JP2010107235A - Location information system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent an outdoor information being erroneously displayed indoors in a portable receiving terminal in a location information system including the portable receiving terminal using a GPS signal outdoors and an optical signal from a visible light communication system indoors. <P>SOLUTION: The location information system includes the portable receiving terminal 2. The portable receiving terminal 2 includes: a GPS measuring unit 21 for receiving the GPS signal, an optical signal receiving unit 22 for receiving the optical signal SL, a display unit 23, a terminal control unit 24 for obtaining a location information from the GPS signal or optical signal SL, and for displaying one of these pieces of information on the display unit 23, and an identification unit 27 for identifying an exit of the indoor space. After the optical receiving unit 22 receives the optical signal SL, the terminal control unit 24 controls so that the GPS measuring unit 21 does not receive the GPS signal until the identification unit 27 identifies the exit. Thereby, the erroneous display on the portable receiving terminal 2 can be prevented. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a position information system including a portable receiving terminal that notifies position information.

  Conventionally, a position information system that obtains position information by positioning using a GPS signal transmitted from a GPS system (Global Positioning System) is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1). There is also known a position information system that obtains position information by optical signals transmitted by visible light communication from a plurality of lighting fixtures each fixed at a fixed position indoors (see, for example, Patent Document 2). Furthermore, the applicant has applied for a technology that uses GPS signals outdoors and optical signals indoors, and prioritizes the use of optical signals when GPS signals and optical signals are received almost simultaneously. (Japanese Patent Application No. 2007-190006).

  In the position information system previously filed by the present applicant, a portable receiving terminal having a first receiving unit that receives a GPS signal and a second receiving unit that receives an optical signal is used. Outside, a GPS signal is received, and outdoor information is displayed on the screen of the portable receiving terminal. Indoors, an optical signal is received and indoor information is displayed on the screen. However, when a GPS signal is received indoors, outdoor information may be erroneously displayed on the screen despite being indoors.

  The above-described conventional position information system using a GPS signal from a GPS system outdoors and an optical signal from a visible light communication system indoors will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 shows a layout example of the floors (the first floor and the eighth floor) where the building where the position information system is used is located. A courtyard 51 is disposed at the center of each floor, and facility facilities such as a room 52, a warehouse 53, a staircase 54, a WC 55, and an elevator 56 are disposed at an outer edge portion of the indoor space surrounding the courtyard 51. A passage 57 is located between each facility and the courtyard 51. There are entrances 58 and 59 at the edge of the passage 57 on the first floor, from which entrances and exits can be made between indoors and outdoors. A visible light communication system comprising a plurality of lighting fixtures 60 is installed on the ceiling of the passage 57 on each floor. Individual numbers are set as the ID information for each lighting fixture 60. For example, the ID information of the lighting fixture 60 on the first floor is 100 to 121, and the ID information of the lighting fixture 60 on the eighth floor is 800 to 821. Each lighting fixture 60 transmits ID information of its own fixture as an optical signal by illumination light.

  A user of this location information system moves with a portable receiving terminal. The mobile receiving terminal is equipped with outdoor map information and indoor map information, and an outdoor map or indoor map is displayed on the screen of the mobile receiving terminal based on one of the map information. Is displayed.

  The user is guided by an outdoor map displayed on the screen of the mobile reception terminal, and moves from the outside to the entrance 58 on the first floor of the building. On the map for outdoor use, the planar outlines of roads and buildings are drawn, and the current position using the GPS system is shown. Next, when the user enters the room through the doorway 58, an indoor map is displayed on the screen of the portable receiving terminal. The indoor map depicts the layout of the first floor in the building and shows the current position using the visible light communication system. Switching of the map display from outdoor to indoor at the entrance / exit 58 (point A) is performed by receiving ID information (“ID107”) of the luminaire included in the optical signal from the visible light communication system. The user is guided by an indoor map, moves to the elevator 56 (point B) from the entrance 58 on the first floor, and goes up to the eighth floor by the elevator 56. The screen of the mobile receiving terminal displays the layout of the eighth floor and the current position on the same floor. The user moves from the front of the eighth floor elevator 56 (D point) to the destination room 61 (F point). In addition, the user can also enter indoors through the entrance / exit 59 (C point).

  Here, even when the user is moving indoors, the portable receiving terminal may receive the GPS signal in a place where the GPS signal is not blocked by a wall, for example, near a window. At that time, if the mobile receiving terminal can receive the optical signal, the mobile signal is given priority over the GPS signal and the indoor map is displayed. However, there are cases where the optical signal does not reach the receivable level at an intermediate point between the luminaires, etc., and the optical signal from the plurality of luminaires interferes with the portable receiving terminal. May not be received. In such a case, only the GPS signal is received despite being indoors. At this time, since the position information of the GPS signal has an error of several meters, the mobile receiving terminal erroneously displays an outdoor map. For example, the E point on the 8th floor in FIG. 7 is a passage facing the courtyard 51 and is an intermediate point between the lighting devices of ID818 and ID817. For this reason, the portable receiving terminal may receive only the GPS signal at this location. At this time, the mobile receiving terminal carried by the user moving on the 8th floor switches the display from the indoor map on which the layout of the 8th floor is drawn to the map for outdoor use, and draws roads and the like. The user's current location is displayed incorrectly on the outdoor map. As described above, although the location information system is indoors, outdoor information such as an outdoor map and an outdoor current position is erroneously displayed, and appropriate guidance is provided to users who move indoors. This is inconvenient for the user.

  In order to solve this problem, the inventors of the present application have considered the following two means.

(First means)
The portable receiving terminal is equipped with a timer for measuring a predetermined time, which is composed of a timer or the like mounted on a microcomputer. When a light signal is received, a GPS signal is received for a predetermined time (for example, 10 seconds). Ignore it. Thereby, even if a user cannot receive an optical signal while the user is moving between a lighting device and an intermediate point of the lighting device, the display is not switched to an outdoor map.

  However, in the first means, when the user stops at a point where an optical signal cannot be received indoors, an erroneous display occurs in which the portable receiving terminal is switched to the outdoor map display after a predetermined time. To do. In addition, after the user actually goes out of the building, the time for ignoring the GPS signal is generated even if the GPS signal is received. On the contrary, if the predetermined time is too short, the erroneous display occurs. For this reason, it is not easy to prevent erroneous display only by setting the predetermined time.

(Second means)
The portable receiving terminal has a determination unit that determines the signal strength from the GPS system, and the determination unit ignores the GPS signal when the signal strength is below a certain level. As the signal strength, for example, a Position Dilution of Precision (PDOP) obtained by indexing the geometrical arrangement of GPS satellites is used. A small PDOP value indicates high position accuracy and high signal strength. A large PDOP value indicates low position accuracy and low signal strength. When the GPS satellites are dispersed in the sky, the value of PDOP is small. Conversely, when the GPS satellites are concentrated or arranged on a straight line, the value of PDOP is large. For example, if there is a window only on one side of the passage indoors and GPS signals are received from that side, GPS satellites are concentrated on the window side, so the value of PDOP is larger than the outdoors (signal strength) Is low). Accordingly, a predetermined value is set as a threshold value, and when the signal strength value is less than the threshold value, the GPS signal is ignored, thereby preventing erroneous display switching to indoor and outdoor map display. As the signal strength, the number of received GPS satellites or analog signal strength may be used.

However, in the second means described above, the signal strength from the GPS system is affected by the place of reception and the weather at the time of reception, and also changes outdoors. For example, the number of GPS satellites to be received varies depending on the location, and is affected by the reflection of radio waves carrying GPS signals in the valleys of buildings. The signal intensity differs between clear sky and cloudy sky. Therefore, the signal strength in the former case is better when the GPS signal should be received although the signal strength is reduced outdoors, and when the GPS signal should be ignored to prevent erroneous display indoors. There may be a reversal of low. For this reason, it is difficult to prevent erroneous display only by setting the threshold value of the signal intensity.
JP 2002-357444 A JP 2005-176257 A

  The present invention solves the above-described problem. In a position information system including a portable receiving terminal that uses a GPS signal outdoors and an optical signal from a visible light communication system indoors, the outdoor information is transmitted to the portable receiving terminal indoors. The purpose of this is to prevent erroneous display.

  In order to achieve the above object, the invention of claim 1 includes a first receiver for receiving a GPS signal from a GPS system, a second receiver for receiving an optical signal from a visible light communication system, and information. From the GPS signal received by the first receiver and the optical signal received by the second receiver, position information is obtained from the GPS signal received by the first receiver, and the position information obtained from the GPS signal and the optical signal A position information system including a portable receiving terminal having a terminal control section that informs the reporting section of one of the obtained position information as its own position information, wherein the portable receiving terminal The terminal further includes a recognition unit for recognizing the exit of the indoor space based on the optical signal received by the reception unit, and the terminal control unit detects the exit after the second reception unit receives the optical signal. Until the first recognition Receiving unit and controls not to receive the GPS signal.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the positional information system according to the first aspect, the visible light communication system includes a plurality of lighting fixtures that transmit optical signals, and the vicinity of the outlet is included in the optical signal transmitted by the lighting fixtures near the outlet. Identification information is added, and the portable receiving terminal receives the optical signal to which the identification information indicating that it is in the vicinity of the exit is received by the second receiving unit, and the recognizing unit receives the optical signal. The exit is recognized by the identification information.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the positional information system according to the first aspect, the portable receiving terminal has map information for indoor space to which identification information indicating that it is in the vicinity of an exit is added, and the recognition unit The exit is recognized with reference to the map information.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the location information system according to any one of the first to third aspects, the portable receiving terminal further includes a determination unit that determines the signal strength from the GPS system, When the determination unit determines that is below a certain level, the terminal control unit controls the first reception unit not to receive a GPS signal.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the portable receiving terminal does not receive the GPS signal until the recognition unit recognizes the exit of the indoor space. Therefore, the mobile receiving terminal does not receive the outdoor GPS signal until leaving the indoor space. Incorrect display can be prevented.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, the portable receiving terminal recognizes the exit by receiving the optical signal to which the identification information indicating that it is in the vicinity of the exit of the indoor space is added. There is no need to add identification information of certain things, map information is easily managed, and map information does not press the memory of a portable receiving terminal with limited storage capacity. Moreover, the possibility of erroneous setting is reduced by setting the identification information to the lighting fixture at the construction site of the lighting fixture.

  According to the invention of claim 3, since the identification code indicating that it is near the exit of the indoor space is not added to the optical signal transmitted from the visible light communication system, the transmission signal length is shortened and the communication efficiency is good. Further, since the transmission signal length is shortened, the probability of occurrence of a communication error is reduced and the communication quality is improved.

  According to the invention of claim 4, since the GPS signal is not received when the signal intensity is below a certain level, the outdoor information is received indoors even before receiving the optical signal from the visible light communication system. It is possible to prevent erroneous display.

(First embodiment)
A position information system according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4 and FIG. The layout of the indoor space in which this position information system is used is not limited, and FIG. 7 is also used in the description of this embodiment. FIG. 1 shows a block configuration of the portable receiving terminal 2 and the luminaire 3, and FIG. The portable receiving terminal 2 of this embodiment is carried by the user M of the location information system. The portable receiving terminal 2 is a GPS positioning unit 21 as a first receiving unit that receives a GPS signal SG from a GPS system, and a second receiving unit that receives an optical signal from the luminaire 3 of the visible light communication system. The optical receiver 22 includes a display unit 23 as a notification unit that notifies the user M of information, and a terminal control unit 24. The terminal control unit 24 includes a microcomputer (Micro Controller) and the like, and obtains position information from the GPS signal SG received by the GPS positioning unit 21 or the optical signal SL received by the light receiving unit 22, and is obtained from the GPS signal SG. One of the position information and the position information obtained from the optical signal SL is displayed on the display unit 23 including a liquid crystal panel or the like as its own position information. The notification unit is not limited to the display unit 23 described above, and may include a speaker or the like, and may notify the user M of information by voice.

  The GPS system is a system for measuring the current position on the earth, and a plurality of GPS satellites orbiting the earth transmit GPS signals SG. The GPS signal SG includes time data from an atomic clock mounted on the GPS satellite, orbit information of the GPS satellite, and the like. The current position is measured by receiving GPS signals from three or more GPS satellites.

  The visible light communication system is a system that performs data communication using illumination light, and includes a plurality of lighting fixtures 3 that are arranged at fixed positions. The luminaire 3 includes a light source 31, a lighting unit 32 that turns on the light source 31, a non-volatile memory, and the like, and includes a storage unit 33 in which position information of the own device is stored, and position information of the own device. And a control unit 34 that controls the lighting unit 32 so that the optical signal SL is transmitted from the light source 31. The light source 31 is, for example, a discharge lamp or a light emitting diode. The lighting unit 32 is, for example, an inverter circuit, operates the inverter circuit at a frequency that is not recognizable by human eyes, and emits illumination light from the light source 31 by frequency shift keying (FSK) or the like. The signal SL is set. The optical signal SL can be received in the range ZL irradiated with light from the light source 31. The control unit 34 is, for example, a microcomputer.

  The mobile receiving terminal 2 is configured by adding a light receiving unit 22 or the like to a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) or a mobile phone, for example. The light receiving unit 22 includes a light receiving element 221 such as a photodiode that converts an optical signal SL from the incident lighting fixture 3 into an electric signal, an amplification circuit 222 that amplifies the electric output of the light receiving element 221, and an amplification circuit 222. A BPF (Band Pass Filter) 223 that removes noise from the output of the digital signal, and a demodulation circuit 224 that obtains a digital signal by demodulating the output of the BPF 223 and inputs the digital signal to the terminal control unit 24.

  The mobile reception terminal 2 also includes a terminal storage unit 25 that stores data and the like that the terminal control unit 24 refers to, an operation unit 26 that receives an operation input by the user M, and an optical signal SL received by the optical reception unit 22. A recognition unit 27 that recognizes the exit of the indoor space.

  The terminal storage unit 25 stores map information that is data used to display a map on the display unit 23. This map information includes outdoor map information and indoor map information. The terminal control unit 24 obtains map information indicating a map including its own position from the terminal storage unit 25, causes the display unit 23 to display an outdoor or indoor map using the map information, and a portable receiving terminal 2 position information (current position) and the like are displayed. For example, a road map and a planar outline of a building are drawn on an outdoor map, and a layout of passages and rooms in the building is drawn on an indoor map. The position information (current position) of the mobile receiving terminal 2 is drawn as a mark on the map.

  The operation unit 26 includes, for example, a plurality of push button switches and a touch panel. When the user M inputs a destination from the operation unit 26, the terminal control unit 24 displays information for guiding to the destination, for example, a mark of the destination or a route to the destination on the map. The user M is guided by the display on the display unit 23.

  The portable receiving terminal 2 has an indoor guidance mode and an outdoor guidance mode as operation modes for guiding the user M. The outdoor guidance mode is an operation mode in which guidance is performed according to the GPS signal SG and outdoor map information. In this operation mode, an outdoor map is displayed on the display unit 23. The indoor guidance mode is an operation mode in which guidance is performed according to the light signal SL and indoor map information. In this operation mode, an indoor map is displayed on the display unit 23. When the portable receiving terminal 2 is operating in the indoor guidance mode, when the optical signal SL is received from the lighting device 3 (ID 107 and ID 114 in FIG. 7) in the vicinity of the exit, the recognizing unit 27 detects this optical signal. The exit of the indoor space is recognized based on the SL, and the indoor guidance mode is switched to the outdoor guidance mode.

  Switching between the indoor guidance mode and the outdoor guidance mode operation mode is performed by control by the terminal control unit 24. When the optical receiver 22 receives the optical signal SL, the terminal controller 24 switches the operation mode from the outdoor guidance mode to the indoor guidance mode. When the GPS positioning unit 21 receives the GPS signal SG after the recognizing unit 27 recognizes the exit, the terminal control unit 24 determines that the mobile receiving terminal 2 has passed through the doorway from the indoor to the outdoor, and changes the operation mode. Switch from indoor guidance mode to outdoor guidance mode. At this time, in order to prevent switching to the outdoor guidance mode when the vehicle simply passes indoors in the vicinity of the exit, a predetermined time is provided as a switching delay time, and after the recognition unit 27 recognizes the exit, the predetermined time It is desirable not to switch to the outdoor guidance mode. Since this predetermined time is applied only to the vicinity of the exit, it may be shorter than the predetermined time described in the means 1, and the problem of switching responsiveness is slight.

  As described above, after the optical receiver 22 receives the optical signal SL from the visible light communication system, the terminal controller 24 receives the GPS signal SG from the GPS positioning unit 21 until the recognition unit 27 recognizes the exit. Control not to receive. That is, after the light receiving unit 22 receives the optical signal SL, the mobile receiving terminal 2 is not switched to the outdoor guidance mode until the operation mode is the indoor guidance mode and the recognition unit 27 recognizes the exit. .

  In this way, the portable receiving terminal 2 does not receive the GPS signal SG until the recognition unit 27 recognizes the exit of the indoor space, and therefore does not receive the outdoor GPS signal SG until it leaves the indoor space. Incorrect display can be prevented.

  In order to recognize the exit by the recognition unit 27, identification information indicating that it is in the vicinity of the exit is added to the optical signal SL transmitted by the lighting fixture 3 in the vicinity of the exit. The identification information is preset by a remote controller or a switch (not shown) and stored in the storage unit 33 of the lighting fixture 3. The portable receiving terminal 2 receives the optical signal SL to which the identification information is added near the exit by the optical receiving unit 22. The recognition unit 27 is realized, for example, by executing a program installed in the mobile reception terminal 2 and recognizes the exit based on the identification information received by the optical reception unit 22.

  FIG. 3 shows a data configuration example of the optical signal SL. The data of the optical signal SL includes start information LD1 indicating the start of the data, building information LD2 indicating in which building, position information LD3 to LD5 indicating the position of the lighting fixture 3 in the building, and the vicinity of the exit And identification information LD6 indicating whether or not. FIG. 4 shows an example of coordinates for representing a position in a building. The position in the building can be represented by the floor and the X and Y coordinates on each floor. Therefore, the position information in the optical signal is composed of floor information LD3, X coordinate LD4, and Y coordinate LD5 (see FIG. 3). The identification information LD6 is a binary flag. For example, the flag is set to “1” in the lighting fixture 3 arranged near the exit, and the flag is set to “0” in the lighting fixture 3 arranged outside the vicinity of the outlet. It is said.

  When the portable receiving terminal 2 receives the optical signal SL from the lighting fixture 3 in the vicinity of the exit while operating in the indoor guidance mode, the recognition unit 27 recognizes the exit. Next, when the GPS signal SG is received, the mode is switched to the outdoor guidance mode, but when the light signal SL is received from another lighting fixture 3, the indoor guidance mode is continued. In order to prevent switching to the outdoor guidance mode when the vehicle simply passes through the vicinity of the indoor exit, the outdoor guidance mode is set for a predetermined time after the recognition unit 27 recognizes the exit even if the GPS signal SG is received. It is desirable not to switch to.

  As described above, the portable receiving terminal 2 recognizes the exit by receiving the optical signal SL to which the identification information indicating that it is near the exit is added in the vicinity of the exit of the indoor space. Therefore, the map information is easy to manage, and the map information does not press on the memory of the portable receiving terminal 2 with limited storage capacity. Moreover, the possibility of erroneous setting is reduced by setting identification information to the lighting fixture 3 at the construction site of the lighting fixture 3.

(Second Embodiment)
A position information system according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described. Since this embodiment has a configuration equivalent to that of the first embodiment, the optical signal SL transmitted from the luminaire 3 that is different from the first embodiment is diverted from the configuration of the first embodiment. FIG. 5 shows a data configuration example. Each luminaire 3 is assigned ID information, and instead of the position information in the first embodiment, the ID information is transmitted as an optical signal SL in this embodiment. Here, the ID information is a unique number that is different for each of the lighting fixtures 3, and is, for example, a ubiquitous ID determined by a MAC address or a ubiquitous ID center. The portable receiving terminal 2 has a conversion table for associating the ID information of the lighting fixture 3 with the position information of the fixture in the terminal storage unit 25, and converts the received ID information into position information by referring to the conversion table. To do. Here, the identification information indicating the vicinity of the exit is not included in the optical signal SL but is added to the indoor map information stored in the terminal storage unit 25 of the mobile reception terminal 2.

  In the position information system of the present embodiment, a position information server (not shown) that is wirelessly accessed from the mobile receiving terminal 2 is provided, the position information server has a conversion table, and the mobile receiving terminal 2 receives the position information server. You may comprise a system so that ID information of the lighting fixture 3 may be converted into positional information. Further, the indoor map information to which the identification information is added may be stored in the position information server, and the mobile reception terminal 2 may refer to the map information. When the mobile receiving terminal 2 refers to the map information of the location information server, the mobile receiving terminal 2 may temporarily store the referenced map information in the terminal storage unit 25. The location information server may be installed in the same building where the mobile receiving terminal 2 is used and connected to the mobile receiving terminal 2 by a wireless LAN or the like, or may be installed in another building and the mobile receiving terminal 2 And may be connected by data communication of a mobile phone.

  When the portable receiving terminal 2 receives the optical signal SL including the ID information from the lighting fixture 3 near the exit while operating in the indoor guidance mode, the recognition unit 27 refers to the map information, thereby It is determined whether or not the ID information is transmitted from the lighting fixture 3. If the ID information is transmitted from the lighting fixture 3 in the vicinity of the exit, the recognition unit 27 recognizes the exit. When the portable receiving terminal 2 receives the GPS signal SG after the recognition unit 27 recognizes the exit, the outdoor guidance mode is switched. When the portable receiving terminal 2 receives the light signal SL from another lighting apparatus 3 after the recognition unit 27 recognizes the exit, the indoor guidance mode is continued. In order to prevent switching to the outdoor guidance mode when only passing through the vicinity of the indoor exit, after the recognition unit 27 recognizes the exit, the outdoor guidance mode is set for a predetermined time even if a GPS signal is received. It is desirable not to switch.

  As described above, the portable receiving terminal 2 of the present embodiment does not add an identification code indicating that it is in the vicinity of the exit of the indoor space to the optical signal SL transmitted from the visible light communication system. Efficiency is good. Further, since the transmission signal length is shortened, the probability of occurrence of a communication error is reduced and the communication quality is improved.

(Third embodiment)
A position information system according to the third embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 6 shows a block configuration of the portable receiving terminal 4 in the present embodiment, and only points different from the above embodiment will be described below. The mobile receiving terminal 4 of this embodiment determines whether the mode to be operated is the indoor guidance mode or the outdoor guidance mode based on the signal strength from the GPS system in addition to the recognition of the exit by the recognition unit 27. That is, the mobile reception terminal 4 includes a determination unit 41 that determines the signal strength from the GPS system. When the determination unit 41 determines that the signal strength is below a certain level, the terminal control unit 24 performs GPS positioning. Control is performed so that the unit 21 (first receiving unit) does not receive the GPS signal SG.

  The mobile receiving terminal 4 operating in the indoor guidance mode switches to the outdoor guidance mode when the GPS signal SG is received after the recognition unit 27 recognizes the exit, but determines that the signal strength is below a certain level. When the unit 41 determines, the indoor guidance mode is continued without receiving the GPS signal SG. Here, the threshold value for determining the signal strength is changed according to the operation mode so far. That is, the portable receiving terminal 4 receives the GPS signal SG in the outdoor guidance mode even if the signal strength is low. In the indoor guidance mode, when the signal strength is relatively high in the vicinity of the exit, it is determined that the mobile reception terminal 4 has already gone outdoors, and the terminal control unit 24 switches the operation mode to the outdoor guidance mode.

  As the signal strength, for example, a Position Dilution of Precision (PDOP) obtained by indexing the geometric arrangement of a plurality of GPS satellites is used. As the signal strength, the number of received GPS satellites may be simply used instead of PDOP. The place where the GPS signal is received indoors is a passage facing the window, where the GPS signal from the GPS satellite in the window side direction is received, but the GPS signal from the GPS satellite in the opposite direction with the wall is received. Since this is not possible, the number of GPS satellites that can be received is reduced indoors. That is, the signal intensity from the GPS system is lower indoors than outdoors. Also, analog signal strength may be used as the signal strength.

  In the present embodiment, as described above, the operation mode is determined by AND processing of the recognition of the exit by the recognition unit 27 and the determination of the signal strength from the GPS system. In this AND processing, when the recognition unit 27 recognizes the exit and the signal strength is high, the mobile reception terminal 4 is switched to the outdoor guidance mode, and even if the recognition unit 27 recognizes the exit, the signal strength is low. When the indoor guidance mode continues. Thereby, not only the accuracy of determining the operation mode is improved, but also the predetermined time (delay time) during which the recognition unit 27 does not switch to the outdoor guidance mode after recognizing that it is in the vicinity of the exit can be set short. The operation response time of the terminal 4 is shortened.

  As described above, when the determination unit 41 determines that the signal intensity is below a certain level, the terminal control unit 24 performs control so as not to receive the GPS signal. Even before the optical signal SL is received, outdoor information is not acquired, and erroneous display can be prevented.

(Fourth embodiment)
A position information system according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. This embodiment has the same configuration as that of the third embodiment, and the operation mode is determined based on the recognition of the exit by the recognition unit 27 and the determination of the signal strength from the GPS system. At that time, the difference is that the OR process is used instead of the AND process.

  In the determination of the operation mode, the mobile receiving terminal 4 of the present embodiment performs OR processing on the recognition of the exit by the recognition unit 27 and the determination of the signal strength from the GPS system by the determination unit 41. Therefore, in this embodiment, when the recognition unit 27 recognizes the exit by this OR processing, or when the determination unit 41 determines that the signal strength is higher than a certain level, the terminal control unit 24 performs the mobile reception. The terminal 4 is switched to the outdoor guidance mode, and the indoor guidance mode is continued otherwise.

  For this reason, the position information system of this embodiment is suitable for use in a place where the boundary (exit / exit) between the outdoor and indoor spaces is not clear, such as a station platform. In addition, when the mobile receiver 4 cannot receive the optical signal SL in the vicinity of the exit, such as when the user M moves at high speed or the light receiving surface of the light receiving unit 22 does not face the lighting fixture 3. Even if the signal strength from the GPS system is higher than a certain level, the system can be shifted to the outdoor guidance mode, and the reliability of the system is improved.

  In addition, this invention is not restricted to the structure of said embodiment, A various deformation | transformation is possible in the range which does not change the summary of invention. For example, the third embodiment for performing the AND process and the fourth embodiment for performing the OR process can be appropriately switched by the user M operating the operation unit 26 of the mobile reception terminal 4. It may be.

The block block diagram of the portable receiving terminal and lighting fixture in the positional information system which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. Explanatory drawing of the usage status of the system. The data block diagram of the optical signal in the same system. The perspective view explaining the coordinate showing the position in the building in the same system. The data block diagram of the optical signal in the positional information system which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. The block block diagram of the portable receiving terminal in the positional information system which concerns on the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows the example of a layout in the building where the conventional positional information system is used.

Explanation of symbols

2, 4 Mobile receiving terminal 21 GPS positioning unit (first receiving unit)
22 Optical receiver (second receiver)
23 Display section (notification section)
24 terminal control unit 25 terminal storage unit 27 recognition unit 41 determination unit 3 lighting fixture GS GPS system SG GPS signal SL optical signal

Claims (4)

A first receiving unit that receives a GPS signal from a GPS system, a second receiving unit that receives an optical signal from a visible light communication system, a notification unit that notifies information, and the first receiving unit that receives the signal. The position information is obtained from the received GPS signal or the optical signal received by the second receiver, and one of the position information obtained from the GPS signal and the position information obtained from the optical signal is used as its own position information. A position control system including a mobile receiving terminal having a terminal control unit that informs the notification unit as
The portable reception terminal further includes a recognition unit that recognizes an exit of an indoor space based on an optical signal received by the second reception unit,
The terminal control unit controls the first receiving unit so as not to receive a GPS signal until the recognizing unit recognizes an exit after the second receiving unit receives the optical signal. A location information system including a portable receiving terminal. The visible light communication system includes a plurality of luminaires that transmit an optical signal, and identification information indicating that the luminaire is near the exit is added to the optical signal transmitted by the luminaire near the exit,
The portable receiving terminal receives an optical signal to which identification information indicating that it is near an exit is received by the second receiving unit,
The position information system according to claim 1, wherein the recognition unit recognizes an exit based on the received identification information. The portable receiving terminal has map information for indoor space to which identification information indicating that it is in the vicinity of the exit is added,
The position information system according to claim 1, wherein the recognition unit recognizes an exit with reference to the map information. The portable receiving terminal further includes a determination unit that determines the signal strength from the GPS system,
The terminal control unit performs control so that the first reception unit does not receive a GPS signal when the determination unit determines that the signal strength is below a certain level. The position information system according to claim 3.

Images