted to the search communication terminal until a response signal to the distance measurement signal is returned. Two or more ranging means for calculating the distance between the terminal and the ranging means;
The terminal management apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a position determination unit that determines a position of the search communication terminal in the area based on a distance between the search communication terminal and the distance measurement unit. Further comprising region setting means for calculating the position of the boundary of the region based on the distance between the boundary of the region and the two or more ranging means, and setting the region;
Each of the two or more distance measuring means calculates a distance between the boundary of the area and the distance measuring means in response to a request to determine an area transmitted from a communication terminal at the boundary of the area. The terminal management apparatus according to claim 6, wherein:   The terminal management apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the display unit displays a detection position of the search communication terminal in the area. Further comprising battery remaining amount holding means for receiving and holding the remaining amount of battery of the communication terminal transmitted from the communication terminal;
The terminal management apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the display unit displays a remaining amount of the battery.   10. The terminal management apparatus according to claim 9, further comprising a battery remaining amount management unit that detects that the remaining amount of the battery is equal to or less than a predetermined capacity and displays the fact on the display unit. It further comprises operating means for instructing the request,
The terminal management apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the search request unit makes the request according to the instruction. Presence confirmation response means for responding to a confirmation inquiry as to whether or not the communication terminal is transmitted from the terminal management device;
A communication terminal comprising a ranging signal response means that responds to a ranging signal for measuring a distance between the terminal management device and the communication terminal.   13. The communication terminal according to claim 12, further comprising battery remaining amount detecting means for detecting the remaining amount of battery in the communication terminal and transmitting the remaining amount of battery.   The communication terminal according to claim 12, wherein the communication terminal is a communication terminal that performs remote operation. A processing method in a terminal management device comprising display means for displaying the position of a communication terminal,
Existence confirmation procedure in the terminal management device for existence confirmation as to whether or not the communication terminal exists within a communicable range of the terminal management device;
A position detection procedure for detecting the position of the communication terminal when the presence of the communication terminal is confirmed;
A search request procedure for requesting another terminal management device to detect the position of the communication terminal when the presence of the communication terminal is not confirmed;
And a display procedure for receiving the position of the communication terminal transmitted from the other terminal management apparatus that has received the request and displaying the position on the display means.

Images