JPH10221426A - Mobile body information system and mobile body exploring system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a mobile body information system and mobile body exploring system wherein, with reduced power consumption, and wear of battery is less. SOLUTION: At a transmitter 11, transmission interval is normally set at an initial value, moving speed of an aged person 2 is above a set speed, transmission interval is shortened. Thus, power source supply to a transmission circuit is intermittent, and with a changeable transmission circuit, the information (position information, ID number information) about roaming person 2 is transmitted from the transmitter, by wireless telephone, to an explorer device 13, resulting in less battery wear.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a mobile object information device and a mobile object search system, and more particularly, to a mobile object (for example, a wandering old man) obtained by receiving positioning radio waves from GPS satellites. A mobile information device that detects and outputs the detected current position to the outside by radio waves (for example, a mobile phone), a mobile device that receives such a large number of mobile information devices and radio waves from the mobile information devices. And a search device for searching for a position of the mobile object.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Hitherto, a system for searching for a lost child or an elderly person (for example, a wandering elderly person) has been developed (for example, an elderly person searching system).
In this system, for example, a small transmitter that transmits GPS position information (longitude and latitude) is carried by an elderly person who may be a lost person, and a search device (for example, a search center) transmits radio waves transmitted from the small transmitter. Upon reception, the position of the old man is displayed on a map on the screen of the display device so as to search for the old man. Here, GPS (global potio)
The ning System is a system for receiving a signal (positioning radio wave) transmitted from a GPS satellite and measuring its own position (longitude, latitude, altitude) on land, at sea, and in the air. There are many conventional devices such as a car navigation device for supporting traveling by receiving a positioning radio wave from a GPS satellite.

[0003]

By the way, the conventional aged person search system has the following problems. (1) The above small transmitter is carried by an elderly person who may be a lost person, and the small transmitter is at least G
PS receiver and GP received by GPS receiver
A communication control device (for example, a device including a mobile phone) for transmitting the S position information to the outside;
Since the PS position information is always transmitted to the outside, there is a problem that power consumption is large. In general, the received power is small and the transmitted power is large. Therefore, if the power consumption is large, the battery is greatly consumed. (2) It is desirable that the battery mounted on a small transmitter to be carried is as small and lightweight as possible. However, if the size and weight are reduced, the capacity of the battery is reduced. Therefore, it is desirable to reduce battery consumption.
Conventionally, there is room for improvement in this respect.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a mobile object information apparatus and a mobile object search system capable of reducing power consumption and battery consumption.

[0005]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a moving object information apparatus comprising: a position detecting means for detecting a self-position of the moving object; Transmitting means for transmitting the position information to the outside, power supply means for supplying power to the position detecting means and the transmitting means, and transmission restricting means for restricting the transmission of the position information by the transmitting means to a predetermined intermittent timing, It is characterized by having.

In a preferred embodiment, the position detecting means receives a positioning radio wave from a GPS satellite and measures the current position of the mobile object.
The transmission unit may include a PS device, and the transmission unit may transmit the current position of the mobile unit to the outside via a public wireless telephone line.

[0007] For example, as set forth in claim 3, the position detecting means includes a GPS device that receives a positioning radio wave from a GPS satellite and measures the current position of the moving object.
The transmitting means may transmit the current position of the moving object to the outside via a wireless signal.

For example, the position detecting means includes a GPS device that receives a positioning radio wave from a GPS satellite and measures the current position of the moving object.
The transmitting means may transmit the current position of the moving object to the outside via an ultrasonic wave.

[0009] For example, the transmission restricting means may permit transmission of the position information by the transmitting means at predetermined time intervals.

[0010] For example, as set forth in claim 6, the transmission restricting means may narrow the transmission time interval when the moving distance of the moving body within a predetermined time exceeds a set value.

For example, when the moving body moves at a speed higher than a set speed, the transmission restricting means may narrow the transmission time interval according to the set speed.

In the moving object search system according to the present invention, each of the plurality of movable objects has a moving object information device, and a signal from each of the moving object information devices is received by the searching device and each moving object is searched. A mobile object search system for searching for a position of a mobile object, wherein the mobile object information device transmits position information of the mobile object detected by the position detection means to the outside, and the position information of the mobile object detected by the position detection means. A transmitting unit, a power supply unit that supplies power to the position detecting unit and the transmitting unit, and a transmission regulating unit that regulates transmission of the position information by the transmitting unit to a predetermined intermittent timing, and the search device includes: A receiving unit that receives the position information of the mobile unit transmitted from the mobile unit information device; and a search unit that searches for the position of the mobile unit based on the position information of the mobile unit received by the receiving unit. And wherein the are.

[0013] In a preferred aspect of the present invention, in the moving object search system according to the ninth aspect, the transmission restricting means of the mobile information apparatus includes a moving distance of the moving object within a predetermined time. Is greater than the set value,
The transmission time interval may be narrowed.

For example, as in claim 10, claim 8
In the mobile object search system dependent on the above, the transmission restricting means of the mobile information device may narrow the transmission time interval according to the set speed when the mobile object moves at or above the set speed.

For example, as in claim 11, claim 8
In the mobile object search system dependent on, the search device, the external transmission control means for remotely controlling the transmission of the position information of the transmission means in the mobile information device from the outside, the command of the external transmission control means Command transmission means for transmitting to the mobile information device, the mobile information device includes command reception means for receiving a signal from the command transmission means, and the transmission control means received by the command reception means Transmission of position information may be restricted based on a command from the external transmission restricting means.

For example, as in claim 12, claim 1
In the mobile object search system dependent on No. 1, the external transmission restricting means of the search device may narrow the transmission time interval when the moving distance of the mobile object within a predetermined time becomes equal to or greater than a set value.

For example, as in claim 13, claim 1
In the mobile object search system dependent on No. 1, the external transmission restricting means of the search device may narrow the transmission time interval according to the set speed when the mobile object moves at or above the set speed.

[0018]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment in which the present invention is applied to an aged search system will be described below with reference to the drawings. A. Overall Configuration of System FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an embodiment of an elderly person search system to which a mobile object search system according to the present invention is applied, in which the mobile object is an elderly person. In FIG. 1, 1 is a search management center, and 2 is an elderly person (eg, a wandering elderly person) as a person to be searched. Although the elderly 2 can search not only one, but a plurality of them, the present embodiment exemplifies the case of one elderly person. The old man 2 carries a transmitter 11 (mobile information device),
The transmitter 11 is manufactured to be small and lightweight, and is detachably fixed to the body of the elderly 2 with a rubber band or the like. The transmitter 11 is G
Receiving the positioning radio wave from the PS satellite, detects its own position (ie, the current position of the elderly), and searches for the detected position by wireless telephone via the public telephone line 12 through the search management center 1.
(Transmission timing will be described later).

The search management center 1 receives a telephone signal including position information from a transmitter 11 via a public telephone line 12 and displays a current position of the old man 2 on a screen.
It has. The search device 13 is operated by, for example, a management operator. When the management operator checks the current position of the elderly person 2 on a map, the search information is sent to a searcher's house 15 (for example, Contact the family of Elderly 2).

B. Next, the configuration of the transmitter 11 will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 2, a transmitter 11 is a GPS antenna 21,
GPS receiver 22, communication antenna 23, transmission circuit 2
4, a control circuit 25, an adjustment switch 26, a power supply circuit 27, and a housing 28. GPS antenna 11
In order to receive a right-handed circularly polarized signal of about 1.5 MHz transmitted from a GPS satellite, a microstrip patch antenna having a substantially hemispherical directivity using, for example, a Teflon substrate is used. It is attached to the side. The GPS receiver 22 receives and demodulates positioning radio waves from a plurality of GPS satellites via the GPS antenna 21, and based on the demodulated signal, present position information of the transmitter 11 (for example, tertiary information including latitude, longitude, and altitude). (Original positioning information), and outputs the calculated current position information to the transmission circuit 24.

GPS (global positioning system)
Is a worldwide radio positioning system that uses artificial satellites. In principle, 24 satellites are arranged in 4 orbit planes, each of which receives radio waves from each satellite in principle. The distance between the satellite and the receiving point is calculated from the arrival time, and finally the three-dimensional positioning of the receiving point (latitude, longitude, altitude)
Can be requested. In this case, the old man 2 provided with the transmitter 11 whose current position is detected by the GPS receiver 22 corresponds to a moving object. GPS antenna 21
The GPS receiver 22 constitutes a position detecting means.

The transmitting circuit 24 (transmitting means) transmits the current position information of the old man 2 detected by the GPS receiver 22 (the position information is transmitted by adding an ID number for identifying the searched old man 2) to the radio telephone. To a telephone signal that can be transmitted to the public telephone line 12 and transmitted via the communication antenna 23 at a predetermined intermittent timing. Transmission circuit 24
For example, a mobile phone using a wireless communication is incorporated.

The control circuit 25 regulates the transmission of the current position information by the transmission circuit 24 at a predetermined intermittent timing, and is constituted by a microcomputer including, for example, a CPU, a ROM, and a RAM.
4 so that transmission of position information is permitted at predetermined time intervals. The adjustment switch 26 is used for setting (for example, setting how much a predetermined time interval is set) when the control circuit 25 regulates the transmission timing of the transmission circuit 24. The adjustment switch 26 is provided on the outer surface of the housing 28 and has a setting button. It is comprised including. Control circuit 25 and adjustment switch 2
6 constitutes a transmission restricting means. The power supply circuit 27 (power supply means) supplies power to each circuit of the transmitter 11 and includes a battery 29. The battery 29 is detachable and has a predetermined capacity. The power supply circuit 27 performs a stabilization process, a voltage conversion process, and the like on the power supplied from the battery 29 and supplies the power to each circuit.

C. Next, the configuration of the search device 13 will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 3, the search device 13 is a GPS antenna 3
1, a GPS receiving device 32, a telephone device 33, a switch input unit 34, a control unit 35, a ROM 36, a RAM 37, a display device 38, an audio output device 39, a telephone device 40, and a CD-ROM driver 41. G
PS antenna 31 is approximately 1.5
In order to receive a right-handed circularly polarized signal of MHz, for example, a microstrip patch antenna having a substantially hemispherical directivity using a Teflon substrate is used, and is mounted outside the search management center 1. GPS receiver 32
Receives and demodulates positioning radio waves from a plurality of GPS satellites via a GPS antenna 31, and based on the demodulated signal, present position information (for example, latitude, longitude,
It calculates three-dimensional positioning information including altitude) and outputs the calculated current position information to the control unit 35.

The telephone device 33 receives a telephone signal including the current position information of the old man 2 transmitted from the transmitter 11 via the public telephone line 12 and outputs the received current position information of the old man 2 to the control unit 35. I do. The telephone device 33 constitutes a receiving means for receiving the position information of the old man 2 (moving body).

The control unit 35 outputs the current position of the search management center 1 output from the GPS receiving device 32 and the telephone device 3
And a switch input unit for controlling the display of the current position of the elderly man 2 received via the CD-ROM driver 41 on the screen of the display device 38 in accordance with the search map data read from the CD-ROM 42 via the CD-ROM driver 41. 34
(E.g., setting of a search range, setting related to the ID number of the searched elderly 2 and positional information, etc.) based on the switch operation signal from the user, and changing the screen information of the display device 38 (e.g., the screen In addition to performing control such as enlarging the image and changing the display area, etc., it also performs necessary voice synthesis processing (eg, when the elderly person 2 starts moving, generates a voice synthesis sound of “movement started”). Output to the audio output device 40. The control unit 35 is configured by a microcomputer including a CPU, and performs the above-described control according to a control program (see a flowchart described later) stored in a ROM 36.

The switch input unit 34 performs a setting operation (for example,
An operation key for setting a search range, setting related to the ID number of the search elderly 2 and the position information, and the like, changing search map information displayed on the screen of the display device 38, and changing the number of search targets ( For example, it is configured to include a change key for changing the number of searched elderly people) and other power keys. A movable area where the wandering old man will move (for example, a considerably large area since the person may move on a train) is stored in advance in the CD-ROM 42 driven by the CD-ROM driver 41. The stored point on the movable area can be designated by, for example, coordinates.

The ROM 36 stores a program for search control performed by the control unit 35 and necessary data in advance. The RAM 37 temporarily stores a work area, a memory area for storing information which is input from the switch input unit 34 and must be temporarily stored, and setting information of a search range designated by operating the switch input unit 34. It has a memory area. The display device 38 is configured by a liquid crystal display device (for example, a color LCD), and stores search position information calculated by the control unit 35 and a CD-ROM via a CD-ROM driver 41.
The search map information read from 42 is superimposed and displayed on the screen. The audio output device 39 outputs sound based on the signal and sound effect synthesized by the control unit 35, and is composed of, for example, a speaker.

The control section 35, the ROM 36, the RAM 37, the display device 38, the CD-ROM driver 41 and the CD-ROM 42 constitute a search means. Telephone device 4
0, the management operator operates a predetermined switch of the switch input unit 34, and the location information of the old man 2 searched by the control unit 35 is searched through the telephone line (or may be a facsimile) 14. Automatically contact a family member of the old man 2 for example.
The search device 13 is constantly supplied with power through an indoor power source, and the search device 13 operates in principle for 24 hours.

D. Next, the operation will be described. D-1. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a control program of the transmitter 11. This program is executed when the power of the transmitter 11 is turned on. When the power is turned on, first, in step S1
Initial setting is performed with 0. In the initial setting, predetermined initialization processing such as initial reset, initial setting of the control circuit 25, and clearing of a flag used internally are performed. In the initial setting, time measurement (for example, measurement of a transmission interval time) is also started. Note that the transmitter 2 is attached to the elderly 2 at least at the stage when the initial setting is completed. However, it is preferable that the GPS position information is normally received and the screen is displayed on the screen of the search device 13 of the search management center 1. It is preferable to attach the transmitter 11 to the elderly 2 after confirming that the position information from the transmitter 11 is operating normally and displaying the position information.

Next, in step S12, the transmission circuit 24 sets a transmission interval for transmitting information (position information, ID number information) from the transmitter 11 by radio telephone. Transmission circuit 24
Is not supplied from the power supply circuit 27 to the transmission circuit 24, and the transmission circuit 24 does not operate. Instead of supplying no power to the transmission circuit 24, for example, the transmission circuit 24 may be set to low power consumption in the sleep mode, and the transmission mode may be set to the transmission mode to enable information transmission. In the sleep mode, the operation at the start of transmission becomes smooth while reducing power consumption.

The initial transmission interval is set so that information is transmitted once every five minutes, for example. Then, when the transmission interval is set to 5 minutes, the transmission is adjusted so that transmission is performed every 5 minutes in relation to the current time. For example, when the content of the transmission interval setting process is executed at 9:59:10 am, the first transmission time is set to 10:55:00 am for convenience. Therefore, thereafter, every 5 minutes, that is, at 10:10 am and 10:15 am
The data is transmitted at intervals such as seconds,.

Next, in step S14, a plurality of GPS
A GPS signal (GPS) including position information transmitted from a satellite
Radio wave), and based on the received GPS signal, the elderly 2
Of the three-dimensional positioning data (that is, latitude, longitude, and altitude) are calculated, and the current position is calculated. Next, in step S16, it is determined whether a predetermined transmission time has been reached. The predetermined transmission time is, for example, when the initial transmission interval is set to 5 minutes, as described above, it is determined whether or not it is 10: 05: 00: 00 AM. If the predetermined transmission time has not been reached, the process returns to step S14 and repeats the detection of the position information.
Proceeding to 8, the power is supplied from the power supply circuit 27 to the transmission circuit 24, and the transmission circuit 24 operates to transmit the current position of the old man 2 (that is, the current position of the transmitter 11) information (the ID number is also added to the information). The information is transmitted to the search management center 1 via the public telephone line 12. As a result, the search device 13 of the search management center 1 displays the current position of the old man 2 on the display device 38.
Will be displayed on the map. Note that the transmission time may be a time necessary for notifying the current position and the ID number of the old man 2, for example, transmission is performed for only 10 seconds. Then, after the elapse of 10 seconds, the power supply to the transmission circuit 24 is turned off again to disable operation.

Next, in step S20, it is determined whether or not the movement of the old man 2 is higher than the set speed. What is set speed?
This is a threshold value for determining whether or not the movement of the elderly person 2 has become faster, and for determining whether or not to reduce the transmission interval of the position information. The set speed is set to, for example, 10 km / h. This is equivalent to a case where the user gets on a vehicle such as a bicycle from walking.
This is because in the case of walking, the speed is about 2 to 4 km / h. Alternatively, when the vehicle is standing still or sitting on a park bench, the speed is close to 0 km / h. If the movement of the old man 2 is less than the set speed, the process returns to step S14 to repeat the processing.

On the other hand, when the elderly person 2 moves at or above the set speed, the process proceeds to step S22 to change the transmission interval. This is to change the transmission interval set initially (for example, every 5 minutes) to a narrower interval (for example, every 2 minutes). After step S22, step S1
4 and repeat the process. Then, in the subsequent routine, it is determined whether or not the transmission time corresponding to the changed transmission interval has been reached in the determination processing of step S16. Therefore, when the transmission interval is changed to every two minutes, power is supplied to the transmission circuit 24 every two minutes, and the current position (ID
Is transmitted to the search management center 1 via the public telephone line 12. Thereafter, the routine is repeated in the same manner. The set speed may be provided in a plurality of stages, and the processing of steps S20 and S22 may be inserted after step S22. And old man 2
For example, when the user moves on a train at a speed of 10 km / h or more, the transmission interval may be changed every minute (or every 30 seconds).

D-2. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a control program of the search device 13. This program is executed when the power of the search device 13 is turned on. When the power is turned on, the control program stored in the ROM 36 is read out by the control unit 35, and the process is started. First, initialization is performed in step S50. In the initial setting, predetermined initialization processing such as initial reset, clearing of a flag in preparation for a search start, and setting of a work area of the RAM 37 is performed. In the initial setting, time measurement (for example, measurement of time required for search) is also started. Next, in step S52, a GPS signal (GPS radio wave) including position information transmitted from a plurality of GPS satellites is received, and the three-dimensional positioning data (ie,
Latitude, longitude, and altitude are obtained, and the current position (specifically, the position of the GPS antenna 31 disposed in the search management center 1) is detected.

Next, in step S54, a process of receiving position information from the transmitter 11 worn by the elderly 2 is performed. This is because power is supplied to the transmission circuit 24 of the transmitter 11 so that the current position information (the information includes an ID number) of the elderly person 2 is transmitted to the search management center 1 via the public telephone line 12.
, The telephone signal is received (that is, information is received in response to an incoming call). In addition,
Whenever the information is intermittently transmitted from the transmitter 11, the routine is repeated and taken in at the timing of executing step S54. When the power of the search device 13 is turned on, the program of the search device 13 is continuously executed unless the power of the search device 13 is turned off.

Next, an external storage data search process is performed in step S56. In the external storage data search process, the CD-
The map information corresponding to the current position of the old man 2 is searched and read from the CD-ROM 42 via the ROM driver 41. Next, map information display processing is performed in step S58. In the map information display processing, map information corresponding to a predetermined area including the current position of the elderly 2 is displayed on the display device 38. Next, in step S60, the position of the search management center 1 is displayed on a map, and in step S62.
To display the current position of the old man 2 on the display device 38. At this time, an ID number for identifying the old man 2 is also displayed beside the current position of the old man 2. Thereby, the management operator of the search management center 1 can identify the wandering old man 2 and confirm the current position on the map. Also,
In this old man position display processing, the current position of the old man 2 corresponding to the ID number is output as a voice so as to provide guidance with a synthesized speech (for example, “the old man with ID number XX has passed through the XX intersection”). Output from the device 39. Note that the area of the map information is automatically switched (ie, the area scrolls) as the elderly person 2 moves.

Next, in step S64, it is determined whether or not the movement of the old man 2 has exceeded the set speed. Whether the speed is the set speed is determined from the moving speed on the map. The value of the set speed is the same as that of the transmitter 11, for example, 10 k / h.
m. If the movement of the old man 2 is less than the set speed, the process returns to step S52 to repeat the processing. On the other hand, if the movement of the old man 2 is higher than the set speed, the process proceeds to step S66, and the display color of the old man position is changed. For example,
The old man 2 which has been displayed in blue until now is changed to red. This is because the old man 2 has traveled at a set speed (for example, 10 km / h) or more, so it is determined that he / she has traveled on a vehicle such as a bicycle from walking, and the subsequent travel range has become wider, and it is necessary to determine where to go. Because it is a caution, it is also easy to understand by changing the color of the state (it also has the meaning of calling attention). Instead of changing the color, the position of the old man 2 may be blinked (or the blinking cycle may be changed if blinking from the beginning). Then, step S
Returning to step 52, the process is repeated.

As described above, when the management operator of the search device 13 confirms the current position (including the ID number) of the wandering elderly person 2 on the map, the confirmation information is transmitted through the telephone line (or FAX) 14 to the searcher's house. 15 (the searcher is, for example, the family of the elderly 2). Thereby, the searcher's house 15 can know the position of the wandering old man 2 and can take appropriate measures such as picking up. Note that the set speed may be provided in a plurality of stages, and the processing of steps S64 and S66 may be inserted after step S66. When the old man 2 moves at a speed of several tens of kilometers per hour or more, for example, on a train, the color may be changed to another color to call attention.

As described above, in this embodiment, the power supply to the transmission circuit 24 in the transmitter 11 is intermittent, and information (position information, ID number information) is transmitted from the transmitter 11 by a radio telephone at a predetermined transmission interval. Therefore, the following effects can be obtained. (1) The power consumption of the transmitter 11 can be reduced,
The consumption of the battery 29 can be reduced. (2) Therefore, it is possible to reduce the size and weight of the battery 29 in response to the demand that the battery 29 to be mounted on the transmitter 11 to be carried should be as small and lightweight as possible. (3) The capacity of the battery 29 can be reduced.

The moving position of the old man 2 is stored in the memory at the transmitter 11 at an interval shorter than the transmission interval, and several points (or more points) stored in the memory at a predetermined transmission time. May be transmitted at one time. Conversely, when the moving speed of the old man 2 decreases, the transmission interval may be lengthened according to the state of the decrease. For example, in the case of stopping, the transmission is stopped until the movement is started (for example, if the operation is stopped for one hour, the operation is stopped for one hour). The position information may be transmitted once, and thereafter, a predetermined transmission interval may be set as in the above embodiment.

E. Second Embodiment FIGS. 6 to 10 are diagrams showing a second embodiment of the present invention. The second embodiment is an example in which the position information transmission interval of the transmitter 51 is changed by a command from the search device 61. E-1. Overall Configuration of System FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of an elderly person search system according to the second embodiment. In FIG. 6, the transmitter 51 carried by the old man 2
The (mobile information device) transmits the current position information to the search management center 1 via radio waves of a predetermined wireless communication (not a public telephone communication network), and the search device 61 arranged in the search management center 1 A command for regulating the transmission interval of the transmitter 51 is also transmitted to the transmitter 51 via a predetermined radio communication radio wave, and the transmitter 51 receives the transmission interval command from the search device 61 and receives a transmission / reception circuit 53 (FIG. 7). ) Is controlled to reduce the power.

E-2. Configuration of Transmitter FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a configuration of the transmitter 51. 7, a transmitter 51 includes a GPS antenna 21, a GPS receiver 22, a communication antenna 52, a transmission / reception circuit 53, and a control circuit 5.
4. The power supply circuit 27 and the housing 28 are included.
The configurations of the GPS antenna 21 and the GPS receiver 22 are the same as those of the first embodiment, and constitute a position detecting unit. The configurations of the power supply circuit 27 and the battery 29 are the same as those of the first embodiment.

The transmission / reception circuit 53 has a transmission unit 53T and a reception unit 53R. The reception unit 53R receives a transmission interval command signal from the search device 61 via the communication antenna 52, and the transmission unit 53T is a GPS reception device. 22 converts the current position information of the old man 2 (the position information is transmitted by adding an ID number for identifying the searched old man 2) to a radio signal of a predetermined frequency. The transmission is performed via the communication antenna 52 at an intermittent timing based on the transmission timing. The transmission unit 53T of the transmission / reception circuit 53 constitutes a transmission unit, and the reception unit 53R constitutes a command reception unit.
As the communication antenna 52, one having performance suitable for transmission / reception of radio waves of a radio signal of a predetermined frequency with the search device 61 is used. Control circuit 54 (transmission control means)
Is to regulate the transmission operation of the current position information performed by the transmission unit 53T in the transmission / reception circuit 53 to intermittent timing based on a transmission interval command from the search device 61.
It is constituted by a microcomputer including U, ROM, and RAM.

E-3. Next, the configuration of the search device 61 will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 8, the search device 61 is the same as that of the first embodiment, and the GPS antenna 31 and the GPS receiver 3
2, a switch input unit 34, a display device 38, an audio output device 39, a telephone device 40, and a CD-ROM driver 41.
Transmission / reception device 63, control unit 64, ROM 65, RAM 66
have.

As the communication antenna 52, one having performance suitable for transmission / reception of radio waves of a radio signal of a predetermined frequency with the transmitter 51 is used. The transmission / reception device 63 receives a radio signal of a predetermined frequency including the current position information of the old man 2 transmitted from the transmitter 51, outputs the received current position information of the old man 2 to the control unit 64, and controls the control unit 64
A transmission interval command for remotely restricting the transmission of the position information of the transmission / reception circuit 53 in the transmitter 51 (particularly, the transmission operation of the transmission unit 53T) from the outside based on the control signal from the transmitter 51 is converted into a radio signal of a predetermined frequency. Transmit to the transmitter 51. The transmitting / receiving device 63 constitutes a receiving unit and a command transmitting unit.

The control unit 64 stores the current position of the search management center 1 output from the GPS receiving device 32 and the current position of the old man 2 received via the transmitting / receiving device 63 in a CD-ROM.
In addition to performing control and the like for displaying on the screen of the display device 38 in accordance with the search map data read from the CD-ROM 42 via the driver 41, particularly in the present embodiment, the position information of the transmitting / receiving circuit 53 in the transmitter 51 is transmitted. Control is performed to remotely regulate transmission (particularly, the transmission operation of the transmission unit 53T) from the outside. The control unit 64 constitutes an external transmission restricting unit.

The ROM 65 stores in advance a program for search control performed by the control unit 64 and necessary data. The RAM 66 temporarily stores a work area, a memory area for storing information which is input from the switch input unit 34 and must be temporarily stored, and setting information of a search range designated by operating the switch input unit 34. It has a memory area. Control unit 64, RO
M65, RAM66, display device 38, CD-R
The OM driver 41 and the CD-ROM 42 constitute a search unit.

F. Description of operation of second embodiment F-1. FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a control program of the transmitter 51. In the description of this program, steps for performing the same processing as in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description will be omitted. Different steps will be described. After performing the initial setting in step S10, then, in step S1
At 00, an initial transmission interval received by a wireless signal from the search device 61 is set. This is because a transmission interval command that regulates the transmission of the position information of the transmission / reception circuit 53 in the transmitter 51 (particularly, the transmission operation of the transmission unit 53T) is transmitted from the search device 61 by a wireless signal. When the data is received by the transmission / reception circuit 53 (the reception unit 53R) of 51, the transmission interval that is received first (this is the initial transmission interval) is set. The initial transmission interval is set to transmit information once every five minutes, for example. Since the power consumption of the receiving unit 53R is small, the receiving unit 53R is always supplied with power and is in an operating state.

Next, the current position of the old man 2 is calculated in step S14, and it is determined in step S102 whether a predetermined transmission time has been reached. The predetermined transmission time is, for example, when the initial transmission interval is set to 5 minutes, it is determined whether or not the transmission time has reached every 5 minutes. If the predetermined transmission time has not been reached, the process returns to step S14 to repeat the detection of the position information. When the predetermined transmission time has been reached, the process proceeds to step S104, where power is supplied from the power supply circuit 27 to the transmission unit 53T in the transmission / reception circuit 53. , By operating the transmitting unit 53T, the current position of the old man 2 (that is, the current position of the transmitter 51) information (an ID number is also added to the information).
Is transmitted to the search management center 1 by a wireless signal. As a result, the search device 61 of the search management center 1 displays the current position of the old man 2 on the map of the display device 38. The transmission time is the current position of the old man 2 and I
The time required to inform the D number may be sufficient, for example, transmission is performed for only 10 seconds. Then, after the elapse of 10 seconds, the power supply to the transmitting unit 53T is turned off again to disable the operation.

Next, in step S106, the search device 61
, The transmission interval information transmitted to the transmitter 51 by a wireless signal. In the search device 61, for example, when the movement of the old man 2 becomes higher than the set speed, the transmission interval is changed (for example, changed every two minutes) and transmitted to the transmitter 51, and the movement of the old man 2 is less than the set speed. If so, the same transmission interval information as the previous time is transmitted without changing the transmission interval. Next, in step S108, it is determined whether or not the transmission interval information transmitted from the search device 61 has been changed. If not, the process returns to step S14 to repeat the processing.

On the other hand, if there is a change in the transmission interval information, the flow advances to step S110 to operate the transmission unit 53T to cause the elderly 2
Change the interval for sending the current location of. For example, the initially set transmission interval (for example, every 5 minutes) is changed to a narrower interval (for example, every 2 minutes). Step S1
After 10, the process returns to step S14 to repeat the processing. Accordingly, when the transmission interval is changed to every two minutes, power is supplied to the transmission unit 53T every two minutes, and the current position (including the ID number) of the old man 2 is transmitted to the search management center 1 by wireless communication. Is done. Thereafter, the routine is repeated in the same manner. For example, when the movement of the elderly person 2 becomes higher than the set speed and then returns to less than the set speed again, the transmission interval is changed and lengthened. When the information is transmitted from the searching device 61 to the transmitter 51 by a wireless signal, the interval of the power supply to the transmitting unit 53T becomes longer again, and the current position information of the old man 2 is transmitted to the searching device 61 at a longer transmission interval. Sent.

F-2. FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a control program of the search device 61. In the description of this program, steps for performing the same processing as in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description will be omitted. Different steps will be described. After the initial setting is performed in step S50, the initial transmission interval is set in step S150, and the set initial transmission interval is transmitted to the transmitter 51. As a result, the initial transmission interval information is transmitted from the search device 61 to the transmitter 51 by a wireless signal, and the transmitter 51 receives the initial transmission interval information in the receiving unit 53R of the transmission / reception circuit 53. Next, in step S52, the current position of the search management center 1 is detected based on the GPS signal, and in step S152, the position information from the transmitter 61 worn by the old man 2 is received. This is because power is supplied to the transmission unit 53T in the transmission / reception circuit 53 of the transmitter 51, and the current position information (the information includes an ID number) of the old man 2 is transmitted to the search management center 1 by a wireless signal. Then, the wireless signal is received and the position information from the transmitter 51 is taken in.

Next, steps S58 to S62
Then, the process proceeds to step S154, and it is determined whether or not the transmission interval change condition is satisfied. To satisfy the transmission interval change condition, when it is determined that the movement of the elderly person 2 has exceeded the set speed based on the information received from the transmitter 51, the transmission interval becomes shorter than the previous time, This means that the transmission interval is changed, for example, when the movement of the elderly person 2 becomes higher than the set speed and becomes lower than the set speed again, and the transmission interval is controlled longer than the previous time.

If the transmission interval change condition is not satisfied in step S154, the process returns to step S52 to repeat the processing. On the other hand, if the transmission interval change condition is satisfied, step S
Proceeding to 156, the transmission interval is changed, and the changed transmission interval information is transmitted to the transmitter 51. For example, when it is determined that the movement of the old man 2 has exceeded the set speed, the transmission interval is set to 2 minutes, which is shorter than the previous time (for example, 5 minutes). Thereby, the transmitting unit 53T in the transmitting / receiving circuit 53 of the transmitter 51
Is supplied with power every two minutes, and the transmission interval is shortened. After step S158, step S52
Return to and repeat the process.

In the process of repeating the loop from step S52 to step S154, for example, when the movement of the old man 2 becomes lower than the set speed from a state where the speed is higher than the set speed, the transmission interval becomes 2
The state becomes longer again from the minute state. For example, power is supplied to the transmission unit 53T in the transmission / reception circuit 53 of the transmitter 51 every 5 minutes. The transmission interval change condition may include two or more set speed criteria, and may be changed to two or more transmission intervals.

As described above, in the second embodiment, the search device 61
Since the transmission interval is controlled on the side, the calculation load of the control unit 54 in the transmitter 51 can be reduced. Also,
Since the search device 61 does not need to consider the calculation load of the control unit 64 (for example, a CPU having a large calculation capability may be used), the transmission interval may be finely changed according to the moving state of the elderly 2. Is possible.

G. Modified Example Each of the above embodiments is an example in which the transmission interval is changed using the moving speed of the elderly as a parameter. However, the present invention is not limited to this example, and the transmission interval change control may be performed using, for example, the following parameters. -When the moving distance of the elderly person (moving body) within a predetermined time exceeds a set value, control is performed to narrow the transmission time interval. The control for changing the transmission time interval may be performed by either the transmitter or the search device. In this way, regardless of the moving speed, if the moving distance of the old man increases (for example, if he or she wanders far), the transmission interval is inevitably shortened, so that the position information of the old man can be accurately grasped. Can be.

Control is performed such that the transmission time interval is changed according to the GPS position (ie, the current position) of the elderly person (mobile body). The control for changing the transmission time interval may be performed by either the transmitter or the search device. In this way, in accordance with the GPS position of the elderly, for example, in the vicinity of rivers or in areas with heavy traffic, the transmission interval is shortened to enhance the monitoring of the elderly in danger zones, and the safety of indoors and parks is relatively high. In a suitable place, it is possible to perform fine control in consideration of battery consumption such as lengthening a transmission interval. The transmission means for transmitting the current position of the moving object to the outside is not limited to the example using a public wireless telephone line or a wireless signal, but may be configured to transmit the current position to the outside via an ultrasonic wave. In this case, an appropriate communication medium for notifying the current position of the moving object can be used.

In the sea, a fixed station on the sea receives a signal from a GPS satellite to detect its own position (ie, the current position of the fixed station on the sea), while the fixed station on the sea sets a mobile unit (ID number) under the sea. The ultrasonic wave is transmitted to the mobile terminal, and the position (the position of the mobile object in the sea) is detected by the sonar principle, and finally the mobile object in the sea is determined from the position in the sea and the position of the fixed station on the sea. The current position is detected. In addition, even though it is a maritime fixed station, the position is slightly fixed by the waves, so it is not an absolute fixed but a concept of fixed at sea in a state of staying there. In this way, the position of the underwater vehicle is detected using ultrasonic waves, and by detecting the accurate position of the underwater vehicle in cooperation with a fixed station on the sea, even if the vehicle is underwater, A search system to which the present invention is applied can be constructed. In transmission of position information to a base station searching for a mobile underwater via a fixed station at sea (transmission by a fixed station at sea), power consumption of a fixed station at sea (equivalent to a mobile information device) is reduced. Power consumption (eg, a battery) can be reduced.

The embodiment of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications as described below are possible. (A) Regarding the application of the present invention, the moving object is not limited to the elderly, and can be widely applied to vehicles such as vehicles, airplanes, ships (boats, yachts, etc.), and motorcycles. Also,
The present invention can also be applied to a golf cart position confirmation system, taxi dispatch management, truck operation management, fighting vehicles, and the like. (B) The display color on the display device may be finely changed in a plurality of stages according to the position, the moving speed, and the moving distance of the moving body.

[0063]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the mobile information device (for example, a transmitter) regulates the transmission of the position information to a predetermined intermittent timing, the following effects can be obtained. Can be. The power consumption of the mobile information device can be reduced, and the consumption of power supply means (for example, a battery) can be reduced. Therefore, in response to the demand that the power supply means to be mounted on the mobile information device to be carried should be as small and lightweight as possible, downsizing of the power supply means,
Weight reduction can be achieved. Also, the capacity of the power supply means can be reduced.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the position detecting means includes a GPS device which receives a positioning radio wave from a GPS satellite to measure the current position of the moving object, and the transmitting means includes a GPS device for detecting the position of the moving object. The present invention is applied to a device using a GPS device by transmitting the current position to the outside via a public wireless telephone line, thereby reducing power consumption of a device with a GPS device that has become popular recently. Can be.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the transmitting means transmits the current position of the moving object to the outside via a radio signal, and according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the transmitting means transmits the current position of the moving object. Is transmitted to the outside via an ultrasonic wave, so that an appropriate communication medium for notifying the current position of the moving object can be used.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the transmission restricting means permits the transmission of the position information by the transmitting means at predetermined time intervals, so that the power consumption of the mobile information apparatus can be reduced by a simple process at predetermined time intervals. Can be reduced.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the transmission restricting means narrows the transmission time interval when the moving distance of the moving object within the predetermined time becomes equal to or greater than the set value, so that the parameter related to the search range called the moving distance. Accordingly, the power consumption of the mobile information device can be reduced.

According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, when the moving body moves at a speed higher than the set speed, the transmission restricting means narrows the transmission time interval according to the set speed so as to correspond to the speed of the moving body. The power consumption of the mobile information device can be reduced while taking into account that the search is not affected.

According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a mobile object search system including a mobile object information device and a search device, wherein the mobile information device regulates transmission of position information at a predetermined intermittent timing. Therefore, the power consumption of the mobile information device can be reduced, and the consumption of the power supply means can be reduced. In response to the demand that the power supply means to be mounted on the mobile information device to be carried is as small and lightweight as possible, it is possible to achieve a reduction in the size and weight of the power supply means. Also, the capacity of the power supply means can be reduced.

According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, the transmission restricting means of the mobile information device narrows the transmission time interval when the moving distance of the mobile within a predetermined time exceeds a set value, thereby searching for the moving distance. The power consumption of the mobile information device can be reduced according to the parameter related to the range.

According to the tenth aspect of the present invention, the transmission restricting means of the mobile unit information device narrows the transmission time interval according to the set speed when the mobile unit moves at a speed higher than the set speed. The power consumption of the mobile information device can be reduced while considering that the search is not affected according to the speed of the mobile information device.

According to the eleventh aspect of the present invention, by controlling the transmission of the position information of the transmitting means in the mobile information device remotely from the outside by the search device, the control portion (for example, the CPU) of the mobile information device can be controlled. ) Can be reduced. In addition, since the search device does not need to consider the calculation load of the control unit (for example, a CPU having a large calculation capability may be used), the transmission interval may be finely changed according to the moving state of the moving object. There is an advantage that can be.

According to the twelfth aspect of the present invention, the external transmission restricting means of the search device narrows the transmission time interval when the moving distance of the moving object within the predetermined time becomes equal to or greater than the set value, so that the search range of the moving distance is obtained. The power consumption of the mobile information device can be reduced in accordance with the parameters related to.

According to the thirteenth aspect, the external transmission restricting means of the search device narrows the transmission time interval according to the set speed when the mobile body moves at a speed higher than the set speed. The power consumption of the mobile information device can be reduced while considering that the search is not affected according to the speed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an embodiment of an elderly person search system according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of a transmitter.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration of a search device 13;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a control program of a transmitter.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a control program of the search device.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an entire configuration of an elderly person search system according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a configuration of a transmitter.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a configuration of a search device 13;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a control program of the transmitter.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a control program of the search device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Search management center 2 Elderly person (mobile body) 11, 51 Transmitter (mobile information device) 13, 61 Search device 21, 31 GPS antenna 22 GPS receiver 23, 52, 62 Communication antenna 24 Transmission circuit (transmission means) 25 Control circuit 26 Adjustment switch 27 Power supply circuit (power supply means) 29 Battery 32 GPS receiver 33 Telephone device 34 Switch input unit 35 Control unit 36 ROM 37 RAM 38 Display device 41 CD-ROM driver 42 CD-ROM 53 Transmission / reception circuit 53T Transmission unit (Transmitting unit) 53R Receiving unit (command receiving unit) 54 Control circuit (transmission restricting unit) 63 Transceiver (receiving unit, command transmitting unit) 64 Control unit (external transmitting restricting unit)

Claims (13)

[Claims] 1. A position detecting means for detecting a self-position of a moving body, a transmitting means for transmitting position information of the moving body detected by the position detecting means to the outside, and supplying power to the position detecting means and the transmitting means. A mobile information device comprising: a power supply unit; and a transmission restricting unit that restricts transmission of position information by the transmitting unit to a predetermined intermittent timing. 2. The position detecting means receives a positioning radio wave from a GPS satellite and measures a current position of the moving object.
2. The mobile information apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an S device, wherein the transmitting unit transmits the current position of the mobile to the outside via a public wireless telephone line. 3. The position detecting means receives a positioning radio wave from a GPS satellite and measures a current position of the moving body.
The mobile object information apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an S device, wherein the transmitting unit transmits the current position of the mobile object to the outside via a wireless signal. 4. The position detecting means receives a positioning radio wave from a GPS satellite and measures a current position of the moving body.
The mobile object information device according to claim 1, further comprising an S device, wherein the transmitting unit transmits the current position of the mobile object to the outside via an ultrasonic wave. 5. The mobile information device according to claim 1, wherein the transmission restricting unit permits transmission of the position information by the transmitting unit at predetermined time intervals. 6. The moving body information apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the transmission restricting means narrows a transmission time interval when a moving distance of the moving body within a predetermined time becomes equal to or greater than a set value. 7. The mobile information device according to claim 1, wherein the transmission restricting means narrows a transmission time interval according to the set speed when the mobile body moves at a set speed or more. 8. A mobile object search system in which each of a plurality of movable mobile objects has a mobile object information device, and a signal from each mobile information device is received by a search device to search for a position of each mobile object. Wherein the mobile object information device includes: a position detecting means for detecting a self-position of the mobile object; a transmitting means for transmitting the position information of the mobile object detected by the position detecting means to the outside; a position detecting means and transmitting Power supply means for supplying power to the means; and transmission control means for restricting the transmission of the position information by the transmission means to a predetermined intermittent timing. Receiving means for receiving the position information of the body, based on the position information of the moving body received by the receiving means,
And a search means for searching for the position of the moving object. 9. The mobile unit according to claim 8, wherein the transmission control unit of the mobile unit information device narrows the transmission time interval when the moving distance of the mobile unit within a predetermined time becomes equal to or greater than a set value. Search system. 10. The transmission control unit according to claim 8, wherein the transmission control unit of the mobile information device narrows a transmission time interval according to the set speed when the mobile body moves at a set speed or more. Mobile object search system. 11. The search device, an external transmission restricting unit that remotely restricts transmission of position information of a transmitting unit in the mobile information device from outside, and a command from the external transmission restricting unit to the mobile information device. Command transmitting means for transmitting to the mobile information device; command receiving means for receiving a signal from the command transmitting means; and the transmission restricting means, the external transmission restriction received by the command receiving means. 9. The mobile object search system according to claim 8, wherein transmission of position information is restricted based on a command from the means. 12. The mobile object search according to claim 11, wherein the external transmission restricting means of the search device narrows a transmission time interval when a moving distance of the mobile object within a predetermined time becomes equal to or greater than a set value. system. 13. The movement according to claim 11, wherein the external transmission restricting means of the search device narrows a transmission time interval according to the set speed when the moving body moves at a speed higher than a set speed. Body search system.