JPH09275371A - Radio guidance system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide information relating to an area or a route simply and accurately to the user independently of an installation environment. SOLUTION: Transmission areas 12-1-12-6 of transmitters 10-1-10-6 are selected to produce overlapped parts 14-12-14-46. The overlapped parts are used for guide areas 14-12-14-46. When a receiver 16 receives an ID from, e.g. the transmitter 10-1 and an ID from the transmitter 10-2, the receiver outputs guide information corresponding to combinations of the IDs in voice or the like as an area guide relating to the guide area 14-12. A route is guided based on the change in the reception state of the ID.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention wirelessly transmits an ID (identification information) from a transmitter to a receiver, and the receiver transmits this ID.
The present invention relates to a wireless guidance system that provides guidance information to a user of a receiver by converting the guidance information into guidance information.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a system for providing guidance information using wireless technology, a transmitter which is fixedly arranged to wirelessly transmit the guidance information and a receiver which is carried or carried by a user and wirelessly receives the guidance information. The system consisting of
Conventionally known. According to this system, the user of the receiver receives the guidance information output from the receiver in the form of voice, etc.
It can be received in an area near the transmitter. However, it takes some time to wirelessly transmit a certain amount of guide information. Therefore, the area that can receive the radio signal from the transmitter (hereinafter simply referred to as "transmission area")
Immediately after entering the "receivable area"), the receiver has no choice but to receive the guide information from the middle of the reception, and thus it is difficult to provide the guide information to the user from the beginning. . This impairs the usability of the guidance service.

In order to solve such a problem, the applicant of the present application, in Japanese Patent Application No. 7-72068, wirelessly transmits an ID from a transmitter to a receiver, and the receiver converts the ID into guide information. By doing so, a wireless guidance system is proposed which provides guidance information to the user of the receiver. According to this configuration, since the ID that can be transmitted in a short time is generally used, it is not necessary to continuously transmit the guide information, and intermittent transmission is sufficient. The receiver can output the guide information in response to the first ID reception after entering the coverage area of a certain transmitter.

[0004]

However, the previously proposed system using ID has some problems. First
If the coverage areas of adjacent transmitters overlap or are close to each other, the receivers move from the coverage area of the first transmitter to the coverage area of the second transmitter. At that time, the moving receiver receives the signals from both transmitters at the same time even at the overlapping portion or boundary of the receivable area, even though it is instantaneous. If such a collision occurs, the guide information cannot be normally provided to the user, so that each transmitter must be provided so that the receivable areas do not overlap or approach each other. With such an arrangement, the distance between transmitters and the size of the transmission area become large, so the contents of the guidance information provided cannot be changed at relatively short distance intervals, limiting the application of the system. Also, disposing the transmitter in such a delicate positional relationship requires a great deal of labor and cost in construction.

Secondly, if the transmitter is arranged in a conspicuous place, the appearance may be impaired. Therefore, it is necessary to embed the transmitter in a wall or the like. However, for that purpose, it is necessary to use a material through which a radio signal (ID) can be transmitted as a material for the wall. As a result, the wireless signal leaks to the back of the wall, which may result in inappropriate service provision, such as providing guidance information about the painting posted on the front of the wall to users behind the wall. There is a nature.

[0006] One of the objects of the present invention is to improve the method of providing the guide information to the user of the receiver so that it can be used for various purposes, the position of the transmitter can be set more easily, and the user can easily set the position of the transmitter. It is to realize a system that can provide more appropriate guidance information.

[0007]

In order to achieve such an object, in the radio guidance system according to the first configuration of the present invention, the signal receivable areas of adjacent transmitters are at least partially. A plurality of transmitters that are fixedly arranged so as to overlap each other and wirelessly transmit a unique ID, a storage unit that stores the combination of the ID and the guide information in association with each other, a unit that wirelessly receives the ID, and A receiver having means for reading out and outputting guide information corresponding to a combination of a plurality of different IDs from the storage means when the plurality of different IDs are substantially simultaneously received, and the signal receivable areas overlap each other. It is characterized in that the guide information is provided to the user of the receiver existing in the partial guide area.

In the wireless guide system according to the second aspect of the present invention, the signal receivable areas of adjacent transmitters are fixedly arranged so as to at least partially overlap each other, and the unique ID is wirelessly transmitted. A storage unit that stores a plurality of transmitters, ID reception history, and guidance information in association with each other, I
A receiver having means for wirelessly receiving D, and means for reading out and outputting guide information corresponding to the reception history of the ID within a predetermined period immediately before from the storage means. It is characterized in that guide information is provided to a user of a receiver moving to a signal receivable area via an overlapping portion of both signal receivable areas.

In each of the configurations of the present invention, the size of the guide area is made narrower than in the past by using the overlapping area of the signal receivable areas of the transmitter, not the signal receivable area itself, as the guide area. You can Therefore,
It is possible to change the content of the guidance information to be provided at a shorter distance interval as compared with the conventional one, and the usage of the system is expanded. In addition, since the signal coverage areas are intentionally overlapped, even if there is some positional error in the construction of the transmitter, or the spread of the signal coverage area changes slightly due to changes in the wireless environment. Since the position and spread of the guide area are not so affected, the position setting of the transmitter is rougher and better. Further, since the combination of IDs is converted into the guide information, even if the ID leaks to the back of the wall where the transmitter is embedded, the guide information is not immediately erroneously provided. It becomes possible to provide more appropriate information than before. In addition, the present invention relates to information about the guide area itself as in the first configuration (for example, information about the position of the guide area, place name, etc., and paintings, sculptures, buildings, etc. arranged in the guide area). Information), and by focusing on the reception history of the ID, information about movement through the guide area as in the second configuration (for example, “If you turn right here It is also possible to provide information such as "Yes".

[0010]

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a configuration of a radio guidance system according to an embodiment of the present invention, and in particular, an arrangement mode of transmitters thereof. The transmitters 10-1 to 10-6 shown in this figure are arranged in the same area as the transmitters 12-1 to 12 of adjacent transmitters.
-6 is arranged so as to partially overlap. The transmitters 10-1 to 10-6 can be generated, for example, on a sign post, or can be embedded in a wall surface or the like. The receiver 16 carried or carried by the user is
When passing through the overlapping areas of the transmission areas 12-1 to 12-6, that is, the guidance areas 14-12 to 14-46, the guidance information is provided to the user carrying the receiver 16.

FIG. 2 shows a functional configuration of the transmitter 10 in this embodiment. As shown in this figure, the transmitter 10
Has a transmission control unit 18, a transmission unit 20, an antenna 22 and a power supply 24. The transmitter 20 uses an antenna 22
This is a circuit for intermittently transmitting D wirelessly, and the transmission control unit 18 executes control such as randomly setting an interval of intermittent transmission in the transmission unit 20. In this way, by setting the interval of intermittent transmission at random, the guide areas 14-12 to 14-
46, that is, the probability that the IDs collide with each other in the overlapping portion of the receivable areas 12-1 to 12-6 can be significantly reduced. The power source 24 is, for example, a battery and supplies power source power to the transmission control unit 18 and the transmission unit 20.

FIG. 3 shows the receiver 16 in this embodiment.
The functional configuration of is shown. As shown in this figure, the receiver 1
6 includes an antenna 26, a receiver 28, a reception controller 30, a guide information memory 32, a voice output unit 34, and a power supply 36. The receiving unit 28 receives the ID wirelessly transmitted from the transmitter 10 using the antenna 26, and supplies this to the reception control unit 30. The reception controller 30 extracts the ID from the signal received by the receiver 28, and refers to the information on the guide information memory 32 by the combination of the received IDs to generate the guide information. The voice output unit 34 is a member such as an earphone, and outputs the guide information supplied from the reception control unit 30. A display device or the like may be used instead of or in addition to the audio output unit 34. The power source 36 is a battery and supplies power source power to the receiving unit 28, the reception control unit 30, the guidance information memory 32, the voice output unit 34, and the like.

FIG. 4 shows an example configuration of the reception control unit 30 in this embodiment. In this figure, the reception control unit 30 includes an ID detection unit 38, an ID reception history determination unit 40, an ID
The reception history storage unit 42 and the area / route specifying unit 44 are included. The ID detection unit 38 detects the ID from the signal received by the reception unit 28, and supplies this to the ID reception history determination unit 40. The ID reception history determination unit 40 determines the ID
Based on the information stored in the reception history storage unit 42 and the ID obtained by the ID detection unit 38, what kind of ID the receiver 16 including the reception control unit 30 has received so far. It is determined whether the vehicle has passed through, that is, how the user has walked through the receivable area or the guidance area. Therefore, the ID reception history storage unit 42 stores information such as the ID detected by the ID detection unit 38 and the time when the detection is performed for at least a predetermined period. The area / route specifying unit 44 refers to the guidance information memory 32 based on the ID detected by the ID detection unit 38 and the ID reception history determined by the ID reception history determination unit 40, thereby receiving this reception. The audio output unit 34 is supplied with the guide information corresponding to the area where the receiver 16 equipped with the control unit 30 is currently present and the route that the receiver 16 has taken so far.

FIG. 5 shows the contents of the information stored in the guide information memory 32. As shown in this figure, in the present embodiment, the combination of the IDs currently received by the receiving unit 28 on the guide information memory 32 (currently received I
D) and the guide information to be supplied to the user corresponding thereto are stored in association with each other. For example, the ID detection unit 3
When ID1 and ID2 are received substantially simultaneously by 8 (that is, the time difference caused by intermittent transmission is allowed), the area / route specifying unit 44 supplies the currently received ID supplied via the ID reception history determination unit 40. The guidance information memory 32 is referred to by the information related to the above, and the guidance information A1 obtained as a result is output from the voice output unit 34. In this way, in the present embodiment, area guidance for the user of the receiver 16, that is, what kind of area the currently existing area is, or various posted objects (paintings etc.) and facilities existing in the area. Provides information on (various sculptures, buildings, etc.).

On the guidance information memory 32,
Received ID this time, received ID last time ... Received N times before
Etc. are also stored, and a combination of a plurality of types of IDs different from each other prior to reception is associated with the guidance information B1 ... Or C1. For example, the receiver 16 is located in the transmission area related to the transmitter that has transmitted ID1 and does not belong to the transmission areas related to the other transmitters until now, and the ID1 and ID2 are currently used by the user. Are moved to a position where they can be received together, that is, to a guidance area realized by the transmitter associated with ID1 and the transmitter associated with ID2. In this case, last reception ID = ID1, current reception ID = ID1
Information B1 corresponding to the combination of ID2 and ID2
Is read from the guidance information memory 32 by the area / route specifying unit 44 and supplied to the voice output unit 34. On the contrary, from the state of receiving ID1 and ID2, I
When the state is changed such that only D1 can be received, the guide information C1 corresponding to the combination of the previously received ID = ID1 and ID2 and the currently received ID = ID1 is read from the guide information memory 32 by the area / route specifying unit 44. It is output from the audio output unit 34. The ID reception history determination unit 40 and the ID reception history storage unit 42 described above are used for the route guidance,
That is, it is used to realize guidance regarding the movement of the receiver 16 (for example, a service that provides information such as “If there is a right turn, there is XX”).

As described above, according to the present embodiment, not the transmission area of the transmitter itself but the overlapping portion of the transmission areas of the adjacent transmitters is used as the guide area. Compared with the proposed system, the intervals between transmitters can be shortened and the spread of the guide area can be reduced. For example, when the transmission area has a size of several tens of meters, the size of the guide area can be set to several meters.

Further, in this embodiment, the transmission areas are intentionally overlapped, so that it is not necessary to avoid the overlap or proximity of the transmission areas as in the system of the applicant's previous proposal, and therefore the transmitter Setting the position becomes easier.

In addition, in this embodiment, since the overlapping area between the transmission areas is used as the guidance area, the ID wirelessly transmitted from a certain transmitter leaks to an unintended area (for example, the back side of the wall). Even in such a case, it is possible to prevent an unintended guide area from being generated on the back side of the wall.

As described above, in this embodiment, the overlapping area of the transmission areas is used as the guide area, and the receiver 16 determines the guide information according to the combination of IDs and the history. It is possible to provide appropriate guide information to the user at low cost regardless of the environment in which the car is installed. As a result, it is possible to easily provide guidance regarding facilities or exhibits at indoor and outdoor amusement parks, amusement parks, exhibition halls, and the like, and directions on public roads.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a configuration of a radio guidance system according to an embodiment of the present invention, particularly a layout of transmitters.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a transmitter according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a receiver in this embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a reception control unit in the present embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram showing the contents of a guide information memory in this embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

10, 10-1 to 10-6 Transmitter, 12-1 to 12-
6 transmission area (receivable area), 14-12 to 14
-46 guidance area, 16 receiver, 18 transmission control section, 20 transmission section, 28 reception section, 30 reception control section,
32 guidance information memory, 34 voice output section, 38 ID
Detection unit, 40 ID reception history determination unit, 42 ID reception history storage unit, 44 area / route identification unit.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of transmitters which are fixedly arranged so that signal receivable areas of adjacent transmitters at least partially overlap each other and wirelessly transmit a unique ID, a combination of IDs and guidance information. And a means for wirelessly receiving an ID, and a plurality of different IDs
A receiver having means for reading out and outputting guide information corresponding to a combination of the IDs from the storage means at the substantially simultaneous reception, and a guide area which is an overlapping portion of the signal receivable areas. A radio guidance system characterized by providing guidance information to users of existing receivers. 2. A plurality of transmitters, which are fixedly arranged so that signal receivable areas of adjacent transmitters at least partially overlap each other and wirelessly transmit a unique ID, and reception history and guidance of the IDs. A receiver having storage means for storing information in association with each other, means for wirelessly receiving the ID, and means for reading out and outputting from the storage means guide information corresponding to the reception history of the ID within the immediately preceding predetermined period. A radio characterized by providing guidance information to a user of a receiver, which is moving from one signal receivable area to another signal receivable area via an overlapping portion of both signal receivable areas. Information system.