JP2007328527A - Portable radio terminal and portable radio system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a portable radio terminal and a portable radio system, for preventing a baggage from being left behind or stolen with a necessary minimum communication frequency. <P>SOLUTION: The portable radio transceiver 1 accesses wireless tags 3a, 3b and 3c at a time designed by a user, and drives a buzzer 17a and a light emitting diode 14, when any one of the wireless tags 3a, 3b and 3c returns no ID code, to notify the user that any one of baggages 2a, 2b, and 2c does not exist within a close range. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for preventing misplacement or loss of items carried, such as carried items and personal belongings, and in particular, a portable wireless terminal having a specific low-power wireless communication function for performing close-range communication and a portable device The present invention relates to a wireless system.

As a technology to prevent misplacement or loss of items to be carried, such as carry-on items and personal belongings, a minimally shaped radio transceiver is attached to the carry-on items to be monitored for misplacement. There has been proposed an apparatus for preventing misplacement or loss of the article by communicating with a wireless terminal device carried by a user who owns the article. As a wireless transmitter / receiver to be attached to an article to be carried, a seal chip transmitter, Bluetooth (registered trademark), a wireless tag (IC tag), and the like have been proposed.
JP2002-190076 JP2002-183866 JP 2005-182726 A JP 2006-004257 A

  It ’s a very natural way to check whether you ’re actually carrying an item (carrying item or belonging) or whether it ’s around you by wireless communication. With the progress of RFID (Radio Frequency Information Data tag), its practicality is also increasing.

  For example, in RFID, a communication area is set to a diameter of 0.7 m, 1, 5 m, or 5 m, and a communication frequency is set to 135 KHz, 13, 56 MHz, 433 MHz, 860 to 930 MHz, or 2,45 GHz. Communicate with Each time this communication is performed, the wireless terminal device is accompanied by a transmission operation with transmission power necessary for access to the wireless tag.

  The problem in realizing the misplacement by wireless communication and the anti-theft device is to determine when to communicate and what criteria to determine the communication frequency. In each of the proposed technologies described above, communication is performed regularly. However, if the frequency of performing periodically is increased, the battery of the portable wireless terminal is consumed in a short time. On the other hand, if the communication time interval is lengthened, battery consumption in a short time can be avoided, but it becomes impossible to know when and where theft or loss occurred. Especially when a wireless terminal device that communicates with a tag is realized by a device having a specific function, such as a mobile phone, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), an electronic dictionary, etc. that is easy to carry, the battery consumed for communication with the tag The problem arises that the consumption affects the original function of the device (telephone function, information processing function, search function, etc.) and the original function of the device is impaired.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a portable wireless terminal and a portable wireless system that can prevent misplacement or theft of articles to be carried with minimum necessary communication frequency. To do.

  When taking care not to leave items you carry with you, for example, when you go to work or leave work, when you get in and out of a vehicle, and when you are stolen or left behind, it is mainly when you go out. Such misplacement or theft occurs when a person moves from one place to another, that is, when a person takes some action. Most people have their actions scheduled in advance.

  Therefore, according to claim 1 of the present invention, in the portable wireless terminal, wireless communication means for reading information set in the wireless tag, setting means for setting time information, notification means, and time set by the setting means Control means for operating the wireless communication means based on information and operating the notification means when the wireless communication means cannot read the information set in the wireless tag by the operation. To do.

  By having such a control function, it is possible to realize a function that can efficiently prevent misplacement or loss of articles with a minimum amount of power consumption, and the equipment can be used, for example, a telephone function, an information processing function, etc. When other functions are used as original functions, it is possible to provide a function for preventing intended misplacement or loss without impairing the original functions of the device.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the portable wireless terminal, the detection means for detecting the carrying state, the wireless communication means for reading the information set in the wireless tag, the notification means, and the detection signal of the detection means are provided. And a control means for operating the notification means when the wireless communication means cannot read the information set in the wireless tag.

  By having such a control function, it is possible to realize a function that can efficiently prevent misplacement or loss of articles with minimum power consumption without imposing a burden on the user and For example, when other functions such as a telephone function and an information processing function are used as original functions, the intended functions are prevented from being lost or lost without impairing the original functions of the device and without placing an operational burden on the user. It can have a function.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a wireless system comprising a portable wireless transceiver including a schedule management unit and a wireless transmission / reception unit, and a wireless tag attached to an article possessed by a user who uses the portable wireless transceiver. And processing means for accessing the portable radio transceiver based on the date and time of the schedule managed by the schedule management means, and determining whether the article is left behind depending on whether or not there is a response from the wireless tag. It is characterized by having.

  By applying such a portable wireless system, for example, in a portable wireless transceiver equipped with a schedule writing and storage function such as an electronic notebook or PDA, the schedule is written, and when the time of the specified schedule is reached, By accessing a wireless tag attached to an article to be carried with the user, wasteful communication can be eliminated in a time zone that does not require misplacement or loss monitoring, such as sleeping at night or during indoor storage. As a result, it is possible to realize an efficient prevention function such as misplacement or loss that effectively uses the battery energy for operation of the device.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the portable wireless system, the processing unit includes an access unit that repeatedly executes the access a plurality of times.

  By providing such access means, after a person takes action according to the schedule, the wireless tag attached to the item to be carried is accessed again within a predetermined time, so at least immediately before taking action. Whether or not the article to be monitored is carried can be determined by the presence / absence of responses from the wireless tag twice before and after the occurrence. For example, when there was a response from a wireless tag for access just before going out, but there was no response to access immediately after going out, the items that should be carried clearly were left behind at home, office, etc. It can be recognized as a thing.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the portable wireless system according to the third or fourth aspect, the portable wireless transmitter / receiver further includes a notifying unit and a display unit using at least one of sound and light, and the processing. The means includes a notification processing means that activates at least one of the notification means and the display means when there is no response from the wireless tag at the time of access to notify the user that the article has been left behind.

  By providing such notification processing means, when there is no response from the wireless tag for access from the portable wireless transceiver, the user is notified that the article attached with the wireless tag is not close to the user, It can be informed by sound, light, or display means.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the portable wireless system according to the fifth aspect, the portable wireless transceiver further includes a search switch, and the processing means is connected to the wireless tag in accordance with an operation of the search switch. Access is provided, and when there is a response from the wireless tag in the access, at least one of the notifying unit and the display unit is activated to notify the user of the response content.

  By providing a search function for personal belongings by such a search process, if there is a response from the wireless tag to access from the portable wireless transceiver, the article attached with the wireless tag is close to the user. The user can know this by sound, light, or display means.

  According to the present invention, it is extremely effective in realizing a function for preventing misplacement or loss of items carried, including theft or placement of carry-on items or belongings, and is particularly likely to be misplaced or lost. Since the wireless communication is performed only in the case, it is possible to prevent misplacement or theft of the carried items with the minimum necessary communication frequency that effectively uses the battery energy for operation on the device side.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a misplacement prevention wireless system according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which 1 is a portable wireless transceiver carried by a user, 3a, 3b, and 3c are articles 2a carried by the user. Wireless tags attached to 2b and 2c. The portable wireless transceiver 1 carried by the user can be realized by a portable terminal having a wireless telephone function and a PDA function, for example. The portable wireless transceiver 1 includes a transmission / reception antenna 14a, an operation unit 15, a display unit 16, a notification unit, and the like. Furthermore, it has schedule management means having schedule writing and storage functions. The transmission / reception antenna 14a communicates with the wireless tags 3a, 3b, 3c attached to the articles 2a, 2b, 2c. The operation section 15 is provided with various operation input keys including a push button type search switch (search key) 15a. The notification unit includes a buzzer 17a, a light emitting diode 17b, and the like.

  The wireless tags 3a, 3b, and 3c are attached to articles 2a, 2b, and 2c carried by the user, such as periodic holders, wallets, and watches, for example. Each of the wireless tags 3a, 3b, and 3c is individually written (set) with a unique identification (ID) code in advance, and each ID code set for access from the portable wireless transceiver 1 is set. Reply.

  The portable radio transceiver 1 is a specific low-power radio transceiver that does not require authorization, and includes schedule management means having schedule writing and storage functions as described above.

An example of the schedule table written in the schedule management means is shown in FIG.
In the schedule table shown in FIG. 2, “*” (asterisk) in the check column designates access to the wireless tags 3a, 3b, 3c attached to the articles 2a, 2b, 2c, and “**”. (Two asterisks) specifies that access is made once at the time of the designated schedule, and then access is made again within a predetermined time.

  Therefore, for example, in the case of the schedule table 1 shown in FIG. 2, when the leaving time is “17:30”, the portable wireless transceiver 1 sequentially turns on the wireless tags 3a, 3b, 3c in a predetermined order. to access. In response to this access, the wireless tags 3 a, 3 b, 3 c return a preset ID code to the portable wireless transceiver 1 if it is within a close range where transmission and reception are possible.

  When any of the wireless tags 3a, 3b, 3c does not return an ID code (when any of the ID codes is not received for access) by communication with each of the wireless tags 3a, 3b, 3c, portable wireless transmission / reception The machine 1 drives the buzzer 17a and the light emitting diode 14 to inform the user that any of the articles 2a, 2b, and 2c is not present within the close range. Further, the display unit 16 is driven to notify the display unit 16 that an article (for example, 2a) to which a wireless tag (for example, 3a) having an ID code that does not reply is attached does not exist within a close range. Thereafter, within a predetermined time, for example, “17:35” after 5 minutes, the same communication (access) and the process associated with the communication are repeatedly executed.

  Here, for example, at the time of accessing “17:30”, ID codes are returned from all of the wireless tags 3a, 3b, 3c attached to the articles 2a, 2b, 2c, but “17:35” If there is no reply from the wireless tag 3a attached to the article 2a at the time of access, the article (for example, regular entry) 2a has been left on a desk, a locker or the like in the company when leaving the office.

  The portable wireless transceiver 1 is further provided with a search switch (search key) 15a as one of function selection switches. When the search switch 15a is pressed, the portable wireless transceiver 1 sequentially accesses the wireless tags 3a, 3b, 3c attached to the articles 2a, 2b, 2c, and an ID code is returned by this access. This is notified to the user by the buzzer 17a, the light emitting diode 17b, or the display unit 16. This search function is an effective function when checking (searching) an article to be carried.

  FIG. 3 shows a configuration example of a portable terminal that realizes the portable wireless transceiver 1 that is applied to the above-described misplacement prevention wireless system. Here, the description of the original function (telephone function, information processing function, etc.) provided in the portable terminal, the operation power supply provided in the terminal, and the configuration thereof will be omitted.

  A portable terminal that implements the portable wireless transceiver 1 includes a control unit 11, a storage unit 12, an RTC (RealTime Clock) 13, a communication processing unit 14, an operation unit 15, a display unit 16, a notification unit 17, a detection unit 18, and the like. Configured.

  The control unit 11 controls the entire portable terminal, and here, a processing routine (hereinafter referred to as an article check routine) for preventing misplacement or loss of articles to be carried, such as carried items and belongings, is performed. Execute.

  The storage unit 12 stores an article check routine (MC-RT) 12a executed by the control unit 11. This article check routine (MC-RT) 12a may be included in a program installed in advance in the terminal device, or may be downloaded by net distribution or the like as necessary. For example, you may download from a specific site using the internet connection function of a mobile telephone. The processing procedure of the article check routine (MC-RT) 12a executed by the control unit 11 is shown in FIG.

  The RTC 13 realizes various time management functions in the portable terminal under the control of the control unit 11, and here, a schedule table set by the user using the operation unit 15 and the display unit 16 (see FIG. 2) is held in the non-volatile memory area including the standby state until the user makes a release setting, and has a time measuring function for monitoring time.

  The communication processing unit 14 has, for example, a wireless telephone function for communicating with other telephones via an external base station, and an article check routine (MC-RT) executed by the control unit 11 when the schedule table is set. ) It has a wireless communication function for sequentially accessing the wireless tags 3a, 3b, 3c provided in the articles 2a, 2b, 2c in the 12a. In FIG. 3, the article 2c to which the wireless tag 3c shown in FIG. 1 is attached is omitted.

  The operation unit 15 has a plurality of keys that are operated by the user, for example, for input of e-mail texts, and further includes a search switch (search key) 15a as one of function selection switches. It has a function of sending an operation key input command to the control unit 11.

  The display unit 16 has a function of displaying characters and images for presenting various kinds of information to the user under the control of the control unit 11, and here, the processing result by the processing of the article check routine (MC-RT) 12a. Providing users with information on For example, the user is informed that some or all of the articles attached with wireless tags having ID codes that do not reply to access to the wireless tags 3a, 3b, 3c are not within close range. Alternatively, when the search key 15a is pressed, the user is informed of the response content to the access of the wireless tags 3a, 3b, 3c.

  Under the control of the control unit 11, the notification unit 17 controls the drive of the buzzer 17a, the light emitting diode 17b, and the like so that the states in various functions of the device (for example, the incoming state, the key input state, the set time, etc.) are controlled. This is a notification to the user. Here, the user is informed that some or all of the articles attached with the wireless tag having the ID code that does not reply to the access of the wireless tags 3a, 3b, 3c are not within close range. . Alternatively, when the search key 15a is pressed, the user is notified of the response results for access to the wireless tags 3a, 3b, 3c.

  The detection unit 18 detects whether or not the portable terminal that implements the portable wireless transceiver 1 is currently carried. For example, the detection unit 18 includes predetermined detection means such as an acceleration sensor, a vibration sensor, a swing sensor, and a tilt sensor. It is provided and configured. When detecting that the mobile terminal is currently being carried, the detection unit 18 issues an interrupt to the control unit 11 at predetermined time intervals, for example.

  Here, with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 4, processing for preventing misplacement or loss of items carried, such as carried items and personal belongings, in the portable terminal that realizes the portable wireless transceiver 1 will be described. explain.

  In the portable terminal that implements the portable wireless transceiver 1, the control unit 11 stores in the schedule table (see FIG. 2) held in the non-volatile memory area of the RTC 13 and misplaced or lost items to be carried such as carried items and personal belongings. When the processing time (see the asterisk in the schedule table) is set, the processing of the article check routine (MC-RT) 12a stored in the storage unit 12 is performed based on the time monitoring of the RTC 13. Execute.

  When the processing time for preventing misplacement or loss of carry-on items or belongings is set in the schedule table, the RTC 13 monitors the set time including the standby state, and sets the set time. When this happens, the control unit 11 is notified accordingly.

  Upon receiving notification from the RTC 13 according to the schedule table, the control unit 11 starts the processing of the article check routine (MC-RT) 12a shown in FIG. 4 (step S1), and the radio attached to the articles 2a, 2b, and 2c. The tags 3a, 3b, 3c are sequentially accessed in a predetermined order, and ID codes are received from the wireless tags 3a, 3b, 3c (step S2).

  When the communication is successful in the access for each wireless tag, that is, when the ID code is returned from all of the wireless tags 3a, 3b, 3c attached to the carried items 2a, 2b, 2c (step S3 Yes) ), The processing of the article check routine (MC-RT) 12a is terminated.

  Here, when the ID codes are returned from all of the wireless tags 3a, 3b, 3c attached to the items 2a, 2b, 2c to be carried (step S3 Yes), the item check routine (MC-RT) 12a is used as it is. For example, when the ID code is returned from all of the wireless tags 3a, 3b, 3c attached to the carried items 2a, 2b, 2c, the display unit 16 or the notification unit 17, Alternatively, the display unit 16 and the notification unit 17 can be driven to notify the user that the articles 2a, 2b, 2c that are to be left behind are all within close range.

  When an ID code is not returned from a certain wireless tag (for example, 3a) in response to the access to the wireless tags 3a, 3b, and 3c (No in step S3), the control unit 11 displays the display unit 16, the notification unit 17, or the display The unit 16 and the notification unit 17 are driven to notify the user that the article 2a to which the wireless tag 3a is attached does not exist within a close range.

  After that, when the access instruction (**) is set again in the schedule table, the RTC 13 informs the control unit 11 that the set time of the schedule is reached again after a predetermined time from the notification of the set time. Notice.

  When the control unit 11 receives the notification from the RTC 13, the control unit 11 executes the process of the article check routine (MC-RT) 12a shown in FIG. 4 again.

  By having a processing function to prevent misplacement and loss of carry-on items and belongings as described above, communication with the wireless tags 3a, 3b, 3c is possible only when there is a high possibility of misplacement or loss. Therefore, it is possible to prevent misplacement or theft of articles to be carried with the minimum necessary communication frequency that effectively uses the battery energy for operation on the device side.

  Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. While the above-described embodiment is a processing function for preventing misplacement or loss of items to be carried, such as carry-on items or possessions based on user settings, in other embodiments, the It detects that the mobile terminal that implements the wireless transceiver 1 is being carried, and automatically executes a process for preventing misplacement or loss of carry-on items or belongings.

  The detection unit 18 issues an interrupt to the control unit 11 when detecting that the portable terminal that implements the portable wireless transceiver 1 is currently being carried. At this time, the detection unit 18 starts operation by using physical acceleration, shaking, etc. of the mobile terminal as a trigger, and issues an interrupt to the control unit 11, thereby avoiding unnecessary power consumption when not being carried. It is possible.

  When the control unit 11 receives an interrupt from the detection unit 18, the control unit 11 starts processing of the article check routine (MC-RT) 12a shown in FIG. 4 (step S1), and the wireless tag 3a attached to the articles 2a, 2b, and 2c. , 3b, 3c are sequentially accessed in a predetermined order, and an ID code is received (step S2).

  When communication is successful in access for each wireless tag, that is, when ID codes are returned from all of the wireless tags 3a, 3b, 3c attached to the articles 2a, 2b, 2c (Yes in step S3), The processing of the article check routine (MC-RT) 12a is finished. Further, when an ID code is not returned from a certain wireless tag (for example, 3a) in response to the access of the wireless tags 3a, 3b, and 3c (No in step S3), the display unit 16, the notification unit 17, or the display unit 16 The notification unit 17 is driven to notify the user that the article 2a to which the wireless tag 3a is attached does not exist within a close range.

  On the other hand, after a predetermined time (for example, 5 to 10 minutes) has elapsed after issuing the interrupt to the control unit 11, the detection unit 18 detects again whether the mobile terminal is currently being carried. When it is detected that an interruption is occurring, an interrupt is issued to the control unit 11 again.

  When the control unit 11 receives an interrupt from the detection unit 18, the control unit 11 again starts the processing of the article check routine (MC-RT) 12a shown in FIG.

  By having a processing function to prevent misplacement and loss of carry-on items and belongings as described above, the minimum required to effectively use the battery energy for operation on the equipment side without burdening the user With the limited communication frequency, it is possible to prevent misplacement or theft of articles to be carried.

  The above-described portable wireless transmitter / receiver 1, the portable terminal that implements the portable wireless transmitter / receiver 1, the configuration of the portable wireless system, and the like are not limited to those of the above-described embodiments, and various devices can be used without departing from the gist of the present invention. Applicable to configuration and system configuration.

The figure which shows the structure of the radio | wireless system for misplacement prevention which concerns on embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows an example of the schedule table written in the schedule management means which concerns on the said embodiment. The block diagram which shows the structure of the portable terminal which implement | achieves the portable radio | wireless transmitter / receiver 1 which concerns on the said embodiment. The flowchart which shows the process sequence of the goods check routine (MC-RT) which concerns on the said embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Portable radio | wireless transmitter / receiver (portable terminal), 2a, 2b, 2c ... Wireless tag, 3a, 3b, 3c ... Goods, 11 ... Control part, 12 ... Memory | storage part, 12a ... Goods check routine (MC-RT), 13 ..., RTC (RealTime Clock), 14 ... Communication processing unit, 14a ... Transmission / reception antenna, 15 ... Operation unit, 16 ... Display unit, 17 ... Notification unit, 17a ... Buzzer, 17b ... Light emitting diode, 18 ... Detection unit.

Claims (6)

Wireless communication means for reading information set in the wireless tag;
A setting means for setting time information;
Notification means;
Control means for operating the wireless communication means based on the time information set by the setting means, and for operating the notification means when the wireless communication means cannot read the information set in the wireless tag by the operation. And a portable wireless terminal. Detection means for detecting the carrying state;
Wireless communication means for reading information set in the wireless tag;
Notification means;
Control means for operating the wireless communication means based on a detection signal of the detection means, and for operating the notification means when the wireless communication means cannot read information set in the wireless tag by the operation. A portable wireless terminal characterized by that.   A wireless system comprising a portable wireless transceiver including a schedule management means and a wireless transceiver, and a wireless tag attached to an article possessed by a user who uses the portable wireless transceiver, wherein the portable wireless transceiver A portable wireless system comprising processing means for accessing the wireless tag based on a date and time of a schedule managed by the schedule management means, and determining whether the article is left behind depending on whether or not there is a response from the wireless tag .   4. The portable wireless system according to claim 3, wherein the processing means includes access means for repeatedly executing the access a plurality of times.   The portable wireless transceiver further includes a notification means using at least one of sound and light, and a display means, and the processing means includes a notification means and a display means when there is no response from the wireless tag during the access. The portable wireless system according to claim 3 or 4, further comprising notification processing means that activates at least one of them and notifies a user that the article is left behind.   The portable wireless transceiver further includes a search switch, and the processing means accesses the wireless tag in response to an operation of the search switch, and the notification means when there is a response from the wireless tag in the access, 6. The portable wireless system according to claim 5, further comprising search processing means for activating at least one of display means to inform a user of the response content.

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