JP5854643B2 - Information processing apparatus, control method, and program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus that constitutes a positioning system using base station information.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is a technique for specifying the position of a communication device based on satellite information of a Global Positioning System (hereinafter referred to as GPS) and information on a mobile phone base station. For example, in Patent Document 1, an error between a position specified based on GPS satellite information and a position specified based on base station information is determined, and which information is used to notify the user of the specified position. Has been decided.
In addition, the communication device acquires base station information (for example, an identifier of the AP) of an access point (hereinafter referred to as AP) that is a base station of a surrounding wireless LAN and transmits it to the server. There is a position positioning system in which the server compares the position information of the AP registered in association with the base station information and notifies the communication apparatus of the position information.
In recent years, mobile wireless communication devices (mobile APs) having portability such as mobile phones and mobile computers having an AP function are becoming widespread.

JP 2003-78943 A

The technique for notifying the communication device of location information based on the AP base station information described above is based on the premise that the AP itself does not move. However, when the location information is to be notified to the communication device based on the base station information of the mobile AP, there is a problem that the correct location information cannot be notified to the communication device because the mobile AP itself is moving.
In addition, when there are many mobile APs around the communication device, as a result of the communication device acquiring a plurality of pieces of base station information, it is not possible to know which base station information of the base station can be used for position information acquisition. It may take time to acquire location information.
The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to reduce a decrease in position accuracy by performing processing for using position information associated with base station information according to the type of base station. And

As means for solving the problem, a base station information including identification information of a wireless network formed by the base station is received from the base station, and the base station information received by the receiving means is associated with the base station information. When acquisition information for acquiring position information and the identification information included in the base station information received by the reception means includes specific information indicating that the communication is between devices, acquisition by the acquisition means is restricted. to provide an information processing apparatus characterized by comprising a control means for the.

  Depending on the type of the base station, it is controlled whether or not to notify the user of the position information associated with the base station information, so that a decrease in position accuracy can be reduced.

It is a figure which shows the hardware structural example of a communication apparatus. It is a figure which shows the functional block structural example of a communication apparatus. It is a block diagram of a position positioning system. It is a sequence diagram of the position positioning system which concerns on Example 1,2. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of a communication apparatus. It is a flowchart which shows the determination process using the received signal information of a base station, and the movement amount information of an own apparatus. It is a flowchart which shows the determination process using the power supply information of a base station. It is a flowchart which shows the determination process using communication interface (backbone network) information. It is a flowchart which shows the determination process using the MAC address information of a base station. FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram of a position positioning system according to a third embodiment. FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a registration process of a communication device according to a third embodiment. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a server according to a fourth embodiment. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a server according to the fourth embodiment.

Example 1
Hereinafter, the position positioning system according to the present embodiment will be described. In the positioning system of the present embodiment, a communication device as a client transmits base station information of a wireless LAN access point (AP) to a server (external device), and the server communicates position information corresponding to the base station information. Provide to the device. In the present embodiment, it is determined whether the base station information acquired by the communication apparatus as a client can be used for acquiring the position information. In this embodiment, the mobile radio communication apparatus having the AP function notifies the type of the own apparatus as the device type, and based on this information, the communication apparatus can use the acquired base station information for acquiring the position information. Determine whether.

  An example of the system configuration of the positioning system according to the present embodiment is shown in FIG. The communication apparatus 300 requests the server 304 for the current position information of the communication apparatus 300 based on the base station information of APs present in the vicinity. Here, the “periphery” is a range in which an AP notification signal can be received. Reference numeral 301 denotes a mobile phone having an AP function. The cellular phone 301 uses the AP function to construct an infrastructure mode wireless LAN 305. At the same time, the mobile phone 301 is connected to the public network 307 via the mobile phone base station 303. In this embodiment, a mobile phone is described as an example of a portable AP (mobile AP). However, a mobile device such as a notebook PC, a camera, or a printer, or a terminal dedicated to the mobile AP may be used. A mobile device is a device designed on the assumption that it is used while being carried. Reference numeral 302 denotes a fixed setting device having no portability (fixed AP), that is, an AP premised on being installed and fixedly installed. The AP 302 constructs an infrastructure mode wireless LAN 306. At the same time, the AP 302 is connected to the public network 307. The server 304 is an information processing device that manages base station information and location information in association with each other and provides the location information to other devices. In response to a request from the communication apparatus 300, the server 304 transmits position information managed in association with the base station information received from the communication apparatus 300 to the communication apparatus 300. Since the server 304 is connected to the public network 307, the communication apparatus 300 requests location information from the server 304 via the public network 307.

  Next, the hardware configuration of the communication apparatus 300 will be described with reference to FIG. Reference numeral 101 denotes a control unit that controls the operation of the entire communication apparatus 300, and performs calculation and processing of information. Reference numeral 102 denotes a ROM that stores an operation program of the communication apparatus 300 and a program for realizing each functional configuration described later. Reference numeral 103 denotes a RAM which is a work memory of the control unit 101. Reference numeral 104 denotes an antenna used for transmitting and receiving a high-frequency signal. An antenna control unit 105 inputs a signal obtained by the antenna 104 to the communication apparatus 300 and supplies a signal from the communication apparatus 300 to the antenna 104. Reference numeral 106 denotes a communication unit that controls communication processing such as searching for a nearby network, building a network, and connecting to the network. Reference numeral 107 denotes a power supply unit 107 that supplies power to each hardware of the communication apparatus 300. Reference numeral 108 denotes a storage unit that stores various data. The storage unit 108 is composed of, for example, an HDD. Reference numeral 109 denotes a display unit that displays various types of information. The display unit 109 is composed of, for example, a liquid crystal display. Reference numeral 110 denotes an operation unit that accepts user input. Reference numeral 111 denotes a timer unit for measuring time. Reference numeral 112 denotes a movement sensor unit that outputs information for detecting the movement of the device itself and measuring the movement amount. For example, it is composed of a gyroscope, an acceleration sensor, and the like. As described above, the communication device 300 is an information processing device having a communication function. The hardware configuration diagram shown in FIG. 1 is one example in the present embodiment, and is not necessarily limited to this.

  A functional configuration of the communication apparatus 300 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. Note that the functional configuration of the communication apparatus 300 is realized by the control unit 101 executing a program stored in the ROM 102 and controlling each hardware. Note that some or all of the functional configurations of the communication apparatus 300 may be configured as hardware. A search unit 201 in FIG. 2 performs search control of base station information of APs existing in the vicinity. Reference numeral 202 denotes an acquisition unit that acquires information used to determine whether the base station information searched by the search unit 201 can be used to acquire position information. Moreover, the acquisition part 202 acquires the received signal strength (Receive Signal Strength Indication) at the time of receiving base station information. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that information such as device type information, MAC address, power supply information, communication interface information, and network name is stored in the base station information. Here, the communication interface information is information regarding how the AP is connected to the public network 307 (backbone network). The device type is information indicating the type of device. Based on the device type notified by the AP, it is determined whether the mobile radio communication apparatus has portability, that is, whether it is a mobile AP or a fixed AP.

  A communication control unit 203 controls the communication unit 106 to control communication processing such as TCP / IP. A position acquisition unit 204 controls the acquisition of position information. The location acquisition unit 204 transmits information (MAC address, network name, etc.) uniquely indicating the AP searched by the search unit 201 to the server 304 by the communication control unit 203, and acquires location information from the server 304. Reference numeral 205 denotes a registration control unit that registers an AP with the server 304. The registration control unit 205 controls the base station information searched by the search unit 201 to be transmitted to the server 304 by the communication control unit 203 and registered in the server 304. Details of the registration process will be described in Example 3 described later. Reference numeral 206 denotes a measurement unit that detects the movement of the device itself and measures the amount of movement from the output of the movement sensor unit 112. Reference numeral 207 denotes a timer control unit. The timer control unit 207 uses the timer unit 111 to control timer activation and timeout. A determination unit 208 determines whether to operate the position acquisition unit 204 and the registration control unit 205 based on the information acquired by the acquisition unit 202. Note that the functional configuration of the communication device 300 described above is one example, and does not necessarily have to have all the functional configurations. Any functional block configuration capable of implementing the present invention is within the scope of the present invention.

  The operation of the communication apparatus 300 according to the present embodiment having the above configuration will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 4 is a sequence diagram illustrating the operation of the position positioning system according to the present embodiment. The communication device 300 detects a position information acquisition process start instruction by the user's operation of the operation unit 110 and starts the position information acquisition process. (F401). The search unit 201 of the communication device 300 transmits a probe request in order to search whether there is a wireless network in the vicinity (F402) (F404). When receiving the probe request from the communication device 300, the mobile phone 301 includes a base station information and returns a probe response (F403). The base station information transmitted by the mobile phone 301 includes information indicating that the device type of the mobile phone 301 is a mobile AP. On the other hand, when the AP 302 receives the probe request from the communication device 300, the AP 302 returns a probe response including the base station information. (F405). The base station information transmitted by the AP 302 includes information indicating that the device type of the AP 302 is a fixed AP.

  The acquisition unit 202 of the communication apparatus 300 acquires information for determining whether the position information can be used from the base station information included in the probe response. In this embodiment, device type information included in base station information is acquired. Based on the acquired information (device type), the determination unit 208 determines to transmit only the base station information of the AP 302 that is a fixed AP to the server (F406). Then, the communication control unit 203 of the communication apparatus 300 is activated to perform connection processing with the AP 302. (F407, F408). Note that the destination of connection as a relay station for the communication device 300 to communicate with the server 304 may be the mobile phone 301. The location acquisition unit 204 of the communication apparatus 300 transmits only the base station information of the AP 302 to the server 304 using the communication control unit 203. (F409). The server 304 determines whether the base station information of the AP 302 is registered, and if it is registered, returns the position information associated with the base station information to the communication apparatus 300. (F410).

  The operation of the communication apparatus 300 in the above-described position information acquisition sequence will be described using the flowchart shown in FIG. The communication device 300 detects a position information acquisition process start instruction by the user's operation of the operation unit 110 and starts the position information acquisition process. (S501). The search unit 201 transmits a probe request in order to search whether there is a wireless network in the vicinity (S502). If the search unit 201 cannot detect a nearby network, error processing is performed (S503, S512). When detecting that a wireless network exists in the vicinity, the acquiring unit 202 acquires the base station information of the APs that configure the detected network from the probe response (S503, S504). Here, the acquisition unit 202 acquires the base station information of the mobile phone 301 and the AP 302. The communication apparatus 300 starts a determination process for determining whether the acquired base station information can be used for acquiring position information (S505). In the present embodiment, the acquisition of the location information is determined by determining whether the AP is a mobile AP based on the device type of the AP that transmitted the base station information. First, the determination unit 208 determines whether a device type is stored in the base station information. Processing when the device type is not stored will be described in another embodiment described later.

  When the device type is stored in the acquired base station information, the determination unit 208 determines whether the base station is a fixed AP or a mobile AP based on the device type. In this embodiment, the AP 302 is informed of the base station information by including information on the device type indicating the fixed AP and the mobile phone 301 indicating the mobile AP. Therefore, the determination unit 208 determines that the AP 302 is a fixed AP and the mobile phone 301 is a mobile AP. In addition, since the determination unit 208 determines that the AP 302 is a fixed AP, the determination unit 208 determines that the base station information of the AP 302 is base station information that can be used to acquire position information. Further, since the mobile phone 301 is determined to be a mobile AP, the base station information of the mobile phone 301 is determined to be base station information that should not be used for acquiring location information. Subsequently, the communication apparatus 300 changes processing according to the determination result in S505 (S506). When it is determined that the acquired base station information can be used for acquiring position information, the communication apparatus 300 stores the base station information in the storage unit 108 as base station information to be transmitted to the server 304 (S507). Further, when the communication apparatus 300 determines that the acquired base station information should not be used for acquisition of position information, the communication apparatus 300 stores the base station information in the storage unit 108 as transmission exclusion information that is not transmitted to the server 304. (S508).

  Subsequently, the communication apparatus 300 determines whether all base station information acquired by the acquisition unit 202 has been determined as base station information that can be used for acquiring position information (S509). If the determination process has been completed for all base station information, the process proceeds to S510. If the determination process has not been completed, the process returns to step S505 to repeat the determination process. When it is determined that the determination process has been completed for all acquired base station information, the communication device 300 transmits only the base station information stored as the base station information to be transmitted to the storage unit 108 to the server 304. In this embodiment, only the information of the AP 302 is transmitted to the server 304 (S510). The communication apparatus 300 determines whether or not the position information has been received from the server 304 as a response, and performs error processing if the position information is not received (S511, S512). Whether or not the position information has been received is determined based on whether or not the position information has been received within a predetermined time. As error processing, an error message is displayed on the user interface. When the communication apparatus 300 receives position information from the server 304, the communication apparatus 300 displays the received position information on the display unit 109. Thus, the communication apparatus 300 ends the position information acquisition process.

  In the present embodiment, a case has been described in which information indicating a mobile AP or a fixed AP is included as an example of a device type. However, a configuration in which device types such as a mobile phone, a printer, a projector, a digital TV, a digital camera, and a camcorder are set as the device type may be used. In the case of such a configuration, a table in which the device type is associated with the mobile AP or the fixed AP is held in advance, and it is determined whether the mobile AP or the fixed AP is based on the table.

  As described above, in this embodiment, it is determined whether the acquired base station information can be used for acquisition of position information, and position information is acquired based only on base station information that can be used for acquisition of position information. . Accordingly, for example, position information is not requested based on base station information of a mobile AP having portability, so that an effect of reducing a decrease in position accuracy can be obtained. Further, since base station information determined not to be used for acquisition of position information is not transmitted to the server, unnecessary information transmission / reception processing can be prevented, and the processing speed can be increased. For example, even when APs are scattered in the vicinity, since the location information is requested based only on base station information that can be used to acquire location information, unnecessary transmission / reception processing is not performed, and the user can It can be expected that the period until information is acquired is reduced.

(Example 2)
In the present embodiment, a process when the device type is not stored in the base station information in the process of determining whether the base station information can be used for acquisition of position information (S505) described in the first embodiment will be described. Note that the hardware configuration, functional block configuration, configuration diagram, and sequence diagram of the apparatus in the second embodiment are the same as those in the first embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted. Further, differences from the first embodiment will be described in detail.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a determination process for determining whether the base station information can be used for acquiring the position information of the communication apparatus 300 according to the present embodiment. When the device type is not stored in the received base station information, the communication apparatus 300 acquires the received signal strength when the base station information is received by the acquiring unit 202 for a predetermined period. (S601). Subsequently, the measurement unit 206 measures the movement amount and the movement direction of the own apparatus during a predetermined period in which the received signal strength when the base station information is received in S601 is acquired (S602). The determination unit 208 determines whether the base station is moving based on the time series change of the received signal strength and the movement amount information of the own device (S603). For example, if there is a change in the strength of the received signal strength even though the communication device 300 is not moving, it is determined that the base station is moving. The process performed by the communication apparatus 300 transitions to S605 when the determination unit 208 determines that the base station is moving. Also, the processing performed by the communication apparatus 300 transitions to S606 if the determination unit 208 determines that it has not moved (S604). In S604, when it is determined that the base station is moving, the determination unit 208 determines that the base station is a mobile AP. (S605). In S604, when it is determined that the base station is not moving, the base station is determined as a fixed AP. (S606). In addition, the determination unit 208 determines that the base station information of the base station determined to be a fixed AP is base station information that can be used for acquiring position information. Further, the base station information of the base station determined to be a mobile AP is determined as base station information that should not be used for acquiring position information. After determining whether the acquired base station information can be used for acquiring position information, the same processing is performed from S506 of the first embodiment.

  In this embodiment, even if the base station information does not include information indicating the device type, the base station is a mobile AP or a fixed AP based on the received signal strength information of the base station and the movement amount of the own device. It becomes possible to judge whether.

  In addition, as another determination process for determining whether the base station information can be used for acquiring position information, the base station that reports the acquired base station information from the power supply information of the base station included in the base station information is a mobile AP. It may be determined whether it is a fixed AP. FIG. 7 shows an operation flow diagram of the communication apparatus 300 when determining whether the base station is a mobile AP or a fixed AP from the power supply information of the base station.

  When the device type is not stored in the base station information of the base station, the communication apparatus 300 acquires the power supply information of the base station stored in the base station information by the acquisition unit 202. (S701). When the communication apparatus 300 acquires the power supply information of the base station, the determination unit 208 determines whether it is connected to a commercial power supply or the battery is based on the power supply information of the base station. If the commercial power source is connected to the base station, the communication device 300 transitions to step S703, and if the battery is a power source, the communication device 300 transitions to step S704 (S702). When determining that the commercial power source is connected to the base station, the determination unit 208 determines that the base station is fixedly installed and determines that the base station is a fixed AP. (S703). When it is determined that the power source of the base station is a battery, it is determined that the base station has portability, and the base station is determined as a mobile AP. (S704). In addition, the determination unit 208 determines that the base station information of the base station determined to be a fixed AP is base station information that can be used for acquiring position information. Further, the base station information of the base station determined to be a mobile AP is determined as base station information that should not be used for acquiring position information. After determining whether the acquired base station information can be used for acquiring position information, the same processing is performed from S506 of the first embodiment. As described above, whether the base station is a mobile AP or a fixed AP can be determined from the power supply information of the base station. Therefore, it is possible to determine whether or not the AP that reports the acquired base station information has portability without providing a means (movement sensor unit) for sensing the movement amount of the own device.

  Further, as another determination process for determining whether the base station information can be used for acquiring position information, it may be determined whether the base station is a mobile AP or a fixed AP from the communication interface information of the base station. FIG. 8 shows an operation flow diagram of the communication apparatus 300 when determining whether the base station is a mobile AP or a fixed AP from the communication interface information of the base station.

  When the device type is not stored in the base station information of the base station, the communication device 300 acquires the communication interface information of the base station stored in the base station information by the acquisition unit 202. (S801). The determination unit 208 determines whether or not the base station is connected to the public network 307 by wire based on the communication interface information. If the communication apparatus 300 determines that the base station is connected to the public network 307 by wire, the communication apparatus 300 proceeds to step S803. If the connection is not made to the public network 307 by wire or connected to the public network 307 using wireless communication, the process proceeds to step S804. (S802). When it is determined that the base station is connected to the public network by wire, it is regarded as a fixed base station and is determined as a fixed AP. (S803). If it is determined that the wireless network is not connected to the public network or is connected to the public network 307 using wireless communication, the base station is regarded as a mobile wireless communication device having portability and determined as a mobile AP. To do. (S804). In addition, the determination unit 208 determines that the base station information of the base station determined to be a fixed AP is base station information that can be used for acquiring position information. Further, the base station information of the base station determined to be a mobile AP is determined as base station information that should not be used for acquiring position information. After determining whether the acquired base station information can be used for acquiring position information, the same processing is performed from S506 of the first embodiment. As described above, it is possible to determine whether the base station is a mobile AP or a fixed AP from the communication interface information of the base station. Therefore, it is possible to determine whether or not the AP that reports the acquired base station information has portability without providing a means (movement sensor unit) for sensing the movement amount of the own device.

  Also, as another determination process for determining whether the base station information can be used for acquiring location information, it is determined whether the acquired base station information can be used for acquiring location information from the MAC address of the location information acquisition base station. It is good also as composition to do. FIG. 9 shows a flowchart of determination processing for determining whether the acquired base station information can be used for acquiring position information from the MAC address of the base station. When the determination process of S505 in FIG. 5 is started, the acquisition unit 202 acquires the MAC address of the base station stored in the base station information. (S901). In addition, even if it is not a MAC address, it does not matter as long as it is information that can uniquely identify a base station. When the determination unit 208 acquires the MAC address information of the base station, the determination unit 208 compares it with the excluded MAC address information. It is assumed that the excluded MAC address information is stored in the storage unit 108 in advance.

  Excluded MAC address information is table data that lists the MAC addresses of base stations that should not be used to acquire location information. The excluded MAC address information may be acquired as appropriate by accessing an external device (for example, the server 304) that stores the latest excluded MAC address information. Further, the location information could not be acquired with the base station information used in the past, or the MAC address of the base station information in which the acquired location information is different from the actual location and the error is a predetermined value or more is stored in the storage unit 108. May be. (S902). The determination unit 208 determines whether or not the acquired MAC address is excluded. If the acquired MAC address of the base station has been excluded, the process proceeds to step S904. If not, the process proceeds to step S905. (S903). When it is determined that the MAC address of the base station is excluded, the determination unit 208 determines that the acquired base station information should not be used for acquiring position information (S904). When it is determined that the MAC address of the base station is not excluded, the determination unit 208 determines that the acquired base station information can be used for acquiring position information. After determining whether the acquired base station information can be used for acquiring position information, the same processing is performed from S506 of the first embodiment. Thereafter, the same processing as that in the first embodiment is performed, and thus description thereof is omitted. As described above, it is possible to improve the accuracy of the determination result in the determination process because it is determined whether or not the acquired base station information can be used for acquiring position information based on information that can uniquely identify the base station. it can. Further, it may be determined from the base station MAC address whether the base station is a fixed AP or a mobile AP.

  In addition, when the network name (ESSID) included in the acquired base station information includes specific information that clearly indicates inter-device communication, the acquired base station information should not be used for acquiring position information. It is good also as a structure to determine. If the network type of the base station indicates an ad hoc network rather than an infrastructure, it may be determined that the acquired base station information should not be used.

  In the above-described embodiment, before transmitting the acquired base station information to the server 304, it is determined whether it can be used for acquiring the position information. However, the present invention is not limited to this. That is, the communication apparatus 300 may be configured to determine whether to use the acquired position after acquiring the position based on the acquired base station information from the server 304. For example, it is assumed that the position corresponding to the base station information of the mobile AP has already been registered in the server 304. In this case, the position corresponding to the base station information of the mobile AP is information on the location where the mobile AP in the past where the registration process was performed. Accordingly, when the mobile AP moves, the position corresponding to the base station information of the mobile AP is not reliable, and there is a possibility that the position accuracy is lowered. However, the communication apparatus 300 acquires the base station information of the mobile AP, and the server 304 can request the position information with low reliability corresponding to the acquired base station information.

  Even if such position information lacking reliability is acquired, the communication apparatus 300 performs a process of determining whether the base station information can be used for acquiring position information in S505 described above before displaying the position information to the user. Then, the communication apparatus 300 is configured to discard the position corresponding to the base station information determined not to be used for acquiring the position information and not display it to the user. In this way, even if a position corresponding to base station information that should not be used for acquiring position information is acquired, the position provided to the user by not using the acquired position, such as not displaying to the user or discarding it An effect of preventing a decrease in the accuracy of information can be obtained. Further, by transmitting the acquired base station information to the server 304, it is possible to perform a determination process while receiving the processing result of the server 304. Therefore, it is possible to notify the user of location information earlier when the acquired base station information is usable, while reducing the decrease in accuracy of the location information provided to the user. As described above, not only the location based on the base station information is not used but not used, and even if the location corresponding to the base station information that should not be used for obtaining the location information is acquired, it is not displayed to the user or discarded. An example in which the position acquired in the above is not used has been described.

(Example 3)
In the first and second embodiments, it is determined whether the acquired base station information can be used for acquiring position information, and position information corresponding to base station information that should not be used for acquiring position information is not acquired, The embodiment which is not used because it is not provided has been described. In this embodiment, it is determined whether the acquired base station information can be used for acquiring position information, and the position information corresponding to the base station information determined not to be used for acquiring position information is not registered in the server. The registration process will be described. Since the hardware configuration, functional block configuration, and configuration diagram of each device in the present embodiment are the same as those in the first and second embodiments, description thereof will be omitted.

  FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram showing the operation of each device when the communication device 300 accesses the server 304 and registers position information. In FIG. 10, a position information registration process start instruction is detected by a user operation on the operation unit 110, and the position information registration process is started. (F1001). The search unit 201 of the communication device 300 transmits a probe request in order to search whether there is a wireless network in the vicinity (F1002) (F1004). When the mobile phone 301 receives the probe request from the communication device 300, it returns a probe response including the base station information. (F1003). Upon receiving the probe request from the communication apparatus 300, the AP 302 includes a base station information and returns a probe response. (F1005).

  The acquisition unit 202 of the communication apparatus 300 acquires information for determining whether the position information can be used from the base station information included in the probe response. Based on the acquired information, the determination unit 208 determines that the position information is registered in the server in association with the information of the AP 302 that is the fixed AP, and the position information is not registered in association with the information of the mobile phone 301. As a position associated with the base station information, the user of the communication apparatus 300 is instructed to input the current position, and the input result is a position associated with the base station information. Further, when the communication apparatus 300 has a function of acquiring position information such as GPS, the position information acquired by the function of acquiring position information is used.

  In addition, the determination unit 208 determines to register that information regarding the mobile phone 301 should not be used for acquiring position information. (F1006). The communication control unit 203 of the communication device 300 performs connection processing with the AP 302. (F1007, F1008). Note that the destination of connection as a relay station for the communication apparatus 300 to communicate with the server 304 may be the mobile phone 301. The registration control unit 205 of the communication device 300 uses the communication control unit 203 to transmit registration information to the server 304 and perform registration. (F1009). The server 304 registers the received registration information and returns a registration result to the communication apparatus 300. (F1010).

  The operation of the communication apparatus 300 in the above-described position information acquisition sequence will be described using the flowchart shown in FIG. The operation unit 110 of the communication apparatus 300 is operated to detect a start instruction for the position information registration process. (S1101). The search unit 201 transmits a probe request in order to search whether there is a wireless network in the vicinity (S1102). If the search unit 201 cannot detect a nearby network, error processing is performed (S1103, S1112). When detecting that there is a wireless network in the vicinity, the acquiring unit 202 acquires the base station information of the APs constituting the detected network from the probe response (S1103, S1104). Acquisition unit 202 acquires base station information of mobile phone 301 and AP 302. The communication apparatus 300 starts a determination process for determining whether the acquired base station information can be used to acquire position information (S1105). Since it is similar to the determination process described in the first and second embodiments, the description thereof is omitted. As a result of the determination process, the determination unit 208 determines that the AP 302 is a fixed AP, and therefore determines to register a position corresponding to the base station information of the AP 302 (S1106).

  And it memorize | stores as base station information to register, acquires the positional information acquisition linked | related with the said base station information by a user's input or the function which acquires positional information, such as GPS, and matches and memorize | stores it with the said base station information (S1107). ). Further, since the mobile phone 301 is determined as a mobile AP, it is determined not to register the position corresponding to the base station information of the mobile phone 301 and to register the base station information of the mobile phone 301 as exclusion information (S1106). Then, the base station information of the mobile phone 301 is stored as registration exclusion registration exclusion base station information, and the user is notified that the base station information is excluded from registration (S1108).

  Subsequently, the communication apparatus 300 determines whether all base station information acquired by the acquisition unit 202 has been determined as base station information that can be used for acquiring position information (S1109). If the determination process is completed for all the base station information, and if there is at least one base station information stored as the base station information registered in S1107, the process proceeds to S1110. If the determination process has not ended, the process returns to step S1105 to repeat the determination process. If the determination process is completed for all base station information, and if all the acquired base station information is stored as registration-excluded base station information in S1108, the process proceeds to S1112 and error processing is performed to complete the process. To do. In S1110, when it is determined that the determination process has been completed for all acquired base station information, the communication apparatus 300 supports the base station information and the base station information stored as the registered base station information in the storage unit 108. The position to be attached is transmitted to the server 304. Also, base station information stored as exclusion information (information on base stations that should not be used for position information acquisition) is registered in the server 304 as exclusion information. Further, the base station information stored as the exclusion information may be unregistered by not transmitting to the server 304. (S1110) The communication apparatus 300 determines whether or not a registration result is received as a response from the server 304, and performs error processing if the registration result is not received (S1111 and S1112). Note that whether or not the registration result has been received is determined based on whether or not the position information has been received within a predetermined time. Error processing includes, for example, displaying an error message on the user interface. When the registration result is received from the server 304, the received registration result is displayed on the display unit 109. (S1112, S1113). In addition, although it was set as the structure which acquires base station information after starting a registration process in a present Example, it is good also as a process which registers the acquired base station information.

  As described above, in this embodiment, it is determined whether the acquired base station information can be used for acquiring position information, and only the base station information of the base station determined to be usable for acquiring position information is registered in the server. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the location information from being registered in the server in association with the base station that may lose the location consistency. In addition, base station information of a base station that is determined not to be used for acquiring position information is not registered in the server, or is registered in the server as exclusion information. By registering with the server as exclusion information, it is possible to reduce the chance that other communication apparatuses will similarly register the location information in association with base stations that should not be used for acquiring the location information. Therefore, since the opportunity to provide information that causes a decrease in position accuracy to other users of the positioning system is further reduced, the reliability of the system can be improved.

Example 4
In the first, second, and third embodiments, the configuration has been described in which the communication apparatus 300 that is a client determines whether the acquired base station information can be used to acquire position information. In the present embodiment, the server 304 performs the above determination process. The system configuration diagram in this embodiment is the same as FIG. FIG. 12 shows the hardware configuration and functional configuration of the server 304 in this embodiment. FIG. 12A shows the hardware configuration of the server 304. Reference numeral 1202 denotes a CPU that executes a program stored in a ROM 1203 to be described later and controls the overall operation of the server 304. In addition, an operation flow and each functional configuration described later are realized by calculating information of the CPU 1202 and controlling each hardware. Reference numeral 1203 denotes a ROM which stores a program. Reference numeral 1204 denotes a RAM which operates as a work memory for the CPU 1202. Reference numeral 1205 denotes a storage unit that stores position information in association with base station information. The storage unit 1205 is configured by an HDD, for example. A communication unit 1206 is connected to the public network 307. Also, the communication unit 1206 requests and provides position information to the communication apparatus 300 as a client via the public network 307 and receives a position information registration request corresponding to the base station information. Reference numeral 1201 denotes a bus, which connects each piece of hardware so that they can communicate with each other.

  Next, the functional configuration of the server 304 in this embodiment is shown in FIG. Reference numeral 1207 denotes an acquisition unit that acquires the base station information received by the communication unit 1206 and the position information associated with the base station information from the communication apparatus 300 that is a client. Reference numeral 1208 denotes a determination unit that determines whether the base station information acquired by the acquisition unit 1207 is registered as exclusion information (base station information that should not be used for providing location information). In addition, the determination unit 1208 determines whether to register the acquired base station information as exclusion information. Also, the registration unit 1209 registers position information in association with the acquired base station information based on the determination result of the determination unit 1208. Also, the registration unit 1209 registers information about the acquired base station as exclusion information. Reference numeral 1210 denotes a notification unit that notifies the client of the processing result of the server 304.

  The operation of the server 304 having the above configuration will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. When the server 304 starts processing, it first enters a standby state waiting for reception of base station information from the communication device 300 (S1301). When the server 304 receives the base station information from the communication device 300 and acquires the base station information, the server 304 determines the type of the processing request received together with the base station information (S1302). If the processing request is a registration request for position information, a determination process is performed to determine whether the acquired base station information is base station information that can be used to provide a position (S1303). Here, in the determination process, the server 304 may perform the same process as the determination process performed in S505 of FIG. 5 described in the above embodiment. When the server 304 performs a determination process using the received signal strength, the communication device 300 may be configured to transmit the received signal strength and the movement amount together. Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case where it is determined that the result of the determination process can be used for acquiring position information is determined as base station information that can be used for providing the position in this embodiment.

  Here, another example of the determination process will be described. The server 304 determines whether there is an error in the positional information stored in association with the acquired base station information and the positional information received from the communication apparatus 300 together with the base station information. If the error does not exceed a predetermined threshold, the determination unit 1208 determines that the acquired base station information is usable base station information. In addition, when the error exceeds a predetermined threshold, the determination unit 1208 determines that the acquired base station information should not be used as base station information. Thus, even if it is a fixed AP by configuring, if it is immediately after changing the installation location, the location information is not provided to the user. Therefore, since position information at the previous installation location is not provided to the user, position accuracy and reliability can be improved.

  If it is determined in S1302 that the base station information can be used for providing the position, the current position of the communication apparatus 300 is recorded in association with the acquired base station information (S1304, S1305). It is assumed that the current position of the communication device 300 is acquired together with the base station information. The communication apparatus 300 instructs the user to input the current position, and transmits the input result to the server 304 as a position associated with the base station information. When the communication device 300 has a function of acquiring position information such as GPS, the position information acquired by the function of acquiring position information may be used.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the base station information should not be used for providing the location, the acquired base station information is stored as exclusion information (S1306). Subsequently, the notification unit 1210 notifies the processing result to the communication device 300 (S1307). For example, when the process of S1305 is performed, a message “position information has been registered” is notified to the communication apparatus 300. For example, when the process of S1306 is performed, the communication apparatus 300 is notified of a message that “the location information cannot be registered because the base station information is a mobile AP”.

  In S1302, if the request type is a request for position information, the server 304 determines whether the acquired base station information has already been registered as exclusion information (S1308). The server 304 performs error processing when the acquired base station information is already registered as exclusion information. The error processing may be configured to notify the communication device 300 of a message or warning such as “This base station information cannot be used” or “This base station is a mobile device”. On the other hand, when the acquired base station information is not registered as exclusion information, the server 304 determines whether or not position information associated with the acquired base station information is registered (S1309). When the position information associated with the acquired base station information is registered, the registered position information is transmitted to the communication device 300 (S1310). If position information corresponding to the acquired base station information is not registered, error processing is performed (S1311).

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is determined whether the base station information acquired by the server of the position positioning system can be used for providing the position, and the position information is only included in the base station information that can be used for providing the position. Register in association with. Therefore, since the position information of the base station that may not be consistent in position is not registered, the opportunity for providing information that causes a decrease in position accuracy to the client is reduced. Also, base station information determined not to be used for providing the location is registered as exclusion information. Therefore, it is possible to prevent server registration of position information that may not be consistent in position. In general, the chance of providing information that causes a decrease in position accuracy to the user of the positioning system is reduced, so that the reliability of the system can be improved.

(Other examples)
In the above-described embodiment, an example has been described in which the position corresponding to the base station information determined not to be used is not acquired, or the user is not notified even if acquired, but is limited thereto. It is not a thing. For example, when notifying the user of the location corresponding to the base station information determined not to be used, the location information based on the mobile AP is also notified and a warning is given. I do not care. That is, information on the type of base station is notified to the user together with the position information. With this configuration, the user can determine whether the notified position information is reliable.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, the determination process is based on information included in the base station information, which is base station information that can be used for position information, or the type of the base station is determined. It is not limited. For example, the base station holds power information of the base station, communication interface information, network name of the base station, network type information of the base station or information that can uniquely identify the base station, and responds to an inquiry from the communication device. The base station may transmit to the communication device.

  The present invention can also be realized by executing the following processing. That is, software (program) that realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to a system or apparatus via a network or various storage media, and a computer (or CPU, MPU, or the like) of the system or apparatus reads the program. It is a process to be executed.

101 Control unit 102 ROM
103 RAM
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 104 Antenna 105 Antenna control part 106 Communication part 107 Power supply part 108 Memory | storage part 109 Display part 110 Operation part 111 Time measuring part 112 Movement sensor part

Claims (14)

An information processing apparatus,
Receiving means for receiving, from the base station, base station information including identification information of the wireless network formed by the base station ;
Obtaining means for obtaining position information associated with the base station information received by the receiving means ;
When the identification information included in the base station information received by the receiving unit includes specific information indicating that the communication is between devices, a control unit that restricts acquisition by the acquiring unit;
An information processing apparatus comprising: The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit does not notify the user of location information associated with the base station information by limiting acquisition by the acquisition unit. The information processing apparatus based on the device type information of the base station, determines the type of the base station,
The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the control unit limits acquisition by the acquisition unit when it is determined that the type of the base station is a mobile device. It further has a movement amount acquisition means for acquiring a movement amount of the information processing apparatus,
The information processing apparatus determines the presence or absence of movement of the base station based on the acquired movement amount and the received signal strength when the base station information is received .
The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the control unit limits acquisition by the acquisition unit when it is determined that the base station is moving . Wherein, the power information of the base station, the communication interface information of the base station, based on any uniquely identifiable information information or the base station indicates the network type of the base station, the acquisition unit The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein acquisition by the information processing unit is limited . The acquisition unit, the information processing apparatus according to claim 1 to 5 any one characterized that you obtain location information associated external device to the base station information of the base station. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 to 6 any one, characterized by further comprising a registration control means for performing the association between the base station and location information of the group Chikyoku. And further comprising storage means for storing the base station information as exclusion information that is not used for acquisition of position information when acquisition by the acquisition means of position information associated with the base station information is restricted by the control means. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: 9. The control unit according to claim 1, wherein the control unit does not request the position information associated with the received base station information from an external apparatus that provides the position information associated with the base station information. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1. The information processing apparatus, an information processing apparatus according to claim 1 to 8 any one, characterized in that notify a location information associated with the base station information acquired by the acquisition unit to the user . The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein when the base station is a mobile device, the control unit restricts acquisition by the acquisition unit. 11. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit limits acquisition by the acquisition unit when the base station is not a fixed installation apparatus. A method for controlling an information processing apparatus,
A receiving step of receiving, from the base station, base station information including identification information of a wireless network formed by the base station ;
An acquisition step of acquiring position information associated with the base station information received in the reception step ;
If the identification information included in the base station information received in the receiving step includes specific information indicating that the communication is between devices, a limiting step of limiting acquisition in the acquisition step;
A method for controlling an information processing apparatus, comprising: Program for executing the control method according to an information processing apparatus to claim 1 3.

Images