JPH11281389A - Position confirmation guiding system and portable terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To specify the current position of a user by a portable terminal for communicating with a communication machine by radio within a region where a plurality of communication machines are installed for an automatic metering system. SOLUTION: A user carries a portable terminal 10 where map information and the position data of radio machines 5 and 7 of an automatic metering system are incorporated and turns on the operation switch of the portable terminal 10 near a destination. The portable terminal 10 transmits search data to communication machines 5 and 7 at a constant interval with radio, and the communication machines 5 and 7 that receives them return its own Ids to the portable terminal 10. The portable terminal 10 compares the ID with the position information of the communication machines 5 and 7 being stored for indexing a current position and shows the position along with the map on the portable terminal 10.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a position confirmation guidance system for confirming a current position and guiding a user to a destination, and a portable terminal used for the system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when transporting luggage or people to unspecified places such as taxis and courier companies, the route to a destination largely depends on the experience of the driver.

[0003] For an experienced driver, it is not very difficult to go to the vicinity if you ask for a rough address. However, it is not easy to get to individual homes from there. Taking a taxi as an example, customers often use a taxi as a route guide because they do not know the route to the destination, and in an extreme case, they may only know the personal name of the destination. If a customer specifies a destination, even a veteran driver can easily get to a location, so-called "that nearby" level, from a landmark or address, relatively easily. However, it is often difficult to find places and buildings for individual purposes.

[0004] For this reason, in the vehicles of these companies, measures such as having a person at a company guide a person on a house map or the like using radio waves such as MCA are also taken.

[0005]

[0005] Even if a person can smoothly arrive near the destination, it takes time to arrive at the destination, and the work efficiency is not improved. There is an extra charge on a time-based basis, and both have significant disadvantages.

[0006] In addition, even in the case of being guided from the center by radio, the instructor in the company determines the location of the driver,
There is no problem if you can grasp the traveling direction properly, but you are guiding while looking at the map, so if you mistakenly think that the direction of the car is going to be mistaken, etc. There is also. In addition, there is also a problem that, when being guided by radio, the driver cannot concentrate on driving and is dangerous.

[0007] Recently, devices such as GPS using satellites have begun to spread. However, in order to reduce the price of these devices, CD-ROMs and DVD-Rs for supplying map information have been used.
Since a write-once medium such as an OM is used, it is difficult to realize navigation at an individual residence level. In addition, the shape and power consumption of other devices of this type are large, and it is difficult to configure them as portable devices due to their shape and power consumption. There is.

[0008] In addition, such position confirmation and position guidance on a building-by-building, door-to-door level are not limited to the work using the above-mentioned vehicles,
It is necessary to find a target house in a short time even for jobs such as bank employees, post office staff, salesmen, etc. who visit each door, considering the efficiency of work.

An object of the present invention is to provide a position confirmation guidance system which solves the above-mentioned problems.

[0010]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A position confirmation and guidance system according to the present invention uses a portable terminal which performs wireless communication with the above-mentioned communication device in an area where a plurality of communication devices are laid for an automatic meter reading system. It is assumed that the current position of is specified.

Each communication device includes a wireless receiving unit and a wireless transmitting unit. The wireless receiving means receives wireless data. When the wireless receiving means receives the search data from the portable terminal, the wireless transmitting means wirelessly transmits data including the ID set for itself.

The portable terminal includes a position information storage unit, a search data transmission unit, an ID data reception unit, a position identification unit, and a position notification unit. The position information storage unit stores the plurality of IDs set in each communication device and the position information indicating the position of the wireless device to which the ID is set in association with each other.

The search data transmitting means transmits the search data. The ID data receiving means wirelessly receives, from the communication device that has received the search data, ID data including the ID set in the communication device.

The position specifying means specifies the current position of the user by referring to the position information stored in the position information storage means from the ID in the ID data received by the ID data receiving means.

The position notifying means notifies the user of the current position specified by the position specifying means. In addition, the portable terminal may be configured to include a radio field intensity measurement unit. The radio wave intensity measuring means measures the radio wave intensity of the ID data received by the ID data receiving means.

Using the radio wave intensity measured by the radio wave intensity measuring means, for example, when the ID data receiving means receives a plurality of ID data, the position specifying means compares the ID in the ID data having the strongest receiving intensity with the ID. The current position of the user is specified with reference to the position information stored in the position information storage means.

The ID data receiving means may include a plurality of ID data.
When the data is received, the position specifying unit obtains the position of the communication device that transmitted the ID data by referring to the position information stored in the position information storage unit based on the ID in each ID data, for example. The current position of the user is specified from the relationship between the communication strength of the plurality of ID data and the position of the communication device. In this case, the position specifying means transmits the ID in the ID data received by the ID receiving means and the reception strength of the ID data to the computer center using the communication infrastructure of the automatic meter reading system, A configuration may be employed in which the current position of the user is specified based on a response from the user.

Further, the radio wave intensity of the ID data from the communication device at the destination of the user may be notified together with the current position by the position notifying means.
Further, the portable terminal determines the reception strength of the received ID data and the I
ID storage means for storing the ID contained in the D data at regular intervals, and
The position and traveling direction of the user may be obtained from a plurality of IDs stored in the D storage means and the radio wave intensity.

The portable terminal further includes map information storage means for storing map information, wherein the position notifying means displays the map information and indicates the current position on the displayed map, thereby providing the user with the current position. May be notified.

The notifying means may notify the user of the current position by voice. Further, the portable terminal may further include a direction detecting unit that detects a direction from geomagnetism, and the position notifying unit may be configured to notify a current position based on the direction detected by the direction detecting unit.

According to the present invention, the communication device that has received the search data transmitted from the portable terminal transmits the ID set therein to the portable terminal as ID data. In the portable terminal, the current position of the user is specified by referring to the position information stored in the position information storage means by the ID, and this is notified to the user by display or sound by the position notification means. Thereby, the user of the present system can confirm the current position.

Further, since the portable terminal can notify the user of the traveling direction and the like, the user can use the portable terminal as a guide to the destination. Further, since the present system can use an automatic meter reading system, it is possible to perform highly accurate user position confirmation and position guidance. Further, there is no need to prepare a new communication infrastructure, and the system can be constructed extremely easily and economically. Also, the communication infrastructure of the automatic meter reading system, which is usually used only for reading the meter value once a month and has little use in other periods, can be effectively used, and the economy of the communication infrastructure can be improved.

[0023]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A position confirmation guidance system according to the present embodiment is an automatic system utilizing wireless communication which is currently in widespread use for the purpose of automatic meter reading of meters such as electric power, gas and water installed in each home. Use a meter reading system.

In the automatic meter reading system of the meter, a meter reading center for managing the automatic meter reading is connected to a meter installed in each home using a communication network such as a telephone line, and the meter is periodically connected to the meter via the communication network. This is for meter reading.

FIG. 1 shows an example of the configuration of an automatic meter reading system.
When the meter reading time comes, a computer installed in the meter reading center 1 transmits a predetermined signal for meter reading of the meter 6 installed in each home via a communication network 2 such as a telephone line by a built-in program. I do. The meter 6 receiving this reads the usage amount of electricity or gas and returns the result to the meter reading center 1 via the communication network 2. The exchange of data between the meter reading center 1 and the meter 2 is normally performed between the meter reading center 1 and the house 3 via a telephone line, a CATV network,
Networks such as so-called third party radio such as MCA and teleterminal are used. However, there is usually a distance between the position of the modem 4 and the place where the meter 2 is installed, and a new connection work is required when connecting between them by a wire. Therefore, assuming that this is unnecessary, a wireless master device 5 is installed on the modem 4 and a wireless slave device 7 is installed on the meter 2, and the wireless master device 5 and the wireless slave device 8 are communicatively connected by a wireless line. There is a meter reading system by wireless communication.

Generally, a plurality of meters such as electricity, gas, and water are installed in each home. Therefore, in an area where an automatic meter reading system using wireless communication is installed, a plurality of wireless devices are installed in each home. Will be installed. This radio is typically underutilized and is only used to read usage once a month, and is expected to be idle most of the time waiting for instructions . In the present embodiment, the position confirmation and position guidance of the user are realized using the wireless communication infrastructure of the automatic meter reading system.

In the present embodiment, an example is shown in which a wireless device installed on a meter is used for the automatic meter reading system. Of course, other wireless systems installed on telephone poles and houses, for example, MCA and teleterminals The position confirmation guidance system according to the present invention can also be realized by using a wireless device attached to each home such as another public wireless communication system such as a PHS home base unit, a base station or a cordless telephone base unit. Needless to say.

However, when the wireless infrastructure of the automatic meter reading system is used, other wireless systems such as PH
Compared with the case where the base station of S is used, the number of installed communication devices is large and the radio output of each radio device is small, so that the accuracy of position identification is high, which is advantageous.

Hereinafter, a case where the wireless device of the above automatic meter reading system is used will be described. FIG. 2 shows a position confirmation guidance system using the system of FIG. 1 as one embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 2, the same components as those in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals.

Generally, a plurality of meters such as electricity, gas, and water are installed in each home. Therefore, in a residential area where an automatic meter reading system by wireless communication shown in FIG. The device 5 and the wireless slave device 7 are installed. In addition, IDs for identifying each of these wireless devices for the automatic meter reading system are set.

In this embodiment, in such an area,
The user who confirms the position confirms his / her own position using the portable terminal 10 storing the map information near the destination and the position information of each of the wireless devices 5 and 7 on the map.

A user such as a salesman who arrives near the destination while carrying or carrying the portable terminal 10 turns on the operation switch of the portable terminal 10 and transmits search data at regular intervals. Radios 5 and 7 receiving this
Transmits the ID set to itself to the mobile terminal 10.

In the portable terminal 10, the ID of the received meter
Is compared with the stored location information of each wireless device to identify the current location, and this is displayed together with the map information to notify the user. Since this display changes as the user moves, the user can reach the destination in a short time while watching the display.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration example of the portable terminal 10. The portable terminal 10 has a size and a shape that can be operated by a battery or a built-in battery and is portable or can be mounted on a vehicle. A wireless device 23 for performing wireless communication with the devices 5 and 7, a ROM 24 storing an operation program, and a RAM 2 serving as a work memory of the CPU 21 and storing map information, position information of the wireless devices, and the like.
5. A sensor that knows the direction from the geomagnetism, and includes a magnetic gyro 26 for indicating the current direction and displaying it on the display 22 and an operation switch (not shown).

In the portable terminal 10, map information and position information of each of the wireless devices 5 and 7 on the map are stored in the RAM 25 in a rewritable manner. These pieces of information are rewritten to destinations to which the user goes before departure. Alternatively, such information may be stored in the form of a memory card or the like, and may be replaced as necessary.

FIG. 4 shows an example of the configuration of the position information of the wireless devices 5 and 7 stored in the portable terminal 10. As shown in FIG. 4, the position information of each communication device includes an ID set for the communication device and a map No. indicating the type of map. , Map No. The position information (X, Y coordinates) indicating the position on the map indicated by the coordinates (X, Y coordinates) and the address of the place where the communication device is installed are stored in association with each other as auxiliary information.

For example, a communication device whose ID is set to 0010001 has a map No. as its position information. Map No. 1 having different coordinates (X coordinate 255, Y coordinate 130), magnification, etc. on the map of No. 1. 2 on the map (X coordinate 120,
The Y coordinate 35) and 1-2-1 indicating the address of the installation location are stored as auxiliary information.

The position information of the communication device may be in a form common to all maps, for example, a form expressed by latitude and longitude, instead of the coordinates for each map as shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a case where the portable terminal 10 is used to search for a nearby house in a residential area where a wireless automatic meter reading system is laid. Hereinafter, a method of position confirmation by the portable terminal will be described in more detail with reference to FIG.

In a residential area where an automatic meter reading system is laid, a communication device 32 for the automatic meter reading system is installed on meters of electricity, water, gas, etc.
A plurality of communication devices 32 are installed in one.

A user 33 such as a salesman looking for a house in the vicinity turns on the operation switch of the portable terminal 34 he is carrying. Then, search data is transmitted from the mobile terminal 34 at regular intervals.

In this area, a plurality of communication devices 32 which are in an idle state and perform intermittent reception of wireless data are scattered at intervals of several meters. Upon receiving the data transmitted by the portable terminal 34, the communication device 32a installed near the place where the user 33 is located examines the content, and if it is search data, the ID set to itself is searched. The ID data including the ID data is transmitted. This radio 3
2 and the radio waves transmitted from the portable terminal 34 are radio waves in the 400 MHz band which is a so-called wireless telemeter frequency.
Since radio waves in this frequency band go around even if there is an obstacle such as a building, good wireless communication can be performed between the portable terminal 34 and each wireless device 32.

In the portable terminal 34, map information and the position information of the wireless device as shown in FIG. 4 are prepared before departure, and the ID information in the ID data returned from the communication device 32a is prepared.
D, referring to the position information of the wireless device, the user 3
3. The current position (the position of the wireless device 32a) is determined, and the map corresponding to the display device and the current position on the map are displayed.

The search data transmitted from the portable terminal 10 is not necessarily received only by the communication device 32a closest to the user 33, but is received by other communication devices 32b, 3
2c may also be received.

In this case, like the communication device 32a, all the other communication devices 32b and 32c that have received the search data also return their IDs. The mobile terminal 34 is connected to each wireless device 3
When these IDs are received from 2, the strength of the radio wave is measured, and it is determined which communication device 32 is closer based on the radio wave strength. For example, in the case of FIG. 5, the portable terminal 34 is closest to the user 33 among the IDs received from the plurality of communication devices,
The communication device 32a having the strongest radio wave intensity is selected, and the position is shown on the map displayed on the display device as the current position of the user 33.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram for explaining the measurement of the radio wave intensity of the received radio wave in the portable terminal 34. Upon receiving the wireless data, the wireless device 23 in the portable terminal 34 modulates the wireless data and sends it to the CPU 45 as received data 42, and also displays a received signal strength indicator (RSSI (Receive Signal Strength Indicator) indicating the strength of the received data 42. ))
Output. This signal is digitized via an A / D converter 44 in a different system from the reception data 42 and the transmission data 43 from the CPU 45, and then sent to the CPU 45.

The CPU sequentially stores the reception intensity and the reception data 42 in the RAM as its own work memory in association with each other. When the ID data is returned from the plurality of communication devices 32 as described above, the data of each communication device transmitted at the same time may be crushed and the radio wave intensity may not be measured accurately. To avoid such a situation, when the communication device 32 transmits ID data, it is necessary to prevent other communication devices 32 from transmitting radio waves.

As a method of this, for example, there is a method in which the communication device 32 that has received the search data transmits the ID data with a delay based on its own ID. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a process of the communication device 32 for transmitting ID data by the above method.

In FIG. 7, the communication device 32 is in an idle state as an initial state and performs intermittent reception (step S).
1). When wireless data is received from this state, it is determined in step S2 whether or not this is search data from the portable terminal 34. If it is not the search data in step S2 (step S2, NO), it is data for other processing such as a processing request for automatic meter reading, so processing for that is performed (step S4), and then processing proceeds to step S1. Return to the idle state and perform intermittent reception of data.

If it is determined in step S2 that the received data is the search data from the portable terminal 34 (step S2, YES), the timing based on the ID set in itself as step S3, for example, the own ID , The time from when the search data is received by the predetermined method to when the ID is transmitted is obtained, and the ID data is transmitted at that timing. Thereafter, the process shifts to step S1 to return to the idle state.

According to such a method, each communication device 32 has an ID.
If the data is transmitted, even if the plurality of communication devices 32 receive the search data, the communication devices 32 transmit the ID data at different timings, so that the transmission radio waves do not cause crushing.

In addition to the method shown in FIG. 7, there is a method in which, for example, the ID of each communication device 32 is retransmitted on the portable terminal 34 side, and the radio wave intensity is measured at that time. In this case,
7, it is not necessary to add a program for the processing of FIG. 7 for communication to each of the large number of communication devices 32 as in the method of FIG. 7, but only to add this processing to the program of the portable terminal 34.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing processing by the portable terminal 34 when measuring the radio field intensity of the data received from each communication device 32 by the above method. FIG.
When the operation switch is turned ON, the portable terminal 34 wirelessly transmits the search data in step S11,
Wait for a response from. Then, if there is no response after a certain period of time (step S12, NO), the process returns to step S11 and wirelessly transmits the search data again.

In step S12, if there is a response from the wireless device 32 (step S12, YES), then step S12 is executed.
At step S13, it is determined whether or not the response is from a plurality of wireless devices 32. If the response is from only one wireless device (step S13, NO), the process is shifted to the measurement of the radio wave intensity at step S15, and the received response ( The radio wave intensity of the ID data is measured.

If responses have been received from the plurality of wireless devices 32 in step S13 (step S13, YES), then in step S14, IDs are assigned to one of the plurality of communication devices 32 that received the response. , The search data is transmitted again, the ID data is retransmitted, and the search data is received. Then, the radio wave intensity of the retransmitted ID data is measured (step S15).

ID as a response to the first search data
If the measurement of the radio wave intensity has not been completed for all the communication devices 32 that have received the data (step S16, N
O), the processing of steps S14 and S15 is repeated, each communication device is sequentially and individually specified, ID data is retransmitted, and the radio field intensity is measured.

If the measurement of the radio wave intensity has been completed for all the communication devices in step S16 (step S1)
6, YES), the current position of the user 33 is obtained by referring to the radio wave intensity and the position information of the wireless device as shown in FIG. 4, and the current position on the map is displayed on the display of the portable terminal 34. indicate.

Thereafter, the flow returns to step S11 to repeat the above processing. The radio wave intensity measured in this manner is not used merely for selecting the closest communication device, but is simply displayed on the display of the portable terminal 34 in the form of a numerical value, the number of lit LEDs, or the like. It can be used not only to confirm the current position but also to guide to the destination. When the portable terminal 34 receives the radio wave from the communication device 32 at the destination, the user 33 sees the display of the radio wave intensity and the direction of the magnetic gyro mounted on the mobile terminal while the radio wave intensity is strong. By going in a certain direction, the destination can be easily searched using the portable terminal 34 as position guidance.

As a method of specifying the current position using the radio wave intensity, as described above, the position of the transmitter 32 that wirelessly transmitted the ID data having the highest radio wave intensity is not regarded as the position of the user 33, By complexly determining the positions of the plurality of communication devices 32 that have received the data and the received radio wave intensities, the position of the user can be more accurately obtained. As a method of obtaining the position, for example, a propagation characteristic of a radio wave is checked in advance, an approximate value thereof is obtained and stored, and a simultaneous equation is obtained from these, the position of each communication device 32 and the radio wave intensity of the transmitted ID data. A method of estimating the position of the user 32 from an average number that is mathematically calculated by using is considered.

Alternatively, the radio wave intensity of data received from each communication device 32 is actually measured in advance, and a measurement result of a representative place on a road is stored in a database and stored. The position of the user 33 can be specified by comparing the data.

If the processing such as the processing speed and the storage capacity exceeds the capability of the portable terminal 34, a separate calculation center having a computer with a high processing capacity is provided separately.
The computer center may be configured to perform the position specifying process. In this case, the ID and the radio wave intensity received from the portable terminal 34 are transmitted to the calculation center via the specific communication device 32 nearby in the same manner as the collection of the meter reading data by the automatic meter reading system, and the database is transmitted to the database at the computer center. The position specifying process is realized by receiving the result of the comparison.

When the position of the user is determined from the position of the communication device 32 and the received radio wave intensity in a complex manner, the position of the communication device 32 that transmitted the data of the strongest radio wave intensity is simply referred to as the current position of the user 33. The position and the traveling direction, which will be described later, can be obtained more accurately than when it is considered.

Further, the portable terminal 34 receives the received ID and the received radio wave intensity or the user 3 specified by the received ID.
The direction of movement of the user 33 can also be obtained by recording and accumulating the position 3 at regular intervals.

The traveling direction is obtained from a change in the position due to the movement of the user 33, which is obtained by obtaining the difference between the obtained position of the user 33 and the position previously obtained and recorded. Further, by plotting each position obtained from the stored and accumulated information on the map, the user's gait of the user 34 so far can be understood, so that the user 33 can correct the current traveling direction with respect to the destination. It can be determined whether it is a journey, and this can be used as information for guidance.

These processes can be performed only by software processes. Therefore, since the direction can be obtained without mounting the magnetic gyro on the portable terminal 34, the price and the size of the portable terminal 34 can be reduced.

Recording and accumulating the ID received by the portable terminal 34 and the received radio wave intensity at regular intervals are as follows.
It can also be used to avoid the problem of reflection, which is a problem specific to radio waves.

When a radio wave transmitted from the communication device 32 is reflected by a building or the like, a radio wave in a distant place may be received, and a specific determination of a position may be erroneously made. An error in the determination of the position identification due to the reflection is caused by the above-described portable terminal 3
4 can be avoided by recording and storing the received ID and the received radio wave intensity at regular intervals, and making a composite judgment based on the stored information. For example, if a location that cannot be influenced by the reflection of radio waves is identified as a result of location identification based on the IDs collected several times, a majority decision is taken from the recorded and accumulated multiple measurement results. If the position is specified, the influence of reflection can be avoided to some extent, and the accuracy of the position specification can be improved.

In the portable terminal, a map near the current position and the current position on the map are displayed on a display device provided on the terminal so that the user can confirm the current position and guide the user to the destination. Was to do. However, in the present embodiment, the mobile terminal may be configured to notify the user of the current position by voice instead of visually notifying the user of the current position.

The portable terminal having such a configuration incorporates a voice guidance device for outputting a voice and instructing the user instead of or together with the display device. And
Calculates the user's direction of travel, the direction and distance of the destination, and based on the result, provides guidance on whether the current direction of travel is good, whether the place is near or far away, for example, "turn right "Give me away from destination,""I'm wrong in this direction,""I'm coming close," and more. Alternatively, as another method, a configuration may be adopted in which the address, the address, and the like of the current position are notified by voice.

With this configuration, it is possible to confirm the current position and guide the user to the purpose even for a visually impaired person.

[0070]

According to the invention of the present application, it is possible to confirm the position of a user and perform position guidance on a building-by-building, door-to-door level. Therefore, the user can reach the destination smoothly and efficiently.

Further, by considering the strength of the received radio wave for position confirmation, the influence on the reflection of the radio wave can be eliminated. In addition, it is possible to notify the user's traveling direction, etc.
It can be used as a guide.

Further, when notifying the current position by voice, it is possible to confirm the current position and provide guidance to a visually impaired person. In addition, according to the present invention, since the existing communication infrastructure can be used, there is no need to prepare a communication infrastructure only for this system.
The system can be constructed very easily and economically.

Further, when an automatic meter reading system is used, it is possible to perform position confirmation and position guidance with higher accuracy than the number of communication devices and the intensity of output radio waves. Also, the communication infrastructure of the automatic meter reading system, which is usually used only for reading the meter value once a month and has little use in other periods, can be effectively used, and the economy of the communication infrastructure can be improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of an automatic meter reading system using wireless communication.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of a position confirmation guidance system using the system of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a mobile terminal.

FIG. 4 is a configuration example of position data of a communication device.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a position confirmation method using a mobile terminal according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating measurement of radio wave intensity of a received radio wave in a mobile terminal.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating processing of a communication device that transmits ID data with a delay based on its own ID.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a process performed by the mobile terminal when measuring the radio wave intensity of the ID received from each communication device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Meter reading center 2 Communication network 3 House 4 Telephone and modem 5 Wireless base unit 6 Meter 7 Wireless unit 10, 34 Portable terminal 21, 45 CPU 22 Display unit 23, 41 Wireless unit 24 RAM 25 ROM 26 Magnetic gyro 31 Residential site 32 Radio 33 User 44 A / D converter

Claims (11)

[Claims] 1. A position confirmation guidance system for specifying a current position of a user by a portable terminal performing wireless communication with the communication device in an area where a plurality of communication devices are laid for an automatic meter reading system. A wireless receiving unit for receiving wireless data; and a wireless unit for wirelessly transmitting data including an ID set to itself when the wireless receiving unit receives search data from the portable terminal. Position information storage means for storing a plurality of IDs set in each communication device and position information indicating a position of the wireless device to which the ID is set, in association with each other; A search data transmitting unit that transmits the search data; and an ID data receiver that wirelessly receives ID data including an ID set in the communication device from a communication device that has received the search data. If, ID in ID data to which the ID data received by the receiving means
A position specifying unit that specifies the current position of the user with reference to the position information stored in the position information storage unit; and a position notification that notifies the user of the current position specified by the position specifying unit. And a location confirmation guidance system. 2. A position information storage means for storing a plurality of IDs set in a communication device of an automatic meter reading system and position information of the wireless device in association with each other; a search data transmission means for transmitting search data; ID data receiving means for wirelessly receiving ID data including an ID set in the communication device from the communication device of the automatic meter reading system that has received the search data; and ID in the ID data received by the ID data receiving device.
Position specifying means for specifying the current position of the user by referring to the position information stored in the position information storage means; and position notifying means for notifying the user of the current position specified by the position specifying means. A mobile terminal of a position confirmation guidance system, comprising: 3. An ID received by said ID data receiving means.
3. The mobile terminal according to claim 2, further comprising a radio field intensity measurement unit that measures a radio field intensity of the data. 4. The position specifying means, when the ID data receiving means receives a plurality of ID data, the position information stored in the position information storing means from the ID in the ID data having the highest reception intensity. The mobile terminal according to claim 3, wherein the current position of the user is specified by referring to the current position. 5. When the ID data receiving means receives a plurality of ID data, the position specifying means refers to the position information stored in the position information storage means based on the ID in each ID data. 4. The portable terminal according to claim 3, wherein a position of the communication device that has transmitted the ID data is obtained, and a current position of the user is specified based on a relationship between the communication strength of the plurality of ID data and the position of the communication device. . 6. The position specifying means transmits an ID in the ID data received by the ID receiving means and a reception intensity of the ID data to a computer center using a communication infrastructure of the automatic meter reading system. 6. The mobile terminal according to claim 5, wherein a current position of the user is specified based on a response from the center. 7. The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the position notifying unit notifies the radio wave intensity of the ID data from the communication device at the destination of the user together with the current position.
7. The mobile terminal according to any one of claims 6 to 6. 8. An apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an ID storage means for storing the reception intensity of the received ID data and an ID included in the ID data at regular intervals, wherein the position specifying means stores the reception strength in the ID storage means. The mobile terminal according to any one of claims 3 to 7, wherein a position and a traveling direction of the user are obtained from a plurality of IDs and a radio wave intensity. 9. The apparatus further comprises map information storage means for storing map information, wherein the position notifying means displays the map information,
The mobile terminal according to any one of claims 2 to 8, wherein the user is notified by indicating a current location on the displayed map. 10. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the position notifying unit notifies the user of a current position by voice.
9. The mobile terminal according to claim 1. 11. The apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising: an azimuth detecting means for detecting an azimuth from geomagnetism, wherein said position notifying means notifies a current position based on the azimuth detected by said azimuth detecting means. The mobile terminal according to any one of claims 10 to 13.