JP5429826B2 - Ultrasonic communication system and beacon - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an ultrasonic communication system using a beacon and a portable terminal, and more specifically, an ultrasonic wave having simple and excellent communication performance using a beacon that oscillates an ultrasonic wave and a portable terminal such as a smartphone or a mobile phone. The present invention relates to a beacon used in a communication system and an ultrasonic communication system .

  In recent years, with the spread of mobile terminals such as smartphones and mobile phones to general users, for example, installing ultrasonic beacons in stores and communicating with the user's mobile terminal, improving the convenience of user access and product purchases, A system for improving serviceability by providing various services such as providing information to the user from the store side and returning points has been proposed.

  Here, the following (Constraint 1) to (Constraint 4) exist when considering the technical and principle restrictions that should be considered when using a microphone of a mobile terminal such as a smartphone or a mobile phone.

(Restriction 1) Frequency characteristics of microphones There are various models of mobile terminals, and new models are put on the market every day, so it is a big expense to test all models of mobile terminals each time. It is very important to avoid this by a program that does not depend on the circumstances specific to the mobile terminal.

In particular, in the smart phone applications, the provider of our application (App Store (TM) and Android (registered trademark) Market, etc.) the model does not split apart from the mobile terminal, one of the mobile terminal of the plurality of models in the program (Including new models of mobile terminals that will be released in the future).

Here, the microphone incorporated in the mobile terminal has frequency characteristics (sensitivity for each frequency), and the characteristics in the high sound range (approximately 18 kHz or more) outside the audible range vary greatly depending on the model of the mobile terminal. Exists.

And it is difficult to measure the sound volume (meaning sound pressure level; the same applies hereinafter) without knowing the frequency characteristics of the mobile terminal.

For this reason, the variation in the frequency characteristics of the microphones that exist for each model of the mobile terminal is to measure the volume (meaning the sound pressure level; the same shall apply hereinafter) with the same standard using a single program that can be used regardless of the model of the mobile terminal. Making it difficult.

That is, even if a sound with a certain frequency is output from the beacon at a certain volume, the measured volume will be different if the model of the mobile terminal being measured is different (because the frequency characteristics of the built-in microphone are different). is there.

  Similarly, due to the difference in frequency characteristics, even if two sounds that are separated by a certain amount (for example, several hundreds of Hz) are output at the same volume, the volume of those two sounds that can be measured on the mobile device side may be different. There is.

  As described above, it is difficult to use the difference in volume between two sounds whose volume levels are somewhat different as communication parameters without knowing the frequency characteristics of the mobile terminal.

(Restriction 2) Environmental noise, background noise There are various high-frequency noises around stores, such as mosquito sounds, digital signage, and electrical appliances that prevent rats and cockroaches, and young people from hanging out. Most noise occurs at a certain volume at a certain height (a certain frequency).
Measuring noise in the vicinity of the store in advance is a large expense burden, and the environment changes from moment to moment, so communication that is less affected by noise in any frequency band This method is required.

(Restriction 3) Doppler effect Since the user may move even during reception of a sound signal, a communication system that takes into account the Doppler effect is required.

That is, even if a sound of a certain height (frequency F1) is output due to the Doppler effect, the frequency that can be detected on the mobile terminal side may be shifted from the frequency F1, and the shift may be caused by the movement speed of the user, Because it is decided by the direction, it is unknown in advance.
According to the measurement results of the inventors, the change in frequency due to the Doppler effect when the user uses a general mobile phone is up to plus or minus 200 Hz.

(Restriction 4) Usable frequency band The upper limit of the human audible range is said to be 18 kHz, 19 kHz, or 20 kHz although there is a difference between individuals and age, and if it falls below this, it will be heard (lower limit).

  On the other hand, a typical sampling rate when the mobile terminal processes an audio file / audio input / output is 44,100 Hz, and a theoretical upper limit of a detectable frequency is 22,050 Hz (Nyquist frequency: sampling rate) 1/2) (upper limit).

Actually, there are many portable terminals whose upper limit that can be detected is about 21 kHz due to the filter processing (eg, low-pass filter) for maintaining the microphone characteristics and quality as described in Constraint 1.
From the above, the communication frequency needs to be performed using a limited frequency band with 18 kHz, 19 kHz, or 20 kHz as a lower limit and 21 kHz or 22.05 kHz as an upper limit.

(Conventional technology)
In Patent Document 1, a signal of a plurality of frequencies is output at a constant volume by a beacon on the store side. The combination of frequencies is unique to the store, the presence detection method configured to receive the signals of a plurality of frequencies from the beacon in the mobile terminal and identify the store depending on which frequency is output, and A system has been proposed.

  However, this system is strongly influenced by the frequency characteristics (constraint 1) of the mobile terminal. If there is a mobile terminal with very low sensitivity in a specific frequency band, it cannot be detected even if sound is produced in that frequency band. Strongly affected by the Doppler effect (Constraint 3). Due to the Doppler effect, it is not possible to accurately determine which frequency is being output while the user is walking around with the mobile terminal. Weak to environmental noise (Constraint 2). There is no way to distinguish between environmental noise and beacon signals. If an attempt is made to increase the amount of information to be transmitted, the frequency band to be used must be expanded. However, according to (Constraint 4), only a few bits of information can actually be transmitted (FFT resolution of 10 to 100 Hz). It is estimated that there is a problem such as

  As another related example, there is a system in which a signal is transmitted in a Morse code manner by turning on / off a specific frequency (referred to as a carrier, which may be plural) on the store side.

  In this case, the content of the signal and the frequency used for the carrier are unique to the store, and the amount of information that can be transmitted is considered to increase because the content of transmission changes with time.

  However, in the case of this conventional example, the silent section and the voiced section are periodically switched, so that it can be heard as a sound by the human ear or feel uncomfortable. In order to adopt this method, it is necessary to set a threshold value for determining ON / OFF (which frequency is determined to be ON when it is ON) in the program on the mobile terminal side. 2) Or, it is very difficult to set an appropriate threshold value due to the influence of the microphone characteristic (constraint 1). Furthermore, it is necessary to change the threshold value for each portable terminal and for each place, which requires a lot of labor and further complicates the program.

International Publication No. 2011/014292

The problem to be solved by the present invention is that there is no influence of the Doppler effect due to the influence of the environmental noise and the movement of the location of the mobile terminal itself, considering the difference in frequency characteristics of the microphones of the individual mobile terminals, There is an ultrasonic communication system using a beacon and a portable terminal that does not cause anxiety due to listening to unnecessary sounds to the user of the portable terminal and that exhibits excellent communication performance with a simple configuration. It is a point not to do.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and is a beacon that is installed in a specific section provided on the information provider side or the store side and oscillates an ultrasonic wave, and a mobile terminal that is present in the section. The present invention relates to an ultrasonic communication system that performs ultrasonic communication with each other.
And the ultrasonic communication system of the present invention comprises:
An ultrasonic communication system for performing ultrasonic communication between a beacon installed in a specific section provided by an information provider side or a store side and oscillating ultrasonic waves and a portable terminal existing in the section ,
The beacon is two digital signals that have adjacent frequencies outside the audible range and are assigned to a pair of volume levels, the first carrier and the second carrier, one carrier having a large volume level on the time axis. In the active region, the other carrier becomes a non-active region with a low volume level, and the active regions of the first carrier and the second carrier are alternated so that the volume of the inactive region of either the first carrier or the second carrier. When both levels are greater than 0 and the volume level of the first carrier is greater than the volume level of the second carrier according to the magnitude relationship between the volume level of the first carrier and the volume level of the second carrier, When one of 0 and 1 is assigned and the volume level of the second carrier is higher than the volume level of the first carrier, 0 and 1 By assigning the other out, and outputs the calling information of one channel that contains the unique identification information of the information provider or the store, and sends it to the compartment the transmission information as an ultrasound after conversion to an analog signal Having means,
The portable terminal includes a portable microphone, ultrasonic waves sent from the beacon to convert the ultrasonic wave thus received when received by the portable microphone into an electrical signal, the first carrier and the second carrier in the electrical signal When one configured channel is specified, a demodulation process is performed to demodulate to 0, 1 according to the magnitude relationship of the volume level on the time axis between the first carrier and the second carrier of the specified channel , And a demodulation processing unit that outputs the transmission information including the unique identification information so as to be processed for confirmation of the presence of the mobile terminal.

According to the present invention , the demodulation processing unit of the mobile terminal uses the transmission information including the unique identification information for confirming the presence of the mobile terminal based on the difference in volume level on the time axis between the first carrier and the second carrier. Demodulate as Therefore, there is no influence of the difference in frequency characteristics of the microphones of the individual mobile terminals existing in the section, the influence of environmental noise, and the Doppler effect due to the movement of the location of the mobile terminal. The beacon alternates between the active areas of the first carrier and the second carrier (the second carrier is not output (or the volume is reduced) while the first carrier is being output on the time axis) The transmission information according to the aspect in which the first carrier is not output while the second carrier is being output is converted into an analog signal and then transmitted as ultrasonic waves into the section. In this case, since the volume of the output ultrasonic waves is constant over the entire frequency range, it is difficult for the human ears to hear, so it does not give people anxiety and eliminates psychological resistance and anxiety. be able to. Thus, according to the present invention, to provide achieves the information or goods provider side beacon yet simple configuration, the ultrasound communication system that exhibits excellent communication performance between the portable terminal Can do.

In the present invention,
A plurality of the beacons are installed in the specific compartment;
Each beacon is individually assigned a pair of a first carrier and a second carrier having different frequency settings, and each beacon includes the unique identification information by a combination of the assigned first carrier and second carrier. Output the transmission information of one channel, convert the transmission information into an analog signal, and then send it into the section as an ultrasonic wave,
The demodulation processing unit receives ultrasonic transmission information suitable for the frequency characteristics of a microphone provided in the mobile terminal among ultrasonic transmission information transmitted from each beacon, and transmits the received ultrasonic wave. It is preferable to perform the demodulation processing on the transmission information.
According to this configuration, transmission information of ultrasonic waves of a plurality of channels having different frequencies is transmitted from a plurality of beacons installed in the section. Then, the demodulation processing unit of the mobile terminal existing in the section receives the transmission information of the ultrasonic wave of the channel suitable for the frequency characteristic of the microphone of the mobile terminal, so that the difference in frequency characteristics in the microphone of each mobile terminal Overcoming the above, it is possible to realize and provide an ultrasonic communication system capable of delivering high-quality information to customers (persons who have mobile terminals and have visited the section) .

In the present invention,
After the beacon outputs the transmission information for a plurality of channels using a plurality of pairs of first and second carriers having different frequency settings, and converts the transmission information of each channel into an analog signal Sent into the compartment as ultrasound,
The demodulation processing unit receives ultrasonic transmission information of a channel suitable for the frequency characteristics of the microphone of the mobile terminal among the ultrasonic transmission information of a plurality of channels transmitted from the beacon, and receives the received information It is preferable to execute the demodulation processing on the ultrasonic transmission information.
According to this configuration, transmission information for a plurality of channels output from a single beacon using a plurality of first and second carrier pairs having different frequencies is converted into an analog signal and then stored in the section. Send it out. Then, the demodulation processing unit of the mobile terminal receives the transmission information of the ultrasonic wave of the channel adapted to the frequency characteristic of the microphone of the mobile terminal, thereby overcoming the difference in the frequency characteristics of the microphones of the individual mobile terminals. It is possible to realize and provide an ultrasonic communication system capable of delivering high-quality information to a customer (person who has a portable terminal and visits the section) .

In the present invention,
The portable terminal has means for acquiring Internet information from a server via the Internet, and means for outputting the acquired Internet information as an ultrasonic wave from a speaker.
The beacon obtains Internet information provided from the server via the portable terminal by receiving the microphone and ultrasonic internet information output from the speaker of the portable terminal by the microphone. It is preferable to have.
According to this configuration, it becomes possible to configure an indirect and simple network using the Internet environment of the mobile terminal on the customer side using the beacon in the section, and the provider of information or products Even if you do not connect to the Internet, you can acquire Internet information such as maintenance and updates from the server and execute beacon maintenance, updates, etc., contributing to significant cost reduction, labor saving, and space saving. An ultrasonic communication system can be realized and provided.

In the present invention,
  A plurality of the beacons are installed in the specific compartment;
  A beacon that has acquired Internet information from a server via the portable terminal outputs the Internet information from a speaker by ultrasonic waves, and another beacon receives the ultrasonic Internet information by a microphone. It is preferable to transmit the Internet information.
  According to this configuration, it becomes possible to transmit other beacon of the Internet information received by any one of the beacons.

In the present invention,
The demodulation processing unit is configured to perform fast Fourier transform processing on the first carrier and second carrier, mapping processing on a time axis, and first processing on the transmission information of the ultrasonic wave received by the mobile microphone of the mobile terminal It is preferable to demodulate the transmission information including the unique identification information for confirming the presence of the mobile terminal by performing a pattern comparison calculation process on the volume level of the carrier and the second carrier.
In the present invention,
It is preferable that the provider provides merchandise at a store, and the specific section is set in a store of the store.
Next, the beacon of the present invention is an ultrasonic communication between a beacon installed in a specific section provided by the information provider side or the store side and oscillating ultrasonic waves, and a mobile terminal existing in the section. A beacon used in an ultrasonic communication system that performs
When the first carrier and the second carrier, which are two digital signals having adjacent frequencies outside the audible range and to which a paired volume level is assigned, are one active carrier with a large volume level on the time axis On the other hand, the other carrier becomes an inactive area with a low volume level, and the active areas of the first carrier and the second carrier are alternated so that the volume level of both the inactive areas of the first carrier and the second carrier is 0. When the volume level of the first carrier is greater than the volume level of the second carrier, depending on the magnitude relationship between the volume level of the first carrier and the volume level of the second carrier, If one of them is assigned and the volume level of the second carrier is greater than the volume level of the first carrier, the other of 0 and 1 is assigned. By applying, to have a means to output the transmission information of one channel, to be transmitted to said compartment said transmission information as an ultrasound after conversion to an analog signal including a unique identification information of the information provider or the shop It is characterized by.
Next, the mobile terminal program of the present invention is a supercomputer between a beacon installed in a specific section provided by an information provider or a store and oscillating ultrasonic waves, and a mobile terminal existing in the section. A program for a portable terminal used in an ultrasonic communication system that performs communication using acoustic waves,
By being executed by a CPU mounted on the portable terminal, the CPU is
From the beacon, the first carrier and the second carrier, which are two digital signals to which a pair of volume levels having close frequencies outside the audible range are assigned, one carrier on the time axis has a large volume level. In the active region, the other carrier becomes a non-active region with a low volume level, and the active regions of the first carrier and the second carrier are alternated so that the volume of the inactive region of either the first carrier or the second carrier. When both levels are greater than 0 and the volume level of the first carrier is greater than the volume level of the second carrier according to the magnitude relationship between the volume level of the first carrier and the volume level of the second carrier, When one of 0 and 1 is assigned and the volume level of the second carrier is greater than the volume level of the first carrier, 0, The transmission information of one channel including the unique identification information of the information provider or the store by allocating the other of the information, and the transmission transmitted into the section as an ultrasonic wave after being converted into an analog signal When information is received by a portable microphone provided in the portable terminal,
When the received ultrasonic wave is converted into an electric signal and one channel constituted by the first carrier and the second carrier is specified in the electric signal, the time between the first carrier and the second carrier of the specified channel is determined. As a demodulation processing unit that performs demodulation processing that demodulates to 0 and 1 according to the magnitude relation of the volume level on the axis, and outputs the transmission information including the unique identification information so as to be processable for presence confirmation of the portable terminal It is made to function.

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram showing the overall configuration of an ultrasonic communication system according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a beacon installation state of the ultrasonic communication system according to the first embodiment of the present invention . FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram of a computer device and a beacon on the store side of the ultrasonic communication system according to the first embodiment of the present invention . FIG. 4 is a schematic block diagram of the portable terminal, the Internet, and the server of the ultrasonic communication system according to the first embodiment of the present invention . FIG. 5 is a schematic explanatory diagram showing a flow of processing of the ultrasonic communication system according to the first embodiment of the present invention . FIG. 6 is a waveform diagram on the time axis of the first carrier and the second carrier in the ultrasonic communication system according to the first embodiment of the present invention . FIG. 7 is an explanatory view showing a beacon installation state of the ultrasonic communication system according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8 is a schematic block diagram of a computer device and a beacon on the store side of the ultrasonic communication system according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing a beacon installation state of the ultrasonic communication system according to the third embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 10 is a schematic block diagram of a beacon of the ultrasonic communication system according to the third embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 11 is a schematic block diagram showing the overall configuration of an ultrasonic communication system according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention. FIG. 12 is a schematic block diagram of a beacon of the ultrasonic communication system according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention.

The present invention considers the difference in frequency characteristics of microphones of individual mobile terminals, is free from the influence of environmental noise and the Doppler effect due to the movement of the location of the mobile terminal itself, and is capable of listening to unnecessary sounds. It is an object of the present invention to provide an ultrasonic communication system that uses a suitable beacon and portable terminal, for example, installed in a store or the like that exhibits excellent communication performance with a simple configuration without causing anxiety due to .
And this invention communicates this purpose between the beacon installed in a specific section provided by the provider of information or goods and oscillating ultrasonic waves, and the mobile terminal existing in the section. An ultrasonic communication system for performing a first carrier and a second carrier on a time axis, wherein the beacon is two digital signals having adjacent frequencies outside the audible range and being assigned a pair of volume levels. After the active areas of the first carrier and the second carrier are combined in an alternating manner, the transmission information of one channel including the provider's unique identification information is output, and the transmission information is converted into an analog signal. When the ultrasonic wave transmitted from the beacon is received, the mobile terminal converts the received ultrasonic wave into an electrical signal, The channel identification signal identifies one channel constituted by the first carrier and the second carrier, and the unique identification information is based on a difference in volume level on the time axis between the first carrier and the second carrier of the identified channel. This is realized by a configuration having a demodulation processing unit that executes a demodulation process for demodulating the transmission information including the information for confirming the presence of the mobile terminal .

Hereinafter, an ultrasonic communication system using a beacon and a portable terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
Example 1

An ultrasonic communication system 1 according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6.
The ultrasonic communication system 1 according to the first embodiment is connected to a store-side computer device 2 such as a retail store or a mass sales store, for example, and as shown in FIG. 2, the store side is provided on one floor. 3 (corresponding to a specific section of the present invention) , for example, a beacon 5 arranged on the ceiling 4 and connected to the computer device 2 on the store side to oscillate ultrasonic waves, and held by each customer, the beacon 5, and a mobile terminal 6 such as a smartphone . Customer operates the self-portable terminal 6, by wireless connection to the Internet network N in order to obtain Internet information, the Internet information is distributed to the portable terminal 6 from the server 7 through the Internet network N.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the store-side computer device 2 includes a memory 11 that stores various programs for operating and operating the ultrasonic communication system 1, a control unit 10 that performs overall control, and various types of information. A storage unit 12 for storing, a communication processing unit 13 for connecting to the Internet N, an operation unit 14 such as a keyboard for performing various operations, and a display unit such as an LCD display for displaying various information on the screen 15, a printer 16 that prints out various information, and a beacon information processing unit 17 that performs setting of a transmission frequency of the beacon 5, drive control, and the like.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the beacon 5 includes a first carrier transmitter 21 that transmits a first carrier that is a digital signal, a second carrier transmitter 22 that transmits a second carrier that is a digital signal, and the beacon. Based on the control signal from the information processing unit 17, the first carrier transmission unit 21, the transmission controller 23 that controls the transmission state of the second carrier transmission unit 22, and the DA that converts the first carrier and the second carrier into analog signals It has the conversion part 24 and the beacon sounding part 25 which is sounding means.

Here, the first carrier and the second carrier will be described.
The first carrier and the second carrier are two digital signals having frequencies outside the adjacent audible range (for example, a first carrier: 19000 Hz, a second carrier: 19050 Hz) and having a pair of volume levels. As a single channel, the transmission information including the unique identification information (unique identification number information) of the store is configured.

  In the first embodiment, for example, “010101” is adopted as the unique identification number of the store, and the following description will be given.

  The digital signal 1 in the first carrier and the second carrier is the volume level of the first carrier <the volume level of the second carrier, and the digital signal 0 is the volume level of the first carrier> the volume level of the second carrier (or its It is assumed that it is set in advance so as to be reversed.

Further, the digital signal (bit string) that is table by the combination of 0,1, in addition to the body portion to flow a unique identity of the real store may also include header and encryption key, an error detection correction signal.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 6, the first carrier transmission unit 21 and the second carrier transmission unit 22 transmit information of one channel in such a manner that the active areas of the first carrier and the second carrier alternate on the time axis. Is output.

  That is, on the time axis, the second carrier is not output (or the volume is reduced) while the first carrier is being output, and the first carrier is not output while the second carrier is being output ( (Or reduce the volume).

The difference between the frequencies of the first carrier and the second carrier is set to be as small as possible as long as the resolution of FFT (Fast Fourier Transform) , which is one function possessed by each user's mobile terminal 6, is allowed. .

  This is because if the frequency is sufficiently close, the influence of the difference in the frequency characteristics of the mobile microphone 35 of the mobile terminal 6 is reduced, and the difference in the frequency characteristics of the mobile microphones 35 of the individual mobile terminals 6 in the restriction 1 described above is reduced. It takes into account the advantages that can be ignored.

  The frequency width between the first carrier and the second carrier uses a constant promised in advance in an available frequency band.

  Furthermore, it is noted that the beacon 5 has little environmental noise, and when using a plurality of beacons 5 at the same time, it is appropriate to use a channel that is not used by other beacons 5.

The DA converter 24 modulates transmission information as a combination of signals of each frequency of the first carrier and the second carrier into analog data (DA conversion: digital / analog conversion).

  The DA-converted analog signal is transmitted from the beacon sound generator 25 to the space in the sales floor 3 as an ultrasonic wave corresponding to the transmission information on the time axis.

  As for the digital signal, in order to prevent interference due to reflected sound or the like in the beacon 5, it is possible to create a silent portion between packets for a certain period of time. A signal is missed in the save band provided in the sound range. This also has the advantage of eliminating the silent section so that it cannot be heard by the human ear.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the portable terminal 6 is wirelessly connected to a portable control unit 30 that controls the operation of the portable terminal 6 itself, a portable memory 31 that stores an operation program of the portable terminal 6 itself, and the Internet N. Corresponding to the transmission information from the beacon sounding unit 25, the display unit 33 such as an LCD display for displaying various information, the operation unit 34 composed of, for example, tablet-type input keys, etc. A portable microphone 35 for receiving the ultrasonic wave, a demodulation processing unit 36 for demodulating the transmission information received by the portable microphone 35 and converted into an electrical signal, a portable speaker 37, and a storage unit 38 for storing various information. And have.

  As shown in FIG. 5 and described later in detail, the demodulation processing unit 36 performs an FFT (Fast Fourier Transform unit) that performs a fast Fourier transform process on the first carrier and the second carrier, and a mapping process on the time axis. A mapping unit to be performed, a comparison operation unit for performing a comparison operation of a pattern corresponding to the volume level of the first carrier and the second carrier (a tram pattern to be amplified for each frame having a certain time width), and a comparison operation processing result The decoding processing part which decodes the transmission information containing the said specific identification information for the said customer's presence confirmation based on this is included.

  Next, the operation of the ultrasonic communication system 1 according to the first embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

  In the ultrasonic communication system 1 according to the first embodiment, the first carrier transmitting unit 21 and the second carrier transmitting unit 22 in the beacon 5 make an audible proximity as a combination of signals of each frequency of the first carrier and the second carrier. Two digital signals having a frequency outside the region and having a pair of volume levels are composed of a first carrier and a second carrier including unique identification information of the store, and the first carrier and the second carrier on the time axis 6 is output as the transmission information shown in FIG. 6 in which the active areas are alternated, converted into an analog signal by the DA conversion unit 24, and then converted into an analog signal from the beacon sound generation unit 25 on the time axis as the ultrasonic wave corresponding to the transmission information. Send to space inside.

  In this case, the beacon 5 continues to transmit the same ultrasonic signal until it is turned off at a preset timing.

In the portable terminal 6, the ultrasonic signal from the beacon 5 is received by the portable microphone 35, converted into an electric signal, and then transmitted to the demodulation processing unit 36.
In the demodulation processing unit 36, the FFT performs FFT conversion on the electrical signal, generates an amplitude spectrum (volume level) for each frame having a predetermined time width for each of the first carrier and the second carrier, and further performs mapping. Mapping the amplitude spectrum for each first carrier and every second carrier on the time axis by the processing unit to create mapping data arranged for each frame having a certain time width on the time axis as shown in FIG. To do.

  In FIG. 5, the mapping data of the first carrier is indicated by black circles, and the mapping data of the second carrier is indicated by white circles. Further, the noise data that appears at this time is indicated by a cross.

Next, the comparison operation unit, based on the mapping data, appears as a pair of frequencies alternately, and a set of frequencies in which the interval between the frequencies coincides with a constant between the first carrier and the second carrier. And the lower one is identified as the first carrier and the higher one as the second carrier.

Thereby, it is specified which channel the beacon 5 is using (in this case, it is one channel constituted by the first carrier (19000 Hz) and the second carrier (19050 Hz)).

  In addition, by doing this, the influence of the Doppler effect can be eliminated (the Doppler effect affects the entire frequency equally, but the frequency interval between the first carrier and the second carrier remains a constant promised in advance. Is).

  Further, the comparison calculation unit calculates (volume level of the first carrier) At− (volume level of the second carrier) Bt for each frame on the time axis, and obtains a difference ΔX (= At−Bt) between the two, When ΔX is negative (At <Bt), 0 is output, and when it is positive (At> Bt), 1 is output in time series.

The decryption processing unit combines the store unique identification number as “010101” based on the calculation result of the comparison calculation unit. That is, the unique identification number of the store is determined for the presence confirmation of the customer.
Indexing Then, the customer holding the portable terminal 6 operates the own portable terminal 6, the inquiry to the server 7 via the Internet network N, the received contents from the shop information server 7 or al delivery beacon For example, the unique identification number of the store is displayed on the display unit and collated.

  If they match, it is specified that there is a customer holding the mobile terminal 6 in the store (confirmation of the presence of the customer).

  In the series of operations described above, it is of course possible to perform error detection / correction and pre-processing of encryption / decryption as necessary.

According to the first embodiment, the beacon 5 and the portable terminal 6 are configured to communicate with each other using ultrasonic waves outside the audible frequency. In this case, the volume of the ultrasonic waves in the entire frequency range is constant. Therefore, people (customers, employees) from the fact that difficult to hear in the ear of, it is not to give anxiety to the people, Ru can get rid of the psychological resistance feeling and anxiety. In addition, it is possible to provide the ultrasonic communication system 1 that enables highly accurate information distribution based on more accurate position information to be executed in a stable state.

  In addition, since the beacon 5 according to the first embodiment operates stably, the maintenance cost is low, it can be easily introduced in a store or the like, the introduction orientation of the beacon 5 can be expanded, and the system provider can easily operate. There are advantages.

Further, in the communication between the beacon 5 and the portable terminal 6 in the first embodiment, the portable terminal 6, the first carrier, to perform the demodulation process by comparing the pattern corresponding to the volume level on the time axis of the second carrier To avoid rat and cockroaches, mosquito sounds to prevent youth from hanging, ultrasonic cleaners such as eyeglasses, digital signage and electronic equipment, etc. An ultrasonic communication system capable of ensuring efficient communication.

(Example 2)
An ultrasonic communication system 1A according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

  Since the basic configuration of the ultrasonic communication system 1A according to the second embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment, the same elements are denoted by the same reference numerals.

In an ultrasonic communication system 1A according to the second embodiment, instead of the configuration of the first embodiment, two beacons 5A and 5B that oscillate ultrasonic waves on, for example, the ceiling 4 in the sales floor 3 provided on one floor by the store side. And the frequency of the two carriers (first carrier and second carrier pair) of each of the two beacons 5A and 5B are out of the audible range for each individual channel (first channel, second channel). It is characterized in that it is configured such that it is differently assigned in each frequency band and is individually assigned, and the same transmission information is simultaneously transmitted from the respective beacons for each channel to the sales floor.

  In FIG. 8, the first carrier transmission unit of the beacon 5B is shown as 21a and the second carrier transmission unit 22a.

  Such a configuration is synonymous with forming a local network between the beacons 5A and 5B by communication using ultrasonic waves, and does not require a complicated system for connecting to the Internet N or IP network. This is advantageous.

That is, in one beacon 5A, the frequency of the first carrier is 19000 Hz and the frequency of the second carrier is 19050 Hz as the first channel, and in the other beacon 5B, the frequency of the first carrier is the second channel. Is 19500 Hz, the frequency of the second carrier is 19550 Hz, and the frequency interval between the first channel and the second channel is sufficiently large (500 Hz).

The communication operation between the beacon 5 and the portable terminal 6 of the ultrasonic communication system 1A according to the second embodiment is the same as that in the first embodiment, but the same effect as in the first embodiment is exhibited.

  In addition, by receiving the ultrasonic transmission information of the channel most suitable for the frequency characteristics of the mobile microphone 35 by the mobile microphone 35 of the customer's mobile terminal 6 in the sales floor 3, the mobile microphone 35 of each mobile terminal 6 is received. Overcoming the difference in frequency characteristics of each, high-quality information can be distributed to each customer.

  In addition, since the frequency interval between the first channel and the second channel is sufficiently large, each mobile terminal 6 is held while preventing interference and interference between the first channel and the second channel. Information can be distributed to a large number of customers.

(Example 3)
Next, an ultrasonic communication system 1B according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

  Since the basic configuration of the ultrasonic communication system 1B according to the third embodiment is substantially the same as that of the second embodiment, the same elements are denoted by the same reference numerals.

As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the ultrasonic communication system 1 </ b> B according to the third embodiment has the first channel and the second channel having different frequencies as described in the second embodiment from one beacon 5. A characteristic is that two ultrasonic signals are transmitted to the mobile terminal 6.
19000Hz frequency of the first carrier in the beacon 5, the frequency of the second carrier and 19050Hz, as a second channel, 19500Hz frequency of the first carrier, and a frequency of the second carrier and 19550Hz.

According to the ultrasonic communication system 1B according to the third embodiment, it is possible to obtain the same effect as in Example 1, as shown in FIG. 9, from one of the beacon 5, first the frequency is different, the second by the two ultrasonic signals of the channel of the delivery to the mobile terminal 6, overcoming technical restrictions first mobile terminal 6 (difference in frequency characteristic with a microphone), ideal for the individual mobile terminals 6 An (redundant) ultrasonic communication system 1 that can receive signals in a channel can be provided.

Example 4
Next, an ultrasonic communication system 1B according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

  Since the basic configuration of the ultrasonic communication system 1C according to the fourth embodiment is substantially the same as that of the second embodiment, the same elements are denoted by the same reference numerals.

In the ultrasonic communication system 1C according to the fourth embodiment, for example, two (a plurality of) beacons 5A and 5B that oscillate ultrasonic waves are disposed on, for example, the ceiling 4 in the sales floor 3 as in the second embodiment. In addition, the beacons 5A and 5B are characterized in that a microphone 26 and a speaker 27 are added in addition to the configuration of the second embodiment.

  The operation related to the delivery of signals by ultrasonic waves from the beacons 5A and 5B to the portable terminal 6 in the fourth embodiment is the same as that in the second embodiment, and the ultrasonic communication system 1C according to the fourth embodiment also has the second embodiment. The same actions and effects as those of the ultrasonic communication system 1A can be exhibited.

  Further, in the ultrasonic communication system 1C according to the fourth embodiment, by the Internet connection with the server 7 by the operation of the mobile terminal 6 (the mobile terminal 6 is usually provided with means for connecting to the Internet N) by the customer. The ultrasonic information transmitted from the portable speaker 37 (which uses the Internet environment) is received by the microphone 26 of any one of the beacons 5A and 5B (beacon 5A), It is possible to transmit to the microphone 26 of another beacon (beacon 5B) as ultrasonic Internet information, and to configure an indirect network using the Internet environment of the portable terminal 6.

That is, it is possible to indirectly connect to the Internet network by allowing the user's portable terminal to participate in a network by ultrasonic communication between the beacons 5A and 5B ( between the beacons 5A and 5B) .

  Thereby, on the store side, maintenance and update information can be acquired from the server 7 via the indirect network using the customer's mobile terminal 6 described above, and maintenance and update of the beacons 5A and 5B can be executed. It becomes possible to lead to significant cost reduction, labor saving, space saving, and improvement in flexibility of installation location.

  In addition, in a store that operates many stores, even if beacons scattered throughout the country are not connected to the Internet, a network is indirectly established using the Internet information acquired by the mobile terminal 6 of the customer. There are advantages that maintenance and updating can be carried out, and that significant cost reduction, labor saving and space saving can be realized, and further flexibility in installation location can be improved.

  Further, although not shown, the beacon 5A, 5B has a function of determining the frequency of the carrier of the beacon based on a signal from another beacon received by the microphone 26, and the carrier channel automatically transmitted by itself. It is also possible to configure so as to prevent interference with other beacons.

  According to the ultrasonic communication systems 1 to 1C of the first to fourth embodiments described above, ultrasonic waves outside the audible frequency that cannot be heard by human ears are used, and the volume of the ultrasonic waves in the entire frequency range is constant. , Because it is hard to be heard by people (customers, employees), it does not give anxiety, can eliminate psychological resistance and anxiety, and is highly accurate based on more accurate location information The information distribution can be executed in a stable state, and the possibility of introducing the beacon 5 into a store or the like increases.

  In addition, stable communication performance can be ensured as a whole system, maintenance cost is low, it is easy to introduce in a store and the like, it can be spread widely, and there is an advantage that it is easy for a system provider to operate.

  In addition, by using ultrasonic waves outside the audible frequency, it is strong against environmental noises generated from the removal of mice, cockroaches, mosquito sounds to prevent youth from hanging, ultrasonic cleaners such as glasses, digital signage and electronic devices, The ultrasonic communication systems 1 to 1C having excellent performance capable of ensuring stable communication can be realized and provided.

In addition to the case where the present invention is applied to the communication between the store side and the customer's mobile terminal in the above-described store or the like, for example, confirmation of the presence of individual attendees in a conference hall where a large number of attendees holding the mobile terminal gather. can be applied to wide range to a communication application between mobile terminals of existence confirmation of the number of users holding the portable terminal, the information provider side and attendees held in an event venue and the like.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Ultrasonic communication system 1A Ultrasonic communication system 1B Ultrasonic communication system 1C Ultrasonic communication system 2 Store computer apparatus 3 Sales floor 4 Ceiling 5 Beacon 5A Beacon 5B Beacon 6 Portable terminal 7 Server 10 Control part 11 Memory 12 Storage part 13 Communication Processing unit 14 Operation unit 15 Display unit 16 Printer 17 Beacon information processing unit 21 First carrier transmission unit 21a First carrier transmission unit 22 Second carrier transmission unit 22a Second carrier transmission unit 23 Transmission controller 24 DA conversion unit 25 Beacon sounding unit 26 microphone 27 speaker 30 portable control unit 31 portable memory 32 wireless transmission / reception unit 33 display unit 34 operation unit 35 portable microphone 36 demodulation processing unit 37 portable speaker 38 storage unit N Internet network

Claims (9)

An ultrasonic communication system for performing ultrasonic communication between a beacon installed in a specific section provided by an information provider side or a store side and oscillating ultrasonic waves and a portable terminal existing in the section ,
The beacon is two digital signals that have adjacent frequencies outside the audible range and are assigned to a pair of volume levels, the first carrier and the second carrier, one carrier having a large volume level on the time axis. In the active region, the other carrier becomes a non-active region with a low volume level, and the active regions of the first carrier and the second carrier are alternated so that the volume of the inactive region of either the first carrier or the second carrier. When both levels are greater than 0 and the volume level of the first carrier is greater than the volume level of the second carrier according to the magnitude relationship between the volume level of the first carrier and the volume level of the second carrier, When one of 0 and 1 is assigned and the volume level of the second carrier is higher than the volume level of the first carrier, 0 and 1 By assigning the other out, and outputs the calling information of one channel that contains the unique identification information of the information provider or the store, and sends it to the compartment the transmission information as an ultrasound after conversion to an analog signal Having means,
The portable terminal includes a portable microphone, ultrasonic waves sent from the beacon to convert the ultrasonic wave thus received when received by the portable microphone into an electrical signal, the first carrier and the second carrier in the electrical signal When one configured channel is specified, a demodulation process is performed to demodulate to 0, 1 according to the magnitude relationship of the volume level on the time axis between the first carrier and the second carrier of the specified channel , A demodulation processing unit that outputs the transmission information including the unique identification information so as to be processable for presence confirmation of the mobile terminal;
An ultrasonic communication system. The ultrasonic communication system according to claim 1,
A plurality of the beacons are installed in the specific compartment;
Each beacon is individually assigned a pair of a first carrier and a second carrier having different frequency settings, and each beacon includes the unique identification information by a combination of the assigned first carrier and second carrier. Output the transmission information of one channel, convert the transmission information into an analog signal, and then send it into the section as an ultrasonic wave,
The demodulation processing unit receives ultrasonic transmission information suitable for the frequency characteristics of a microphone provided in the mobile terminal among ultrasonic transmission information transmitted from each beacon, and transmits the received ultrasonic wave. Performing the demodulation processing on the transmission information;
An ultrasonic communication system. The ultrasonic communication system according to claim 1,
After the beacon outputs the transmission information for a plurality of channels using a plurality of pairs of first and second carriers having different frequency settings, and converts the transmission information of each channel into an analog signal Sent into the compartment as ultrasound,
The demodulation processing unit receives ultrasonic transmission information of a channel suitable for the frequency characteristics of the microphone of the mobile terminal among the ultrasonic transmission information of a plurality of channels transmitted from the beacon, and receives the received information Performing the demodulation process on the ultrasonic transmission information;
An ultrasonic communication system. In the ultrasonic communication system according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The portable terminal has means for acquiring Internet information from a server via the Internet, and means for outputting the acquired Internet information as an ultrasonic wave from a speaker.
The beacon obtains Internet information provided from the server via the portable terminal by receiving the microphone and ultrasonic internet information output from the speaker of the portable terminal by the microphone. Having
An ultrasonic communication system. The ultrasonic communication system according to claim 4,
A plurality of the beacons are installed in the specific compartment;
A beacon that has acquired Internet information from a server via the portable terminal outputs the Internet information from a speaker by ultrasonic waves, and another beacon receives the ultrasonic Internet information by a microphone. Transmitting the Internet information in
An ultrasonic communication system. The ultrasonic communication system according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
The demodulation processing unit is configured to perform fast Fourier transform processing on the first carrier and second carrier, mapping processing on a time axis, and first processing on the transmission information of the ultrasonic wave received by the mobile microphone of the mobile terminal Demodulating transmission information including the unique identification information for confirmation of the presence of the mobile terminal by performing a pattern comparison calculation process on the volume level of the carrier and the second carrier;
An ultrasonic communication system. The ultrasonic communication system according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
The ultrasonic communication system, wherein the specific section is a sales floor provided by a store. It is used in an ultrasonic communication system that performs ultrasonic communication between a beacon installed in a specific section provided on the information provider side or store side and oscillating ultrasonic waves and a mobile terminal existing in the section. A beacon
When the first carrier and the second carrier, which are two digital signals having adjacent frequencies outside the audible range and to which a paired volume level is assigned, are one active carrier with a large volume level on the time axis On the other hand, the other carrier becomes an inactive area with a low volume level, and the active areas of the first carrier and the second carrier are alternated so that the volume level of both the inactive areas of the first carrier and the second carrier is 0. When the volume level of the first carrier is greater than the volume level of the second carrier, depending on the magnitude relationship between the volume level of the first carrier and the volume level of the second carrier, If one of them is assigned and the volume level of the second carrier is greater than the volume level of the first carrier, the other of 0 and 1 is assigned. By applying, to have a means to output the transmission information of one channel, to be transmitted to said compartment said transmission information as an ultrasound after conversion to an analog signal including a unique identification information of the information provider or the shop ,
Beacon characterized by.   Used in an ultrasonic communication system that performs ultrasonic communication between a beacon installed in a specific section provided by an information provider or a store and oscillating ultrasonic waves and a mobile terminal existing in the section. A program for mobile terminals,
  By being executed by a CPU mounted on the portable terminal, the CPU is
  From the beacon, the first carrier and the second carrier, which are two digital signals to which a pair of volume levels having close frequencies outside the audible range are assigned, one carrier on the time axis has a large volume level. In the active region, the other carrier becomes a non-active region with a low volume level, and the active regions of the first carrier and the second carrier are alternated so that the volume of the inactive region of either the first carrier or the second carrier. When both levels are greater than 0 and the volume level of the first carrier is greater than the volume level of the second carrier according to the magnitude relationship between the volume level of the first carrier and the volume level of the second carrier, When one of 0 and 1 is assigned and the volume level of the second carrier is greater than the volume level of the first carrier, 0, The transmission information of one channel including the unique identification information of the information provider or the store by allocating the other of the information, and the transmission transmitted into the section as an ultrasonic wave after being converted into an analog signal When information is received by a portable microphone provided in the portable terminal,
  When the received ultrasonic wave is converted into an electric signal and one channel constituted by the first carrier and the second carrier is specified in the electric signal, the time between the first carrier and the second carrier of the specified channel is determined. As a demodulation processing unit that performs demodulation processing that demodulates to 0 and 1 according to the magnitude relation of the volume level on the axis, and outputs the transmission information including the unique identification information so as to be processable for presence confirmation of the portable terminal A program for a portable terminal characterized by being made to function.