JP6415249B2 - Flow line information processing system and method, and program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a system and method for performing processing such as collection and provision of flow line information in a facility having a plurality of hierarchies, and a program.

Understanding the behavior trends of customers in large commercial facilities and retail stores is important for optimizing layout and promoting sales activities.
In the system of Patent Document 1, antenna pairs including a transmission antenna and a reception antenna are provided at a plurality of locations in a store. These antenna pairs are connected to a controller for control. In addition, a wireless ID tag is provided on the shopping cart or shopping cart. The wireless ID tag transmits tag identification information and antenna identification information in response to a radio wave transmitted from the transmission antenna when passing through each antenna pair. This signal is received by the receiving antenna and input to the controller. Further, the controller transmits to the processing device via the wireless LAN access point. The processing device accumulates this as flow line information, and on the basis of the accumulated information, the flow line information of each customer is displayed on an image representing the store layout in a plan view.

  In the system of Patent Document 2, communication devices are provided at various locations in a facility having a plurality of hierarchies. The communication device transmits its own location information. Upon receiving this, the wireless terminal transmits identification information of the wireless terminal and position information of the communication device. Upon receiving this, the communication device transmits the identification information and position information to the management server. As a result, the flow line information of the owner of the wireless terminal in the facility having a plurality of hierarchies is collected. In order to display this flow line information, a screen in which each layer is represented by a plan view and a screen in which a plurality of layers are represented by an elevation view are prepared. These screens can be switched, and a flow line is drawn on each screen.

  In patent document 3, the display method of the flow line information in the store of a visitor is shown. On the screen, an image representing the store layout in a plan view is displayed. The flow line information corresponding to the visitor's attribute information is extracted, and the most frequently used flow line information is extracted and displayed on the store layout image.

2005-071252 (Fig. 9) JP2014-002021 (FIGS. 10 and 11) JP 2014-67225 A (FIGS. 4 and 5)

  In the system of Patent Literature 1, it is necessary to provide a receiving antenna and a controller in addition to the transmitting antenna at a plurality of locations in the store. In addition, it is necessary to attach a wireless ID tag to a shopping cart or shopping cart. Furthermore, it is necessary to provide a wireless LAN access point and a processing device. This increases the system construction cost on the store side. Further, the flow line information display screen corresponds only to a one-floor store, and there is no presentation on how to display the flow line information in a facility having a plurality of hierarchies.

  Also in the system of Patent Document 2, as in Patent Document 1, it is necessary to install communication devices having transmission / reception functions at a plurality of locations in the facility. In addition, in order to grasp the movements of people across multiple levels, it is necessary to look at each screen while switching between a floor plan screen and a multi-level elevation screen. It is hard to understand because it cannot be done.

Patent Document 3 is similar to Patent Document 1 in that the flow line information display screen corresponds only to a one-floor store, and how to display the flow line information in a facility having a plurality of hierarchies. Not presented.
On the other hand, if a facility with multiple levels is displayed three-dimensionally and an attempt is made to draw a flow line on it, the amount of data processing increases because the flow line information on each floor is added in addition to the flow line information on each floor. Become a complex and expensive system.

  In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to easily and inexpensively construct a system for collecting and providing flow line information in a facility having a plurality of hierarchies, and to display the flow line information in an easy-to-understand manner. .

In order to solve the above problems, a system according to the present invention is a flow line information processing system that collects and provides flow line information of a person to be collected in a facility having a plurality of levels,
A plurality of beacons that are arranged at each important point of each collection target hierarchy in the facility and transmit different beacon identification information,
Via the mobile communication device that receives the beacon identification information and transmits the received beacon identification information, and the reception time thereof, and collection data including the collection target person identification information,
Storage means for receiving the collected data and storing it as accumulated collected data;
Creating means for creating the flow line information based on the accumulated collection data;
The creation means draws a flow line on the vertical array map data in which a plurality of hierarchical map data obtained by looking down on each of the collection target layers from above is arranged in order from the top to the bottom of one screen. When the flow line information covers a plurality of collection target hierarchies, the flow line is drawn across the hierarchical map data corresponding to the plurality of collection target hierarchies on the vertical array map data. And

  According to the present invention, beacon identification information from the nearest beacon can be received by the portable communication terminal by the person to be collected moving within the facility while carrying the portable communication terminal. Collected data including this beacon identification information is transmitted from the mobile communication terminal to a management device such as a server. By providing the storage means and the creation means in the management device, the collected data can be stored and managed in the storage means. It is only necessary to install a beacon having a simple structure in the facility, and it is not necessary to provide wiring, a transmission device, a management device, or the like. Therefore, the system construction cost on the facility side can be greatly reduced. Moreover, since it is not the structure which collects personal information with a wireless LAN access point in a facility, the possibility of eavesdropping and interception can be avoided. Then, for example, in response to a request from the client computer, the flow line information is created by the creating means. At this time, the three-dimensional flow line information in the facility having a plurality of hierarchies can be displayed as if it were three-dimensional by the vertical array map data. In addition, by drawing a flow line on the vertical arrangement map data so as to cross a plurality of floors, it is possible to easily grasp stereoscopic flow line information over a plurality of layers. On the other hand, since the vertical array map data is only a two-dimensional image, the system for the flow line display processing does not become complicated and expensive.

The method according to the present invention is a flow line information processing method for collecting and providing flow line information of a person to be collected in a facility having a plurality of levels,
A plurality of beacons arranged at each important point of each collection target hierarchy in the facility, and transmitting different beacon identification information;
A portable communication device receiving the beacon identification information;
The mobile communication device transmits the received data including the received beacon identification information, the reception time, and the collection target person identification information;
A server receiving the collected data and storing it as accumulated collected data;
The server creates the flow line information based on the accumulated collection data; and
In the creation step, the server has a plurality of hierarchical map data obtained by looking down on each of the collection target layers from above, on top of the vertical array map data arranged in order from the top to the bottom of one screen. When a flow line is drawn and the flow line information covers a plurality of collection target hierarchies, the flow line is drawn across the hierarchical map data corresponding to the plurality of collection target hierarchies on the vertical array map data It is characterized by doing.

The server program according to the present invention is a mobile communication in which a plurality of beacons arranged at each important point of each collection target layer in a facility having a plurality of layers transmits different beacon identification information and receives the beacon identification information. The apparatus is a program for the server in the flow line information processing system that transmits the received beacon identification information, the reception time thereof, and collection data including the collection target person identification information to the server,
Processing to receive the collected data and accumulate as accumulated collected data;
A process of accepting a request for providing flow line information of a collection target person from a client computer;
In response to the provision request, a process of creating the flow line information based on the accumulated collection data;
And the creation process draws a flow line on vertical array map data in which a plurality of hierarchical map data obtained by looking down on each collection target hierarchy from above is arranged in order from the top to the bottom. When the flow line information covers a plurality of collection target hierarchies, the flow line information includes processing for drawing the flow lines across the hierarchical map data corresponding to the plurality of collection target hierarchies on the vertical array map data. It is characterized by that.

In the storage device of the server, beacon position data that associates the beacon identification information and the position on the hierarchical map data is stored,
The creation processing acquires each hierarchical position information on the hierarchical map data of the mobile communication device at the reception time based on the accumulated collection data and the beacon position data, and the pre-conversion position information is Including conversion to multi-level position information on sequence map data,
The position component in the vertical direction in each layer position information defines the corresponding collection target layer and the position in the depth direction, and the position in the left-right direction is defined by the position component in the horizontal axis direction in the multi-layer position information. It is preferable.
Thereby, each three-dimensional layer position information can be converted into two-dimensional multi-layer position information.

In the portable communication device program according to the present invention, a plurality of beacons arranged at each important point of each collection target layer in a facility having a plurality of layers transmits beacon identification information different from each other,
A flow line in which a server receives data including the beacon identification information from a portable communication device and accumulates it as accumulated collected data, and creates flow line information based on the accumulated collected data in response to a request from a client computer A program for the mobile communication device in an information processing system,
A process of receiving beacon identification information from any beacon;
A process of creating collection data including the received beacon identification information, its reception time, and collection target person identification information;
The process of transmitting the collected data to the server is executed by the mobile communication device, and the flow line information is obtained by displaying a plurality of hierarchical map data obtained by looking down on each of the collection target layers from the upper floor in order of one screen. When a flow line is drawn on vertical arrangement map data arranged from top to bottom, and the flow line information covers a plurality of collection target hierarchies, the plurality of collection targets on the vertical arrangement map data The flow line is drawn across the hierarchy map data corresponding to the hierarchy.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the system which collects and provides the flow line information in the facility which has a several hierarchy can be constructed | assembled simply and cheaply. In addition, the flow line information can be displayed in an easy-to-understand manner.

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a schematic configuration of a flow line information processing system according to the first embodiment of this invention. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a hardware configuration of the flow line information processing system. FIG. 3 is a table illustrating the data structure of the collection database of the mobile communication terminal of the flow line information processing system. FIG. 4 shows an example of an image of a hierarchical map database stored in the server of the flow line information processing system. FIG. 4A shows an example of an image of hierarchical map data on the first floor of a facility. (B) is a diagram showing an example of hierarchical map data on the second floor of the facility, and (c) is a diagram showing an example of hierarchical map data on the third floor of the facility. . FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an image example of the vertical array map data of the server. FIG. 6 is a table illustrating the data structure of the beacon location database of the server. FIG. 7 is a table illustrating the data structure of the collection target person database of the server. FIG. 8 is a table illustrating the data structure of the accumulated collection database of the server. FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the contents of processing from the beacon radio wave transmission step to the accumulated collection data accumulation step of the flow line information processing system. FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the contents of processing from the flow line information provision request process to the flow line information display process of the flow line information processing system. FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a subroutine of the flow line information creation step of FIG. FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of a browse image of flow line information displayed by the browsing software of the client computer. FIG. 13 shows a second embodiment of the present invention, where FIG. 13 (a) is a diagram showing an example of vertical array map data, and FIG. 13 (b) is a diagram showing an example of elevation map data. FIG. FIG. 14 is a table illustrating the data structure of the beacon position database according to the second embodiment.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described.
FIG. 1 shows a flow line information processing system 1. The flow line information processing system 1 performs processing such as collection and provision of flow line information in the facility 3 of one or a plurality of collection subjects 2. The facility 3 has a plurality of collection target layers Fa, Fb, Fc. A collection target person 2 such as a customer can go back and forth between these levels Fa, Fb, Fc. The facility 3 is, for example, a large commercial facility, but the present invention is not limited to this, and may be a building having two or more levels. The facility 3 in the figure has three floors from the first floor Fa to the third floor Fc, but is not limited to this, may be two floors, and may be four or more floors. Further, it is not necessary that all the hierarchies of the facility 3 are collection targets of the flow line information, and only a part of the hierarchies of the facility 3 may be the collection target. The facility 3 may have a plurality of buildings or buildings (second embodiment (see FIG. 13)).

  The flow line information processing system 1 is constructed by a plurality of beacons 10, one or a plurality of portable communication devices 20, a server 30, and a client computer 7. The beacon 10 is installed in the facility 3. The portable communication device 20 is carried by the person 2 to be collected. The server 30 is managed by the administrator of the system 1. The client computer 7 is a computer used by an administrator of the facility 3 for accessing the server 30. The mobile communication device 20 and the server 30 can communicate via the communication network 6. The server 30 and the client computer 7 can communicate with each other via the communication network 6. The communication network 6 includes a base station and an Internet line.

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, the beacon 10 is a small transmission module including a transmission circuit 11 and a battery 12. For example, a 2.4 GHz band radio wave 13 based on the Bluetooth (registered trademark) standard is transmitted from the transmission circuit 11. This radio wave 13 represents identification information (beacon ID) of the beacon 10. The beacon identification information is different for each beacon 10.

  The radio wave 13 is extremely weak, and its effective area is extremely narrow compared to the WiFi radio wave, and has a radius of several meters to several tens of meters, preferably a radius of several meters (2 m, 3 m) to tens of meters. . Here, the effective reach area is an area where the mobile communication device 20 can receive and process the radio wave 13 from the beacon 10 and is increased or decreased depending on the presence or absence of structures around the installation location of the beacon 10. The effective reach ranges of the radio waves 13 of the plurality of beacons 10 do not have to overlap each other. The transmission period of the radio wave 13 is, for example, about 0.02 seconds to 10 seconds.

  As shown in FIGS. 4A to 4C, the beacon 10 is installed at each of the important points 3 b to 3 i... Of each level Fa to Fc of the facility 3. It is preferable that the installation location of the beacon 10 is the minimum necessary for acquiring the flow line information. That is, each beacon 10 is arranged at the minimum position necessary to determine which branch path should be drawn from the branch point on the passage of the facility 3 in cooperation with the other beacons 10. It is preferable. Assuming that a beacon 10 is provided at a certain position in the facility 3, even if the beacon 10 is not present, a flow line is drawn from the branch point to any branch path by one or more other beacons 10 other than the beacon 10. If it is possible to determine whether it should be, it is not necessary to provide the beacon 10 at the certain position. Specifically, the beacon 10 includes a branch point peripheral part 3b on the passage of the facility 3, a corner 3c, a dead end 3d, an escalator (or staircase) start point 3e and an end point 3f, an elevator door vicinity 3g, and a doorway of the facility 3 Arranged in the part 3h, the middle part 3i of the passage, and the like. In particular, in order to grasp the movement between the levels Fa, Fb, Fc... (From which level, etc.), the start point 3e and the end point 3f of the escalator (or the stairs) and the vicinity of the elevator door 3g are always in principle. It is preferable to install the beacon 10. In the case of an escalator (or staircase), the beacon 10 may be installed at the start point or end point of the handrail of the escalator (or staircase).

  The mobile communication device 20 is configured by a smartphone, for example. As shown in FIG. 2, the portable communication device 20 includes a CPU 21, a network communication unit 22, a touch panel display 23, a Bluetooth communication unit 24, a built-in memory 25, and the like. The Bluetooth communication unit 24 receives the radio wave 13 from the beacon 10, that is, beacon identification information.

  The built-in memory 25 stores a flow line information processing application 26, a collection database 27, and the like. The flow line information processing application 26 is a program for the mobile communication device 20 to execute a portion in charge of the mobile communication device 20 in the flow line information processing. As illustrated in FIG. 3, the collection database 27 stores received beacon identification information and reception time information of the beacon identification information in association with collection target person identification information. Collection data is constituted by the received beacon identification information, reception time information, and collection target person identification information.

  The collection target person identification information includes a user ID assigned to each collection target person 2 and identification information (such as a telephone number and a MAC address) of the mobile communication device 20. When only one collection target person 2 uses one portable communication device 20, the user ID and the identification information of the portable communication device 20 are equivalent, and any one of identification information is sufficient. When one portable communication device 20 is sequentially lent to a plurality of collection subjects 2 and carried, the user ID is overwritten each time the carry person changes.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the server 30 includes a CPU 31, a communication interface 32, a storage device 33, and the like. The storage device 33 stores the flow line information processing program 30P, the hierarchical map database 34, the vertical array map data 35, the elevation map data 36, the beacon position database 37, the collection target person database 38, the accumulated collection database 39, and the like. ing. The flow line information processing program 30P is a program for the server 30 to execute a portion in charge of the server 30 in the flow line information processing.

  As illustrated in FIGS. 4A to 4C, the hierarchical map database 34 stores hierarchical map data 34a, 34b, 34c... For each hierarchy Fa, Fb, Fc. These hierarchy map data 34a, 34b, 34c,... Are associated with the identification information of the facility 3 and the identification information of the corresponding hierarchy Fa, Fb, Fc. Each of the hierarchical map data 34a, 34b, 34c... Is image data of a plan view (overhead view seen from above) showing the layout of the corresponding hierarchy Fa, Fb, Fc. The first coordinate axes X and Y are set in each hierarchical map data 34a, 34b, 34c. The horizontal axis X is set in the horizontal direction of the screen and corresponds to the horizontal direction (first horizontal direction) of each actual layer Fa, Fb, Fc. The vertical axis Y is set in the vertical direction of the screen and corresponds to the depth direction (second horizontal direction orthogonal to the first horizontal direction) of each of the layers Fa, Fb, Fc.

  As illustrated in FIG. 5, the vertical arrangement map data 35 is image data in which hierarchical map data 34a, 34b, 34c,... Are arranged in order from the top to the bottom of one screen from the higher floor. Second coordinate axes X ′ and Y ′ are set in the vertical array map data 35. The horizontal axis X ′ is set in the horizontal direction of the screen and corresponds to the horizontal direction of each layer Fa, Fb, Fc. Accordingly, the horizontal axis X ′ coincides with or corresponds to the horizontal axis X. The horizontal position in the facility 3 is specified by the coordinate value on the horizontal axis X ′.

  The vertical axis Y ′ is set in the vertical direction of the screen, the portion of Y ′ = 0 to y1 corresponds to the depth direction of the first floor Fa, and the portion of Y ′ = y1 to y2 is the depth direction of the second floor Fb. And Y ′ = y2 to y3 corresponds to the depth direction of the third floor Fc. Therefore, the level Fa, Fb, Fc... And the position in the depth direction in the level are specified by the coordinate value of the vertical axis Y ′. The higher the layer, the larger the Y ′ coordinate value.

  The elevation map data 36 is image data of an elevation view of the facility 3 (see the elevation map data 92 with a flow line in FIG. 12).

  As illustrated in FIG. 6, the beacon position database 37 is a table in which the identification information of each beacon 10 is associated with the position data on the hierarchical map data 34 a, 34 b, 34 c. In addition to the X and Y coordinate values of the corresponding beacon 10, the position data also includes hierarchical information F indicating in which hierarchy Fa, Fb, Fc,.

  As illustrated in FIG. 7, identification information and attribute information for each collection target person 2 are registered in the collection target person database 38. Examples of attribute information include age or date of birth, sex code, occupation code, and the like. Various other information may be included as the attribute information.

  As illustrated in FIG. 8, collected data from each mobile communication device 20 is accumulated in the accumulated collection database 39 as accumulated collection data.

The flow line information processing method by the flow line information processing system 1 will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS.
<Transmission process>
As shown in the flowchart of FIG. 9, the plurality of beacons 10 in the facility 3 each transmit a radio wave 13 at a predetermined cycle (step 101).

<Beacon radio wave reception process-sampling process>
When the collection target person 2 carries the portable communication device 20 and enters the facility 3, the portable communication device 20 receives the radio wave 13 from the nearest beacon 10 such as the entrance / exit peripheral portion 3h. As a result, the flow line information processing application 26 of the mobile communication device 20 becomes active, and collection of collection data is started. Thereafter, every time the mobile communication device 20 receives the radio wave 13 from any beacon 10 (step 102), the mobile communication device 20 decodes the beacon identification information from the radio wave 13. Then, the beacon identification information and the reception time are stored as collection data in the collection database 27 of the built-in memory (step 103). When the collection target person 2 moves in the facility 3, the mobile communication device 20 receives beacon identification information from another beacon 10 corresponding to the movement destination, and stores it in the collection database 27 as new collection data.

<Transmission process>
The portable communication device 20 transmits the collected data to the server 30 via the communication network 6 at a certain timing (step 104). The transmission timing may be at predetermined time intervals, every time the amount of collected data reaches a predetermined value, or every time the radio wave 13 is received. A transmission button may be provided on the display screen of the flow line information processing application 26, and the collected data may be transmitted in accordance with the operation of the transmission button. Alternatively, the collected data may be transmitted when the flow line information processing application 26 is shut down.

<Collecting data reception process>
The server 30 receives the collected data (step 105). Further, the server 30 (accumulation means) accumulates this as accumulated collection data in the accumulation collection database 39 (step 106).

<Flow line information provision request process>
As shown in the flowchart of FIG. 10, the manager of the facility 3 can request provision of flow line information by accessing the server 30 with the client computer 7 (step 110). Although detailed illustration is omitted, the browsing image of the main flow line information processing system 1 is displayed on the browsing software screen of the client computer 7. This browsing image is provided with a reception field for inputting or selecting what kind of flow line information is desired. By inputting or selecting the identification information or attribute of the collection target person 2 in this reception column, a request for provision of flow line information of a specific or arbitrary collection target person 2 is requested, or a certain attribute (for example, gender, age group, etc.) ) To request the flow line information of the collection target person 2 belonging to (1). As the browsing software, generally distributed Internet browsing software, browsing software created for the present system, or the like is used.

<Request acceptance process>
The server 30 (creating means) receives a provision request from the client computer 7 by the operation of the flow line information processing program 30P (step 111).
<Flow line information creation process>
In response to this provision request, the server 30 extracts necessary accumulated collection data from the accumulation collection database 39. Hereinafter, the extracted accumulated collection data is referred to as “extraction collection data”. For example, when a request for providing flow line information of a specific collection target person 2 is received, the accumulated collection data with the identification information of the collection target person 2 is read and used as extraction collection data. Further, the server 30 reads the vertical array map data 35 and the elevation map data 36 from the storage device 33. Flow line information is created from these data (step 112). Details of the creation of the flow line information will be described later.

<Flow line information provision process>
This flow line information is transmitted (provided) from the server 30 to the client computer 7 via the communication network 6 (step 113).
<Flow line information reception process>
The client computer 7 receives this flow line information (step 114).
<Flow line information display process>
Thereby, the flow line information is displayed on the browsing image of the browsing software of the client computer 7 (steps 114 to 115).

<Flow line information>
FIG. 12 shows a display example of the browse image of the flow line information displayed by the browsing software of the client computer 7. This browsing image includes table data 91, an elevation map data 92 including a flow line, and vertical array map data 93 including a flow line as the flow line information 90. The table data 91 is a table of the extracted collected collection data in the order of reception time, for example. The reception time is displayed as “passing time”.

  The elevation map data 92 including the flow line is image data obtained by drawing a flow line 94 on the elevation map data 36 (FIG. 2). The flow line 94 includes a plurality of dots 94a and a line segment 94b. The aspect of the dot 94a and the line segment 94b is substantially the same as the dot 95a and the line segment 95b of the flow line 95 described later. With the elevation map data 92 including the flow line, it is possible to grasp the movement status of the facility 3 between the levels Fa, Fb, Fc. On the other hand, since the depth of the elevation map data 92 including the flow line is unknown, it is difficult to understand the detailed movement situation in each level Fa, Fb, Fc... And the overall movement situation in the facility 3.

  The vertical line map data 93 including a flow line is image data obtained by drawing a flow line 95 on the vertical line map data 35 (FIG. 5). The flow line 95 includes a plurality of dots 95a and a line segment 95b. Each dot 95a indicates an arrangement position of the beacon 10 detected at a certain time or an area in the vicinity thereof. The diameter of the dot 95a is enlarged or reduced according to the residence time in each area. The longer the residence time, the larger the diameter of the dot 95a.

Note that all the dots 95a may be displayed in a certain size. A mode in which all the dots 95a are displayed at a constant size and a mode in which the size of the dots 95a is changed according to the residence time may be selectively switched for display.
Moreover, instead of or in addition to changing the size of the dot 95a, the color of the dot 95a may be changed according to the residence time. Furthermore, the color and thickness of the line segment 95b may be changed.
Furthermore, the “passing time” may be displayed in or near each dot 94a.

  Two dots 95a and 95a whose passing time (reception time) is before and after are connected by a line segment 95b. When the two dots 95a, 95a are arranged in different levels Fa, Fb, Fc,..., A line segment 95b connecting these dots 95a, 95a is a plurality of level map data 34a in the vertical array map data 93. , 34b, 34c... That is, when the flow line information extends over a plurality of hierarchies Fa, Fb, Fc,..., The line segment 95b straddles a plurality of hierarchy map data 34a, 34b, 34c.

The flow line 95 is drawn as follows.
<Each hierarchical position information reading process>
As shown in the flowchart of FIG. 11, in the flow line information creation step, the server 30 acquires the position information of the person 2 to be collected at each reception time based on the extracted collection data and beacon position data (step 121). ). Specifically, the beacon identification information at each reception time in the extracted collection data is read. Further, beacon position data corresponding to the beacon identification information is read from the beacon position database 37 (FIG. 6). This beacon position data corresponds to the position information of the person 2 to be collected at each reception time. Hereinafter, this position information is referred to as “each layer position information” before the conversion process described later. As shown in FIG. 6, each hierarchical position information includes hierarchical information F that specifies which hierarchy Fa, Fb, Fc..., An X coordinate value that specifies a position in the hierarchy Fa, Fb, Fc. Contains coordinate values. Therefore, each hierarchical position information (X, Y, F) is three-dimensional information.

<Conversion process>
Subsequently, the server 30 converts each of the three-dimensional layer position information (X, Y, F) into two-dimensional multi-layer position information (X ′, Y ′) on the vertical array map data 35 (step) 122). The position component X ′ in the horizontal axis direction in the multi-layer position information defines the position in the left-right direction. In addition, the position component Y ′ in the vertical axis direction in the multi-layer position information defines the layers Fa, Fb, Fc... And the position in the depth direction. As shown in FIG. 5, if the hierarchy information F in each hierarchy position information is the first floor Fa (F = Fa), the vertical axis component Y ′ of the multi-layer position information is within the range of 0 ≦ Y ′ <y1. It becomes a certain value. If the hierarchy information F in each hierarchy position information is the second floor Fb (F = Fb), the vertical axis component Y ′ of the multi-layer position information becomes a certain value within the range of y1 ≦ Y ′ <y2. If the hierarchy information F in each hierarchy position information is the third floor Fc (F = Fc), the vertical axis component Y ′ of the multi-layer position information is a certain value within the range of y2 ≦ Y ′ ≦ y3. Therefore, a three-dimensional position in the facility 3 having a plurality of hierarchies Fa to Fc can be defined by the two axes X ′ and Y ′.

Conversion from each hierarchical position information (X, Y, F) to multi-hierarchical position information can be easily performed using a linear expression such as the following expressions (1) to (2).
X ′ = cX (1)
Y ′ = aY + b (2)
Here, the coefficients c and a in the first term on the right side of the equations (1) and (2) indicate the difference in data size or scale ratio between the hierarchical map data 34a, 34b, 34c. This is a correction coefficient to be corrected. If the data size or the scale ratio is the same, c = 1 and a = 1. The constant b in the second term on the right side of Equation (2) differs depending on the hierarchy information F in each hierarchy position information (X, Y, F). That is, in the vertical array map data 35 (FIG. 5), the vertical axis component Y ′ at the lower end of the hierarchical map data 34a, 34b, 34c... Corresponding to the hierarchical information F is the value of the constant b. For example, if the hierarchy information F in each hierarchy position information is the first floor Fa (F = Fa), b = 0. If the hierarchy information F in each hierarchy position information is the second floor Fb (F = Fb), b = y1 is set. If the hierarchy information F in each hierarchy position information is the third floor Fc (F = Fc), b = y2.

<Flow line drawing process>
The server 30 plots the multi-layer position information (X ′, Y ′) obtained as described above on the vertical array map data 35 as a plurality of dots 95a, and also includes dots 95a whose corresponding reception times are before and after. A flow line 95 is drawn by connecting the lines with a line segment 95b (step 123). When the position information (X ′, Y ′) covers a plurality of hierarchies Fa, Fb, Fc..., A line is formed so as to straddle a plurality of hierarchy map data 34a, 34b, 34c. The minute 95b is drawn. Thereby, the vertical array map data 93 with flow lines can be created. The vertical line map data 93 with flow lines is sent to the client computer 7 and displayed on the browsing image (FIG. 12).

  With this vertical array map data 93, the three-dimensional flow line information in the facility 3 can be developed and displayed in two dimensions. In addition, by arranging the upper layer on the upper side of the screen, it can be made to look like a three-dimensional map, resembling the actual hierarchical structure of the facility 3. Further, by drawing the line segment 95b so as to straddle a plurality of hierarchies Fa, Fb, Fc..., It is possible to easily grasp the three-dimensional flow line information over the plurality of hierarchies Fa, Fb, Fc. On the other hand, since the vertical array map data 93 is a two-dimensional map to the last, the flow line display processing system does not become complicated and expensive. As a result, the flow line information in the facility 3 of the plurality of hierarchies Fa, Fb, Fc,... Can be acquired by a simple and inexpensive system and can be displayed in an easily understandable manner.

  According to the flow line information processing system 1, the beacon 10 only needs to transmit beacon identification information. The mobile communication terminal 20 that has received this data transmits the collected data to the server 30 via the communication network 6 so that the server 30 can accumulate and manage the collected collected data. The facility 3 need only have a beacon 10 having a simple structure, and need not be equipped with wiring, a transmission device, a management device, or the like. Therefore, the system construction cost on the facility 3 side can be greatly reduced. In addition, since the facility 3 is not configured to collect personal information at the wireless LAN access point, the risk of eavesdropping and interception can be avoided.

Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the following embodiments, the same reference numerals are given to the drawings to simplify the description of the same configurations as those already described.
13 and 14 show a second embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 13B, the facility 3B of the second embodiment has two (plural) buildings 4 and 5, that is, the A building and the B building. The middle floors of these buildings 4 and 5 (here, the third floor Fc of the building A and the third floor Fc of the building B) are connected by an air communication path Rc. In addition, the first floors Fa and Fa of the buildings 4 and 5 are connected to each other by a ground communication path Ra.

  As shown in FIG. 14, in the beacon position database 37B corresponding to the facility 3B, in addition to the X and Y coordinate values and the hierarchy information F, the hall information G is stored as position data of each beacon 10 (see FIG. 1). include. The hall information G represents in which hall 4 or 5 the corresponding beacon 10 is arranged. Therefore, the beacon position data and thus each layer position information (X, Y, F, G) of the second embodiment is four-dimensional.

  The X and Y coordinates in the beacon position data are set for each level Fa, Fb, Fc, Fd, and Fe of each building 4 and 5. Further, even if there is no beacon 10 on the communication paths Ra and Rc, it passes through the communication paths Ra and Rc from the position information before and after the beacon 10 (obtained by the beacon 10 installed at the communication passage entrances of the building A and the building B). Therefore, it is not necessary to install the beacon 10 on the communication paths Ra and Rc. Of course, you may decide to provide the beacon 10 also in the connecting paths Ra and Rc.

  As shown in FIG. 13A, the horizontal axis X ′ of the vertical array map data 35B corresponding to the facility 3B is set along the alignment direction of the buildings 4 and 5. In each of the hierarchical map data 34a to 34e in the vertical array map data 35B, planar layout diagrams of the same floor of the two buildings 4 and 5 are arranged side by side in the horizontal axis direction (left and right). A ground communication path Ra is represented in the hierarchical map data 34a of the first floor Fa. In the hierarchical map data 34c of the third floor Fc, the aerial communication path Rc is represented.

  In the horizontal axis X ′, the portion of X ′ = 0 to x1 corresponds to the A building 4. The portion of X ′ = x1 to x2 corresponds to the ground communication path Ra and the air communication path Rc. The portion of X ′ = x2 to x3 corresponds to the building B 5. Therefore, the halls 4 and 5 (or the connecting paths Ra and Rc) and the horizontal position in the hall can be defined by the coordinate value of the horizontal axis X ′. Further, as described in the first embodiment, the levels Fa to Fe and the position in the depth direction in the level can be defined by the coordinate value of the vertical axis Y ′.

  In the conversion process in the second embodiment (see step 122 in FIG. 11), the server 30 converts the four-dimensional hierarchical position information (X, Y, F, G) into two-dimensional data on the vertical array map data 35B. Conversion into multi-layer position information (X ′, Y ′). If the hall information G in each hierarchy position information is A hall 4 (G = A), the horizontal axis component X ′ of the multi-layer position information becomes a certain value within the range of 0 ≦ X ′ ≦ x1. If the hall information G in each hierarchy position information is B hall 5 (G = B), the horizontal axis component X ′ of the multi-layer position information becomes a certain value within the range of x2 ≦ X ′ ≦ x3.

  Further, as described in the first embodiment, the range of the vertical axis component Y ′ of the multi-layer position information is determined according to the layer information F in each layer position information. For example, if the hierarchy information F in each hierarchy position information is the fourth floor Fd (F = Fd), the vertical axis component Y ′ of the multi-layer position information is a certain value within the range of y3 ≦ Y ′ <y4. . If the hierarchy information F in each hierarchy position information is the fifth floor Fe (F = Fe), the vertical axis component Y ′ of the multi-layer position information becomes a certain value within the range of y4 ≦ Y ′ ≦ y5.

  Thereby, the position in the facility 3B having the plurality of buildings 4 and 5 and the plurality of levels Fa to Fe can be defined only by the two axes X ′ and Y ′. Eventually, the flow line information in the facility 3B can be displayed in an easy-to-understand manner by the two-dimensional vertical array map data.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.
For example, the hierarchical map data 34a, 34b, 34c... May be a diagram obtained by bird's-eye view of the respective layers Fa, Fb, Fc... There may be.
The vertical and horizontal axes Y ′ and X ′ of the vertical array map data 35 and 35B do not necessarily need to be orthogonal to each other, and may be acute or obtuse.
The position data of the beacon position databases 37 and 37B of the server 30 are represented by the X ′ and Y ′ coordinate axes of the vertical array map data 35 and 35B instead of being represented by the X and Y coordinate axes for each of the layers F, Fb, Fc. You may decide.
A function of connecting the communication network 6 to the beacon 10 may be added, and the collected data from the mobile communication device 20 may be received and transmitted to the server 30.
The server 30 may not store the vertical array map data 35 and 35B in advance. In the flow line information creation step (step 112), the server 30 may create the vertical array map data 93 from the hierarchical map data 34a, 34b, 34c,... With built-in drawing software.
In the second embodiment (FIGS. 13 to 14), the Y ′ axis of the vertical array map data 35 </ b> B may be aligned with the alignment direction of the buildings 4 and 5.

  The present invention can be applied, for example, to a flow line information processing system for grasping a behavior tendency of a visitor in a large commercial facility or a retail store.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Flow line information processing system 2 Collection object person 3 Facility Fa-Fe Collection object hierarchy 3b-3i Key point 7 Client computer 10 Beacon 20 Portable communication apparatus 26 Flow line information processing application (program for portable communication apparatus)
30 servers (storage means, creation means)
30P flow line information processing program (server program)
34a, 34b, 34c Hierarchical map data 35, 35B Vertical array map data X ′ Horizontal axis Y ′ Vertical axis 90 Flow line information 93 Vertical line map data 95 including flow lines Flow lines

Claims (5)

A flow line information processing system for collecting and providing flow line information of a person to be collected in a facility having a plurality of layers,
A plurality of beacons that are arranged at each important point of each collection target hierarchy in the facility and transmit different beacon identification information,
Via the mobile communication device that receives the beacon identification information and transmits the received beacon identification information, and the reception time thereof, and collection data including the collection target person identification information,
Storage means for receiving the collected data and storing it as accumulated collected data;
The beacon position data and position with the beacon identification information on a plurality of hierarchical map data overhead each collected object hierarchy from above was linked, creating means for creating said flow line information based on said accumulated data collected ,
And the creation means draws a flow line on vertical array map data in which hierarchical map data of a plurality of collection target hierarchies are arranged in order from the top to the bottom of one screen, and the flow line When the information spans a plurality of collection target hierarchies, the flow line information processing is characterized in that the flow lines are drawn across the hierarchical map data corresponding to the plurality of collection target hierarchies on the vertical array map data. system. A flow line information processing method for collecting and providing flow line information of a person to be collected in a facility having multiple levels,
A plurality of beacons arranged at each important point of each collection target hierarchy in the facility, and transmitting different beacon identification information;
A portable communication device receiving the beacon identification information;
The mobile communication device transmits the received data including the received beacon identification information, the reception time, and the collection target person identification information;
A server receiving the collected data and storing it as accumulated collected data;
Creating the server, the beacon location data and position with the beacon identification information on a plurality of hierarchical map data overhead each collected object hierarchy from above was linked, the flow line information based on said accumulated data collected And a process of
In the creation step, the server draws a flow line on the vertical array map data in which the hierarchical map data of a plurality of collection target hierarchies are arranged in order from the top to the bottom of one screen from a higher floor, When the flow line information covers a plurality of collection target hierarchies, the flow line is drawn across the hierarchy map data corresponding to the plurality of collection target hierarchies on the vertical array map data. Flow line information processing method. The beacon identification information received by the mobile communication device in which a plurality of beacons arranged at each important point of each collection target layer in a facility having a plurality of layers transmits different beacon identification information and receives the beacon identification information. , And the reception time thereof, and the server program in the flow line information processing system that transmits the collection data including the collection target person identification information to the server,
Processing to receive the collected data and accumulate as accumulated collected data;
A process of accepting a request for providing flow line information of a collection target person from a client computer;
In response to the providing request, the beacon location data and position with the beacon identification information on a plurality of hierarchical map data overhead each collected object hierarchy from above was linked, the flow line on the basis of said storage data collected The process of creating information,
And the creation process draws a flow line on vertical arrangement map data in which hierarchical map data of a plurality of collection target hierarchies are arranged in order from the upper floor to the lower floor, and the flow line When the information covers a plurality of collection target hierarchies, the program includes a process of drawing the flow line across the hierarchical map data corresponding to the plurality of collection target hierarchies on the vertical array map data . The beacon identification information received by the mobile communication device in which a plurality of beacons arranged at each important point of each collection target layer in a facility having a plurality of layers transmits different beacon identification information and receives the beacon identification information. , And the reception time thereof, and the server program in the flow line information processing system that transmits the collection data including the collection target person identification information to the server,
Processing to receive the collected data and accumulate as accumulated collected data;
A process of accepting a request for providing flow line information of a collection target person from a client computer;
In response to the provision request, a process of creating the flow line information based on the accumulated collection data;
And the creation process draws a flow line on vertical array map data in which a plurality of hierarchical map data obtained by looking down on each collection target hierarchy from above is arranged in order from the top to the bottom. And when the flow line information covers a plurality of collection target hierarchies, the flow line information includes processing for drawing the flow lines across the hierarchical map data corresponding to the plurality of collection target hierarchies on the vertical array map data. ,
In the storage device of the server, beacon position data that associates the beacon identification information and the position on the hierarchical map data is stored,
The creation process acquires each hierarchical position information on the hierarchical map data of the mobile communication device at the reception time based on the accumulated collection data and the beacon position data, and converts the hierarchical position information to the vertical position information. Including conversion to multi-level position information on sequence map data,
The position component in the vertical direction in the multi-layer position information defines the corresponding collection target layer and the position in the depth direction, and the position in the left-right direction is defined by the position component in the horizontal axis direction in the multi-layer position information. A program characterized by that. A plurality of beacons arranged at each important point of each collection target layer in a facility having a plurality of layers transmits different beacon identification information,
A server receives data including the beacon identification information from a portable communication device and stores it as accumulated collection data, and in response to a request from a client computer, a plurality of hierarchical maps in which each collection target hierarchy is looked down from above beacon location data linked positions on the data and the said beacon identification information, in a flow line processing system for creating flow line information based on said accumulated collecting data, a program for the portable communication device,
A process that becomes active when receiving a radio wave from the nearest beacon to the mobile communication device in an inactive state;
A process of receiving beacon identification information from any beacon in an active state ;
A process of creating collection data including the received beacon identification information, its reception time, and collection target person identification information;
The mobile communication device executes a process of transmitting the collected data to the server at a certain timing, and the flow line information includes a plurality of collection target layer hierarchy map data in order from the top to the bottom of one screen in descending order. When flow lines are drawn on the vertical array map data arranged in the direction and the flow line information covers a plurality of collection target layers, it corresponds to the plurality of collection target layers on the vertical array map data. der those drawn the flow line across between the hierarchical map data which is,
The timing includes when the amount of the collected data reaches a predetermined value, when a transmission button displayed on the display screen of the program in the portable communication device is operated, or when the program is shut down. Program.

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