JP2016212048A - Position management system, position management device, position management method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To manage the current position of an apparatus even in an environment including a number of shields.SOLUTION: There is provided a position management system comprising one or more information processing apparatuses, the position management system managing information on the position of a second apparatus performing radio communication with a predetermined first apparatus installed inside a building, and including: reception means that, when detecting that the second apparatus has moved, receives a radio wave of the radio communication from the first apparatus; measurement means that, when the reception means receives the radio wave from the first apparatus, measures the intensity of the radio wave; acquisition means that estimates the position of the second apparatus on the basis of the intensity of the radio wave measured by the measurement means and acquires first position information showing the estimated position; and storage means that stores the first position information acquired by the acquisition means in a predetermined storage area in association with time information.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

  The present invention relates to a position management system, a position management apparatus, a position management method, and a program.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a technique for estimating position information of an article indoors using radio waves received by a communication device such as a wireless tag attached to the article is known. Using such a technique, for example, a user such as an article manager grasps the position of an article such as an installation location or a storage location.

  In addition, a technology is known in which a communication device attached to an article determines position information that appropriately represents a current position (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  However, in the above-described conventional technology, for example, when an article is moved to a place where the radio wave condition is bad or a radio wave does not reach, it is difficult to acquire position information indicating the current position of the article. In particular, when an article is placed in an environment where there are many metal shields, such as a factory, or when the article is stored behind a metal shelf, the radio wave of a communication device attached to the article, etc. The situation is often bad or radio waves do not reach. Therefore, in such a case, the current position of the article cannot be grasped.

  One embodiment of the present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object thereof is to manage the current position of an apparatus even in an environment where there are many shielding objects.

  In order to achieve the above object, an embodiment of the present invention is a location management system including one or more information processing devices, and a second device that performs wireless communication with a predetermined first device installed indoors. In the position management system for managing the position information, when detecting that the second device has moved, receiving means for receiving radio waves of the wireless communication from the first device; and When the radio wave is received from the device, a measurement unit that measures the intensity of the radio wave, and a position of the second device is estimated based on the intensity of the radio wave measured by the measurement unit, and the estimated position Acquisition means for acquiring the first position information indicating, and storage means for storing the first position information acquired by the acquisition means in association with time information in a predetermined storage area.

  According to an embodiment of the present invention, the current position of a device can be managed even in an environment where there are many shields.

It is a system configuration figure of an example of a position management system concerning a 1st embodiment. It is a hardware block diagram of an example of the radio | wireless tag which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a hardware block diagram of an example of the computer which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a figure for demonstrating the utilization scene of the position management system which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a functional lineblock diagram of an example of a position management system concerning a 1st embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of an installation area database. It is a figure which shows an example of a movement history information database. It is a figure which shows an example of a map information database. It is a figure which shows an example of an article | item information database. It is a sequence diagram of an example of the storage process of the movement history information which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a sequence diagram of an example of a display process of position information according to the first embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the selection screen of articles | goods. It is a figure which shows an example of the position display screen of articles | goods. It is a system configuration figure of an example of a position management system concerning a 2nd embodiment. It is a hardware block diagram of an example of the radio | wireless tag which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a function block diagram of an example of the position management system which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of a movement history information database. It is a sequence diagram of an example of the storage process of the movement history information which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a sequence diagram of an example of a display process of position information according to the second embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the position display screen of articles | goods.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[First Embodiment]
<System configuration>
First, a location management system 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram of an example of a location management system according to the first embodiment. The location management system 1 according to the first embodiment includes a wireless tag 10, a wireless communication device 20, a conversion device 30, a management device 40, and a user terminal 50. The conversion device 30, the management device 40, and the user terminal 50 are connected to be communicable via a network N such as the Internet or a telephone line network.

  The wireless tag 10 is a device that is affixed to each managed article whose position such as an installation location or a storage location is managed. When an article to which the wireless tag 10 is attached is moved, the wireless tag 10 measures the radio wave intensity of the radio communication received from the radio communication device 20, and provides information on the measured radio wave intensity (radio wave intensity information). The data is transmitted to the conversion device 30.

  The wireless communication device 20 is a device that performs wireless communication with the wireless tag 10 or the like according to a predetermined wireless communication standard. A plurality of wireless communication devices 20 are installed in a room or floor or the like where an article to be managed is installed or stored (that is, an “area” to be described later), and wirelessly within a predetermined range around every predetermined time. Transmitting radio waves for communication. Here, as a predetermined wireless communication standard, for example, various wireless communication such as Zigbee (registered trademark), RFID (Radio Frequency Identifier), Bluetooth (registered trademark), infrared, Wi-Fi (registered trademark), and ultrasonic waves are used. Standards can be used.

  The conversion device 30 is an information processing device that converts radio wave intensity information received from the wireless tag 10 into position information. Thereby, in the position management system 1, the conversion apparatus 30 acquires the position information of the article to be managed. Further, the conversion device 30 transmits the converted position information to the management device 40.

  The management device 40 is a storage device or an information processing device that manages position information received from the conversion device 30. The management device 40 also manages information related to a map of a room or floor where an article to be managed is installed or stored, and in response to a request from the user terminal 50, the position information and map of the article. Information is transmitted to the requesting user terminal 50.

  The location management system 1 may use, for example, a cloud storage provided by an external service provider instead of the management device 40, and is referred to as an ASP (Application Service Provider), a Web service, or the like. It can be adapted to various forms of provision.

  The user terminal 50 is an information processing apparatus used by a user (user) to display the position of an article to be managed. The user terminal 50 displays the position of the article on the map by acquiring the position information of the article desired to be searched and information related to the map from the management device 40. As a result, the user can know the installation location and storage location of the article. Here, as the user terminal 50, for example, a mobile phone, a smartphone, a tablet terminal, a notebook PC, a desktop PC, or the like can be used.

  The configuration of the location management system 1 shown in FIG. 1 is an example, and other configurations may be used. For example, each of the conversion device 30 and the management device 40 may be configured by a plurality of devices, or the conversion device 30 and the management device 40 may be configured by a single device.

<Hardware configuration>
Next, the hardware configuration of the location management system 1 according to the first embodiment will be described.

  First, the hardware configuration of the wireless tag 10 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a hardware configuration diagram of an example of the wireless tag according to the first embodiment. The wireless tag 10 includes a RAM (Random Access Memory) 101, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 102, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 103, a sensor 104, and a wireless module 105, which are connected to each other via a bus B1. Has been.

  The RAM 101 is a volatile semiconductor memory that temporarily stores programs and data. The ROM 102 is a nonvolatile semiconductor memory that can retain data even when the power is turned off. The CPU 103 is an arithmetic device that reads programs and data from the ROM 102 onto the RAM 101 and executes various processes, for example.

  The sensor 104 is, for example, an acceleration sensor, a gyro sensor, or the like, and is various sensors that detect that the movement is started due to vibration of the article to which the wireless tag 10 is attached, or that the article is moving. .

  The wireless module 105 is a module that performs wireless communication with the wireless communication device 20 according to a predetermined wireless communication standard.

  The wireless tag 10 according to the present embodiment implements various processes to be described later with the hardware configuration shown in FIG.

  Next, the hardware configurations of the conversion device 30, the management device 40, and the user terminal 50 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a hardware configuration diagram of an example of the computer according to the first embodiment. The computer 200 includes an input device 201, a display device 202, an external I / F 203, a RAM 204, a ROM 205, a CPU 206, a communication I / F 207, and an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 208. These hardware configurations are connected to each other via a bus B2.

  The input device 201 includes a keyboard, a mouse, a touch panel, and the like, and is used to input various signals to the computer 200. The display device 202 includes a display and displays various processing results. The conversion device 30 and the management device 40 may be configured to connect and use the input device 201 and / or the display device 202 when necessary.

  The external I / F 203 is an interface with an external device. The external device includes a recording medium 203a. Accordingly, the computer 200 can read and / or write the recording medium 203a via the external I / F 203. The recording medium 203a includes a CD (Compact Disk), a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk), an SD memory card, a USB memory (Universal Serial Bus memory), and the like.

  The RAM 204 is a volatile semiconductor memory that temporarily stores programs and data. The ROM 205 is a nonvolatile semiconductor memory that can retain data even when the power is turned off. The CPU 206 is an arithmetic device that reads programs and data from the HDD 208, the ROM 205, and the like onto the RAM 204 and executes various processes.

  The communication I / F 207 is an interface for connecting the computer 200 to the network N. The communication I / F 207 of the conversion device 30 includes a wireless module for performing wireless communication with the wireless tag 10 and / or the wireless communication device 20 according to a predetermined wireless communication standard.

  The HDD 208 is a non-volatile memory that stores programs and data. The stored programs and data include an OS (Operating System) that is basic software for controlling the entire computer 200 and various programs that operate on the OS. Note that the computer 200 may include a nonvolatile memory such as an SSD (Solid State Drive) instead of the HDD 208.

  The conversion device 30, the management device 40, and the user terminal 50 according to the present embodiment realize various processes described later by the computer 200 illustrated in FIG. 3.

<Use scene>
Next, a usage scene of the location management system 1 according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a use scene of the location management system according to the first embodiment.

  The position management system 1 according to the first embodiment is used, for example, for managing articles such as molds and various parts or fixtures in a factory. A wireless tag 10 is attached to each article to be managed. In addition, a plurality of wireless communication devices 20 are installed in one area indicating a predetermined section (for example, one room, one floor, etc.) in the factory, and radio communication radio waves are placed around each predetermined interval. Is sending to. At this time, a case will be described in which a factory worker or the like moves an article to be managed for storage in a place where radio waves transmitted from the wireless communication device 20 do not reach (for example, the back of a metal shelf).

  S1) First, when an operator moves an article, the wireless tag 10 attached to the article detects the movement and receives radio waves from the plurality of wireless communication devices 20. The wireless tag 10 measures the radio wave intensity of the received radio wave and transmits the radio wave intensity information to the conversion device 30. The wireless tag 10 receives radio waves from a plurality of radio communication devices 20 at predetermined intervals (for example, time intervals such as several milliseconds to several seconds) while the article is moving, The radio field intensity information is transmitted to the conversion device 30.

  S2) The conversion device 30 acquires the position information of the wireless tag 10 based on the radio wave intensity information received from the wireless tag 10. That is, the conversion device 30 converts the received radio wave intensity information into position information. Then, the conversion device 30 transmits the acquired position information to the management device 40. In the position management system 1, such conversion is performed each time the radio wave intensity information is received, so that position information (that is, movement) at a predetermined interval when the article to which the wireless tag 10 is attached is moved. History information) is obtained. Note that the processing for transmitting the position information acquired by the conversion device 30 to the management device 40 may be performed as a response from the management device 40 to the inquiry processing for the conversion device 30.

  S3) The management device 40 stores the position information received from the conversion device 30 in the storage area. Thereby, in the management apparatus 40, the movement history information of the wireless tag 10 is managed.

  S4) On the other hand, a user who wants to know the position of an article operates the user terminal 50 and pastes it on the article from the movement history information of the wireless tag 10 managed by the management device 40. The latest position information of the wireless tag 10 is acquired. Then, the user terminal 50 can know the position of the corresponding article by displaying the position P based on the acquired position information on the map.

  As described above, in the position management system 1 according to the first embodiment, the position information history (movement history information) based on the radio wave intensity information of the radio wave received by the wireless tag 10 when the article is moved. Manage. Thereby, for example, even when the article is stored behind a metal shelf where radio waves do not reach, the location information of the stored location (or the vicinity of the stored location) can be managed. Also, a user who wants to know the storage location of an article can know the storage location of the article by acquiring the latest position information of the desired article from the management device 40 using the user terminal 50. it can.

<Functional configuration>
Next, the functional configuration of the location management system 1 according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a functional configuration diagram of an example of the location management system according to the first embodiment. The wireless tag 10 includes a movement detection unit 11, a wireless communication unit 12, and a radio wave intensity measurement unit 13.

  The movement detection unit 11 is realized by, for example, the CPU 103, the sensor 104, and the like, and detects that the movement of the article to which the wireless tag 10 is attached is started or that the article is moving.

  The wireless communication unit 12 is realized by, for example, the CPU 103, the wireless module 105, and the like, and performs wireless communication with the wireless communication device 20 and the like.

  The radio wave intensity measurement unit 13 is realized by, for example, the CPU 103, the radio module 105, and the like, and measures radio wave intensity of radio waves received from the radio communication unit 12 to generate radio wave intensity information.

  The conversion device 30 includes a wireless communication unit 31, a position information acquisition unit 32, a network communication unit 33, an installation area database 34, and a prediction model database 35.

  The wireless communication unit 31 is realized by, for example, the CPU 206, the communication I / F 207, and the like, performs wireless communication with the wireless tag 10 or the wireless communication device 20, and receives radio wave intensity information.

  The position information acquisition unit 32 is realized by, for example, the CPU 206 and the like. The radio wave intensity information received from the wireless communication unit 31, the installation area information stored in the installation area database 34, and the prediction model stored in the prediction model database 35. Based on the position information.

  The network communication unit 33 is realized by the CPU 206, the communication I / F 207, and the like, for example, and transmits the position information acquired by the position information acquisition unit 32 to the management apparatus 40 via the network N.

  The installation area database 34 is realized by, for example, a storage device connected to the HDD 208 or the conversion device 30 via a network, and stores installation area information. Details of the installation area information will be described later.

  The prediction model database 35 is realized by, for example, a storage device connected to the HDD 208 or the conversion device 30 via a network, and stores a prediction model for estimating position information of the wireless tag 10 based on radio wave intensity information. Such a prediction model can be obtained by, for example, learning information on the radio field intensity at a plurality of positions in advance by a learning device using a machine learning algorithm such as a random forest or a support vector machine. It is a distance attenuation model of radio wave intensity for estimating position information of a position where a certain radio wave intensity is measured.

  In addition, the management device 40 includes a network communication unit 41, an information management unit 42, a movement history information database 43, a map information database 44, and an article information database 45.

  The network communication unit 41 is realized by, for example, the CPU 206, the communication I / F 207, and the like, and receives position information from the conversion device 30 via the network N. Further, the network communication unit 41 receives an acquisition request such as the position information of the article from the user terminal 50 via the network N.

  The information management unit 42 is realized by the CPU 206, for example, and reads information from various databases and writes (stores) information in various databases. For example, when the network communication unit 41 receives an acquisition request for the position information of an article from the user terminal 50, the information management unit 42 obtains the latest position information of the article in accordance with the acquisition request. 43.

  The movement history information database 43, the map information database 44, and the article information database 45 are realized by, for example, a storage device connected to the HDD 208 or the management apparatus 40 via a network, and each of the movement history information, the map information, and the article information is stored. Remember. Details of the movement history information, map information, and article information will be described later.

  The user terminal 50 includes a network communication unit 51, an input unit 52, and a display unit 53.

  The network communication unit 51 is realized by, for example, the CPU 206, the communication I / F 207, and the like, and transmits an acquisition request for the position information of the article to the management device 40 via the network N. Further, the network communication unit 51 receives the position information of the article transmitted from the management device 40 in response to the acquisition request.

  The input unit 52 is realized by, for example, the CPU 206, the input device 201, and the like, and receives input from a user (user). For example, the input unit 52 accepts designation of an article (article whose position is displayed) input from the input device 201.

  The display unit 53 is realized by, for example, the CPU 206, the display device 202, and the like. When the network communication unit 51 receives the position information of the article and the information about the map, the position based on the position information of the article is displayed on the map based on the information about the map. Is displayed.

  Here, the installation area information stored in the installation area database 34 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of the installation area database. The installation area information is information for managing an area in which the wireless communication device 20 is installed, and includes data items of a device ID and an installation area ID. The device ID is identification information for uniquely identifying the wireless communication device 20. The installation area ID is identification information for identifying, for example, one area indicating a predetermined section in a factory.

  For example, in FIG. 6, the device IDs “AP1” and “AP2” are associated with the installation area ID “A001”. This means that two wireless communication apparatuses 20 with apparatus IDs “AP1” and “AP2” are installed in the area of the installation area ID “A001”. In this way, the installation area information stored in the installation area database 34 manages the area where the wireless communication device 20 is installed.

  Next, the movement history information stored in the movement history information database 43 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of the movement history information database. The movement history information is information for managing the history of the position information of the wireless tag 10 for each time, and has data items of date and position information for each tag ID. The tag ID is identification information that uniquely identifies the wireless tag 10. The date and time is information related to the date and time when the wireless tag 10 transmits the radio wave intensity information to the conversion device 30, for example. The position information includes an area ID and coordinate information, and the area ID is identification information for identifying, for example, one area indicating a predetermined section in a factory, like the installation area ID described with reference to FIG. The partition area information managed by the area ID and the installation area ID may be partition area information by the same partition allocation, or may be partition area information by a partition allocation different between the area ID and the installation area ID. . The coordinate information is coordinate information indicating a position in the area indicated by the associated area ID. Here, such coordinates are relative coordinates from a reference point set in advance in the area indicated by the area ID.

For example, in FIG. 7, the position information of the wireless tag 10 with the tag ID “T001” at the date and time “2015/1/31 14:01:02” is the area ID “A001” and “X _n−1 , Y _n−1. Is specified. Further, the position information of the wireless tag 10 with the tag ID “T001” at the date “2015/1/31 14:01:03” is specified by the area IDs “A001” and “X _n , Y _n ”. As described above, the movement history information stored in the movement history information database 43 manages the movement history information of the wireless tag 10 (in other words, movement history information of an article to which the wireless tag 10 is attached). ing. In FIG. 7, the date and time are the year, month, day, hour, minute, and second, but in addition to this, for example, the unit may be managed up to 1/1000 second (millisecond).

  Next, map information stored in the map information database 44 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of the map information database. The map information is information for managing the map display data of the area indicated by the area ID, and has data items of area ID and map display data. The area ID is the same as the area ID described in FIG. The map display data is information relating to the map described above, and is data for displaying a map of the area indicated by the associated area ID. The map display data is not limited to raster format data such as JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group), BMP (Bit Map), and PNG (Portable Network Graphics), but may be vector format data.

  For example, in FIG. 8, the area ID “A001” is associated with the map display data “X Building 1st floor”. This means that the map of the area of area ID “A001” is the map display data “X ridge 1st floor”.

  Next, the article information stored in the article information database 45 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of the article information database. The article information is information that manages the wireless tag 10 and the article in association with each other, and includes data items of a tag ID and an article name. The tag ID is identification information that uniquely identifies the wireless tag 10. The article name is the name of the article to which the wireless tag 10 with the associated tag ID is attached.

  For example, in FIG. 9, the wireless tag 10 with the tag ID “T001” is associated with the article name “Mold of OO”. This means that the wireless tag 10 with the tag ID “T001” is pasted on the article name “Mold of OO”. In FIG. 9, the article information includes data items such as “article ID” which is identification information for uniquely identifying an article instead of or in addition to the data item “article name”. You may have.

<Details of processing>
Next, details of processing of the location management system 1 according to the first embodiment will be described.

  First, for example, when a factory worker or the like moves an article to which the wireless tag 10 is attached, the process of storing the movement history information of the wireless tag 10 in the management device 40 will be described with reference to FIG. While explaining. FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of a movement history storage process according to the first embodiment.

  The worker or the like starts moving the article on which the wireless tag 10 is attached. Then, the movement detection unit 11 of the wireless tag 10 detects that the movement of the article has been started (step S1001). At this time, the wireless tag 10 supplies power to the wireless module 105 from the power source when the movement detection unit 11 detects the start of movement. The wireless communication unit 12 receives a radio communication radio wave transmitted from the wireless communication device 20. Thus, since power is supplied to the wireless module 105 of the wireless tag 10 when the movement detection unit 11 detects the start of movement, the power consumption of the wireless module 105 can be suppressed.

  Next, the radio wave intensity measuring unit 13 of the radio tag 10 measures the radio wave intensity of the radio wave received by the radio communication unit 12, and generates radio wave intensity information (step S1002). At this time, the radio field intensity measurement unit 13 receives a plurality of radio waves transmitted from the plurality of radio communication devices 20 by the radio communication unit 12, measures the radio field intensity of each radio wave, and generates radio field intensity information. . That is, the radio wave intensity information generated by the radio wave intensity measurement unit 13 includes a plurality of sets of device IDs and radio wave intensity values. For example, the radio field intensity information includes a set of a plurality of apparatus IDs such as (apparatus ID, radio field intensity value) = (AP1, 50), (AP2, 60) and the radio field intensity value. The radio wave intensity information may include the date and time (information regarding date and time) when the radio wave intensity measurement unit 13 generates the radio wave intensity information.

  Next, the radio communication unit 12 of the radio tag 10 transmits the radio wave intensity information generated by the radio wave intensity measurement unit 13 to the conversion device 30 (step S1003). Note that the wireless communication unit 12 may transmit the radio wave intensity information directly to the conversion device 30 or may transmit it to the conversion device 30 via one or more wireless communication devices 20.

  For example, when the wireless tag 10 and the conversion device 30 exist at a distance where direct wireless communication cannot be performed, the wireless communication unit 12 of the wireless tag 10 transmits the radio wave intensity information to the nearby wireless communication device 20. To do. The wireless communication device 20 transmits the radio wave intensity information to the conversion device 30 if it can be transmitted directly to the conversion device 30, and transmits the radio wave strength information to another radio communication device 20 if it cannot be transmitted directly. To do. As described above, the wireless communication unit 12 of the wireless tag 10 may transmit the radio wave intensity information to the conversion device 30 by relaying one or more wireless communication devices 20.

  Next, when the radio communication unit 31 receives the radio wave intensity information, the position information acquisition unit 32 of the conversion device 30 acquires the position information based on the radio wave intensity information, the installation area information, and the prediction model (step S1004). .

  More specifically, the position information acquisition unit 32 refers to the installation area information and converts the device ID of the wireless communication device 20 included in the radio wave intensity information into the installation area ID. That is, each (device ID, radio field intensity value) included in the radio wave intensity information is converted into (installation area ID, radio wave intensity value). Then, the position information acquisition unit 32 estimates the position information of the wireless tag 10 based on each (installation area ID, value of radio wave intensity) and the prediction model, and acquires the estimated position information. As described above, the position information acquired at this time includes the area ID and coordinate (relative coordinate) information from the reference point in the area indicated by the area ID. Thereby, the radio wave intensity information is converted into the position information in the conversion device 30.

  In this embodiment, the device ID of the wireless communication device 20 is converted into the installation area ID in step S1004. However, this conversion may be performed in step S1006 described later. That is, in step S1004, the position information acquisition unit 32 estimates the position information of the wireless tag 10 based on each (device ID, radio wave intensity value) and the prediction model, and acquires the estimated position information. May be.

  Then, the network communication unit 33 of the conversion device 30 transmits the acquired position information to the management device 40 via the network N (step S1005).

  When the location information is received from the conversion device 30 by the network communication unit 41, the information management unit 42 of the management device 40 stores the location information in the movement history information database 43 in association with the date and time (date and time information). Stored in the movement history information (step S1006). At this time, the date and time associated with the position information may be the date and time when the wireless tag 10 transmits the radio wave intensity information. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the date and time when the management apparatus 40 receives the position information from the conversion apparatus 30 may be stored in the movement history information in association with the position information.

  The processes in steps S1002 to S1006 described above are performed at predetermined intervals (for example, time intervals such as several milliseconds to several seconds) while the worker or the like moves the article to which the wireless tag 10 is attached. To be done. That is, it is performed at predetermined intervals while the movement detecting unit 11 of the wireless tag 10 attached to the article detects that the article is moving.

  As a result, even when the article is moved to a place where radio waves do not reach (for example, at the back of a metal shelf), the movement history information until just before the wireless tag 10 can no longer receive radio waves is stored in the management device 40. Managed in Note that the wireless tag 10 stops the supply of power from the power source to the wireless module 105 when a predetermined time (for example, 60 seconds) elapses without the movement detection unit 11 detecting the movement start or movement of the article. For this reason, for example, when a predetermined time elapses after the article is stationary, the wireless communication unit 12 stops receiving radio communication radio waves transmitted from the radio communication device 20.

  Next, a process in which the user (user) causes the user terminal 50 to display the position such as the storage location of the article will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of position information display processing according to the first embodiment.

  First, the user operates the user terminal 50 to display, for example, an article selection screen 1000 shown in FIG. Then, the user selects an article to be searched (that is, an article for which the current position is to be displayed) on the article selection screen 1000 (step S1101). This can be performed, for example, when the user selects a desired article name from the article name list 1100 displayed on the article selection screen 1000.

  Next, when the network communication unit 51 of the user terminal 50 receives the selection of the article name via the input unit 52, the network communication unit 51 transmits an acquisition request for the position information of the article with the selected article name to the management device 40 (step S1102). . Here, this acquisition request includes the selected article name. Note that the acquisition request may include an article ID that uniquely identifies an article with the selected article name instead of the article name.

  When the information management unit 42 of the management device 40 receives the position information acquisition request from the network communication unit 41, the information management unit 42 acquires the corresponding position information and map display data (step S1103). That is, first, the information management unit 42 acquires the tag ID associated with the article name from the article information stored in the article information database 45. Next, the information management unit 42 acquires the latest position information associated with the acquired tag ID (that is, the position information with the latest date and time) from the movement history information stored in the movement history information database 43. Finally, the information management unit 42 acquires map display data associated with the area ID included in the acquired position information from the map information stored in the map information database 44. In this way, the information management unit 42 acquires the latest position information of the article having the article name selected by the user and map display data for displaying a map of the area.

  And the network communication part 41 of the management apparatus 40 transmits the positional information and map display data acquired by the information management part 42 to the user terminal 50 (step S1104). At this time, the network communication unit 41 of the management device 40 transmits error information indicating the error of the position information acquired by the information management unit 42 to the user terminal 50. Such error information is set in advance by the administrator of the location management system 1 based on, for example, the prediction accuracy of the prediction model stored in the prediction model database 35 or the wireless communication standard used by the wireless communication device 20. The value may be used.

  Lastly, when the display unit 53 of the user terminal 50 receives position information, map display data, and the like by the network communication unit 51, for example, the display unit 202 displays a position display screen 2000 of the article shown in FIG. 13 (step S1105). ). In the article position display screen 2000 shown in FIG. 13, the latest position of the article having the article name selected by the user in the article selection screen 1000 shown in FIG. 12 is displayed on the map displayed based on the received map display data. Displayed at position P. In addition, on the article position display screen 2000, an error range R indicating an article position error is displayed based on the received error information. Thereby, the user can know that the article having the article name selected on the article selection screen 1000 exists in the vicinity of the position P including the error range R. Therefore, the user can find a desired article by searching for the vicinity of the position P including the displayed error range R.

  In step S1105, the user terminal 50 may acquire position information within a predetermined past time in addition to the latest position information. Thereby, the display part 53 of the user terminal 50 can display the movement trajectory of the article from the position at the past predetermined time to the latest position. Therefore, the user can easily predict where the article is present in the error range R from the displayed movement trajectory.

  As described above, the position management system 1 according to the first embodiment manages the movement history information of the wireless tag 10 attached to an article. Thereby, even when the article is stored in a place where radio waves do not reach (for example, the back of a metal shelf), the position management system 1 manages the position information in the vicinity of the stored position as the latest position information. Is done.

  In the position management system 1 according to the first embodiment, the user can display the position of a desired article using the user terminal 50. At this time, the user terminal 50 obtains the latest position information of the article selected by the user, so that even if the article is stored in a place where radio waves do not reach, the user terminal 50 is in the vicinity of the stored place. The position can be displayed. Therefore, the user can find a desired article by searching the vicinity of the displayed position.

[Second Embodiment]
Next, the location management system 1 according to the second embodiment will be described. The location management system 1 according to the second embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that it includes an IMES transmitter that transmits location information according to the IMES (Indoor Messaging System) standard. Thereby, in the position management system 1 according to the second embodiment, indoor position information and outdoor position information can be managed. In the second embodiment, differences from the first embodiment will be described, and portions having substantially the same functional configuration as those of the first embodiment will be duplicated by attaching the same reference numerals. The explanation will be omitted.

<System configuration>
First, a location management system 1 according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 14 is a system configuration diagram of an example of a location management system according to the second embodiment. The location management system 1 according to the second embodiment includes an IMES transmitter 60.

  The IMES transmitter 60 is a device that transmits position information according to the IMES standard. One or more IMES transmitters 60 are installed in the area and transmit position information within a predetermined range around each predetermined time. Here, the position information conforming to the IMES standard includes the preset latitude and longitude information of the IMES transmitter 60, floor information, and the like. The floor information is information related to a hierarchy such as a building, and is set, for example, in units of 0.5 floors. This makes it possible to know on which floor in the building the article with the wireless tag 10 attached is present at the latitude and longitude indicated by the latitude and longitude information included in the position information.

  Further, the wireless tag 10A included in the position management system 1 according to the second embodiment receives position information transmitted from the IMES transmitter 60.

  Here, hereinafter, the position information described in the first embodiment (position information estimated based on the radio wave intensity information) is referred to as “first position information” for convenience and is transmitted from the IMES transmitter 60. The position information is represented as “second position information”.

<Hardware configuration>
Next, a hardware configuration of the wireless tag 10A included in the position management system 1 according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 15 is a hardware configuration diagram of an example of a wireless tag according to the second embodiment. The wireless tag 10 </ b> A has an IMES receiving module 106.

  The IMES receiving module 106 is a module that receives, from the IMES transmitter 60, a frame that conforms to the IMES standard including the second position information.

  The wireless tag 10 </ b> A according to the present embodiment implements various processes described later with the hardware configuration illustrated in FIG. 15. Note that the wireless tag 10A according to the present embodiment does not have an IMES transmission module. For this reason, the wireless tag 10A according to the present embodiment can be realized at a lower cost than the case where the wireless tag 10A includes the IMES transmission module.

<Functional configuration>
Next, the functional configuration of the location management system 1 according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 16 is a functional configuration diagram of an example of a location management system according to the second embodiment. The wireless tag 10A is different from the first embodiment in that the wireless tag 10A includes the IMES receiving unit 14.

  The IMES receiving unit 14 is realized by, for example, the CPU 103, the IMES receiving module 106, and the like, receives a radio wave conforming to the IMES standard from the IMES transmitter 60, and acquires second position information included in the radio wave.

  Moreover, the management apparatus 40 differs in the movement history information database 43A. The movement history information stored in the movement history information database 43A will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating an example of the movement history information database. The movement history information according to the second embodiment is information for managing the history of the first position information and the second position information of the wireless tag 10A for each time, and for each tag ID, the date, the first position And data items of second position information. The tag ID, the date and time, and the first position information are as described in the first embodiment. The second position information is latitude / longitude information and floor information received by the wireless tag 10A from the IMES transmitter 60. Thus, the movement history information according to the second embodiment manages the history of the first position information and the second position information. Thus, for example, in a map representing an indoor area such as a factory, the position of the article is displayed using the first position information, whereas in a map representing the outside including the outside of the factory, the second map information is used to represent the article. The position can be displayed. Furthermore, in addition to latitude and longitude information, floor information is included in the second position information, so that it is possible to display the floor number in the factory.

<Details of processing>
Next, details of processing of the location management system 1 according to the second embodiment will be described.

  First, as in the first embodiment, for example, when a worker in a factory moves an article to which the wireless tag 10A is attached, the movement history information of the wireless tag 10A is stored in the management device 40. The processing to be performed will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 18 is a sequence diagram of an example of the movement history information storage process according to the second embodiment.

  An operator or the like starts moving the article to which the wireless tag 10A is attached. Then, the movement detection unit 11 of the wireless tag 10A detects that the movement of the article has been started (step S1801). At this time, the wireless tag 10 </ b> A supplies power from the power source to the wireless module 105 and the IMES receiving module 106 in response to detection of movement start by the movement detection unit 11. The wireless communication unit 12 receives a radio communication radio wave transmitted from the wireless communication device 20. Further, the IMES receiving unit 14 receives radio waves conforming to the IMES standard transmitted from the IMES transmitter 60. Thus, since power is supplied to the wireless module 105 and the IMES receiving module 106 of the wireless tag 10A when the movement detection unit 11 detects the movement start, the power consumption of the wireless module 105 and the IMES receiving module 106 is reduced. Can be suppressed.

  The IMES receiver 14 of the wireless tag 10A acquires the second position information included in the radio wave received from the IMES transmitter 60 (step S1802). Note that the IMES receiving unit 14 acquires second position information included in a radio wave having a high radio wave intensity (reception intensity) when receiving radio waves conforming to the IMES standard from a plurality of IMES transmitters 60.

  The wireless communication unit 12 of the wireless tag 10A transmits the radio wave intensity information generated by the radio wave intensity measuring unit 13 and the second position information acquired by the IMES receiving unit 14 to the conversion device 30 (step S1803). Note that the wireless communication unit 12 may transmit the radio wave intensity information and the second position information directly to the conversion device 30 or may transmit to the conversion device 30 via one or more wireless communication devices 20. .

  The network communication unit 33 of the conversion device 30 transmits the first location information acquired in step S1004 and the second location information received from the wireless tag 10A to the management device 40 via the network N (step S1804). ). Thus, in 2nd Embodiment, the converter 30 transmits the received 2nd positional information to the management apparatus 40 as it is.

  Finally, when the information management unit 42 of the management device 40 receives the first position information and the second position information from the conversion device 30 by the network communication unit 41, the first position information and the second position information are It is stored in the movement history information in association with the date and time (step S1805). At this time, the date and time associated with the first position information and the second position information may be the date and time when the wireless tag 10A transmits the radio wave intensity information. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the date and time when the management apparatus 40 receives the first position information and the second position information from the conversion apparatus 30 is associated with the first position information and the second position information. You may store in movement history information.

  In step S1805, the area ID included in the first position information is the installation area ID converted by the conversion device 30 based on the device ID included in the radio wave intensity information. However, the present invention is not limited to this. It is good also as area ID acquired based on position information. That is, the area ID of the area where the IMES transmitter 60 indicated by the second position information acquired in step S1802 is installed may be used as the area ID included in the first position information. By doing so, an appropriate area ID can be acquired even when the wireless tag 10A is stored in the vicinity of the boundary between the areas (or passed).

  The processing of FIG. 18 described above is performed at predetermined intervals (for example, time intervals such as several milliseconds to several seconds) while an operator or the like moves the article to which the wireless tag 10A is attached. . Thereby, even when the article is moved to a place where radio waves do not reach (for example, at the back of a metal shelf), the movement history information until just before the wireless tag 10A can no longer receive radio waves is stored in the management device 40. Managed in If a predetermined time (for example, 60 seconds) elapses without the movement detection unit 11 detecting the start or movement of the article, supply of power from the power source to the wireless module 105 and the IMES receiving module 106 is stopped. For this reason, for example, when a predetermined time elapses after the article is stationary, the IMES receiver 14 stops receiving the second position information transmitted from the IMES transmitter 60.

  Next, a process in which the user (user) causes the user terminal 50 to display the position such as the storage location of the article will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 19 is a sequence diagram of an example of position information display processing according to the second embodiment.

  When the information management unit 42 of the management apparatus 40 receives the position information acquisition request from the network communication unit 41, the information management unit 42 acquires the corresponding first position information, second position information, and map display data (step S1901). . That is, first, the information management unit 42 acquires the tag ID associated with the article name from the article information stored in the article information database 45. Next, the information management unit 42 acquires the latest first position information and second position information associated with the acquired tag ID from the movement history information stored in the movement history information database 43A. Finally, the information management unit 42 acquires map display data associated with the area ID included in the acquired position information from the map information stored in the map information database 44. In this way, the information management unit 42 acquires the latest first position information and second position information of the article having the article name selected by the user, and map display data for displaying a map of the area. To do.

  And the network communication part 41 of the management apparatus 40 transmits the 1st positional information and 2nd positional information acquired by the information management part 42, and map display data to the user terminal 50 (step S1902). At this time, the network communication unit 41 of the management device 40 includes the first error information indicating the error of the first position information acquired by the information management unit 42 and the second error indicating the error of the second position information. Are transmitted to the user terminal 50. Such first error information is obtained by, for example, an administrator of the position management system 1 based on the prediction accuracy of the prediction model stored in the prediction model database 35, the wireless communication standard used by the wireless communication device 20, or the like. A preset value may be used. Further, as the second error information, a positioning error of position information according to the IMES standard may be used.

  Finally, when the display unit 53 of the user terminal 50 receives the first position information, the second position information, the map display data, and the like by the network communication unit 51, for example, the display unit 53 displays the position display screen 3000 of the article shown in FIG. It is displayed on the display device 202 (step S1903). In the article position display screen 3000 shown in FIG. 20, the indoor position display screen 3100 and the outdoor position display screen 3200 can be switched between the tab 3001 or the tab 3002 and displayed. Similarly to the article position display screen 2000 shown in FIG. 13, the indoor position display screen 3100 displays the latest position of the article based on the first position information at the position P on the map displayed based on the map display data. It is displayed. On the indoor position display screen 3100, an error range R indicating an error in the position of the article is displayed based on the first error information. Thereby, the user can know the position of the article displayed on the indoor map such as in the factory. Here, the display can be switched to the outdoor position display screen 3200 by selecting the tab 3002 on the indoor position display screen 3100.

  On the other hand, in the outdoor position display screen 3200, the latest position of the article based on the second position information is displayed at a position P ′ on a map showing a wider area including the outdoors. On the outdoor position display screen 3200, an error range R ′ indicating an error in the position of the article is displayed based on the second error information. Thereby, the user can know the position of the article displayed on the outdoor map including outside the factory.

  Furthermore, floor information F is displayed on the outdoor position display screen 3200. Thereby, it is possible to know on which floor in the building the article is located at the latitude and longitude within the range indicated by the position P ′ including the error R ′.

  Here, the display can be switched to the indoor position display screen 3100 by selecting the tab 3001 on the outdoor position display screen 3200. Note that the map display data of the map displayed on the outdoor position display screen 3200 may be acquired from, for example, an external map display data providing service, or map display data stored in advance in the user terminal 50 is used. May be.

  As described above, in the position management system 1 according to the second embodiment, the first position information based on the radio wave intensity received by the wireless tag 10A from the wireless communication device 20 and the wireless tag 10A from the IMES transmitter 60 are displayed. Manages the history with the second position information received. Thereby, when the user displays the position of a desired article using the user terminal 50, the position of the article inside the factory or the like is displayed based on the first position information, while the outside of the factory or the like is displayed. The position of the outdoor item can be displayed based on the second position information. Therefore, in the position management system 1 according to the second embodiment, it is possible to seamlessly switch between the position display of articles indoors and the position information of articles outdoors. Further, even when the article is taken out outdoors, the user can display the position of the article based on the second position information.

  It should be noted that when an article to which the wireless tag 10A according to this embodiment is attached is taken out outdoors, the latitude measured by the IMES receiving module 106 based on the radio wave received from the GPS (Global Positioning System) And longitude information may be transmitted to the conversion device 30. At this time, the wireless tag 10A may transmit the latitude and longitude information to the conversion device 30 using communication defined by a standard such as 3G (3rd Generation) or LTE (Long Term Evolution).

  As mentioned above, although the Example of this invention was explained in full detail, this invention is not limited to such specific embodiment, In the range of the summary of this invention described in the claim, various deformation | transformation・ Change is possible.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Position management system 10 Wireless tag 11 Movement detection part 12 Wireless communication part 13 Radio wave intensity measurement part 20 Wireless communication apparatus 30 Conversion apparatus 31 Wireless communication part 32 Location information acquisition part 33 Network communication part 34 Installation area database 35 Prediction model database 40 Management Device 41 Network communication unit 42 Information management unit 43 Movement history information database 44 Map information database 45 Article information database 50 User terminal 51 Network communication unit 52 Input unit 53 Display unit N Network

JP 2014-25910 A

Claims (16)

A position management system including one or more information processing apparatuses, which manages position information of a second device that performs wireless communication with a predetermined first device installed indoors.
When detecting that the second device has moved, receiving means for receiving radio waves of the wireless communication from the first device;
Upon receiving the radio wave from the first device by the receiving means, a measuring means for measuring the intensity of the radio wave;
Obtaining means for estimating the position of the second device based on the intensity of the radio wave measured by the measuring means, and acquiring first position information indicating the estimated position;
And a storage unit that stores the first position information acquired by the acquisition unit in association with time information in a predetermined storage area.   The acquisition unit estimates the position of the second device based on the distance attenuation model of the radio wave intensity generated in advance and the radio wave intensity measured by the measurement unit, and acquires the first position information. The position management system according to claim 1.   The location management system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the predetermined storage area is a storage area of an external storage connected to the location management system via a network.   The position management system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the reception unit receives a radio wave according to any one of ZigBee, Bluetooth, RFID, and infrared.   In response to a request from a terminal apparatus connected to the position management system via a network, the requesting terminal apparatus stores the first position information of the second device stored in the predetermined storage area. 5. The position management system according to claim 1, further comprising: a first display unit configured to display the position based on the first position information on the terminal device.   The first display means transmits the first position information and predetermined error information indicating an error of the first position information to the requesting terminal device, and is based on the first position information. The position management system according to claim 5, wherein an error based on the position and the error information is displayed on the terminal device.   The said receiving means stops reception of the electromagnetic wave of the said radio | wireless communication when predetermined | prescribed time passes, when the movement of the said 2nd apparatus is not detected. Location management system. The location management system further includes an IMES transmission device that transmits latitude and longitude information according to the IMES standard,
When the receiving means detects that the second device has moved, the receiving means further receives second position information including the latitude and longitude information from the IMES transmitting device,
8. The storage device according to claim 1, wherein the storage unit stores the first position information and the second position information in the predetermined storage area in association with the time information. 9. Location management system.   In response to a request from a terminal device connected to the location management system via a network, the first location information and the second location information of the second device stored in the predetermined storage area The position management system according to claim 8, further comprising: second display means that transmits to the requesting terminal device and causes the terminal device to display a position based on the first position information or the second position information. .   The second display means calculates the error of the first position information and the second position information, the predetermined first error information indicating an error of the first position information, and the error of the second position information. The predetermined second error information to be transmitted to the requesting terminal device, the position based on the first position information or the second position information, and the first error information or the second position. The position management system according to claim 9, wherein an error based on information is displayed on the terminal device.   11. The device according to claim 8, wherein when the movement of the second device is not detected, the receiving unit stops receiving the second position information when a predetermined time has elapsed. The location management system described.   The location management system according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the second device is a wireless tag attached to a predetermined article. A position management device that manages position information of a second device that performs wireless communication with a predetermined first device installed indoors,
Receiving means for receiving information indicating the intensity of radio waves of the wireless communication received by the second device from the first device in response to movement of the second device;
Obtaining means for estimating the position of the second device based on the information indicating the intensity of the radio wave by the receiving means and acquiring first position information indicating the estimated position;
A storage control unit that stores the first position information acquired by the acquisition unit in a predetermined storage area in association with time information; A location management system including one or more information processing devices, and used in a location management system that manages location information of a second device that performs wireless communication with a predetermined first device installed indoors In
Upon detecting that the second device has moved, a reception procedure for receiving radio waves of the wireless communication from the first device;
When the radio wave is received from the first device by the reception procedure, a measurement procedure for measuring the intensity of the radio wave;
An acquisition procedure for estimating the position of the second device based on the intensity of the radio wave measured by the measurement procedure and acquiring first position information indicating the estimated position;
A location management method comprising: a storage procedure for storing the first location information acquired by the acquisition procedure in association with time information in a predetermined storage area. A location management method used in a location management apparatus that manages location information of a second device that performs wireless communication with a predetermined first device installed indoors,
A receiving procedure for receiving information indicating the intensity of radio waves of the wireless communication received by the second device from the first device in accordance with the movement of the second device;
An acquisition procedure for estimating the position of the second device based on the information indicating the strength of the radio wave by the reception procedure and acquiring first position information indicating the estimated position;
A location management method comprising: a storage procedure that stores the first location information acquired by the acquisition procedure in association with time information in a predetermined storage area. A position management device that manages position information of a second device that performs wireless communication with a predetermined first device installed indoors;
Receiving means for receiving information indicating the intensity of radio waves of the wireless communication received by the second device from the first device in response to movement of the second device;
Obtaining means for estimating the position of the second device based on the information indicating the strength of the radio wave by the receiving means and acquiring first position information indicating the estimated position;
A program for functioning as storage control means for storing the first position information acquired by the acquisition means in a predetermined storage area in association with time information.

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