JP2008281494A - Position detection portable terminal device, orientation determination method, and orientation determination program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily determine orientation as the direction of the body of a wearing person. <P>SOLUTION: A terrestrial magnetism vector is acquired for each prescribed time from a magnetic sensor; the amount of change in terrestrial magnetism that is the amount of change in the size of the terrestrial magnetism vector during the prescribed amount of time is calculated; and the orientation of the wearing person is determined from the terrestrial magnetism vector acquired by the magnetic sensor, when the calculated amount of change in terrestrial magnetism is within the range of a prescribed threshold. When the amount of change in the terrestrial magnetism is outside the range of the prescribed threshold, the most recent orientation that is the orientation determined from the most recent terrestrial magnetism vector indicating the amount of change in terrestrial magnetism within the range of the prescribed threshold is adopted and determined as the orientation of the wearing person. Or, the amount-of-rotation addition azimuth that is the azimuth obtained by adding the amount of rotation acquired from a gyro sensor to the most recent azimuth is determined as the orientation of the wearing person. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a position detection portable terminal device, a direction determination method, and a direction determination program.

  Conventionally, portable terminal devices that continuously detect a wearer's current position by combining GPS (Global Positioning System) and autonomous navigation have become widespread.

  The GPS receives a signal from a GPS satellite and detects the current position of the wearer. Autonomous navigation calculates the orientation (azimuth) of the wearer's body from the geomagnetic vector acquired by the magnetic sensor, The movement direction (front and back, left and right) and movement distance of the wearer are calculated from the acceleration information acquired by the acceleration sensor, and the current position of the wearer is detected from the direction, movement direction, and movement distance of the wearer's body. In addition, the rotation amount of the wearer acquired by the gyro sensor may be used when calculating the direction (azimuth) of the wearer's body.

  Here, when the wearer is not able to receive signals from GPS satellites satisfactorily, such as when the wearer is moving in the building or in the shadow of the building, the above-described mobile terminal device continuously uses the autonomous navigation to apply the wearer. Detect the current position of.

  In autonomous navigation, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for improving the calculation accuracy of the moving distance by adjusting the stride used when calculating the moving distance based on the acceleration information acquired by the acceleration sensor. . For example, when the acceleration is large, it is determined that the walking rhythm is fast, and the calculation accuracy of the movement distance is improved by making adjustments such as reducing the stride.

  In autonomous navigation, the wearer's body orientation (orientation) is calculated from the geomagnetic vector, but there are factors that generate magnetic fields around the wearer, such as building reinforcing bars and elevator drive systems. An error occurs in the geomagnetic vector acquired by the magnetic sensor. Therefore, in Patent Document 2, accurate geomagnetic vector information is stored as a table for each point, and the reliability of the geomagnetic vector information acquired by the magnetic sensor is determined by the point (for example, by GPS) where the geomagnetic vector information is acquired. A technique for determining with reference to the acquired point) and the table is disclosed. For example, if it is determined that the reliability is low, a warning is issued to notify the wearer that the calculated orientation is not reliable.

  Furthermore, in Patent Document 3, a location where an error occurs in the geomagnetic vector acquired by the magnetic sensor due to an external magnetic field is registered in advance as a position with reduced accuracy. A technique for avoiding notifying a wearer of a low orientation is disclosed.

JP 2000-97722 A Japanese Patent No. 3833733 JP 2005-291935 A

  By the way, the conventional technique for determining the reliability of the direction calculated by the magnetic sensor described above allows the wearer to use the portable terminal device for accurate geomagnetic vector information for each point, information on the position of reduced accuracy, etc. There is a problem in that the orientation as the orientation of the wearer's body cannot be easily determined because it must be held in all the characteristic places.

  Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems of the prior art, and a position detection portable terminal device that can easily determine the orientation as the orientation of the wearer's body, orientation determination An object is to provide a method and orientation determination program.

  In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, the invention according to claim 1 acquires a geomagnetic vector from a magnetic sensor every predetermined time, and uses a change amount of the magnitude of the geomagnetic vector at the predetermined time. When the geomagnetic change amount calculating means for calculating a certain geomagnetic change amount and the geomagnetic change amount calculated by the geomagnetic change amount calculating means are within a predetermined threshold range, the geomagnetic vector obtained from the magnetic sensor When the direction of the wearer is determined and the amount of geomagnetic change is outside the predetermined threshold range, the direction determined from the latest geomagnetic vector indicating the amount of geomagnetic change within the predetermined threshold range is used. Azimuth determining means for adopting and determining a certain latest azimuth as the azimuth of the wearer.

  The invention according to claim 2 is the above-mentioned invention, further comprising walking determination means for determining the presence or absence of the wearer's walking from the acceleration information acquired by the acceleration sensor, wherein the azimuth determining means is the amount of change in geomagnetism. When the geomagnetism change amount calculated by the calculation means is within a predetermined threshold range, and the walking determination means determines that the wearer is walking, the geomagnetic vector acquired from the magnetic sensor When the wearer determines the direction and the geomagnetic change is outside the predetermined threshold range, or when the walking determination means determines that the wearer is not walking, the latest direction is It is adopted and determined as the orientation of the wearer.

  The invention according to claim 3 is the above invention, further comprising a rotation amount acquisition means for acquiring the rotation amount of the wearer from a gyro sensor, wherein the direction determination means is calculated by the geomagnetic change amount calculation means. When the amount of geomagnetic change is outside a predetermined threshold range, a rotation amount addition azimuth that is a direction obtained by adding the rotation amount acquired by the rotation amount acquisition means to the latest azimuth is the azimuth of the wearer. It is determined as follows.

  Further, the invention according to claim 4 is the above invention, further comprising an inclination calculating means for detecting a gravitational acceleration from the acceleration sensor and calculating an inclination of the wearer's body, wherein the geomagnetic change amount calculating means comprises: Based on the inclination calculated by the inclination calculating means, a horizontal component and a vertical component of the geomagnetic vector are obtained from the magnetic sensor every predetermined time, and the geomagnetism change amount at the predetermined time is used as the geomagnetic change amount. The horizontal component change amount and the vertical component change amount, which are the change amounts of the horizontal component and the vertical component of the vector, are respectively calculated, and the azimuth determining means is a predetermined set for each of the horizontal component change amount and the vertical component change amount. Based on a threshold value and each of the horizontal component change amount and the vertical component change amount calculated by the geomagnetic change amount calculating means. And determining the azimuth Te.

  The invention according to claim 5 is the above invention, further comprising altitude calculation means for calculating the altitude of the place where the wearer is present from an atmospheric pressure sensor, wherein the direction determining means is set for each altitude. The azimuth is determined based on a predetermined threshold value, the geomagnetic change amount calculated by the geomagnetic change amount calculating means, and the altitude calculated by the altitude calculating means.

  The invention according to claim 6 is an azimuth determining method for determining an azimuth as a direction of a wearer's body, wherein a geomagnetic vector is acquired from a magnetic sensor at predetermined time intervals, and the geomagnetism at the predetermined time is determined. A geomagnetic change amount calculating step for calculating a geomagnetic change amount that is a change amount of a vector, and the magnetic sensor when the geomagnetic change amount calculated by the geomagnetic change amount calculating step is within a predetermined threshold range. Determines the azimuth of the wearer from the acquired geomagnetic vector, and if the geomagnetic change amount is out of the predetermined threshold range, the latest geomagnetism indicating the change amount within the predetermined threshold range. An azimuth determining step of adopting and determining the latest azimuth determined from the vector as the azimuth of the wearer.

  The invention according to claim 7 is an azimuth determination program for causing a computer to execute an azimuth determination method for determining an azimuth as a direction of a wearer's body, and acquires a geomagnetic vector from a magnetic sensor at predetermined time intervals. A geomagnetism change amount calculating procedure for calculating a geomagnetism change amount which is a change amount of the magnitude of the geomagnetic vector at the predetermined time, and the geomagnetism change amount calculated by the geomagnetism change amount calculating procedure is within a predetermined threshold range. Is determined from the geomagnetic vector acquired by the magnetic sensor, and if the amount of change in geomagnetism is outside the range of the predetermined threshold, it is within the range of the predetermined threshold. An azimuth determination procedure that adopts and determines the latest azimuth, which is the azimuth determined from the latest geomagnetic vector indicating the amount of change, as the azimuth of the wearer. Characterized in that to execute the computer.

  According to the first, sixth, or seventh aspect of the present invention, a geomagnetic vector is acquired from a magnetic sensor every predetermined time, and a geomagnetic change amount that is a change amount of the geomagnetic vector at the predetermined time is calculated and calculated. When the amount of geomagnetism change is within a predetermined threshold range, the orientation of the wearer is determined from the geomagnetic vector acquired by the magnetic sensor, and when the amount of geomagnetism change is outside the range of the predetermined threshold, Since the latest orientation, which is the orientation determined from the latest geomagnetic vector indicating the amount of geomagnetic change within the predetermined threshold range, is adopted as the wearer's orientation, the reliability of the geomagnetic vector for each point is determined. Without the need for a separate table, the reliability of the geomagnetic vector acquired by the magnetic sensor can be easily determined from the amount of geomagnetic change alone, and the orientation of the wearer's body can be easily determined It is possible to constant.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, it is determined whether or not the wearer is walking from the acceleration information acquired by the acceleration sensor, the calculated geomagnetic variation is within a predetermined threshold range, and When it is determined that walking is performed, the orientation of the wearer is determined from the geomagnetic vector acquired by the magnetic sensor, and if the amount of geomagnetic change is outside the predetermined threshold range, or it is determined that the wearer is not walking In this case, since the latest direction is adopted as the direction of the wearer and determined, for example, the geomagnetism vector acquired by the magnetic sensor is large due to the surrounding environment, but the geomagnetic field Even when the amount of change is “0”, it is possible to avoid using the acquired geomagnetic vector, and it is possible to accurately determine the orientation of the direction of the wearer's body.

  According to the invention of claim 3, the rotation amount of the wearer is acquired from the gyro sensor, and when the calculated geomagnetic change amount is outside the range of the predetermined threshold, it is acquired from the gyro sensor in the latest direction. Since the rotation amount addition azimuth that is the azimuth adding the rotation amount is determined as the wearer's azimuth, for example, when the wearer's body is rotating when the geomagnetic vector error is large and the reliability is low However, the latest orientation can be corrected, and the orientation of the direction of the wearer's body can be determined more accurately.

  According to the invention of claim 4, the gravitational acceleration is detected from the acceleration sensor to calculate the inclination of the wearer's body, and based on the calculated inclination, the horizontal direction of the geomagnetic vector is calculated from the magnetic sensor every predetermined time. The horizontal component change amount and the vertical component change amount are calculated as the horizontal component change amount and the vertical component change amount, respectively. Since the direction is determined based on the predetermined threshold value set for each vertical component change amount and the calculated horizontal component change amount and vertical component change amount respectively, the geomagnetic vector obtained by the magnetic sensor depends on the surrounding environment. Degradation of reliability due to errors that occur can be divided into horizontal component change amount and vertical component change amount, and can be judged in detail. Who made of the orientation of the orientation of the body and more possible to determine in a simple manner.

  According to the invention of claim 5, the altitude of the place where the wearer is present is calculated from the atmospheric pressure sensor, the predetermined threshold set for each altitude, the calculated geomagnetic variation, and the calculated altitude Therefore, the direction of the wearer's body can be determined more easily and accurately because it is possible to easily cope with a change in the geomagnetic vector itself accompanying a change in altitude.

  Exemplary embodiments of a position detection portable terminal device, an azimuth determination method, and an azimuth determination program according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following, the outline and features of the position detection portable terminal device according to the first embodiment, the configuration and processing procedure of the position detection portable terminal device according to the first embodiment, and the effects of the first embodiment will be described in order. Examples will be described.

[Explanation of terms]
First, main terms used in the following examples will be described. The “magnetic sensor” used in the following examples refers to a sensor that acquires a geomagnetic vector including information on the magnitude and direction (triaxial direction) of the earth's magnetic field. Based on the information of the geomagnetic vector acquired by the “sensor”, it is possible to calculate and determine the direction of the body of the wearer wearing the position detection portable terminal device.

  The “acceleration sensor” is a sensor that acquires acceleration information in three axes, and the position detection portable terminal device is a sensor in three axes that is generated by movement of the wearer's body acquired by the “acceleration sensor”. Based on the acceleration information, it is possible to calculate the movement direction (front and rear, left and right) and movement distance of the wearer. For example, the position detection portable terminal device can calculate the movement direction and the movement distance based on the amplitude value that is the difference between the maximum value and the minimum value of the acceleration information of each of the three axes acquired by the “acceleration sensor”. Furthermore, the “acceleration sensor” is also a sensor that acquires the gravity of the earth (gravity acceleration), and the position detection mobile terminal device is based on the gravitational acceleration information acquired by the “acceleration sensor”. That is, the inclination of the wearer's body can be calculated.

  In addition, the “barometric pressure sensor” is a sensor that acquires a barometric pressure that fluctuates according to height (altitude), and the position detection mobile terminal device uses the barometric pressure value acquired by the “barometric pressure sensor” to detect the position. The altitude at which the detected portable terminal device exists, that is, the altitude at which the wearer exists can be calculated. Further, the “gyro sensor” is a sensor that acquires a rotation amount (specifically, angular velocity per unit time), and the position detection portable terminal device is similar to the geomagnetic vector information acquired by the “magnetic sensor”. In addition, based on the rotation amount acquired by the “gyro sensor”, the orientation of the body of the wearer wearing the position detection portable terminal device can be calculated.

[Outline and Features of Position Detection Portable Terminal Device in Embodiment 1]
Subsequently, main features of the position detection portable terminal device according to the first embodiment will be specifically described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining the outline of the position detection portable terminal device according to the first embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the features of the position detection portable terminal device according to the first embodiment.

  The position detection portable terminal device according to the first embodiment outlines that the position of the wearer is detected based on the orientation as the direction of the wearer and the movement direction and movement distance of the wearer. That is, as shown in FIG. 1A, the position detection portable terminal device according to the first embodiment is worn on the wearer's waist or the like, and is based on the orientation, movement direction, and movement distance as the wearer's orientation. And autonomously detecting the position of the wearer. That is, without using information from an external device such as a signal from a GPS satellite, the position of the wearer is autonomously detected based on information acquired from various sensors included in the position detection mobile terminal device itself in the first embodiment. To do.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 1A, the position detection portable terminal device according to the first embodiment uses a magnetic sensor as the orientation of the wearer's body at “time: t1” (hereinafter referred to as an orientation). Is acquired as “azimuth (orientation): south” based on the acquired geomagnetic vector information, and the movement direction and movement distance of the wearer between “time: t1” and “time: t2” Based on the acceleration information in the triaxial directions generated by the movement of the wearer's body acquired by the acceleration sensor, it is acquired as “movement direction: front” and “movement distance: Xm”. Here, the position detection portable terminal device according to the first embodiment transmits information on the azimuth, the movement direction, and the movement distance to, for example, a management center that manages the position information of the wearer. Then, the management center processes these pieces of information to create an image in which the position information of the wearer is associated with the floor plan in the building as shown in FIG. And the created image is transmitted to the position detection portable terminal device. Thereby, the wearer of the position detection portable terminal device can also grasp his current position.

  In this embodiment, the case where the portable terminal device performs only position detection will be described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) or PC to which the present invention is applied. A mobile terminal device such as (Personal Computer) may further perform position detection.

  Here, the present invention is mainly characterized in that it is possible to easily determine the orientation as the orientation of the wearer's body. This main feature will be briefly described. The position detection portable terminal device according to the first embodiment includes an acceleration sensor, a gyro sensor, a magnetic sensor, and an atmospheric pressure sensor, and detects data used for azimuth determination from information acquired from these various sensors. . Specifically, the altitude at which the wearer is present is calculated based on the pressure value acquired from the pressure sensor (see (1) in FIG. 2A and (B) in FIG. 2). Further, based on the gravitational acceleration information acquired from the acceleration sensor, the inclination of the position detection portable terminal device, that is, the inclination of the wearer's body is calculated ((2) in FIG. 2 (A) and FIG. 2). (See (B)). Further, information on the geomagnetic vector is acquired from the magnetic sensor (see (3) in FIG. 2A), and the rotation amount of the wearer's body is acquired from the gyro sensor ((4) in FIG. 2A). reference). It should be noted that the presence or absence of the wearer's walking is also determined based on the triaxial acceleration information acquired by the acceleration sensor (see (2) in FIG. 2A), which will be described later.

  And the position detection portable terminal device in Example 1 calculates the amount of geomagnetism change that is the amount of change in the magnitude of the geomagnetic vector acquired from the magnetic sensor every predetermined time. At that time, as shown in FIG. 2B, the position detection portable terminal device according to the first embodiment performs a predetermined time based on the calculated inclination of the position detection portable terminal device (the body of the wearer). The horizontal component and the vertical component of the geomagnetic vector are acquired every time (for example, every 2 seconds), and the amount of change in the horizontal and vertical components of the geomagnetic vector is obtained as the amount of change in the geomagnetic vector for the predetermined time (for example, in 2 seconds). Each horizontal component change amount and vertical component change amount is calculated.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 2C, the “horizontal component” in the geomagnetic vector at “time: t1” is “H (t1)”, and the “vertical component” is “P (t1)”. Further, when the “horizontal component” in the geomagnetic vector at “time: t2” after a predetermined time is “H (t2)” and the “vertical component” is “P (t2)”, Example 1 The position detection portable terminal device in FIG. 6 calculates “| H (t2) −H (t1) | = h (t2)” as “horizontal component change amount” at “time: t2”, and “ “| P (t2) −P (t1) | = p (t2)” is calculated as “vertical component change amount”.

  The position detection portable terminal device according to the first embodiment includes the determined presence / absence of walking, the calculated altitude, the horizontal component change amount and the vertical component change amount calculated as the geomagnetic change amount, and the horizontal component change amount. The orientation of the wearer is determined based on a predetermined threshold value set for each altitude in advance for each of the vertical component change amounts. Specifically, it is determined that “the wearer is walking”, the horizontal component change amount is within a predetermined threshold set for the calculated altitude, and the vertical component change amount is calculated. If it is within a predetermined threshold set for the altitude, the orientation of the wearer is determined from the geomagnetic vector acquired by the magnetic sensor. Further, when the horizontal component change amount is outside a predetermined threshold set for the calculated altitude, or the vertical component change amount is outside the predetermined threshold set for the calculated altitude, and Rotation acquired from the gyro sensor in the latest azimuth, which is the azimuth determined from the latest geomagnetic vector indicating the amount of change in geomagnetism within the predetermined threshold range when it is determined that the wearer does not walk The rotation amount addition azimuth that is the azimuth obtained by adding the amount is determined as the azimuth of the wearer.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 2C, the position detection portable terminal device according to the first embodiment uses a predetermined threshold set in advance for each of the horizontal component change amount and the vertical component change amount as shown in FIG. “Horizontal component change threshold value: H4”, “vertical component change threshold value: P4”, and the like are stored as threshold values associated with “altitude: fourth range”. Here, “altitude: first range” and “altitude: fourth range” shown in FIG. 2C are ranges set for each “altitude: 20 m”, for example, “altitude: first range”. "Indicates a range where the altitude from the ground surface is" 0 m to 20 m ", and" altitude: the fourth range "indicates a range where the altitude from the ground surface is" 60 m to 80 m ".

  When the altitude of the wearer at “time: t2” is calculated to be “65 m”, for example, the position detection portable terminal device according to the first embodiment, as shown in FIG. “Horizontal component change amount: h (t2)” at “t2” and “horizontal component change amount threshold value: H4” are compared, and “vertical component change amount: p (t2)” and “vertical component at“ time: t2 ”are compared. Compared with “change amount threshold value: P4”, the orientation is determined in each of the following three cases. That is, it is determined that “the wearer is walking” at “time: t2” from the triaxial acceleration information acquired from the acceleration sensor, and “horizontal component change amount: h (t2)” is “horizontal component change amount threshold value”. : H4 "or less and" vertical component change amount: p (t2) "is" vertical component change amount threshold value: P4 "or less, the geomagnetic vector acquired by the magnetic sensor at" time: t2 " The orientation of the wearer is determined from (see (5) of FIG. 2D).

  Also, “horizontal component change amount: h (t2)” is larger than “horizontal component change amount threshold value: H4”, or “vertical component change amount: p (t2)” is more than “vertical component change amount threshold value: P4”. If it is large, or if it is determined that “the wearer is walking” at “time: t2” from the triaxial acceleration information acquired from the acceleration sensor, the latest geomagnetism that indicates the amount of change in geomagnetism within the threshold range. The rotation amount addition azimuth that is the azimuth obtained by adding the rotation amount acquired from the gyro sensor to the latest azimuth determined from the vector is determined as the wearer's azimuth ((6) and (6) in FIG. 7)). Here, for example, the “horizontal component change amount” at “time: t1” is equal to or less than “horizontal component change amount threshold value: H4”, and the “vertical component change amount” at “time: t1” is “vertical component change”. Since the quantity threshold value is “P4” or less, “South” is determined as the wearer's orientation from the geomagnetic vector acquired at “time: t1” by the magnetic sensor (see FIG. 2C). A rotation amount addition azimuth (for example, southwest), which is a azimuth obtained by adding the rotation amount (for example, 45 degrees) acquired from the gyro sensor to “south” as the azimuth, is determined as the direction of the wearer.

  In the present embodiment, the case where the horizontal component change amount and the vertical component change amount are separately calculated as the geomagnetic change amount has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and more simply, As the geomagnetic change amount, only the change amount of the magnitude of the geomagnetic vector itself may be calculated. In this case, only one type of threshold for the amount of change in the magnitude of the geomagnetic vector is held, and the azimuth is determined based on the threshold. For example, when the geomagnetic change amount is within a predetermined threshold range, the wearer's orientation is determined from the geomagnetic vector acquired by the magnetic sensor, and when the geomagnetic change amount is outside the predetermined threshold range, The latest azimuth may be adopted as the wearer's azimuth, or may be determined by adding the rotation amount acquired to the latest azimuth.

  Even when only the magnitude change in the magnitude of the geomagnetic vector itself is calculated, the presence / absence of walking is further determined, the geomagnetic change is within a predetermined threshold range, and it is determined that the wearer is walking. If the wearer's azimuth is determined from the geomagnetic vector acquired by the magnetic sensor and the geomagnetic change amount is outside the predetermined threshold range, or if the wearer is determined not to walk, The latest azimuth may be adopted as the wearer's azimuth, or may be determined by adding the rotation amount acquired to the latest azimuth.

  For this reason, the position detecting portable terminal device according to the first embodiment does not separately maintain a table for determining the reliability of the geomagnetic vector for each point, and the geomagnetic vector acquired by the magnetic sensor based only on the geomagnetic change amount. It is possible to easily determine the reliability of the wearer, and as described above, the orientation of the wearer's body can be easily determined. In addition, after the position detection portable terminal device in Example 1 determines the wearer's azimuth, the determined azimuth and the movement direction and the movement distance calculated from the triaxial acceleration information acquired from the acceleration sensor are mounted. The position information of the wearer is transmitted to the management center, and the management center detects the position of the wearer. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Alternatively, the position of the wearer may be detected from the movement distance.

[Configuration of Position Detection Portable Terminal Device in Embodiment 1]
Next, the position detection portable terminal device according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the position detection portable terminal device according to the first embodiment, FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining an output example of the acceleration sensor, and FIG. 5 is an output example of the magnetic sensor. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining an output example of the atmospheric pressure sensor, FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining an output example of the gyro sensor, and FIG. 8 is a threshold storage. FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining the geomagnetism change storage unit.

  As illustrated in FIG. 3, the position detection portable terminal device 10 according to the first embodiment includes a communication control unit 11, a display unit 12, an acceleration sensor 13, a magnetic sensor 14, an atmospheric pressure sensor 15, and a gyro sensor 16. The input / output control I / F unit 17, the storage unit 20, and the processing unit 30 are connected to the management center 100 by, for example, wireless communication.

  The management center 100 manages the position information of the wearer of the position detection portable terminal device 10. That is, the management center 100 processes the information on the azimuth, the moving direction, and the moving distance received from the position detection portable terminal device 10, for example, as shown in FIG. An image associated with the floor plan in the building is created to grasp the position of the wearer, and the created image is transmitted to the position detection portable terminal device 10.

  The communication control unit 11 controls communication with other devices, and particularly as closely related to the present invention, the wearer's azimuth determined by the azimuth determining unit 30g described later and a position detecting unit 30h described later. A display unit that transfers the direction and distance of movement of the wearer detected by the control unit 100 to the management center 100, an image in which the position information of the wearer created in the management center 100 is associated with a floor plan in the building, which will be described later Or transfer to 12. Further, the offset values and gain values of various sensors received from the management center 100 are transferred to a setting parameter storage unit 20a described later, or the setting threshold values received from the management center 100 are transferred to a threshold storage unit 20e described later.

  The display unit 12 outputs various types of information, and particularly as closely related to the present invention, an image in which the position information of the wearer received from the management center 100 is associated with a floor plan in the building is displayed on a liquid crystal display. Or to display.

  The acceleration sensor 13 acquires acceleration information in three axis directions, and further acquires the earth's gravity (gravity acceleration). For example, as shown in FIG. 4, acceleration (unit: G) for each of three axes (X axis, Y axis, and Z axis) with respect to the wearer's body is acquired in a time series per unit time.

  The magnetic sensor 14 acquires geomagnetic vector information including information on the magnitude and direction (three-axis direction) of the earth's magnetic field. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, the magnitude of the geomagnetism vector itself, which is the magnitude of the magnetism vector, or the geomagnetism vector calculated based on the inclination of the wearer's body detected by the gravitational acceleration detection unit 30c described later. The “magnetic horizontal component” that is the size of the horizontal component and the “magnetic vertical component” that is the size of the vertical component are acquired in time series per unit time.

  The atmospheric pressure sensor 15 acquires an atmospheric pressure that varies depending on the height (altitude). For example, when the wearer of the position detection portable terminal device 10 is descending a staircase in the building (the altitude is decreasing), as shown in FIG. 6, the pressure sensor 15 is acquired in time series per unit time. From the output result, it can be seen that the atmospheric pressure (unit: Hpa) increases with time.

  The gyro sensor 16 acquires the rotation amount. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, the azimuth (unit: degree) of the wearer is output in a time series from the rotation amount acquired by the gyro sensor 16. In FIG. 7, “0 degree” indicates “north”, “90 degrees” indicates “east”, “180 degrees” indicates “south”, and “270 degrees” indicates “west”. FIG. 7 also shows a case where the information on the geomagnetic vector acquired by the magnetic sensor 14 is output as the wearer's direction (unit: degree) according to the time series.

  The storage unit 20 stores data and programs necessary for various processes, and particularly those closely related to the present invention include a setting parameter storage unit 20a, a sensor information storage unit 20b, as shown in FIG. A direction determining detection information storage unit 20c, a geomagnetic change amount storage unit 20d, a threshold storage unit 20e, and a determined direction storage unit 20f are provided.

  The setting parameter storage unit 20a stores an offset value and a gain value that are parameters set for each sensor. That is, the setting parameter storage unit 20a stores the offset value and the gain value of each of the acceleration sensor 13, the magnetic sensor 14, the atmospheric pressure sensor 15, and the gyro sensor 16 provided in the position detection portable terminal device 10. Here, the offset value and the gain value are correction parameters used when converting the analog information acquired by the sensor into digital information. The offset value is a parameter for performing zero point correction. The gain value is a parameter for correcting “variation” occurring in the acquired value for each sensor, and an accurate value is calculated by multiplying the value corrected by the offset value by the gain value. . For example, by correcting the gravitational acceleration information acquired by the acceleration sensor 13 on the ground surface with an offset value and a gain value, an accurate value “1G” can be acquired.

  The threshold storage unit 20e stores a predetermined threshold set for each altitude for each of the horizontal component change amount and the vertical component change amount. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 8, “horizontal component change amount threshold value: H4”, “vertical component change amount threshold value: P4”, and the like are stored as threshold values associated with “altitude: fourth range”. . For example, “horizontal component change amount threshold” corresponding to “altitude: fourth range” is stored as “5 (unit: μT, micro Tesla)”, and “vertical component change amount corresponding to“ altitude: fourth range ”is stored. “Threshold” is stored as “5 (unit: μT, microtesla)”. Here, “altitude: first range” and “altitude: fourth range” shown in FIG. 8 are ranges set for each “altitude: 20 m”, for example. It is assumed that the altitude from "0m to 20m" indicates the range, and "altitude: fourth range" indicates the range from "60m to 80m" from the ground surface.

  The sensor information storage unit 20b stores information acquired by a sensor information acquisition unit 30a, which will be described later, and the direction determination detection information storage unit 20c includes “an altitude detection unit 30b, a gravitational acceleration detection unit 30c, and a walk detection unit 30d, which will be described later. And the rotation amount detection unit 30e "are stored, the geomagnetic change amount storage unit 20d stores a result calculated by a geomagnetism change amount calculation unit 30f, which will be described later, and the determined direction storage unit 20f has an orientation, which will be described later. The orientation of the wearer determined by the determination unit 30g is stored. These will be described in detail later.

  The processing unit 30 includes a control program such as an OS (Operating System), a program that defines various processing procedures, and an internal memory for storing necessary data, and executes various processes using these, and in particular, the present invention. As shown in FIG. 3, the sensor information acquisition unit 30a, the altitude detection unit 30b, the gravitational acceleration detection unit 30c, the walking detection unit 30d, the rotation amount detection unit 30e, the geomagnetism, as shown in FIG. A change amount calculation unit 30f, an orientation determination unit 30g, and a position detection unit 30h are provided. Here, the altitude detection unit 30b corresponds to the “altitude calculation unit” described in the claims, the gravitational acceleration detection unit 30c also corresponds to the “inclination calculation unit”, and the walk detection unit 30d also includes “ Corresponding to the “walking determination means”, the rotation amount detection unit 30e corresponds to the “rotation amount acquisition unit”, and the geomagnetic change amount calculation unit 30f corresponds to the “geomagnetic change amount calculation unit”, and the direction determination unit 30g. Corresponds to the “azimuth determining means”.

  The sensor information acquisition unit 30a acquires analog information from various sensors for each time set in each of the various sensors (acceleration sensor 13, magnetic sensor 14, atmospheric pressure sensor 15 and gyro sensor 16), and the setting parameter storage unit 20a The acquired analog information is converted into digital information using an offset value and a gain value which are parameters set for each of the various sensors to be stored. The sensor information acquisition unit 30a stores the converted data in the sensor information storage unit 20b. For example, when the time set in the acceleration sensor 13 has elapsed, the analog information acquired from the acceleration sensor 13 is converted into digital information using the offset value and gain value of the acceleration sensor 13 stored in the setting parameter storage unit 20a. Convert.

  The altitude detection unit 30b calculates the altitude at which the wearer is present using “digital information converted from analog information acquired from the barometric sensor 15 at every set time” stored in the sensor information storage unit 20b, and the result Is stored in the direction determining detection information storage unit 20c.

  The gravitational acceleration detection unit 30c calculates the inclination of the wearer using “digital information converted from analog information (gravity acceleration information) acquired from the acceleration sensor 13 every set time” stored in the sensor information storage unit 20b. Then, the result is stored in the direction determining detection information storage unit 20c.

  The walking detection unit 30d uses the “digital information (three-axis acceleration information) converted from the analog information acquired from the acceleration sensor 13 at each set time” stored in the sensor information storage unit 20b to store the walking information of the wearer. The presence / absence is determined, and the result is stored in the direction determining detection information storage unit 20c.

  The rotation amount detection unit 30e uses the “digital information (rotation amount information) converted from analog information acquired from the gyro sensor 16 every set time” stored in the sensor information storage unit 20b to rotate the wearer's body. The amount is calculated, and the result is stored in the direction determining detection information storage unit 20c.

  The geomagnetism change amount calculation unit 30f uses the “digital information (geomagnetic vector information) converted from the analog information acquired from the magnetic sensor 14 at every set time” stored in the sensor information storage unit 20b to store the magnitude of the geomagnetic vector. Is calculated, and the result is stored in the geomagnetism change storage unit 20d. At that time, the geomagnetism change amount calculation unit 30f acquires the horizontal component and the vertical component of the geomagnetic vector based on the inclination of the wearer stored in the azimuth determination detection information storage unit 20c, and at a predetermined time (for example, 2 The horizontal component change amount and the vertical component change amount, which are the change amounts of the horizontal component and the vertical component of the geomagnetic vector, are calculated as the geomagnetic change amount (in seconds). For example, the “horizontal component” in the geomagnetic vector at “time: t1” is “H (t1)”, the “vertical component” is “P (t1)”, and “time: t2 after a predetermined time” When the “horizontal component” in the geomagnetic vector at “H” is “H (t2)” and the “vertical component” is “P (t2)”, the geomagnetism change amount calculation unit 30f at “time: t2” “| H (t2) −H (t1) | = h (t2)” is calculated as the “horizontal component change amount”, and “| P (t2) −P as the“ vertical component change amount ”at“ time: t2 ”. (T1) | = p (t2) ”is calculated.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 9A, for example, the geomagnetism change amount storage unit 20d uses “horizontal component: H (t1)” at “time: t1” as the previous horizontal component, and the previous vertical component. As a component, “vertical component: P (t1)” at “time: t1” is stored. Then, the geomagnetism change amount calculation unit 30f calculates “horizontal component: H (t2)” and “vertical component” based on the geomagnetic vector information at “time: t2” stored in the sensor information storage unit 20b and the inclination of the wearer. : P (t2) ", and referring to the geomagnetic change amount storage unit 20d shown in FIG. 9A, the" horizontal component change amount: h (t2) "and" “Vertical component change amount: p (t2)” at time: t2 is calculated, and the result is stored together with “current horizontal component: H (t2)” and “current vertical component: P (t2)” (FIG. 9 (B)). In addition, after the wearer's orientation is determined by an orientation determining unit 30g described later, the geomagnetism change amount calculating unit 30f uses the current horizontal component and current vertical component data as the previous horizontal component and previous vertical component data. Re-store in the change amount storage unit 20d. That is, as shown in FIG. 9C, “horizontal component: H (t2)” at “time: t2” is used as the previous horizontal component, and “vertical” at “time: t2” is used as the previous vertical component. The component: P (t2) ”is stored again in the geomagnetic change amount storage unit 20d.

  The azimuth determining unit 30g stores “the presence / absence of walking of the determined wearer” stored in the azimuth determination detection information storage unit 20c, “calculated altitude”, and “horizontal component” stored in the geomagnetic change amount storage unit 20d. Change amount and vertical component change amount "and a" predetermined threshold value preset for each altitude for each of the horizontal component change amount and the vertical component change amount "stored in the threshold storage unit 20e. The direction is determined, and the result is stored in the determined direction storage unit 20f. Specifically, the azimuth determining unit 30g refers to the information stored in the azimuth determining detection information storage unit 20c and the threshold storage unit 20e, and is “with wearer walking” and “horizontal component change amount” Is within a predetermined threshold set for the calculated altitude and "the vertical component change amount is within a predetermined threshold set for the calculated altitude" The orientation of the wearer is determined from the digital information of the geomagnetic vector acquired by the magnetic sensor 14 stored in the sensor information storage unit 20b.

  Further, the azimuth determination unit 30g refers to the information stored in the azimuth determination detection information storage unit 20c and the threshold storage unit 20e, and “a predetermined threshold value set for the calculated altitude is set for the horizontal component change amount”. "Outside" or "when the vertical component change amount is outside the predetermined threshold set for the calculated altitude" and when "the wearer does not walk" The rotation amount addition azimuth, which is the azimuth obtained by adding the rotation amount acquired from the gyro sensor 16 to the latest azimuth determined from the latest geomagnetic vector indicating the geomagnetic change amount within the range, is determined as the wearer's azimuth. . Note that the direction calculated by using the geomagnetic vector (latest direction) and the direction obtained by adding the rotation amount to the latest direction (rotation amount addition direction) are stored separately in the determined direction storage unit 20f. .

  For example, when the wearer's altitude at “time: t2” is calculated to be “65 m”, for example, the azimuth determination unit 30g reads “horizontal component change amount: h (t2)” at “time: t2”. 8 is compared with “horizontal component change amount threshold value: H4”, “vertical component change amount: p (t2)” at “time: t2” and “vertical component change amount threshold value: P4” shown in FIG. And determine the orientation in each of the following three cases. That is, it is determined from the triaxial acceleration information acquired from the acceleration sensor 13 that “the wearer is walking” at “time: t2”, and “horizontal component change amount: h (t2)” is “horizontal component change amount”. When “threshold: H4” or less and “vertical component change amount: p (t2)” are “vertical component change amount threshold: P4” or less, the magnetic sensor 14 acquired at “time: t2”. The orientation of the wearer is determined from the geomagnetic vector.

  Also, “horizontal component change amount: h (t2)” is larger than “horizontal component change amount threshold value: H4”, or “vertical component change amount: p (t2)” is more than “vertical component change amount threshold value: P4”. If it is large, or if it is determined that “the wearer is walking” at “time: t2” from the triaxial acceleration information acquired from the acceleration sensor 13, the determined orientation storage unit 20f is referred to and the latest orientation is obtained. The rotation amount addition azimuth that is the azimuth obtained by adding the rotation amounts acquired from the gyro sensor 16 is determined as the wearer's azimuth. For example, when the direction (south) determined at “time: t1” is stored in the determined direction storage unit 20f as “latest direction”, it is acquired from the gyro sensor 16 as “south” as “latest direction”. A rotation amount addition azimuth (for example, southwest), which is an azimuth obtained by adding the rotation amount (for example, 45 degrees), is determined as the azimuth of the wearer.

  The position detection unit 30h is based on the digital information acquired from the acceleration sensor 13 stored in the sensor information storage unit 20b, for example, the movement direction and the movement distance of the wearer between “time: t1” and “time: t2”. And the calculated moving direction and moving distance are transmitted to the management center 100 via the communication control unit 11 together with the wearer's direction at “time: t2” stored in the determined direction storage unit 20f.

[Procedure for Processing by Position Detection Portable Terminal Device in Embodiment 1]
Next, processing by the position detection portable terminal device 10 according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining a process of acquiring information from various sensors of the position detection portable terminal device according to the first embodiment, and FIG. 11 illustrates an azimuth determination process of the position detection portable terminal device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining position detection processing of the position detection portable terminal device according to the first embodiment.

[Procedure for Processing to Acquire Information from Various Sensors of Position Detection Portable Terminal Device in Embodiment 1]
As shown in FIG. 10, first, when the time set for each sensor in the position detection portable terminal device 10 in Example 1 elapses (Yes in step S1001), the sensor information acquisition unit 30a Information is acquired from the received information, and the received analog information is converted into digital information with reference to the offset value and gain value set in the sensor that has received the information (step S1002). For example, when the time set in the acceleration sensor 13 has elapsed, the sensor information acquisition unit 30a stores the analog information acquired from the acceleration sensor 13 with the offset value and gain value of the acceleration sensor 13 stored in the setting parameter storage unit 20a. Is used to convert to digital information.

  And the sensor information acquisition part 30a stores the converted digital information in the sensor information storage part 20b (step S1003), and complete | finishes a process.

[Procedure for Direction Determination Processing of Position Detection Portable Terminal Device in Embodiment 1]
As shown in FIG. 11, first, when the time (for example, 2 seconds) set for position detection elapses in the position detection portable terminal device 10 according to the first embodiment (Yes in step S1101), the altitude detection unit 30b The altitude at which the wearer is present is calculated using “digital information converted from analog information acquired from the barometric sensor 15 at each set time” stored in the sensor information storage unit 20b (step S1102).

  Then, the gravitational acceleration detection unit 30c uses the “digital information converted from the analog information (gravity acceleration information) acquired from the acceleration sensor 13 at each set time” stored in the sensor information storage unit 20b, and the inclination of the wearer. Is calculated (step S1103).

  Subsequently, the geomagnetism change amount calculation unit 30f stores “digital information converted from analog information acquired from the magnetic sensor 14 at each set time (geomagnetic vector information)” stored in the sensor information storage unit 20b, and detection for azimuth determination. Based on the wearer's inclination stored in the information storage unit 20c, the horizontal component and the vertical component of the geomagnetic vector are acquired every predetermined time (for example, every 2 seconds), and the predetermined time (for example, for 2 seconds) is acquired. ) As the geomagnetic change amount, the horizontal component change amount and the vertical component change amount, which are the change amounts of the horizontal component and the vertical component of the geomagnetic vector, are calculated (step S1104).

  After that, the walking detection unit 30d uses the “digital information (three-axis acceleration information) converted from the analog information acquired from the acceleration sensor 13 every set time” stored in the sensor information storage unit 20b. The presence or absence of walking is determined (step S1105).

  Furthermore, the azimuth determining unit 30g determines whether or not the geomagnetic change amount calculated by the geomagnetic change amount calculating unit 30f, that is, the horizontal component change amount and the vertical component change amount are within the threshold value stored in the threshold value storage unit 20e. (Step S1106).

  Then, when both the horizontal component change amount and the vertical component change amount calculated by the geomagnetic change amount calculation unit 30f are within the threshold value stored in the threshold value storage unit 20e (Yes in step S1106), the azimuth determination unit 30g It is determined by 30d whether or not the wearer is walking (step S1107).

  Furthermore, when it is determined by the walking detection unit 30d that the wearer is walking (Yes at Step S1107), the direction determining unit 30g determines the direction of the wearer from the geomagnetic vector acquired from the magnetic sensor 14. (Step S1108), the process is terminated.

  On the other hand, the azimuth determining unit 30g determines that the horizontal component change amount or the vertical component change amount calculated by the geomagnetic change amount calculating unit 30f is outside the threshold value stored in the threshold value storage unit 20e (No in step S1106). When the wearer is not walking (No at Step S1107), the rotation amount of the wearer's body calculated by the rotation amount detection unit 30e is added to the latest direction (rotation amount addition direction), and the wearer's body The direction is determined (step S1109), and the process is terminated.

[Procedure for Position Detection Processing of Position Detection Portable Terminal Device in Embodiment 1 in Embodiment 1]
As shown in FIG. 12, first, in the position detection portable terminal device 10 according to the first embodiment, when the direction as the orientation of the wearer's body is determined by the direction determination unit 30g (Yes in step S1201), the position detection unit 30h. Calculates the moving direction of the wearer based on the digital information acquired from the acceleration sensor 13 stored in the sensor information storage unit 20b (step S1202).

  Then, the position detection unit 30h calculates the movement distance of the wearer based on the digital information acquired from the acceleration sensor 13 stored in the sensor information storage unit 20b (step S1203).

  Furthermore, the position detection unit 30h transmits the wearer's orientation stored in the determined orientation storage unit 20f and the calculated movement direction and movement distance to the management center 100 via the communication control unit 11 (step S1204). ).

  After that, when the position detection portable terminal device 10 receives the position information of the wearer (for example, an image in which the position information of the wearer is associated with the floor plan in the building) from the management center 100 (Yes in step S1205), the display unit The position information is displayed on the liquid crystal display of 12 (step S1206), and the process ends.

[Effect of Example 1]
As described above, according to the first embodiment, the altitude of the place where the wearer is present is calculated from the atmospheric pressure sensor 15, the gravitational acceleration is detected from the acceleration sensor 13, and the inclination of the wearer's body is calculated. Whether or not the wearer is walking is determined from the acceleration information acquired by the acceleration sensor 13. Then, a geomagnetic vector is acquired from the magnetic sensor 14 every predetermined time, and the amount of change in geomagnetism, which is the amount of change in the magnitude of the geomagnetic vector at the predetermined time, is calculated. Based on the calculated inclination, Then, the horizontal component and the vertical component of the geomagnetic vector are acquired, and the horizontal component change amount and the vertical component change amount, which are the change amounts of the horizontal component and the vertical component of the geomagnetic vector, are calculated as the geomagnetic change amount at the predetermined time. Then, the altitude is calculated in advance for the determined presence / absence of walking, the calculated altitude, the horizontal component change amount and the vertical component change amount calculated as the geomagnetic change amount, and the horizontal component change amount and the vertical component change amount, respectively. The orientation of the wearer is determined based on a predetermined threshold set for each. That is, it is determined that “the wearer is walking”, the horizontal component change amount is within a predetermined threshold set for the calculated altitude, and the vertical component change amount is the calculated altitude. Is within a predetermined threshold set for the wearer, the orientation of the wearer is determined from the geomagnetic vector acquired by the magnetic sensor 14. Further, when the horizontal component change amount is outside a predetermined threshold set for the calculated altitude, or the vertical component change amount is outside the predetermined threshold set for the calculated altitude, and When it is determined that “the wearer does not walk”, it is acquired from the gyro sensor 16 in the latest azimuth, which is the azimuth determined from the latest geomagnetic vector indicating the amount of geomagnetic change within the predetermined threshold range. The rotation amount addition azimuth that is the azimuth obtained by adding the rotation amount is determined as the wearer's azimuth.

  For this reason, it is possible to easily determine the reliability of the geomagnetic vector acquired by the magnetic sensor based only on the amount of geomagnetism without separately maintaining a table for determining the reliability of the geomagnetic vector for each point. It is possible to easily determine the orientation as the body direction. Further, for example, even when the error of the geomagnetic vector acquired by the magnetic sensor is large due to the surrounding environment, the acquired geomagnetic vector is adopted even when the amount of change in geomagnetism is “0” because there is no walking. This can be avoided, and the orientation of the direction of the wearer's body can be accurately determined. In addition, the latest orientation can be corrected and the orientation of the wearer's body can be determined more accurately, even when the wearer's body is rotating without walking. Become. Further, in the geomagnetic vector acquired by the magnetic sensor 14, a decrease in reliability due to an error caused by the surrounding environment can be determined in detail for each of the horizontal component change amount and the vertical component change amount. It becomes possible to more easily determine the orientation of the direction. Furthermore, it is possible to easily cope with a change in the geomagnetic vector itself accompanying a change in altitude, and the orientation of the wearer's body can be determined more easily and accurately.

  The position detection portable terminal device according to the first embodiment has been described so far, but the present invention may be implemented in various different forms other than the above-described embodiments. Therefore, in the following, various different embodiments will be described as (1) to (2) as the position detection portable terminal device according to the second embodiment.

(1) System Configuration, etc. Of the processes described in the first embodiment, all or part of the processes described as being automatically performed can be performed manually (for example, set for position detection). In other words, all or part of the processing described as being performed manually by a manager of the management center 100 instead of determining the azimuth every time, or by performing a known method. It can also be done automatically. In addition, information including processing procedures, specific names, various data and parameters shown in the above text and drawings (for example, a predetermined time for acquiring information on the geomagnetic vector from the magnetic sensor 14, and the amount of change in geomagnetism) The predetermined threshold value and the like can be arbitrarily updated unless otherwise specified.

  Further, each component of each illustrated apparatus is functionally conceptual, and does not necessarily need to be physically configured as illustrated. That is, the specific form (for example, the form of FIG. 3) of each processing part and each memory | storage part is not restricted to what is shown in figure, For example, the gravitational acceleration detection part 30c and the walk detection part 30d are integrated. All or a part of them can be configured to be functionally or physically distributed / integrated in an arbitrary unit according to various loads or usage conditions. Further, all or any part of each processing function performed in each device may be realized by a CPU and a program analyzed and executed by the CPU, or may be realized as hardware by wired logic.

(2) Orientation Determination Program In the first embodiment, the case where various processes are realized by hardware logic has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a program prepared in advance is executed by a computer. You may make it perform. Therefore, in the following, an example of a computer that executes an azimuth determination program having the same function as that of the position detection portable terminal device 10 described in the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a computer that executes the orientation determination program according to the first embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 13, a computer 130 as an information processing apparatus includes a keyboard 131, a display 132, a CPU 133, a ROM 134, an HDD 135, a RAM 136, a communication control unit 11, an acceleration sensor 13, a magnetic sensor 14, an atmospheric pressure sensor 15, and a gyro sensor 16. Are connected by a bus 137 or the like.

  The ROM 134 has an orientation determination program that exhibits the same function as that of the position detection portable terminal device 10 described in the first embodiment, that is, as shown in FIG. 13, a sensor information acquisition program 134a, an altitude detection program 134b, a gravity An acceleration detection program 134c, a walk detection program 134d, a rotation amount detection program 134e, a geomagnetic change amount calculation program 134f, an orientation determination program 134g, and a position detection program 134h are stored in advance. Note that these programs 134a to 134h may be integrated or distributed as appropriate, as with each component of the position detection portable terminal device 10 shown in FIG.

  Then, the CPU 133 reads out and executes these programs 134a to 134h from the ROM 134, and as shown in FIG. 13, the programs 134a to 134h include a sensor information acquisition process 133a, an altitude detection process 133b, and a gravitational acceleration detection. It functions as a process 133c, a walking detection process 133d, a rotation detection process 133e, a geomagnetic change calculation process 133f, an orientation determination process 133g, and a position detection process 133h. Each of the processes 133a to 133h includes a sensor information acquisition unit 30a, an altitude detection unit 30b, a gravitational acceleration detection unit 30c, a walking detection unit 30d, a rotation amount detection unit 30e, a geomagnetic change amount calculation unit 30f illustrated in FIG. This corresponds to the azimuth determination unit 30g and the position detection unit 30h, respectively.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 13, the HDD 135 includes setting parameter storage data 135a, sensor information storage data 135b, direction determination detection information storage data 135c, geomagnetic change amount storage data 135d, and threshold storage data 135e. Determination direction storage data 135f is provided. The setting parameter storage data 135a corresponds to the setting parameter storage unit 20a used in FIG. 3, the sensor information storage data 135b corresponds to the sensor information storage unit 20b, and the geomagnetic change amount storage data 135d corresponds to the geomagnetic change amount storage unit 20d. The azimuth determination detection information storage data 135c corresponds to the azimuth determination detection information storage unit 20c, the threshold storage data 135e corresponds to the threshold storage unit 20e, and the determined azimuth storage data 135f is stored in the determination azimuth storage unit 20f. Correspond. Then, the CPU 133 registers the setting parameter storage data 136a with respect to the setting parameter storage data 135a, registers the sensor information storage data 136b with respect to the sensor information storage data 135b, and uses the direction determination detection information storage data 136c for direction determination. Registered with the detection information storage data 135c, registered the geomagnetic variation storage data 136d with the geomagnetic variation storage data 135d, registered the threshold storage data 136e with the threshold storage data 135e, and determined orientation storage data 136f. Is registered in the determined azimuth storage data 135f, the setting parameter storage data 136a, the sensor information storage data 136b, the azimuth determination detection information storage data 136c, the geomagnetic change amount storage data 136d, and the threshold storage data 136e, , Determined orientation memory data 136f is read out and stored in the RAM 136. The setting parameter storage data 136a, the sensor information storage data 136b, the direction determining detection information storage data 136c, the geomagnetic variation storage data 136d, and the threshold storage data stored in the RAM 136 are read out. Based on 136e and the determined azimuth storage data 136f, an azimuth determination process is executed, and a position detection process is further executed.

  Note that the above-described programs 134a to 134h are not necessarily stored in the ROM 134 from the beginning. For example, a flexible disk (FD), a CD-ROM, an MO disk, a DVD disk, a magneto-optical disk inserted into the computer 130, and the like. The computer 130 via a “portable physical medium” such as a disk or IC card, or a “fixed physical medium” such as an HDD provided inside or outside the computer 130, and further via a public line, the Internet, a LAN, a WAN, etc. Each program may be stored in “another computer (or server)” connected to the computer, and the computer 130 may read and execute each program from these programs.

(Appendix 1) A geomagnetism change amount calculating means for acquiring a geomagnetism vector from a magnetic sensor every predetermined time and calculating a geomagnetism change amount that is a change amount of the geomagnetic vector at the predetermined time;
When the geomagnetism variation calculated by the geomagnetism variation calculation means is within a predetermined threshold range, the orientation of the wearer is determined from the geomagnetic vector acquired by the magnetic sensor, and the geomagnetism variation is calculated. If it is outside the range of the predetermined threshold, the latest azimuth determined from the latest geomagnetic vector indicating the amount of geomagnetic change within the range of the predetermined threshold is adopted as the azimuth of the wearer. Orientation determining means to determine;
A position detection portable terminal device comprising:

(Additional remark 2) It further has the walk determination means which determines the presence or absence of the said wearer's walk from the acceleration information which the acceleration sensor acquired,
The azimuth determining means is when the geomagnetic change amount calculated by the geomagnetic change amount calculating means is within a predetermined threshold range, and the walking determining means determines that the wearer is walking. The direction of the wearer is determined from the geomagnetic vector acquired by the magnetic sensor, and when the geomagnetism change amount is outside the predetermined threshold range, or when the wearer does not walk by the walking determination means. When determined, the position detection portable terminal device according to appendix 1, wherein the latest direction is adopted as the direction of the wearer and determined.

(Additional remark 3) The rotation amount acquisition means which acquires the rotation amount of the said wearer from a gyro sensor is further provided,
The azimuth determining unit adds the rotation amount acquired by the rotation amount acquiring unit to the latest azimuth when the geomagnetic change amount calculated by the geomagnetic change amount calculating unit is outside a predetermined threshold range. The position detection portable terminal device according to appendix 1, wherein a rotation amount addition azimuth that is an azimuth is determined as the azimuth of the wearer.

(Supplementary Note 4) The azimuth determining means may determine that the wearer is not walking when the geomagnetic change amount calculated by the geomagnetic change amount calculating means is outside the predetermined threshold range, or by the walking determining means. If determined, the rotation amount addition azimuth that is the azimuth obtained by adding the rotation amount acquired by the rotation amount acquisition means to the latest azimuth is determined as the azimuth of the wearer. The position detection portable terminal device described.

(Additional remark 5) It further includes inclination calculation means for detecting the gravitational acceleration from the acceleration sensor and calculating the inclination of the wearer's body,
The geomagnetic change amount calculating means acquires a horizontal component and a vertical component of the geomagnetic vector at the predetermined time from the magnetic sensor based on the inclination calculated by the inclination calculating means, and at the predetermined time. As the geomagnetic change amount, a horizontal component change amount and a vertical component change amount that are horizontal component and vertical component change amounts of the geomagnetic vector are calculated,
The azimuth determining means includes a predetermined threshold set for each of the horizontal component change amount and the vertical component change amount, and each of the horizontal component change amount and the vertical component change amount calculated by the geomagnetic change amount calculation means. The position detection portable terminal device according to any one of appendices 1 to 4, wherein the azimuth is determined on the basis of the position.

(Additional remark 6) The altitude calculation means which calculates the altitude of the place where the said wearer exists from an atmospheric pressure sensor is further provided,
The azimuth determining means is based on the predetermined threshold set for each altitude, the geomagnetic change amount calculated by the geomagnetic change amount calculating means, and the altitude calculated by the altitude calculating means. The position detection portable terminal device according to any one of appendices 1 to 5, wherein the position detection portable terminal device is determined.

(Supplementary note 7) An orientation determination method for determining an orientation as a direction of a wearer's body,
A geomagnetism change amount calculating step for obtaining a geomagnetism vector from the magnetic sensor every predetermined time and calculating a geomagnetism change amount which is a change amount of the magnitude of the geomagnetism vector at the predetermined time;
When the geomagnetism variation calculated by the geomagnetism variation calculation step is within a predetermined threshold range, the orientation of the wearer is determined from the geomagnetic vector acquired by the magnetic sensor, and the geomagnetism variation is calculated. If it is out of the predetermined threshold range, the latest azimuth determined from the latest geomagnetic vector indicating the amount of change within the predetermined threshold range is adopted as the azimuth of the wearer. An orientation determination step to
An orientation determination method characterized by including

(Appendix 8) An orientation determination program for causing a computer to execute an orientation determination method for determining an orientation as a body orientation of a wearer,
Obtaining a geomagnetic vector from the magnetic sensor every predetermined time, and calculating a geomagnetic change amount that calculates a geomagnetic change amount that is a change amount of the geomagnetic vector at the predetermined time; and
When the geomagnetic variation calculated by the geomagnetic variation calculation procedure is within a predetermined threshold range, the orientation of the wearer is determined from the geomagnetic vector acquired by the magnetic sensor, and the geomagnetic variation is When it is out of the predetermined threshold range, the latest direction which is the direction determined from the latest geomagnetic vector indicating the amount of change within the predetermined threshold range is adopted as the direction of the wearer. Azimuth determination procedure,
Is an orientation determination program that causes a computer to execute.

  As described above, the position detection portable terminal device, the azimuth determination method, and the azimuth determination program according to the present invention are based on the azimuth as the direction of the wearer's body and the wearer's movement direction and movement distance. This is useful when detecting the position of the wearer, and is particularly suitable for easily determining the orientation as the orientation of the wearer's body.

It is a figure for demonstrating the outline | summary of the position detection portable terminal device in Example 1. FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating the characteristic of the position detection portable terminal device in Example 1. FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the position detection portable terminal device in Example 1. FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating the example of an output of an acceleration sensor. It is a figure for demonstrating the example of an output of a magnetic sensor. It is a figure for demonstrating the output example of an atmospheric pressure sensor. It is a figure for demonstrating the example of an output of a gyro sensor. It is a figure for demonstrating a threshold value memory | storage part. It is a figure for demonstrating a geomagnetic change amount memory | storage part. It is a figure for demonstrating the process which acquires information from the various sensors of the position detection portable terminal device in Example 1. FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating the azimuth | direction determination process of the position detection portable terminal device in Example 1. FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating the position detection process of the position detection portable terminal device in Example 1. FIG. It is a figure which shows the computer which performs the azimuth | direction determination program of Example 1. FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Position detection portable terminal device 11 Communication control part 12 Display part 13 Acceleration sensor 14 Magnetic sensor 15 Atmospheric pressure sensor 16 Gyro sensor 17 Input / output control I / F part 20 Storage part 20a Setting parameter storage part 20b Sensor information storage part 20c For direction determination Detection information storage unit 20d Geomagnetic change amount storage unit 20e Threshold storage unit 20f Determination direction storage unit 30 Processing unit 30a Sensor information acquisition unit 30b Altitude detection unit 30c Gravitational acceleration detection unit 30d Walking detection unit 30e Rotation amount detection unit 30f Geomagnetic change calculation 30g Direction determining unit 30h Position detecting unit 100 Management center

Claims (7)

A geomagnetism change amount calculating means for acquiring a geomagnetism vector from the magnetic sensor every predetermined time and calculating a geomagnetism change amount that is a change amount of the geomagnetic vector at the predetermined time;
When the geomagnetism variation calculated by the geomagnetism variation calculation means is within a predetermined threshold range, the orientation of the wearer is determined from the geomagnetic vector acquired by the magnetic sensor, and the geomagnetism variation is calculated. If it is outside the range of the predetermined threshold, the latest azimuth determined from the latest geomagnetic vector indicating the amount of geomagnetic change within the range of the predetermined threshold is adopted as the azimuth of the wearer. Orientation determining means to determine;
A position detection portable terminal device comprising: A walking determination means for determining whether or not the wearer is walking from acceleration information acquired by the acceleration sensor;
The azimuth determining means is when the geomagnetic change amount calculated by the geomagnetic change amount calculating means is within a predetermined threshold range, and the walking determining means determines that the wearer is walking. The direction of the wearer is determined from the geomagnetic vector acquired by the magnetic sensor, and when the geomagnetism change amount is outside the predetermined threshold range, or when the wearer does not walk by the walking determination means. The position detection portable terminal device according to claim 1, wherein if it is determined, the latest direction is adopted as the direction of the wearer and determined. A rotation amount acquisition means for acquiring the rotation amount of the wearer from a gyro sensor;
The azimuth determining unit adds the rotation amount acquired by the rotation amount acquiring unit to the latest azimuth when the geomagnetic change amount calculated by the geomagnetic change amount calculating unit is outside a predetermined threshold range. The position detection portable terminal device according to claim 1, wherein a rotation amount addition azimuth that is a determined azimuth is determined as the azimuth of the wearer. An inclination calculating means for detecting gravitational acceleration from the acceleration sensor and calculating the inclination of the wearer's body;
The geomagnetic change amount calculating means acquires a horizontal component and a vertical component of the geomagnetic vector at the predetermined time from the magnetic sensor based on the inclination calculated by the inclination calculating means, and at the predetermined time. As the geomagnetic change amount, a horizontal component change amount and a vertical component change amount that are horizontal component and vertical component change amounts of the geomagnetic vector are calculated,
The azimuth determining means includes a predetermined threshold set for each of the horizontal component change amount and the vertical component change amount, and each of the horizontal component change amount and the vertical component change amount calculated by the geomagnetic change amount calculation means. The position detection portable terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the azimuth is determined based on the position. An altitude calculating means for calculating the altitude of the place where the wearer is present from an atmospheric pressure sensor;
The azimuth determining means is based on the predetermined threshold set for each altitude, the geomagnetic change amount calculated by the geomagnetic change amount calculating means, and the altitude calculated by the altitude calculating means. The position detection portable terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the position detection portable terminal device is determined. An orientation determination method for determining an orientation as a direction of a wearer's body,
A geomagnetism change amount calculating step for obtaining a geomagnetism vector from the magnetic sensor every predetermined time and calculating a geomagnetism change amount which is a change amount of the magnitude of the geomagnetism vector at the predetermined time;
When the geomagnetism variation calculated by the geomagnetism variation calculation step is within a predetermined threshold range, the orientation of the wearer is determined from the geomagnetic vector acquired by the magnetic sensor, and the geomagnetism variation is calculated. When it is out of the predetermined threshold range, the latest direction which is the direction determined from the latest geomagnetic vector indicating the amount of change within the predetermined threshold range is adopted as the direction of the wearer. An orientation determination step to
An orientation determination method characterized by including An orientation determination program for causing a computer to execute an orientation determination method for determining an orientation as a body orientation of a wearer,
Obtaining a geomagnetic vector from the magnetic sensor every predetermined time, and calculating a geomagnetic change amount that calculates a geomagnetic change amount that is a change amount of the geomagnetic vector at the predetermined time; and
When the geomagnetic variation calculated by the geomagnetic variation calculation procedure is within a predetermined threshold range, the orientation of the wearer is determined from the geomagnetic vector acquired by the magnetic sensor, and the geomagnetic variation is When it is out of the predetermined threshold range, the latest direction which is the direction determined from the latest geomagnetic vector indicating the amount of change within the predetermined threshold range is adopted as the direction of the wearer. Azimuth determination procedure,
Is an orientation determination program that causes a computer to execute.

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