JP4863966B2 - Positioning system, program and position determining method for determining position of mobile radio station - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to the positioning of mobile radio terminals, and more particularly to the determination of the location of mobile radio terminals they carry in places and facilities where visitors, such as museums and amusement parks move.

  It is known to determine the position of a mobile telephone by means of an access point (base station) and to inform the telephone of the position of the telephone. In the method used in mobile phones and PHS, the location of the phone is determined by the location of the access point closest to the phone. The accuracy or resolution of the positioning is about 100 m to about 200 m for PHS and about 800 m or more for a mobile phone.

  In another method used in PHS, multiple access points determine the location of the phone according to the received RF signal strength from the mobile phone. The positioning accuracy is about 40 m to about 70 m.

  It is known to determine the position of a terminal according to the propagation time of an RF signal from a plurality of access points to a mobile radio terminal based on triangulation. The positioning accuracy is about 10 m to about 20 m.

  However, such a method for determining the position from the RF signal intensity and the transmission time may be effective in a small area where there is no obstacle. The positioning accuracy is low because of the large variation in detection depending on the device and terminal.

  It is known to determine the position of a mobile radio terminal using GPS (global positioning system). In the method using only GPS, the positioning accuracy is about 30 m to about 100 m. In another method using GPS together with the auxiliary system, the estimated position of the mobile radio terminal by GPS is corrected according to the position information measured at the reference station. The positioning accuracy is about 5 m to about 50 m. In these methods, signal processing is complicated, and the accuracy may be lowered at an arbitrary time depending on the intention of the operation organization of the GPS satellite. In addition, GPS has low positioning accuracy between indoors and buildings.

PCT application publication WO 95/04943, published February 16, 1995 by Gerner, describes a monopulse azimuth radar system for tracking a self-propelled vehicle. This system determines the position of the preceding vehicle from the distance and angle of the preceding vehicle with respect to the self-propelled vehicle. This system does not determine the location of the mobile terminal.
International Publication No. WO95 / 04943

Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 8-86864 (A), published on April 2, 1996 by Kago, describes that in an ETC (Electronic Toll Collection) system, one lane is divided into four areas and different directivities. It is described that signals received from the four antennas are combined to detect the presence or absence of an approaching vehicle in each area. This system requires a large number of small areas and a large number of respective antennas in order to cover a wider range with high accuracy.
JP-A-8-86864

Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 6-222124 (A) published on August 12, 1994 by Tamaki et al. Describes the actual reception intensity of an RF signal transmitted from a mobile object using a directional antenna. It describes that the position of the moving body is determined by matching the pattern with a received intensity pattern obtained in advance. The size of the antenna is relatively large, and a large device is required for controlling the directivity of the antenna.
JP-A-6-222124

  An object of the present invention is to more accurately determine the position of a mobile radio terminal in a relatively narrow area.

  Another object of the present invention is to realize a simpler and smaller configuration for determining the position of a mobile radio terminal.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to one aspect of the present invention, the mobile radio station includes at least first, second and third reference radio stations whose positions are known, and determines the position of the mobile radio station. In the positioning system, the mobile radio station detects two antennas and a phase difference between the RF signals received from the first, second, and third reference radio stations by the two antennas. Two received signals from two antennas are binarized, and the received signal is determined by determining the level of the other received signal at the timing of one of the two received signals binarized using a latch means . Detection means for determining whether the phase difference of the RF signal is positive or negative, and a predetermined direction with respect to the position of the two antennas in the mobile radio station by converting the phase difference of the received RF signal. Measuring means for measuring an angle direction of incidence of the received RF signal with respect to an arbitrary reference direction with respect to the first, second and third reference radio stations, and a transmission source from transmission data included in the received RF signal Extraction means for extracting identification information, first data representing the position of the first reference wireless station, second data representing the position of the second reference wireless station, and the position of the third reference wireless station Storage means for storing third data representing the storage means in the storage means, information representing a first angle of the angular direction of the first reference radio station with respect to the arbitrary reference direction measured by the measurement means, and the Fourth data including a set of transmission source identification information of the first reference radio station extracted by the extraction unit, an angle of the second reference radio station with respect to the arbitrary reference direction measured by the measurement unit Fifth data including a set of information representing a second angle of direction and transmission source identification information of the second reference radio station extracted by the extraction unit, the arbitrary reference direction measured by the measurement unit 6th data including a set of information representing a third angle in the angular direction of the third reference radio station with respect to the transmission source identification information of the third reference radio station extracted by the extraction means Storing the first, second and third data of the first, second and third reference radio stations and determining the first, second and third data stored in the storage means. , 4th, 5th and 6th data are processed based on the geometric relationship of the respective positions of the mobile radio station and the first, second and third reference radio stations, Said relative to said arbitrary reference direction in position The movement based on the first angle of the position of one reference radio station, the second angle of the position of the second reference radio station and the third angle of the position of the third reference radio station And processing means for determining the position of the radio station.

According to another characteristic of the invention, at least first, second and third reference radio stations whose positions are known, a mobile radio station, and a node having a function for determining the position of the mobile radio station A positioning system for determining a position of the mobile radio station, wherein the mobile radio station receives from the first, second and third reference radio stations by two antennas and the two antennas The phase difference between the received RF signals is detected, and at this time, the two received signals from the two antennas are binarized and the timing of one received signal of the two received signals binarized using the latch means Detection means for determining the level of the other received signal to determine whether the phase difference of the received RF signal is positive or negative, and converting the phase difference of the received RF signal to convert the phase difference of the received RF signal in the mobile radio station in front Measuring means for measuring an angular direction of incidence of the received RF signal with respect to a predetermined direction with respect to positions of two antennas and an arbitrary reference direction with respect to the first, second and third reference radio stations; and An extraction means for extracting transmission source identification information from transmission data included in the transmitted RF signal, and a first angle in the angular direction of the first reference radio station with respect to the arbitrary reference direction measured by the measurement means First data including a set of information and transmission source identification information of the first reference radio station extracted by the extraction means, the second reference radio station for the arbitrary reference direction measured by the measurement means Second data including a set of information representing the second angle of the angle direction of the second reference wireless station and source identification information of the second reference wireless station extracted by the extraction unit; Information representing a third angle of the angular direction of the third reference radio station with respect to the arbitrary reference direction measured by the measuring means, and transmission source identification of the third reference radio station extracted by the extracting means Processing means for generating and transmitting third data including a set of information. The node device includes fourth data representing a position of the first reference wireless station, fifth data representing a position of the second reference wireless station, and sixth representing a position of the third reference wireless station. Storage means for storing the data, and the fourth data, the fifth data and the sixth data received from the mobile radio station are stored in the storage means, and the first, second and third data are stored in the storage means. Determining the first, second and third data of the reference radio station, and the first, second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth data stored in the storage means, The first reference radio with respect to the arbitrary reference direction at the position of the mobile radio station is processed based on a geometric relationship between positions of the mobile radio station and the first, second and third reference radio stations. The first angle of the position of the station, the position of the second reference radio station And comprising a processing means for determining the position of said mobile radio station based of the second angle and the third the third angular position of the reference radio stations.

  The present invention also relates to a program for realizing the above positioning system.

  The invention also relates to a method for realizing the positioning system described above.

According to the present invention, can more accurately determine the location of the mobile radio terminal in a relatively narrow region, it is possible to realize a smaller configuration easier to determine the location of the mobile radio terminal.

  In the drawings, the same elements have the same reference numerals.

  FIG. 1 illustrates a mobile wireless terminal that they carry in a plurality of indoor and / or outdoor areas 62 and 64, etc., in places and facilities in which visitors move, eg, museums, amusement parks, etc. 2 shows a schematic configuration of a system for determining the locations of stations 260 and 280. A server 110 that provides information to and collects information from mobile radio terminals in each area, a position determination device 120 that determines the position of the mobile radio terminal in each area, and an access point (base) 200) is connected via a wired local area network (LAN) 50. The access point 200 is also a reference radio station as a position reference. Server 110, position determination device 120, access point 200, and the like may be geographically separated from each other, or may be connected to each other via a public telephone network or a dedicated line.

  The server 110 has a processor 112 and a storage device 114. The processor 112 operates according to an application program for server functions stored in the storage device 114. As an alternative configuration, the server function may be implemented in the form of hardware in the processor 112. The position determination device 120 includes a processor 122 and a storage device 124. The processor 122 operates according to an application program for position determination function stored in the storage device 124. As an alternative, the position determination function may be implemented in the form of hardware in the processor 122. However, without providing the position determination device 120, the position determination function may be executed by another device such as the server 110, an access point, another reference wireless station, or a mobile wireless terminal, as will be described later. Good.

  Visitors carry mobile radio terminals 260 and 280, etc., enter area 62 and area 64 that are indoors and / or outdoors, move in and out of them. Accordingly, mobile radio terminals 260 and 280 move in indoor and / or outdoor areas including area 62 and area 64. Each of the mobile radio terminals 260 and 280 communicates with the server 110 via the access point 200 to receive guidance information suitable for the current location of the terminal from the server 110 and display it visually or acoustically. To do.

Access point 200 and reference radio stations 220, 230 and 240 cover area 62 and area 64. Reference radio stations 220, 230, and 240 may communicate with access point 200 wirelessly and communicate with each other via access point 200. As an alternative configuration, the reference radio stations 220, 230, and 240 may be connected to the LAN 50 by wire. Positions A (x ₁ , y ₁ ), B (x ₂ , y ₂ ), C (x ₃ , y ₃ ) and D (x ₄ , y) of the reference radio stations 200, 220, 230, and 240 at that location or facility ₄ ) is assumed to be known. The reference radio stations 220, 230, and 240 are preferably fixed in position, but the reference radio stations may be moved when they do not affect positioning.

  Each of the reference radio stations 200, 220, 230 and 240 has at least one antenna for positioning. Each of the mobile radio terminals 260 and 280 has at least two antennas for positioning. Reference radio stations 200, 220, 230 and 240 and mobile radio terminals 260 and 280 are communication nodes. Each of the reference radio stations 200, 220, 230 and 240 transmits an RF signal (radio wave) for determining the position (x, y) of the mobile radio terminals 260 and 280. The location (x, y) of that terminal is determined or detected according to their RF signal received by each of mobile radio terminals 260 and 280, as will be described later.

  FIG. 2 shows a schematic configuration of another system for determining the position of mobile radio terminals 262 and 282 in a plurality of indoor or outdoor areas 62 and 64, etc., according to the present invention, which is a modification of the system of FIG. ing. The server 110, the position determination device 120, and the access point 202 whose position is fixed are connected via the wired LAN 50. The access point 202 is also a reference radio station.

  Mobile radio terminals 262 and 282 move in indoor and / or outdoor areas including area 62 and area 64. Each of the mobile radio terminals 262 and 282 communicates with the server 110 via the access point 202 to receive guidance information suitable for the current location of the terminal from the server 110 and display it visually or acoustically. To do.

  Access point 202 and reference radio stations 222, 232 and 242 cover area 62 and area 64. Reference radio stations 222, 232, and 242 may communicate with access point 202 wirelessly and with each other via access point 202. The reference wireless stations 222, 232, and 242 may be connected to the LAN 50 by wire. Assume that the locations A, B, C and D of the reference radio stations 202, 222, 232 and 242 at the location or facility are known. The reference wireless stations 222, 232, and 242 are preferably fixed in position, but the reference wireless stations may be moved when they do not affect positioning.

  Each of the reference radio stations 202, 222, 232 and 242 has at least two antennas for positioning. Each of the mobile radio terminals 262 and 282 has at least one antenna for positioning. Reference radio stations 202, 222, 232 and 242 and mobile radio terminals 262 and 282 are communication nodes. Each of the mobile radio terminals 262 and 282 transmits an RF signal to the reference radio stations 202, 222, 232 and 242 for determining the position (x, y) of the terminal. The location (x, y) of the terminal is determined according to its RF signal received by the reference radio stations 202, 222, 232 and 242 as will be described later.

  3 represents reference radio stations 200, 220, 230 and 240 having at least one antenna as shown in FIG. 1 and mobile radio terminals 262 and 282 having at least one antenna as shown in FIG. 2 shows a schematic device configuration of a communication node 300. The node 300 includes an antenna 351, a frequency converter 353 coupled to the antenna 351, a modem 355 coupled to the frequency converter 353, a signal processor 370 coupled to the modem 355, and a memory including a ROM, a RAM, and the like. 372. The memory 372 stores a program and data for the processor 370.

  The signal processor 370 of the access point 200 in FIG. 1 is connected to the LAN 50. The signal processors 370 of the reference radio stations 220, 230 and 240 may communicate with the signal processor 370 of the access point 200 and communicate with each other via the access point 200 wirelessly. As an alternative configuration, the signal processors 370 of the reference radio stations 220, 230, and 240 may be connected to the LAN 50 by wire. The signal processor 370 of the mobile radio stations 262 and 282 of FIG. 2 communicates with the access point 200 wirelessly.

  The signal processor 370 supplies transmission data and a control signal for communication to the modem 355, and receives received data and a control signal for communication therefrom. Those control signals may be sent to or received from the server 110 or the position determination device 120 via the signal processor 370. The transmission data includes a transmission source ID (identifier). The carrier signal modulated with the transmission data by the modem 355 is up-converted by the frequency converter 353 and transmitted as an RF signal via the antenna 351. On the other hand, the RF signal received by the antenna 351 is down-converted to an intermediate frequency (IF) by the frequency converter 353 and supplied to the modem 355, and the down-converted signal is demodulated by the modem 355 and the received data is converted. The received data is generated and supplied to the signal processor 370.

  4 represents mobile radio terminals 260 and 280 having at least two antennas as shown in FIG. 1 and reference radio stations 202, 222, 232 and 242 having at least two antennas as shown in FIG. 2 shows a schematic device configuration of a communication node 400. Node 400 includes two antennas 411 and 451, frequency converters 413 and 453 coupled to antennas 411 and 451, a phase difference detector 415 coupled to frequency converters 413 and 453, and frequency converters 413 and 453, respectively. It has a coupled modulator / demodulator 455, an ID detector 457 coupled to the modem 455, a signal processor 470, and a memory 472 including ROM, RAM, and the like. Signal processor 470 is coupled to phase difference detector 415, modem 455 and ID detector 457. The memory 472 stores a program and data for the processor 470. As an alternative configuration, the signal detector 470 may perform the ID detection function of the detector 457 without providing the ID detector 457.

  The signal processor 470 of the mobile radio stations 260 and 280 of FIG. 1 communicates with the access point 200 wirelessly. The signal processor 470 of the reference radio stations 222, 232 and 242 of FIG. 2 communicates with the signal processor 470 of the access point 202 and communicates with each other via the access point 202 wirelessly. As an alternative configuration, the signal processors 370 of the reference radio stations 222, 232, and 242 may be connected to the LAN 50 by wire.

  Node 400 in FIG. 4 receives the transmission RF signal from node 300 in FIG. 3 via antennas 411 and 451 for positioning. Each of mobile radio terminals 260 and 280 of FIG. 1 as node 400 receives a different transmit RF signal from reference radio stations 200, 220, 230, and 240 of FIG. The reference radio stations 202, 222, 232, and 242 of FIG. 2 as node 400 receive different transmit RF signals from mobile radio terminals 262 and 282 of FIG.

  The transmission data generated by the signal processor 470 is supplied to the modem 455, and the signal of the carrier modulated with the transmission data by the modem 455 is up-converted by the frequency converter 413 or 453, and the antenna 411 or 451 is transmitted. And transmitted to the node 300 as an RF signal.

  The RF signal from node 300 received via antennas 411 and 451 is down-converted to an intermediate frequency (IF) by respective frequency converters 413 and 453, and both the down-converted received signals are phase difference detector 415. To be supplied. As an alternative configuration, the received RF signals before down-conversion in the respective frequency converters 413 and 453 may be supplied to the phase difference detector 415 together. One or both of the down-converted received signals from the frequency converters 413 and 453 are also supplied to the modem 455. When both signals are supplied to the modem 455, the modem 455 selects the received data on one signal or synthesizes both so that good demodulation can be performed.

  FIG. 5 shows a flow diagram for determining the position of the mobile radio terminal according to the transmission source ID detected by the ID detector 457 and the phase difference of the received RF signal detected by the phase difference detector 415 of the node 400. ing. The determination of the position is performed by the processor 122, 112, 470 or 370 of the position determination device 120, server 110, node 400 or node 300 according to a program stored in the corresponding storage device 124, 114, 472 or 372. .

  In step 501 of FIG. 5, the processor 122, 112, 470, or 370 acquires the phase difference between the transmission source ID and the received RF signal. In step 503, the processor determines a relative angular direction between the mobile radio terminal and the reference node from the transmission source ID and the phase difference. In step 505, the processor determines the position of the mobile radio terminal from the known position of the reference node, its source ID and its relative angular direction.

6A to 6D show received data DATA ₁ , DATA ₂ and DATA ₃ demodulated by the modem 455, phase differences PDΔφ ₁ , Δφ ₂ and Δφ ₃ detected by the phase difference detector 415, and angular directions for position determination. The figure shows the relationship between the data frame and the determined position data (x, y) of the mobile radio terminal ID _T1 .

Referring also to FIG. 4, the received data DATA ₁ , DATA _2, and DATA ₃ of FIG. 6A generated by the modem 455 are supplied to the signal processor 470. The received data from each node 300 includes the transmission source ID of the node 300. The received data DATA ₁ , DATA _2, and DATA ₃ are the source IDs ID ₁ , ID _2, and ID ₃ of the reference wireless stations 200, 220, 230, and 240 in FIG. 1 or the mobile wireless terminals 262 and 282 in FIG. 2. Includes each. The received data DATA ₁ , DATA _2, and DATA ₃ are also supplied to the ID detector 457, which detects and extracts the transmission source IDs ID ₁ , ID _2, and ID ₃ in the received data and performs signal processing. To the device 470. The phase differences PDΔφ ₁ , Δφ _2, and Δφ ₃ of FIG. 6B detected by the phase difference detector 415 in a manner to be described later are supplied to the signal processor 470.

The signal processor 470 of the communication node 400 obtains the angular direction of the mobile radio terminals 260 and 280 based on the phase difference PD, and transmits the obtained angular direction to another node or device in combination with the transmission source ID. The calculation of the angular direction from the phase difference may be performed by the phase difference detector 415 in the form described later. As shown in FIG. 6D, the position (x, y) of the mobile radio terminal (ID _T1 ) is determined as described later according to the frame of the pair of the transmission source ID and the angular direction in FIG. 6C. . Source ID and angle direction pairs (ID ₁ , θ ₁ ), (ID ₂ , θ ₂ ) and (ID ₃ , θ ₃ ) are used to determine the position of the mobile radio terminal shown in FIG. 6D. Sent to other devices, preferably to position determination device 120. The determined position may be transmitted to the mobile radio terminal for use at the mobile radio terminal. As an alternative configuration, the mobile radio terminal 260 or 280 of FIG. 1 may determine the position of the mobile radio terminal by its own signal processor 470 without transmitting the set of angular directions to another device. .

  As described above, the signal processor 470 of the node 400 transmits the source ID and the angular frame of FIG. 6C to another node, and the position determination shown in FIG. 6D is performed by the other node or device. do it. For example, the signal processor 470 may transmit the frame to the position determining device 120 via the access point 200 or 202 and the LAN 50, and the position determining device 120 may determine the position based on the frames. For example, the signal processor 470 may send the frame to the server 110 via the access point 200 or 202 and the LAN 50, and the server 110 may determine its location based on those received frames. For example, the signal processor 470 may transmit the frame to one communication node 300, and the signal processor 370 of the communication node 300 may determine the position based on the received frame. For example, the signal processor 370 or 470 of the access point 200 or 202 may collect those frames from other nodes and determine their location based on those received frames. If the position is determined by a device other than the mobile radio terminals 240, 260, 242 and 262, the processing load on the mobile radio terminal can be reduced.

As an alternative configuration, the signal processor 470 of the node 400 includes frames (ID ₁ , Δφ ₁ ), (ID ₂ , Δφ ₂ ), and (ID ₃ , Δφ ₃ ), each including a transmission source ID and a phase difference PD (ID ₃ , Δφ ₁ ). (Not shown) may be generated and transmitted to the other node. The angular direction and position are determined according to the received transmission source ID and phase difference PD at the other node or device.

  The communication between the reference wireless station and the mobile wireless terminal, and thus the communication units of the communication nodes 300 and 400, typically follow a short-range wireless communication standard, such as the Bluetooth standard or the wireless LAN standard. In the Bluetooth standard, the 2.4 GHz band (2.402 to 2.480 GHz) called ISM band is used, and power classes 1 to 3 (1 mW, 2.5 mW, 100 mW) are specified. Short-range communication in the range of about 10 m to about 100 m is possible. The standard uses GFSK modulation and frequency hopping. For example, in the wireless LAN standard based on IEEE802.11, communication is performed using a direct spectrum spread method and DBPSK modulation or DQPSK modulation, or using a frequency hopping method and GFSK modulation in a frequency band of 2.4 GHz (2.40 to 2.497 GHz). .

FIG. 7A shows according to the respective determined angular directions θ ₁ , θ ₂ and θ _{3 of three} reference nodes or reference radio stations A, B and C for one mobile radio terminal T in each area in the system of FIG. It helps to explain how to determine the position (x, y) of the terminal T. The positions of the three reference nodes A, B and C are known.

In FIG. 7A, it is assumed that the mobile radio terminal T has a reference angle direction (reference direction of angle) or azimuth _RT determined as described later. Each theta ₁ each determined angular direction between the reference direction R _T and three reference nodes A, B and C in the mobile radio terminal _T, and theta ₂ and theta _3. The three reference communication nodes A, B, and C are three of the reference radio stations 200 to 240 in FIG. If the three reference nodes A, B and C are arranged so that the straight line connecting the positions of the reference nodes A and B and the straight line connecting the positions of the reference nodes B and C are located outside the area, the reference node A , B and C are known, the position of the mobile radio terminal T can be uniquely determined from the obtained angular directions θ ₁ , θ ₂ and θ ₃ .

However, the reference angle direction _RT is always geographically indicated by some means, and the reference nodes A and B are arranged so that the straight line connecting the positions of the two reference nodes A and B is located outside the area. Once you have, the angular orientation of the two reference nodes with respect to the reference direction R _T in the terminal T, for example, from an angle direction theta ₁ and theta ₂ of a and B, the position of the mobile radio terminal T may be uniquely determined.

FIG. 7B shows the position (x, y) of the terminal T according to the respective determined angular directions θ ₁ and θ _{2 of} one mobile radio terminal T in each area relative to the two reference nodes A and B in the system of FIG. ) To explain how to determine. The position of the mobile radio terminal T is determined from the angular direction obtained by at least two mobile radio terminals T. The positions of the two reference nodes A and B are known.

In FIG. 7B, it is assumed that two reference communication nodes A and B have respective reference angular directions R _A and R _B. The obtained angular directions between the respective reference directions R _A and R _B and the mobile radio terminal T in the two reference communication nodes A and B are defined as θ ₁ and θ ₂ . The two reference communication nodes A and B are two of the reference radio stations 202 to 242 in FIG.

When the reference angular directions R _A and R _{B of} two reference communication nodes A and B are determined independently of each other (independently), the reference direction R _A of one reference communication node _A and the other node B the angular orientation theta ₁₂ between, and the angular orientation theta ₂₁ between the reference direction R _B and the other nodes a is obtained in the other reference communication nodes B, known positions of the two reference communication nodes a and B The position of the mobile radio terminal T can be uniquely determined from the obtained angular directions θ ₁₂ , θ ₂₁ , θ ₁ and θ ₂ (that is, (θ ₁₂ −θ ₁ ) and (θ ₂₁ −θ ₂ )). In order to determine its angular directions θ ₁₂ and θ ₂₁ , each of the reference communication nodes A and B in the form of node 400 in FIG. 4 is connected to the other reference communication node (similar to the RF signal from node 300 in FIG. 400) An RF signal including a transmission source ID transmitted from B or A via one of the antennas 411 or 451 is received.

On the other hand, the relative relationship between the reference angular directions or the orientations R _A and R _B at the positions of the two reference communication nodes A and B is known, and a straight line connecting the positions of the reference nodes A and B is located outside the area. If the reference nodes A and B are arranged in this manner, the positions of the two reference communication nodes A and B are known, and thus the obtained angular directions θ ₁ and the reference directions R _A and R _B position of the mobile radio terminal T from theta ₂ may be uniquely determined.

FIG. 8 shows a method for determining the incident angle direction of the RF signal according to the phase difference of the RF signal received by the two antennas ANT1 (411) and ANT2 (451) of the communication node 400 of FIG. 4 or the IF signal on the RF signal. Help explain. The RF signal has a wavelength λ, for example, about 12 cm in the vicinity of 2.5 GHz. The antennas ANT1 and ANT2 are on a horizontal line and are separated by a distance d (<λ / 2), for example, about 3 cm. A straight line including the positions of both the antennas ANT1 and ANT2 is defined as an antenna reference line. A direction on a horizontal plane perpendicular to the antenna reference line is defined as a reference angle direction R. This reference direction R is advantageously used as the reference angular directions R _T , R _A and R _B in FIGS. 7A and 7B.

In FIG. 8, the RF signal incident at an angle θ horizontally with respect to the reference direction R of the communication node 400 has a path difference of d · sin θ when received by the antennas ANT1 and ANT2. The phase difference between the two antennas ANT1 and ANT2 is Δφ = 2π (d · sin θ) / λ. Therefore, the incident angle direction of the RF signal with respect to the reference direction R is θ = Sin ⁻¹ ((λ / 2πd) Δφ).

Geographically always the same azimuth reference angle direction R _T of the mobile radio terminal T as described in relation to FIG. 7A, for example, in the case of the N-pole direction, the gyroscope can be provided to the mobile radio terminal T, The value of each obtained angular direction may be corrected by the difference between the reference angular direction R shown in FIG. 8 and the reference angular direction _RT obtained using a compass or the like.

FIG. 9 shows a block diagram of a process for obtaining the angle direction θ of the mobile radio terminal according to the received RF signal. FIG. 9 can also be viewed as a flow chart of processing for obtaining the direction. The RF signal received by the antenna ANT1 411 is down-converted by the frequency converter 413 to generate an intermediate frequency signal A ₁ cos (ωt + φ ₁ ). Here, A ₁ represents the amplitude, ω represents the angular velocity, and φ ₁ represents the initial phase. The RF signal received by the antenna ANT2 451 is down-converted by the frequency converter 453 to generate a signal A ₂ cos (ωt + φ ₂ ). Here, A ₂ represents the amplitude, ω represents the angular velocity, and φ ₂ represents the initial phase. The intermediate frequency is, for example, 50 MHz. As an alternative configuration, as described above, the signals A ₁ cos (ωt + φ ₁ ) and A ₂ cos (ωt + φ ₂ ) may be RF signals before down-conversion. The signals A ₁ cos (ωt + φ ₁ ) and A ₂ cos (ωt + φ ₂ ) are supplied to the phase difference detector 415.

In the phase difference detector 415, the signals A ₁ cos (ωt + φ ₁ ) and A ₂ cos (ωt + φ ₂ ) are respectively normalized and corrected in amplitude by amplitude correctors 417 and 457 formed by limiter amplifiers, respectively. Signals cos (ωt + φ ₁ ) and cos (ωt + φ ₂ ) are generated.

Both normalized signals cos (ωt + φ ₁ ) and cos (ωt + φ ₂ ) are supplied to an adder 419 and a subtractor 459. The adder 419 generates a sum cos (ωt + φ ₁ ) + cos (ωt + φ ₂ ) = cos ((φ ₁ −φ ₂ ) / 2) cos (ωt + (φ ₁ + φ ₂ ) / 2). The subtractor 459 generates a signal representing the difference between both signals, cos (ωt + φ ₁ ) −cos (ωt + φ ₂ ) = − sin ((φ ₁ −φ ₂ ) / 2) sin (ωt + (φ ₁ + φ ₂ ) / 2). To do.

The sum and difference signals are squared in square detectors 422 and 462, respectively, and level detectors 424 and 464 square the sum and the square of the difference cos ² ((φ ₁ −φ ₂ ) / 2) and sin ² ((φ ₁ −φ ₂ ) / 2) are obtained and supplied to the divider 426. In the divider 426, sin ² ((φ ₁ −φ ₂ ) / 2) / cos ² ((φ ₁ −φ ₂ ) / 2) = tan ² ((φ ₁ −φ ₂ ) / 2) according to the level. And the square root | tan ((φ ₁ −φ ₂ ) / 2) | = tan (| φ ₁ −φ ₂ | / 2) is obtained, and the absolute value of the phase difference | Δφ | = | φ ₁ −φ ₂ | is generated. The absolute value | Δφ | of the phase difference is supplied to the incident direction determiner 480. Level detectors 424 and 464 preferably include A / D converters and provide digital signals as outputs.

On the other hand, the sum signal is also supplied to an amplitude corrector 434 formed by a limiter amplifier, and the amplitude is corrected and normalized to obtain a signal cos (ωt + (φ ₁ + φ ₂ ) / 2)). Generated. The difference signal also receives a delay of π / 2 by the delay element 442 (sin ((φ ₁ −φ ₂ ) / 2) cos (ωt + (φ ₁ + φ ₂ ) / 2)), which is the limiter The signal is supplied to an amplitude corrector 444 formed by an amplifier, and the amplitude is corrected and normalized to obtain a signal sgn (φ ₁ −φ ₂ ) cos (ωt + (φ ₁ + φ ₂ ) / 2). Here, sgn (x) = + 1 for x> 0 and sgn (x) = − 1 for x <0.

The signal cos (ωt + (φ ₁ + φ ₂ ) / 2) from the amplitude corrector 434 and the signal sgn (φ ₁ −φ ₂ ) cos (ωt + (φ ₁ + φ ₂ ) / 2) from the amplitude corrector 444 are added. It is added at 442. The adder 442 generates a value 2 for the phase difference φ ₁ −φ ₂ > 0 (zero) (positive), and a value 0 (zero) for the phase difference φ ₁ −φ ₂ <0 (zero). Negative). The output of the adder 442 is subjected to threshold processing by the sign determiner 444 to determine whether it is positive (+) or negative (−). The positive / negative sign is supplied to the incident direction determiner 480 as the sign of the phase difference (φ ₁ −φ ₂ ).

The incident direction determiner 480 has the absolute phase difference | Δφ | = | φ ₁ −φ ₂ | and the sign (+ or −) of the phase difference and the distance between the antennas in the form described with reference to FIG. The incident angle direction θ of the RF signal is obtained from d.

  As an alternative configuration, the function of determining the incident angle direction of the incident direction determiner 480 or the function of determining the incident angle direction of the divider 426 and the incident direction determiner 480 is not the phase difference detector 415 but the node 400. It may be performed by the signal processor 470, another node, another device, or the like. When the function is performed in another node or apparatus, the two level signals supplied from the level detectors 424 and 464 to the divider 426 in FIG. 9 and the sign determiner 444 to the incident direction determiner 480, respectively. May be transmitted to the other node or device in combination with the transmission source ID, and transmitted to the position determination device 120 via the access point 200 or 202 and the LAN 50, for example.

FIG. 10 is a modification of the block diagram of FIG. 9 and shows a block diagram of another process for obtaining the angle direction θ of the mobile radio terminal according to the received RF signal. FIG. 10 can also be viewed as a flow chart of processing for obtaining the direction. In the process of FIG. 10, a ROM table 482 for determining the incident direction is provided instead of the divider 426 and the incident direction determiner 480 of FIG. The ROM table 482 includes the level of the sum square from the level detectors 424 and 464 and the square level of the difference cos ² ((φ ₁ −φ ₂ ) / 2) and sin ² ((φ ₁ −φ ₂ ). / 2) and the code from the sign determination unit 444 as an index, the value corresponding to the incident direction θ of the RF signal is supplied as an output. In the ROM table 482, a table for associating those indexes with the value of the incident angle direction θ is provided in accordance with the formula described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 11 is a modification of the block diagram of FIG. 10 and shows a block diagram of still another process for obtaining the angle direction θ of the mobile radio terminal from the received RF signal. FIG. 11 can also be seen as a flow chart of processing for obtaining the direction. In the process of FIG. 11, a square detector 423 and a level detector 425 are provided between the switches 420 and 430 instead of the square detectors 422 and 462 and the level detectors 424 and 464 of FIG. 10. The switch 420 is switched synchronously by the switching control signal, and the sum cos ((φ ₁ −φ ₂ ) / 2) cos (ωt + (φ ₁ + φ ₂ ) / 2) from the adder 419 and the difference −sin ( (Φ ₁ −φ ₂ ) / 2) sin (ωt + (φ ₁ + φ ₂ ) / 2) is alternately supplied to the square detector 423 and the level detector 425. The switch 430 alternately switches the level of cos ² ((φ ₁ −φ ₂ ) / 2) and sin ² ((φ ₁ −φ ₂ ) / 2) to the square of the sum and the square of the difference between the ROM table 482. To supply. The ROM table 482 supplies the value of the incident angle direction θ corresponding to the RF signal as an output, as described above.

  As an alternative configuration, in FIGS. 10 and 11, the ROM table 482 is provided not in the phase difference detector 415 but in the signal processor 470 of the node 400, another node or another device, and the incident angle direction is determined there. May be. When the determination of the incident angle direction is performed in another node or device, the level signal supplied from the level detectors 424 and 464 or from the level detector 425 to the ROM table 482 via the switch 430, and the sign determination unit 444 The code signal supplied to the ROM table 482 may be transmitted to another node or device in combination with the transmission source ID, and transmitted to the position determination device 120 via the access point 200 or 202 and the LAN 50, for example.

  FIG. 12 shows a block diagram of logical processing for obtaining the direction of the mobile radio terminal from the received RF signal as an alternative configuration of the processing of FIGS. FIG. 12 can also be viewed as a flow chart of processing for obtaining the direction.

  13A to 13C show the logic levels of the signals in FIG. 12 for obtaining the absolute phase difference. 14A and 14B show the logic levels of the signals in FIG. 12 for determining the sign of the phase difference.

  In FIG. 12, the signal from the frequency converter 413 in FIG. 4 is supplied to the binarizing element 467 and processed with a threshold value in the binarizing element 467 to generate a binary signal A. The frequency converter 453 in FIG. Is supplied to the binarizing element 477 and processed in the binarizing element 477 with a threshold value to generate a binary signal B.

  The signal A from the binarizing element 467 is supplied to one input of the exclusive OR EXOR 469. A signal B from the binarizing element 477 is supplied to the other input of the EXOR 469. EXOR 469 takes the exclusive OR of signal A and signal B to provide the EXOR output. 13A and 13B show the relationship of signals when the phase of the signal A is ahead of the phase of the signal B. FIG. FIG. 13C shows the relationship between signals when the phase of the signal A is delayed from the phase of the signal B. As shown in FIGS. 13A to 13C, as the absolute phase difference | Δφ | between the signal A and the signal B increases, the width of each pulse of the EXOR output increases. The width of each pulse of the EXOR output represents an absolute phase difference.

The output of EXOR 469 is supplied to a low pass filter (LPF) 472, which is filtered by LPF 472 to convert the phase difference to an analog level. The analog signal from the LPF 472 is detected as a digital value by the level detector 474, and an absolute phase difference | Δφ | = | φ ₁ −φ ₂ | is generated. The absolute phase difference | Δφ | is supplied to the incident direction determination unit 486.

In FIG. 12, the signal B from the binarization element 477 is also supplied to the latch element 437, and is latched at the timing of the rising edge (edge) of the signal A from the binarization element 467 in the latch element 437.

  As shown in FIG. 14A, when the phase of the signal A is ahead of the phase of the signal B, the output of the latch element 437 is always at the L level. As shown in FIG. 14B, when the phase of the signal A is delayed from the phase of the signal B, the output of the latch element 437 is always at the H level. A signal representing the H or L level from the latch element 437 is supplied to the sign determination unit 445. The sign determination unit 445 supplies a positive (+) sign to the incident direction determination unit 486 when the signal is at the H level. When the signal is at L level, a negative (−) sign is supplied to the incident direction determiner 486.

The incident direction determiner 486 is in the form described with reference to FIG. 8 and has the absolute phase difference | Δφ | = | φ ₁ −φ ₂ | and the sign (+ or −) of the phase difference and the distance between the antennas. The incident angle direction θ of the RF signal is obtained from d. The incident direction determiner 480 may include a ROM table similar to that shown in FIG. 10 that uses the absolute phase difference and the sign as an index.

  As an alternative configuration, the function of determining the incident angle direction of the incident direction determiner 486 may be performed by the signal processor 470 of the node 400, another node, another device, or the like instead of the phase difference detector 415. When the function is performed in another node or apparatus, the level signal supplied from the level detector 474 to the incident direction determiner 486 in FIG. 12 and the code signal supplied from the sign determiner 445 to the incident direction determiner 486 in FIG. May be transmitted to the other node or device in combination with the transmission source ID, and transmitted to the position determining device 120 via the access point 200 or 202 and the LAN 50, for example.

FIGS. 15A and 15B serve to illustrate how to determine the location of a terminal in different ways using multiple reference communication nodes. In Figure 15A and 15B, the angle obtained between the angular direction D _B of the terminal T with respect to the angular direction D _A and the reference node B of the terminal T with respect to the reference node A and theta _AB, angular orientation of the terminal T with respect to the reference node B the angle determined between the angular direction D _C terminal T against D _B and the reference node C and theta _BC, the terminal T with respect to the angular direction D _C and the reference node a of the terminal T with respect to the reference node C angular direction D _a Let the angle obtained between them be θ _CA.

The position determination device 120 in FIGS. 1 and 2, the server 110 in FIGS. 1 and 2, the signal processor 470 in the node 400 in FIG. 4, or the signal processor 370 in the node 300 in FIG. And (ID ₁ , θ ₁ ), (ID ₂ , θ ₂ ) and (ID ₃ , θ ₃ ) are acquired and the position (x, y) of the mobile radio terminal T is obtained.

  From FIG. 7A, in the system of FIG. 1, when determining the position of a mobile radio terminal using more than three reference radio stations, a plurality of terminal positions differing for different combinations of reference radio stations due to measurement errors in the angular direction. It can be seen that may be obtained. From FIG. 7B, in the system of FIG. 2, when determining the position of a mobile radio terminal using more than two reference radio stations, different terminal positions may be obtained for different combinations of reference radio stations. You will understand that.

In Figure 15A, the temporary position of the terminal T determined in accordance with the angular direction D _B of the terminal T with respect to the angular direction D _A and the reference node B of the terminal T with respect to the reference node A, the angular direction D _B of the terminal T with respect to the reference node B and provisional position of the terminal T determined in accordance with the angular direction D _C of the terminal T with respect to the reference node C, the terminal T with respect to the reference node C angular direction D _C and the reference node terminals was determined according to the angular direction D _a of the terminal T with respect to a T When the position of the temporary position does not match, the position determination device 120, the server 110, or the signal processor 470 or 370 calculates the average of the calculated temporary position in the orthogonal coordinate system (x, y) of the terminal T. Determine the proper position. As an alternative configuration, the center of gravity of a polygon whose apexes are those temporary positions may be determined as an appropriate position of the terminal T.

In Figure 15B, the tentative position of the terminal T determined in accordance with the angular direction D _A and the angular direction D _B, and the temporary position of the terminal T determined in accordance with the angular direction D _B and the angular direction D _C, angular direction D _C and the angle when the provisional position of the terminal T determined according to the direction D _a do not coincide, their calculated angle theta _AB, terminal positions of the temporary with the most right angles to one angle nearly in theta _BC and theta _CA T Determine the appropriate position. As an alternative configuration, the fewest angles among those angles θ _AB , θ _BC and θ _CA are extracted, and the average of the temporary positions having the extracted angles is determined as the appropriate position of the terminal T. You may decide. As an alternative configuration, those angles in the range of 45 degrees to 135 degrees may be extracted, and the average of the temporary positions having the extracted angles may be determined as the appropriate position of the terminal T.

FIG. 16 shows an example of the arrangement of _two antennas a ₁ and a _{2 in} each of mobile radio terminals 260 and 280 in FIG. In FIG. 16, antennas a ₁ and a ₂ are arranged on the upper surfaces of mobile radio terminals 260 and 280 with a distance d. Each of the antennas a ₁ and a ₂ is preferably a chip antenna having a side of about 1 cm or a planar antenna. Receive and transmit RF signal intensity pattern of the antenna a ₁ and a ₂ are substantially uniform in all directions of the horizontal antenna a ₁ and a _2, which can receive RF signals from the reference node of an arbitrary direction antenna. The antennas a ₁ and a ₂ are preferably arranged inside the terminal and need not be exposed to the outside.

17A and 17B show another example of the arrangement of two antennas in mobile radio terminals 260 and 280 in FIG. 1 and their received RF signal strength patterns, respectively. In FIG. 17A, a pair of antennas a ₁₁ and a ₁₂ are arranged at a distance d in front of mobile radio terminals 260 and 280. Another pair of antennas a ₂₁ and a ₂₂ are arranged at a distance d on the back of the mobile radio terminals 260 and 280. Each of the antennas a ₁₁ , a ₁₂ , a _21, and a ₂₂ is preferably a chip antenna having a side within about 1 cm or a planar antenna. A pair of antennas a ₁₁ and a ₁₂ and another pair antenna a ₂₁ and a ₂₂ have high directivity by each side, receive and transmit RF signal intensity pattern is stronger each side. The antennas a ₁₁ and a ₁₂ and the antennas a ₂₁ and a ₂₂ are preferably arranged inside the terminal and need not be exposed to the outside. By providing two antennas with high directivity in this way, the mobile radio terminals 260 and 280 can receive an RF signal from a reference node in any direction, and the incident direction is the front side or the back side. Can be determined without considering the arrangement of the areas.

  The reference radio stations 202, 222, and 242 in FIG. 2 only need to have the same antenna arrangement as in FIG. The reference radio stations 202, 222, and 242 may use a pair of highly directional antennas directed to the positioning areas 62 and 64, thereby reducing the effects of multipath. Reference radio stations 202, 222 and 242 may have two rod antennas in parallel if the size of the device may be larger.

  In the above description, the mobile radio terminals 260 to 282 and the reference radio stations 200 to 242 are substantially on the same horizontal plane, and the difference in height between the antennas and the inclination of the antenna reference line of the terminal with respect to the horizontal plane are determined. The explanation was made assuming that it was negligible or within an error range. The distance between the reference radio stations 200 to 242 is about 5 m to about 10 m, for example. The height of the antennas of the reference radio stations 200 to 242 is set to a value in the range of about 1.5 m to about 2 m, for example. The height of the antennas of the mobile radio terminals 260 to 282 is, for example, in the range of about 1 m to about 1.5 m. In this case, the positioning accuracy or resolution of the mobile radio terminal is expected to be within about 1 m.

  However, when the difference in height of the antennas and the inclination of the antenna reference line is not negligible, the direction and position of the three-dimensional are determined according to the known height of the antennas of the reference radio stations 200 to 242 and the known terrain of the area The position of the mobile radio terminals 260 to 282 may be obtained by performing a general correction.

When the RF signal received by the _two antennas a ₁ and a ₂ is processed in the communication node 400 of FIG. 4, the phase difference Δφ may include an error e due to a circuit difference in the path in the communication node 400. FIG. 18 shows a configuration including two antennas for correcting an error due to such a path difference and a switch SW for switching the connection between the two paths.

First, the switch SW is placed in the first position, the RF signal received via the antenna a ₁ is supplied to the path 1 including the frequency converter 413 in FIG. 4, and the RF signal received via the antenna a ₂ is supplied. The signal is supplied to the path 2 including the frequency converter 453. It is assumed that a phase error e exists in the output of the phase difference detector 415 at this time. The detected phase difference is Δφ + e. Next, the switch SW is placed at the second position, the RF signal received via the antenna a ₁ is supplied to the path 2 including the frequency converter 453, and the RF signal received via the antenna a ₂ is frequency converted. To the path 1 including the device 413. The detected phase difference is −Δφ + e. If the difference between the two phase differences is taken in order to correct this error e, the error e is canceled out and 2Δφ is obtained. Dividing this by 2 gives the corrected Δφ.

  The embodiments described above are merely given as typical examples, and variations and variations thereof will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Those skilled in the art will depart from the principles of the present invention and the scope of the invention described in the claims. Obviously, various modifications of the above-described embodiment can be made.

(Appendix 1) A device for determining the position of a mobile radio station,
A position of a first reference radio station, a position of a second reference radio station, a first relative angular direction between the mobile radio station and the first reference radio station, and the mobile radio station and the second An apparatus comprising means for determining a position of the mobile radio station from a second relative angular direction between a plurality of reference radio stations.
(Supplementary note 2) The apparatus according to supplementary note 1, wherein the first and second relative angular directions are angular directions of the first and second reference radio stations with respect to a reference angular direction of the mobile radio station.
(Supplementary note 3) The first relative angular direction is obtained from a first phase difference associated with a first RF signal from the first reference radio station received by the mobile radio station,
The second relative angular direction is determined from a second phase difference associated with a second RF signal from the second reference radio station received by the mobile radio station, according to appendix 1. The device described.
(Supplementary Note 4) The first relative angle direction is an angle direction of the mobile radio station with respect to a reference angle direction of the first reference radio station, and the second relative angle direction is the second reference radio direction. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the apparatus is an angular direction of the mobile radio station with respect to a reference angular direction of the station.
(Additional remark 5) The position of the said mobile radio station is further calculated | required based on the 3rd relative angle direction between a said 1st reference | standard radio station and a said 2nd reference | standard radio station. The device described.
(Supplementary Note 6) The first relative angular direction is obtained from a first phase difference associated with an RF signal from the mobile radio station received by the first reference radio station,
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the second relative angular direction is determined from a second phase difference associated with an RF signal from the mobile radio station received by the second reference radio station. .
(Supplementary Note 7) The means for determining the position includes the positions of the first and second reference radio stations, the first and second relative angular directions, the position of the third reference radio station, and the mobile radio. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the position of the mobile radio station is determined from a third relative angular direction between the station and the third reference radio station.
(Supplementary note 8) The position of the mobile radio station is determined according to at least two of three angles between the first, second and third relative angular directions, according to supplementary note 7. apparatus.
(Additional remark 9) The apparatus of Additional remark 1 which is the said mobile radio station.
(Additional remark 10) The apparatus of Additional remark 1 which is the said 1st or 2nd reference | standard radio station.
(Supplementary note 11) The device according to supplementary note 1, which is connected to the first reference wireless station via a local area network.
(Appendix 12) A device for determining the angle direction of a radio station,
An apparatus comprising means for determining an angular direction of the radio station relative to a reference angular direction from a phase difference associated with a received RF signal.
(Supplementary note 13) The apparatus according to supplementary note 12, wherein the RF signal is received from the wireless station.
(Supplementary note 14) The apparatus according to supplementary note 12, wherein the RF signal is received by the wireless station.
(Supplementary note 15) The device according to supplementary note 12, wherein the phase difference is a phase difference associated with the received RF signal between two antennas.
(Supplementary note 16) The device according to supplementary note 12, which is the wireless station.
(Supplementary note 17) The apparatus according to supplementary note 12, which receives the RF signal from the wireless station. (Supplementary note 18) The device according to supplementary note 12, which receives the phase difference.
(Supplementary note 19) The device according to supplementary note 12, further comprising means for determining a position of the wireless station from the obtained angular direction.
(Supplementary note 20) First and second antennas separated by a predetermined distance for receiving an RF signal;
Means for detecting a phase difference associated with the received RF signal between the first and second antennas;
Wireless equipment with
(Supplementary note 21) The wireless device according to supplementary note 20, further comprising means for detecting a transmission source identification included in the received RF signal.
(Supplementary note 22) A program stored in a storage medium for an information processing device,
Obtaining a first relative angular direction between a mobile radio station and the first reference radio station;
Obtaining a second relative angular direction between the mobile radio station and a second reference radio station;
Determining the position of the mobile radio station from the position of the first reference radio station, the position of the second reference radio station, the first relative angular direction and the second relative angular direction;
A program that can run to run.
(Supplementary Note 23) Determining the first relative angular direction from a first phase difference associated with a first RF signal from the first reference radio station received by the mobile radio station;
Determining the second relative angular direction from a second phase difference associated with a second RF signal from the second reference radio station received by the mobile radio station;
The program according to appendix 22, operable to further execute
(Supplementary Note 24) The step of determining the position further determines the position of the mobile radio station based on a third relative angular direction between the first reference radio station and the second reference radio station. The program according to appendix 22, which is to be executed.
(Supplementary Note 25) Obtaining the first relative angular direction from a first phase difference related to an RF signal from the mobile radio station received by the first reference radio station;
Determining the second relative angular direction from a second phase difference associated with an RF signal from the mobile radio station received by the second reference radio station;
The program according to appendix 22, operable to further execute
(Supplementary note 26) The step of determining a position includes the position of the first and second reference radio stations, the first and second relative angular directions, the position of a third reference radio station, and the movement. The program according to appendix 22, comprising determining the position of the mobile radio station from a third relative angular direction between the radio station and the third reference radio station.
(Supplementary note 27) A program stored in a storage medium for an information processing device,
Obtaining a phase difference associated with the received RF signal;
Determining the angle direction of the wireless station with respect to a reference angle direction from the phase difference.
(Supplementary note 28) The program according to supplementary note 27, operable to further execute a step of determining the position of the wireless station from the obtained angular direction.
(Supplementary note 29) A method for determining the position of a mobile radio station,
Obtaining a first relative angular direction between the mobile radio station and the first reference radio station;
Obtaining a second relative angular direction between the mobile radio station and a second reference radio station;
Determining the position of the mobile radio station from the position of the first reference radio station, the position of the second reference radio station, the first relative angular direction and the second relative angular direction;
Including a method.
(Supplementary Note 30) Determining the first relative angular direction from a first phase difference associated with a first RF signal from the first reference radio station received by the mobile radio station;
Determining the second relative angular direction from a second phase difference associated with a second RF signal from the second reference radio station received by the mobile radio station;
The method according to appendix 29, further comprising:
(Supplementary Note 31) The step of determining the position further determines the position of the mobile radio station based on a third relative angular direction between the first reference radio station and the second reference radio station. The method according to appendix 29, wherein:
(Supplementary Note 32) Obtaining the first relative angular direction from a first phase difference related to an RF signal from the mobile radio station received by the first reference radio station;
Determining the second relative angular direction from a second phase difference associated with an RF signal from the mobile radio station received by the second reference radio station;
The method according to appendix 29, further comprising:
(Supplementary note 33) The step of determining a position includes the position of the first and second reference radio stations, the first and second relative angular directions, the position of a third reference radio station, and the movement. 32. The method of claim 29, comprising determining a position of the mobile radio station from a third relative angular direction between the radio station and the third reference radio station.
(Supplementary Note 34) A method for obtaining the angle direction of a radio station,
Obtaining a phase difference associated with the received RF signal;
Obtaining an angle direction of the wireless station with respect to a reference angle direction from the phase difference;
Including a method.
(Supplementary note 35) The method according to supplementary note 34, further comprising: determining a position of the wireless station from the obtained angular direction.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of a system for determining the position of a mobile radio terminal in a plurality of indoor or outdoor areas according to the present invention. FIG. 2 shows a schematic configuration of another system for determining the position of a mobile radio terminal in a plurality of indoor or outdoor areas according to the present invention. 3 shows a schematic device configuration of a communication node representing a reference radio station having one antenna shown in FIG. 1 and a mobile radio terminal having one antenna shown in FIG. . 4 shows a schematic device configuration of a communication node representing a mobile radio terminal having two antennas shown in FIG. 1 and a reference radio station having two antennas shown in FIG. . FIG. 5 shows a flow diagram for determining the position of the mobile radio terminal according to the source ID and the phase difference between the received RF signals, which is executed by the processor. FIGS. 6A to 6D show the relationship between the reception data demodulated by the modem, the phase difference detected by the phase difference detector, the data frame for position determination, and the position data of the determined mobile radio terminal. . FIG. 7A serves to illustrate a method for determining the position of the terminal T according to the determined angular direction of each of the three reference nodes for one mobile radio terminal in each area in the system of FIG. FIG. 7B serves to explain a method for determining the position of the mobile radio terminal T according to each determined angular direction of one mobile radio terminal T in each area with respect to two reference nodes in the system of FIG. FIG. 8 serves to explain a method for determining the incident angle direction of the RF signal according to the phase difference between the RF signals received by the two antennas of the communication node of FIG. FIG. 9 shows a block diagram of a process for obtaining the angle direction of the mobile radio terminal according to the received RF signal. FIG. 10 shows a block diagram of another process for determining the angle direction of the mobile radio terminal according to the received RF signal. FIG. 11 shows a block diagram of yet another process for determining the angular direction of the mobile radio terminal according to the received RF signal. FIG. 12 shows a block diagram of logical processing for obtaining the angle direction of the mobile radio terminal from the received RF signal. 13A to 13C show the logic levels of the signals in FIG. 12 for obtaining the absolute phase difference. 14A and 14B show the logic levels of the signals in FIG. 12 for determining the sign of the phase difference. FIGS. 15A and 15B help illustrate a method for determining the location of a terminal using multiple reference communication nodes. FIG. 16 shows an example of the arrangement of two antennas in the mobile radio terminal in FIG. 17A and 17B show another example of the arrangement of two antennas in the mobile radio terminal in FIG. 1 and its received RF signal strength pattern, respectively. FIG. 18 shows a configuration including a switch for correcting a phase difference error due to a path difference.

Explanation of symbols

50 LAN
62, 64 area 110 server 120 position determining device 200 access point and reference radio station 220, 230, 240 reference radio station 260, 280 mobile radio terminal

Claims (4)

A positioning system comprising at least first, second and third reference radio stations each having a known position, and a mobile radio station for determining the position of the mobile radio station,
The mobile radio station
Two antennas,
A phase difference between RF signals received from the first, second, and third reference radio stations is detected by the two antennas, and the two received signals from the two antennas are binarized to latch means. Detecting means for determining whether the phase difference of the received RF signal is positive or negative by determining the level of the other received signal at the timing of one of the two received signals binarized using When,
Converting the phase difference of the received RF signal to a predetermined direction with respect to the position of the two antennas in the mobile radio station and to any reference direction with respect to the first, second and third reference radio stations Measuring means for measuring the angular direction of incidence of the received RF signal;
Extraction means for extracting transmission source identification information from transmission data included in the received RF signal;
Storing first data representing the position of the first reference radio station, second data representing the position of the second reference radio station, and third data representing the position of the third reference radio station Storage means for storing in the means;
Information representing a first angle of the angle direction of the first reference radio station with respect to the arbitrary reference direction measured by the measurement means, and transmission source identification of the first reference radio station extracted by the extraction means Fourth data including a set of information, information representing a second angle of the angular direction of the second reference radio station with respect to the arbitrary reference direction measured by the measuring means, and the extracted by the extracting means Fifth data including a set of transmission source identification information of the second reference radio station, representing a third angle in the angular direction of the third reference radio station with respect to the arbitrary reference direction measured by the measuring means Sixth data including a set of information and transmission source identification information of the third reference wireless station extracted by the extraction means is stored in the storage means, and the first, second, and third reference non-references are stored. The first, second and third data of the station are determined, and the first, second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth data stored in the storage means are used as the mobile radio station. And the position of the first reference radio station relative to the arbitrary reference direction at the position of the mobile radio station, processing based on the geometric relationship of the respective positions of the first, second and third reference radio stations Determining the position of the mobile radio station based on the first angle, the second angle of the position of the second reference radio station, and the third angle of the position of the third reference radio station. Processing means;
It is characterized by comprising
Positioning system. And including at least first, second and third reference radio stations whose positions are known, a mobile radio station, and a node device having a function of determining the position of the mobile radio station, and the mobile radio station A positioning system for determining the position of
The mobile radio station detects a phase difference between the RF signals received from the first, second, and third reference radio stations by using the two antennas and the two antennas. Two received signals are binarized and the level of the other received signal is determined at the timing of one of the two received signals binarized using a latch means, and the phase difference between the received RF signals Detecting means for determining whether the signal is positive or negative, and converting the phase difference of the received RF signal to be in a predetermined direction with respect to the position of the two antennas in the mobile radio station, the first and second Measuring means for measuring an angle direction of incidence of the received RF signal with respect to an arbitrary reference direction with respect to the third reference radio station, and transmission source identification information from transmission data included in the received RF signal. Extraction means for extracting the information, information representing a first angle of the angular direction of the first reference radio station with respect to the arbitrary reference direction measured by the measurement means, and the first extracted by the extraction means First data including a set of transmission source identification information of a reference wireless station, information representing a second angle in an angular direction of the second reference wireless station with respect to the arbitrary reference direction measured by the measuring unit, and Second data including a set of transmission source identification information of the second reference radio station extracted by the extraction means, and an angle of the third reference radio station with respect to the arbitrary reference direction measured by the measurement means Processing means for generating and transmitting third data including a set of information representing a third angle of direction and transmission source identification information of the third reference radio station extracted by the extracting means , And comprising,
The node device includes fourth data representing a position of the first reference wireless station, fifth data representing a position of the second reference wireless station, and sixth representing a position of the third reference wireless station. Storage means for storing the data, and the fourth data, the fifth data and the sixth data received from the mobile radio station are stored in the storage means, and the first, second and third data are stored in the storage means. Determining the first, second and third data of the reference radio station, and the first, second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth data stored in the storage means, The first reference radio with respect to the arbitrary reference direction at the position of the mobile radio station is processed based on a geometric relationship between positions of the mobile radio station and the first, second and third reference radio stations. The first angle of the position of the station, the position of the second reference radio station And characterized in that comprising a processing means for determining the position of said mobile radio station based of the second angle and the third the third angular position of the reference radio stations,
Positioning system. A program for use in an information processing apparatus having storage means and processing means for determining the position of the mobile radio station based on the angular directions of the first, second and third reference radio stations in the mobile radio station Because
The storage means includes first data representing a known position of the first reference radio station, second data representing a known position of the second reference radio station, and known of the third reference radio station. Storing third data representing the position of
One of the received signals of the two received signals the binarized using a binarizing latch means two received signals of the RF signals received by the two antennas from the first reference radio station in the mobile radio station The level of the other received signal is determined at the timing and the phase difference between the two received signals is determined to be positive or negative so that the mobile radio station measures the mobile radio station measured by the RF signal incident angle direction measuring means. Information representing a first angle in an angular direction of the first reference radio station with respect to any reference direction with respect to the first, second and third reference radio stations in a predetermined direction with respect to two antenna positions; Fourth data including a set of identification information of the first radio reference station, R received by the two antennas from the second reference radio station in the mobile radio station The two received signals of the signal by binarizing by determining the level of one its other received signals at the timing of the received signals of the two received signals the binarized using the latch means the two received signals Information representing a second angle in the angular direction of the second reference radio station with respect to the arbitrary reference direction measured by the measuring means by determining whether the phase difference of the second reference radio station is positive or negative, and the second The latch means for binarizing two received signals of the fifth data including the set of identification information of the wireless reference station and the RF signal received from the third reference wireless station by the two antennas in the mobile wireless station the binarized two one determine the phase difference is positive or negative or a to determine the level of its other received signals at the timing of the received signal the two received signals of the reception signal by using the A sixth set of information including a set of information representing a third angle of the angular direction of the third reference wireless station with respect to the arbitrary reference direction measured by the measuring means and identification information of the third wireless reference station. Acquiring and storing the data in the storage means, and determining the first, second and third data of the first, second and third reference radio stations;
The first, second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth data stored in the storage means are stored in the respective positions of the mobile radio station, first, second and third reference radio stations. Of the first reference radio station position relative to the arbitrary reference direction at the position of the mobile radio station, and the position of the second reference radio station. Determining the position of the mobile radio station based on the second angle and the third angle of the position of the third reference radio station;
A program for running In the information processing apparatus having storage means and processing means, a position determination method for determining the position of the mobile radio station based on the angular directions of the first, second and third reference radio stations in the mobile radio station. And
The storage means includes first data representing a known position of the first reference radio station, second data representing a known position of the second reference radio station, and known of the third reference radio station. Storing third data representing the position of
Using the processing means, the two received signals of the RF signal received by the mobile radio station from the first reference radio station with two antennas are binarized, and the binarized two using the latch means Measured by the RF signal incident angle direction measuring means by determining the level of the other received signal at the timing of one received signal of the received signal and determining whether the phase difference between the two received signals is positive or negative. In addition, a predetermined direction with respect to the position of the two antennas in the mobile radio station and an angular direction of the first reference radio station with respect to an arbitrary reference direction with respect to the first, second and third reference radio stations. Fourth data including a set of information representing one angle and identification information of the first wireless reference station, and the two reference wireless stations from the second reference wireless station in the mobile wireless station. To determine the level of its other received signals at the timing of one of the received signals of the two reception signals by binarizing the two received signals of the RF signals received and the binarized using the latching means by Na Information representing a second angle in the angular direction of the second reference radio station with respect to the arbitrary reference direction measured by the measuring means by determining whether the phase difference between the two received signals is positive or negative. And five data including a set of identification information of the second radio reference station, and two received signals of the RF signal received by the two antennas from the third reference radio station in the mobile radio station. turned into the using the latching means binarized two to determine the level of one its other received signals at the timing of the received signal of the received signal the two received signals of the phase Information representing a third angle of the angular direction of the third reference radio station with respect to the arbitrary reference direction measured by the measuring means by determining whether is positive or negative, and of the third radio reference station Obtaining sixth data including a set of identification information, storing the sixth data in the storage means, and determining the first, second and third data of the first, second and third reference radio stations; When,
Using the processing means, the first, second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth data stored in the storage means are transferred to the mobile radio station, first, second and third data. Processing based on a geometric relationship of the respective positions of the reference radio station, the first angle of the position of the first reference radio station with respect to the arbitrary reference direction at the position of the mobile radio station, the second Determining the position of the mobile radio station based on the second angle of the position of the reference radio station and the third angle of the position of the third reference radio station;
A position determination method including:

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