JP2007336130A - Electronic guide system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To cope with the variance of an electric field intensity from a wireless tag, which is varied by installation environments. <P>SOLUTION: An electronic guide system comprises a mobile terminal 2, a wireless tag 1, and an information server 5. When receiving a peculiar ID periodically transmitted from the wireless tag 1 by a first radio means 21, the mobile terminal 2 accesses the information server 5 existing on the Internet by a second radio means 22 and acquires detailed information corresponding to the peculiar ID from the information server 5. The detailed information includes information relating to an electric field intensity threshold of the wireless tag 1, and the mobile terminal 2 detects and compares a received electric field intensity each time when receiving the peculiar ID from the wireless tag 1, and a user is informed of detailed information by a reporting means 23 in the case of the received electric field intensity exceeds the electric field intensity threshold. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic guidance system that uses a wireless tag to notify a user of information related to a location when the wireless tag enters a certain distance, for example.

  When a ubiquitous society begins to be realized and enters a certain distance (for example, within 10 meters) from a wireless tag, information on the location is notified, route guidance, store guidance, historic site introduction, etc., and even public places such as stations In recent years, it has been proposed to provide voice guidance to persons with disabilities in facilities, and wireless tags are essential for realizing such systems.

  The radio tag is adjusted for radio wave output at the time of shipment, and the radio wave output has a variation within a certain range, but the electric field strength received on the receiving side after actual installation may vary greatly depending on the installation location. This is because disturbance factors such as attenuation by obstacles or reflection of radio waves by structures greatly affect the electric field intensity received on the receiving side, particularly at each installation location.

  On the other hand, it is common to use the electric field strength of the received signal to detect that it is within 10 meters from the wireless tag, for example, but the mechanism for dealing with the variation due to the influence of each installation location described above Will be needed.

  For this reason, a method corresponding to variations in received signal strength for each device has already been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

In Patent Document 1, in each terminal device, the variation for each terminal device is replaced by a standard level stored in advance (correction here) to suppress the variation, and error in position detection. I try to reduce it.
JP 11-352209 A

  However, in the conventional method, the device itself has its own data (correction value in Patent Document 1, electric field strength threshold in the present invention), so the radio wave environment at the installation location has changed after the device is installed. In such a case, it is necessary to perform measurement again on the spot and rewrite the unique data of the device itself.

  For example, there arises a problem of how to connect a wired cable for writing unique data to a wireless tag installed at a high place such as a utility pole.

  Although it is conceivable to use wireless instead of a wired cable for writing the unique data, the wireless tag side needs to support bidirectional communication. When wireless is used, bi-directional communication is essential to write the unique data of the wireless tag, so the wireless tag itself cannot be complicated, and it adversely affects the circuit scale, cost, battery life, etc. of the wireless tag. May come out.

Therefore, in order to solve the above-mentioned problem, in an electronic guidance system comprising a portable terminal, a wireless tag, and an information server, the portable terminal is periodically connected from the wireless tag by a first wireless means. When receiving the transmitted unique ID, the second wireless means accesses the information server existing on the communication network, acquires detailed information corresponding to the unique ID from the information server, Information on the electric field strength threshold of the wireless tag is included, and the mobile terminal detects the received electric field strength every time it receives a unique ID periodically transmitted from the wireless tag, and compares it with the electric field strength threshold. When the received electric field intensity becomes larger than the electric field intensity threshold, the user is notified of detailed information corresponding to the unique ID from the notification means of the portable terminal. .

  As a result, when the radio wave environment at the installation location changes after installation, it is only necessary to perform measurement again on the spot and store the field strength threshold in the information server via the wireless LAN Internet or the like. Since there is no need to rewrite the information of the wireless tag, for example, the problem of connecting a wired cable to write the electric field strength threshold to the wireless tag installed at a high place such as a utility pole is eliminated.

  In addition, since it is not necessary to use radio to rewrite the data of the wireless tag for writing the electric field strength threshold value, it is not necessary for the wireless tag side to support two-way communication (especially there are severe restrictions on power consumption). In many cases, favorable results can be expected in the circuit scale, cost, battery life, and the like of the wireless tag.

  In a first aspect of the present invention, in the electronic guidance system, in the electronic guidance system comprising a portable terminal, a wireless tag, and an information server, the portable terminal is periodically connected from the wireless tag by the first wireless means. When receiving the unique ID transmitted to the information server, the second wireless means accesses the information server existing on the communication network, acquires detailed information corresponding to the unique ID from the information server, and stores the detailed information in the detailed information. Contains information on the field strength threshold of the wireless tag, and the portable terminal detects the received field strength each time it receives a unique ID periodically transmitted from the wireless tag and compares it with the field strength threshold. When the received electric field intensity becomes larger than the electric field intensity threshold, the user is notified of detailed information corresponding to the unique ID from the notification means of the portable terminal. It was.

  As a result, when the radio wave environment at the installation location changes after installation, it is only necessary to perform measurement again on the spot and store the field strength threshold in the information server via the wireless LAN Internet or the like. Since there is no need to rewrite the information of the wireless tag, for example, the problem of connecting a wired cable to write the electric field strength threshold to the wireless tag installed at a high place such as a utility pole is eliminated.

  In addition, since it is not necessary to use radio to rewrite the data of the wireless tag for writing the electric field strength threshold value, it is not necessary for the wireless tag side to support two-way communication (especially there are severe restrictions on power consumption). In many cases, favorable results can be expected in the circuit scale, cost, battery life, and the like of the wireless tag.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electronic guidance system including a mobile terminal, a wireless tag, and an information server. The mobile terminal is a unique transmission periodically transmitted from the wireless tag by the first wireless means. When receiving the ID, the second wireless means accesses the information server existing on the communication network, acquires detailed information corresponding to the unique ID from the information server, and stores the information in the storage means of the portable terminal. Detailed information corresponding to the unique ID is stored, the received electric field strength is detected each time the same unique ID as the unique ID is received, and compared with the electric field strength threshold, and the received electric field strength is greater than the electric field strength threshold. When the value becomes large, the user is notified of the already stored detailed information corresponding to the unique ID from the notification means of the portable terminal.

  As a result, since the mobile terminal obtains necessary information in advance for the first access, it can be expected to notify the information in a timely manner when the distance (to the wireless tag) where the information should be actually notified is reached. .

  In a third aspect of the present invention, particularly in the electronic guidance system of the first or second aspect of the invention, in the portable terminal capable of registering the electric field strength threshold at a predetermined position, the first wireless means When receiving the same ID as the unique ID periodically transmitted from the wireless tag, the received electric field strength is detected, and the information server is accessed by the second wireless means, and the unique ID of the wireless tag and the received electric field Register strength.

  This makes it possible to easily register the field strength threshold to the information server on the spot using the field strength measured at the place where the RFID tag is installed. It can be expected that the electric field intensity threshold value can be flexibly changed to cope with the electric field intensity deviation due to the installation environment change.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example (user use) of the configuration of the electronic guidance system according to the embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the data configuration inside the information server 5. Hereinafter, description will be made with reference to these drawings.

  The wireless tag 1 is an active tag (radio device) with a built-in battery, and is attached to a power pole, a signboard, a post box, or a lamp that is installed or placed at a certain position such as a lamp. The

  The wireless tag 1 wirelessly outputs information including a unique ID at a constant time period (for example, every second). Incidentally, it is sufficient to provide only a transmitter since it only outputs wirelessly from the wireless tag 1 and does not need to wirelessly receive from the portable terminal 2 or the like.

  The portable terminal 2 is assumed to be a small and portable terminal such as a PDA, and the first wireless unit 21 receives information including a unique ID that the wireless tag 1 outputs periodically. The first wireless unit 21 includes an electric field strength measuring unit 24 for measuring the electric field strength of the received radio wave.

  The electric field strength measuring means 24 can measure the electric field strength of received radio waves in dBm units. The portable terminal 2 accesses the information server 5 by the second wireless means 22 using the unique ID included in the information.

  The route for the portable terminal 2 to access the information server 5 is generally performed through the Internet 4 through a wireless LAN access point 3 installed nearby.

  Data is stored in the information server 5 in the configuration as shown in FIG. For example, a wireless tag with an ID of 123450 (first row) has an electric field strength threshold (input level) of −105 (dBm), the installation location is Akasaka **, and the location information is Aka001. . It is stored in a file called htm.

Here, the electric field strength threshold is −105 (dBm), for example, the electric field strength (input level) is −105 (dBm) or more at a position of 10 meters from the wireless tag 3 installed at the place. This is a value specific to each installation location.

  Since the wireless tag 1 is affected by shields and reflectors depending on the installation location, even if the distance from the wireless tag 3 is 10 meters, the electric field strength that can be measured at the 10-meter point is considerable. Variation will occur. Therefore, in order to change the electric field strength threshold corresponding to such variations, it is necessary to individually cope with each installation place.

  Next, the situation when the portable terminal 2 is carried will be described in more detail.

  The wireless signal transmitted periodically by the wireless tag 1 uses, for example, low-power wireless communication. When the distance between the wireless tag 1 and the portable terminal 2 becomes about 100 meters to several tens of meters, the portable terminal 2 A wireless signal from the wireless tag 1 can be read.

  At that time, the portable terminal 2 is connected to the Internet 4 from the second wireless means 22 via the wireless LAN access point 3 installed in a street corner or a store, and from the information server 5 connected to the Internet 4. The information related to the location guidance corresponding to the ID of the wireless tag 1 is acquired.

  Although it is not unthinkable that the information acquired here is directed to the user on the spot and notified to the user from the notification means 23, since it is 100 meters away from the wireless tag 1 in some cases, There is a risk of inadvertent notification of information. It is also preferable in such a system that the information about the position is notified to the user from the notification means 23 in a timely manner within a short distance of, for example, within 10 meters, or in some cases within a few meters from the wireless tag 1. .

  Therefore, when the distance between the wireless tag 1 and the portable terminal 2 becomes about 100 meters to several tens of meters, the ID from the wireless tag 1 is captured wirelessly, and the portable terminal 2 relates to the location guidance of the ID. Only information is acquired from the information server 5. And until it is time to reach a closer position, it is preferable to prepare without notifying the user from the notification means 23.

  For example, if the ID obtained from the wireless tag 1 is 123451, detailed information related to the ID is acquired through the route described so far. That is, in this case, according to FIG. 2, the electric field strength threshold (input level) is −112 (dBm), the installation location is Shinagawa **, and the location guidance information is Shinagawa 03. Since the file is an html file, the contents of the file are all acquired in the portable terminal 2.

  Next, when the portable terminal 2 receives the wireless signal from the wireless tag 1 (the wireless tag of ID123451) by the first wireless means 21, the received electric field strength is measured, and the electric field strength acquired earlier. When the received electric field intensity is larger than the electric field intensity threshold value compared to the threshold value (here, -112 dBm) (that is, when entering within 10 meters from the wireless tag 1), the portable terminal 2 acquires The stored information is notified to the user by the notification means 23.

There are various ways of notifying information.For example, voice guidance is best for people who are blind or visually impaired. It is possible to give guidance while displaying. It is also possible to provide guidance by combining these.

  The content of the guidance may be, for example, historical origin information about the location, advertising information about the store at the location, or various uses such as a post box appealing about your presence. Possible forms.

  Even in places such as museums and art galleries, for example, as visitors approach, guidance for paintings and Buddha images may be provided.

  It is also conceivable that a warning is issued in a place that involves danger such as a crossing or a signal.

  In the description so far, the second wireless means 22 is a wireless LAN. However, of course, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a data communication module connectable to a mobile phone network or a PHS phone network may be used. In a place where such a wireless LAN service is not provided, it may be preferable to use such a wide area communication network.

  In this way, since the mobile terminal 2 has acquired the necessary information in advance for the first access, the information should be notified in a timely manner when the distance (to the wireless tag 1) where the information should be actually notified has been reached. Can be expected.

  In the above description, the wireless signal periodically transmitted by the wireless tag 1 has been described as using low-power wireless communication. However, the wireless signal is not limited to this, and may be weak wireless. A wireless LAN may be used in the same manner as the means 22, and when the wireless LAN is used, the first wireless means 21 and the second wireless means 22 may be shared.

(Embodiment 2)
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the electronic guidance system according to the embodiment of the present invention (used by a registrant).

  In FIG. 3, the registration portable terminal 6 for registering the electric field strength threshold receives the unique ID information periodically transmitted by the wireless tag 1 by the third wireless means 61, and the third wireless means 61 An electric field strength measuring means 64 for measuring the electric field strength of the received radio wave is provided. The electric field strength measuring means 64 can measure the electric field strength of the received radio wave in dBm units, and measures the received electric field strength every time an ID is received from the wireless tag 1.

  The received electric field strength is sent from the fourth wireless means 62 to the information server 5 via the wireless LAN access point 3 and the Internet 4. The information server 5 re-registers the ID transmitted from the registration portable terminal 6 and the received electric field strength corresponding thereto (in practice, the received electric field strength threshold shown in FIG. 2 is rewritten).

  Thereafter, the information server 5 provides a new value rewritten this time as the received electric field strength threshold corresponding to this ID.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of reception field strength registration by a registrant. It shows a state in which the registration portable terminal 6 is operated while standing at a position 10 meters away from the utility pole to which the wireless tag 1 is attached. The received electric field strength received at this point is shown in the information server 5 ( (Not shown in FIG. 4). That is, at the site where the wireless tag 1 is installed, the registration content (the electric field strength threshold in FIG. 2) of the information server 5 is rewritten simply by operating the registration portable terminal 6.

  In this way, after the wireless tag 1 has been installed on the utility pole, for example, when the radio wave environment at the installation location has changed due to the influence of a newly provided signboard or the like, 10 The electric field intensity at the meter point is measured again, and the registration contents (not shown in FIG. 4) of the information server 5 (not shown in FIG. 4) via the wireless LAN access point 3 and the Internet (not shown in FIG. 4) (FIG. 2). Rewrite the electric field intensity threshold).

  Thereby, it is not necessary to store such information in the wireless tag 1, and naturally it is not necessary to rewrite the information of the wireless tag 1.

  As a result, for example, there is no need to connect a wired cable for writing the electric field strength threshold to the wireless tag 1 installed at a high place such as a utility pole, and the wireless tag 1 needs to support bidirectional wireless communication. The wireless tag itself is not complicated, and a favorable result can be expected in the circuit scale and cost of the wireless tag, particularly in battery life.

  As a two-way communication, in order to capture the radio waves that the other party sends irregularly in wireless communication, it is necessary to be able to receive constantly or periodically, which is considerable damage in terms of power consumption. In many cases, battery life is greatly affected.

  Furthermore, since the electric field strength threshold value can be easily registered in the information server on the spot by using the electric field strength measured at the place where the radio tag is installed, there is nothing in the radio tag 1 that has been installed. It can be expected to be very flexible by rewriting the electric field strength threshold value on the spot to the electric field strength deviation due to the change of the installation environment without adding a hand.

  Up to this point, it has been described that the value of the electric field intensity measured at a point 10 meters from the utility pole is reflected as it is in the registration contents of the information server 6, but this is not necessarily the case, and a certain value is added to the measured value for registration. It may be possible to register a value obtained by averaging the measurement results of several times, or to take an average with the previous registered value. This is considered to be accompanied by the know-how.

  Further, although the description has been made using the expression of the registration portable terminal 6 for registering the electric field strength threshold, it may naturally be a specialized terminal for registration, and a function of registering the electric field strength threshold in the portable terminal 2. It is also conceivable that the registration portable terminal 6 is provided by providing (for example, when a certain operation is performed on the portable terminal 2, the registration portable terminal 6 is obtained).

  As described above, since the electronic guidance system according to the present invention supports and manages information in the information server in order to cope with the electric field strength from the wireless tag that is affected for each installation location, the wireless tag side Provides a flexible and easy-to-use system that does not need to support two-way communication, contributes to the circuit scale, cost, battery life, etc. of the wireless tag, and enables quick response at the site where the wireless tag is installed. I can expect that.

The figure which shows an example of a structure (user use) of the electronic guidance system of embodiment of this invention The figure which shows an example of an internal data structure of the information server 5 of this invention The figure which shows an example of a structure (use of registrant) of the electronic guidance system of embodiment of this invention The figure which shows an example of the reception electric field strength registration by the registrant of a semi-invention

Explanation of symbols

1 Wireless Tag 2 Mobile Terminal 3 Wireless LAN Access Point 4 Internet (Communication Network)
5 Information Server 6 (Field Strength Threshold) Registration Mobile Terminal 21 First Wireless Meaning 22 Second Wireless Meaning 23 Notification Means 24 Electric Field Strength Measurement Means 23 Notification Means 61 Third Wireless Meaning 62 Fourth Wireless Meaning 64 Electric Field Strength measurement means

Claims (3)

In an electronic guidance system composed of a mobile terminal, a wireless tag, and an information server,
When the portable terminal receives the unique ID periodically transmitted from the wireless tag by the first wireless means, the portable terminal accesses the information server existing on the communication network by the second wireless means, and the unique ID To obtain detailed information corresponding to the information server,
The detailed information includes information on the electric field strength threshold of the wireless tag, and the mobile terminal detects the received electric field strength every time it receives a unique ID periodically transmitted from the wireless tag. An electronic guidance system for notifying a user of detailed information corresponding to the unique ID from a notification unit of the portable terminal when the received electric field intensity is larger than the electric field intensity threshold value as compared with an intensity threshold value. In an electronic guidance system composed of a mobile terminal, a wireless tag, and an information server,
When the portable terminal receives a unique ID periodically transmitted from the wireless tag by the first wireless means, the portable terminal accesses the information server existing on the communication network by the second wireless means, and Obtaining detailed information corresponding to the unique ID from the information server, storing the detailed information corresponding to the unique ID in the storage means of the mobile terminal;
Each time a unique ID identical to the unique ID is received, the received electric field strength is detected, compared with the received electric field strength threshold value, and when the received electric field strength is greater than the electric field strength threshold value, An electronic guidance system for notifying a user of already stored detailed information corresponding to the unique ID from a notification means. In a portable terminal capable of registering the electric field strength threshold at a predetermined position, the received electric field is received when the first wireless means receives the same ID as the unique ID periodically transmitted from the wireless tag. 3. The electronic guidance system according to claim 1, wherein the electronic guidance system detects the strength, accesses the information server by the second wireless means, and registers the unique ID of the wireless tag and the received electric field strength.

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