JP2016212035A - Positioning system and positioning method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To appropriately perform continuous positioning of a terminal device from viewpoints of positioning accuracy and power consumption.SOLUTION: An in-zone determination system 1 is a system for performing continuous positioning of a terminal device 10, and comprises the terminal device 10 and a server device 20. The terminal device 10 comprises: a GPS positioning unit 11 for performing positioning of the terminal device 10 by a GPS; a radio communication unit 12 that receives a radio wave of mobile communication or a wireless LAN and obtains a positioning result of the terminal device 10 from the server device 20 in response to the reception of the radio wave; and a positioning control unit 13 that determines whether or not a plurality of positions indicated by a time-series of positioning results obtained by the radio communication unit 12 satisfy the preset relation of being close to each other, and switches from positioning by the radio communication unit 12 to positioning by the GPS positioning unit 11 on the basis of the determination.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a positioning system and a positioning method for continuously positioning a terminal device.

  Conventionally, a technique for obtaining a positioning result using a plurality of positioning means has been proposed. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for performing position estimation by weighting positioning results obtained by a satellite positioning system, a wireless LAN positioning system, and a cell positioning system. Thereby, it is said that a highly accurate positioning result can be obtained by placing importance on positioning means with high positioning accuracy.

Special table 2014-501912 gazette

  By the way, a technology that automatically executes processing upon entering a designated area is called geo-fencing, and a wide range of applications such as marketing, monitoring of children, home automation, etc. are being studied. For example, application such as sending customers to nearby stores by distributing information such as coupons according to the position acquired by the mobile terminal can be considered. In geo-fencing technology, it is desirable to perform positioning with high positioning accuracy because the entrance area is detected based on the position obtained by positioning. In addition, since the detection of the entering area is normally performed continuously, it is required to reduce the power consumption in the terminal device to be positioned. That is, in geo-fencing technology, it is a challenge to achieve both improvement in positioning accuracy and reduction in power consumption when detecting an entrance area.

  In order to reduce the power consumption required for positioning, it is conceivable to perform positioning only when the terminal device is in a moving state. For this purpose, it is conceivable to determine whether the terminal device is in a moving state or a stationary state based on the position obtained by positioning.

  For example, as a positioning method used for geo-fencing, there are GPS (global positioning system) positioning and network positioning. The network positioning is positioning based on, for example, a mobile communication network or a wireless LAN signal (radio wave). GPS positioning has high positioning accuracy among these positioning methods, but consumes a large amount of power. Therefore, continuous GPS positioning is not desirable from the viewpoint of power consumption.

  On the other hand, network positioning has low positioning accuracy but low power consumption. Network positioning has a larger positioning error in the actual environment than GPS positioning, and therefore there is a risk that entry detection failure and detection delay time may increase. This is because the positioning error in the network positioning is continuously biased, and such a continuous bias error affects the elemental technology of the geofencing function. In particular, if the bias error continues, it is erroneously determined as a stationary state despite the movement, and the positioning process cannot be performed at a necessary opportunity.

  Therefore, from the viewpoint of positioning accuracy and power consumption, it has been required to appropriately perform continuous positioning of the terminal device. However, the conventional technology described above does not solve such a problem.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above, and an object thereof is to provide a positioning system and a positioning method capable of appropriately performing continuous positioning of a terminal device from the viewpoint of positioning accuracy and power consumption. .

  In order to achieve the above object, a positioning system according to the present invention is a positioning system that performs continuous positioning of a terminal device, and is received by a GPS positioning means that performs positioning of the terminal device by GPS and the terminal device. It is determined whether or not a network positioning unit that performs positioning based on radio waves other than GPS and a preset relationship indicating that a plurality of positions obtained by time-series positioning by the network positioning unit are close to each other are satisfied. And positioning control means for switching from positioning by the network positioning means to positioning by the GPS positioning means based on the determination.

  In the positioning system according to the present invention, when a plurality of positions obtained by time-series network positioning are close to each other, switching from network positioning to GPS positioning is performed. When a plurality of positions obtained by time-series network positioning are close to each other, there is a possibility that a positioning error in network positioning is continuously biased. That is, in the positioning system according to the present invention, GPS positioning with high positioning accuracy is performed when there is a possibility that the positioning error in network positioning is continuously biased. Therefore, according to the positioning system according to the present invention, GPS positioning with high power consumption can be performed only when necessary. That is, according to the positioning system according to the present invention, continuous positioning of the terminal device can be appropriately performed from the viewpoint of positioning accuracy and power consumption.

  The positioning control means may switch from the positioning by the network positioning means to the positioning by the GPS positioning means based on the time when the positioning by the past GPS positioning means was performed. According to this configuration, the interval at which GPS positioning is performed can be made appropriate, and continuous positioning of the terminal device can be performed more appropriately.

  The positioning system is based on sensor information acquisition means for acquiring sensor information indicating a physical quantity indicating a state relating to movement of the terminal device detected by a sensor provided in the terminal device, and sensor information acquired by the sensor information acquisition means. The movement determination means for determining whether or not the terminal apparatus has transitioned from a stationary state to a movement state in which the terminal apparatus is moving, and time-series positioning by the GPS positioning means or the network positioning means. Stationary determination means for determining whether or not the terminal device has transitioned from the movement state to the stationary state based on a plurality of positions, and the positioning control means based on the determination by the movement determination means The positioning by the GPS positioning means or the network positioning means is performed based on the determination by the stationary determination means. Sealed to, it is also possible.

  According to this configuration, positioning can be performed only when the terminal device is in a moving state, and power consumption can be reduced. In addition, as described above, when a plurality of positions obtained by time-series network positioning are close to each other, GPS positioning is performed. Therefore, when there is a possibility that the positioning error in network positioning is continuously biased, it is possible to prevent erroneous determination of a state caused by the positioning error. That is, it is possible to prevent erroneous determination that the terminal device is in a stationary state even though the terminal device is in a moving state. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the positioning from being stopped when it is originally necessary to perform the positioning. That is, according to this configuration, continuous positioning of the terminal device can be performed more appropriately from the viewpoint of positioning accuracy and power consumption.

  The stationary determination unit may determine whether or not the moving state has transitioned to the stationary state based on the sensor information. According to this configuration, the transition from the stationary state to the moving state can be more appropriately determined, and the above-described effect can be further ensured.

  The positioning system may further include an entry area determining means for determining whether or not a position obtained by positioning by the GPS positioning means or the network positioning means has entered a monitoring area set in advance. According to this configuration, it is possible to determine the entrance area.

  The positioning control means may set the timing of positioning by the GPS positioning means or network positioning means according to the distance from the position obtained by positioning by the GPS positioning means or network positioning means to the monitoring area. According to this configuration, it is possible to make the positioning time interval appropriate when performing entrance determination, and it is possible to more appropriately perform continuous positioning of the terminal device.

  By the way, the present invention can be described as the invention of the positioning method as described below as well as the invention of the positioning system as described above. This is substantially the same invention only in different categories, and has the same operations and effects.

  That is, the positioning method according to the present invention is a positioning method that is an operation method of a positioning system that performs continuous positioning of a terminal device, and is received by the terminal device and a GPS positioning step of positioning the terminal device by GPS. Determine whether or not a network positioning step that performs positioning based on radio waves other than GPS and a preset relationship indicating that a plurality of positions obtained by time-series positioning in the network positioning step are close to each other are satisfied And a positioning control step of switching from positioning in the network positioning step to positioning in the GPS positioning step based on the determination.

  In the present invention, GPS positioning with high positioning accuracy is performed when there is a possibility that the positioning error in network positioning is continuously biased. Therefore, according to the present invention, GPS positioning with high power consumption can be performed only when necessary. That is, according to the present invention, continuous positioning of the terminal device can be appropriately performed from the viewpoint of positioning accuracy and power consumption.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the entrance area determination system which is a positioning system which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the hardware constitutions of the terminal device contained in the entrance determination system which is a positioning system which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the hardware constitutions of the server apparatus contained in the entrance determination system which is a positioning system which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a sequence diagram which shows the process (positioning method) performed with the entrance area determination system which is a positioning system which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structure of the entrance area determination system which is a positioning system which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a sequence diagram which shows the process (positioning method) performed with the entrance area determination system which is a positioning system which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a sequence diagram which shows the process (positioning method) performed with the entrance determination system which is a positioning system which concerns on 3rd Embodiment of this invention.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of a positioning system according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the description of the drawings, the same elements are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted.

[First Embodiment]
FIG. 1 shows an entrance determination system 1 which is a positioning system according to the present embodiment. The entrance area determination system 1 includes a terminal device 10 and a server device 20. The terminal device 10 is used (carried) by a user. Specifically, the terminal device 10 is an information processing terminal such as a mobile phone, a smartphone, a tablet terminal, or a personal computer. The entrance area determination system 1 is a system that estimates the position of the terminal device 10, that is, performs positioning of the terminal device 10. Moreover, the entrance area determination system 1 performs entrance area determination using the position of the terminal device 10 obtained by positioning. The entrance area determination is performed based on whether or not the position of the terminal device 10 is within a preset monitoring area (monitoring spot or geofence) (whether or not the terminal apparatus 10 has entered the monitoring area), that is, the terminal It is determined whether or not the position of the device 10 has entered the monitoring area.

  The result of the entrance determination is used for geofencing, for example. Geo-fencing can be used as a sensing technology for users in the global area. Specifically, as described above, it is used for services such as marketing, monitoring of children, home automation, and usage purposes. Application examples include sensing validation in a predetermined area, information distribution when entering an area with a store of interest, crowd sourcing, area-specific questionnaires, and the like. In order to perform the entrance determination, the entrance determination system 1 continuously repeats positioning of the terminal device 10.

  The server device 20 is a device that bears a part of the function of positioning the terminal device 10. The terminal device 10 and the server device 20 are connected via a communication network such as a mobile communication network so that information can be transmitted and received between them.

  Subsequently, functions of the terminal device 10 and the server device 20 included in the entrance determination system 1 according to the present embodiment will be described. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the terminal device 10 includes a GPS positioning unit 11, a wireless communication unit 12, a positioning control unit 13, and an entrance area determination unit 14. The terminal device 10 also includes a functional unit that uses the result of the entrance determination.

  The GPS positioning unit 11 is a GPS positioning unit that performs positioning of the device 10 by GPS, that is, performs GPS positioning. Specifically, the GPS positioning unit 11 receives a GPS signal from a GPS satellite, performs a positioning calculation based on the received GPS signal, and calculates the position of the own device 10. The calculated position of the device 10 is, for example, latitude and longitude. The above-mentioned GPS positioning is performed in the same manner as before. The GPS positioning unit 11 performs GPS positioning under the control of the positioning control unit 13 as will be described later. The GPS positioning unit 11 outputs information indicating the position of the own device 10 obtained by GPS positioning to the positioning control unit 13.

  The wireless communication unit 12 is a means for performing communication by mobile communication and wireless LAN (for example, Wi-Fi (registered trademark)), that is, wireless communication. The wireless communication unit 12 transmits / receives information to / from the server device 20 through the wireless communication.

  The wireless communication unit 12 is a function of network positioning means that performs network positioning. Network positioning is positioning based on radio waves other than GPS received by the terminal device 10. In this embodiment, network positioning is base station positioning and wireless LAN positioning. Base station positioning estimates the position of the terminal device 10 based on radio waves of mobile communication. For example, the position of the base station of the mobile communication network that transmits / receives radio waves to / from the terminal device 10 is estimated as the position of the terminal device 10. When performing base station positioning, the radio communication unit 12 receives a radio wave transmitted from the base station, and acquires a cell ID that is information for identifying the base station from the radio wave. The wireless communication unit 12 transmits a positioning result request including the acquired cell ID to the server device 20. The wireless communication unit 12 receives the positioning result of the own device 10 transmitted from the server device 20 in response to the transmission of the positioning result request. The position of the own device 10 indicated by the positioning result is, for example, latitude and longitude.

  In the wireless LAN positioning, the position of the terminal device 10 is estimated based on radio waves of the wireless LAN. For example, the position of the wireless LAN access point that transmits and receives radio waves to and from the terminal device 10 is estimated as the position of the terminal device 10. When performing wireless LAN positioning, the wireless communication unit 12 receives a radio wave transmitted from an access point, and acquires an SSID (Service Set Identifier) that is information for identifying the access point from the radio wave. The wireless communication unit 12 transmits a positioning result request including the acquired SSID to the server device 20. The wireless communication unit 12 receives the positioning result of the own device 10 transmitted from the server device 20 in response to the transmission of the positioning result request. The position of the own device 10 indicated by the positioning result is, for example, latitude and longitude.

  The wireless communication unit 12 performs network positioning under the control of the positioning control unit 13 as will be described later. The wireless communication unit 12 outputs information indicating the position of the own device 10 obtained by network positioning to the positioning control unit 13.

  When performing network positioning, the wireless communication unit 12 may perform either one of base station positioning or wireless LAN positioning. For example, the wireless communication unit 12 performs base station positioning when only the cell ID can be acquired (when only the radio wave from the base station can be received), and when only the SSID can be acquired (only the radio wave from the access point is received) If possible, perform wireless LAN positioning. When both the cell ID and the SSID can be acquired, the wireless communication unit 12 performs one of the preset positions of the base station positioning and the wireless LAN positioning.

  The positioning control unit 13 is positioning control means for controlling positioning in the own device 10. As described above, GPS positioning has high positioning accuracy but high power consumption. On the other hand, network positioning has low positioning accuracy but low power consumption. Among network positioning, wireless LAN positioning has higher positioning accuracy and lower power consumption than base station positioning. The positioning control unit 13 has a function of performing appropriate positioning from the viewpoint of positioning accuracy and power consumption when continuously performing positioning of the own device 10.

  The positioning control unit 13 determines whether or not a plurality of positions obtained by time-series network positioning satisfy a preset relationship indicating that the positions are close to each other (the positions are locally concentrated). Then, based on the determination, control is performed to switch from network positioning to GPS positioning. In addition, the positioning control unit 13 performs control to switch from network positioning to GPS positioning based on the time at which positioning by past GPS positioning was performed. Specifically, the positioning control unit 13 performs the following processing.

  The positioning control unit 13 requests the wireless communication unit 12 to perform network positioning periodically at a preset time interval. This time interval corresponds to a time interval for entering area determination, and is appropriately set according to the purpose of determining the entering area. When the request is input, the wireless communication unit 12 receives radio waves of at least one of mobile communication and wireless LAN, and performs positioning of the device 10 based on the radio waves described above. The positioning control unit 13 inputs information indicating the position of the own device 10 obtained by network positioning from the wireless communication unit 12. The positioning control unit 13 stores the input information indicating the position of the own device 10 as positioning history in association with information indicating the time at which positioning is performed. In addition, the positioning control unit 13 stores each type of positioning history in association with the type of positioning (different from GPS positioning, base station positioning, and wireless LAN positioning).

  After storing the positioning history, the positioning control unit 13 determines whether to switch from network positioning to GPS positioning. In the positioning switching determination, the positioning control unit 13 determines whether or not the following two conditions are satisfied, and performs switching to GPS positioning when determining that the two conditions are satisfied.

  The first condition is that GPS positioning is not performed within a preset fixed time (a period traced back from the current time). The positioning control unit 13 refers to (monitors) a positioning history in which the positioning type is GPS positioning, and determines the first condition. This time interval is appropriately set as the minimum value of the GPS positioning time interval. The second condition is that a plurality of positions obtained by network positioning are close to each other in a predetermined period in the past (a period retroactive from the present time to the predetermined period). The positioning control unit 13 stores in advance a determination criterion for determining whether or not the second condition is satisfied. For example, this criterion is the size of an area that can be determined to be close to each other, specifically, the radius of the area. Can the positioning control unit 13 refer to (monitor) the positioning history in which the positioning type is network positioning (base station positioning or wireless LAN positioning) and set the area so as to include all of the plurality of positions described above? If it is determined whether the region can be set so as to include all of the plurality of positions, it is determined that the plurality of positions are close to each other (the second condition is satisfied). Note that the predetermined period and the size of the area are set as appropriate according to the error of network positioning, the purpose of entering area determination, and the like.

  If the positioning control unit 13 determines that the above two conditions are satisfied (when it is determined that switching from network positioning to GPS positioning is performed), the GPS positioning unit 11 is requested to perform GPS positioning. To do. The case where these two conditions are satisfied is a case where there is a possibility that the positioning error (bias error) in the network positioning is continuously biased. The GPS positioning part 11 will perform the GPS positioning of the own apparatus 10, if the said request is input. The positioning control unit 13 inputs information indicating the position of the own device 10 obtained by GPS positioning from the GPS positioning unit 11. The positioning control unit 13 stores the positioning result input from the GPS positioning unit 11 as a positioning history in the same manner as the positioning result input from the wireless communication unit 12. At the same time, the positioning control unit 13 outputs the positioning result input from the GPS positioning unit 11 to the entrance determination unit 14.

  When GPS positioning is executed, the positioning control unit 13 may detect that a preset time interval has elapsed and request the wireless communication unit 12 to perform network positioning again. Good. Alternatively, the positioning control unit 13 requests the GPS positioning unit 11 to perform GPS positioning at a preset time interval (without requesting network positioning) until GPS positioning fails. Also good. In this case, upon receiving notification from the GPS positioning unit 11 that the GPS positioning has failed, the positioning control unit 13 requests the wireless communication unit 12 to perform network positioning.

  On the other hand, when the positioning control unit 13 determines that at least one of the above two conditions is not satisfied (when it is determined not to switch from network positioning to GPS positioning), it does not switch to GPS positioning. . In this case, the positioning control unit 13 detects that a preset time interval has elapsed, and requests the wireless communication unit 12 to perform network positioning again. When the switching to GPS positioning is not performed, the positioning control unit 13 outputs the positioning result input from the wireless communication unit 12 to the entrance determination unit 14.

  The entrance area determination unit 14 is an entrance area determination unit that determines whether or not the position indicated by the positioning result input from the positioning control unit 13 has entered a monitoring area set in advance. The entrance area determination unit 14 stores information indicating the monitoring area in advance, and performs the above entrance area determination based on the information. This entrance area determination itself is performed in the same manner as before. The entrance area determination unit 14 outputs information indicating the result of the entrance area determination to a function unit that uses the result of the entrance area determination. In the function unit, processing (processing related to geofencing) according to the result of the entrance determination is performed. The above is the function of the terminal device 10.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the server device 20 includes a network positioning unit 21. The network positioning unit 21 is a function of network positioning means that performs network positioning of the terminal device 10. The network positioning unit 21 stores in advance information for calculating the position using the cell ID or SSID as a key. This information is obtained by associating each of the cell ID and the SSID with information indicating latitude and longitude, for example. The network positioning unit 21 receives a positioning result request including a cell ID or SSID transmitted from the terminal device 10. The network positioning unit 21 acquires information indicating the latitude and longitude associated with the cell ID or SSID included in the received positioning result request from the information stored in advance, and the terminal device that is the transmission source of the cell ID or SSID 10 is transmitted as a positioning result. The above is the function of the server device 20.

  FIG. 2 shows a hardware configuration of the terminal device 10 according to the present embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the terminal device 10 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 101, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 102 and a ROM 103 (Read Only Memory) that are main storage devices, an operation module 104, a wireless communication module 105, and wireless communication. The antenna 106, the GPS module 107, the GPS antenna 108, and the display 109 are configured by hardware. These components operate according to a program or the like, so that each function of the terminal device 10 described above is exhibited.

  FIG. 3 shows a hardware configuration of the server device 20 according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 3, the server device 20 is configured as a computer including a CPU 201, RAM 202 and ROM 203 as main storage devices, a communication module 204 for performing communication, and an auxiliary storage device 205 such as a hard disk. . The functions of the server device 20 described above are exhibited by the operation of these components by a program or the like. The above is the configuration of the entrance area determination system 1 according to the present embodiment.

  Next, a positioning method that is a process executed by the entrance determination system 1 (an operation method of the entrance determination system 1) will be described using the sequence diagram of FIG. This process is a process for performing continuous positioning of the terminal device 10 in order to determine the entrance of the terminal device 10.

  In this process, in the terminal device 10, the positioning control unit 13 requests the wireless communication unit 12 to perform network positioning (S01). Network positioning requests are periodically made at preset time intervals. When the request is made, the radio communication unit 12 receives at least one radio wave of mobile communication and wireless LAN (S02, network positioning step). Subsequently, the wireless communication unit 12 acquires a cell ID or SSID from the received radio wave, and transmits a positioning result request including the acquired cell ID or SSID to the server device 20 (S03, network Positioning step).

  In the server device 20, the network positioning unit 21 receives the positioning result request. Subsequently, information indicating the latitude and longitude associated with the cell ID or SSID included in the received positioning result request is acquired by the network positioning unit 21, and transmitted to the terminal device 10 as a positioning result (S05). Network positioning step). The positioning result is received by the wireless communication unit 12 in the terminal device 10. The positioning result received by the wireless communication unit 12 is output to the positioning control unit 13.

  The positioning control unit 13 stores the input positioning result as a positioning history. Subsequently, the positioning control unit 13 refers to the positioning history, and determines whether to switch from network positioning to GPS positioning (S06, positioning control step). When it is determined that switching from network positioning to GPS positioning is performed, the positioning control unit 13 requests the GPS positioning unit 11 to perform GPS positioning (S07). When the request is made, GPS positioning is performed by the GPS positioning unit 11 (S08, GPS positioning step). The positioning result obtained by the GPS positioning of the GPS positioning unit 11 is output to the positioning control unit 13. The positioning control unit 13 stores the input positioning result as a positioning history. In addition, the positioning result is output from the positioning control unit 13 to the entrance determination unit 14. Subsequently, the entrance area determination unit 14 performs entrance area determination from the positioning result input from the positioning control unit 13 (S09, entrance area determination step). Information indicating the result of the entrance determination is output from the entrance determination unit 14 to a function unit that uses the result of the entrance determination.

  If it is determined in S06 that switching from network positioning to GPS positioning is not performed, the positioning result input from the wireless communication unit 12 in S06 is output from the positioning control unit 13 to the entrance determination unit 14. Subsequently, the entrance area determination unit 14 performs entrance area determination from the positioning result input from the positioning control unit 13 (S09, entrance area determination step). Information indicating the result of the entrance determination is output from the entrance determination unit 14 to a function unit that uses the result of the entrance determination.

  When a preset time interval elapses after the above processing ends, the positioning control unit 13 detects the progress and requests the wireless communication unit 12 to perform network positioning again. (S01), the subsequent processing is repeated. The above is the process executed in the entrance area determination system 1.

  As described above, in this embodiment, when a plurality of positions obtained by time-series network positioning are close to each other, switching from network positioning to GPS positioning is performed. As described above, when a plurality of positions obtained by time-series network positioning are close to each other, there is a possibility that the positioning error in network positioning is continuously biased. That is, in this embodiment, GPS positioning with high positioning accuracy is performed when there is a possibility that the positioning error in network positioning is continuously biased. Therefore, according to this embodiment, GPS positioning with high power consumption can be performed only when necessary. As described above, in this embodiment, it is possible to monitor the bias error of the network error and input correct information. That is, according to the present embodiment, continuous positioning of the terminal device 10 can be appropriately performed from the viewpoint of positioning accuracy and power consumption.

  In addition, as in the present embodiment, the time at which positioning by past GPS positioning is performed may be considered in the determination of switching to GPS positioning. That is, the first condition may be a condition for switching to GPS positioning. According to this configuration, the interval at which GPS positioning is performed can be made appropriate. For example, frequent GPS positioning can be prevented. Thereby, the continuous positioning of the terminal device 10 can be performed more appropriately. However, when the positioning accuracy is important, the first condition is not necessarily set as the condition for switching to GPS positioning, and the switching determination may be performed only with the second condition.

  Moreover, you may provide the structure for performing entrance area determination like this embodiment. According to this configuration, it is possible to determine the entrance area. However, the present invention does not necessarily have to be performed for entering area determination, and the positioning result may be used in any way as long as the terminal device 10 is continuously positioned.

  In the present embodiment, the network positioning is the base station positioning and the wireless LAN positioning, but the network positioning may be only one of them. In addition, the base station positioning and wireless LAN positioning may not simply determine the position from the cell ID and SSID, but may determine the position with higher positioning accuracy in consideration of the reception intensity of radio waves. The network positioning may be other than the base station positioning and the wireless LAN positioning as long as positioning based on radio waves other than GPS received by the terminal device 10 is performed.

  Moreover, in this embodiment, acquisition of a positioning result from cell ID or SSID was performed by the server apparatus 20 separate from the terminal device 10 of positioning object. However, the network positioning unit 21 of the server device 20 having the function may be included in the terminal device 10. That is, the entrance determination system 1 may be configured by only the terminal device 10. Conversely, some of the functions described above that are provided in the terminal device 10 in the present embodiment may be provided in the server device 20.

  Further, the switching control of the positioning method may be performed based on whether the positioning has succeeded or failed (whether the position of the terminal device 10 has been acquired). For example, GPS positioning may be performed when network positioning fails, and network positioning may be performed when GPS positioning fails.

[Second Embodiment]
FIG. 5 shows an entrance area determination system 2 according to the present embodiment. The entrance area determination system 2 includes a terminal device 110 and a server device 120. The entrance area determination system 2, the terminal device 110, and the server apparatus 120 are the same as the entrance area determination system 1, the terminal apparatus 10, and the server apparatus 20 of the first embodiment except for the points described below.

  In the first embodiment, regardless of whether the terminal device 10 is moving or not, positioning of the terminal device 10 is periodically performed at a preset time interval. In the present embodiment, it is detected whether the terminal device 110 is moving or not, and positioning of the terminal device 110 is performed according to the state. Specifically, positioning is performed when the terminal apparatus 110 is moving, and positioning is not performed when the terminal apparatus 110 is stationary. By executing the positioning process with large power consumption only when in the moving state, the power consumption of the terminal device 110 can be reduced compared to the terminal device 10 of the first embodiment.

  Subsequently, functions of the terminal device 110 and the server device 120 included in the entrance determination system 2 according to the present embodiment will be described. As illustrated in FIG. 5, the terminal device 110 includes a GPS positioning unit 111, a wireless communication unit 112, a positioning control unit 113, an entrance area determination unit 114, a sensor information acquisition unit 115, a movement determination unit 116, And a determination unit 117. Further, the terminal device 110 includes an acceleration sensor as hardware in addition to the hardware included in the terminal device 10 shown in FIG. The acceleration sensor detects the acceleration of the device 10 and outputs information indicating the detected acceleration value to the sensor information acquisition unit 115. An acceleration sensor similar to a conventional acceleration sensor can be used. The power consumption of the acceleration sensor is lower than that of positioning.

  The GPS positioning unit 111, the wireless communication unit 112, the positioning control unit 113, and the entrance determination unit 114 are respectively the GPS positioning unit 11, the wireless communication unit 12, the positioning control unit 13 of the first embodiment, It has a function similar to that of the entrance determination unit 14. In addition, the GPS positioning unit 111 and the wireless communication unit 112 also output the positioning result to the stationary determination unit 117.

  The sensor information acquisition unit 115 is configured to include an acceleration sensor provided in the own device 110, and sensor information indicating a physical quantity indicating a state related to the movement of the own device 110 using acceleration (acceleration data) detected by the acceleration sensor. As sensor information acquisition means. When instructed to detect acceleration from the movement determination unit 116 or the stillness determination unit 117, the sensor information acquisition unit 115 detects acceleration with an acceleration sensor. The sensor information acquisition unit 115 outputs information (acceleration data) indicating the acquired acceleration to the movement determination unit 116 and the stillness determination unit 117.

  The movement determination unit 116 is a movement determination unit that determines whether or not the device 110 has transitioned from the stationary state to the movement state based on the acceleration indicated by the information input from the sensor information acquisition unit 115. For example, the movement determination unit 116 determines that the own device 110 is in a stationary state, and instructs the sensor information acquisition unit 115 to detect acceleration when the movement determination request from the positioning control unit 13 is input. Then, information indicating acceleration is input from the sensor information acquisition unit 115. The movement determination unit 116 compares the acceleration with a preset threshold value and determines that the device 110 has transitioned from the stationary state to the moving state when it is determined that the acceleration exceeds the threshold value. The threshold value is appropriately set according to the positioning accuracy required for the entrance area determination system 2. When it is determined that the own device 110 has transitioned from the stationary state to the moving state, the movement determination unit 116 notifies the positioning control unit 113 of the fact.

  The stationary determination unit 117 determines whether or not the device 110 has transitioned from the moving state to the stationary state based on a plurality of positions indicated by the time-series positioning results input from the GPS positioning unit 111 or the wireless communication unit 112. Stillness determination means for determining. The stillness determination unit 117 determines that the own device 110 is in a moving state, and performs the above-described stillness determination when a request for determination of stillness from the positioning control unit 13 is input.

  For example, the stillness determination unit 117 determines whether or not a plurality of positions obtained by positioning are concentrated in a certain region in a predetermined period in the past (a period retroactive from the present period). It is determined that the own apparatus 110 has transitioned from the moving state to the stationary state. Specifically, the stillness determination unit 117 determines whether or not a plurality of positions within the past 2 minutes are all included in an area with a radius of 50 m (whether movement within the past 2 minutes is within an area with a radius of 50 m). If it is determined that the plurality of positions are all included in the area, it is determined that the own apparatus 110 has transitioned from the moving state to the stationary state. The above determination criteria are appropriately set according to the positioning accuracy required for the entrance determination system 2. When the stationary determination unit 117 determines that the own apparatus 110 has transitioned from the moving state to the stationary state, the stationary determination unit 117 notifies the positioning control unit 113 accordingly.

  The stillness determination unit 117 may perform stillness determination based on the acceleration indicated by the information input from the sensor information acquisition unit 115. For example, the stillness determination unit 117 determines that the own device 110 is in a moving state, and instructs the sensor information acquisition unit 115 to detect acceleration when a request for determination of stillness from the positioning control unit 13 is input. Then, information indicating acceleration is input from the sensor information acquisition unit 115. In addition to determining that the determination criterion is satisfied, the stillness determination unit 117 compares the acceleration with a preset threshold value, and determines that the own device 110 determines that the acceleration is below the threshold value. It is determined that the mobile state has transitioned to the stationary state.

  The positioning control unit 113 performs network positioning based on the determination by the movement determination unit 116, and performs control to stop GPS positioning or network positioning based on the determination by the stationary determination unit 117. When the positioning control unit 113 receives a notification from the movement determining unit 116 that the own device 110 has transitioned from the stationary state to the moving state, the positioning control unit 113 requests the wireless communication unit 112 to perform network positioning. The positioning control unit 113 controls the GPS positioning unit 111 and the wireless communication unit 112 to stop positioning when receiving a notification from the stationary determination unit 117 that the device 110 has changed from the moving state to the stationary state. . For example, the positioning control unit 113 performs control to prohibit positioning requests. The positioning control unit 113 performs the same positioning control as the positioning control unit 13 of the first embodiment until receiving a notification that the own device 110 has transitioned from the moving state to the stationary state.

  Further, the positioning control unit 113 controls movement determination and stillness determination. In response to notifications from the movement determination unit 116 and the stationary determination unit 117, the positioning control unit 113 stores a moving stationary state indicating whether the device 10 is in a moving state or a stationary state. The positioning control unit 113 refers to the moving stationary state at predetermined time intervals. If the referenced movement stationary state is the stationary state, the positioning control unit 113 requests the movement determination unit 116 to make a movement determination. In addition, the positioning control unit 113 requests the stillness determination unit 117 to make a stillness determination when the referred moving stationary state is the moving state and the positioning result has been obtained twice or more after the moving state. In other words, the movement determination unit 116 repeatedly performs the stationary determination until it determines that the own apparatus 110 has transitioned from the stationary state to the moving state. In addition, the stillness determination unit 117 repeatedly performs determination until it determines that the own apparatus 110 has transitioned from the moving state to the stationary state. The interval between the movement determination and the stationary state is set as appropriate according to the positioning accuracy required for the entrance determination system 2. In this way, the positioning control unit 113 performs sensing unit determination that determines which unit acquires the state of the terminal device 110 (determines the sensing unit). The above is the function of the terminal device 110.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the server apparatus 120 includes a network positioning unit 121. The network positioning unit 121 has the same function as the function of the network positioning unit 21 of the first embodiment. The above is the function of the server device 120.

  Subsequently, a positioning method that is a process executed by the entrance determination system 2 (an operation method of the entrance determination system 2) will be described with reference to the sequence diagram of FIG. This process is a process for performing continuous positioning of the terminal device 110 in order to determine the entrance of the terminal device 110. At the start of this process, the terminal device 110 is in a stationary state and no positioning is performed.

  In this process, the moving stationary state is referred to by the positioning control unit 13 in the terminal device 10 (S11). The reference of the moving stationary state is periodically performed at a preset time interval. If the referenced moving stationary state is the stationary state, the positioning control unit 113 requests the movement determining unit 116 to determine the movement (S12). Subsequently, the movement determination unit 116 instructs the sensor information acquisition unit 115 to detect the acceleration of the own device 110. Subsequently, in response to the instruction, the sensor information acquisition unit 115 detects the acceleration of the device 110 by the acceleration sensor, and acquires acceleration data that is information indicating the detected acceleration (S13, sensor information acquisition step). ). The acceleration data is output from the sensor information acquisition unit 115 to the movement determination unit 116.

  Subsequently, the movement determination unit 116 determines the movement of the device 110 based on the acceleration data input from the sensor information acquisition unit 115 (S14, movement determination step). As a result of the movement determination, when it is determined that the own apparatus 110 has transitioned from the stationary state to the movement state, the movement determination unit 116 notifies the positioning control unit 113 accordingly. The positioning control unit 113 that has received the notification stores the movement state as the movement stationary state. At the same time, the positioning control unit 113 that has received the notification requests the wireless communication unit 12 to perform network positioning. In the processing after the request, positioning and entering area determination of the terminal device 110 are performed as in the processing of the first embodiment shown in the sequence diagram of FIG. 4 (S15, positioning control step, network positioning step, GPS positioning step). , Entering area determination step). Note that the positioning results by the GPS positioning unit 111 and the wireless communication unit 112 are also output to the stationary determination unit 117.

  Subsequently, the moving stationary state is referred to by the positioning control unit 13 at a time interval in which the moving stationary state is referred to (S16). If the referred moving stationary state is the moving state and the positioning result has been obtained twice or more after the moving state, the positioning control unit 113 requests the stationary determination unit 117 to determine the stationary state (S17). Subsequently, the stationary determination unit 117 performs a stationary determination of the device 110 based on a plurality of positions indicated by the time-series positioning results input from the GPS positioning unit 111 and the wireless communication unit 112 (S18, stationary Judgment step).

  Note that acceleration data acquired by the sensor information acquisition unit 115 may be used for the stillness determination. In this case, when the stillness determination is performed, the stillness determination unit 117 instructs the sensor information acquisition unit 115 to detect the acceleration of the device 110. Subsequently, in response to the instruction, the sensor information acquisition unit 115 detects the acceleration of the device 110 by the acceleration sensor, and acquires acceleration data that is information indicating the detected acceleration. The acceleration data is output from the sensor information acquisition unit 115 to the stillness determination unit 117. Stillness determination section 117 performs stillness determination based on this acceleration data in addition to a plurality of positions indicated by time-series positioning results.

  As a result of the stationary determination, when it is determined that the own apparatus 110 has transitioned from the moving state to the stationary state, a notification to that effect is sent from the stationary determination unit 117 to the positioning control unit 113. The positioning control unit 113 that has received the notification stores the stillness determination as the moving still state. At the same time, the positioning control unit 113 that has received the notification controls the GPS positioning unit 111 and the wireless communication unit 112 to stop positioning (control for prohibiting positioning is performed) (S19, positioning). Control step).

  It should be noted that the positioning and entering area determination processing in S15 is repeatedly performed until the stationary determination unit 117 determines that the own apparatus 110 has transitioned from the moving state to the stationary state. In addition, as described above, the positioning control unit 13 refers to the moving stationary state at a time interval in which the moving stationary state is referred to, and processing according to the reference is repeatedly performed. The above is the process executed by the entrance area determination system 2.

  According to the present embodiment, positioning can be performed only when the terminal device 110 is in a moving state, and power consumption of the terminal device 110 can be reduced. As described above, in network positioning, there may be a case where a bias is continuously generated in the positioning error (bias error). For this reason, if it is determined that only the positioning result of the network positioning is performed, it may be erroneously determined that the mobile device has been moved to the stationary state in spite of the originally moving state. If a misjudgment of stationary determination occurs, positioning is not performed during that time, resulting in an omission determination or delay in determination.

  In the present embodiment, GPS positioning is performed when a plurality of positions obtained by time-series network positioning are close to each other. Therefore, when there is a possibility that the positioning error in network positioning is continuously biased, it is possible to prevent erroneous determination of a state caused by the positioning error. That is, it is possible to prevent erroneous determination that the terminal device 110 is in a stationary state even though the terminal device 110 is originally in a moving state. Thereby, when it is originally necessary to perform positioning, it is possible to prevent the positioning from being stopped, and it is possible to prevent a determination omission in the area determination and a determination delay. That is, according to the present embodiment, continuous positioning of the terminal device 110 can be performed more appropriately from the viewpoint of positioning accuracy and power consumption.

  In the present embodiment, an acceleration sensor that detects acceleration is used as a sensor that detects a physical quantity indicating a state related to the movement of the terminal device 110. However, the sensor only needs to detect a physical quantity indicating a state related to the movement of the terminal device 110, and is not necessarily an acceleration sensor. For example, the sensor may be a speed sensor that detects the speed of the terminal device 110.

[Third Embodiment]
In 1st Embodiment, the timing (positioning opportunity) at which positioning is performed was a preset time interval. However, in the positioning for the purpose of entering area determination, when the terminal device 10 (the user carrying the device) is located at a position far from the monitoring area, it is not necessary to frequently perform positioning. On the other hand, when the terminal device 10 (the user carrying the device) is located at a position close to the monitoring area, it is preferable to perform positioning frequently in order to quickly determine the entrance area. In this embodiment, the timing at which positioning is executed is set. The present embodiment will be described as a modification of the first embodiment, and the same reference numerals as those in the first embodiment are used.

  The positioning control unit 13 sets the timing of GPS positioning or network positioning according to the distance from the position indicated by the positioning result input from the GPS positioning unit 11 or the wireless communication unit 12 to the monitoring area. For example, the positioning control unit 13 stores in advance information indicating the monitoring area used by the entrance determination unit 14 for entrance determination. When the positioning control unit 13 receives the positioning result from the GPS positioning unit 11 or the wireless communication unit 12, the distance between the position indicated by the positioning result and the monitoring area (the shortest distance from the position to the boundary of the monitoring area). Distance) d is calculated. The positioning control unit 13 calculates the time T (= d / Vmax) by dividing (dividing) the calculated distance d by the preset assumed maximum speed Vmax of the terminal device 10. The positioning control unit 13 sets the timing at which the calculated time T has elapsed from the previous positioning as the next positioning timing.

  The positioning control unit 13 requests the GPS positioning unit 11 or the wireless communication unit 12 to perform positioning at the next positioning timing. When the positioning control unit 13 determines to switch from network positioning to GPS positioning, the GPS positioning after switching is not calculated without calculating the timing of the next positioning based on the positioning result by the network positioning before switching. Only the timing of the next positioning based on the positioning result by may be calculated. The above is the function of the terminal device 10 in the present embodiment.

  Subsequently, a positioning method that is a process (an operation method of the entrance determination system 1) executed by the entrance determination system 1 according to the present embodiment will be described using the sequence diagram of FIG. This process is a process for performing continuous positioning of the terminal device 10 in order to determine the entrance of the terminal device 10.

  In this process, in the terminal device 10, the positioning control unit 13 requests the wireless communication unit 12 to perform network positioning (S21). The network positioning request is made at the next positioning timing calculated at the previous positioning. When the request is made, the radio communication unit 12 receives at least one radio wave of mobile communication and wireless LAN (S22, network positioning step). Subsequently, the wireless communication unit 12 acquires a cell ID or SSID from the received radio wave, and transmits a positioning result request including the acquired cell ID or SSID to the server device 20 (S23, network Positioning step).

  In the server device 20, the network positioning unit 21 receives the positioning result request. Subsequently, the network positioning unit 21 acquires information indicating the latitude and longitude associated with the cell ID or SSID included in the received positioning result request, and transmits the information to the terminal device 10 as a positioning result (S25). Network positioning step). The positioning result is received by the wireless communication unit 12 in the terminal device 10. The positioning result received by the wireless communication unit 12 is output to the positioning control unit 13.

  The positioning control unit 13 stores the input positioning result as a positioning history. Subsequently, the positioning control unit 13 calculates the timing of the next positioning (the next positioning trigger update is performed) (S26, positioning control step). Specifically, the distance d between the position indicated by the positioning result and the monitoring area is calculated, and the calculated distance d is divided by the assumed maximum speed Vmax of the terminal device 10 to obtain a time T (= d / Vmax) is calculated. The timing at which the calculated time T has elapsed since the previous positioning is set as the timing of the next positioning.

  Subsequently, the positioning control unit 13 refers to the positioning history and determines whether to switch from network positioning to GPS positioning (S27, positioning control step). When it is determined that switching from network positioning to GPS positioning is performed, the positioning control unit 13 requests the GPS positioning unit 11 to perform GPS positioning (S28). When the request is made, GPS positioning is performed by the GPS positioning unit 11 (S29, GPS positioning step). The positioning result obtained by the GPS positioning of the GPS positioning unit 11 is output to the positioning control unit 13. The positioning control unit 13 stores the input positioning result as a positioning history. Subsequently, the positioning control unit 13 calculates the timing of the next positioning (S30, positioning control step). This calculation is performed in the same manner as S26 using the positioning result obtained by GPS positioning. In addition, the positioning result is output from the positioning control unit 13 to the entrance determination unit 14. Subsequently, the entrance area determination unit 14 performs entrance area determination from the positioning result input from the positioning control unit 13 (S31, entrance area determination step). Information indicating the result of the entrance determination is output from the entrance determination unit 14 to a function unit that uses the result of the entrance determination.

  If it is determined in S27 that switching from network positioning to GPS positioning is not performed, the positioning result input from the wireless communication unit 12 in S27 is output from the positioning control unit 13 to the entrance determination unit 14. Subsequently, the entrance area determination unit 14 performs entrance area determination from the positioning result input from the positioning control unit 13 (S31, entrance area determination step). Information indicating the result of the entrance determination is output from the entrance determination unit 14 to a function unit that uses the result of the entrance determination.

  After the above process is completed, the timing is calculated by the positioning control unit 13 at the next positioning timing calculated (in S30 when GPS positioning is performed, or in S26 when GPS positioning is not performed). When the arrival of timing is detected, the wireless communication unit 12 is again requested to perform network positioning (S21), and the subsequent processing is repeated. In addition, when GPS positioning is performed, calculation of the timing of the next positioning of S26 does not need to be performed. The above is the processing executed by the entrance determination system 1 of the present embodiment.

  According to the present embodiment, it is possible to make the positioning time interval appropriate when performing the entrance determination, and it is possible to reduce the power consumption of the terminal device 10. As described above, in network positioning, there may be a case where a bias is continuously generated in the positioning error (bias error). Therefore, if an attempt is made to set the positioning timing based only on the positioning result of the network positioning, there is a possibility that the appropriate timing may not be reached. If the timing of positioning is not appropriate, there will be an omission judgment or a delay in judgment.

  In the present embodiment, GPS positioning is performed when a plurality of positions obtained by time-series network positioning are close to each other. Therefore, when there is a possibility that the positioning error in the network positioning is continuously biased, it is possible to prevent an inappropriate positioning timing due to the positioning error bias. As a result, it is possible to prevent a determination omission in the entrance area determination and a determination delay. That is, according to the present embodiment, continuous positioning of the terminal device 10 can be performed more appropriately from the viewpoint of positioning accuracy and power consumption.

  In the present embodiment, the timing of the next positioning is calculated based on the distance between the position indicated by the positioning result and the monitoring area, but the distance may be used for switching the positioning method. . For example, if the distance exceeds a preset threshold value (when far from the monitoring area), network positioning is executed. If the distance is less than the preset threshold value (when close to the monitoring area), GPS positioning is executed. It is also possible to perform control such as

  Moreover, although this embodiment was based on the structure of 1st Embodiment mentioned above, you may apply the structure of this embodiment based on the structure of 2nd Embodiment.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1,2 ... Entering area determination system 10, 110 ... Terminal device, 11, 111 ... GPS positioning part, 12, 112 ... Wireless communication part, 13, 113 ... Positioning control part, 14 ... Entering area determination part, 115 ... Sensor Information acquisition unit 116 ... Movement determination unit 117 ... Stillness determination unit 101 ... CPU 102 102 RAM 103 103 ROM 104 Operation module 105 Wireless communication module 106 Wireless communication antenna 107 GPS module , 108 ... GPS antenna, 109 ... display, 20, 120 ... server device, 21, 121 ... network positioning unit, 201 ... CPU, 202 ... RAM, 203 ... ROM, 204 ... communication module, 205 ... auxiliary storage device.

Claims (7)

A positioning system that performs continuous positioning of a terminal device,
GPS positioning means for positioning the terminal device by GPS;
Network positioning means for performing positioning based on radio waves other than GPS received by the terminal device;
It is determined whether a plurality of positions obtained by time-series positioning by the network positioning means satisfy a preset relationship indicating that they are close to each other, and positioning by the network positioning means is based on the determination Positioning control means for switching to positioning by the GPS positioning means;
Positioning system with   The positioning system according to claim 1, wherein the positioning control means switches from positioning by the network positioning means to positioning by the GPS positioning means based on a time when positioning by the GPS positioning means in the past was performed. Sensor information acquisition means for acquiring sensor information indicating a physical quantity indicating a state relating to movement of the terminal device detected by a sensor provided in the terminal device;
Based on the sensor information acquired by the sensor information acquisition unit, a movement determination unit that determines whether or not the terminal device has transitioned from a stationary state to a moving state in which the terminal device is moving;
Stationary determination means for determining whether or not the terminal device has transitioned from the moving state to the stationary state based on a plurality of positions obtained by time series positioning by the GPS positioning means or the network positioning means; In addition,
The positioning control unit causes the network positioning unit to perform positioning based on the determination by the movement determination unit, and stops the positioning by the GPS positioning unit or the network positioning unit based on the determination by the stationary determination unit. The positioning system according to 1 or 2.   The positioning system according to claim 3, wherein the stationary determination unit determines whether or not the moving state has transitioned to the stationary state based on the sensor information.   The entrance area determination means which determines whether the position obtained by the positioning by the said GPS positioning means or a network positioning means entered into the preset monitoring area | region is further provided. Positioning system.   The positioning control means sets the timing of positioning by the GPS positioning means or network positioning means according to the distance from the position obtained by positioning by the GPS positioning means or network positioning means to the monitoring area. The described positioning system. A positioning method that is an operation method of a positioning system that performs continuous positioning of a terminal device,
A GPS positioning step for positioning the terminal device by GPS;
A network positioning step for performing positioning based on radio waves other than GPS received by the terminal device;
It is determined whether a plurality of positions obtained by time-series positioning in the network positioning step satisfy a preset relationship indicating that they are close to each other, and positioning in the network positioning step is based on the determination A positioning control step for switching to positioning in the GPS positioning step from
Positioning method including.

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