JPH09200112A - Wireless card system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide the wireless card system in which detailed position information is recognized without limiting natural movement of a card possessor. SOLUTION: A communication area of a wireless base station 10 or a wireless card 30 is stepwise changed and a distance between the wireless base station 10 and the wireless card 30 is estimated to improve a spatial resolution of position information in the service area is improved. Or the position information of the wireless card 30 is recognized by the system as a vector quantity including the moving direction information.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a wireless card system composed of a wireless base station and a wireless card.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art With the recent development of multimedia, information communication is further advanced, diversified, and increased in capacity. Among them, wireless communication has attracted attention as a communication medium for information terminals from the viewpoint of human interfaces. Therefore, various types of wireless communication are used to connect various forms of wireless base stations such as outdoor mobile telephone base stations and local LAN base stations to various forms of information communication terminals represented by telephones and information terminals. Information communication systems, such as mobile phones and PHS (Personal Handy)
phone system) etc. are rapidly spreading. In addition, along with the personalization of information communication, mobile phones have been widely spread, and personal telephone systems such as telephone transfer using an IC card and a fixed telephone are being studied. In addition, the production line FA (Factory Automation) system,
Or to the POS (Point of Sale) system of distribution,
Systems based on wireless communication are being actively introduced.

As a card used in such a wireless communication system, a card which communicates through electrodes such as an IC card with contacts has been conventionally considered, but it is necessary to insert and remove the card from the viewpoint of human interface. In the future, wireless cards without electrode contacts, which do not have to worry about corrosion and reliability of electrode contacts, will be promising in the future. Wireless cards are currently
Toll collection system for transportation fields such as highways and railways,
It has been developed mainly for the goods inventory and behavior management system centering on FA, logistics, and entry and exit, and is being introduced at the living level.

In a conventional wireless card system composed of such a wireless card and a wireless base station, for example, in entering / leaving room management, the position information of the wireless card is set in a communication area unit of the wireless base station or a gate at the entrance of the management area. The card was registered and deleted on a managed area basis based on the information provided. Also, in automatic ticket gates represented by railway and ski resort ticket gates, a one-way gate is installed, and when passing through the gate, it is recognized that it is inside or outside the service area, I didn't recognize the moving direction of the card. Therefore, by setting the gate, the natural movement of the card holder is restricted.

FIG. 11 shows an example of a wireless card system used in a conventional room entry / exit management system. 1 is a service area (room), 2 is a door, 3 is a wireless base station arranged near the center of the ceiling of the room, and 4 is a wireless card. In the entry / exit management service in which the communication area of the wireless base station 3 is used as a unit of position information, it is possible to confirm that the wireless card 4 is in that room, but it is not possible to obtain information about where the wireless card 4 is located. In particular, when this room is divided into simple partitions, information on which partition the wireless card 4 is in is also required. To improve this, conventionally,
By reducing the communication area of the wireless base station 3 and installing a plurality of such wireless base stations 3, the service side is provided with position information in a smaller area unit.

However, this method requires a large number of wireless base stations 3 to be arranged in the service area according to the required spatial resolution, and there is a problem in the economical efficiency of the system. In order to improve the spatial resolution of the position information in a certain service area, the communication area of each wireless base station 3 is automatically scanned, and the distance between the wireless card 4 and the wireless base station 3 is estimated by the system. If at least two wireless base stations 3 perform the above, the card position can be specified in a range narrower than the communication area of the wireless base station 3. However, there has not been a method of recognizing the wireless base station 3 or the wireless card system that scans the communication area in stages.

FIG. 12 shows an example of a wireless card system which uses a conventional gate to register / delete a card in a service area. Reference numeral 5 denotes a gate, and the wireless base station 3 is installed near the center of the gate. In the method of recognizing that the wireless card 4 has passed through the gate 5, the unidirectional gate 5 limits the moving direction of the wireless card 4, and the wireless card system uses the wireless card system based on the on / off information associated with the passage of the gate. 4 recognizes whether or not it is within the service area.
In such a wireless card system, since the gate 5 that restricts the natural movement of the card holder is installed, a large number of cards are flooded into the gate 5 and crowded.
As a result, the service is deteriorated. For this reason, a human-friendly wireless card system requires a gate that allows for natural movement to the service area and the system. Specifically, it is considered that a gate that does not limit the flow direction is important. For this purpose, the wireless base station 3 arranged near the gate needs a relatively long time (for example,
It suffices to scan the communication area stepwise in about several hundred ms and display the movement of the card position in a vector manner. As a result, it becomes possible to recognize whether or not the wireless card 4 is within the service area even at a gate that does not limit the direction. Such an idea can be directly applied to a voice guide of a museum or the like. However,
In the conventional wireless card system using a gate, there has been no method of recognizing the position information including the position and moving direction of the wireless base station or the card which scans the communication area stepwise.

[0008]

As described above, the conventional wireless card system has a problem that the natural movement of the card holder is restricted.

The present invention improves the spatial resolution of position information in a service area by gradually changing the communication area of a wireless base station or wireless card and estimating the distance between the wireless card and the wireless base station. Alternatively, the system is made to recognize the position information of the wireless card as a vector amount including the moving direction. For services based on entrance / exit management, location registration will be realized in smaller area units.
In addition, for service applications in which location registration is based on passing through a gate or the like, the system can recognize detailed location information without restricting the natural movement of the cardholder. An object of the present invention is to provide such a person-friendly and convenient wireless card system.

[0010]

A wireless card system according to the present invention is a wireless card system composed of a wireless card and a wireless base station, wherein the wireless base station gradually changes at least one of reception sensitivity and transmission power. The wireless base station changes the communication area stepwise, scans the stepwise communication area, and registers the wireless card position information in stepwise communication area units. Is to do.

Further, the communication area changing means is provided on the wireless card side.

[0012] Further, at least two or more wireless base stations are arranged at a specific location in a two-dimensionally represented service area, and each wireless base station or wireless card scans a communication area that has been changed stepwise. By doing so, the distance between two or more wireless base stations to the wireless card is estimated, and the system recognizes position information with a finer spatial resolution than that of one wireless base station.

Further, the wireless base station is arranged at a specific location of the service area expressed in quasi-one-dimensional, and scans the communication area which is changed stepwise,
The system recognizes the position information of the wireless card with a vector amount including the position movement and the movement direction.

[0014]

According to the present invention, in a wireless card system including a wireless card and a wireless base station, the communication area between the wireless base station and the wireless card is gradually changed to estimate the communication distance between the wireless card and the wireless base station, or By making the system recognize the position information as a vector amount including the position and the moving direction, it is possible to provide the service side with the position registration information with higher spatial resolution and the detailed position information including the moving direction. There is. As a result, it is possible to support personalized, detailed services that use location information.

Further, since two or more wireless base stations are arranged in a two-dimensional service area and the communication area changed stepwise by each wireless base station or wireless card is scanned, a position with a finer spatial resolution can be obtained. Information is obtained.

Further, since the wireless base station is arranged in the service area expressed in quasi-one-dimensional and scans the communication area which is changed stepwise, the position information of the wireless card is expressed by a vector quantity including the position movement and the movement direction. Is obtained.

In the conventional wireless card system, the position information is in units of the communication area of the wireless base station. Since this area is fixed, it is not possible to deal with the service using the position information in a narrower area. It was In addition, location registration at the gate uses a gate with a restricted direction to perform registration / deletion to / from the service area, which limits the natural movement of the cardholder, resulting in deterioration of service. It has been difficult to improve these problems by the conventional technology.

[0018]

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing an embodiment of a wireless system of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 10 is a wireless base station, which includes a communication area changing means for performing data processing and control, a data conversion module 12, a modulation module 13, a transmission module 14, an antenna 15,
It is composed of a reception module 16 and a demodulation module 17. Reference numeral 20 denotes a personal computer, which is used for calculation and recognition as a system, and is connected to the wireless base station 10. 30 indicates a wireless card. Note that the wireless card 30 is also provided with various modules and CPUs as in the wireless base station and is capable of receiving and transmitting, but the illustration is omitted. The functional difference from the wireless base station 10 is that the controller 11 part is a CPU and a memory, and there is no wired interface with an external computer.

Next, the outline of the operation will be described. The system host such as the personal computer 20 is connected to the controller 11 of the wireless base station 10 by a wired cable, and the signal of the controller 11 is converted by the data conversion module 12 and the modulation module 1
3. The signal is transmitted from the antenna 15 through the transmission module 14 to the wireless card 30 as a high frequency signal.
The wireless card 30 which has received the high frequency signal transmits the demodulated digital signal (command) to the CPU through the receiving module and the demodulating module in the card, and the CPU of the wireless card 30 transmits the data according to the command.
A reply is sent to the wireless base station 10 via the modulation module and the transmission module of the wireless card 30. This high-frequency return signal is received by the receiving module 1 through the antenna 15.
6 and is further demodulated into a digital signal through the demodulation module 17. Further data conversion module 1
The data is converted in 2 and notified to the personal computer 20 that manages the system via the controller 11. The above flow is the flow of the data request command and the reply data in the wireless card system.

In the present embodiment, hereinafter, the wireless base station 10 will be described.
However, since the transmission and reception of the high frequency signal of the wireless card 30 are almost the same as those of the wireless base station 10, the following description will be made when the reception sensitivity and the transmission power of the wireless card 30 are changed stepwise. Of course, the same is true, and the effects can be expected in the same way.

FIG. 2 shows a wireless base station 1 according to the present invention.
The structural example of the receiving module 16 of 0 is shown. In the receiving module 16, the high frequency signal from the antenna 15 first passes through the filter 161, and then the signal is input to any of the pre-stage amplifiers 163 # 1 to # 3 via the switch 162. The amplified signal is propagated to the digital demodulation module 17. At this time, # 1 with different amplification degree
(Large), # 2 (medium), and # 3 (small) three pre-amplifiers 1
63 is prepared and the path of the output signal of the filter 161 is switched to one of these three pre-stage amplifiers 163, thereby selecting the magnitude of the signal propagated to the digital demodulation system in three stages. In the digital demodulation module 17, the reception sensitivity can be changed stepwise by switching the amplification degree of the pre-stage amplifier 163 in order to digitize the signal with a specific threshold value. As a result, it is possible to cut off the attenuated return signal from a certain distance. By repeating this step by step, the communication (reply) area from the wireless base station 10 can be scanned step by step. Such a change in the reception sensitivity due to the switching of the pre-stage amplifier 163 shows a basic idea, and in practice, only one amplifier is required to change the value of the feedback resistance for changing the amplification step by step. become.

As a method equivalent to such switching of the pre-stage amplifier 163, the pre-stage amplifier 163 as shown in FIG. 3 is fixed and the DC bias level of the digital demodulation system at the subsequent stage is changed stepwise. There is a way. That is, the switch 162 causes the resistance values of # 1 to # 3 to be large,
This is a method of sequentially selecting and scanning the medium and small resistors 165. By this method as well, the communication (reply) area can be scanned stepwise. In FIG. 3, 164 is a capacitor, 166 is a resistor, and 167 is an amplifier.

FIG. 4 shows an example in which the returnable distance of the receiving module 16 is changed stepwise. Reference numerals 15A and 15B are antennas of the wireless base station 10, 15A is an example of a dipole antenna, and 15B is an example of a patch antenna. A solid line indicates a returnable area. Frequency, wireless card 30
4 (the path of the pre-stage amplifier 163 of # 1 in FIG. 2), though the amplification degree of the pre-stage amplifier 163 shown in FIG. The reply signal from the communication area surrounded by # 1 in a) can be received, and the amplification degree is set to medium (#
It can be seen that the communication (reply area) is gradually reduced by dropping 2) and small (# 3).

In the case of the patch antenna 15B shown in FIG. 4B, although the shape of the reception area is different, the communication (reply) area is the same in that it gradually decreases.

FIG. 5 shows a wireless base station 1 according to the present invention.
An example of the configuration of the 0 transmission module 14 is shown. After the signal of the data request command is converted from the controller 11 for the high frequency channel, the transmission module 14 is modulated, and the modulated high frequency signal is irrespective of the modulation method (amplitude modulation, frequency modulation, phase modulation). Amplifier 144
It is radiated from the antenna 15 through. Although the maximum output of the radiated power is limited by legal regulations, it can be made variable within the range of the regulated maximum power. Specifically, the amplifier 144 is set to # 1, # 2, # 3.
3 units are prepared and their amplification degree is changed stepwise within the range of legal regulations. For example, by setting the amplification degree of the amplifier 144 to large (# 1), medium (# 2), and small (# 3), and switching the paths to these by the switch 143, the transmission power radiated from the antenna 15 is reduced. You can switch in stages. In this case, the return power of the wireless card 30 and the receiving module 16 of the wireless base station 10
If the reception sensitivity of is constant, the communication (reply) area is determined by the transmission power of the wireless base station 10. As a result, the communication (transmission) area can be switched stepwise by changing the amplification degree of the amplifier of the transmission module 14 stepwise. Such switching of the amplifier 144 is based on the basic idea, and in reality, only one amplifier changes the value of the feedback resistance that changes the amplification degree stepwise. Note that 141 in FIG.
Is a local oscillator, and 142 is an oscillation circuit.

FIG. 6 shows an example in which the transmittable area of the transmission module 14 is changed stepwise. 15A and 15B are antennas of the wireless base station 10, 15A is a dipole antenna, and 15B is a patch antenna. Although it depends on the frequency, the reply method (active or passive) of the wireless card 30, the reception sensitivity, etc., for example, when the amplification degree of the amplifier 144 shown in FIG. 5 is increased (the amplification path of # 1 is selected by the switch 143), Figure 6
Commands can be transmitted to the wireless card 30 up to the communication area surrounded by # 1 in (a),
Can be recognized, a reply can be expected from the wireless card 30 in the communication area surrounded by # 1. By decreasing the amplification degree to medium (# 2) and small (# 3), the communicable (reply) area gradually decreases, and as a result, the communication distance with the wireless card 30 decreases.

As shown in FIG. 6B, the patch antenna 15
Although the shape of the transmission area of B is different from that of the dipole antenna 15A, it is the same in the sense that the communication (reply) area is gradually reduced.
Similarly, the communication area can be changed stepwise.

Next, an embodiment will be described in which a plurality of wireless base stations 10 are arranged in a two-dimensionally represented service area for more accurate detection. In each of the following examples, the communication area is changed stepwise on the wireless base station 10 side, but it may be performed on the wireless card 30 side as described above.

[Case of Two Units] FIG. 7 shows an operation example of a system using two wireless base stations 10 according to the present invention. Reference numeral 10 is a wireless base station, and 100 is an area where the wireless card 30 is registered. Two (# 1, # 2) wireless base stations 10 are arranged in the service area. # 1-1 to # 1-4, # 2-1 to # 2-4 are wireless base stations 10 (# 1) and 10 (#), respectively.
It shows the stepwise communication area of 2), and the communication area becomes narrower in order as the number at the end increases. Normally, wireless base station 1 is used for location registration in the service area.
Since it is performed in units of 0, the location registration of the service area in this example is assigned to two locations (spatial resolution is 1/2 of the service area). Here, by adopting the wireless base station 10 of the present invention, each wireless base station 1
0 makes it possible to estimate the distance from the wireless card 30 and each wireless base station 10 by scanning the communication area in stages. Each wireless base station 10 independently scans the communication area in stages, and notifies the system of the estimated distance between the wireless base station 10 and the wireless card 30 in units of the distance difference between the communication areas in stages. The system can calculate the estimated distances from the two wireless base stations 10 and register the wireless card 30 in the shaded area 100. Depending on the location of the wireless card 30, this registration location area 100
In this case, it means that the position information was registered at the section coordinates 3-4 and CD, and the position information could be registered at the spatial resolution of about 4/25 of the service area. This spatial resolution achieves a resolution that is almost three times as high as 1/2 of the conventional wireless base station 3 (FIGS. 11 and 12), and requires only two wireless base stations 10, which is economical. Is also excellent.

[Case of Three Units] FIG. 8 shows an operation example of a wireless card system using three wireless base stations 10 according to the present invention. Reference numeral 10 is a wireless base station, and 100 is an area in which the location of the wireless card 30 is registered. This is an example in which three (# 1, # 2, # 3) wireless base stations 10 are arranged in the service area. # 1-1 to # 1-3
# 2-1 to # 2-3, # 3-1 to # 3-3 are respectively
Wireless base stations 10 (# 1), 10 (# 2), 10
The stepwise communication area of (# 3) is shown. Normally, the location registration in the service area is performed in units of 10 wireless base stations, so the location registration of the service area in this example is 3
It is assigned to one position (spatial resolution is 1/3 of the service area). Here, as in the case of the two wireless base stations 10 in FIG. 7, each wireless base station 10 scans a stepwise communication area and estimates the distance from the wireless card 30 to each wireless base station 10, Notify the system. The system can calculate the estimated distances from the three wireless base stations 10 and register the wireless card 30 in the shaded area 100. Although it depends on the location of the wireless card 30, in the case of this registration location area 100, it means that the location information was registered at the section coordinates 3 and CD, and the location information could be registered at the spatial resolution of about 2/25 of the service area. become. This spatial resolution realizes about 4 times the resolution of 1/3 of the conventional wireless base station 3 (FIGS. 11 and 12), and only three wireless base stations 10 are required.

[Case of Four Units] FIG. 9 shows an operation example of a wireless card system using four wireless base stations 10 according to the present invention. Reference numeral 10 is a wireless base station, and 100 is an area in which the location of the wireless card 30 is registered. Four (# 1, # 2, # 3, # 4) wireless base stations 10 are arranged in the service area. Normally, the location registration in the service area is performed for each wireless base station 10, so that the location registration of the service area in this example is allocated to four locations (spatial resolution is 1 / of the service area).
4). Similar to the example of two and three wireless base stations 10 in FIGS. 7 and 8, each wireless base station 10 scans a gradual communication area to determine the distance between the wireless card 30 and each wireless base station 10. presume. The wireless card system can calculate the estimated distances from the four wireless base stations 10 and register the wireless card 30 in the shaded area 100. In the case of this registration position area 100, it means that the position information is registered at the section coordinates 3 and D, and the position information can be registered at a spatial resolution of about 1/25 of the service area. This spatial resolution is approximately 6 times higher than the 1/4 of the conventional wireless base station 3 (FIGS. 11 and 12), and only four wireless base stations are required, which is economical. Is also excellent. Location information with such high spatial resolution can provide more detailed location information to the service side than ever before for services such as entry and exit and telephone transfer, creating a new service that is more user-friendly and convenient. Can support.

FIG. 10 shows another operation example of the system according to the present invention. # 1, # 2, and # 3 represent communication areas scanned by the wireless base station 10, respectively. The present embodiment assumes a gate-like space having a quasi-one-dimensional (actually having a width, but position registration is a point, so it can be treated as one-dimensional) character. Normally, location registration by recognizing passage through a quasi-one-dimensional space is performed by the wireless base station 10 as a unit, and the passing direction is limited. However, by adopting the wireless base station 10 according to the present invention,
It became possible to register location information including location and movement direction. Specifically, first, the communication areas # 1, # 2, and # 3 by the wireless base station 10 are scanned for a relatively long time (for example, about several hundred ms). Since the wireless card 30 moves after a certain time, the wireless card system can recognize the position and moving direction of the wireless card 30 in vector. The location information indicated by such vector amount can provide detailed information that is not available in the past for services such as automatic guidance and automatic ticket gates, and can support new services that are more user-friendly and convenient. It does not limit the holder to natural movement.

As described above, in the wireless base station and the wireless card according to the present invention, and the wireless card system using them, the positional information with higher spatial resolution can be obtained and the vector including the position and the moving direction can be obtained. The position information indicated by is obtained. By using the location registration method by the wireless card system of the present invention, it is possible to provide the service side with finely detailed location information that has not been available in the past, and it is possible to support a new service that is more user-friendly and convenient.

As described above, in the above embodiment, the wireless base station 10 side scans while changing the communication area stepwise, but the wireless card 30 side also changes the communication area stepwise. Of course, this produces the same effect. Further, in order to change the communication area stepwise, it is possible to change the communication area continuously and sequentially without changing to another communication area all at once by switching as in the above embodiment. May be.

[0036]

As described above, according to the present invention, in a wireless card system including a wireless card and a wireless base station, the wireless base station gradually changes at least one of reception sensitivity and transmission power. It has area changing means and changes the communication area stepwise, and scans this stepwise communication area to register the wireless card position information, or communication area changing means is provided on the wireless card side. Since the wireless card position information is registered by scanning the area, the wireless card position information can be obtained with high spatial resolution.

Further, according to the present invention, since two or more wireless base stations are arranged in the two-dimensionally represented service area, the position registration of the wireless card can be performed with a finer spatial resolution.

Furthermore, since the position information of the wireless card can be recognized by the vector amount including the position movement and the movement direction, even in a space such as a quasi-one-dimensional gate, the position of the card holder can be determined without limiting the natural movement of the card holder. Since the system can recognize the moving direction, there is an advantage that a more personalized and detailed service can be provided.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a reception module of the wireless base station in the embodiment of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of another receiving module of the wireless base station in the embodiment of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a receiving area when the replyable distance of the receiving module is changed stepwise in the embodiment of FIG.

5 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a transmission module of the wireless base station in the embodiment of FIG.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a double reception area in which the transmittable distance of the transmission module in the embodiment of FIG. 1 is changed stepwise.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an operation example of a wireless card system when two wireless base stations are used.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an operation example of a wireless card system when three wireless base stations are used.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an operation example of a wireless card system when four wireless base stations are used.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing another operation example of the system according to the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a wireless card system used in a conventional room entry / exit management system.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of a wireless card system used in a conventional gate management system.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 wireless base station 11 controller 12 data conversion module 13 modulation module 14 transmission module 15 antenna 15A dipole antenna 15B patch antenna 16 reception module 17 demodulation module 20 personal computer 30 wireless card 100 registration position area

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Hiroshi Ichinose 3-19-2 Nishishinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A wireless card system comprising a wireless card and a wireless base station, wherein the wireless base station has a communication area changing means for stepwise changing at least one of reception sensitivity and transmission power, A wireless card system characterized in that a base station changes a communication area stepwise, scans the stepwise communication area, and registers wireless card position information in stepwise communication area units. 2. A wireless card system comprising a wireless card and a wireless base station, wherein the wireless card has communication area changing means for stepwise changing at least one of reception sensitivity and transmission power. Changes the communication area stepwise, scans this stepwise communication area, and transmits the information to the wireless base station, so that the wireless base station displays the wireless card position information in stepwise communication area units. A wireless card system characterized by registration. 3. The wireless card system according to claim 1, wherein at least two or more wireless base stations are arranged at a specific location in a two-dimensionally represented service area, and each wireless base station or wireless card. Scans the communication area, which is changed step by step, to estimate the distance from two or more wireless base stations to the wireless card, and position information system with finer spatial resolution than one wireless base station. A wireless card system characterized by being recognized by. 4. The wireless card system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a wireless base station is arranged at a specific location of a service area expressed in quasi-one-dimensional and scans a communication area that is changed stepwise. As a result, the system recognizes the position information of the wireless card by the vector amount including the position movement and the movement direction.