JP5944659B2 - Mobile terminal and method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a mobile terminal having a periodic positioning function.

  In the current mobile communication system, an automatic GPS (Global Positioning System) function for measuring the position of a mobile terminal regularly and automatically can be used. In a typical auto GPS function, the position of a mobile terminal is measured regularly and automatically using a GPS system or a base station, and the position information of the mobile terminal thus positioned is provided to service providers such as content providers and communication operators. Be notified. The service provider can provide the mobile terminal with various services using the notified location information of the mobile terminal. Specific examples of such a service include a service that pushes pinpoint weather information and event information in the location information of a mobile terminal, an action support service that provides information on the last train at the nearest station, and the like.

  In a mobile terminal having such a regular positioning function such as an auto GPS function, it is important to construct a positioning system that realizes power saving. In order to achieve such power saving, mobile terminals using “moving stillness determination” based on acceleration sensors and base station area information have been proposed. In other words, the regular positioning is executed only when it is determined that the mobile terminal is moving based on the detection result of the movement detection means such as the acceleration sensor or the base station area information. By using this mobile stationary determination, it is possible to avoid unnecessary periodic positioning by a mobile terminal in a stationary state, and it is possible to suppress unnecessary power consumption.

JP 2010-038895 A JP 2006-153695 A

  However, even when such a moving stationary determination is used, there is a possibility that the mobile terminal will perform unnecessary GPS positioning. For example, there is a problem that even if it is determined that the mobile terminal is moving in an area where GPS positioning is not available, such as a subway home or indoors, the mobile terminal performs GPS positioning. In this case, the mobile terminal continues GPS positioning for a predetermined period, starts base station positioning only after timeout, consumes unnecessary power, and uses network equipment related to base station positioning. There was a problem that a traffic load occurred.

  In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a mobile terminal and a method for providing an effective positioning result without performing base station positioning when GPS positioning fails.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, a feature of the present invention is a mobile terminal having a positioning function, which performs GPS positioning and obtains a positioning result including a position of the mobile terminal and a positioning situation related to the GPS positioning. A GPS positioning unit, a base station positioning unit that executes base station positioning and obtains a positioning result including a position of the mobile terminal and a positioning situation related to the base station positioning, the GPS positioning unit, and the base station positioning unit, A position history information storage unit that stores position history information configured from the positioning results acquired by the method, and a positioning result extraction unit that extracts positioning results from the position history information according to a predetermined extraction rule, and the positioning When the GPS positioning unit fails in GPS positioning during the execution of the function, the positioning result extraction unit applies the predetermined extraction rule to the position history information, and the failed GPS positioning is performed. Extract the positioning result corresponding to the positioning situation of, it relates to a mobile terminal for providing the extracted positioning results as the positioning result of the failed GPS positioning.

  Another feature of the present invention is a method for executing a positioning function of a mobile terminal, wherein the mobile terminal holds a positioning result including a position of the mobile terminal acquired by previous positioning and a positioning situation related to the positioning. In response to the occurrence of a predetermined event, the method detects the failure of the GPS positioning, the step of starting the positioning function, the step of executing GPS positioning, Applying a predetermined extraction rule to the position history information, extracting a positioning result corresponding to a positioning situation related to the failed GPS positioning, and outputting the extracted positioning result as a positioning result of the failed GPS positioning. And a method comprising:

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, when GPS positioning fails, the mobile terminal and method which provide an effective positioning result can be provided, without performing base station positioning.

FIG. 1 shows a configuration of a positioning system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 shows a configuration of a mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 shows a data structure of location history information according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 shows a result of extracting position history information according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing auto GPS positioning of a mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing positioning result extraction processing according to an embodiment of the present invention.

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

  In each embodiment of the present invention, a mobile terminal having a positioning function such as auto GPS positioning is disclosed. In the following embodiments, the mobile terminal uses past effective positioning results in the base station area where the mobile terminal is located in order to reduce unnecessary positioning. Specifically, when GPS positioning fails during execution of auto GPS positioning, the mobile terminal refers to the past positioning result before switching to base station positioning, and determines the positioning time, positioning type, A positioning result corresponding to or coincident with the positioning accuracy and / or the positioning point is extracted, and the extracted positioning result is used as a positioning result of the GPS positioning. As a result, base station positioning is maintained while maintaining the quality of positioning results by using past effective positioning results compared to conventional auto GPS that automatically executes base station positioning if GPS positioning fails. It is possible to avoid the processing burden required for the process.

  First, a positioning system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 shows a configuration of a positioning system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the positioning system 10 includes a mobile terminal 100, a base station 200, and a GPS satellite 300. In the illustrated embodiment, one mobile terminal 100, three base stations 200, and one GPS satellite 300 are shown, but the positioning system 10 typically includes any number of mobile terminals 100. A base station 200 and a GPS satellite 300.

  The mobile terminal 100 is wirelessly connected to the base station 200 to communicate various signals such as data signals and control signals.

  In the present embodiment, the mobile terminal 100 estimates the position of the mobile terminal 100 by performing wireless communication with the base station 200 (base station positioning). Typically, the mobile terminal 100 can determine the position of the mobile terminal 100 based on the strength of the signal received from the base station 200. Preferably, in order to improve the positioning accuracy, the mobile terminal 100 may measure the position of the mobile terminal 100 based on the strengths of received signals from the plurality of base stations 200.

  In the present embodiment, the mobile terminal 100 further estimates the position of the mobile terminal 100 based on the GPS signal received from the GPS satellite 300 (GPS positioning). Typically, the mobile terminal 100 receives GPS signals from three or more GPS satellites 300, and positions the position of the mobile terminal 100 based on the received GPS signals using any known GPS positioning method. In general, it is known that an error occurs between a positioning result and an actual position in both GPS positioning and base station positioning. However, GPS positioning measures the position of the mobile terminal 100 with higher accuracy than base station positioning. It is possible. On the other hand, GPS positioning cannot be used in an area where GPS signals cannot be satisfactorily received such as indoors.

  The base station 200 is wirelessly connected to the mobile terminal 100 to communicate various signals such as data signals and control signals. For example, in response to a data transmission request from the mobile terminal 100, the base station 200 acquires data from a server on the network to which the base station 200 is connected, and transmits the acquired data to the mobile terminal 100 using a data signal. . In a typical location related service, the mobile terminal 100 transmits the location information of the mobile terminal 100 that has been positioned to the base station 200. The base station 200 transmits the location information received from the mobile terminal 100 to the server of the content provider, receives content data generated using the location information from the server, and moves the received content data using a data signal. It transmits to the terminal 100. Furthermore, the base station 200 transmits various control information necessary for wireless communication with the mobile terminal 100 to the mobile terminal 100 using a control signal. Examples of such control information include a cell ID that identifies a cell provided by the base station 200.

  The GPS satellite 300 orbits the earth orbit and distributes a signal including time data from a mounted clock to the earth. The mobile terminal 100 can obtain the distance from the GPS satellite 300 by multiplying the difference between the transmission time and the reception time of the time data received from the GPS satellite 300 by a predetermined radio wave propagation speed. In principle, the mobile terminal 100 can determine the position of the mobile terminal 100 by determining the distance from at least three GPS satellites 300.

  Next, the configuration of a mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

  The mobile terminal 100 according to the present embodiment is a device having a GPS function, and is typically a mobile phone or a smartphone. The mobile terminal 100 typically includes one or more of various hardware resources such as an auxiliary storage device, a memory device, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a communication device, a display device, an input device, a GPS device, a measurement device, and a timer. Composed. The auxiliary storage device is composed of a hard disk, a flash memory, and the like, and stores programs and data for realizing various processes described later. The memory device is composed of a RAM (Random Access Memory) or the like, and reads and stores the program from the auxiliary storage device when an instruction to start the program is given. The CPU functions as a processor for processing information, and realizes various functions described later according to a program stored in the memory device. The communication device is composed of various communication circuits for wired and / or wireless connection with other devices such as a server via a network. The display device is composed of a display or the like, and displays content received via a network, GUI (Graphical User Interface) or the like. The input device typically includes operation buttons, a keyboard, a mouse, and the like, and is used by the user of the mobile terminal 100 to input various operation commands. In order to realize the GPS function, the GPS device receives a signal distributed from the GPS satellite 300, extracts a time data, and receives the position of the mobile terminal 100 from the time data received according to any appropriate GPS positioning method. A positioning circuit for positioning is provided. The measuring device is composed of various sensors such as an acceleration sensor for measuring the movement of the mobile terminal 100. The timer provides time data to the components of the mobile terminal 100. The timer preferably has a function of periodically correcting the time. Note that the mobile terminal according to the present invention is not limited to the hardware configuration described above, and may have any other appropriate hardware configuration such as a circuit capable of realizing various functions described below.

  FIG. 2 shows a configuration of a mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the mobile terminal 100 includes a communication unit 110, a positioning activation unit 120, and a positioning unit 130.

  The communication unit 110 wirelessly communicates with the base station 200 and transmits and receives various signals such as data signals and control signals. In the present embodiment, the communication unit 110 extracts base station identification information such as a cell ID that identifies the serving cell of the base station 200 included in the control signal received from the base station 200. The communication unit 110 provides the extracted cell ID to the positioning unit 130. The communication unit 110 receives a control signal from one or more neighboring base stations 200 adjacent to the serving cell together with the serving base station 200 of the serving cell, and from each received control signal, the cell ID of the serving cell and the neighboring cell May be received. In addition, the communication unit 110 receives, from the positioning unit 130, the location information of the mobile terminal 100 that is positioned using the provided cell ID. The communication unit 110 transmits the received position information to the base station 200.

  The positioning activation unit 120 activates the positioning unit 130 in response to occurrence of a predetermined event. In one embodiment, in order to realize the regular positioning, the positioning activation unit 120 activates the positioning unit 130 at a predetermined time interval, and causes the positioning unit 130 to periodically measure the position of the mobile terminal 100 at the time interval. This time interval may be set to an appropriate period such as 5 minutes, or may be set by the service provider according to the type of location-related service to be provided. For example, the time interval may be set depending on the size of the geographical range targeted by the location-related service. That is, in a location-related service in which content data generated for a relatively wide geographical range such as weather information is provided, the service provider may set a relatively large time interval. On the other hand, in a location-related service that provides content data focusing on a relatively narrow geographical range such as neighboring store information, the service provider may set a relatively small time interval.

  In another embodiment, the positioning activation unit 120 includes a movement detection unit that detects the movement of the mobile terminal 100 such as an acceleration sensor, and activates the positioning unit 130 based on a moving stationary determination using the movement detection unit. May be. That is, only when it is detected that the mobile terminal 100 is moving, the positioning activation unit 120 may cause the regular positioning to be executed. In this case, when it is detected that the mobile terminal 100 is moving, the positioning activation unit 120 activates the positioning unit 130 at a predetermined time interval, and periodically determines the position of the moving terminal 100 moving to the positioning unit 130. Measure the position. Thereafter, when the movement detecting means detects that the mobile terminal 100 has been stationary for a predetermined threshold time or more, the positioning activation unit 120 instructs the positioning unit 130 to stop the regular positioning. In this way, unnecessary positioning when the mobile terminal 100 is in a stationary state can be avoided, and power consumption can be saved.

  In still another embodiment, the positioning activation unit 120 may activate the positioning unit 130 based on a moving stillness determination using base station area information such as a serving cell ID acquired from the base station 200. That is, in response to the acquisition of a new serving cell ID from the serving base station 200 as the mobile terminal 100 moves, the positioning activation unit 120 may cause the regular positioning to be executed. In this case, the positioning activation unit 120 activates the positioning unit 130 at a predetermined time interval, and causes the positioning unit 130 to periodically measure the position of the mobile terminal 100 that is moving. Thereafter, in response to the fact that the serving cell ID has not been changed for a predetermined threshold time or longer, the positioning activation unit 120 instructs the positioning unit 130 to stop the regular positioning. In this way, unnecessary positioning when the mobile terminal 100 is in a stationary state can be avoided, and power consumption can be saved.

  Further, the positioning activation unit 120 may activate and stop the positioning unit 130 by using the detection result from the movement detection unit and the change of the serving cell ID together.

  In response to the activation instruction from the positioning activation unit 120, the positioning unit 130 performs periodic positioning using cell information such as the cell ID provided from the communication unit 110. The positioning unit 130 includes a position history information storage unit 131, a positioning result extraction unit 132, a GPS positioning unit 133, a base station positioning unit 134, and a positioning result output unit 135.

  The position history information storage unit 131 stores position history information composed of positioning results acquired by the GPS positioning unit 133 and the base station positioning unit 134. Specifically, the location history information storage unit 131 holds location history information that records the positioning results of the mobile terminal 100 within a predetermined period. Each positioning result of the position history information is recorded every time the GPS positioning unit 133 and the base station positioning unit 134 execute positioning. In one embodiment, each positioning result includes position information acquired by the positioning and positioning status information regarding the positioning status in which the positioning is executed. The positioning status information may be composed of information elements related to the positioning time point, positioning type, positioning accuracy, positioning point, and the like.

  In one embodiment, the location history information has a data structure as shown in FIG. That is, the location history information is composed of data items “positioning date and time”, “positioning type”, “latitude”, “longitude”, “horizontal error”, “in-zone cell ID”, and “neighboring cell ID”. The measured positioning result is recorded by these data items. The data item “positioning date and time” indicates the date and time when the positioning is executed. The data item “positioning type” indicates whether the positioning is executed by GPS positioning or base station positioning. The data items “latitude” and “longitude” respectively indicate the latitude and longitude of the position of the mobile terminal 100 acquired by the positioning. The data item “horizontal error” indicates an estimated horizontal error between the positioning result of the positioning and the actual position. In general, it is known that GPS positioning has a smaller error than base station positioning. The data item “visited cell ID” indicates an identifier that identifies the serving cell of the mobile terminal 100 when the positioning is performed. The data item “adjacent cell ID” indicates an identifier that identifies an adjacent cell adjacent to a cell in which the mobile terminal 100 is located when the positioning is performed. Among these data items, “latitude” and “longitude” correspond to position information, and “positioning date / time”, “positioning type”, “horizontal error”, “located cell ID” and “adjacent cell ID” are positioning. Corresponds to status information. “Positioning date / time” is a data item related to the time of positioning, “Positioning type” is a data item related to the positioning type, and “Horizontal error” is a data item related to positioning accuracy, and “Location cell ID” and “ The “cell ID” is a data item related to the positioning point. These data items are merely examples, and the positioning results according to the present invention are not limited thereto.

  If the GPS positioning unit 133 fails in GPS positioning during execution of the periodic positioning function, the positioning result extracting unit 132 applies a predetermined extraction rule to the position history information, and obtains a positioning result corresponding to the positioning status regarding the failed GPS positioning. Extract. Specifically, the positioning result extraction unit 132 uses a predetermined extraction rule regarding the positioning status in order to extract a measurement result having a high degree of coincidence with the GPS positioning in response to the failure of the GPS positioning. Then, a positioning result that satisfies the extraction rule is extracted from the position history information. On the other hand, when there is no positioning result corresponding to the position history information, the positioning result extraction unit 132 instructs the base station positioning unit 134 to perform base station positioning.

  As a specific example of an extraction rule regarding a positioning situation for extracting a measurement result having a high degree of coincidence with a failed GPS positioning, Rule 1: “Positioning results within the last x days”, Rule 2: “Area cell ID matches "Positioning result to be performed", Rule 3: "Positioning result with matching adjacent cell IDs", Rule 4: "Positioning result by GPS positioning", and the like.

  Rule 1: “Positioning results within the last x days” is used to determine the degree of coincidence of the positioning date and time with the failed GPS positioning, and refer to the data item “positioning date and time” of the position history information shown in FIG. Then, a positioning result that satisfies the rule is extracted. If the period threshold value x is set to be long, positioning results with a higher matching degree can be extracted from more search targets, but the time required for the search becomes longer. Typically, the period threshold value x is preferably set to a period during which a certain user behavior pattern can be covered, such as one week.

  Rule 2: “Positioning result with matching cell ID” is used to determine the degree of coincidence with the failed GPS positioning for the positioning point, and the data item “zone cell in the location history information shown in FIG. With reference to “ID”, a positioning result that satisfies the rule is extracted. This is because the past positioning results in the cell where the GPS positioning has been executed are considered useful.

  Rule 3: “Positioning result with matching neighboring cell ID” is also used to determine the degree of coincidence with the failed GPS positioning for the positioning point, and the data item “neighboring cell ID” of the location history information shown in FIG. ”, A positioning result that satisfies the rule is extracted. This is because the past positioning results in which the adjacent cells of the cell on which the GPS positioning is performed are considered to be useful for more detailed estimation of the positioning point. The matching of adjacent cell IDs may be complete matching (that is, including all neighboring cell IDs acquired at the measurement point), or partial matching when there is no complete matching positioning result (that is, adjacent cell acquired at the measurement point). ID may be included partially).

  Rule 4: “Positioning result by GPS positioning” is used to determine the degree of coincidence with the failed GPS positioning for the positioning type, and refers to the data item “positioning type” of the position history information shown in FIG. Then, a positioning result that satisfies the rule is extracted. That is, it is because the past positioning result acquired by GPS positioning is considered useful for estimation of a positioning result.

  In relation to the rules 1 to 4 described above, for example, as an extraction rule, rule 1: “positioning result within the last one week”, rule 2: “positioning result with matching ID in the area”, rule 3: “adjacent” It is assumed that the “positioning result with completely matching cell ID” and rule 4 “positioning result by GPS positioning” are applied, and the position history information storage unit 131 holds position history information as shown in FIG. Here, it is assumed that the GPS positioning has failed, and the positioning result extraction unit 132 has acquired the cell ID “I” and the neighboring cell ID “VII, IX” from the communication unit 110 at the point where the GPS positioning is performed. . At this time, the positioning result extraction unit 132 extracts positioning results within the latest one week from the position history information based on the rule 1. Thereafter, the positioning result extraction unit 132 extracts the positioning results corresponding to the serving cell ID “I” from the extracted positioning results, that is, the positioning results from the top of the illustrated position history information to the third. Further, the positioning result extraction unit 132 obtains the positioning result including the adjacent cell ID “VII, IX” from the extracted three positioning results, that is, the third position history information shown in FIG. Extract positioning results. Since the positioning type of the extracted positioning result is “GPS”, rule 4 is satisfied, and the positioning result extraction unit 132 does not cause the base station positioning unit 134 to perform the base station positioning, and performs the positioning. The result is provided to the positioning result output unit 135 as the positioning result of the current GPS positioning.

  However, these extraction rules are merely examples, and the extraction rules according to the present invention are not limited thereto. For example, regarding the positioning accuracy, an extraction rule that uses a data item “horizontal error” and extracts a positioning result below a predetermined horizontal error may be used. Moreover, such an extraction rule does not necessarily need to be applied fixedly, and may be applied variably. In one embodiment, the extraction rule may be set by the service provider according to the type of location related service provided. For example, an extraction rule may be set depending on the size of the geographical range targeted by the location-related service. That is, in a location-related service in which content data generated for a relatively wide geographical range such as weather information is provided, the service provider applies only some rules such as Rule 1 and Rule 2. It may be. On the other hand, in a location-related service in which content data focusing on a relatively narrow geographical range such as neighboring store information is provided, the service provider may set all of the rules 1 to 4.

  In the above-described embodiment, the extraction rule is applied to the AND format. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and may be applied by any appropriate logical operation such as an OR format or a NOT format. In the above-described embodiment, each extraction rule is equally applied. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, an appropriate priority may be set according to the importance of each extraction rule. Good.

  The positioning result extraction unit 132 provides the positioning result extracted in this way to the positioning result extraction unit 135 as the positioning result of the failed GPS positioning. When a plurality of positioning results are extracted, the positioning result extraction unit 132 calculates, for example, the centers (centers of gravity) of “latitude” and “longitude” of the positioning results, and obtains position information of the calculated center positions. You may make it provide to the positioning result output part 135. FIG. That is, the positioning result extraction unit 132 calculates the average value of “latitude” and “longitude” of each positioning result, and uses the calculated average value of “latitude” and the average value of “longitude” as the center position. Provided to the output unit 135.

  The GPS positioning unit 133 performs GPS positioning, and acquires a positioning result including the position of the mobile terminal 100 and a positioning situation related to the GPS positioning. Specifically, the GPS positioning unit 133 performs GPS positioning in response to the activation instruction from the positioning activation unit 120, and provides the obtained positioning result to the positioning result output unit 135 as the positioning result of the positioning. As described above, in typical GPS positioning, GPS signals are received from three or more GPS satellites 300, and the position of the mobile terminal 100 is determined based on the GPS signals received using any known GPS positioning method. Is done.

  Note that, as described above, the GPS positioning unit 133 may fail in GPS positioning in an area where GPS signals cannot be received satisfactorily, such as indoors. Specifically, when a positioning result cannot be acquired within a predetermined period and the GPS positioning times out, the GPS positioning unit 133 may determine that the GPS positioning has failed. Alternatively, when the horizontal error estimated for the positioning result of the GPS positioning exceeds a predetermined threshold, the GPS positioning unit 133 may determine that the GPS positioning has failed. When the GPS positioning fails, the GPS positioning unit 133 reports to the positioning result extraction unit 132 that the GPS positioning has failed. If it is reported that the GPS positioning has failed, the positioning result extraction unit 132 executes the positioning result extraction process described above, and extracts the positioning result corresponding to the predetermined extraction rule. On the other hand, when there is no corresponding positioning result, the positioning result extraction unit 132 instructs the base station positioning unit 134 to execute base station positioning.

  The base station positioning unit 134 performs base station positioning, and acquires a positioning result including the position of the mobile terminal 100 and a positioning situation related to the base station positioning. Specifically, the base station positioning unit 134 executes base station positioning in response to an activation instruction from the positioning result extraction unit 132, and outputs the obtained positioning result to the positioning result output unit 135 as the positioning result of the positioning. provide. As described above, in typical base station positioning, the position of the mobile terminal 100 is measured based on the strength of the signal received from the base station 200.

  The positioning result output unit 135 provides the positioning result received from the positioning result extraction unit 132, the GPS positioning unit 133, and the base station positioning unit 134 to the communication unit 110, and transmits the result to the service provider via the communication unit 110. The positioning result output unit 135 registers the positioning results received from the GPS positioning unit 133 and the base station positioning unit 134 in the position history information of the position history information storage unit 131.

  Each functional element of the mobile terminal 100 described above may be realized by hardware, software, or a combination thereof. For example, the positioning unit 130 may be realized as an application or may be realized as an operating system / middleware.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 5, the automatic GPS positioning of the mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing auto GPS positioning of a mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention. The automatic GPS positioning is executed by the positioning unit 130 of the mobile terminal 100 described above.

  As shown in FIG. 5, in step S <b> 101, the positioning unit 130 starts auto GPS positioning in accordance with an activation instruction from the positioning activation unit 120 in response to the occurrence of a predetermined event, and periodically performs GPS positioning.

  In step S102, the GPS positioning unit 133 fails in GPS positioning at any positioning opportunity. For example, if the positioning result cannot be acquired within a predetermined period, the GPS positioning unit 133 determines that the GPS positioning has failed, and reports to the positioning result extraction unit 132 that the GPS positioning has failed.

  In step S <b> 103, in response to the report that the GPS positioning has failed, the positioning result extraction unit 132 acquires a serving cell ID that identifies the serving cell and a neighboring cell ID that identifies the neighboring cell from the communication unit 110.

  In step S104, the positioning result extraction unit 132 searches the position history information stored in the position history information storage unit 131, and determines whether there is a positioning result corresponding to a predetermined extraction rule. If a corresponding positioning result is detected (S104: Y), the flow proceeds to step S105. On the other hand, if a corresponding positioning result is not detected (S104: N), the flow proceeds to step S107. .

  In step S105, the positioning result extraction unit 132 determines whether a plurality of positioning results are detected. When a plurality of positioning results are detected (S105: Y), the flow proceeds to step S106. On the other hand, when only one positioning result is detected (S105: N), the flow proceeds to step S109. .

  In step S106, the positioning result extraction unit 132 calculates the center (center of gravity) of the extracted positions of the plurality of positioning results, and outputs the position information of the calculated center position to the positioning result output unit 135 as the positioning result of the current positioning. provide.

  In step S107, the positioning result extraction unit 132 instructs the base station positioning unit 134 to execute base station positioning, and the base station positioning unit 134 executes base station positioning.

  In step S108, the base station positioning unit 134 provides the acquired positioning result to the positioning result output unit 135 as the positioning result of the current positioning.

  In step S109, the positioning result extraction unit 132 provides the extracted positioning result to the positioning result output unit 135 as the positioning result of the current positioning.

  In step S110, the positioning result output unit 135 transmits the provided positioning result to the service provider via the communication unit 110, and stores the positioning result of the base station positioning provided from the base station positioning unit 134 in the position history information. Registered in the position history information of the unit 131.

  Next, a positioning result extraction process according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing positioning result extraction processing according to an embodiment of the present invention. The positioning result extraction process corresponds to steps S104 to S109 in FIG. 5, and the rule 1: “positioning result after a predetermined time point” as described above, and rule 2: “the ID in the area is a predetermined extraction rule. Assume that the “matching positioning result”, rule 3: “positioning result with matching adjacent cell IDs” and rule 4 “positioning result by GPS positioning” are applied.

  In step S201, when the GPS positioning fails and the in-zone cell ID and the neighboring cell ID of the positioning point are acquired, the positioning result extraction unit 132 starts the positioning result extraction process.

  In step S202, the positioning result extraction unit 132 searches the position history information stored in the position history information storage unit 131, and determines whether there is a corresponding positioning result by applying the rules 1 and 2. That is, the positioning result extraction unit 132 first applies the rule 1 to extract the positioning result of the position history information acquired after a predetermined time point. Further, the positioning result extraction unit 132 applies rule 2 to the extracted positioning result, and extracts the positioning result that matches the acquired cell ID of the positioning point. When the corresponding positioning result is detected (S202: Y), the flow proceeds to step S203, and when the corresponding positioning result is not detected (S202: N), the flow proceeds to steps S208 to S209. In the same manner as steps S107 to S108 described above, the base station positioning unit 134 executes base station positioning, and provides the obtained positioning result to the positioning result output unit 135 as the current positioning result.

  In step S203, the positioning result extraction unit 132 determines whether a plurality of positioning results have been detected. When a plurality of positioning results are detected (S203: Y), the flow proceeds to step S204. On the other hand, when only one positioning result is detected (S203: N), the flow proceeds to step S210. The extracted positioning result is provided to the positioning result output unit 135 as the current positioning result.

  In step S204, the positioning result extraction unit 132 further applies the rule 3 to the extracted positioning result, and extracts a positioning result that matches the acquired adjacent cell ID of the positioning point.

  In step S205, the positioning result extraction unit 132 determines whether a plurality of positioning results have been detected. When a plurality of positioning results are detected (S205: Y), the flow proceeds to step S206. On the other hand, when only one positioning result is detected (S205: N), the flow proceeds to step S210. The extracted positioning result is provided to the positioning result output unit 135 as the current positioning result.

  In step S206, the positioning result extraction unit 132 further applies the rule 4 to the extracted positioning result, and extracts the positioning result acquired by the GPS positioning. When a plurality of positioning results are extracted, the positioning result extraction unit 132 calculates, for example, the centers (centers of gravity) of “latitude” and “longitude” of the positioning results, and obtains position information of the calculated center positions. You may make it provide to the positioning result output part 135. FIG.

  In step S207, the positioning result extraction process ends.

  The above-described embodiment is particularly effective for positioning in an area where an indoor base station is provided, although a GPS system such as an office, an underground mall, and a subway platform cannot be used well.

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

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Mobile terminal 110 Communication part 120 Positioning start part 130 Positioning part 131 Position history information storage part 132 Positioning result extraction part 133 GPS positioning part 134 Base station positioning part 135 Positioning result output part 200 Base station 300 GPS satellite

Claims (7)

A mobile terminal having a positioning function,
A GPS positioning unit that executes GPS positioning and obtains a positioning result including the position of the mobile terminal and the positioning status related to the GPS positioning;
A base station positioning unit that performs base station positioning and obtains a positioning result including a position of the mobile terminal and a positioning situation related to the base station positioning;
A position history information storage unit for storing position history information composed of the positioning results acquired by the GPS positioning unit and the base station positioning unit;
A positioning result extraction unit for extracting a positioning result from the position history information according to a predetermined extraction rule;
Have
If the GPS positioning unit fails in GPS positioning during the execution of the positioning function, the positioning result extraction unit applies the predetermined extraction rule to the position history information, and corresponds to the positioning situation regarding the failed GPS positioning. It is determined whether a positioning result is stored in the position history information. If there is the corresponding positioning result, the corresponding positioning result is extracted, and the extracted positioning result is provided as a positioning result of the failed GPS positioning. When there is no corresponding positioning result, the base station positioning unit performs base station positioning, and provides the positioning result obtained by the base station positioning as the positioning result of the failed GPS positioning .
The location history information has GPS positioning and base station positioning as a positioning type of the positioning status,
The positioning result extraction unit is a mobile terminal that determines whether a positioning type of the positioning result of the position history information is GPS positioning or base station positioning, and extracts a positioning result having a positioning type that matches the failed GPS positioning . A communication unit that transmits the extracted positioning result to the base station and receives content related to the position of the mobile terminal from the base station;
If the GPS positioning unit fails in GPS positioning during execution of the positioning function, the positioning result extraction unit receives the identifier of the base station from the base station via the communication unit, and receives the received from the position history information mobile terminal of the positioning results to extract, according to claim 1, wherein the matching identifier of the base stations. The positioning result extraction unit further receives the identifier of the one or more adjacent base stations from one or more adjacent base stations adjacent to the base station via the communication unit, and matches the identifier of the extracted base station The mobile terminal according to claim 2 , wherein a positioning result that matches the received identifier of the one or more adjacent base stations is extracted from the positioning result.   The positioning result extraction unit, when extracting a plurality of positioning results corresponding to the positioning situation related to the failed GPS positioning, provides a center position of each position of the extracted positioning results as a positioning result of the failed GPS positioning. The mobile terminal according to claim 1.   The mobile terminal according to claim 1, further comprising a positioning activation unit that periodically activates the positioning function. Movement detection means for detecting movement of the mobile terminal;
The mobile terminal according to claim 5 , wherein the positioning activation unit periodically activates the positioning function in response to the movement detection unit detecting that the mobile terminal is moving. A method for performing a positioning function of a mobile terminal,
The mobile terminal has location history information that holds a positioning result including the location of the mobile terminal acquired by previous positioning and the positioning status related to the positioning,
The method is
Activating the positioning function in response to the occurrence of a predetermined event;
Performing GPS positioning; and
When detecting that the GPS positioning has failed, a step of applying a predetermined extraction rule to the position history information and determining whether a positioning result corresponding to a positioning situation related to the failed GPS positioning is stored in the position history information When,
If there is a corresponding positioning result, extract the corresponding positioning result, provide the extracted positioning result as a positioning result of the failed GPS positioning, and perform base station positioning if there is no corresponding positioning result Providing a positioning result obtained by the base station positioning as a positioning result of the failed GPS positioning;
I have a,
The location history information has GPS positioning and base station positioning as a positioning type of the positioning status,
The providing step includes determining whether a positioning type of the positioning result of the position history information is GPS positioning or base station positioning, and extracting a positioning result having a positioning type that matches the failed GPS positioning .

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