JP2007183178A - Position detection system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a position detection system, using infrared rays which can increase the accuracy of detecting the position of a mobile unit. <P>SOLUTION: A plurality of position information transmitters are arranged in a matrix form on the ceiling. Each position information transmitter houses four infrared LEDs inside a single housing. Infrared rays from an infrared LED, provided within a unit space out of the four infrared LEDs provided in each position information transmitter, are irradiated toward each unit space. The same positional information is superimposed on these infrared rays. Consequently, mobile unit receives infrared rays from at least any one among these infrared rays, allowing determination as to in which unit space one is positioned. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a position detection system.

  Patent Document 1 discloses that a plurality of infrared transmitters are arranged above a basic region, and infrared rays including the same information are projected from the plurality of infrared transmitters to the same basic region. Yes.

Patent Document 2 discloses that in an optical remote control transmitter, a plurality of light emitting elements are arranged with different optical axes, thereby widening the directivity angle of light emitted from the optical remote control transmitter.
JP-A-1-292916 Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 3-12549

  Patent Document 1 does not clearly disclose how to irradiate each region with a plurality of infrared transmitters. However, as estimated from the specification, all infrared transmitters are vertically ( That is, it is considered that the light is radiated straight so that the optical axis is parallel to the vertical direction (the specification, page 3, lower left column, lines 3 to 12). However, if the infrared irradiation direction is set to the vertical direction, the infrared light receiving range is limited to the area immediately below the infrared transmitter and the vicinity thereof, so that there is a problem that the infrared detection accuracy is lowered. In particular, since the irradiation range of infrared rays becomes narrower as it is closer to the infrared transmitter, there is a problem that at a position close to the infrared transmitter, the infrared rays cannot be received if the transponder is slightly shifted from directly below the infrared transmitter. Further, depending on the position and posture of the user, there is a problem that the infrared light emitted from the infrared transmitter is blocked by the user's head and back and cannot be received by the transponder.

  Further, Patent Document 2 discloses increasing the light directivity angle, but does not disclose any method for increasing the infrared light receiving accuracy when position information is transmitted to each predetermined region by infrared light. Absent. In particular, when there is an obstacle between the light emitting element and the light receiving unit, the infrared ray is blocked by the obstacle, which hinders information transmission.

  Therefore, a main object of the present invention is to provide a position detection system using infrared rays that can improve the position detection accuracy of a mobile terminal.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention employs the following configuration. The reference numerals, figure numbers, and supplementary explanations in parentheses show the corresponding relationship with the drawings in order to help understanding of the present invention, and do not limit the scope of the present invention.

  The position detection system of the present invention is carried by a user with a plurality of infrared light emitting units (LEDs) that transmit, by infrared, position information individually assigned to each unit space toward each of the plurality of unit spaces. A mobile terminal (10) for receiving location information transmitted by the location information transmitter. The plurality of infrared light emitting units include a first infrared light emitting unit and a second infrared light emitting unit that are arranged apart from each other and transmit the same position information from different directions toward the same unit space. The mobile terminal is based on a light receiving unit (33) that receives infrared light emitted from the first infrared light emitting unit or the second infrared light emitting unit, and position information indicated by the infrared light received by the light receiving unit. Position detecting means (21) for detecting the position of the mobile terminal.

  The plurality of infrared light emitting units may be disposed on a ceiling or floor surface of the unit space, and the optical axis of each infrared light emitting unit may be inclined toward the center of the corresponding unit space with respect to the vertical direction. Good (FIG. 8).

  Further, the unit space has a rectangular parallelepiped shape, and the first infrared light emitting unit and the second infrared light emitting unit are different from the first vertex and the first vertex of the unit space. You may each arrange | position to a 2nd vertex. Note that “placed at the vertex” does not require that it is placed strictly at the vertex, it is sufficient if it appears to be placed at the vertex at first glance. May be.

  In addition, the first infrared light emitting unit and the second infrared light emitting unit are respectively disposed at a first vertex of any one plane of the unit space and a second vertex facing the first vertex. May be.

  In addition, the plurality of infrared light emitting units are in directions different from each other and different from the first infrared light emitting unit and the second infrared light emitting unit, and the first infrared light emitting unit and the second infrared light emitting unit. A third infrared light emitting unit and a fourth infrared light emitting unit that transmit the same position information as the infrared light emitting unit may be further included. As a result, the position of the mobile terminal can be determined as long as the infrared light irradiated from any one of the four infrared light receiving units can be received, so that the accuracy of determining the position of the mobile terminal can be further improved. it can.

  In addition, the unit space has a rectangular parallelepiped shape, and the first infrared light emitting unit, the second infrared light emitting unit, the third infrared light emitting unit, and the fourth infrared light emitting unit are configured as the unit. You may each arrange | position at the four vertexes of any one plane of the ceiling and floor surface of space. As a result, the position of the mobile terminal can be determined as long as any one of the four infrared rays irradiated from the four vertices can be received, so that the accuracy of determining the position of the mobile terminal can be further increased. .

  Further, on the ceiling or floor, a position information transmitter is arranged at each vertex shared by four adjacent unit spaces, and each position information transmitter has a vertex at which the position information transmitter is arranged. Four infrared light emitting units that transmit different position information toward each of the four unit spaces sharing the same may be disposed. Thereby, since four infrared light emission parts which irradiate infrared rays toward four unit spaces adjacent to each other are constituted by one unit, the burden of the mounting process of the infrared light emission parts can be reduced.

  The position detection system may further include a light emission control unit (200) that sequentially emits four infrared light emitting units arranged in the position information transmitter in a predetermined order.

  According to the position detection system of the present invention, each unit space is irradiated with at least two infrared rays that transmit the same position information from different locations in different directions of the unit space, and the mobile terminal transmits at least two of these Since the unit space in which the mobile terminal is located is determined by receiving any one of infrared rays, the accuracy of determining the position of the mobile terminal can be improved. In particular, since the portion of the two infrared rays that cannot be covered by the infrared irradiation range of one infrared ray can be covered by the irradiation range of the other infrared ray, the mobile terminal is temporarily located at a position shifted from the optical axis of the one infrared light emitting unit. Even when it is located, it is possible to receive the other infrared ray, so that it is possible to improve the reception accuracy of the position information. In addition, even if one infrared ray is blocked by the user's head or back depending on the position or posture of the user carrying the mobile terminal, the other infrared ray is not blocked by the user's head or back. Therefore, the accuracy of receiving position information can be improved.

  Hereinafter, a position detection system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail.

  FIG. 1 shows an outline of a position detection system according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the present embodiment, a plurality of position information transmitters 100 are installed in a matrix on the ceiling. Further, a map is drawn on the floor, and a user carrying the mobile terminal 10 can freely move on the map drawn on the floor.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of the position detection system of the present embodiment. The plurality of position information transmitters 100 arranged on the ceiling transmit infrared rays at predetermined timings based on control signals from the transmitter control device 200, respectively. This infrared ray includes position information. This position information is used to determine the current position of the mobile terminal 10. The mobile terminal 10 carried by the user has a function of receiving infrared rays transmitted from the location information transmitter 100. When receiving infrared rays from the location information transmitter 100, the mobile terminal 10 is based on the location information superimposed thereon. To determine its current position.

  Next, details of the mobile terminal 10 will be described. In this embodiment, a portable game machine is used as the mobile terminal 10, but the present invention is not limited to this.

  FIG. 3 is an external view of the mobile terminal 10. In FIG. 3, the mobile terminal 10 includes a first LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) 11 and a second LCD 12. The housing 13 includes an upper housing 13a and a lower housing 13b. The first LCD 11 is accommodated in the upper housing 13a, and the second LCD 12 is accommodated in the lower housing 13b. The resolutions of the first LCD 11 and the second LCD 12 are both 256 dots × 192 dots. In this embodiment, an LCD is used as the display device. However, any other display device such as a display device using EL (Electro Luminescence) can be used. An arbitrary resolution can be used.

  The upper housing 13a is formed with sound release holes 18a and 18b for releasing sound from a pair of speakers (30a and 30b in FIG. 4) to be described later.

  The lower housing 13b is provided with a cross switch 14a, start switch 14b, select switch 14c, A button 14d, B button 14e, X button 14f, Y button 14g, L button 14L and R button 14R as input devices. Yes. As a further input device, a touch panel 15 is mounted on the screen of the second LCD 12. The lower housing 13b is also provided with a power switch 19 and an insertion slot for storing the memory card 17 and the stick 16. If only the touch panel 15 is used as an input device, the cross switch 14a, start switch 14b, select switch 14c, A button 14d, B button 14e, X button 14f, Y button 14g, L button 14L and R button 14R may not be provided.

  As the touch panel 15, an arbitrary system such as a resistive film system, an optical system (infrared system), and a capacitive coupling system can be used. The touch panel 15 has a function of outputting coordinate data corresponding to the contact position when the surface of the touch panel 15 is touched with the stick 16. In the present embodiment, the touch panel 15 having a resolution (detection accuracy) of 256 dots × 192 dots is used as in the resolution of the second LCD 12. However, the resolution of the touch panel 15 and the resolution of the second LCD 12 are not necessarily the same.

  Further, the upper housing 13a and the lower housing 13b are provided with infrared light receiving portions 33 for receiving infrared light transmitted from the position information transmitter 100, respectively. The infrared light receiving unit 33 must be disposed at a position that is not covered by the hand or finger of the user holding the mobile terminal 10. In the present embodiment, by arranging the two infrared light receiving units 33 at positions separated from each other on the diagonal line of the mobile terminal 10, even if one infrared light receiving unit 33 is covered with a user's hand or finger, the other The infrared light transmitted from the position information transmitter 100 can be received by the infrared light receiving unit 33.

  The memory card 17 is a recording medium on which a computer program (position detection program) is recorded, and is detachably attached to an insertion port provided in the lower housing 13b.

  Next, the internal configuration of the mobile terminal 10 will be described with reference to FIG.

  In FIG. 4, a CPU core 21 is mounted on the electronic circuit board 20 accommodated in the housing 13. A connector 23 is connected to the CPU core 21 via a bus 22, an input / output interface circuit (referred to as I / F circuit in the drawing) 25, a first GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) 26, a second GPU 27, a RAM 24, And the LCD controller 31 is connected. The memory card 17 is detachably connected to the connector 23. The memory card 17 includes a ROM 17a that stores a position detection program and a RAM 17b that stores backup data in a rewritable manner. The position detection program stored in the ROM 17a of the memory card 17 is loaded into the RAM 24, and the position detection program loaded into the RAM 24 is executed by the CPU core 21. In addition to the position detection program, the RAM 24 stores temporary data and image data obtained by the CPU core 21 executing the position detection program. Connected to the I / F circuit 25 are the touch panel 15, the right speaker 30 a, the left speaker 30 b, the operation switch unit 14 including the cross switch 14 a and the A button 14 d in FIG. 3, and the infrared light receiving unit 33. The right speaker 30a and the left speaker 30b are respectively arranged inside the sound release holes 18a and 18b.

  A first VRAM (Video RAM) 28 is connected to the first GPU 26, and a second VRAM 29 is connected to the second GPU 27. In response to an instruction from the CPU core 21, the first GPU 26 generates a first image based on the image data stored in the RAM 24 and renders the first image in the first VRAM 28. Similarly, the second GPU 27 generates a second image in accordance with an instruction from the CPU core 21 and draws it in the second VRAM 29. The first VRAM 28 and the second VRAM 29 are connected to the LCD controller 31.

  The LCD controller 31 includes a register 32. The register 32 stores a value of 0 or 1 according to an instruction from the CPU core 21. When the value of the register 32 is 0, the LCD controller 31 outputs the first image drawn in the first VRAM 28 to the first LCD 11 and the second image drawn in the second VRAM 29 to the second LCD 12. Output. When the value in the register 32 is 1, the first image drawn in the first VRAM 28 is output to the second LCD 12, and the second image drawn in the second VRAM 29 is output to the first LCD 11.

  The configuration of the mobile terminal 10 as described above is merely an example, and the mobile terminal used in the position detection system of the present invention includes means for receiving a signal from a position information transmitter, and a received signal. It suffices to have at least means for detecting the position based on this.

  The position detection program of the present invention may be supplied not only to the mobile terminal 10 through an external storage medium such as the memory card 17 but also to the mobile terminal 10 through a wired or wireless communication line. The information may be recorded in advance in a nonvolatile storage device inside the mobile terminal 10.

  Next, the structure of the position information transmitter 100 will be described. As shown in FIG. 5, the position information transmitter 100 is configured to house four infrared LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes) in one housing. Infrared rays from the respective infrared LEDs (first LED, second LED, third LED, fourth LED) are irradiated from the ceiling toward the floor, but are irradiated in parallel to each other (that is, the optical axes are parallel to each other). Instead, the light is emitted slightly outward as shown in FIG. In addition, the irradiation range of each LED can be adjusted to some extent by adjusting the length of the cylindrical member which lets infrared rays pass as shown in FIG.

  Next, a method for transmitting position information using the position information transmitter 100 will be described. The position information transmitter 100 is arranged in a matrix on the ceiling as shown in FIG. Here, a rectangular parallelepiped space having the four position information transmitters 100 as apexes as shown in FIG. 7 is referred to as “unit space”, and the floor surface of the six surfaces constituting the rectangular parallelepiped is referred to as “unit region”. I will call it. Each of the four position information transmitters 100a to 100d shown in FIG. 7 has the structure shown in FIG. For the unit spaces having the position information transmitters 100a to 100d as apexes, the four infrared LEDs provided in the position information transmitters 100a to 100d are provided inside the unit space. Infrared rays from the infrared LEDs are respectively irradiated. The same position information (position information individually assigned for each unit space) is superimposed on these infrared rays. As a result, when the mobile terminal 10 is located in the unit space shown in FIG. 7, for example, the mobile terminal 10 receives the infrared rays from at least one of the position information transmitters 100a to 100d, thereby 10 can specify in which unit space the user is located.

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, a plurality of infrared rays with the same position information superimposed on each unit space are irradiated from different directions. Specifically, the infrared LEDs arranged at the four vertices of the ceiling of each unit space are arranged so that the infrared optical axis is inclined toward the center of the corresponding unit space with respect to the vertical direction. In this way, infrared LEDs are arranged at the four vertices of the ceiling of the unit space, and the infrared LEDs are inclined and arranged so that the optical axis of the infrared rays emitted from the infrared LED is directed toward the inner direction (near the center) of the unit space. Thus, in each unit space, a space that cannot be covered by the infrared irradiation range from a certain infrared LED can be covered by another infrared LED, so that the entire unit space can be efficiently included in the infrared irradiation range. Infrared reception accuracy can be increased. Further, since the infrared optical axis is inclined, for example, even if the user looks into the mobile terminal 10 from above, the infrared light is compared with the case where the optical axis is not inclined as compared with the case where the optical axis is not inclined. The probability of being blocked by can be lowered. As a result, as shown in FIG. 8, even when the infrared light from a certain position information transmitter 100 is blocked by the user's head or the like and does not reach the infrared light receiving unit 33 of the mobile terminal 10, Since the infrared rays superimposed with the same position information reach the infrared light receiving unit 33 of the mobile terminal 10, the current position can be specified more reliably in the mobile terminal 10.

  In the present embodiment, the position information transmitter 100 is installed on the ceiling. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the position information transmitter 100 may be installed on the floor, or on both the ceiling and the floor. May be installed.

  Next, position information transmission timing by the position information transmitter 100 will be described.

  In the present embodiment, infrared light that is amplitude-modulated using position information is emitted from each infrared LED. And the frequency band of the infrared rays irradiated from each infrared LED is common. Therefore, when infrared rays on which different position information is superimposed arrive at the infrared light receiving unit 33 of the mobile terminal 10 at the same time, an error occurs due to interference. Therefore, in order to avoid such an error due to interference, in this embodiment, the light emission timing of each infrared LED is controlled by the transmitter control device 200 so that the infrared light is not simultaneously irradiated to the adjacent unit spaces. .

  Hereinafter, details of the control of the light emission timing by the transmitter control device 200 will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 to 12. 9 to 12 show a state where the floor is looked down from above the position information transmitter 100. Four circles indicated by chain lines inside each position information transmitter 100 represent infrared LEDs, and black circles among those circles represent infrared LEDs transmitting position information. Yes.

  In the present embodiment, the transmitter control device 200 first irradiates the infrared LED indicated by the black circle in FIG. 9 for the first 25 ms, and the black circle in FIG. 10 for the next 25 ms. The infrared LED shown in FIG. 11 is irradiated with infrared rays, and the infrared LED shown by the black circle in FIG. 11 is irradiated for the next 25 ms, and the black circle in FIG. 12 is applied for the next 25 ms. The infrared LED indicated by is irradiated with infrared rays. Thereafter, similar control is repeated by the transmitter control device 200. That is, when n and m are integers, the position information (1 + 2n, 1 + 2m) is transmitted to the unit area (1 + 2n, 1 + 2m) for the first 25 ms, and the unit area (1 + 2n) for the next 25 ms. , 2 + 2m), position information (1 + 2n, 2 + 2m) is transmitted, and for the next 25 ms, position information (2 + 2n, 1 + 2m) is transmitted to the unit area (2 + 2n, 1 + 2m). During 25 ms, position information (2 + 2n, 2 + 2m) is transmitted to the unit area (2 + 2n, 2 + 2m). In this way, each piece of position information is transmitted at a cycle of 100 ms. The period of 100 ms is merely an example, and an optimal period should be adopted according to the use of the position detection system.

  By the way, in FIG. 9, with respect to the unit areas (1, 1), (1, 3), (3, 1), (3, 3), position information (1, 1), (1, 3), (3 , 1) and infrared rays including (3, 3) are irradiated. Here, for example, infrared rays including position information (1, 1) are irradiated not only on the unit area (1, 1) but also on a part of the adjacent area. However, in the present embodiment, as will be described later, since the current position of the mobile terminal 10 is determined based on the reception frequency of the position information, the current position of the mobile terminal 10 does not become indistinguishable. . The infrared irradiation range including the position information (1, 1) is a range that covers at least the entire unit area (1, 1), and overlaps with the infrared irradiation range including other position information irradiated at the same time. As long as it is not in the range. The same applies to the infrared irradiation range including other position information.

  Next, the reception frequency of position information will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 13 shows that the position information (2, 2) is received depending on the position of the mobile terminal 10 when the infrared light with the position information (2, 2) superimposed thereon is irradiated a plurality of times toward the unit area (2, 2). It is the figure which showed how frequency (ratio of the frequency | count of successful reception with respect to the frequency | count of irradiation) changes. The characteristics of the reception frequency depend on the type of the infrared LED, the structure of the position information transmitter 100, the performance of the infrared light receiving unit 33, the installation position of the infrared light receiving unit 33, etc., but roughly as shown in FIG. In addition, the frequency of receiving the position information (2, 2) tends to decrease as the distance from the center of the unit area (2, 2) increases.

  As described above, since the frequency of receiving position information corresponding to a unit area tends to decrease as the distance from the center of the unit area increases, when the mobile terminal 10 receives a plurality of pieces of position information, the position information By comparing information reception frequencies, the mobile terminal 10 can determine its current location. For example, each location information is transmitted 6 times in a certain period, the mobile terminal 10 receives the location information (2, 2) 6 times (100% as reception frequency), and the location information (2, 3) 3 times (received). (50% as a frequency) When received, the mobile terminal 10 is located on the unit area (2, 2) corresponding to the position information (here, the position information (2, 2)) having the highest reception frequency. It is determined that

  By detecting such reception frequency, a position that is more detailed than the position indicated by the position information can be detected. In the above example, since the mobile terminal 10 is located on the unit area (2, 2) and the reception frequency of the position information (2, 3) is 50%, the mobile terminal 10 It can be seen that it is located at a position shifted from the center of (2, 2) to the unit area (2, 3) side. In particular, considering the reception frequency characteristics as shown in FIG. 13, it can be seen that the amount of deviation is about one-fourth of the length of one side of the unit area.

  As one simple method for calculating the detailed current position of the mobile terminal 10, each piece of position information received by the mobile terminal 10 (if the position information is not expressed in two-dimensional coordinates) There is a method of weighted average (weighted average) of the position information expressed in two-dimensional coordinates) according to the number of receptions (or reception frequency). For example, in a certain period, the mobile terminal 10 receives the position information (1, 1) twice, the position information (1, 2) six times, the position information (2, 1) once, and the position information (2, 2). Is received twice, ((1,1) × 2 + (1,2) × 6 + (2,1) × 1 + (2,2) × 2) / (2 + 6 + 1 + 2) is calculated. The result (1.3, 1.7) is the current position of the mobile terminal 10. Here, the calculation result (1.3, 1.7) indicates that when the length of one side of the unit area is 1, the unit area (2, 1) is determined from the center position of the unit area (1, 1). ) And a position shifted by 0.7 toward the unit area (1, 2).

  As described above, by detecting the current position of the mobile terminal 10 in more detail than the position indicated by the position information, the number of position information transmitters 100 required to achieve the desired position detection accuracy is reduced. And the cost of the position detection system can be reduced.

  Next, the operation of the mobile terminal 10 when the user carrying the mobile terminal 10 moves on the map will be described.

  A map of a specific area (Kyoto in this embodiment) is drawn on the floor. This map may be a satellite photograph obtained by photographing this area from an artificial satellite. When the user walks on the floor on which such a map is drawn, the user receives a fresh and strange feeling as if he was actually taking a walk over the area.

  FIG. 14 shows the correspondence between a part of the map drawn on the floor and the unit area. The map includes a plurality of sights as shown in FIG. When the user carrying the mobile terminal 10 moves directly above or near any of the sights included in the map, the description of the sight is automatically displayed on the second LCD 12 of the mobile terminal 10. The For example, when the user moves over the famous place A (Gojo Ohashi) in FIG. 15, the description of the famous place A (Gojo Ohashi) is displayed on the second LCD 12 of the mobile terminal 10 as shown in FIG. 16.

  Hereinafter, details of processing executed in the position detection system will be described.

  FIG. 17 is a memory map of the RAM 24 of the mobile terminal 10. The RAM 24 stores a position detection program 50, landmark data 51, and reception count data 52. The position detection program 50 is loaded from the ROM 17 a of the memory card 17 into the RAM 24 and executed by the CPU core 21. The landmark data 51 is loaded from the ROM 17a of the memory card 17 into the RAM 24 and is appropriately referred to by the CPU core 21 when the position detection program 50 is executed. The reception count data 52 is created and updated by the CPU core 21 when the position detection program 50 is executed.

  The landmark data 51 is data relating to a plurality of predetermined landmarks included in the map. FIG. 18 shows a specific example of the sights data 51. In FIG. 18, the sights data 51 includes, for each sight, a unit area where the sights are located and explanation data regarding the sights.

  As shown in FIG. 19, the reception frequency data 52 stores the reception frequency for each position information.

  Next, a processing flow of the CPU core 21 based on the position detection program 50 will be described with reference to a flowchart of FIG.

  First, the CPU core 21 starts time counting in step S11.

  In step S12, the reception frequency of each position information in the reception frequency data 52 shown in FIG.

  In step S <b> 13, it is determined whether any infrared light receiving unit 33 has received infrared light from any position information transmitter 100. If the infrared ray is received, the process proceeds to step S14. If the infrared ray is not received, the process proceeds to step S16.

  In step S14, position information is acquired from the received infrared rays.

  In step S15, the reception frequency data 52 is updated by incrementing the reception frequency of the acquired position information.

  In step S16, it is determined whether a predetermined time (for example, 200 ms) has elapsed since the time was counted in step S11. If the predetermined time has elapsed, the process proceeds to step S17. If the predetermined time has not elapsed, the process returns to step S13. Here, the predetermined time corresponds to a period for measuring the reception frequency of each position information. If the predetermined time is shortened, the detection cycle of the current position of the mobile terminal 10 is shortened, but the detection accuracy is Lower. Conversely, if the predetermined time is lengthened, the detection cycle of the current position of the mobile terminal 10 is lengthened, but the detection accuracy is increased accordingly. Therefore, the size of the predetermined time should be set to an optimum value according to the application.

  In step S17, the current position of the mobile terminal 10 is determined based on the reception frequency of each position information with reference to the reception count data 52. In the present embodiment, it is determined that the mobile terminal 10 is present on the unit area corresponding to the position information with the highest reception frequency. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and as described above, with a finer accuracy than the position information. The current position of the mobile terminal 10 may be determined.

  In step S18, it is determined with reference to the sights data 51 whether there is a sight corresponding to the current location of the mobile terminal 10 determined in step S17. Then, if there is a famous place, the process proceeds to step S19, and if not, the process returns to step S11.

  In step S17, when the current position of the mobile terminal 10 is determined with a finer accuracy than the position information, instead of the landmark data 51 as shown in FIG. 18, as shown in FIG. Can be used. Thereby, for example, even when there are a plurality of sights in the same unit area, it is determined on which sight the mobile terminal 10 is located, and a description of the corresponding sight is displayed on the second LCD 12 of the mobile terminal 10. Can be displayed. In the example of FIG. 21, the position of each sight is specified in a circular range corresponding to the broken line in FIG. 15, but the method of specifying the position of the sight is not limited to this.

  In step S <b> 19, an explanatory note is displayed on the second LCD 12 based on the explanation data of the sights corresponding to the current position of the mobile terminal 10.

  After step S19, the process returns to step S11.

  In the present embodiment, the current position of the mobile terminal 10 is determined every time the predetermined time elapses as described above, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the current position of the mobile terminal 10 may be determined every time the total number of receptions of each position information reaches a predetermined number. Further, every time any position information is received, the current position may be determined based on the most recently received position information for the past eight times. FIG. 22 shows the flow of processing executed by the CPU core 21 in this case. The flowchart of FIG. 22 differs greatly from the flowchart of FIG. 20 in that when the number of infrared receptions is 8 or more, the current position of the mobile terminal 10 is detected by weighted average calculation based on the position information for the past eight times. Is a point. Since the details of the weighted average calculation are as described above, the description thereof is omitted here.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to improve the detection accuracy of the position of the mobile terminal by transmitting the same position information from different directions toward the same unit space using the four infrared LEDs. it can.

  In the present embodiment, four infrared LEDs are installed for one unit space. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and at least two infrared LEDs may be installed for one unit space. . In the case of installing two infrared LEDs for one unit space, the two infrared LEDs are connected to the first vertex of any plane constituting the unit space and the second vertex facing the first vertex. It is preferable to place each at the apex. By arranging in this way, even when two infrared LEDs are installed for one unit space, the entire unit space can be efficiently included in the infrared irradiation range, and the position information detection accuracy of the mobile terminal can be improved. Can be raised. Of course, as the number of infrared LEDs installed in one unit space increases, the detection accuracy of the position of the mobile terminal is further improved.

  In the present embodiment, in order to prevent interference of infrared rays transmitted from the position information transmitter 100, infrared rays are transmitted from each position information transmitter 100 in a cycle consisting of four phases shown in FIGS. The present invention is not limited to this. For example, when the diameter of the reception area of each position information is in the range of 2 to 3 times the length of one side of the unit area, as shown in FIG. The first phase for transmitting position information (0 + 3m, 0 + 3n), the second phase for transmitting position information (0 + 3m, 1 + 3n), the third phase for transmitting position information (0 + 3m, 2 + 3n), and the position information (1 + 3m, The fourth phase for transmitting 0 + 3n), the fifth phase for transmitting position information (1 + 3m, 1 + 3n), the sixth phase for transmitting position information (1 + 3m, 2 + 3n), and the seventh phase for transmitting position information (2 + 3m, 0 + 3n) Each position in a cycle consisting of an eighth phase for transmitting position information (2 + 3m, 1 + 3n) and a ninth phase for transmitting position information (2 + 3m, 2 + 3n). It may be irradiated with infrared rays from the information transmitter 100. In addition, the broken line in FIG. 23 has shown an example of the irradiation range of the infrared rays irradiated in a 1st phase.

  Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 24, unit areas of 4 rows and 4 columns are grouped (hereinafter referred to as basic areas), and 16 unit areas included in each basic area are irradiated with infrared rays in order. It may be. In FIG. 24, the boundary of the basic region is indicated by a bold line. In addition, as shown in FIG. 25, a unit region of 2 rows and 3 columns may be used as one basic region, and six unit regions included in each basic region may be irradiated with infrared rays in order. More generally speaking, a unit region of n rows and m columns (where n and m are integers of 2 or more) is defined as one basic region, and (n × m) unit regions included in each basic region. You may make it irradiate with infrared rays in order. Note that the basic regions do not need to be regularly arranged in a grid pattern. For example, as shown in FIG. 26, unit regions of n rows and m columns are set as one basic region, and adjacent basic regions are arranged in the column direction ( m / 2) You may arrange | position so that it may shift | deviate by a line. Such an arrangement has the advantage that the allowable irradiation range of infrared rays is widened as compared with the case where the basic area composed of the unit areas of 2 rows and 2 columns is arranged in a grid as shown in FIG. 9, and 3 as shown in FIG. Since the number of unit areas constituting the basic area is reduced from nine to eight as compared with the case where the basic areas consisting of unit areas of three rows and columns are arranged in a grid pattern, the transmission cycle of each position information is shortened (that is, position information) (Information transmission frequency can be increased).

  Further, instead of disposing the basic regions composed of unit regions of n rows and m columns as in the above-described various examples, a plurality of unit regions may be arranged irregularly.

  Further, in order to prevent interference of infrared rays transmitted from the position information transmitter 100, instead of shifting the transmission timing of the position information for the adjacent unit areas as described above, the infrared frequency bands for the adjacent unit areas are made different. It may be. In this case, by providing the mobile terminal 10 with a function of simultaneously receiving a plurality of infrared rays having different frequency bands, it is possible to prevent a reception error due to the interference of infrared rays without shifting the transmission timing of the position information for the adjacent unit areas. .

  In the present embodiment, the position information is transmitted from the position information transmitter 100, but information other than the position information may be transmitted as additional information as necessary. For example, arbitrary information may be transmitted from the transmitter control device 200 to each position information transmitter 100, and this information may be transmitted as additional information from the position information transmitter 100 together with the position information.

  Moreover, in this embodiment, although the example which has arrange | positioned the positional information transmitter 100 provided with four infrared LED shown in FIG. 5 on a matrix on a ceiling was demonstrated, this invention is not limited to this, A positional information transmitter Instead of 100, four infrared LEDs may be individually installed on the ceiling. However, if the position information transmitter 100 as shown in FIG. 5 is used, it is possible to reduce the work and wiring work when installing the infrared LED on the ceiling, and the inclination of the optical axis of the infrared light emitted from the infrared LED. This is very advantageous because it can reduce the adjustment work.

  Moreover, although this embodiment demonstrated the example which displays the description of a famous place automatically on the screen of the mobile terminal 10 which moves on a map by using the position information system of this invention, the position information system of this invention It goes without saying that can be applied to any other purpose.

External view of position detection system Block diagram showing the configuration of the position detection system External view of mobile terminal 10 The block diagram which shows the internal structure of the mobile terminal 10 External view of position information transmitter 100 The figure which shows the irradiation range of four infrared rays irradiated from the positional information transmitter 100 Diagram showing unit space and unit area View of unit space seen from the horizontal direction The figure for demonstrating the light emission timing of infrared LED The figure for demonstrating the light emission timing of infrared LED The figure for demonstrating the light emission timing of infrared LED The figure for demonstrating the light emission timing of infrared LED The figure which shows the relationship between the receiving position and receiving frequency of position information Diagram showing the correspondence between the map drawn on the floor and the unit area Examples of sights on a map drawn on the floor An example of description of a famous place displayed on the second LCD 12 of the mobile terminal 10 Memory map of the RAM 24 of the mobile terminal 10 An example of famous place data 51 Example of reception count data 52 A flowchart showing a flow of processing executed by the CPU core 21 of the mobile terminal 10. Another example of famous place data 51 Another flowchart showing the flow of processing executed by the CPU core 21 of the mobile terminal 10 The figure which shows the other example of the light emission timing of infrared LED The figure which shows the further another example of the light emission timing of infrared LED. The figure which shows the further another example of the light emission timing of infrared LED. The figure which shows the further another example of the light emission timing of infrared LED.

Explanation of symbols

10 Mobile terminal 11 First LCD
12 Second LCD
13 Housing 13a Upper housing 13b Lower housing 14 Operation switch 14a Cross switch 14b Start switch 14c Select switch 14d A button 14e B button 14f X button 14g Y button 14L L button 14R R button 15 Touch panel 16 Stick 17 Memory card 17a ROM
17b RAM
18a, 18b Sound release hole 19 Power switch 20 Electronic circuit board 21 CPU core 22 Bus 23 Connector 24 RAM
25 I / F circuit 26 1st GPU
27 Second GPU
28 First VRAM
29 Second VRAM
30a Right speaker 30b Left speaker 31 LCD controller 32 Register 33 Infrared light receiver 50 Position detection program 51 Famous data 52 Number of receptions data 100 Position information transmitter 200 Transmitter control device

Claims (8)

A plurality of infrared light emitting units for transmitting, by infrared, position information individually assigned to each unit space toward each of the plurality of unit spaces;
A position detection system comprising a mobile terminal that is carried by a user and that receives position information transmitted by the position information transmitter;
The plurality of infrared light emitting units include a first infrared light emitting unit and a second infrared light emitting unit which are arranged apart from each other and transmit the same position information from different directions toward the same unit space,
The mobile terminal is based on a light receiving unit that receives infrared light emitted from the first infrared light emitting unit or the second infrared light emitting unit, and position information indicated by the infrared light received by the light receiving unit. And a position detection means for detecting the position of the position detection system. The plurality of infrared light emitting units are disposed on a ceiling or floor surface of the unit space,
The position detection system according to claim 1, wherein an optical axis of each infrared light emitting unit is inclined toward a center of a corresponding unit space with respect to a vertical direction. The unit space has a rectangular parallelepiped shape,
The first infrared light emitting unit and the second infrared light emitting unit are respectively disposed at a first vertex of the unit space and a second vertex different from the first vertex. Position detection system.   The first infrared light emitting unit and the second infrared light emitting unit are respectively disposed at a first vertex of any one plane of the unit space and a second vertex facing the first vertex. The position detection system according to claim 1.   The plurality of infrared light emitting units are in directions different from each other and different from the first infrared light emitting unit and the second infrared light emitting unit, and the first infrared light emitting unit and the second infrared light emitting unit. The position detection system according to claim 1, further comprising a third infrared light emitting unit and a fourth infrared light emitting unit that transmit the same position information as the unit. The unit space has a rectangular parallelepiped shape,
The first infrared light emitting unit, the second infrared light emitting unit, the third infrared light emitting unit, and the fourth infrared light emitting unit are four planes on either the ceiling or the floor of the unit space. The position detection system according to claim 5, wherein the position detection system is arranged at each vertex. On the ceiling or floor, a position information transmitter is arranged at each vertex shared by four adjacent unit spaces,
Each of the position information transmitters is provided with four infrared light emitting units that transmit different position information toward each of the four unit spaces sharing the apex where the position information transmitter is arranged. The position detection system according to claim 6.   The position detection system according to claim 7, further comprising a light emission control unit that sequentially emits four infrared light emitting units arranged in the position information transmitter in a predetermined order.

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