JP2007166293A - Position information generator and position information monitoring system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a position information generator and a position information monitoring system for realizing adequate communication in accordance with condition of a monitoring object and assuring excellent tracking ability of the monitoring object. <P>SOLUTION: Since a region for monitoring a position information generator 1 is defined and the present position of the position information generator 1 is transmitted, in the generating interval depending on the region explained above, to a position information receiving unit 107 by radio communication from a position information generating unit 106, the position information generator 1 is surely capable of adequately varying the generating interval in accordance with the present position even when the generator 1 is designed as the permanent generation type. In the case where the monitoring object is in the region of lower risk, power consumption can be suppressed by increasing the generating interval. Meanwhile, tracking ability in the monitoring side can be enhanced and range of search can be narrowed easily by increasing transmission frequency of the present position by reducing generating interval when the monitoring object is in the region of higher risk. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a position information transmission device and a position information monitoring system that wirelessly transmit position information of a monitoring target, and in particular, can perform appropriate communication according to the state of the monitoring target and is excellent in tracking performance of the monitoring target. The present invention relates to a position information transmission device and a position information monitoring system.

  A GPS (Global Positioning System) is known as a system for measuring the position of a moving object. In recent years, a security system has been proposed that supports surveillance of whereabouts such as theft and kidnapping by tracking a monitored object in real time, and a service provider wirelessly transmits location information based on GPS from a communication terminal that moves with the monitored object. The service provider can not only easily grasp the current position of the monitoring target by accessing the service provider's dedicated website from a personal computer (PC) or mobile phone, but the service provider can Based on the user's request, the staff will be dispatched to the site to collect the situation and take appropriate measures.

  Since a communication terminal used for such a service is required to have a portable size, the size of a power supply or the like is inevitably limited, and it is important how to suppress power consumption required for communication. In addition, since the certainty that the position information can be accurately transmitted in an emergency is required, the flexibility of the security system that can appropriately and reliably respond to the situation is required.

In order to increase the flexibility of the security system, it is determined whether or not the mobile wireless terminal device owned by the user is within a communication area with the security system in the house, and the operation of the security system is automatically performed based on the determination result. A security system that automatically controls is proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
JP 2004-208021 A

  However, according to the security system of Patent Document 1, since the operation of the security system is switched between when the user is in the house and when the user is away from the house, for example, the user is in the house. Even in this case, it is not possible to flexibly cope with the case where it is desired to operate the security system. Further, there is a problem that the position of the monitoring target cannot be grasped even when the security system is operating.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a position information transmission device and a position information monitoring system that can perform appropriate communication according to the state of the monitoring target and are excellent in the traceability of the monitoring target.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is based on a positioning unit that acquires position information according to the position of a monitoring target, a transmission interval table that holds a plurality of transmission intervals based on the position information, and the position information. A transmission interval setting unit for setting a transmission interval selected from the plurality of transmission intervals held in the transmission interval table, and a transmission timing based on the transmission interval set by the transmission interval setting unit. And a transmission control unit that causes the positional information transmission unit to transmit the positional information to be monitored.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a positioning unit that acquires position information according to the position of a monitoring target, a transmission interval table that holds a plurality of transmission intervals based on the position information, and the position information A transmission interval setting unit for setting a transmission interval selected from the plurality of transmission intervals held in the transmission interval table, and a transmission timing based on the transmission interval set by the transmission interval setting unit. A transmission control unit that causes the location information transmission unit to transmit the location information to be monitored, a location information reception unit that receives the location information transmitted from the location information transmission unit, and the location information reception unit. A position information monitoring system having a position information recording unit for recording the received position information is provided.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, suitable communication can be performed according to the state of a monitoring object, and the tracking property of a monitoring object can be improved.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a location information transmission device and a location information monitoring system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

(Configuration of position information transmitter 1)
The location information transmission device 1 includes a transmission interval designation unit 101, a transmission interval table 102, a positioning unit 103, a transmission interval setting unit 104, a transmission control unit 105, and a position information transmission unit 106.

  Further, the position information receiving unit 107 that wirelessly communicates with the position information transmitting device 1, the position information recording unit 108 that records the position information transmitted from the position information transmitting device 1, and the position information transmitting device 1 are provided with the position information. The position information monitoring system is configured by including the GPS satellite 109.

  The location information transmission device 1 is a portable communication terminal, specifically a mobile phone having a GPS function and capable of transmitting location information to a wireless public line. A dedicated terminal capable of wireless communication may be used.

  The transmission interval designation unit 101 designates an area (region) where the position information transmission apparatus 1 is monitored and a transmission interval corresponding thereto. For example, a rectangular area is defined by two points on the diagonal line, and at the same time, a position information transmission interval when the position information transmitting apparatus 1 exists in the same area is also input. In addition, after specifying all areas, the position information transmission interval outside the specified area is also input. The transmission interval data input in this way is stored in the transmission interval table 102. The transmission interval is a parameter that determines the granularity of the location information to be collected. By setting a large interval in a safe area, the increase in data volume can be suppressed, and conversely in an unsafe area, the interval can be set small. The location information is frequently transmitted, and the location information transmission device 1 can be easily traced when an emergency occurs.

  The positioning unit 103 obtains the current position of the position information transmission device 1 by receiving radio waves from a plurality of GPS satellites 109.

  The transmission interval setting unit 104 uses the transmission interval data stored in the transmission interval table 102 to determine the transmission interval at the current position of the position information transmission device 1 obtained by the positioning unit 103. Here, when the designated areas (rectangles) overlap and a plurality of transmission intervals are obtained for the current position, the minimum value, that is, the value with the shortest transmission interval is selected.

  The transmission control unit 105 includes a down counter (DC) and an interval timer (1 second interval). The transmission control unit 105 has two functions. The first function is a function of down counter (DC) management, and the second function is a function of issuing a position data transmission command to the position information transmission unit 106. In the down counter (DC) management function, the transmission interval (INT) calculated by the transmission interval setting unit 104 is compared with the current transmission interval (CINT) held therein, and if there is a change, the current transmission interval (INT) CINT) and down counter (DC) values are updated at the transmission interval (INT). In the function of issuing a position data transmission command, a down counter (DC) is decremented every second using a built-in interval timer, and when it reaches 0, a transmission command is issued to the position information transmission unit 106. Further, after the issuance, the current transmission interval (CINT) is substituted into the down counter (DC) to perform resetting for the next transmission.

  When the position information transmission unit 106 receives the transmission command issued by the transmission control unit 105, the position information transmission unit 106 uses the current position of the position information transmission device 1 acquired from the positioning unit 103 as a trigger to the position information reception unit 107 outside the apparatus. Send.

  The position information receiving unit 107 records the current position of the position information transmitting device 1 transmitted from the position information transmitting unit 106 in the position information recording unit 108 in time series.

  FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a region for monitoring the position information transmitting apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a correspondence diagram of table values indicating the coordinates of each region and the transmission interval (Prd) in the transmission interval table.

  Here, the region defines a rectangular region with two points on the diagonal line of the XY coordinate system. In this embodiment, as a condition for changing the transmission interval (Prd), Area1, Area 2, Area 3, and Other are provided. In FIG. 2, the origin (0, 0) is the home position.

  Further, in the following description, it is assumed that the monitoring target (target person) is an elementary school student when setting the transmission interval (Prd). Area 1 is an area that is considered to be relatively safe in the area near the home, Area 2 is an area that is slightly distant from the home outside Area 1, and is considered to require attention, and Area 3 is a distance from the home outside Area 2 The dangerous area and the non-designated area (Other) are areas where the degree of danger is high and prompt action is required. When the position information transmission device 1 is in each of the above-described areas, the transmission interval (Prd) is set so that Area1> Area2> Area3> Other as shown in FIG. In this embodiment, the transmission interval (Prd) at Area 1 is 1800 sec, the transmission interval (Prd) at Area 2 is 600 sec, the transmission interval (Prd) at Area 3 is 30 sec, and the transmission interval (Prd) at Other is 10 sec. Yes.

  FIG. 4 is an explanatory view partially showing GPS data received from a GPS satellite by the position information transmitting device. The GPS data includes information such as observation time, coordinate information (X, Y), positioning status, number of satellites used, positioning error, altitude above sea level.

  Hereinafter, operation | movement of the positional infomation transmission apparatus 1 of this invention is demonstrated. In the following description, it is assumed that each setting operation is performed based on the numeric keys, function keys, and enter key of the mobile phone, and the setting information can be confirmed on the liquid crystal display.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of the position information transmitting apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. First, a transmission interval setting item is selected from the menu screen, and a variable (CINT) value for storing the current transmission interval is initialized to 0 (step S201).

  Next, the transmission interval of the position information transmission device 1 is set in the transmission interval table 102. In the present embodiment, a rectangular area is designated by the coordinates of two points on the diagonal line, and the transmission interval (counter value) of the position information transmission apparatus 1 corresponding to the rectangular area is input (step S202).

  For example, for the area of Area 1 shown in FIG. 2, two coordinates (−5, 5) and (5, −5) shown in FIG. 3 and Prd 1800 which is the transmission interval are input. For the Area 2 area, two coordinates (−10, 10) and (10, −10) and Prd 600 as the transmission interval are input. For the area of Area 3, two coordinates (-15, 15) and (15, -15) and Prd30 which is the transmission interval are input (step S203).

  Next, the transmission interval for the non-designated area (Other) is set. After designating Area1 to Area3, a transmission interval when the current position of the position information transmission apparatus 1 is in Other is input (step S204). In the present embodiment, Prd10 which is a transmission interval in the Other shown in FIG. 3 is input and set in the transmission interval table 102 (step S204).

  Next, the positioning unit 103 acquires the current position (CX, CY) of the position information transmission device 1 based on the data received from the GPS satellite 109. In general, in GPS, position data is expressed in north latitude (NN degrees nn.nnn minutes) and east longitude (EE degrees ee.ee minutes), but in this embodiment, X coordinates and Y coordinates are used for ease of explanation. This is expressed (step S205).

  Next, when the transmission interval setting unit 104 inputs the current position (CX, CY) of the location information transmission device 1 obtained in step S205 from the positioning unit 103, the transmission interval table 102 set in steps S202 to S204 is obtained. Referring to this, it recognizes in which area the current position of the position information transmitting apparatus 1 is, and obtains the value of the transmission interval corresponding to that area.

  Since the transmission interval set here is a variable set with reference to the transmission interval (Prd) stored in the transmission interval table 102, hereinafter the transmission interval (INT) is used to avoid confusion with the table value. ) And will be described (step S206).

  Next, the transmission control unit 105 compares the current transmission interval (CINT) with the transmission interval (INT) obtained from the current position (CX, CY) in step S206 (step S207), and when the values are different (step S207). S207: YES), the current transmission interval (CINT) is updated with the transmission interval (INT) (step S208), and the down counter (DC) is updated with the transmission interval (INT) (step S209). For example, when the current position of the position information transmission device 1 is (1, 1) and immediately after the start of the process, the current transmission interval (CINT) is initialized to 0 in step S201. ) And the down counter (DC) are set to Prd30.

  Next, the down counter (DC) is decremented at the current transmission interval (CINT) (step S211). The decrement is performed at intervals of 1 second by an interval timer (not shown) (step S212). Here, when the current position of the position information transmission device 1 is not moved from (1, 1), since Prd30 is set in the down counter (DC), the steps of S205 to S207 and S210 to S213 are 30. When the loop is executed and the down counter (DC) becomes 0 (step S210: YES), a trigger signal is output from the transmission control unit 105 to the position information transmission unit 106 (step S214). At the same time, the value of the down counter (DC) that has become 0 is reset with the value of the current transmission interval (CINT) (step S215).

  When receiving a trigger signal from the transmission control unit 105, the position information transmission unit 106 transmits the current position of the position information transmission device 1 included therein to the position information reception unit 107 through a wireless public line. The position information receiving unit 107 records the received current position of the position information transmitting device 1 in the position information recording unit 108 in time series.

  Further, when the stop of use of the position information transmission device 1 is instructed, the above-described operation is ended (step S213: YES).

  In addition, since the above-described transmission interval setting function changes the transmission interval according to the current position of the position information transmission device 1, it is necessary to appropriately set an area assumed as an action range to be monitored. Hereinafter, a detailed procedure of area setting in step S206 will be described.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a detailed procedure for area setting.

  First, an intermediate variable I that holds the minimum value of Prd at the current position of the position information transmission device 1 is initialized. Specifically, 65536, which is a sufficiently large value as the transmission interval, is set (step S601).

  Next, the transmission interval setting unit 104 extracts one area from the transmission interval table 102 and refers to the coordinate data P1 / P2 of the same area (step S602), and the current position (CX, CY) of the position information transmission apparatus 1 Is in the same area (step S603). For example, when the current position of the location information transmission device 1 is (1, 1), the location information transmission device 1 exists inside the Area 1.

  Next, the transmission interval setting unit 104 obtains a transmission interval (Prd) corresponding to the current position (CX, CY) of the position information transmission device 1 (step S604). For example, when the current position is (1, 1) (step S604: YES), Prd = 1800 is defined in advance as a table value as the transmission interval of Area1.

  Next, the transmission interval setting unit 104 updates the intermediate variable I. Here, when processing the area 1 that is the first area, since the variable I is set to 65536 when initialized in step S601, the condition of step S605 is satisfied, and I = 1800 (step 1). S606).

  Next, the transmission interval setting unit 104 determines whether all areas have been extracted from the transmission interval table 102 (step S607). In the case of the present embodiment, the answer is YES if everything is extracted from Area 1 to Area 3. When the current position of the location information transmission device 1 is (1, 1), the location information transmission device 1 exists within the entire area from Area 1 to Area 3, and the Prd of Area 3 is 30, which is the minimum value. Therefore, the intermediate variable I is set to 30 after the processing for all the areas is completed.

  Next, it is determined whether or not the intermediate variable I has been updated from the initial value (step S608). If it has been updated, the transmission interval (INT) is set as the value of the intermediate variable I (step S609). Specifically, the determination is made based on whether or not the value of the intermediate variable I matches the initial value 65536. If they match, the current position of the location information transmission device 1 does not exist in any region, and the transmission interval (INT) is the transmission interval for the non-designated region (Other) specified in step S204 (step S610). ). More specifically, if the current position of the location information transmission device 1 is (100, 100) shown in FIG. 2, the location information transmission device 1 does not exist in any area from Area 1 to Area 3, and the transmission interval ( INT) is set to 10, which is the transmission interval (Prd) of Other.

(Effect of the embodiment of the present invention)
According to the first embodiment described above, the following effects can be obtained.

(1) Define a region for monitoring the location information transmission device 1, and transmit the current position of the location information transmission device 1 from the location information transmission unit 106 to the location information reception unit 107 by wireless communication at a transmission interval corresponding to the region. Since it did in this way, even if it is always transmission-type position information transmission device 1, a transmission interval can be changed appropriately and reliably according to the present position. When the monitoring target is in a low risk area, the power consumption can be suppressed by increasing the transmission interval. On the other hand, when the monitoring target is in a high-risk area, the transmission frequency of the current position can be increased by reducing the transmission interval, thereby improving the tracking ability of the monitoring side and easily narrowing the search range etc. Become.

(2) Since the transmission interval when it is in a low risk area can be suppressed, the transmission interval to the wireless public line can be reduced, so that a low-cost service can be provided and the increase in traffic of the communication network can be suppressed and efficiency can be improved. Operation becomes possible.

  In the above-described embodiment, the monitoring target has been described as an elementary school student, but it can also be applied to elderly people, pets, valuables, and the like.

  In addition, as another condition for changing the transmission interval of the position information transmission device 1, the transmission control unit 105 monitors, for example, the acceleration of the movement of the monitoring target carrying the position information transmission device 1, and the acceleration is equal to or greater than a threshold value. The transmission interval may be reduced when This makes it possible to promptly detect an abnormality in a situation where the object to be monitored is in a safe area, such as a situation where the object is moving at high speed by a vehicle or the like. Specifically, the average acceleration is obtained by referring to the observation time of the current position data received from the GPS satellite 109 and calculating the moving distance from the monitoring target position at the previous observation time.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case has been described in which the risk increases as it goes out from the safe area in the area setting. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the position information transmission device 1 for various area settings. It is possible to vary the transmission interval.

  For example, there may be a case where a part of Area 1 shown in FIG. 2 is in contact with a part of Area 2 having a high degree of danger with Area 1, and therefore, by switching function switches or the like in the position information transmission device 1 The area selection algorithm may be arbitrarily changed.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the configuration in which the data from the GPS satellite 109 is used for positioning of the position information transmission device 1 is described. However, the information necessary for positioning is not limited to the GPS data. For example, from the PHS base station The current position may be determined by obtaining the distance by three-point positioning. The area is also specified by two rectangular diagonal points, but it may be specified by a polygon defined by connecting three or more points, or a circle defined by a center point and a radius. Although the method of numerically inputting the area has been described, the position information transmission device 1 is taken out outdoors, and, for example, a switch provided in the position information transmission device 1 is pressed at a place where a position (point) is desired. Then, it is conceivable to input an area (region) using position data obtained from GPS.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from or changing the technical idea of the present invention.

It is a schematic block diagram which shows the positional infomation transmission apparatus and positional infomation monitoring system which concern on embodiment of this invention. It is the schematic which shows the area | region which monitors the positional infomation transmission apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a correspondence figure of the table value which shows the coordinate of each area | region in a transmission interval table, and transmission interval (Prd). It is explanatory drawing which shows partially the GPS data which a positional infomation transmission apparatus receives from a GPS satellite. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the positional infomation transmission apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the detailed procedure of area | region setting.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Position information transmission apparatus, 101 ... Transmission interval designation | designated part, 102 ... Transmission interval table, 103 ... Positioning part, 104 ... Transmission interval setting part, 105 ... Transmission control part, 106 ... Position information transmission part, 107 ... Position information reception , 108 ... Position information recording part, 109 ... GPS satellite

Claims (6)

A positioning unit that acquires position information according to the position of the monitoring target;
A transmission interval table having a plurality of transmission intervals based on the position information;
A transmission interval setting unit for setting a transmission interval selected from the plurality of transmission intervals held in the transmission interval table based on the position information;
A positional information transmission comprising: a transmission control unit that causes the positional information transmission unit to transmit the positional information of the monitoring target when the transmission timing based on the transmission interval set by the transmission interval setting unit is reached. apparatus.   The position information transmission device according to claim 1, wherein the transmission interval table holds the plurality of transmission intervals corresponding to a plurality of predefined areas.   The positional information transmission device according to claim 1, wherein the transmission interval setting unit sets a transmission interval defined for a corresponding area when the monitoring target moves in any of a plurality of predefined areas.   The position information transmission device according to claim 1, wherein the transmission interval setting unit sets the transmission interval to a small value when it is determined that the degree of risk is high based on the positioning status of the monitoring target.   The position information transmission device according to claim 1, wherein the position information transmission unit transmits the position information to be monitored to a wireless public line at the transmission timing. A positioning unit that acquires position information according to the position of the monitoring target;
A transmission interval table having a plurality of transmission intervals based on the position information;
A transmission interval setting unit for setting a transmission interval selected from the plurality of transmission intervals held in the transmission interval table based on the position information;
A transmission control unit that causes the position information transmission unit to transmit the position information of the monitoring target when it becomes a transmission timing based on the transmission interval set by the transmission interval setting unit;
A position information receiver that receives the position information transmitted from the position information transmitter;
And a position information recording unit that records the position information received by the position information receiving unit.

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