JP2008112256A - Position management system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve a problem wherein a position management method is performed differently indoors than outdoors and usability for a user is low, in a system for detecting and managing a position of an object person. <P>SOLUTION: A GPS function and a radio tag 40 are mounted to a personal digital assistant 2. A tag reader 4 is installed in an indoor management object region, the existence of the radio tag 40 is detected, and the detected information is transmitted to a management center 6. The management center 6 manages positional information of the tag reader 4 for detecting the radio tag 40 and positional information acquired by the GPS function in a common coordinate form. When a position recognition request is issued from the user, a map image for displaying the position indicated by the positional information by the tag reader 4 or the GPS is generated, and is reported to the user. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a position management system that manages the position of a person to be managed who has a portable terminal.

  In recent years, the risk of children being involved in crime has increased, and a system for parents to understand their behavior has been demanded.

  As one of them, a system for managing children's going to and from school using an RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) system has been proposed. In the entry / exit record management system described in Patent Document 1 below, a child has an IC card, and the IC card reading means installed in the school in advance reads the IC card held by the child, etc. Is detected. In addition, when a child's going to school or going to school is detected, the child's guardian who has been registered in advance is notified by e-mail or the like that the child has gone to school or left the school. By receiving this notification, parents can know that the child has arrived at school or left the school. Can be taken.

In addition, a system has been proposed in which a child's whereabouts can be confirmed using GPS (Global Positioning System). In the position monitoring system described in Patent Literature 2 below, a child has a portable terminal equipped with a GPS function, and when a guardian wants to know where the child is, he / she operates a personal computer or a cellular phone to connect the portable terminal to the center. Request confirmation of the current position. The center calculates the current position information of the mobile terminal based on the GPS information acquired by the mobile terminal held by the child, shows the child's whereabouts on a map, and provides it to the guardian. Thereby, the guardian can confirm the place of the child when he wants to know.
JP 2004-46458 A JP 2002-209245 A

  However, in the conventional exit / exit record management system using the RFID described above, it is possible to obtain clear information as to whether or not the facility is to be managed, but the area to be managed is limited. For this reason, there is a problem that the location of the child cannot be grasped outside the facility to be managed such as a school.

  In addition, in the conventional position management system using the GPS described above, in order to obtain accurate position information, the mobile terminal may be near an outdoor or indoor window where radio wave reception sensitivity from the GPS satellite is good. is necessary. Therefore, for example, in the case of being in a school building or gymnasium, when the radio wave reception sensitivity from the GPS satellite is poor, it is difficult to obtain accurate position information. That is, even if a child attends school and stays in the school building, there is a problem that the guardian may not be able to correctly confirm that the child is attending school.

  As described above, a suitable use form differs between the position management system using RFID and the position management system using GPS. Therefore, when it is desired to manage the position of a child in a wide range of indoor and outdoor locations, it is necessary to use both a service using RFID and a service using GPS.

  However, since both services are composed of independent systems, the method of location confirmation by the user and the format of information provided to the user are different. For this reason, there is a problem that it is inconvenient for the user.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and provides a position management system capable of grasping appropriate position information according to the location of the management target person while ensuring high convenience. For the purpose.

  The position management system according to the present invention manages the position of a person to be managed who owns a portable terminal using a portable terminal having a wireless tag, a GPS reception function, and a mobile communication function. A management center that grasps the position of the terminal, and a tag reader that is installed in the management area, detects the wireless tag of the mobile terminal existing in the management area, and transmits a detection result to the management center as detection tag information. A GPS information acquisition unit that acquires GPS information acquired by the GPS reception function from the mobile terminal, and GPS positioning information that represents a position of the mobile terminal based on the GPS information. A GPS positioning unit obtained in a coordinate expression format, a reader position storage unit that stores reader position information indicating an installation location of the tag reader in the coordinate representation format, A tag positioning unit that obtains tag position information representing the position of the mobile terminal having the detected wireless tag in the coordinate expression format based on the detected tag information and the reader position information, and a map image corresponding to the coordinate expression format And a position presentation unit that outputs an image in which the position of the mobile terminal represented by the GPS positioning information and the tag position information is displayed on the map image.

  In another location management system according to the present invention, the management center further includes a reader registration unit that registers the reader location information represented in the coordinate expression format in the reader location storage unit, and the reader registration unit However, when the tag reader to be registered detects the wireless tag, the reader position information of the tag reader is determined based on the GPS positioning information obtained for the mobile terminal having the wireless tag.

  When the reader registration unit acquires the detection tag information indicating that the registration wireless tag is detected from the tag reader, the reader information registration unit acquires the GPS information acquisition unit from the specific mobile terminal that is the mobile terminal having the registration wireless tag. It is possible to obtain the GPS information and determine the reader position information based on the GPS positioning information obtained from the GPS information.

  In the position management system according to the present invention, the management center further includes an error calculation unit that calculates an error of the GPS positioning information, and the reader registration unit is configured on the condition that the error is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold. The reader position information based on the GPS positioning information can be registered.

  On the other hand, in the location management system according to the present invention, the management center further includes an error calculation unit that calculates an error of the GPS positioning information, and the specific mobile terminal displays a map display unit that displays the map image; In accordance with a user operation, a position specifying unit that specifies an arbitrary position on the map image, and a specified position transmitting unit that transmits specified position information specified by the position specifying unit to the management center, The reader registration unit registers the reader position information based on the GPS positioning information when the error is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold, and based on the user-specified position information when the error exceeds the threshold. The reader position information may be registered.

  According to the present invention, the position of the mobile terminal based on the detection result of the tag reader and the position of the mobile terminal based on the GPS are obtained in a common coordinate expression format, and the mobile terminal is integrated with the map information having the coordinate expression format. The position of can be displayed. In addition, this makes it possible for the user not to be aware of the proper use of the two systems, and to grasp appropriate location information according to the location of the management subject while ensuring high convenience. In addition, for a person who provides a location management service, the location can be presented by a single application.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention (hereinafter referred to as embodiments) will be described with reference to the drawings.

  The present embodiment is a position management system in which a child who is a management target has a wireless terminal (RFID tag) and a portable terminal equipped with a GPS function, and the position is grasped by a management center. The location of the child ascertained by the management center is provided to an administrator terminal such as a guardian as necessary.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a schematic configuration of the present position management system. This system includes a mobile terminal 2, a tag reader 4, and a management center 6. The mobile terminal 2 has a GPS function as described above, and can receive a transmission signal (GPS signal) from the GPS satellite 8. Moreover, the portable terminal 2 can perform mobile communication. The portable terminal 2 includes a registration portable terminal (specific portable terminal) described later. The tag reader 4 and the management center 6 are configured to be communicable via a network 10 such as a public line network. Also connected to the network 10 are a mobile communication base station 12, a GPS reference station 14, and an administrator terminal 16.

  The tag reader 4 is arranged on each floor of an elementary school building 20 and a gymnasium 22 and a learning school 24 which are management facilities using wireless tags.

  The management center 6 includes a communication server 30, a positioning server 32, a tag management server 34, and a position management server 36. In this system, an example in which the functions of the management center 6 are configured by a plurality of servers 30 to 36 connected to each other via a LAN (Local Area Network) 38 or the like is shown. Can be realized on a single computer.

  Hereinafter, the structure and function of the main components of the system will be described individually.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a general portable terminal 2 possessed by the management subject. The mobile terminal 2 includes a wireless tag 40, a wireless communication unit 42, a storage unit 44, a control unit 46, and a battery 48.

  The wireless tag 40 performs wireless communication with the tag reader 4. Specifically, the wireless tag 40 stores a tag ID as an identification code (tag identification information) that allows the wireless tag 40 to identify itself from other wireless tags, and when receiving a query wave of a predetermined frequency from the tag reader 4, A response wave modulated based on the tag ID is sent out. The wireless tag 40 can be attached to, for example, the surface of the mobile terminal 2, the storage space for the battery 48, an empty space for an internal circuit, and the like.

  The wireless communication unit 42 includes a base station communication unit 50 and a GPS reception unit 52. The base station communication unit 50 is a mobile communication unit that performs wireless communication with the base station 12, and the mobile terminal 2 communicates with the management center 6 via the base station 12 and the network 10 by the base station communication unit 50. It can be carried out. The GPS receiver 52 receives a GPS signal from the GPS satellite 8 and acquires GPS information corresponding to its current position.

  The control unit 46 performs communication control by the base station communication unit 50 and drive control of the GPS reception unit 52. When receiving a positioning instruction signal from the management center 6 via the base station communication unit 50, the control unit 46 controls the GPS reception unit 52 and the base station communication unit 50 to acquire GPS information and to manage the information in the management center 6 Send to.

  The storage unit 44 stores various control programs used by the control unit 46, identification information for identifying itself, and the like. The identification information stored by the storage unit 44 includes, for example, a terminal ID assigned to the mobile terminal 2 and a communication address.

  The battery 48 is a built-in power supply that supplies driving power to each unit of the mobile terminal 2.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a portable terminal for registration (specific portable terminal) used for position registration processing of the tag reader 4 to be described later. The registration portable terminal has a configuration in which the general portable terminal 2 shown in FIG.

  The display unit 54 is configured using a display device such as a liquid crystal display, for example, and displays an image corresponding to the image signal output from the control unit 46. The display unit 54 can function as a map display unit that displays a map image, as will be described later.

  The operation unit 56 includes position designation means for designating an arbitrary position by moving a cursor or the like on the map image displayed on the display unit 54. For example, the operation unit 56 includes a cursor movement key and a touch panel provided on the liquid crystal display screen as position specifying means. In addition, the operation unit 56 may include a key input unit for inputting characters and the like. An output signal from the operation unit 56 is input to the control unit 46. The control unit 46 performs a process of moving the cursor on the display unit 54 and a specified position transmission process of transmitting information on the user specified position determined by the operation unit 56 to the management center 6 via the base station communication unit 50. .

  Next, the tag reader 4 will be described. The tag reader 4 is installed in a management facility such as the school building 20, the gymnasium 22, and the learning school 24 as described above. The tag reader 4 detects the wireless tag 40 in the management facility area as a management target area. Each tag reader 4 detects the wireless tag 40 by transmitting an interrogation wave to the surrounding management target area where the tag reader 4 is installed, and detecting a response wave from the wireless tag 40 corresponding thereto. In order to cover the inside of the management facility without omission, a plurality of tag readers 4 may be installed according to the size of the management facility.

  The interrogation wave is a radio wave having a predetermined carrier frequency used in the RFID system, and the size of each management target area of the tag reader 4 varies depending on the carrier frequency. In this system, wireless communication between the tag reader 4 and the wireless tag 40 of the portable terminal 2 is basically performed in a non-contact manner, and the carrier frequency is also set to a frequency band adapted to this. Furthermore, from the viewpoint that a relatively large management target area is covered with a small number of tag readers 4, it is preferable to use a frequency at which communication is possible even if the distance between the tag reader 4 and the wireless tag 40 is relatively large. , UHF band can be used.

  The tag reader 4 demodulates the response wave, acquires the tag ID of the wireless tag 40 that transmitted the response wave, and stores the tag ID of the wireless tag 40 whose presence is currently detected in the management target area. In this system, since it is assumed that there are a plurality of children in the management target area of one tag reader 4, it is preferable to use the tag reader 4 having an anti-collision function (multiple simultaneous reading function). This makes it possible to acquire tag IDs from a plurality of wireless tags 40 existing in the management target area all at once and without omission.

  For example, when a change occurs in the storage content of the detected tag ID, the tag reader 4 sends the detected tag information including the currently detected tag ID and the reader ID that is identification information of the tag reader 4 via the network 10. Transmit to the management center 6. Note that the information related to the tag ID included in the detection tag information is, for example, a detection tag that is newly detected after the previous transmission or can no longer be detected instead of information that directly represents all the tag IDs that are currently detected. It can also be information relating to a change in ID.

  As a countermeasure against the possibility that the detection tag ID may change unnecessarily due to a reading error in the tag reader 4 or the like, the detection / non-detection state of an arbitrary wireless tag 40 is kept constant by a predetermined number of reading attempts. On this condition, the detection state of the wireless tag 40 can be determined and the change can be determined.

  In this system, each tag reader 4 can be configured to individually transmit the detected tag information to the management center 6. On the other hand, it is also possible to employ a configuration in which a reader management terminal for centrally managing a plurality of tag readers 4 existing in an area of the unit is provided for each unit of a management facility such as an elementary school or a learning cram school. In this configuration, the reader management terminal collects the detection tag information of the plurality of tag readers 4 and transmits them together to the management center 6.

  As described above, the management center 6 includes the communication server 30, the positioning server 32, the tag management server 34, and the position management server 36.

  The communication server 30 is connected to the network 10 and executes communication with the outside as necessary. As user information that can be used for communication, the communication server 30 makes a user ID for identifying a child, a terminal ID of the portable terminal 2 possessed by the child, a tag ID of the wireless tag 40 attached to the portable terminal 2, and a position confirmation request. A password for authenticating the guardian is stored.

  FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of the positioning server 32. The positioning server 32 includes a control unit 70, a storage unit 72, and a communication interface 74. The control unit 70 includes a positioning calculation unit 76 and an error calculation unit 78, and the storage unit 72 stores mobile terminal information, GPS satellite information, positioning result information, and the like. The communication interface 74 controls communication with each unit of the management center 6 via the LAN 38.

  The positioning server 32 periodically acquires GPS satellite information related to the position of the GPS satellite 8 from the GPS reference station 14 and stores it in the storage unit 72.

  In addition, when the positioning server 32 receives a positioning request for the mobile terminal 2 from the position management server 36, the positioning server 32 transmits a positioning instruction signal to the mobile terminal 2. Then, the positioning server 32 receives and acquires GPS information from the mobile terminal 2. The positioning calculation unit 76 performs a positioning calculation on the mobile terminal 2 that has transmitted the GPS information based on the received GPS information and the GPS satellite information stored in the storage unit 72, and calculates position information. Have In this system, for example, latitude / longitude is used as a coordinate expression format for representing position information. The error calculation unit 78 calculates a positioning error indicating an error range of position information that is GPS positioning information calculated by the positioning calculation unit 76. As a method for obtaining a positioning error, for example, a method of estimating based on a degree of precision (DOP: dilution of precision) which is an index value determined by the geometric arrangement of the GPS satellite 8 is known. For example, the positioning error can be obtained by this method. The error calculation unit 78 may be configured to obtain the positioning error by other methods.

  The positioning server 32 associates the latitude / longitude, which is the position information of the portable terminal 2 obtained by the positioning calculation unit 76, and the positioning error obtained by the error calculation unit 78 with the terminal ID of the portable terminal 2, and obtains positioning result information. Is stored in the storage unit 72. Further, the positioning server 32 transmits positioning result information to the position management server 36.

  FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the tag management server 34. The tag management server 34 includes a control unit 80, a storage unit 82, and a communication interface 84. The control unit 80 includes a detection information update unit 86, and the storage unit 82 stores tag reader information, detection state information, and the like. The communication interface 84 controls communication with each unit of the management center 6 via the LAN 38.

  FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing the structure of detection state information. The detection state information is information indicating the detection state of the wireless tag 40 by the tag reader 4, and for each tag ID, the reader ID of the tag reader 4 that detects the tag ID or that the tag ID is not detected. Information is associated. In FIG. 6, “TGn” (n is a number) represents a tag ID, and “RDn” (n is a number) represents a reader ID.

  The tag management server 34 functions as a detection state acquisition unit that receives detection tag information from the tag reader 4, and the detection information update unit 86 updates the detection state information based on the received detection tag information. For example, if the detection tag information received from the tag reader 4 of RD01 indicates that TG02 is detected, the detection information update unit 86 changes the detection state of TG02 from “non-detection” shown in FIG. Change to “Medium / RD01”. Also, if the detected tag information received from the tag reader 4 of RD03 indicates that TG01 is not detected, the detection state of TG01 is changed from “detecting / RD03” shown in FIG. 6 to “not detected”. .

  The tag management server 34 transmits to the location management server 36 the tag ID that has changed the detection state and the detection state after the change in conjunction with the update of the detection state information.

  FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the location management server 36. The location management server 36 includes a control unit 90, a storage unit 92, and a communication interface 94. The control unit 90 includes an acquisition position update unit 96, a position confirmation unit 98, a position presentation unit 100, and a reader registration unit 102, and a storage unit 92 stores reader position information, acquisition position information, map information, and the like. Here, the coordinates in the map information are map images corresponding to the coordinate expression format common to the GPS positioning information of the mobile terminal 2 described above. Each coordinate on the map image corresponds to a specific latitude and longitude. As will be described later, it is determined which position on the map image the GPS positioning information and tag position information represented by the latitude and longitude information corresponds to. Make it possible. The communication interface 94 controls communication with each unit of the management center 6 via the LAN 38.

  FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing the structure of the reader position information. The reader position information is information indicating the installation location of the tag reader 4. In the storage unit 92, a reader ID, an installation location name, and latitude / longitude information of the installation location are registered in association with each other as reader location information of each installed tag reader 4 by a registration process described later. The reader position information is used when the position of the mobile terminal 2 is specified by the installation location of the tag reader 4 that detects the wireless tag 40 attached to the mobile terminal 2. Here, the latitude / longitude information of the place where the tag reader 4 is installed has a common coordinate expression format with the GPS positioning information of the portable terminal 2 described above.

  FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing the structure of acquired position information. The acquired position information stores position information (terminal position information) acquired for the portable terminal 2 possessed by the child. As the terminal position information, the tag position information of the wireless tag 40 specified using the reader position information or the position information of the portable terminal 2 calculated by the positioning server 32 based on the GPS information from the portable terminal 2 is used. The acquired position information is managed for each user ID, and the acquired position information of each user ID is updated as needed based on the newly acquired terminal position information. In the present system, as shown in FIG. 9, the acquired position information is configured to hold the past recorded contents, for example, for a predetermined period and manage the history. The information recorded corresponding to each user ID includes, for example, a tag ID or terminal ID, acquisition time, latitude / longitude information, and a place name, as shown in FIG. Here, if the terminal position information is based on the tag position information, the tag ID is recorded in the data field for recording the tag ID or the terminal ID, while the terminal position information is calculated by the positioning server 32. If it is based on the location information of the mobile terminal 2, the terminal ID is recorded. Incidentally, FIG. 9 shows an example in which the history of terminal position information is composed only of information based on tag position information. In the place name data field, when the terminal position information is based on the tag position information, an installation place name of the tag reader 4 that has detected the wireless tag 40 is recorded.

  When the acquisition position update unit 96 receives the positioning result information from the positioning server 32, the position information of the mobile terminal 2 represented by the terminal ID and the latitude / longitude included in the positioning result information, and the acquisition times thereof Are stored in the storage unit 92 in association with the user ID of the child who owns the mobile terminal 2.

  When the acquisition position update unit 96 receives information related to the change in the detection state of the wireless tag 40, the acquisition position update unit 96 refers to the reader position information stored in the storage unit 92 and is a tag that is the position information of the wireless tag 40. It has a tag positioning function that obtains position information (latitude and longitude information and a place name). Specifically, the acquisition position update unit 96 determines that a new detection is being performed when the tag detection state changes from “non-detection” to “detecting” or when the tag reader 4 being detected is switched. The reader position information stored in the storage unit 92 is searched using the reader ID of the tag reader 4 that has become a key, and the latitude / longitude information and the installation location name of the tag reader 4 are determined as the tag position information of the wireless tag 40. On the other hand, when the detection state of the tag is changed from “being detected” to “not detected”, “lost” indicating that the tag is not detected as, for example, latitude / longitude information in the tag position information of the wireless tag 40. Define The acquisition position update unit 96 corresponds to the user ID of the child who owns the mobile terminal 2 to which the wireless tag 40 is attached, with the tag ID and tag position information in which the change of the detection state is detected, and the acquisition time thereof. At the same time, it is recorded in the storage unit 92.

  FIG. 10 is a schematic flowchart for explaining the processing of the position confirmation unit 98. The control unit 90 accepts a confirmation request for the position of the mobile terminal 2 from the outside, and activates the position confirmation unit 98 in response to this. The position confirmation request is issued when a child guardian confirms the position of the child. The guardian operates the administrator terminal 16 and transmits a position confirmation request. For example, the administrator terminal 16 can be a personal computer or a mobile phone. Incidentally, the position confirmation request can be configured to be performed by designating a user ID for identifying a child.

  The position confirmation unit 98 refers to the latest recorded content of the acquired position information in the storage unit 92 for the portable terminal 2 that is the target of the position confirmation request (S110), and whether the wireless tag 40 of the portable terminal 2 is in the non-detected state It is determined whether or not (S112).

  If the latest recorded content of the acquired position information is not “lost”, the wireless tag 40 is being detected (“No” in S112). In this case, the position confirmation unit 98 extracts tag position information which is the recorded content (S114). The position presentation unit 100 refers to the map information in the storage unit 92 and creates a map image in which a sign indicating the location of the mobile terminal 2 is displayed at a position corresponding to the latitude / longitude information in the tag position information (S116). . For example, the map image is sent to the administrator terminal 16 that is the transmission source of the position confirmation request, and is displayed on the display device. The guardian is notified of the current position of the child carrying the portable terminal 2 by the map image (S118).

  When the recorded content referred to in the process S110 indicates “lost”, the wireless tag 40 is in a non-detection state (“Yes” in S112). In this case, the position confirmation unit 98 requests positioning to the positioning server 32, and the positioning server 32 transmits a positioning instruction signal to the portable terminal 2 (S120). When the mobile terminal 2 transmits GPS information in response to the positioning instruction signal, the positioning server 32 performs positioning calculation, and the position confirmation unit 98 acquires positioning result information from the positioning server 32 (“Yes” in S122). ). In this case, the position presentation unit 100 creates a map image in which the location of the portable terminal 2 is displayed with a sign based on the positioning result (S116), and notifies the current position of the child to the guardian (S118).

  On the other hand, if the portable terminal 2 does not transmit GPS information in response to the positioning instruction signal, positioning result information cannot be acquired (“No” in S122). In this case, the position of the child cannot be confirmed by any of the wireless tag 40 and the GPS function of the mobile terminal 2. Therefore, the position confirmation unit 98 determines that this state is an abnormal state (S124). For example, an abnormality has occurred with respect to a child's guardian or the school or school where the wireless tag 40 was last lost. Appropriate measures such as notification of the last location / time information are executed (S126).

  In the above-described configuration, the position of the mobile terminal 2 when the tag reader 4 detects the wireless tag 40 is expressed by latitude and longitude in the same manner as the positioning result information based on the GPS information by using the reader position information. Coordinate information. Thereby, even when the position is grasped by either the wireless tag 40 or the GPS function, the position is similarly presented by the map image, and a unified user interface is realized. On the other hand, when the tag reader 4 detects, the name of the management facility where the tag reader 4 detecting the wireless tag 40 is arranged is presented to the guardian together with the position display by the sign on the map. Also good.

  Next, the position registration process of the tag reader 4 will be described. The location registration processing is performed using the registration portable terminal possessed by the user and the reader registration unit 102 of the location management server 36. The user possessing the registration portable terminal can be, for example, a specific person such as a maintenance worker of the system. The user goes to the place where the tag reader 4 is installed with a portable terminal for registration. FIG. 11 is a schematic flowchart for explaining processing of the reader registration unit 102. When the position registration process of the tag reader 4 is started, the reader registration unit 102 monitors the detected tag information from the tag reader 4 and waits for detection of the wireless tag 40 attached to the registration portable terminal (S130).

  When the wireless tag 40 is in a detection state, the reader registration unit 102 requests positioning from the positioning server 32, and the positioning server 32 transmits a positioning instruction signal to the registration portable terminal (S132). When the registration portable terminal transmits GPS information in response to the positioning instruction signal, the positioning server 32 performs positioning calculation, and the reader registration unit 102 acquires positioning result information based on the GPS information from the positioning server 32 ( “Yes” in S134). The reader registration unit 102 confirms that the wireless tag 40 is in the detection state with the same tag reader 4 (S136). If it is in the detection state, the reader registration unit 102 adds the positioning information result calculated by the error calculation unit 78 of the positioning server 32. Refer to the included positioning error. If the positioning error is within the predetermined range set as the threshold (“Yes” in S138), the reader registration unit 102 determines the position of the registration portable terminal indicated by the acquired positioning result information according to the latitude and longitude of the registration portable terminal. Is registered in the storage unit 92 as the reader position information of the tag reader 4 that detects (S140). At this time, the reader registration unit 102 can be configured to notify the registration completion terminal to the registration portable terminal. The positioning error determination process S138 can be configured to check whether or not the estimated error in the maximum error direction is within 10 m, for example.

  On the other hand, when the positioning error exceeds the predetermined range (“No” in S138), the reader registration unit 102 displays a map image of the surrounding area displaying a sign indicating the position of the registration portable terminal indicated by the positioning result information. Is transmitted to the registration portable terminal, and a position correction is requested (S142).

  FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a display screen of the display unit 54 of the registration portable terminal. The display unit 54 displays the map image transmitted from the management center 6. For example, in the map image, the position of the mobile terminal based on the positioning result is displayed with a star sign 160. The user designates the actual position of the tag reader 4 on the map image by operating the cursor operation key or the touch panel. For example, the corrected position of the tag reader 4 designated by the user is represented by a cursor 162 indicated by “+” on the map image. The user moves the cursor 162 to the target correction position on the map image, and then performs an operation for determining the position. For example, if the tag reader 4 to be registered is installed in an elementary school gymnasium, the cursor 162 on the display screen is moved to a position where the elementary school gymnasium is located and determined. Thereby, the control unit 46 of the registration portable terminal transmits the position information (user-specified position information) specified by the cursor 162 to the management center 6 via the base station communication unit 50. The user-specified position information to be transmitted can be latitude / longitude information corresponding to the position on the map. However, the latitude / longitude may be obtained by the management center 6 using relative coordinate display with the initially displayed position. .

  Upon receiving the user-specified position information (S144), the reader registration unit 102 registers the reader position information based on the user-specified position information (S140).

  When positioning result information is not obtained in response to the positioning request S132 (“No” in S134), the reader registration unit 102 requests the user to deal with the registration portable terminal, for example, (S146). The acquisition of the positioning result is tried again (S132, S134). For example, when the registration portable terminal is in a location where GPS satellite signals cannot be received, the reader registration unit 102 instructs the user to search for a positioning possible point. In such a case, the registration portable terminal itself monitors the GPS receiving unit 52 and, when not receiving the GPS satellite signal, informs the user via the display unit 54 or the like. You can also The user who is notified of the GPS inability to move moves to a point where the GPS satellite signal can be received, for example, indoors where the tag reader 4 is installed. As a result, when the reader registration unit 102 can acquire the positioning result information, the reader position information is registered through the above-described processes S136 to S144.

  Here, as a result of the user moving to obtain a GPS signal receivable point, it is assumed that the mobile terminal for registration is out of the reach range of the interrogation wave of the tag reader 4 that is trying to register position information. This situation can be detected by the reader registration unit 102 based on the detected tag information when the wireless tag 40 of the registration portable terminal is no longer detected by the tag reader 4 to be registered (“No” in S136). ). Also in this case, the reader registration unit 102 performs processing S142 and S144 for position correction similar to the case where the positioning error is large, and registers the user-specified position information obtained thereby as reader position information (S140). ).

  As described above, in this system, when the wireless tag 40 of the mobile terminal 2 cannot be detected by the tag reader 4, the position management server 36 acquires the position information using the GPS function of the mobile terminal 2. The position of the child can be continuously grasped by the wireless tag 40 and the GPS function of the portable terminal 2. Further, since the position information can be acquired by an appropriate method according to the child's whereabouts, such as the wireless tag 40 indoors and the GPS function outdoors, highly accurate and highly reliable position management is possible. Furthermore, the position information by the wireless tag 40 and the position information by the GPS function can be provided to the guardian in a unified manner using the same system.

  This system has one feature in that the position management by the wireless tag 40 and the position management by GPS are integrated. Thereby, it becomes possible to grasp | ascertain continuously the position of the child who has the portable terminal 2 which has the radio | wireless tag 40 and a GPS function as mentioned above. On the other hand, this system can also manage the position of a child who has a terminal or the like equipped with only one of the wireless tag 40 and the GPS function. That is, it is possible to manage the position of a child who has only the wireless tag 40 and a child who has only the GPS terminal with one system.

It is a schematic diagram which shows the structure of the outline of the position management system which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the schematic structure of the portable terminal in the position management system which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the schematic structure of the portable terminal for registration in the position management system which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the outline of a positioning server. It is a block diagram which shows the schematic structure of a tag management server. It is explanatory drawing which represents the structure of detection state information typically. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the outline of a position management server. It is explanatory drawing which represents typically the structure of reader position information. It is explanatory drawing which represents the structure of acquisition position information typically. It is a schematic flowchart explaining the process of a position confirmation part. It is a general | schematic flowchart explaining the process of a reader registration part. It is a schematic diagram which shows an example of the display screen of the display part of the portable terminal for registration.

Explanation of symbols

  2 mobile terminal, 4 tag reader, 6 management center, 8 GPS satellite, 10 network, 12 base station, 14 GPS reference station, 16 administrator terminal, 20 school building, 22 gymnasium, 24 learning school, 30 communication server, 32 positioning server, 34 Tag management server, 36 Location management server, 38 LAN, 40 wireless tag, 42 wireless communication unit, 44, 72, 82, 92 storage unit, 46, 70, 80, 90 control unit, 48 battery, 50 base station communication unit, 52 GPS reception unit, 54 display unit, 56 operation unit, 74, 84, 94 communication interface, 76 positioning calculation unit, 78 error calculation unit, 86 detection information update unit, 96 acquisition position update unit, 98 position confirmation unit, 100 position Presentation unit, 102 Reader registration unit.

Claims (5)

A location management system for managing the location of a person to be managed who owns a mobile terminal using a mobile terminal having a wireless tag, a GPS reception function, and a mobile communication function,
A management center for grasping the position of the mobile terminal;
A tag reader that is installed in a management area, detects the wireless tag of the mobile terminal existing in the management area, and transmits a detection result to the management center as detection tag information,
The management center
A GPS information acquisition unit for acquiring GPS information acquired by the GPS reception function from the mobile terminal;
Based on the GPS information, a GPS positioning unit for obtaining GPS positioning information representing the position of the mobile terminal in a predetermined coordinate expression format;
A reader position storage unit that stores reader position information indicating an installation location of the tag reader in the coordinate expression format;
A tag positioning unit for obtaining, in the coordinate expression format, tag position information representing the position of the mobile terminal having the detected wireless tag based on the detection tag information and the reader position information;
A map storage unit storing a map image corresponding to the coordinate expression format;
A position presentation unit that outputs an image in which the position of the mobile terminal represented by the GPS positioning information and the tag position information is displayed on the map image;
A position management system, characterized by comprising: The management center further includes a reader registration unit that registers the reader position information represented in the coordinate expression format in the reader position storage unit,
The reader registration unit
Determining the reader position information of the tag reader based on the GPS positioning information obtained for the mobile terminal having the wireless tag when the tag reader to be registered detects the wireless tag;
The position management system according to claim 1. The reader registration unit
When the detection tag information indicating that the registration wireless tag is detected is acquired from the tag reader, the GPS information acquisition unit acquires the GPS information from the specific mobile terminal that is the mobile terminal having the registration wireless tag. Determining the reader position information based on the GPS positioning information obtained from the GPS information;
The position management system according to claim 2. The management center further includes an error calculation unit that calculates an error of the GPS positioning information,
The reader registration unit
Registering the reader position information based on the GPS positioning information on the condition that the error is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold;
The position management system according to claim 2 or claim 3, wherein The management center further includes an error calculation unit that calculates an error of the GPS positioning information,
The specific mobile terminal is
A map display unit for displaying the map image;
A position specifying means for specifying an arbitrary position on the map image in accordance with a user operation;
A designated position transmitting unit for transmitting designated position information designated by the position designation means to the management center;
With
The reader registration unit
If the error is less than or equal to a predetermined threshold, register the reader position information based on the GPS positioning information,
If the error exceeds the threshold, registering the reader position information based on the user-specified position information;
The position management system according to claim 3.

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