JP2007135144A - Receiving apparatus for visible ray communication - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a receiving apparatus for visible light communication which is capable of reducing man-power burden to an owner when receiving visible light emitted from a plurality of transmission apparatuses. <P>SOLUTION: The receiving apparatus 100 for visible light communication according to the present invention is a mobile phone packaged with a function for receiving information in visible light communication and comprises a plurality of light receiving units 102 each for outputting an electric signal corresponding to the received visible light. In such a case, each of the light receiving units 102 is mounted in the relevant receiving apparatus 100 for visible light communication so as to change the direction of the light receiving unit 102 arbitrarily in Fig. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a visible light communication receiving device that receives information by visible light communication.

  In visible light communication, which is a technique for performing communication between a transmitting device and a receiving device using visible light, a transmitting device that is a communication partner is visually selected by a holder who has the receiving device. . In order to perform visible light communication, the owner selects a transmitting device to be a communication partner, and then receives the visible light emitted from the transmitting device by the light receiving unit of the receiving device. It is necessary to match the direction.

  Here, Patent Literature 1, Patent Literature 2, Patent Literature 3, and the like are disclosed as technologies related to optical communication using visible light, infrared light, and the like.

JP 2003-324387 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-262031 Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 08-037499

  However, in the conventional technology, when receiving visible light emitted from a plurality of transmitting devices, the holder must repeat the operation of aligning the receiving devices for the number of transmitting devices. As the number increases, there is a problem that the burden on the owner (specifically, the operation for visually selecting the transmitting device and the operation for adjusting the orientation of the receiving device) increases.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and provides a visible light communication receiving device capable of reducing the human burden on the owner when receiving visible light emitted from a plurality of transmitting devices. The purpose is to provide.

  In order to achieve the above object, a visible light communication receiving device according to claim 1 according to the present invention receives visible light in a visible light communication receiving device that receives information by visible light communication. A plurality of light receiving means for outputting an electrical signal corresponding to visible light is provided.

  The visible light communication receiving device according to claim 2 of the present invention is the visible light communication receiving device according to claim 1, in which each of the light receiving means has a light receiving region that does not overlap each other. It is arranged.

  Moreover, the visible light communication receiver according to claim 3 according to the present invention is the visible light communication receiver according to claim 1 or 2, wherein each of the light receiving means can change its orientation. It is possible.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the visible light communication receiving device according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein the position information indicating the position of the transmission source is obtained. When a plurality of signals are received, the information processing device further includes a specifying unit that identifies position information representing the position of the visible light communication receiving device and direction information representing the direction of the visible light communication receiving device based on the plurality of position information. It is characterized by.

  A visible light communication receiver according to claim 5 of the present invention is the visible light communication receiver according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a plurality of content information and a transmission source are uniquely set. When the identification information for identifying is received, selection means for selecting content information corresponding to the identification information from the plurality of content information, and reproduction means for reproducing the content information selected by the selection means It is further provided with a feature.

  The visible light communication receiver according to claim 6 of the present invention selectively transmits visible light in a wavelength range that does not overlap each other in the visible light communication receiver that receives information by visible light communication. A plurality of transmission means, and a light reception means that receives visible light transmitted through each of the transmission means and outputs an electrical signal corresponding to each received visible light.

  The visible light communication receiving device according to claim 7 of the present invention is the visible light communication receiving device according to claim 6, wherein each of the transmitting means is arranged in different directions. It is characterized by.

  The visible light communication receiving device according to claim 8 according to the present invention is the visible light communication receiving device according to claim 6 or 7, wherein the light receiving means is oriented with a plurality of the transmitting means. It is possible to change.

  A visible light communication receiving device according to claim 9 according to the present invention is the visible light communication receiving device according to any one of claims 6 to 8, wherein position information indicating a position of a transmission source is obtained. When a plurality of signals are received, the information processing device further includes a specifying unit that identifies position information representing the position of the visible light communication receiving device and direction information representing the direction of the visible light communication receiving device based on the plurality of position information. It is characterized by.

  The visible light communication receiving device according to claim 10 according to the present invention is the visible light communication receiving device according to any one of claims 6 to 9, wherein a plurality of pieces of content information and transmission sources are uniquely specified. When the identification information for identifying is received, selection means for selecting content information corresponding to the identification information from the plurality of content information, and reproduction means for reproducing the content information selected by the selection means It is further provided with a feature.

  According to the receiver for visible light communication according to claim 1 of the present invention, a plurality of light receiving means (specifically, a light receiving element) that receives visible light and outputs an electrical signal corresponding to the received visible light. For example, since the photodiode is provided, the human burden on the owner when receiving visible light emitted from a plurality of transmitters can be reduced. Specifically, since it is almost unnecessary for the holder to align the orientation of the device with each transmitting device, the operation of the owner when acquiring information from a plurality of transmitting devices can be reduced. Play.

  According to the visible light communication receiving device of the second aspect of the present invention, the respective light receiving means (specifically, the light receiving elements (for example, photodiodes)) are arranged so that the light receiving regions do not overlap each other. Since it is disposed, a plurality of visible lights reaching the apparatus from different directions can be reliably received by the respective light receiving means. That is, there is an effect that the advantage of having a plurality of light receiving means can be utilized. Here, for example, when a light receiving area of a certain light receiving means partially overlaps a light receiving area of another light receiving means, the same visible light emitted from a certain transmitter is received by a plurality of light receiving means, and as a result, a plurality of light receiving areas are received. There can be a situation where only one piece of information can be acquired by the light receiving means. However, this reduces the advantage of having a plurality of light receiving means by half. Therefore, in this apparatus, each light receiving means is arranged so that the light receiving areas do not overlap each other, so that a plurality of visible lights reaching the apparatus from different directions can be reliably received by each light receiving means. The advantage of having a plurality of light receiving means can be utilized.

  Further, according to the visible light communication receiving device according to claim 3 of the present invention, each light receiving means can change the direction thereof, so that visible light emitted from a plurality of transmitting devices can be obtained. When receiving light, the holder only needs to change the direction of each light receiving means as appropriate, and it is not necessary to align the orientation of the device with each transmitting device. It is possible to further reduce the operation of.

  According to the receiver for visible light communication according to claim 4 of the present invention, when a plurality of source position information are received, the position of the visible light communication receiver based on the plurality of position information Since the position information indicating the position information and the direction information indicating the direction of the visible light communication receiving device are specified, not only the position of the owner but also the direction of the owner can be recognized. Thereby, it is possible to execute an application such as navigation in this apparatus.

  According to the visible light communication receiving device of the fifth aspect of the present invention, when a plurality of pieces of content information and identification information are received, the content information corresponding to the identification information from the plurality of pieces of content information Since the selected content information is reproduced, the content information regarding the destination that the owner is about to go to can be provided to the owner via the visible light communication receiving device.

  Further, according to the visible light communication receiver according to claim 6 of the present invention, a plurality of transmission means (specifically, optical filters) that selectively transmit visible light in a wavelength range that does not overlap each other; Since it has a light receiving means (specifically, a light receiving element (for example, a photodiode)) that receives visible light transmitted through each transmitting means and outputs an electrical signal corresponding to each received visible light, There is an effect that it is possible to reduce the human burden on the owner when receiving visible light emitted from the transmitting device. Specifically, since it is almost unnecessary for the holder to align the orientation of the device with each transmitting device, the operation of the owner when acquiring information from a plurality of transmitting devices can be reduced. Play. Here, in this apparatus, since each visible light emitted from a plurality of transmitting devices is transmitted through each transmitting means, the overlapping of the wavelength range of each visible light is eliminated. Visible light can be received by one light receiving means.

  According to the visible light communication receiving device of the seventh aspect of the present invention, since each transmission means is arranged in a different direction, a plurality of visible lights reaching the device from different directions. Can be reliably received by the light receiving means through each transmitting means.

  According to the visible light communication receiving device of the eighth aspect of the present invention, since the light receiving means can change its direction together with the plurality of transmitting means, it is emitted from a plurality of transmitting devices. When receiving visible light, the owner only needs to change the direction of the light receiving means as appropriate, and it is not necessary to align the direction of the device with each transmitting device. There is an effect that the movement of the person can be further reduced.

  In addition, according to the visible light communication receiving device according to claim 9 of the present invention, when a plurality of source position information are received, the position of the visible light communication receiving device is based on the plurality of position information. Since the position information indicating the position information and the direction information indicating the direction of the visible light communication receiving device are specified, not only the position of the owner but also the direction of the owner can be recognized. Thereby, it is possible to execute an application such as navigation in this apparatus.

  According to the visible light communication receiving device of the tenth aspect of the present invention, when a plurality of content information and identification information are received, the content information corresponding to the identification information from the plurality of content information Since the selected content information is reproduced, the content information regarding the destination that the owner is about to go to can be provided to the owner via the visible light communication receiving device.

  Embodiments (embodiments 1 and 2) of a receiving device for visible light communication according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. In addition, this invention is not limited by these Examples.

  Here, the first embodiment of the visible light communication receiving apparatus 100 will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  First, the appearance of the visible light communication receiving apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the appearance of the visible light communication receiving device 100 according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the receiving device 100 for visible light communication according to the first embodiment uses visible light communication to transmit information (specifically, transmission position coordinate information that represents the position of a transmission source in coordinates, video, text, and voice). Content information such as identification information for uniquely identifying the sender (the identification information has a role as a trigger in the selection and reproduction of content information described later), etc. The mobile phone is equipped with a plurality of light receiving units 102 to be described later. Here, as shown in the drawing, the respective light receiving portions 102 are arranged in the apparatus so that the light receiving regions do not overlap each other. Each light receiving unit 102 is covered with a spherical housing as shown in the drawing, and the housing can be arbitrarily changed by moving the housing by the holder. It is attached to the device together with the body. The visible light communication receiver 100 of the first embodiment is a mobile phone equipped with a visible light communication function. However, the visible light communication receiver of the present invention is not limited to this, and the visible light communication function is not limited thereto. Any portable communication device equipped with can be used. Further, the visible light communication receiving apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment includes the two light receiving units 102, but the number of the light receiving units 102 is not limited thereto. In the visible light communication receiving apparatus 100 of the first embodiment, the two light receiving units 102 are arranged on the side surface of the upper part of the screen and the side surface of the bent part as shown in the figure. It is not limited to this. In addition, each light receiving unit 102 of the first embodiment is covered with a spherical housing, but the shape of the housing is not limited to this. The casing is made of a material that transmits visible light.

  Next, the configuration of the visible light communication receiver 100 according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the visible light communication receiving device 100 according to the first embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the visible light communication receiving device 100 according to the first embodiment receives a visible light (visible light signal) and separately outputs an electrical signal corresponding to the received visible light. 102, and a demodulator 104 that acquires information (specifically, transmission position coordinate information, content information, identification information, etc.) by individually demodulating a plurality of electrical signals output from each light receiving unit 102, Control unit 106 for overall control of each unit of the apparatus, transmission position coordinate information / content information / identification information acquired by the demodulation unit 104, reception position coordinate information / reception direction vector information specified by the specifying unit 106a described later, etc. And at least a storage unit 108 for storing. Each unit is communicably connected via an arbitrary communication path. Here, each light receiving unit 102 is specifically a light receiving element such as a photodiode. In addition, when the demodulation unit 104 acquires a plurality of transmission position coordinate information, the control unit 106 receives reception position coordinate information that represents the position of the visible light communication receiving device 100 in coordinates based on the plurality of transmission position coordinate information, and A specifying unit 106a that specifies reception direction vector information that represents the direction of the receiving device 100 for visible light communication as a vector, and a plurality of pieces of content information (specifically, content information associated with identification information) in the demodulation unit 104 When the identification information is acquired, the selection unit 106b that selects content information corresponding to the identification information from the plurality of pieces of content information, and the content information selected by the selection unit 106b are reproduced as video, characters, audio, or the like. And a playback unit 106c.

  With the above configuration, the position / direction specifying process and the content selection / reproduction process performed by the visible light communication receiving apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. First, the position / direction specifying process performed by the visible light communication receiving apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the position / direction specifying process performed by the visible light communication receiving apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment.

  First, each light receiving unit 102 receives visible light reaching the light receiving unit 102 and outputs an electrical signal corresponding to each received visible light (step SA-1).

  Next, the demodulating unit 104 demodulates each electrical signal output in step SA-1 to acquire a plurality of transmission position coordinate information, and the control unit 106 stores the acquired plurality of transmission position coordinate information in the storage unit. The data is stored in a predetermined storage area 108 (step SA-2). Thus, the visible light communication receiving device 100 was able to receive a plurality of transmission position coordinate information by visible light communication.

  Next, the specifying unit 106a specifies reception position coordinate information and reception direction vector information based on the plurality of transmission position coordinate information acquired in step SA-2, and stores the specified reception position coordinate information and reception direction vector information. The data is stored in a predetermined storage area of the unit 108 (step SA-3).

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 4, illumination position coordinate information (coordinates the position of the illumination and transmission device) transmitted from an illumination and transmission device (lighting fixture equipped with a visible light communication function) attached to the ceiling. ) And sign position coordinate information (information indicating the position of the sign / transmitter device in coordinates) transmitted from the sign / transmitter device (sign display device equipped with a visible light communication function). When 100 is received, in step SA-3, the specifying unit 106a specifies the received illumination position coordinate information as the received position coordinate information, and calculates a difference vector between the received illumination position coordinate information and the sign position coordinate information. Then, the calculated difference vector is specified as reception direction vector information (see the arrow indicating the traveling direction shown in FIG. 4). In addition, as shown in FIG. 5, the floor surface coordinate information (the floor surface illumination and transmission) transmitted from the floor surface illumination and transmission device (floor illumination device equipped with a visible light communication function) attached to the floor surface. In the case where the visible light communication receiving apparatus 100 receives the information), in step SA-3, the identifying unit 106a may identify the received floor surface position coordinate information as the received position coordinate information. Good.

  Next, content selection / reproduction processing performed by the visible light communication receiving apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of content selection / playback processing performed by the visible light communication receiving device 100 according to the first embodiment.

  First, each light receiving unit 102 receives visible light reaching the light receiving unit 102 and outputs an electrical signal corresponding to each received visible light (step SB-1).

  Next, the demodulator 104 demodulates each electrical signal output in step SB-1 to acquire a content information group (information group consisting of a plurality of content information) and identification information, and the controller 106 acquires The obtained content information group and identification information are stored in a predetermined storage area of the storage unit 108 (step SB-2). Thereby, the visible light communication receiving apparatus 100 was able to receive the content information group and the identification information by visible light communication.

  Next, the selection unit 106b selects content information corresponding to the identification information acquired in step SB-2 from the content information group acquired in step SB-2 (step SB-3), and the playback unit 106c. Then, the content information selected in step SB-3 is reproduced with video, characters, audio, etc. (step SB-4).

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 7, a content information group transmitted from an illumination and transmission device X attached to a certain ceiling (specifically, a plurality of pieces of information installed around the illumination and transmission device X) Content information group (in FIG. 8, content information related to sign / sending device A and content information related to sign / sending device B) and sign / sending device (in FIG. 8, sign / sending device A and sign / sending device B) When the identification information transmitted from the transmitting device (in FIG. 8, the ID of the device A transmitted from the sign and transmitting device A) is received by the receiving device 100 for visible light communication, in step SB-3, the selection unit 106b The content information corresponding to the received identification information is selected from the received content information group, and in step SB-4, the playback unit 106c selects the selection unit. Selected content information 06b (content information regarding FIG 8, sign and transmitter A) to reproduce sound with video, text and audio.

  As described above, the position / direction specifying process and the content selecting / reproducing process performed by the visible light communication receiving apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment have been described. As illustrated in FIGS. 8 and 9, the illumination attached to the ceiling of the entrance gate Lighting installation location information (specifically, "here is the entrance gate" information) that indicates the installation location of the lighting and transmission device transmitted from the cum transmission device, and the sign and transmission device transmitted from the sign transmission device When the receiving device 100 for visible light communication receives sign installation location information (specifically, “this is a modern art exhibition” or “this is an exit”), the control unit 106 receives the received illumination. The installation location information and the signature installation location information may be displayed on the screen of the visible light communication receiving apparatus 100 as video or text, or reproduced by voice. As a result, the owner of the visible light communication receiving device 100 can acquire information on the location where the user is and the destination facing the receiver through the visible light communication receiving device 100.

  As described above, according to the visible light communication receiving device 100 of the first embodiment, since the plurality of light receiving units 102 are provided, the visible light emitted from the plurality of transmitting devices is received by the owner. The human burden can be reduced. Specifically, since the owner need not substantially align the direction of the visible light communication receiving device 100 with each transmitting device, the operation of the owner when acquiring information from a plurality of transmitting devices is reduced. be able to.

  Here, the visible light communication is characterized in that a person who receives information visually recognizes light from a transmission source, selects a communication partner, and performs communication. For this purpose, it is necessary to adjust the direction so that the light receiving unit of the receiving device receives light from the light emitting unit of the selected transmitting device as if the subject is placed in the viewfinder of the camera. However, various light sources that emit information, such as lighting, traffic signals, and indicator lamps of electronic devices, are assumed, and the position of the light source can take various directions with respect to the user. Also, assuming that the receiving device is shaped like a camera-equipped mobile terminal or a mobile phone, when receiving while looking at the monitor screen, the person who receives the information is likely to be in an unnatural posture. In view of this, the visible light communication receiving device 100 according to the first embodiment includes the plurality of light receiving units 102, and therefore, the act of receiving and the act of referring to the information can be easily combined. Note that information emitted from a single transmission device may be received by an arbitrary light receiving unit 102.

  Further, according to the visible light communication receiving device 100 of the first embodiment, each light receiving unit 102 is arranged so that the light receiving regions do not overlap each other, and thus a plurality of visible light reaching the device from different directions. The light can be reliably received by each light receiving unit 102. That is, the advantage of having a plurality of light receiving units 102 can be utilized. Here, for example, when a light receiving region of a certain light receiving unit 102 partially overlaps with a light receiving region of another light receiving unit 102, the same visible light emitted from a certain transmitter is received by a plurality of light receiving units 102, and the result Therefore, a situation may occur in which only a single piece of information can be acquired by a plurality of light receiving units 102. However, this reduces the advantage of having a plurality of light receiving units 102 by half. In view of this, in the receiving device for visible light communication 100, each light receiving unit 102 is arranged so that the light receiving regions do not overlap each other, so that a plurality of visible lights reaching the device from different directions can be received. The unit 102 can reliably receive light, and the advantage of having a plurality of light receiving units 102 can be utilized.

  Further, according to the visible light communication receiving apparatus 100 of the first embodiment, each light receiving unit 102 can change its orientation. In other words, each light receiving unit 102 can have an independent light receiving range. Thereby, when receiving visible light emitted from a plurality of transmitters, the owner may change the direction of each light receiving unit 102 as appropriate, and the direction of the receiver 100 for visible light communication is set to each transmitter. Since there is no need to match, it is possible to further reduce the operation of the owner when acquiring information from a plurality of transmitting devices. In other words, the owner only needs to change the direction of each light receiving unit 102 without changing the direction of the visible light communication receiving device 100, so that the operation for reception can be performed in an easy posture. Can do.

  Further, according to the visible light communication receiving device 100 of the first embodiment, when a plurality of transmission position coordinate information is received, the specifying unit 106a receives the reception position coordinate information and the reception direction based on the received plurality of transmission position coordinate information. Specify vector information. Specifically, as described above with reference to FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, the transmission position coordinate information emitted from the upper side (for example, the ceiling) or the lower side (for example, the floor surface) and the front (attached to the wall surface, pole, etc.) The reception position coordinate information and the reception direction vector information are specified by combining the transmission position coordinate information emitted from a signboard or the like. Thereby, not only the position of the owner but also the orientation of the owner can be recognized. In other words, it is easy to recognize not only the one-dimensional position but also the direction it is facing. This makes it possible to execute an application such as navigation on the visible light communication receiving apparatus 100. That is, according to the visible light communication receiving apparatus 100, more detailed and accurate information selection can be performed by combining a plurality of pieces of information.

  Further, according to the visible light communication receiving device 100 of the first embodiment, when the content information group and the identification information are received, the selection unit 106b selects the content corresponding to the received identification information from the received content information group. Information is selected, and the playback unit 106c plays back the content information selected by the selection unit 106b using video, text, audio, or the like. Specifically, as described above with reference to FIG. 7, the content information group emitted from above (for example, the ceiling) and the ID issued from the front (signboard attached to a wall surface, a pole, etc.) Is received, the content information corresponding to the ID is selected from the received content information group and reproduced. Thereby, the content information regarding the destination that the owner is about to go to can be provided to the owner via the visible light communication receiving device 100. Also, for example, in FIG. 7, the content information group issued from above (for example, the ceiling) is received first, and the identification information issued from the front (such as a signboard attached to a wall surface or a pole) is received later. In this case, the selection / reproduction of the content information is executed at the timing when the identification information is received. That is, selection / playback of content information is executed using the identification information as a trigger. Thereby, the content information regarding the destination that the owner is about to go to can be provided to the owner through the visible light communication receiving device 100 at an appropriate timing.

  Further, according to the visible light communication receiving device 100 of the first embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, it is possible to detect the direction in which the owner passes the gate. Up to now, when detecting the direction of the owner's gate passage (entrance / exit) with a receiving device having only a single light receiving unit, independent transmitting devices are provided in advance inside and outside the gate, and each transmitting device is optical After adjusting the light distribution of each transmitting device in advance so as not to interfere with each other, the receiving device receives two different pieces of position information on the outside and inside of the gate, and processes the received two pieces of position information in time series In this way, the owner was detecting the direction of passing through the gate. However, according to the visible light communication receiving device 100 of the first embodiment, the position and direction of the visible light communication receiving device 100 can be specified without imposing excessive restrictions on the layout of the transmitting device.

  Here, a second embodiment of the visible light communication receiving apparatus 100 will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the second embodiment, the description overlapping the description of the first embodiment may be omitted.

  First, the external appearance of the visible light communication receiving apparatus 100 according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of an appearance of the visible light communication receiving device 100 according to the second embodiment. As shown in FIG. 10, the visible light communication receiving device 100 according to the second embodiment is a mobile phone equipped with a function of receiving information through visible light communication. A plurality of units 110 are provided. Here, the light receiving unit 102 and the plurality of transmission units 110 are covered with a spherical housing as illustrated, and the owner moves the housing to change the direction of the light reception unit 102 with the plurality of transmission units 110. It is attached to this apparatus together with the housing so that it can be arbitrarily changed in conjunction.

  Next, the configuration of the visible light communication receiver 100 according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 11 and 12. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the visible light communication receiving device 100 according to the second embodiment. As shown in FIG. 11, the visible light communication receiving apparatus 100 according to the second embodiment includes a light receiving unit 102, a demodulation unit 104, a control unit 106, a storage unit 108, and the vicinity of the light receiving unit 102 as illustrated. And a plurality of transmissive portions 110 arranged. Here, the light receiving unit 102 is specifically a multi-wavelength compatible light receiving element that receives visible light transmitted through each transmitting unit 110 and outputs an electrical signal corresponding to each received visible light. . In addition, each transmission unit 110 is specifically an optical filter, and selectively transmits visible light in a wavelength range that does not overlap each other.

  Here, the configuration of the light receiving unit 102 and the transmission unit 110, which is a characteristic part of the present invention, will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the light receiving unit 102 and the transmission unit 110 according to the second embodiment. As shown in FIG. 12, each transmission unit 110 is disposed in the vicinity of the light receiving unit 102 in different directions. As a result, each of the transmitting portions 110 (shown in FIG. 12, only blue visible light disposed near the light receiving portion 102 so as to be able to transmit visible light reaching the device from the front of the device). A transmission unit 110 that transmits only red visible light, which is disposed in the vicinity of the light receiving unit 102 so as to transmit visible light that has reached the device from above. Thus, it is possible to separate a plurality of visible lights (visible light signals from above, visible light signals from the front shown in FIG. 12) that have reached the apparatus from different directions, depending on the difference in wavelength (color). A single light receiving unit 102 can receive a plurality of visible lights transmitted through the transmission unit 110 and take out independent electrical signals. Here, the visible light communication receiving apparatus 100 according to the second embodiment includes the two transmission units 110, but the number of the transmission units 110 is not limited thereto. Further, the arrangement positions of the respective transmission portions 110 are not limited to the positions shown in FIGS. 11 and 12.

  In the above configuration, the position / direction identification process and the content selection / playback process performed by the visible light communication receiving apparatus 100 according to the second embodiment are excluded from step SA-1 in FIG. 3 and step SB-1 in FIG. Therefore, the description of the above-described step SA-2 and step SA-3 and the above-described step SB-2, step SB-3 and step SB-4 is omitted here, and step SA-1 in FIG. 3 is omitted. Only the process replacing step SB-1 in FIG. 6 will be described.

  First, the light receiving unit 102 receives a plurality of visible lights having different wavelength ranges (colors) that have been transmitted through the transmission units 110, and individually outputs electrical signals corresponding to the received visible lights.

  As described above, according to the visible light communication receiving device 100 of the second embodiment, in addition to the single light receiving unit 102, the plurality of transmission units 110 are further provided, so that the visible light emitted from the plurality of transmission devices is provided. It is possible to reduce the human burden on the owner when receiving light. Specifically, since the owner need not substantially align the direction of the visible light communication receiving device 100 with each transmitting device, the operation of the owner when acquiring information from a plurality of transmitting devices is reduced. be able to. Here, in this apparatus, since each visible light emitted from a plurality of transmitters is transmitted through each transmission unit 110, the overlapping of the wavelength range of each visible light is eliminated. Visible light can be received by one light receiving unit 102.

  In addition, according to the visible light communication receiving device 100 of the second embodiment, the transmission units 110 are arranged in different directions, so that a plurality of visible lights that have reached the device from different directions Light can be reliably received by the light receiving unit 102 via the transmission unit 110.

  Further, according to the visible light communication receiving device 100 of the second embodiment, the light receiving unit 102 can change the direction thereof together with the plurality of transmission units 110, and thus visible light emitted from a plurality of transmission devices. When receiving light, the holder only needs to change the orientation of the light receiving unit 102 as appropriate, and it is not necessary to align the orientation of the device with each transmitting device. The operation can be further reduced.

  Further, according to the visible light communication receiving device 100 of the second embodiment, when a plurality of transmission position coordinate information is received, the specifying unit 106a receives the reception position coordinate information and the reception direction based on the received plurality of transmission position coordinate information. Since the vector information is specified, not only the position of the owner but also the direction of the owner can be recognized.

  Further, according to the visible light communication receiving device 100 of the second embodiment, when the content information group and the identification information are received, the selection unit 106b selects the content corresponding to the received identification information from the received content information group. The information is selected, and the playback unit 106c plays back the content information selected by the selection unit 106b with video, text, audio, etc., so that the content information regarding the destination to which the owner is going to go is received for visible light communication. It can be provided to the holder via the device 100.

  As described above, the receiver for visible light communication according to the present invention specifically includes airports, stations, large-scale facilities, streets, and events where lighting devices and signboards that transmit information by visible light communication are installed. It can be suitably implemented at venues and museums and is extremely useful.

1 is a diagram illustrating an example of an external appearance of a visible light communication receiving device 100 according to a first embodiment. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a visible light communication receiving device 100 according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a position / direction specifying process performed by the visible light communication receiving device 100 according to the first embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the embodiment of the receiver 100 for visible light communications of Example 1. FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the embodiment of the receiver 100 for visible light communications of Example 1. FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of content selection / playback processing performed by the visible light communication receiving device 100 according to the first embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the embodiment of the receiver 100 for visible light communications of Example 1. FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the embodiment of the receiver 100 for visible light communications of Example 1. FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the embodiment of the receiver 100 for visible light communications of Example 1. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of an appearance of a visible light communication receiving device 100 according to Embodiment 2. FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of a structure of the receiver 100 for visible light communication of Example 2. FIG. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a light receiving unit and a transmission unit 110 according to a second embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

100 Receiver for visible light communication
102 Light receiver
104 Demodulator
106 Control unit
106a specific part
106b Selection unit
106c Playback unit
108 Storage unit
110 Transmission part

Claims (10)

In a receiving device for visible light communication that receives information by visible light communication,
A receiving device for visible light communication, comprising: a plurality of light receiving means for receiving visible light and outputting an electrical signal corresponding to the received visible light. The receiving device for visible light communication according to claim 1, wherein each of the light receiving means is disposed so that light receiving regions thereof do not overlap each other. The receiving device for visible light communication according to claim 1 or 2, wherein each of the light receiving means can change its direction. When a plurality of pieces of position information representing the position of the transmission source are received, position information representing the position of the visible light communication receiving device and direction information representing the direction of the visible light communication receiving device based on the plurality of position information. The receiving device for visible light communication according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising specifying means for specifying. A selection means for selecting content information corresponding to the identification information from the plurality of content information when receiving the identification information for uniquely identifying the plurality of content information and the transmission source;
The receiving device for visible light communication according to claim 1, further comprising: a reproducing unit that reproduces the content information selected by the selecting unit. In a receiving device for visible light communication that receives information by visible light communication,
A plurality of transmission means that selectively transmit visible light in a wavelength range that does not overlap each other;
A receiving device for visible light communication, comprising: a light receiving unit that receives visible light transmitted through each of the transmission units and outputs an electrical signal corresponding to each received visible light. The receiving device for visible light communication according to claim 6, wherein each of the transmitting means is arranged in different directions. The receiving device for visible light communication according to claim 6 or 7, wherein the direction of the light receiving means can be changed together with the plurality of transmitting means. When a plurality of pieces of position information representing the position of the transmission source are received, position information representing the position of the visible light communication receiving device and direction information representing the direction of the visible light communication receiving device based on the plurality of position information. The receiving device for visible light communication according to any one of claims 6 to 8, further comprising specifying means for specifying. A selection means for selecting content information corresponding to the identification information from the plurality of content information when receiving the identification information for uniquely identifying the plurality of content information and the transmission source;
The receiving device for visible light communication according to any one of claims 6 to 9, further comprising: a reproducing unit that reproduces the content information selected by the selecting unit.

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