JP2020184729A - Communication control device, communication system and mobile terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

To suppress power consumption to be required for positioning of a mobile terminal.SOLUTION: A server acquires signal information related to an LoRa signal received from a mobile terminal 10 by an LoRa gateway 20 which communicates with the mobile terminal through LoRa communication, the signal information having been received from the mobile terminal by the LoRa gate way. Positioning of the mobile terminal is performed by a positioning method according to the number of LoRa gateways for which signal information has been acquired. The positioning of the mobile terminal is performed based on a history of positioning of the nearest mobile terminal and signal information acquired from LoRa gateways whose number is less than a specified number in a second state where the LoRa gateways of less than the specified number are located within a second area A2 where LoRa signals can be received, and signal information is acquired from the LoRa gateways of less than the specified number.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

One aspect of the present invention relates to communication control devices, communication systems, and mobile terminals.

Conventionally, various positioning methods such as GPS positioning, Wi-Fi positioning, BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) positioning, base station positioning (cellular positioning), and LoRa positioning have been used as methods for estimating the position (positioning) of mobile terminals. Are known. In addition, a method of positioning a mobile terminal by switching and using a plurality of positioning methods is also known. For example, Patent Document 1 describes a method of switching between base station positioning and GPS positioning according to the radio wave strength received from a base station by a mobile terminal.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2013-108959

By the way, the positioning accuracy and power consumption of the positioning method as described above differ depending on the method. Basically, the higher the positioning accuracy, the greater the power consumption required for positioning. For example, for a device such as a smartphone that is regularly charged by a user, there is no particular problem even if a positioning method that consumes a large amount of power is used. However, for example, terminals used in the field of IoT (Internet of Things) (for example, terminals that are left attached to delivery vehicles, animals, etc. for a long period of time for position tracking) have a non-charging period. It will be relatively long. For such terminals, it is required to suppress power consumption as much as possible.

Therefore, one aspect of the present invention is to provide a communication control device, a communication system, and a mobile terminal capable of suppressing the power consumption required for positioning the mobile terminal.

The communication control device according to one aspect of the present invention has an acquisition unit that acquires signal information about a signal received from the mobile terminal by the gateway from a gateway that communicates with the mobile terminal by the first communication method, and an acquisition unit that acquires signal information. It is equipped with a positioning unit that performs positioning of mobile terminals by a positioning method according to the number of gateways, and the positioning unit has more than the specified number of gateways required for positioning based on the first communication method to send signals from mobile terminals. In the first state where the mobile terminal is located in the first receivable area and the signal information is acquired from the specified number or more of gateways by the acquisition unit, the signal information acquired from the specified number or more of gateways Positioning of mobile terminals is performed based on this, and mobile terminals are located in the second area outside the first area and less than the specified number of gateways can receive signals from the mobile terminals, and the specified number by the acquisition unit. In the second state in which signal information is acquired from less than the specified number of gateways, positioning of the mobile terminal is performed based on the positioning history of the latest mobile terminal and the signal information acquired from less than the specified number of gateways, and from the first communication method. The mobile terminal is located in an area other than the first area and the second area among the third areas where positioning based on the second communication method, which consumes a large amount of power, is possible, and the signal information is not acquired by the acquisition unit. In the three states, the positioning result of the mobile terminal based on the second communication method is acquired, and the third area includes the first area and the second area.

According to the communication control device according to one aspect of the present invention, positioning based on the second state, that is, the first communication method is impossible, but signal information acquired from less than a specified number of gateways can be used. In such a case, positioning is performed based on the signal information acquired from less than the specified number of gateways and the positioning history of the latest mobile terminal. According to this configuration, the power consumption required for the positioning of the mobile terminal can be suppressed as compared with the case where the positioning based on the second communication method is always performed in the second state.

According to one aspect of the present invention, it is possible to provide a communication control device, a communication system, and a mobile terminal capable of suppressing the power consumption required for positioning the mobile terminal.

It is a figure which shows the whole structure of the communication system including the communication control device which concerns on embodiment. It is a schematic diagram which shows the relationship between the LoRa positioning possible area and the cellular positioning possible area. It is a figure which shows typically the example of the operation state of the LoRa communication part and the cellular communication part. It is a figure which shows an example of the power consumption for each operation mode of a mobile terminal. It is a schematic diagram which shows the outline of positioning by a communication control device. It is a flowchart which shows an example of operation of a communication system. It is a figure which shows the list of the operation modes of a mobile terminal. It is a figure which shows an example of the hardware configuration of a communication control device.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the description of the drawings, the same or equivalent elements are designated by the same reference numerals, and duplicate description will be omitted.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of a communication system 1 including a server 40, which is a communication control device according to an embodiment. The communication system 1 includes a mobile terminal 10 to be positioned, a plurality of LoRa gateways 20, a cellular base station 30, and a server 40. The mobile terminal 10 is, for example, a device fixed to an arbitrary object (for example, a delivery vehicle, an animal, etc.) for position tracking. However, the mobile terminal 10 is not limited to the above, and may be a terminal carried by a user such as a smartphone. The LoRa gateway 20 is a device that is installed at a predetermined location and can communicate with the mobile terminal 10 by the LoRa communication method (first communication method). The LoRa communication method is a wireless communication method using LPWAN (Low Power Wide Area Network) technology. The cellular base station 30 is a device capable of communicating with the mobile terminal 10 by a cellular communication method (second communication method) via a mobile communication network provided by a mobile communication operator.

The position estimation (positioning) of the mobile terminal 10 can be performed based on the signal information regarding the signal received from the mobile terminal 10 by the LoRa gateway 20 of the specified number or more. In the present embodiment, the positioning based on the LoRa communication method (hereinafter referred to as “LoRa positioning”) is a three-point positioning method. Therefore, by using the signal information acquired by three or more LoRa gateways 20, the mobile terminal 10 Positioning can be performed. Similarly, the cellular base station 30 can perform positioning of the mobile terminal 10 based on the signal information regarding the signal received from the mobile terminal 10.

LoRa positioning has almost the same positioning accuracy as positioning based on the cellular communication method (hereinafter referred to as "cellular positioning"). Further, the power consumption of the mobile terminal 10 required for communication is smaller in the LoRa communication method than in the cellular communication method. Therefore, from the viewpoint of suppressing the power consumption of the mobile terminal 10, it is preferable to perform LoRa positioning in the LoRa positioning possible area as much as possible. On the other hand, while cellular positioning can be basically performed within the communication range (cellular range) of the cellular base station 30, LoRa positioning is performed by the LoRa gateway 20 having a specified number (three here) or more. It can only be performed in a limited area enclosed. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, the LoRa positioning possible area is smaller than the cellular positioning possible area and is included in the cellular positioning possible area. That is, in the LoRa positioning possible area, both cellular positioning and LoRa positioning can be performed.

The mobile terminal 10 includes a control unit 11, a battery 12, a LoRa communication unit 13 (reception unit), a cellular communication unit 14, and an acceleration sensor 15. The control unit 11 controls the operation mode of the mobile terminal 10, which will be described later. The operation mode is a combination of the operating states of the LoRa communication unit 13 and the cellular communication unit 14, which will be described later, and the contents of the data transmitted from the mobile terminal 10. The battery 12 is a storage battery that mainly supplies electric power to the LoRa communication unit 13 and the cellular communication unit 14. The LoRa communication unit 13 performs data communication with the LoRa gateway 20 by the LoRa communication method. The LoRa communication unit 13 has a function of transmitting data to the LoRa gateway 20 and a function of receiving data from the LoRa gateway 20. That is, the LoRa communication unit 13 functions as a receiving unit that receives a predetermined control signal from the LoRa gateway 20. The cellular communication unit 14 performs data communication with the cellular base station 30 by the cellular communication method. The cellular communication unit 14 has a function of transmitting data to the cellular base station 30 and a function of receiving data from the cellular base station 30. The acceleration sensor 15 is a sensor device that continuously measures the acceleration of the mobile terminal 10 at predetermined time intervals.

FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically showing an example of the operating state of the LoRa communication unit 13 and the cellular communication unit 14. FIG. 3A shows the operating state (Class A) of the LoRa communication unit 13 when LoRa positioning is enabled (ON). “Tx: on” of LoRa communication indicates that the transmission of the LoRa signal (first signal) from the mobile terminal 10 to the outside is effective. That is, it indicates that the mobile terminal 10 is in a state of periodically transmitting (broadcasting) the LoRa signal (Tx) to the outside. The LoRa positioning described above is performed based on the LoRa signal (Tx of LoRa communication) received by the LoRa gateway 20. “Rx: on” of LoRa communication indicates that the mobile terminal 10 is in a state where it can receive a signal from the LoRa gateway 20. The signal (Rx) received by the mobile terminal 10 from the LoRa gateway 20 is located in the LoRa positioning area (that is, the range in which three or more LoRa gateways can receive the signal from the mobile terminal 10). It is used to determine whether or not it is present. On the other hand, FIG. 3B shows the operating state (Class B) of the LoRa communication unit 13 when LoRa positioning is disabled (OFF). When LoRa positioning is disabled, the LoRa signal for LoRa positioning (Tx of LoRa communication) is not transmitted (Tx: off).

FIG. 3C shows the operating state (periodic transmission) of the cellular communication unit 14 when cellular positioning is enabled (ON). “Tx: on” of the cellular communication indicates that the transmission of the cellular signal (second signal) from the mobile terminal 10 to the outside is effective. That is, it indicates that the mobile terminal 10 is in a state of periodically transmitting (broadcasting) a cellular signal (Tx) to the outside. The above-mentioned cellular positioning is performed based on the cellular signal (Tx of cellular communication) received by the cellular base station 30. On the other hand, FIG. 3D shows the operating state (eDRX) of the cellular communication unit 14 when the cellular positioning is “OFF”. "Rx: on" of cellular communication is required when turning cellular positioning "ON" (that is, when switching from "Tx: off" to "Tx: on") instead of requiring a predetermined power consumption. It indicates that it is in a standby state for reducing power consumption.

In the example shown in FIG. 3, when the transmission and reception cycles (Tx / Rx cycle) are set to 10 minutes and the power consumption of the operating state (Class B) of the LoRa communication unit 13 is standardized to "1", the LoRa communication unit The power consumption of the operating state (Class A) of 13 is "7", the power consumption of the operating state (regular transmission) of the cellular communication unit 14 is "120", and the power consumption of the operating state (eDRX) of the cellular communication unit 14 is "120". The power consumption is "2". The power consumption in each of these operating states may differ from terminal to terminal, but as shown in the above example, basically, the power consumption required for cellular positioning (that is, the operating state of the cellular communication unit 14 (that is, the operating state of the cellular communication unit 14) The power consumption “120”) of the periodic transmission) is much larger than the power consumption required for LoRa positioning (that is, the power consumption “7” in the operating state (Class A) of the LoRa communication unit 13). The above-mentioned "power consumption" is a value that considers only the power consumption required for the LoRa communication unit 13 or the cellular communication unit 14, and considers the power consumed by other elements (for example, the control unit 11). Not.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of power consumption for each operation mode of the mobile terminal 10. Mode A (first area determination) is an operation mode immediately after the mobile terminal 10 is activated. Immediately after activating the mobile terminal 10, it is determined whether or not the mobile terminal 10 is located in the LoRa positioning possible area. Therefore, in mode A, the operating state of the LoRa communication unit 13 is set to "Class B", and the operating state of the cellular communication unit 14 is set to "power off" (both Tx and Rx are in the "off" state). Set. The power consumption of mode A is only "1" required for "Class B".

Mode B (LoRa positioning) is an operation mode when performing LoRa positioning. In the mode B, the operating state of the LoRa communication unit 13 is set to "Class A", and the operating state of the cellular communication unit 14 is set to "power off". The power consumption of mode B is only "7" required for "Class A".

Mode C (cellular positioning) is an operation mode when performing cellular positioning. In mode C, the operating state of the LoRa communication unit 13 is set to "Class B", and the operating state of the cellular communication unit 14 is set to "regular transmission". While the cellular positioning is being performed, the operating state of the LoRa communication unit 13 is set to "Class B" instead of "power off". The reason is that when the mobile terminal 10 moves to the LoRa positioning area, it can be detected immediately and the positioning method can be switched to LoRa positioning with lower power consumption. The power consumption of the mode C is the sum "121" of "1" required for "Class B" and "120" required for "regular transmission".

Mode D (LoRa positioning return) is an operation mode applied after the mobile terminal 10 moves to the LoRa positioning possible area after the cellular positioning is performed and the LoRa positioning is enabled. In the mode D, the operating state of the LoRa communication unit 13 is set to "Class A", and the operating state of the cellular communication unit 14 is set to "eDRX". The power consumption of the mode D is the sum "9" of "7" required for "Class A" and "2" required for "eDRX".

Next, the server 40 will be described. The server 40 performs positioning of the mobile terminal 10 by properly using a plurality of positioning methods so that the power consumption required for the positioning of the mobile terminal 10 can be suppressed as much as possible while continuing the positioning of the mobile terminal 10.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing an outline of positioning by the server 40. In FIG. 5, the first area A1 (here, a horizontally long elliptical region) corresponds to the LoRa positioning possible area shown in FIG. Further, among the elliptical regions including the first area A1, the second area A2 (here, the donut-shaped region) excluding the first area A1 is the LoRa gateway 20 capable of receiving a signal from the mobile terminal 10. This is an area where the number of is one or two. That is, the second area A2 is an area outside the first area A1 where the LoRa gateways 20 having less than a specified number (three in this case) can receive signals from the mobile terminal 10. The third area A3 (here, a horizontally long elliptical region) including the first area A1 and the second area A2 corresponds to the cellular positioning possible area shown in FIG.

With some exceptions (for example, when the mobile terminal 10 at the time of initial startup is located in the second area A2), the server 40 performs positioning of the mobile terminal 10 located in the second area A2 with LoRa less than the specified number. This is performed based on the signal from the mobile terminal 10 received by the gateway 20. With this configuration, the consumption of the mobile terminal 10 is compared with the case where the cellular positioning is immediately applied to the mobile terminal 10 (that is, the mobile terminal 10 that cannot perform LoRa positioning) in the second area A2. Power can be suppressed.

The server 40 includes an acquisition unit 41, a positioning unit 42, a control unit 43, and a storage unit 44 in order to realize the above-mentioned positioning.

The acquisition unit 41 acquires signal information related to the LoRa signal received from the mobile terminal 10 by the LoRa gateway 20 from the LoRa gateway 20 that communicates with the mobile terminal 10 by the LoRa communication method. Here, the signal information may include information capable of estimating the distance from the LoRa gateway 20 to the mobile terminal 10. For example, the signal information is the time from when the LoRa signal is transmitted by the mobile terminal 10 to when it is received by the LoRa gateway 20 (arrival time), the strength of the LoRa signal received by the LoRa gateway 20 (received power), and the like. ..

When the mobile terminal 10 is located in the first area A1, LoRa gateways 20 of a specified number (three) or more receive the LoRa signal from the mobile terminal 10. In this case, the acquisition unit 41 acquires signal information from each of the LoRa gateways 20 having the specified number or more.

When the mobile terminal 10 is located in the second area A2, the LoRa gateways 20 having less than the specified number (3) receive the signal from the mobile terminal 10. In this case, the acquisition unit 41 acquires signal information from each of the LoRa gateways 20 having less than the specified number.

When the mobile terminal 10 is located in the area other than the first area A1 and the second area A2 in the third area A3, neither LoRa gateway 20 receives a signal from the mobile terminal 10. In this case, the number of signal information acquired by the acquisition unit 41 is 0.

The positioning unit 42 positions the mobile terminal 10 by a positioning method according to the number of LoRa gateways 20 for which signal information has been acquired by the acquisition unit 41. Specifically, the positioning unit 42 positions the mobile terminal 10 according to the first to third states described below. Hereinafter, a processing example of the positioning unit 42 will be described.

(First state)
The first state is a state in which the mobile terminal 10 is located in the first area A1 and the acquisition unit 41 acquires signal information from a specified number (three) or more of LoRa gateways 20. That is, the first state is a state in which LoRa positioning can be performed. In the first state, the positioning unit 42 performs positioning (that is, LoRa positioning) of the mobile terminal 10 based on signal information acquired from a predetermined number (three) or more of LoRa gateways 20.

(Second state)
In the second state, the mobile terminal 10 is located in the second area A2, and the LoRa gateway 20 (that is, one or two LoRa gateways 20) is less than the specified number (three) by the acquisition unit 41. This is the state in which signal information is acquired. That is, in the second state, LoRa positioning based on the three-point positioning cannot be performed, but signal information can be obtained from the LoRa gateways 20 having less than the specified number (three). In the second state, the positioning unit 42 positions the mobile terminal 10 based on the positioning history of the latest mobile terminal 10 and the signal information acquired from the LoRa gateway 20 less than the specified number (3).

The positioning history of the latest mobile terminal 10 is stored in the storage unit 44. For example, the positioning result of the mobile terminal 10 (for example, information indicating the latitude and longitude of the mobile terminal 10) obtained by the positioning unit 42 at a predetermined time interval is stored in the storage unit 44 together with the positioning time. By referring to the storage unit 44, the positioning unit 42 can grasp the positioning result of the latest mobile terminal 10 (that is, the position of the latest mobile terminal 10).

An example of positioning of the mobile terminal 10 in the second state will be described with reference to FIG. The mobile terminal 10A shown in FIG. 5 is a mobile terminal 10 that has moved from the first area A1 to the second area A2. The positioning unit 42 estimates the moving direction of the mobile terminal 10A (moving direction from the position shown in the latest positioning history) by referring to a plurality of past positioning history HAs of the mobile terminal 10A. Further, here, the acquisition unit 41 acquires signal information from the two LoRa gateways 20A and 20B. At this time, the positioning unit 42 can estimate the distance from each LoRa gateway 20A, 20B to the mobile terminal 10A based on these signal information (arrival time, received power, etc.). Then, the positioning unit 42 estimates the position of the mobile terminal 10A based on the moving direction of the mobile terminal 10A estimated from the positioning history HA and the estimated distance from each LoRa gateway 20A, 20B to the mobile terminal 10A. be able to.

The mobile terminal 10B shown in FIG. 5 is a mobile terminal 10 that has moved into the second area A2 from an area other than the first area A1 and the second area A2 in the third area A3. Similar to the positioning of the mobile terminal 10A described above, the positioning unit 42 estimates the moving direction of the mobile terminal 10B by referring to a plurality of past positioning history HBs of the mobile terminal 10B. Further, here, the acquisition unit 41 acquires the signal information from one LoRa gateway 20C. At this time, the positioning unit 42 can estimate the distance from the LoRa gateway 20C to the mobile terminal 10B based on the signal information (arrival time, received power, etc.). Then, the positioning unit 42 can estimate the position of the mobile terminal 10B based on the moving direction of the mobile terminal 10B estimated from the positioning history HB and the estimated distance from the LoRa gateway 20C to the mobile terminal 10B. ..

Further, in the present embodiment, in the second state, the positioning unit 42 acquires the detection value of the acceleration sensor 15 provided on the mobile terminals 10A and 10B by the processing of the control unit 43 described later. The positioning unit 42 can estimate the moving directions of the mobile terminals 10A and 10B by referring to the detection values of the acceleration sensor 15 as auxiliary information together with the latest plurality of positioning histories HA and HB.

(Third state)
In the third state, the mobile terminal 10 is located in an area of the third area A3 excluding the first area A1 and the second area A2 (that is, an area outside the second area A2), and the acquisition unit. The signal information is not acquired by 41. That is, the third state is a state in which none of the LoRa gateways 20 can receive the signal from the mobile terminal 10. In the third state, the above-mentioned cellular positioning is performed. That is, a cellular signal for cellular positioning is transmitted from the mobile terminal 10 (cellular communication unit 14) operating in mode C to the cellular base station 30, and positioning of the mobile terminal 10 is performed based on the cellular signal. Therefore, in the third state, the positioning unit 42 acquires the positioning result of the mobile terminal 10 based on the cellular positioning. The positioning unit 42 calculates the cellular positioning result of the mobile terminal 10 by itself based on the information about the cellular signal acquired by the cellular base station 30 (for example, the arrival time, the received power, etc. described above), thereby positioning the mobile terminal 10. You may get the result. Alternatively, the positioning unit 42 may acquire the positioning result of the mobile terminal 10 by acquiring the cellular positioning result calculated by a device different from the server 40 from the device.

The control unit 43 controls the operation of the mobile terminal 10 by transmitting a control signal to the mobile terminal 10 via the LoRa gateway 20. Specifically, the control unit 43 controls the operation of the mobile terminal 10 so that the positioning by the positioning unit 42 described above is smoothly executed. Hereinafter, a processing example of the control unit 43 will be described.

In the above-mentioned first state (that is, the state in which the mobile terminal 10 is located in the first area A1), the control unit 43 sets the operation mode of the mobile terminal 10 to the LoRa signal for LoRa positioning ((1) in FIG. It is set to the first mode (here, mode B) in which "Tx") in A) is transmitted and the cellular signal for cellular positioning ("Tx" in (C) of FIG. 3) is not transmitted. For example, when the control unit 43 confirms that the acquisition unit 41 has acquired signal information from the specified number (three) or more of LoRa gateways 20, at least one of the specified number (three) or more of LoRa gateways 20. A control signal including a message indicating that the mobile terminal 10 is located in the first area A1 (that is, the LoRa positioning possible area) is transmitted to the mobile terminal 10. Then, the control unit 11 of the mobile terminal 10 sets the operation mode of the mobile terminal 10 to the first mode according to the reception status of the control signal (here, the reception of the above message).

Then, when the control unit 43 transitions from the first state to the second state (that is, when the mobile terminal 10 moves from the first area A1 to the second area A2), the operation mode of the mobile terminal 10 Leave in the first mode. That is, when the mobile terminal 10 moves into the second area A2 where LoRa positioning is impossible, the control unit 43 does not immediately switch the positioning method to the cellular method, but the positioning in the second state described above (most recent). The operation of the mobile terminal 10 in order to execute the positioning history of the mobile terminal 10, the signal information acquired from the LoRa gateway 20 less than the specified number (3), and the detected value of the acceleration sensor 15). The mode is maintained in the first mode (here, mode E shown in FIG. 7). For example, when the control unit 43 confirms that the acquisition unit 41 has acquired signal information from the LoRa gateways 20 having less than the specified number (3), at least one of the LoRa gateways 20 having the specified number (3) or less. A control signal including a message indicating that the mobile terminal 10 is located in the second area A2 is transmitted to the mobile terminal 10. Then, the control unit 11 of the mobile terminal 10 maintains the operation mode of the mobile terminal 10 as the first mode according to the reception status of the control signal (here, the reception of the above message).

As described above, in the present embodiment, the control unit 43 periodically transmits a control signal including the above-mentioned message to the mobile terminal 10 in the first state and the second state. With this configuration, the mobile terminal 10 can grasp that the own terminal is located in the first area A1 or the second area A2 by being able to receive the control signal from the server 40 via at least one LoRa gateway 20. be able to. As a result, the control unit 11 of the mobile terminal 10 consumes power by continuing to enable only LoRa communication without enabling cellular communication as long as the control signal from the server 40 can be periodically received. Can be suppressed. Further, the mobile terminal 10 (control unit 11) transmits a cellular signal for cellular positioning in the operation mode of the mobile terminal 10 in response to the fact that the control signal cannot be periodically received from the server 40. Set to 2 modes (here, mode C). According to this configuration, the mobile terminal 10 can grasp that the own terminal has moved out of the second area A2 when the control signal cannot be periodically received from the server 40. As a result, the control unit 11 of the mobile terminal 10 appropriately continues the positioning of the mobile terminal 10 on the server 40 by switching from LoRa positioning to cellular positioning (that is, switching the operation mode to mode C) at this timing. Can be done.

Further, in the present embodiment, each LoRa gateway 20 periodically transmits (broadcasts) a predetermined control signal different from the control signal from the server 40 described above. With this configuration, when the mobile terminal 10 moves from outside the second area A2 to the inside of the second area A2, the LoRa communication unit 13 of the mobile terminal 10 receives the control signal from the LoRa gateways 20 in a number less than the specified number. To receive. Then, the control unit 11 of the mobile terminal 10 moves according to the reception status of the control signal by the LoRa communication unit 13 (here, the control signal can be received from a number less than the specified number of LoRa gateways 20). It is determined that the terminal 10 is located in the second area. Then, the control unit 11 changes the operation mode of the mobile terminal 10 from the second mode (here, mode C) to the first mode based on the determination result. Further, when the control unit 11 moves from the outside of the second area A2 to the inside of the second area A2, the control unit 11 changes the state of the mobile terminal 10 to the operation mode of the mobile terminal 10 again instead of requiring a predetermined power consumption. It is set to a standby state (mode F shown in FIG. 7) capable of reducing the power consumption required when changing to the second mode (here, mode C). Here, the mode F corresponds to the first mode in which the LoRa signal is transmitted but the cellular signal is not transmitted, and the cellular communication unit 14 is put into the standby state (eDRX).

Further, the control unit 43 relates to the stability of LoRa positioning based on the signal information acquired from the specified number (3) or more of LoRa gateways 20 after the transition from the second state (mode F) to the first state. It is determined whether or not the predetermined communication condition is satisfied, and when it is determined that the communication condition is satisfied, the standby state (eDRX) of the mobile terminal 10 is released. As the communication condition, any condition that can confirm the stability of LoRa positioning can be used. For example, the number of times that the average SNR of the signal received from the mobile terminal 10 by the LoRa gateway 20 of the specified number (3) or more becomes the threshold value (for example, 0 dB) or more becomes a certain number or more is used as the communication condition. Can be done. For example, the control unit 43 determines whether or not the above communication conditions are satisfied based on the signal information acquired by the acquisition unit 41 from each LoRa gateway 20. Then, when it is determined that the above communication conditions are satisfied, the control unit 43 transmits a control signal including a message instructing the mobile terminal 10 to release the eDRX of the cellular communication unit 14 via the LoRa gateway 20. To do. By the control signal, the mobile terminal 10 (control unit 11) can be made to cancel the eDRX of the cellular communication unit 14 (that is, switch from "Rx: on" to "Rx: off" of the cellular communication). ..

Further, the control unit 43 controls the operation of the mobile terminal 10 so as to transmit the detection value of the acceleration sensor 15 provided on the mobile terminal 10 together with the LoRa signal in the second state. Specifically, when the control unit 43 transitions from the first state to the second state (when the state changes from a state in which more than a specified number of signal information has been acquired to a state in which less than a specified number of signal information is acquired). ) Or when the transition from the third state to the second state (when the state changes from the state in which no signal information has been acquired to the state in which less than the specified number of signal information is acquired), the number is less than the specified number. A control signal including a message instructing to transmit the detected value of the acceleration sensor 15 together with the LoRa signal is transmitted to the mobile terminal 10 via at least one of the LoRa gateways 20 of the above. By such processing of the control unit 43, as described above, in the second state, the positioning unit 42 can use the detected value of the acceleration sensor 15 for the positioning of the mobile terminal 10.

Although some examples of control of the mobile terminal 10 by the control unit 43 have been described above, the operation of the various control units 11 described above, that is, the reception status of the control signal transmitted from the server 40 (control unit 43) The operation content of the corresponding control unit 11 may be defined in advance by a program incorporated in the mobile terminal 10. Alternatively, the control signal transmitted by the control unit 43 may include a content that explicitly indicates the operation content of the control unit 11.

Next, an example of the operation of the communication system 1 (including the communication control method of the present embodiment) will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a list of operation modes of the mobile terminal 10. In the description of the flowchart shown in FIG. 6, the operation mode shown in FIG. 7 is appropriately referred to. Modes A to D shown in FIG. 7 correspond to modes A to D shown in FIG. The modes E and F are different from the modes B and D in that the signal (Tx: on) transmitted by the LoRa communication unit 13 includes the detection value of the acceleration sensor 15 of the mobile terminal 10, respectively. In other respects, it is the same as mode B and mode D.

First, the mobile terminal 10 is activated in mode A (step S1). Subsequently, it is determined whether or not the mobile terminal 10 is located in the first area A1 (step S2). As described above, in the present embodiment, each LoRa gateway 20 periodically transmits (broadcasts) a predetermined control signal to the outside. With this configuration, when the LoRa communication unit 13 receives the control signal from a specified number or more of LoRa gateways 20, the control unit 11 of the mobile terminal 10 receives the control signal reception status (here, a specified number or more). It is determined that the mobile terminal 10 is located in the first area according to the number of LoRa gateways 20 that could receive the control signal).

When it is determined that the mobile terminal 10 is located in the first area A1 (step S2: YES), the control unit 11 operates the mobile terminal 10 in mode B (first mode) (step S3). Specifically, the control unit 11 sets the operation mode of the mobile terminal 10 to mode B. As a result, the positioning unit 42 performs positioning (LoRa positioning) of the mobile terminal 10.

On the other hand, when the mobile terminal 10 is not located in the first area A1 (step S2: NO), the control unit 11 operates the mobile terminal 10 in mode C (second mode) (step S7). For the reasons described below, the control unit 11 operates the mobile terminal 10 in mode C even when the mobile terminal 10 immediately after activation is located in the second area A2. When the mobile terminal 10 is immediately activated, the storage unit 44 does not store the latest positioning history of the mobile terminal 10. Therefore, positioning in the second state described above cannot be performed. Therefore, at this time, the mobile terminal 10 (control unit 11) sets the operation mode of the mobile terminal 10 to mode C (second mode).

Subsequently, as in the mobile terminal 10A shown in FIG. 5, when the mobile terminal 10 moves from the first area A1 to the second area A2 (step S4: YES), the control unit 43 sets the mobile terminal 10 in mode E (step S4: YES). It is operated in the first mode) (step S5). The mode E is a kind of the first mode which transmits the LoRa signal but does not transmit the cellular signal like the mode B. As described above, when the mobile terminal 10 detects that the mobile terminal 10 has moved from the first area A1 to the second area A2, the control unit 43 includes a message instructing that the detected value of the acceleration sensor 15 is transmitted together with the LoRa signal. The control signal is transmitted to the mobile terminal 10. Then, the mobile terminal 10 (control unit 11) sets the operation mode of the mobile terminal 10 to mode E in response to the reception of the control signal. When the mobile terminal 10 operates in the mode E, the detection value of the acceleration sensor 15 is transmitted together with the LoRa signal transmitted from the mobile terminal 10. As a result, the positioning unit 42 positions the mobile terminal 10 based on the latest positioning history of the mobile terminal 10, signal information acquired from the LoRa gateway 20 less than the specified number, and the detected value of the acceleration sensor 15. Is done.

Subsequently, when the mobile terminal 10 moves from the second area A2 to the first area A1 (step S6: YES (move to the first area)), the control unit 43 operates the mobile terminal 10 again in mode B. (Step S3). That is, the control unit 43 transmits a control signal including a message indicating that the mobile terminal 10 is located in the first area A1 to the mobile terminal 10. Then, the mobile terminal 10 (control unit 11) changes the operation mode of the mobile terminal 10 from mode E to mode B in response to the reception of the control signal. As a result, unnecessary data transmission from the mobile terminal 10 to the server 40 (that is, transmission of the detected value of the acceleration sensor 15) is stopped.

On the other hand, when the mobile terminal 10 moves from the inside of the second area A2 to the outside of the second area A2 (the side opposite to the first area A1) (step S6: YES (move to the outside of the second area)), the mobile terminal 10 (control). Part 11) changes the operation mode of the mobile terminal 10 to mode C (step S7). As described above, the control unit 11 cannot periodically receive the control signal (control signal including a message indicating that the mobile terminal 10 is located in the first area A1 or the second area A2) from the server 40. Accordingly, the operation mode of the mobile terminal 10 is set to mode C.

Subsequently, as in the mobile terminal 10B shown in FIG. 5, when the mobile terminal 10 moves from outside the second area A2 into the second area A2 (step S8: YES), the mobile terminal 10 (control unit 11) moves. The mobile terminal 10 is operated in mode F (step S9). As described above, when the mobile terminal 10 moves from outside the second area A2 to the inside of the second area A2, the LoRa communication unit 13 of the mobile terminal 10 is periodically broadcast from the LoRa gateways 20 in a number less than the specified number. Receive a control signal. Then, the control unit 11 of the mobile terminal 10 moves according to the reception status of the control signal by the LoRa communication unit 13 (here, the control signal can be received from a number less than the specified number of LoRa gateways 20). It is determined that the terminal 10 is located in the second area. Then, the control unit 11 changes the operation mode of the mobile terminal 10 to the mode F based on the determination result. As a result, the positioning unit 42 positions the mobile terminal 10 based on the latest positioning history of the mobile terminal 10, signal information acquired from the LoRa gateway 20 less than the specified number, and the detected value of the acceleration sensor 15. Is done.

Subsequently, when the mobile terminal 10 moves from the inside of the second area A2 to the outside of the second area A2 again (step S10: YES (move to the third area)), the mobile terminal 10 operates in mode C again (step S7). ). At this time, the operation mode of the mobile terminal 10 before being changed to the mode C is the mode F (eDRX). With this configuration, it is possible to return to cellular positioning with less power consumption than when the cellular communication unit 14 is not in the standby state (eDRX) (that is, when it is "Rx: off"). ..

On the other hand, when the mobile terminal 10 moves from the second area A2 to the first area A1 (step S10: YES (move to the first area)), the control unit 43 operates the mobile terminal 10 in mode D (step). S11). That is, the control unit 43 transmits a control signal including a message indicating that the mobile terminal 10 is located in the first area A1 to the mobile terminal 10. Then, the mobile terminal 10 (control unit 11) changes the operation mode of the mobile terminal 10 from mode F to mode D in response to the reception of the control signal. As a result, unnecessary data transmission from the mobile terminal 10 to the server 40 (that is, transmission of the detected value of the acceleration sensor 15) is stopped. At this point, the standby state (eDRX) of the cellular communication unit 14 is not released.

Subsequently, the control unit 43 determines whether or not a predetermined communication condition regarding the stability of LoRa positioning is satisfied based on the signal information acquired from the LoRa gateway 20 of the specified number or more (step S12). When it is determined that the communication condition is satisfied (step S12: YES), the control unit 43 includes a control signal including a message instructing the mobile terminal 10 to release the eDRX of the cellular communication unit 14 via the LoRa gateway 20. To send. Then, the mobile terminal 10 (control unit 11) releases the eDRX of the cellular communication unit 14 in response to the reception of the control signal. As a result, the operation mode of the mobile terminal 10 is changed from mode D to mode B (step S3).

On the other hand, if the mobile terminal 10 moves into the second area A2 again before it is determined that the above communication conditions are satisfied (step S13: YES), the operation mode of the mobile terminal 10 is changed to the mode F again. (Step S9).

According to the server 40 described above, in the second state, that is, when LoRa positioning is not possible, but signal information acquired from LoRa gateway 20 less than the specified number can be used, the number is less than the specified number. Positioning is performed based on the signal information acquired from the LoRa gateway 20 and the positioning history of the latest mobile terminal 10. According to this configuration, the power consumption required for the positioning of the mobile terminal 10 can be suppressed as compared with the case where the cellular positioning is always performed in the second state. That is, in the communication system 1 of the present embodiment, even when the LoRa positioning is incomplete, the LoRa gateway 20 performs positioning using the LoRa signal received from the mobile terminal 10. As a result, the power consumption of the mobile terminal 10 can be suppressed as compared with the case of performing cellular positioning while continuing the positioning of the mobile terminal 10.

Further, in the first state, the control unit 43 sets the operation mode of the mobile terminal 10 to the first mode (mode B) in which the LoRa signal is transmitted and the cellular signal is not transmitted. Then, when the control unit 43 transitions from the first state to the second state, the operation mode of the mobile terminal 10 is left as the first mode (mode E in this embodiment). In the present embodiment, the control unit 43 changes the operation mode of the mobile terminal 10 from mode B to mode E, but only changes the information (detected value of the acceleration sensor 15) transmitted together with the LoRa signal. The state in which the LoRa signal is transmitted and the cellular signal is not transmitted (that is, the first mode) is maintained. According to the above configuration, the LoRa signal received from the mobile terminal 10 by the LoRa gateway 20 less than the specified number and other information (positioning history, detection value of the acceleration sensor 15, etc.) for positioning the mobile terminal 10 located in the second area. ) Can be used in combination. As a result, the power consumption of the mobile terminal 10 can be effectively suppressed while continuing the positioning of the mobile terminal 10.

Further, after the transition from the second state to the first state, the control unit 43 satisfies a predetermined communication condition regarding the stability of LoRa positioning based on the signal information acquired from the LoRa gateway 20 of the specified number or more. If it is determined that the communication condition is satisfied, the standby state (eDRX) of the mobile terminal 10 is released. As described above, by setting the cellular communication unit 14 to eDRX, it is possible to reduce the power consumption when enabling cellular positioning again, but a certain amount of power consumption is required to maintain eDRX. According to the above configuration, when LoRa positioning is stable (for example, the mobile terminal 10 moves to a position close to the center of the first area A1), and there is a high possibility that the mobile terminal 10 does not move to the third area A3 for the time being. In addition, eDRX can be released. As a result, the power consumption for maintaining the eDRX can be saved.

Further, the control unit 43 controls the operation of the mobile terminal 10 so as to transmit the detection value of the acceleration sensor 15 provided on the mobile terminal 10 together with the LoRa signal in the second state. Then, in the second state, the positioning unit 42 positions the mobile terminal 10 based on the detected value of the acceleration sensor 15. According to the above configuration, when estimating the moving direction of the mobile terminal 10 based on the positioning history of the latest mobile terminal 10, the estimated accuracy of the moving direction is determined by using the detected value of the acceleration sensor 15 as auxiliary information. Can be improved. As a result, the accuracy of positioning in the second state can be improved.

Further, the server 40 (control unit 43) periodically transmits a control signal to the mobile terminal 10 in the first state and the second state. Then, the mobile terminal 10 sets the operation mode of the mobile terminal 10 to the second mode (mode C) in response to the fact that the control signal cannot be periodically received from the server 40. According to the above configuration, the operation mode of the mobile terminal 10 can be appropriately changed to the mode C for performing cellular positioning by using the failure to receive the control signal from the server 40 as a trigger.

Further, the mobile terminal 10 is configured to be able to communicate with the LoRa gateway 20 by the LoRa communication method. The mobile terminal 10 includes a LoRa communication unit 13 and a control unit 11. The LoRa communication unit 13 functions as a receiving unit that receives a control signal from the LoRa gateway 20. The control unit 11 is located in any of the first area A1, the second area A2, and the third area A3 excluding the first area A1 and the second area A2. It is determined based on the reception status of the control signal, and the operation mode of the mobile terminal 10 is set based on the determination result. As described above, the control unit 11 makes the above determination based on, for example, the reception status of at least one of the control signal transmitted from the server 40 via the LoRa gateway 20 and the control signal periodically broadcast from the LoRa gateway. Do. Then, when the control unit 11 determines that the mobile terminal 10 is located in the first area A1 or the second area A2, the control unit 11 sets the operation mode of the mobile terminal 10 to the first mode (mode B, mode E in this embodiment). , Or mode F). On the other hand, when it is determined that the mobile terminal 10 is located in an area other than the first area A1 and the second area A2 in the third area A3, the control unit 11 sets the operation mode of the mobile terminal 10 to the second mode (this). In the embodiment, the mode is set to C).

According to such a mobile terminal 10, it is possible to perform positioning based on the signal information acquired from the LoRa gateway 20 less than the specified number and the positioning history of the latest mobile terminal 10 (that is, the second state). In, cellular communication can be turned off (Tx: off). According to this configuration, the power consumption required for the positioning of the mobile terminal 10 can be suppressed as compared with the case where the cellular positioning is always performed in the second state.

Although the communication system 1 including the server 40 according to the embodiment has been described above, the configuration of the server 40 is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, the accuracy of positioning in the second state described above (positioning based on the positioning history of the latest mobile terminal 10, the signal information acquired from the LoRa gateway 20 less than the specified number, and the detected value of the acceleration sensor 15) is , Low compared to cellular positioning and LoRa positioning. Further, the positioning is based on the positioning history of the latest mobile terminal 10. Therefore, if the second state (that is, the state in which the mobile terminal 10 is located in the second area A2) continues for a certain period of time or longer, the positioning error may increase cumulatively. Therefore, when the duration of the second state (that is, the state in which the mobile terminal 10 is in mode E or mode F) exceeds a predetermined threshold value, the control unit 43 sets the operation mode of the mobile terminal 10. The first mode (mode E or mode F) may be changed to the second mode (mode C). According to this configuration, the positioning method can be switched to cellular positioning when the duration of the second state exceeds the threshold value and the positioning error may exceed the permissible value. As a result, it is possible to prevent a decrease in the positioning accuracy of the mobile terminal 10 that stays in the second area A2 for a long period of time.

Further, in the above embodiment, the detection value of the acceleration sensor 15 is used in the positioning of the mobile terminal 10 in the second state, but it is not essential to use the detection value of the acceleration sensor 15. Further, when the detection value of the acceleration sensor 15 is not used for the positioning of the mobile terminal 10, it is not necessary to transmit the detection value of the acceleration sensor 15 from the mobile terminal 10 to the server 40. In this case, the above-mentioned mode E may be replaced with the mode B, and the mode F may be replaced with the mode D.

Further, in the above embodiment, LoRa communication and cellular communication are exemplified as examples of the first communication method and the second communication method, but the combination of the first communication method and the second communication method is not necessarily limited to the above example. ..

Further, in the above embodiment, the second area A2 is defined as an area where one or two LoRa gateways 20 can receive the LoRa signal from the mobile terminal 10, but the second area A2 is a predetermined number (a number of 2 or more). ) Or more and less than the specified number of LoRa gateways 20 may be defined as an area in which the LoRa signal can be received from the mobile terminal 10. For example, when there is only one signal information used for positioning of the positioning unit 42 (that is, when only one LoRa gateway 20 can receive the LoRa signal from the mobile terminal 10), the positioning in the second state described above It is conceivable that the desired accuracy cannot be obtained. In such a case, the second area A2 may be defined as an area where the two LoRa gateways 20 can receive a signal from the mobile terminal 10.

Further, in the above embodiment, the LoRa gateway 20 is configured to periodically transmit (broadcast) a control signal to the outside. With this configuration, the mobile terminal 10 immediately after activation (that is, the mobile terminal 10 operating in mode A) determines the area in which the own terminal is located based on the reception status of the control signal from the LoRa gateway 20. It was supposed to be possible. Further, the mobile terminal 10 (that is, the mobile terminal 10 operating in the mode C) moving from the outside of the second area A2 to the inside of the second area A2 is based on the reception status of the control signal from the LoRa gateway 20. , It has been possible to detect that the own terminal has moved from outside the second area A2 to inside the second area A2. However, the LoRa gateway 20 may be configured so as not to periodically transmit (broadcast) the control signal to the outside. In this case, in the above-mentioned modes A and C, the operating state of the LoRa communication unit 13 may be set to "Tx: on, Rx: on" (Class A).

When the operation modes (mode A and mode C) of the LoRa gateway 20 and the mobile terminal 10 are configured as described above, it is possible to always determine the area where the mobile terminal 10 is located on the server 40 side. As a result, the server 40 can control the operation mode of the mobile terminal 10 by transmitting the control signal based on the determination result to the mobile terminal 10. For example, when the transition from the third state to the second state (that is, when the mobile terminal 10 moves from the outside of the second area A2 to the inside of the second area A2), the control unit 43 of the server 40 determines the mobile terminal 10. The operation mode of is changed from the second mode (here, mode C) to the first mode (here, mode F). Specifically, when the control unit 43 confirms that the acquisition unit 41 has acquired signal information from the LoRa gateways 20 having less than the specified number (three), the mobile terminal 10 moves through the LoRa gateway 20. A control signal including a message indicating that the device is located in the second area A2 is transmitted to the mobile terminal 10. Then, the control unit 11 of the mobile terminal 10 changes the operation mode of the mobile terminal 10 to the mode F shown in FIG. 5 in response to the reception of the control signal. According to the above configuration, the cellular positioning can be stopped at a stage earlier than the timing when the mobile terminal 10 moves to the first area A1 where LoRa positioning is possible. As a result, the power consumption of the mobile terminal 10 can be effectively suppressed while continuing the positioning of the mobile terminal 10. Further, according to the above configuration, when the mobile terminal 10 moves out of the second area A2 again and it becomes necessary to change the operation mode of the mobile terminal 10 to the second mode (that is, it is necessary to enable cellular positioning). When this occurs), the required power consumption can be reduced. The above configuration is particularly effective when, for example, the mobile terminal 10 is moving near the outer edge of the second area A2 and repeatedly moves in and out of the second area A2.

Further, when the operation modes (mode A and mode C) of the LoRa gateway 20 and the mobile terminal 10 are configured as described above, the processes of steps S2 and S3 of the above-mentioned flowchart (FIG. 6) are changed as follows. To. That is, in step S2, when the control unit 43 confirms that the acquisition unit 41 has acquired the signal information from the LoRa gateway 20 of the specified number or more, the control unit 43 passes through at least one of the LoRa gateways 20 of the specified number or more. , A control signal including a message indicating that the mobile terminal 10 is located in the first area A1 is transmitted to the mobile terminal 10. That is, it is determined whether or not the mobile terminal 10 is located in the first area A1 based on whether or not signal information is acquired from a predetermined number or more of LoRa gateways 20 by the acquisition unit 41 (step S2). .. That is, the mobile terminal 10 (control unit 11) can grasp whether or not the own terminal is located in the first area A1 based on whether or not the control signal including the above message is received. Then, when the LoRa communication unit 13 of the mobile terminal 10 receives the control signal from the LoRa gateway 20, the control unit 11 of the mobile terminal 10 receives the control signal (here, the message is received). Based on the above, the operation mode of the mobile terminal 10 is set to mode B (step S3). Here, since the operation mode of the mobile terminal 10 immediately after activation (the mode in which the operation state of the LoRa communication unit 13 is set to "Class A" in the mode A of FIG. 7) is the same as the mode B, the mobile terminal 10 is moved. The operation mode of the terminal 10 is substantially unchanged and will be maintained.

The block diagram used in the description of the above embodiment shows a block of functional units. These functional blocks (components) are realized by any combination of at least one of hardware and software. Further, the method of realizing each functional block is not particularly limited. That is, each functional block may be realized by using one device that is physically or logically connected, or directly or indirectly (for example, by two or more devices that are physically or logically separated). , Wired, wireless, etc.) and may be realized using these plurality of devices. The functional block may be realized by combining the software with the one device or the plurality of devices.

Functions include judgment, decision, judgment, calculation, calculation, processing, derivation, investigation, search, confirmation, reception, transmission, output, access, solution, selection, selection, establishment, comparison, assumption, expectation, and assumption. There are broadcasting, notifying, communicating, forwarding, configuring, reconfiguring, allocating, mapping, assigning, etc., but only these. I can't.

For example, the server 40 in one embodiment of the present disclosure may function as a computer that performs the communication control method of the present disclosure. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the server 40 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. The server 40 described above may be physically configured as a computer device including a processor 1001, a memory 1002, a storage 1003, a communication device 1004, an input device 1005, an output device 1006, a bus 1007, and the like. Further, the hardware configuration of the mobile terminal 10 described above may also be configured as a computer device similar to the server 40.

In the following description, the word "device" can be read as a circuit, device, unit, or the like. The hardware configuration of the server 40 may be configured to include one or more of the devices shown in FIG. 8, or may be configured not to include some of the devices.

For each function in the server 40, by loading predetermined software (program) on the hardware such as the processor 1001 and the memory 1002, the processor 1001 performs an calculation and controls the communication by the communication device 1004, or the memory 1002 and the memory 1002. It is realized by controlling at least one of reading and writing of data in the storage 1003.

Processor 1001 operates, for example, an operating system to control the entire computer. The processor 1001 may be configured by a central processing unit (CPU) including an interface with a peripheral device, a control device, an arithmetic unit, a register, and the like.

Further, the processor 1001 reads a program (program code), a software module, data, and the like from at least one of the storage 1003 and the communication device 1004 into the memory 1002, and executes various processes according to these. As the program, a program that causes a computer to execute at least a part of the operations described in the above-described embodiment is used. For example, the positioning unit 42 may be realized by a control program stored in the memory 1002 and operating in the processor 1001, and may be realized in the same manner for other functional blocks. Although it has been described that the various processes described above are executed by one processor 1001, they may be executed simultaneously or sequentially by two or more processors 1001. Processor 1001 may be implemented by one or more chips. The program may be transmitted from the network via a telecommunication line.

The memory 1002 is a computer-readable recording medium, and is composed of at least one such as a ROM (Read Only Memory), an EPROM (Erasable Programmable ROM), an EPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM), and a RAM (Random Access Memory). May be done. The memory 1002 may be referred to as a register, a cache, a main memory (main storage device), or the like. The memory 1002 can store a program (program code), a software module, or the like that can be executed to implement the communication control method according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.

The storage 1003 is a computer-readable recording medium, for example, an optical disk such as a CD-ROM (Compact Disc ROM), a hard disk drive, a flexible disk, a magneto-optical disk (for example, a compact disk, a digital versatile disk, a Blu-ray). It may consist of at least one (registered trademark) disk), smart card, flash memory (eg, card, stick, key drive), floppy (registered trademark) disk, magnetic strip, and the like. The storage 1003 may be referred to as an auxiliary storage device. The storage medium described above may be, for example, a database, server or other suitable medium containing at least one of memory 1002 and storage 1003.

The communication device 1004 is hardware (transmission / reception device) for communicating between computers via at least one of a wired network and a wireless network, and is also referred to as, for example, a network device, a network controller, a network card, a communication module, or the like.

The input device 1005 is an input device (for example, a keyboard, a mouse, a microphone, a switch, a button, a sensor, etc.) that receives an input from the outside. The output device 1006 is an output device (for example, a display, a speaker, an LED lamp, etc.) that outputs to the outside. The monitor 10a described above is included in the output device 1006. The input device 1005 and the output device 1006 may have an integrated configuration (for example, a touch panel).

Further, each device such as the processor 1001 and the memory 1002 is connected by a bus 1007 for communicating information. The bus 1007 may be configured by using a single bus, or may be configured by using a different bus for each device.

Further, the server 40 includes hardware such as a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP: Digital Signal Processor), an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), a PLD (Programmable Logic Device), and an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array). The hardware may implement some or all of each functional block. For example, processor 1001 may be implemented using at least one of these hardware.

Although the present embodiment has been described in detail above, it is clear to those skilled in the art that the present embodiment is not limited to the embodiment described in the present specification. This embodiment can be implemented as a modified or modified mode without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention determined by the description of the claims. Therefore, the description of the present specification is for the purpose of exemplification and does not have any restrictive meaning to the present embodiment.

The order of the processing procedures, sequences, flowcharts, and the like of each aspect / embodiment described in the present disclosure may be changed as long as there is no contradiction. For example, the methods described in the present disclosure present elements of various steps using exemplary order, and are not limited to the particular order presented.

The input / output information and the like may be stored in a specific location (for example, a memory), or may be managed using a management table. Input / output information and the like can be overwritten, updated, or added. The output information and the like may be deleted. The input information or the like may be transmitted to another device.

The determination may be made by a value represented by 1 bit (0 or 1), by a boolean value (Boolean: true or false), or by comparing numerical values (for example, a predetermined value). It may be done by comparison with the value).

Each aspect / embodiment described in the present disclosure may be used alone, in combination, or switched with execution. Further, the notification of predetermined information (for example, the notification of "being X") is not limited to the explicit one, but is performed implicitly (for example, the notification of the predetermined information is not performed). May be good.

Software is an instruction, instruction set, code, code segment, program code, program, subprogram, software module, whether called software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or another name. , Applications, software applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executable files, execution threads, procedures, functions, etc. should be broadly interpreted to mean.

Further, software, instructions, information and the like may be transmitted and received via a transmission medium. For example, a website, where the software uses at least one of wired technology (coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twist pair, Digital Subscriber Line (DSL), etc.) and wireless technology (infrared, microwave, etc.). When transmitted from a server, or other remote source, at least one of these wired and wireless technologies is included within the definition of transmission medium.

The information, signals, etc. described in the present disclosure may be represented using any of a variety of different techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, chips, etc. that may be referred to throughout the above description may be voltage, current, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, light fields or photons, or any of these. It may be represented by a combination of.

In addition, the information, parameters, etc. described in the present disclosure may be expressed using absolute values, relative values from predetermined values, or using other corresponding information. It may be represented.

The names used for the above parameters are not limited in any respect. Further, mathematical formulas and the like using these parameters may differ from those explicitly disclosed in this disclosure. Since the various information elements can be identified by any suitable name, the various names assigned to these various information elements are not limited in any way.

The phrase "based on" as used in this disclosure does not mean "based on" unless otherwise stated. In other words, the statement "based on" means both "based only" and "at least based on".

Any reference to elements using designations such as "first", "second" as used in this disclosure does not generally limit the quantity or order of those elements. These designations can be used in the present disclosure as a convenient way to distinguish between two or more elements. Thus, references to the first and second elements do not mean that only two elements can be adopted, or that the first element must somehow precede the second element.

When "include", "including" and variations thereof are used in the present disclosure, these terms are as comprehensive as the term "comprising". Is intended. Furthermore, the term "or" used in the present disclosure is intended not to be an exclusive OR.

In the present disclosure, if articles are added by translation, for example a, an and the in English, the disclosure may include that the nouns following these articles are in the plural.

In the present disclosure, the term "A and B are different" may mean "A and B are different from each other". The term may mean that "A and B are different from C". Terms such as "separate" and "combined" may be interpreted in the same way as "different".

1 ... communication system, 10 ... mobile terminal, 15 ... acceleration sensor, 20 ... LoRa gateway (gateway), 40 ... server (communication control device), 41 ... acquisition unit, 42 ... positioning unit, 43 ... control unit, A1 ... 1 area, A2 ... 2nd area, A3 ... 3rd area.

Claims (9)

An acquisition unit that acquires signal information regarding a signal received from the mobile terminal by the gateway from a gateway that communicates with the mobile terminal by the first communication method.
A positioning unit for positioning the mobile terminal by a positioning method according to the number of gateways for which the signal information has been acquired by the acquisition unit is provided.
The positioning unit
The mobile terminal is located in a first area where the gateway can receive the signal from the mobile terminal by the specified number or more required for positioning based on the first communication method, and the acquisition unit defines the above. In the first state in which the signal information is acquired from the number or more of the gateways, the mobile terminal is positioned based on the signal information acquired from the specified number or more of the gateways.
The mobile terminal is located in a second area outside the first area and less than the specified number of gateways can receive the signal from the mobile terminal, and the number is less than the specified number by the acquisition unit. In the second state in which the signal information is acquired from the gateway, the mobile terminal is positioned based on the latest positioning history of the mobile terminal and the signal information acquired from the gateway less than the specified number. ,
The mobile terminal is located in an area other than the first area and the second area among the third areas where positioning based on the second communication method, which consumes more power than the first communication method, is possible, and the mobile terminal is located. In the third state in which the signal information is not acquired by the acquisition unit, the positioning result of the mobile terminal based on the second communication method is acquired.
The third area is a communication control device including the first area and the second area. Further provided with a control unit for controlling the operation of the mobile terminal,
The control unit
In the first state, the operation mode of the mobile terminal is a first signal that transmits a first signal for positioning based on the first communication method and does not transmit a second signal for positioning based on the second communication method. Set to mode,
The communication control device according to claim 1, wherein when the transition from the first state to the second state, the operation mode of the mobile terminal remains in the first mode. Further provided with a control unit for controlling the operation of the mobile terminal,
When the control unit transitions from the third state to the second state, the operation mode of the mobile terminal is changed from the second mode of transmitting a second signal for positioning based on the second communication method. The communication control device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the first signal for positioning based on the first communication method is transmitted and the mode is changed to the first mode in which the second signal is not transmitted. When the control unit transitions from the third state to the second state, the control unit changes the state of the mobile terminal to the second mode again instead of requiring a predetermined power consumption. The communication control device according to claim 3, wherein the communication control device is set to a standby state in which the power consumption required for the change can be reduced. After transitioning from the second state to the first state, the control unit determines the stability of positioning based on the first communication method based on the signal information acquired from the specified number or more of the gateways. The communication control device according to claim 4, wherein it is determined whether or not the communication condition is satisfied, and when it is determined that the communication condition is satisfied, the standby state of the mobile terminal is released. When the duration of the second state exceeds a predetermined threshold value, the control unit changes the operation mode of the mobile terminal from the first mode to the second mode for transmitting the second signal. The communication control device according to any one of claims 2 to 5. In the second state, the control unit controls the operation of the mobile terminal so as to transmit the detection value of the acceleration sensor provided on the mobile terminal together with the first signal.
The communication control device according to any one of claims 2 to 6, wherein the positioning unit performs positioning of the mobile terminal in the second state based on a value detected by the acceleration sensor. A communication system including the communication control device according to any one of claims 1 to 7 and the mobile terminal.
The communication control device periodically transmits a message to the mobile terminal in the first state and the second state.
The mobile terminal transmits a second signal for positioning by the second communication method in the operation mode of the mobile terminal in response to the fact that the message cannot be periodically received from the communication control device. A communication system set to 2 modes. A mobile terminal configured to be able to communicate with the gateway using the first communication method.
A receiver that receives control signals from the gateway,
The first area where the gateways capable of receiving the signal from the mobile terminal by the specified number or more required for positioning based on the first communication method and the gateways outside the first area and less than the specified number are said. Of the second area where the signal can be received from the mobile terminal and the third area where positioning based on the second communication method, which consumes more power than the first communication method, is possible, the first area and the second area are selected. A control unit that determines in which of the excluded areas and which area the mobile terminal is located based on the reception status of the control signal, and sets the operation mode of the mobile terminal based on the determination result. And with
The third area includes the first area and the second area.
The control unit
When it is determined that the mobile terminal is located in the first area or the second area, the first signal for positioning based on the first communication method is transmitted in the operation mode, and the first communication method is used. Also set to the first mode, which does not transmit the second signal for positioning based on the second communication method, which consumes a lot of power.
When it is determined that the mobile terminal is located in an area other than the first area and the second area of the third area, the operation mode is set to the second mode for transmitting the second signal. Terminal.

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