JP6507059B2 - Location identification system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a location specification technology that uses ultrasound to identify the location of an object present in a facility.

  Conventionally, as a technology for identifying the location of an object such as an article or person existing in a facility, an ultrasonic tag is attached to an object such as a medical device, a staff member, or a patient, and The receiver is arranged, the ultrasonic waves transmitted from the ultrasonic tag at regular intervals are received by each ultrasonic receiver, and the received information is notified from the ultrasonic receivers to the upper apparatus (server), and the upper apparatus Present in the hospital based on the arrangement position of the ultrasonic wave receiver that has received the ultrasonic wave specified from the reception information from each ultrasonic wave receiver, the deviation of the reception timing of the ultrasonic wave at each ultrasonic wave receiver, etc. There is proposed a technology for identifying the location of an ultrasonic tag, that is, the location of an object (see, for example, Non-Patent Document 1).

"RTLS for Hospital" (Location Detection System), GRAPE SYSTEMS, http://www.grape.co.jp/rtls/sonitor.html

  However, in such a prior art, it is necessary to transmit the reception information regarding the ultrasonic wave from the ultrasonic tag received by each ultrasonic receiver to the host apparatus. For this reason, it is necessary to equip all ultrasonic receivers installed in various places in the facility with the function of performing data communication with the upper device, and connect all these ultrasonic receivers with the upper device via a communication line such as LAN. There is a need to. In particular, since ultrasonic waves do not pass through the walls of the compartments, it is necessary to install one ultrasound receiver in each compartment, and when it is desired to further identify the whereabouts of an object in a broad compartment, It is necessary to install an ultrasonic receiver. Therefore, not only the entire system becomes complicated and the scale increases, but there is also a problem that the cost of the entire system increases due to the product cost of the ultrasonic receiver itself and the installation cost required for connection with the communication network.

  The present invention is intended to solve such problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a location specifying technology capable of specifying the location of an object present in a facility with a simple configuration and at low cost.

In order to achieve such an object, a location specifying system according to the present invention is a location specifying system that uses ultrasound to identify the location of an object present in each section in a facility, A plurality of locators that are installed and return RF signals and ultrasonic waves including their own locator ID in response to reception of a tag signal, and are attached to each of the objects to intermittently transmit the tag signal, A wireless tag that receives an RF signal and an ultrasonic wave returned from the locator according to a tag signal, and transmits detection information including at least a locator ID detected from the ultrasonic wave and a terminal ID of its own, and the wireless tag A location specifying device for identifying a location of an object corresponding to the terminal ID included in the detection information based on the locator ID included in the detection information transmitted, the location specification The location refers to the correspondence between the locator ID set as locator information in advance and the location of the locator having the locator ID, and obtains the location corresponding to the locator ID included in the detection information, and the location the installation compartment have a presence section identifying unit for identifying a presence section of the object corresponding to the device ID contained in the detection information, the radio tag, the after sending a tag signal, constant response waiting period from the transmission In the case where the ultrasonic wave can not be received despite receiving the RF signal from the locator within, the tag signal is retransmitted at a retransmission interval shorter than the specified transmission interval of the tag signal. is there.
Further, another location specifying system according to the present invention is a location specifying system for identifying the location of an object present in each section in a facility using ultrasonic waves, and is installed in each section and the tag signal And a plurality of locators for returning an ultrasonic signal and an RF signal including its own locator ID in response to the reception of the first tag, and the plurality of locators attached for each object, intermittently transmitting the tag signal, and the tag signal according to the tag signal A wireless tag that receives an RF signal and an ultrasonic wave returned from a locator and transmits detection information including at least a locator ID detected from the ultrasonic wave and its own terminal ID, and the detection information transmitted from the wireless tag The location identification device for identifying the location of the object corresponding to the terminal ID included in the detection information based on the included locator ID, and the location identification device The installation section corresponding to the locator ID included in the detection information is acquired with reference to the correspondence between the locator ID set as and the installation section of the locator having the locator ID, and the installation section is detected as the detection information , And the wireless tag transmits the tag signal from the locator within a certain response waiting period after the tag signal is transmitted. When the ultrasonic wave can not be received despite the reception of the RF signal, the response waiting period of the tag signal to be transmitted next is temporarily extended.

  In one configuration example of the location specifying system according to the present invention, the wireless tag detects a reception interval between an RF signal and an ultrasonic wave returned from the locator in response to the tag signal, and determines the reception interval. The location specifying device transmits the detection information included in the detection information, and based on the reception interval included in the detection information, an object corresponding to the terminal ID from the locator having the locator ID installed in the existing section It further has a separation distance calculation unit that calculates the separation distance up to.

Further, another location specifying system according to the present invention is a location specifying system for identifying the location of an object present in each section in a facility using ultrasonic waves, and is installed in each section and the tag signal And a plurality of locators for returning an ultrasonic signal and an RF signal including its own locator ID in response to the reception of the first tag, and the plurality of locators attached for each object, intermittently transmitting the tag signal, and the tag signal according to the tag signal A wireless tag that receives an RF signal and an ultrasonic wave returned from a locator and transmits detection information including at least a locator ID detected from the ultrasonic wave and its own terminal ID, and the detection information transmitted from the wireless tag The location identification device for identifying the location of the object corresponding to the terminal ID included in the detection information based on the included locator ID, and the location identification device The installation section corresponding to the locator ID included in the detection information is acquired with reference to the correspondence between the locator ID set as and the installation section of the locator having the locator ID, and the installation section is detected as the detection information And the wireless tag is a reception interval between an RF signal returned from the locator in response to the tag signal and an ultrasonic wave. Is detected, and the reception interval is included in the detection information and transmitted, and the location specifying device transmits a locator having the locator ID installed in the existing section based on the reception interval included in the detection information. The wireless tag further includes a separation distance calculation unit that calculates a separation distance to an object corresponding to the terminal ID, the wireless tag including a plurality of the search points according to the tag signal. When the RF signal and the ultrasonic wave returned from the network are received, the locator ID and the reception interval detected for each of the locators are included in the detection information and transmitted, and the separated distance calculation unit transmits the detection information to the detection information The separation distance is calculated for each included reception interval, and the location specifying device refers to the correspondence between the locator ID set in advance in the locator information and the installation position of the locator having the locator ID, An existing position calculation unit for acquiring the installation position of the locator having the locator ID for each locator ID included in the detection information and calculating the existing position of the object based on the installation position and the separation distance; The wireless tag further includes a locator ID not detected from the RF signal and the locator ID detected from each of the ultrasonic waves. When it is output, for each of the locators, the locator ID detected from the ultrasonic wave of the locator is included in the detection information and transmitted.

  Further, one configuration example of the location specifying system according to the present invention receives the ultrasonic wave transmitted from the locator, and transmits the detection information including the locator ID detected from the ultrasonic wave and the own terminal ID. The apparatus further comprises a communication terminal, and the existing section identification unit refers to the locator information to acquire an installation section corresponding to the locator ID included in the detection information, and the terminal ID includes the installation section in the detection information. And the corresponding section of the portable communication terminal.

  According to the present invention, the locator only operates to return the RF signal and the ultrasonic wave in response to the tag signal from the wireless tag, and it is not necessary to perform data communication with the location specifying device (upper device). Therefore, it is only necessary to supply commercial power to each locator, and it is not necessary to connect all the locators and the higher-level device via a communication line such as a LAN. As a result, even if one locator is installed in each section and multiple locators are installed in a large section, the entire system does not become complicated and installation required for the product cost of the locator itself and connection with the communication network The cost does not increase the cost of the entire system. Therefore, it is possible to identify the whereabouts of objects present in the facility with a simple configuration and at low cost.

It is a block diagram showing composition of a location specification system concerning a 1st embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of a wireless tag. It is a block diagram showing composition of a locator. It is a block diagram showing composition of a location specific device. It is an example of composition of locator information. It is an example of composition of detection information. It is a structural example of location management DB. It is explanatory drawing which shows the calculation method of the target object position based on separation distance. It is a sequence diagram which shows location specification operation | movement (in the case of a single locator). It is a timing chart which shows the RF signal and the ultrasonic wave (in the case of a single locator) transmitted and received between the wireless tag and the locator. It is a sequence diagram which shows location specific operation (in the case of 3 locators). It is a timing chart which shows RF signal and an ultrasonic wave which are transmitted from a locator (in the case of 3 locators). It is a block diagram showing composition of a location specification system concerning a 2nd embodiment. It is a sequence diagram which shows location specific operation | movement (in the case of a mobile communication terminal).

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
First Embodiment
First, with reference to FIG. 1, a location specifying system 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a location specification system according to the first embodiment.

  The location specifying system 1 according to the present invention is a system for specifying the location of each target for each target present in a facility 2 such as a hospital.

  In FIG. 1, a facility 2 to which the location specifying system 1 is applied is a hospital, and a case where a location of an object including a staff, a patient, and the like in addition to various medical devices is identified is shown as an example. In this facility 2, a sick room RA, a treatment room RB, and an equipment room RW are provided on both sides of the corridor COR. In each sick room RA and treatment room RB, various medical devices such as bed 31, diagnostic device 32, drip tray 33, wheelchair 34, stretcher 35 are used, and spare medical devices are stored in the equipment room RW. ing. In addition, staff 36 such as doctors and nurses go in and out of each section such as hospital room RA, treatment room RB, corridor COR, equipment room RW, etc. Patient 37 is in hospital room RA, treatment room RB, corridor COR. Existing.

  The facility 2 to which the location specification system 1 is applied is not limited to such a hospital. For example, where the location of objects in various facilities is specified, for example, where the location of pallets or basket cars used for transporting or storing luggage in a warehouse is specified, or where the location of electronic devices such as personal computers or mobile communication terminals is specified at an office. It can be applied to

[Location Identification System]
As shown in FIG. 1, the location specifying system 1 includes a wireless tag 10, a locator 20, a wireless tag reader RD, and a location specifying device 50.

[Wireless tag]
The wireless tag 10 is a wireless tag attached to and used for an object whose location is to be identified. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the wireless tag.
The wireless tag 10 is provided with an RF I / F unit 11, an ultrasonic wave receiving unit 12, and a tag control unit 13 as main functional units. These respective functional units operate with the power supplied from the battery 14 Do.

The RFI / F unit 11 has a function of transmitting a tag signal to the locator 20 or the wireless tag reader RD via radio waves, and the locator 20 located in the vicinity in a response waiting period preset for the transmission timing of the tag signal. And a function of detecting a locator ID included in the received RF signal.
The ultrasonic wave receiving unit 12 receives an ultrasonic wave returned from the locator 20 located in the vicinity of the tag signal transmitted from the RF I / F unit 11, and detects a locator ID included in the ultrasonic wave. Have.

  The tag control unit 13 has a function of intermittently wirelessly transmitting a tag signal from the RF I / F unit 11 and a function of acquiring from the RF I / F unit 11 a locator ID included in an RF signal received according to the tag signal. A function of acquiring from the ultrasonic wave receiver 12 a locator ID included in the ultrasonic wave received according to the tag signal, a function of detecting a reception interval from the RF signal to the ultrasonic wave, and at least the ultrasonic wave The RF I / F unit 11 has a function of transmitting detection information including the detected locator ID and reception interval and a terminal ID for identifying the wireless tag 10 to the wireless tag reader RD. The wireless tag reader RD transmits the received detection information to the location specifying device 50 via the communication network NW such as a wireless LAN or Bluetooth (registered trademark).

  The tag control unit 13 transmits detection information in accordance with the locator ID detected from the ultrasonic waves from the locator 20. Usually, the ultrasonic waves are reflected without passing through the wall of the section, so a plurality of locators 20 or other When the ultrasonic equipment is present in the same section, it is conceivable that noise may be mixed with the ultrasonic waves from the locator 20 and a reception error of the locator ID may be generated. In this case, the detection information may be transmitted according to the match between the received RF signal and the locator ID detected from the ultrasonic wave. As a result, the detection information is transmitted to the location identifying device 50 only when the legitimacy of the locator ID is confirmed based on the received RF signal and ultrasonic wave, so that the reception error of the RF signal or ultrasonic wave It is also possible to prevent location errors due to

  In addition, an acceleration sensor and a vibration sensor are provided in the wireless tag 10, and the tag control unit 13 compares the detection value indicating the degree of movement or vibration of the object detected by these sensors with a threshold to detect the detection value. When the threshold value is exceeded, radio transmission of the tag signal may be instructed to the RF I / F unit 11. As a result, the tag signal is automatically transmitted according to the movement of the object, so that the detection information regarding the RF signal and the ultrasonic wave returned from the locator 20 is transmitted to the location specifying device 50. As a result, a new location of the object is identified. Therefore, compared with the case where the tag signal is periodically transmitted from the wireless tag 10, it is possible to minimize the difference between the location specified by the location specifying device 50 and the actual location, and the staff 36 and the like have a fast movement. Even if it is an object, it is possible to identify the latest location.

[locator]
The locator 20 consists of small radio / ultrasonic equipment as a whole, and is installed on the wall or ceiling of each section such as the hospital room RA, the treatment room RB, the equipment room RW, and the corridor COR of the facility 2. In particular, in relatively large sections such as the equipment room RW and the corridor COR, a plurality of sections are installed to specify whereabouts in the sections in detail. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the locator.

  The locator 20 is provided with an RF I / F unit 21, an ultrasound transmission unit 22, and a locator control unit 23 as main functional units. Since locator 20 does not have a function to perform data communication with location specification device 50 which is a higher-level device, it is not necessary to wire a communication line such as a LAN, so it may be a place where commercial power serving as operating power is supplied. For example, it can be installed at any position. Thus, for example, the entire locator 20 may be configured to be plugged into an AC outlet.

The RFI / F unit 21 has a function of receiving a tag signal transmitted by radio wave from the wireless tag 10, and an RF signal including a locator ID for identifying each locator 20 in accordance with an instruction from the locator control unit 23. It has a function to transmit by radio waves.
The ultrasound transmission unit 22 has a function of transmitting an ultrasound including a locator ID in response to an instruction from the locator control unit 23.
The locator control unit 23 instructs the RF I / F unit 21 to return the RF signal including the locator ID in response to the reception of the tag signal by the RF I / F unit 21, and the ultrasonic wave returns the ultrasound including the locator ID. It has a function of instructing the transmission unit 22.

[Wireless tag reader]
The wireless tag reader RD is a general wireless tag reader device, and has a function of receiving detection information transmitted by radio waves from the wireless tag 10 and transferring the detection information to the location specifying device 50 via the communication network NW. In order to respond to detection information from a plurality of wireless tags 10, the wireless tag reader RD is installed at a position substantially at the center of a plurality of grouped sections, that is, at the ceiling in the middle of the corridor COR in FIG.

[Location Identification Device]
The location specifying device 50 generally comprises an information processing device such as a server device or a personal computer, and based on the detection information from the wireless tag 10, the wireless tag 10 in the facility 2 such as the existing section, the separation distance, and the existing position. It has a function to identify whereabouts of FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the location specifying device.
The location specifying device 20 is provided with a communication I / F unit 51, an operation input unit 52, a screen display unit 53, a storage unit 54, a location management DB 55, and an arithmetic processing unit 56 as main functional units.

The communication I / F unit 51 has a function of performing data communication with the wireless tag reader RD or an external device (not shown) via the communication network NW.
The operation input unit 52 includes operation input devices such as a keyboard, a mouse, and a touch panel, and has a function of detecting an operation input by the operator and outputting the operation to the arithmetic processing unit 56.
The screen display unit 53 is a screen display device such as an LCD, and has a function of displaying various data such as the location of an object output from the arithmetic processing unit 56 on a screen.

  The storage unit 54 is formed of a storage device such as a hard disk or a semiconductor memory, and has a function of storing various processing information and programs used in the location specifying process executed by the arithmetic processing unit 56. As main processing information stored in the storage unit 54, there are locator information 54A and detection information 54B.

  FIG. 5 is a configuration example of locator information. The locator information 54 A is data indicating the position of each locator 20, and is preset according to the installation position of each locator 20. In the configuration example of FIG. 5, for each locator ID for identifying each locator 20, an installation section indicating a section in which the locator 20 is installed, an installation position indicating a coordinate position in which the locator 20 is installed, Is registered as a pair.

  FIG. 6 is a configuration example of detection information. The detection information 54 B is data relating to the RF signal and the ultrasonic wave from the locator 20 detected by the wireless tag 10. In the configuration example of FIG. 6, for each terminal ID for identifying the wireless tag 10, an acquisition date, a locator ID, and a reception interval are registered as a set.

  The location management DB 55 includes a storage device such as a hard disk or a semiconductor memory, and is a database for managing the location of each object obtained by the location specifying process executed by the arithmetic processing unit 56. FIG. 7 is a configuration example of the location management DB. Here, for each terminal ID of the wireless tag 10 mounted on the object, an object name indicating the name of the object, a specific date and time indicating the date and time when the location is specified, and a section indicating the section in which the object exists A section, a distance between the object and the locator 20 in the vicinity thereof, and an existing position indicating position coordinates at which the object is present are registered as a set.

  The arithmetic processing unit 56 has a function of realizing various processing units used for the location specifying processing by executing the program of the storage unit 54 by the CPU. As main processing units realized by the arithmetic processing unit 56, a detection information acquisition unit 56A, an existing section identification unit 56B, a separation distance calculation unit 56C, an existing position calculation unit 56D, and a DB processing unit 56E are provided.

  The detection information acquisition unit 56A has a function of acquiring the detection information 54B from the wireless tag 10 received by the communication I / F unit 51 via the wireless tag reader RD and the communication network NW and storing the detection information 54B in the storage unit 54. ing.

  The existing section specifying unit 56B refers to the locator information 54A of the storage unit 54, acquires the installation section corresponding to the locator ID included in the detection information 54B of the storage unit 54, and detects the installation section as the detection information 54B. Has a function of specifying as the existing section of the target corresponding to the terminal ID included in.

  Based on the reception interval included in the detection information 54B of the storage unit 54, the separation distance calculation unit 56C transmits the locator 20 having the locator ID installed in the existing section to the target object corresponding to the terminal ID based on the reception interval. It has a function to calculate the separation distance.

In general, the velocity C of ultrasonic waves propagating in air at a temperature T ° C. is given by the following equation (1).
C = 331.5 + 0.6T (1)
Therefore, when the RF signal and the ultrasonic wave are simultaneously transmitted from the locator 20 and the time for the RF signal to reach from the locator 20 to the wireless tag 10 is negligible, as shown in the equation (2), The distance C between the locator 20 and the wireless tag 10, that is, the object can be obtained by integrating the velocity C of the equation (1) with respect to the corresponding propagation time Td.
D = C × Td (2)
Thereby, it turns out that the object exists on the spherical surface which makes the separation distance D a radius from the installation position of the locator 20 nearby.

  When the detection information 54B of the storage unit 54 includes a plurality of locator IDs and reception intervals, the existing position calculation unit 56D has the locator 20 having the locator ID from the locator information 54A of the storage unit 54 for each of the locator IDs. The wireless tag 10, that is, the object, is obtained based on the function of acquiring the installation position of the wireless tag 10, the installation position of the locators 20, and the separation distance between the locator 20 and the wireless tag 10 calculated by the separation distance calculation unit And a function of calculating the existing position.

  FIG. 8 is an explanatory view showing a calculation method of an object position based on the separation distance, and here, a case where three different locators 20 exist is described as an example. Coordinate positions of the locator # 1 with respect to the position L1 are X1, Y1 and Z1, coordinates of the position # 2 of the locator # 2 with X2, Y2 and Z2, and coordinates of the position # 3 of the locator # 3 with X3, Y3 and Z3. When the separation distances from the object position P to the locators # 1, # 2 and # 3 are D1, D2 and D3, the object position P has radii D1, D2 and D3 centered on L1, L2 and L3. Exist at coordinate positions Xp, Yp, Zp where the spherical surfaces S1, S2, S3 intersect.

Therefore, if the following equations (3), (4), (5) for D1, D2, D3 are solved simultaneously, P coordinate positions Xp, Yp, Zp of the object position can be obtained.
D1 ² = (X1-Xp) ² + (Y1-Yp) ² + (Z1-Zp) ² ... (3)
D2 ² = (X2−Xp) ² + (Y2−Yp) ² + (Z2−Zp) ² (4)
D3 ² = (X3−Xp) ² + (Y3−Yp) ² + (Z3−Zp) ² (5)

  Although FIG. 8 illustrates the case of calculating the position on the three-dimensional coordinate in the case where three different locators 20 (# 1- # 3) exist, the case where four or more locators 20 exist is described as an example. For example, three locators 20 may be selected in ascending order of separation distance, and the object position may be calculated as described above. On the other hand, when there are only two different locators 20, the above-mentioned calculation method is applied under the assumption that an object position exists on a two-dimensional plane in which these locators 20 exist. It should be calculated. In addition, the coordinate position mentioned above is based on the reference coordinate system preset with respect to the plant | facility 2.

  The DB processing unit 56E includes the location of the wireless tag 10 including the existing section, the separated distance, the existing position, and the like obtained by the existing section specifying unit 56B, the separated distance calculating unit 56C, and the existing position calculating unit 56D. A function of registering in the location management DB 55 in association with the terminal ID of the tag 10 and its specific date and time, and searching the location management DB 55 for the location of the corresponding object according to the detection operation by the operator detected by the operation input unit 52 And the function of displaying the obtained search result on the screen display unit 53, and the location related to the corresponding object according to the search instruction input from the external device via the communication I / F unit 51. And a function to return the obtained search result to an external device.

[Operation of First Embodiment]
Next, as the operation of the location specification system 1 according to the present embodiment, in the case of a single locator in which only one locator 20 is placed alone around the wireless tag 10 and 3 different around the wireless tag 10 The case of three locators in which two locators 20 are arranged will be described respectively.

[Single locator]
First, with reference to FIG. 9, a case where only one locator 20 is independently disposed around the wireless tag 10 will be described as the operation of the location specification system 1 according to the present embodiment. FIG. 9 is a sequence diagram showing a location specification operation (in the case of a single locator).

First, the tag control unit 13 of the wireless tag 10 attached to the object periodically counts the transmission timing, and transmits the tag signal from the RF I / F unit 11 in response to the arrival of the transmission timing ((1) Step 100).
When the RF I / F unit 21 receives the tag signal from the wireless tag 10, the locator control unit 23 of the locator 20 adjusts the RF signal including its own locator ID in accordance with the response waiting period of the tag signal in the wireless tag 10. Are transmitted from the RF I / F unit 21 (step 101), and an ultrasonic wave including its own locator ID is transmitted from the ultrasonic wave transmission unit 22 (step 102).

  FIG. 10 is a timing chart showing an RF signal and an ultrasonic wave (in the case of a single locator) transmitted and received between the wireless tag and the locator. These RF signals and ultrasonic waves are assumed to be modulated by pulse-position modulation (PPM). In this pulse position modulation method, for example, code pulses in which the ON interval is a fixed interval and the time interval of the OFF interval is different between “0” and “1” when the data is “0” and “1” are used. Is modulated.

After transmitting the tag signal, the tag control unit 13 of the wireless tag 10 receives the RF signal and the ultrasonic wave returned from the locator 20 by the RF I / F unit 11 and the ultrasonic wave receiving unit 12, respectively, and detects the locator ID and the reception interval. It detects (step 103).
Usually, since the propagation speed of the ultrasonic wave is lower than that of the RF signal, a delay according to the separation distance from the locator 20 to the wireless tag 10 occurs in the reception timing of the wireless tag 10 in the both. Therefore, the separation distance can be specified by detecting this delay as the reception interval Td.

  At this time, the ultrasonic waves have a large delay according to the distance and the reception timing is likely to be shifted, and the possibility of collision of ultrasonic waves simultaneously returned from a plurality of locators according to the same tag signal is low. For this reason, the tag control unit 13 may detect at least the locator ID from the ultrasonic wave, but specify, among the received RF signal and the ultrasonic wave, the RF signal and the ultrasonic wave in which the locator ID included in each matches. The reception intervals of the two may be detected for these signal pairs. This makes it possible to confirm the pair of the RF signal and the ultrasonic wave, and to avoid the detection error of the reception interval for the wrong pair.

  In addition, although the distance between the wireless tag 10 and the locator 20 is large and the RF signal from the locator 20 is received, it may be considered that the ultrasonic wave can not be received within the response waiting period. In such a case, since the presence of the locator 20 is confirmed by the RF signal, the tag of step 100 is reached until the ultrasonic waves reach or the upper limit number of retransmissions is reached at the retransmission interval shorter than the specified transmission interval of the tag signal. The signal may be repeatedly retransmitted. Alternatively, the response waiting period of the tag signal to be transmitted next may be extended to the response waiting period for long distance, and the tag signal of step 100 may be repeatedly retransmitted until the ultrasonic waves reach or the upper limit number of retransmissions is reached. .

Thereafter, the tag control unit 13 detects the detection information addressed to the location identifying device 50 in which the terminal ID of its own is added to the detected locator ID and the reception interval, and transmits the tag from the RF I / F unit 11 to the wireless tag reader RD. The signal is transmitted by radio wave (step 104).
The detection information acquisition unit 56A of the location specifying device 50 acquires detection information from the wireless tag 10 relayed and transferred by the wireless tag reader RD via the communication network NW and the communication I / F unit 51, and indicates the acquired date and time It preserve | saves as the detection information 54B in the memory | storage part 54 with an acquisition date.

  Thereafter, the existing section specifying unit 56B of the location specifying apparatus 50 refers to the locator information 54A of the storage unit 54, and acquires the installation section corresponding to the locator ID included in the detection information 54B of the storage unit 54. It identifies as an existing section of the target corresponding to the terminal ID included in the detection information 54B (step 105).

  Further, based on the reception interval Td included in the detection information 54B of the storage unit 54, the separation distance calculation unit 56C of the location specifying device 50 has the locator 20 having the locator ID included in the detection information 54B; The separation distance D with the wireless tag 10 having the terminal ID included in the detection information 54B is calculated (step 106).

  After that, the DB processing unit 56E of the location specifying device 50 obtains the position where the wireless tag 10 is present, obtained by the existing section specifying unit 56B, the separated distance calculating unit 56C, and the existing position calculating unit 56D. The terminal ID and its identification date and time are associated with each other and registered in the location management DB 55 (step 107), and a series of location specification processing is ended.

  The tag signal transmitted from the wireless tag 10 to the locator 20 in step 100 of FIG. 9 and the RF signal transmitted from the locator 20 to the wireless tag 10 in step 101 are both located by the wireless tag reader RD. Relay to 50. Therefore, for example, when the object moves to a place where the locator 20 is not installed, only the tag signal is relayed to the locating device 50.

  Therefore, for example, when the detection information of step 104 does not arrive even after a predetermined time has elapsed after the tag identification unit 56B of the location identification device 50 receives the tag signal in step 100, the terminal included in the tag signal It is specified that the object corresponding to the ID is present in the section where the locator 20 does not exist, and accordingly, the DB processing unit 56E is associated with the terminal ID and indicates that the object exists in the section where the locator does not exist. It may be registered in the location management DB 55 together with the reception date and time of the tag signal. Thereby, it becomes possible to confirm in the location management DB 55 that the object is present in the section where the locator 20 does not exist.

[3 locator]
First, referring to FIG. 11, as the operation of location specification system 1 according to the present embodiment, three different locators # 1, # 1 around wireless tag 10, for example, like equipment room RW shown in FIG. A case where # 2, # 3 (20) are arranged will be described. FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram showing a location specifying operation (in the case of three locators).

First, the tag control unit 13 of the wireless tag 10 attached to the object periodically counts the transmission timing, and transmits the tag signal from the RF I / F unit 11 in response to the arrival of the transmission timing ((1) Step 110).
The locator control unit 23 of locator # 1 receives the tag signal from the wireless tag 10 at the RF I / F unit 21 and simultaneously transmits an RF signal including its own locator ID from the RF I / F unit 21 (step 111), The ultrasonic wave transmission unit 22 transmits an ultrasonic wave including its own locator ID (step 112).

  Also, the locator control unit 23 of locators # 2 and # 3 receives the tag signal from the wireless tag 10 at the RF I / F unit 21 substantially simultaneously with locator # 1, and the RF signal including its own locator ID is RFI / Simultaneously with the transmission from the F unit 21 (steps 113 and 115), the ultrasonic wave transmission unit 22 transmits an ultrasonic wave including its own locator ID (steps 114 and 116).

  FIG. 12 is a timing chart showing an RF signal and ultrasonic waves (in the case of three locators) transmitted and received between the wireless tag and the locator. These RF signals and ultrasonic waves are assumed to be modulated by pulse-position modulation (PPM). In general, the pulse position modulation scheme is considered to be less susceptible to noise, and even if RF signals and ultrasounds from a plurality of locators 20 overlap, they can be separated to some extent.

After transmitting the tag signal, the tag control unit 13 of the wireless tag 10 receives the RF signal and the ultrasonic wave returned from the locators # 1, # 2, and # 3 by the RF I / F unit 11 and the ultrasonic wave receiving unit 12, respectively. The locator ID and the reception intervals Td1, Td2, Td3 are detected for each of the locators # 1, # 2, # 3 (step 117).
After this, the tag control unit 13 transmits the detection information addressed to the location specifying device 50 to which the own terminal ID is added to the three sets of the detected locator ID and the reception interval, from the RF I / F unit 11 by the tag signal. Transmit to tag reader RD (step 118).

  At this time, the RF signals returned from the respective locators # 1, # 2 and # 3 reach the wireless tag 10 almost simultaneously even if the separation distance is different. It is conceivable that the ID can not be detected. However, since the ultrasonic wave has a large delay according to the distance and the reception timing is easily shifted, there is a high possibility that the locator ID can be detected. Therefore, even if the locator ID is not detected from the RF signal and the match of the locator ID is not confirmed, the locator ID detected from the ultrasonic wave may be processed as a legitimate one. In this case, with regard to the reception interval, the reception interval up to the ultrasonic wave at which the locator ID is detected may be detected with reference to the RF signal returned from an arbitrary locator according to the transmitted tag signal.

  The detection information acquisition unit 56A of the location specifying device 50 acquires detection information from the wireless tag 10 relayed and transferred by the wireless tag reader RD via the communication network NW and the communication I / F unit 51, and indicates the acquired date and time It preserve | saves as the detection information 54B in the memory | storage part 54 with an acquisition date.

  Thereafter, the existing section specifying unit 56B of the location specifying apparatus 50 refers to the locator information 54A of the storage unit 54, and acquires the installation section corresponding to the locator ID included in the detection information 54B of the storage unit 54. It specifies as an existing section of the target corresponding to the terminal ID included in the detection information 54B (step 119).

  Further, based on the reception interval Td included in the detection information 54B of the storage unit 54, the separation distance calculation unit 56C of the location specifying device 50 determines locator # 1, # 1 having the locator ID included in the detection information 54B. The separation distances D1, D2, and D3 from the wireless tag 10 having the terminal ID included in the detection information 54B are calculated for each of # 2 and # 3 (step 120).

  Subsequently, since the location information calculation unit 56D includes the three locator IDs and the reception intervals in the detection information 54B of the storage unit 54, the locators # 1 and # 2 acquired from the locator information 54A of the storage unit 54 are , # 3 and the distances D1, D2, and D3 between the locator 20 and the wireless tag 10 calculated by the distance calculation unit 56C, based on the calculation method described in FIG. , The presence position of the wireless tag 10, that is, the object is calculated (step 121).

  After that, the DB processing unit 56E of the location specifying device 50 determines the position where the wireless tag 10 exists, obtained by the existing section specifying unit 56B, the separated distance calculating unit 56C, and the existing position calculating unit 56D, as the terminal of the wireless tag 10 It is registered in the location management DB 55 in association with the ID and its specific date and time (step 122), and a series of location specification processing is ended.

[Effect of First Embodiment]
As described above, in the present embodiment, the wireless tag 10 attached to each object intermittently transmits the tag signal, and the RF signal returned from the locator 20 installed in the section according to the tag signal. And the ultrasonic wave, and transmits detection information including at least the locator ID detected from the ultrasonic wave and the terminal ID of the user, and the existing section specifying unit 56B of the location specifying device 50 sets the locator ID and the related information. The installation section corresponding to the locator ID included in the detection information is acquired with reference to the locator information 54A indicating the correspondence with the installation section of the locator having the locator ID, and the terminal ID included in the detection information is the installation section. And the corresponding segment of the object.

  Therefore, the locator 20 operates to return only the RF signal and the ultrasonic wave in response to the tag signal from the wireless tag 10, and it is not necessary to perform data communication with the location specifying device 50 (upper device). For this reason, it is sufficient to supply commercial power to each locator 20, and it is not necessary to connect all the locators 20 and the upper apparatus by a communication line such as a LAN. As a result, even if one locator 20 is installed in each section and a plurality of locators 20 are installed in a large section, the entire system does not become complicated, and the product cost of the locator 20 itself and the connection with the communication network Installation costs do not increase the overall cost of the system. Therefore, it becomes possible to specify the whereabouts of the object present in the facility 2 with a simple configuration and at low cost.

  Further, since the RF signal and the ultrasonic wave are returned from the locator 20 in response to the tag signal from the wireless tag 10, it is sufficient that the wireless tag 10 can operate only for a certain response waiting period after transmitting the tag signal. Therefore, as in the case where the RF signal and the ultrasonic wave are periodically transmitted from the locator 20 without transmitting the tag signal from the wireless tag 10 and the wireless tag 10 receives this, the RF signal is always transmitted by the wireless tag 10 There is no need to wait for ultrasound. Therefore, the operation can be stopped for a period from the response standby period to the arrival of a new tag signal transmission timing, and the power saving state can be achieved, and battery consumption of the wireless tag 10 can be significantly reduced. It becomes.

Further, in the present embodiment, the wireless tag 10 detects the reception interval between the RF signal returned from the locator 20 and the ultrasonic wave in response to the tag signal, and transmits the detection information while including the reception interval. Based on the reception interval included in the detection information, the distance calculation unit 56C calculates the separation distance from the locator having the locator ID installed in the existing section to the target object corresponding to the terminal ID. It is also good.
Thus, not only the existing area of the object but also the separated distance from the locator 20 installed in the existing area to the object can be specified, so that the location can be specified in more detail. Therefore, even when the existing section has a certain size or the target is relatively small, it is possible to easily find the target.

Further, in the present embodiment, after the wireless tag 10 transmits the tag signal, the ultrasonic tag can not be received although the RF signal from the locator is received within a certain response waiting period from the transmission. Alternatively, the tag signal may be retransmitted at a retransmission interval shorter than the specified transmission interval of the tag signal.
This makes it possible to shorten the time until the ultrasonic wave reception is successful as compared with the case where the tag signal is transmitted after the specified transmission interval to try to receive the ultrasonic wave, and the battery consumption of the wireless tag 10 is considered. Thus, even if the prescribed transmission interval is set to be relatively long, it is possible to early identify the object existing segment.

Further, in the present embodiment, after the wireless tag 10 transmits the tag signal, the ultrasonic tag can not be received although the RF signal from the locator is received within a certain response waiting period from the transmission. Alternatively, the response waiting period of the tag signal to be transmitted next may be temporarily extended.
As a result, even when the distance to the locator is long and a reception error occurs, it is possible to identify the section where the object is present.

Further, in the present embodiment, when the wireless tag 10 receives the RF signals and the ultrasonic waves returned from the plurality of locators in response to the tag signal, the locator ID and the reception interval detected for each of the locators are detected information. Inclusion and transmission, the separation distance calculation unit 56C calculates the separation distance for each reception interval included in the detection information, and the existence position calculation unit 56D is a locator having a preset locator ID and the locator ID. With reference to locator information 54A indicating the correspondence with the installation position, the installation position of the locator having the locator ID is obtained for each locator ID included in the detection information, and based on the installation position and the separation distance The location of the object may be calculated.
As a result, the location of the object in the existing section is identified, so that the location can be identified in great detail. Therefore, even if the existing section is quite large, it is possible to easily find an object.

In the present embodiment, when the wireless tag 10 detects the locator ID from each ultrasonic wave without detecting the locator ID from the RF signal, the locator detected from the ultrasonic wave of the locator for each locator. The ID may be included in the detection information and transmitted.
Thereby, even when RF signals from a plurality of locators collide, the location of the object in the existing section can be specified.

Second Embodiment
Next, the location specification system 1 according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a location specification system according to the second embodiment.
In the first embodiment, the case where the location of the mobile communication terminal 40 is specified based on the detection information from the wireless tag 10 has been described. In the present embodiment, a case where the location of the mobile communication terminal 40 is specified based on the detection information from the mobile communication terminal 40 will be described.

  In the present embodiment, the mobile communication terminal 40 as a whole comprises a general telephone terminal or data communication terminal carried by the patient 37 or the staff 36 such as a smartphone, a mobile phone, a tablet, a PDA, etc. Function of receiving the detected ultrasonic wave and transmitting detection information including the locator ID detected from the ultrasonic wave and its own terminal ID to the location specifying device 50 via the wireless communication network WL such as a cellular phone network or a wireless LAN have.

[Operation of Second Embodiment]
Next, with reference to FIG. 14, as an operation of the location specifying system 1 according to the present embodiment, a location specifying operation for specifying the location of the mobile communication terminal will be described. FIG. 14 is a sequence diagram showing a location specifying operation (in the case of a portable communication terminal).

  First, when the mobile communication terminal 40 receives an ultrasonic wave transmitted from the locator 20 (step 300), the mobile communication terminal 40 detects a locator ID from the ultrasonic wave (step 301), and includes the locator ID and its own terminal ID. The detection information is transmitted to the location specifying device 50 via the wireless communication network WL (step 302). At this time, the ultrasonic wave received by the mobile communication terminal 40 may be an ultrasonic wave returned by the locator 20 according to the tag signal from the wireless tag 10, and the locator ID periodically transmitted from the locator 20 It may be an ultrasonic wave including

The outgoing information acquisition unit 56A of the location specifying device 50 acquires detection information from the mobile communication terminal 40 via the wireless communication network WL and the communication I / F unit 51, and stores the acquired information together with the acquired date and time indicating the acquired date and time. It stores in 54 as detection information 54B.
Thereafter, the existing section specifying unit 56B of the location specifying apparatus 50 refers to the locator information 54A of the storage unit 54, and acquires the installation section corresponding to the locator ID included in the detection information 54B of the storage unit 54. The installation section is specified as an existing section of the mobile communication terminal corresponding to the terminal ID of the mobile communication terminal 40 included in the detection information (step 303).

  Subsequently, the DB processing unit 56E of the location specifying device 50 associates the existing section in which the portable communication terminal 40 exists, which is obtained by the existing section identifying unit 56B, with the terminal ID of the mobile communication terminal 40 and its identification date and time. The location management DB 55 is registered (step 304), and the series of location specification processing ends.

[Effect of Second Embodiment]
Thus, in the present embodiment, the mobile communication terminal 40 receives the ultrasonic wave transmitted from the locator 20, and transmits detection information including the locator ID detected from the ultrasonic wave and the terminal ID of the mobile communication terminal 40. The existing section specifying unit 56B of the location specifying apparatus 50 refers to the locator information 54A of the storage unit 54 to acquire an installation section corresponding to the locator ID included in the detection information from the mobile communication terminal 40, and the installation section It is specified as the existing section of the mobile communication terminal 40 corresponding to the terminal ID included in the detection information.

  As a result, even if the staff 36 and the patient 37 who do not wear the wireless tag 10 can identify the location if they carry the mobile communication terminal 40, distribution and wearing of the wireless tag 10 can be omitted. It becomes possible to introduce the location specifying system 1 extremely easily.

[Extension of the embodiment]
As mentioned above, although this invention was demonstrated with reference to embodiment, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment. Various changes that can be understood by those skilled in the art can be made to the configuration and details of the present invention within the scope of the present invention. Moreover, about each embodiment, it can combine arbitrarily and can be implemented in the not conflicting range.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Location specific system, 10 ... Wireless tag, 11 ... RFI / F part, 12 ... Ultrasonic wave receiving part, 13 ... Tag control part, 14 ... Battery, 20 ... Locator, 21 ... RFI / F part, 22 ... Ultrasonic wave Transmission unit, 23: Locator control unit, 31: Bed, 32: Diagnostic device, 33: Drip stand, 34: Wheelchair, 35: Stretcher, 36: Staff 36: Patient, 40: Mobile communication terminal, 50: Location specific device 51: communication I / F unit 52: operation input unit 53: screen display unit 54: storage unit 54A: locator information 54B: detection information 55: location management DB 56: arithmetic processing unit 56A: Detection information acquisition unit 56B ... existence section identification unit 56B ... separation distance calculation unit, 56D ... existence position calculation unit, 56E ... DB processing unit, RD ... wireless tag reader, NW ... communication network, WL ... wireless communication network, RA ... sick room , RB ... Incubation cabinet, RW ... equipment room.

Claims (5)

A location identification system that identifies the location of an object present in each section in a facility using ultrasound.
A plurality of locators installed in each of the sections and returning an RF signal including its own locator ID and an ultrasonic wave in response to reception of a tag signal;
The tag signal is attached for each target, transmits the tag signal intermittently, receives the RF signal and the ultrasonic wave returned from the locator according to the tag signal, and at least the locator ID detected from the ultrasonic wave A wireless tag that transmits detection information including its own terminal ID;
A location specifying device for specifying a location of an object corresponding to a terminal ID included in the detection information based on a locator ID included in the detection information transmitted from the wireless tag;
The location specifying apparatus acquires an installation section corresponding to the locator ID included in the detection information by referring to the correspondence between the locator ID set in advance as locator information and the installation section of the locator having the locator ID. and, have a presence section identifying unit for identifying a presence section of the object corresponding to the device ID contained the installation section to the detection information,
The wireless tag transmits the tag signal, and if it can not receive the ultrasonic wave despite receiving the RF signal from the locator within a certain response waiting period from the transmission, the tag A location identification system characterized by retransmitting a tag signal at a retransmission interval shorter than a specified transmission interval of the signal . A location identification system that identifies the location of an object present in each section in a facility using ultrasound.
A plurality of locators installed in each of the sections and returning an RF signal including its own locator ID and an ultrasonic wave in response to reception of a tag signal;
The tag signal is attached for each target, transmits the tag signal intermittently, receives the RF signal and the ultrasonic wave returned from the locator according to the tag signal, and at least the locator ID detected from the ultrasonic wave A wireless tag that transmits detection information including its own terminal ID;
A location specifying device for specifying a location of an object corresponding to a terminal ID included in the detection information based on a locator ID included in the detection information transmitted from the wireless tag;
The location specifying apparatus acquires an installation section corresponding to the locator ID included in the detection information by referring to the correspondence between the locator ID set in advance as locator information and the installation section of the locator having the locator ID. And a presence segment identification unit that identifies the installation segment as the presence segment of the object corresponding to the terminal ID included in the detection information,
The wireless tag, after transmitting the tag signal, if it can not receive the said ultrasonic despite the RF signal received from the locator from the transmission within a certain response waiting period, then A location identification system characterized by temporarily extending a response waiting period of a tag signal to be transmitted . In the location specifying system according to claim 1 or 2 ,
The wireless tag detects a reception interval between an RF signal and an ultrasonic wave returned from the locator in response to the tag signal, and transmits the detection information including the reception interval in the detection information.
The location specifying device calculates a separation distance from a locator having the locator ID installed in the existing section to an object corresponding to the terminal ID based on the reception interval included in the detection information. A location specification system further comprising a calculation unit. A location identification system that identifies the location of an object present in each section in a facility using ultrasound.
A plurality of locators installed in each of the sections and returning an RF signal including its own locator ID and an ultrasonic wave in response to reception of a tag signal;
The tag signal is attached for each target, transmits the tag signal intermittently, receives the RF signal and the ultrasonic wave returned from the locator according to the tag signal, and at least the locator ID detected from the ultrasonic wave A wireless tag that transmits detection information including its own terminal ID;
A location specifying device for specifying a location of an object corresponding to a terminal ID included in the detection information based on a locator ID included in the detection information transmitted from the wireless tag;
The location specifying apparatus acquires an installation section corresponding to the locator ID included in the detection information by referring to the correspondence between the locator ID set in advance as locator information and the installation section of the locator having the locator ID. And a presence segment identification unit that identifies the installation segment as the presence segment of the object corresponding to the terminal ID included in the detection information,
The wireless tag detects a reception interval between an RF signal and an ultrasonic wave returned from the locator in response to the tag signal, and transmits the detection information including the reception interval in the detection information.
The location specifying device calculates a separation distance from a locator having the locator ID installed in the existing section to an object corresponding to the terminal ID based on the reception interval included in the detection information. It further has a calculation unit,
When the wireless tag receives the RF signals and the ultrasonic waves returned from the plurality of locators in response to the tag signal, the wireless tag includes the locator ID detected for each of the locators and the reception interval in the detection information. Send
The separation distance calculation unit calculates the separation distance for each reception interval included in the detection information,
The location specifying device refers to the correspondence between the locator ID set in the locator information in advance and the installation position of the locator having the locator ID, and for each locator ID included in the detection information, the locator ID The present invention further includes a presence position calculation unit that acquires the installation positions of the locators having the following and calculates the presence position of the object based on the installation positions and the separation distance,
When the locator ID is not detected from the RF signal and the locator ID is detected from each of the ultrasonic waves, the wireless tag detects, for each of the locators, the locator ID detected from the ultrasonic waves of the locator, the detection information Include in and send
A location specification system characterized by In the location specifying system according to any one of claims 1 to 4 ,
The mobile communication terminal further includes a mobile communication terminal that receives the ultrasonic wave transmitted from the locator and transmits detection information including the locator ID detected from the ultrasonic wave and the own terminal ID,
The existing section identification unit refers to the locator information to acquire an installation section corresponding to the locator ID included in the detection information, and a mobile communication terminal corresponding to the installation section and the terminal ID included in the detection information A locating system characterized by identifying it as a zone of existence of

Images