KR101736957B1 - Method of scanning and routing beacon signals, system and apparatus for the same - Google Patents

Abstract

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a method for relaying a beacon signal comprises: a step of using a first Bluetooth module among communication modules including at least one Wi-Fi module and a plurality of Bluetooth modules to receive a beacon signal from a first beacon terminal; a step of filtering a beacon identifier included in the beacon signal to determine whether the first beacon terminal is a terminal to be relayed; and a step of determining any one among the communication modules as a transmission module based on an operating mode of a beacon signal relay apparatus if the first beacon terminal is a terminal to be relayed, and using the transmission module to transmit the beacon signal.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a beacon signal relaying method,

The present invention relates to a beacon signal relaying method, system, and apparatus therefor. And more particularly, to a method, system, and apparatus for relaying or retransmitting an ID of a scanned beacon and signal strength or additional data by searching for a beacon signal.

A beacon refers to a local wireless communication technology that periodically transmits information (ID) of an object based on Bluetooth 4.0 within a certain radius range (e.g., several tens of meters) of the surrounding area. It uses bluetooth low energy (BLE) to continuously receive information, and it can identify the location of the terminal based on the strength of the signal, automatically detect the location of the user even if the user does not take any action, . For example, if a beacon is installed at a specific location in an offline store and a customer holding a mobile terminal enters the beacon area, the beacon can be detected and provided with information. As the beacon device and the smartphone interworking service are expanded, a Real Time Location System (RTLS) for location control and real-time monitoring of a beacon-attached object or a person using a scanning device scanning a mobile beacon and a beacon signal transmitted therefrom, There is a need for technology and services for the Internet. The present invention relates to an apparatus and a system for supporting a routing function in which a beacon signal is scanned and transmitted to a server via an Internet connection or a signal is transmitted again by a scanning device. On the other hand, Korean Patent Laid-Open No. 10-2003-0005365 exists as a related art.

The present invention relates to an apparatus for receiving and relaying beacons, in which a main device and an auxiliary connection device are separated from each other in order to solve problems of difficulty and size of installation of a conventional receiving device, and are separated according to an installation environment, a power supply method, Or a combination thereof.

Embodiments of the present invention provide a beacon signal relay method, system, and method for operating a beacon signal received from a beacon terminal in a server transmission mode for transmitting beacon information and received signal strength received via a WiFi communication or Ethernet connection to a server on the Internet A device for this is provided.

Embodiments of the present invention provide a beacon signal relay method, system and system for transmitting beacon signals received from a beacon terminal through a Bluetooth communication as is, and operable in a repeater mode capable of transmitting a beacon signal to a wider area to provide.

In addition, embodiments of the present invention provide a beacon signal relaying system capable of selectively providing a server transmission mode for delivering a beacon signal to a server and a repeater mode for delivering a beacon signal to another beacon receiving terminal at a remote location, Method, system and apparatus therefor.

The present invention is composed of a main device and an auxiliary device for further supporting a power supply or a network connection method supplied thereto. The main unit is basically supplied with power via a USB connection terminal and can support a wireless connection via Wi-Fi. In addition, the auxiliary device can be connected to the USB terminal of the main unit, and the other side can be connected to the Internet directly by connecting to the RJ45 jack which can connect the UTP cable. In addition, POE (Power Over Ethernet) A single Ethernet cable can be configured to provide power and Internet connectivity.

One embodiment of the present invention provides a wireless communication method that uses a first Bluetooth module of a communication module including at least one Wi-Fi module and a plurality of Bluetooth modules to transmit a beacon signal from a first beacon terminal Receiving; And determining one of the communication modules as a transmission module based on an operation mode of the beacon signal relay device and transmitting the beacon signal using the transmission module, Wherein the step of receiving the beacon signal by driving the first Bluetooth module in a central mode includes transmitting the beacon signal to the central Bluetooth module when the operation mode is a repeater mode, Mode to a peripheral mode and transmits a beacon signal received using the first Bluetooth module in real time using the second Bluetooth module.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a wireless communication system including a wireless communication unit including at least one Wi-Fi module and a plurality of Bluetooth modules; A wired communication unit including a universal serial bus (USB) module and an Ethernet power supply (Power Over Ethernet) module; And a control unit for controlling the wireless communication unit and the wired communication unit to perform a relay process of a beacon signal, wherein the controller drives a first Bluetooth module of the Bluetooth module in a central mode to generate a first beacon, Receiving a beacon signal from a terminal and determining either one of the Wi-Fi module, the Ethernet power module, and the Bluetooth module as a transmission module based on an operation mode, and when the operation mode is a repeater mode, And transmits the beacon signal received using the first Bluetooth module in real time using the second Bluetooth module, and when the operation mode is the server transmission Mode, the Wi-Fi module and the Ethernet power module are used to transmit the beacon signal A filtering setting interface for setting at least one of a black list and a white list to the user terminal using the first Bluetooth module, a WiFi setting interface for setting access information to a WiFi access point, And a Bluetooth setting interface for setting the second Bluetooth module when the operation mode is the server transmission mode.

Another embodiment of the present invention is a wireless communication device including a Wi-Fi module and a Bluetooth module; A wired communication unit including a universal serial bus (USB) module and an Ethernet power supply (Power Over Ethernet) module; And a control unit controlling the wireless communication unit and the wired communication unit to perform a relay process of a beacon signal, wherein the control unit drives the Bluetooth module in a central mode to transmit a beacon signal from a first beacon terminal Determining whether one of the Wi-Fi module, the Ethernet power module, and the Bluetooth module is a transmitting module based on an operation mode, and when the operation mode is a repeater mode, (Wi-Fi) module and an Ethernet power module when the operation mode is the server transmission mode, and transmits the beacon signal to the peripheral module via the Bluetooth module. And transmits the beacon signal to the user terminal using the Bluetooth module, Agent and discloses a beacon signal relay device that provides at least one of the Wi-Fi configuration interface for connection information set for the white filter setting interface, and Wi-Fi access point for the setting of at least one of the list of (access point).

The beacon signal relaying method, system, and apparatus therefor according to an embodiment of the present invention transmit the beacon signal received from the beacon terminal to the beacon information received by the server on the Internet via Wi-Fi communication or Ethernet connection and the received signal strength .

The beacon signal relaying method, system, and apparatus therefor according to an embodiment of the present invention can resend the beacon signal received from the beacon terminal as it is, and can transmit the beacon signal to a wider area.

In addition, according to the beacon signal relaying method, system, and apparatus therefor according to an embodiment of the present invention, only a server transmission mode for transmitting a beacon signal to a server through one device, and a beacon signal to another beacon receiving terminal The repeater mode can be selectively provided.

1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a beacon signal relay system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a block diagram showing an example of the internal configuration of the beacon signal relaying apparatus shown in FIG.
3 is a flowchart illustrating a beacon signal relaying method according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a case where the beacon signal relay apparatus of the present invention is in a server transmission mode.
5 is a diagram showing an example of a case where the beacon signal relaying apparatus of the present invention is a repeater mode.
6 is a diagram illustrating a beacon signal relaying process by a beacon signal relaying system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
7 is a diagram illustrating a beacon signal relaying process by the beacon signal relay system according to another embodiment of the present invention.
8 is a diagram showing an example of a case where the beacon signal relay device of the present invention is a scanner and a beacon mode.
9 is a diagram illustrating an example in which the beacon signal relay device of the present invention supports both a power source and an Internet connection.

While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way of example in the drawings and will herein be described in detail.

It should be understood, however, that the invention is not intended to be limited to the particular embodiments, but includes all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention. Like reference numerals are used for like elements in describing each drawing.

It is to be understood that when an element is referred to as being "connected" or "connected" to another element, it may be directly connected or connected to the other element, . On the other hand, when an element is referred to as being "directly connected" or "directly connected" to another element, it should be understood that there are no other elements in between.

The terminology used in this application is used only to describe a specific embodiment and is not intended to limit the invention. The singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. In the present application, the terms "comprises" or "having" and the like are used to specify that there is a feature, a number, a step, an operation, an element, a component or a combination thereof described in the specification, But do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, or combinations thereof.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Hereinafter, the same reference numerals will be used for the same constituent elements in the drawings, and redundant explanations for the same constituent elements will be omitted.

1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a beacon signal relay system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

1, a beacon signal relay system according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a beacon signal relay device 100, a user terminal 210, a wireless access point 220, and a beacon signal transmitting device 230 do. Here, the beacon signal relay apparatus 100 may be connected to a communication network using the wireless access point 220. The beacon signal relay apparatus 100 and the beacon signal transmitting apparatus 230 can transmit a beacon signal using a short-range wireless communication or the like.

The beacon signal relay apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention receives the beacon signal transmitted from the beacon signal sending apparatus 230 or receives the beacon signal transmitted from another beacon signal relay apparatus, To the server via the wireless access point 220, or to transmit the received beacon signal to another beacon signal relay device or to the user terminal 210.

Here, the beacon signal relaying apparatus 100 includes a repeater mode for transmitting the received beacon signal to another beacon signal relay apparatus or the user terminal 210, and a server transmission mode for transmitting the received beacon signal to the server It can operate in any one mode.

That is, the beacon signal relay device 100 can transmit data included in the received beacon signal to the server, or can amplify the received beacon signal to the maximum and broadcast it.

Here, the beacon signal relay device 100 can receive a beacon signal using a Bluetooth method.

The Bluetooth module can receive the beacon signal through the central mode and transmit the beacon signal through the peripheral mode.

When the beacon signal relay device 100 includes a plurality of Bluetooth modules, the first Bluetooth module is fixed to the central mode, and the second Bluetooth module can be set to the central mode or the peripheral mode according to the purpose of use. In this case, the beacon signal relay device 100 can provide the user terminal 210 with an interface for changing the mode of the second Bluetooth module and setting the beacon ID through the first Bluetooth module.

The beacon signal relay device 100 may be fixedly set to either a repeater mode or a server transmission mode depending on the purpose of installation, and may be configured to selectively perform one of the two modes by analyzing a beacon signal.

For example, when the beacon signal relay device 101 operates in the repeater mode, the beacon signal relay device 101 receives the beacon signal transmitted from the beacon signal transmitting device 230 and transmits the beacon signal to the other beacon signal relay device 102, or to the user terminal 212. [

Here, the beacon signal relay device 101 can transmit a beacon signal to the other beacon signal relay device 102 and the user terminal 212 by using a Bluetooth (Bluetooth) scheme.

When the beacon signal relay device 102 operates in the server transmission mode, the beacon signal relay device 102 receives the beacon signal transmitted from the other beacon signal relay device 101 and transmits the beacon signal to the wireless access point 220 It can be passed to the server via the server.

Here, the beacon signal relay device 102 can transmit a beacon signal to a server using a Wi-Fi standard.

The beacon signal relay device 100 may be configured to switch between a repeater mode and a server transmission mode according to the information included in the beacon signal.

For example, the beacon signal relay device 100 can automatically convert the repeater mode and the server transmission mode based on the case where the reception destination of the beacon signal is the server.

For example, if the reception object included in the beacon signal is a server, the beacon signal relay device 102 is set to the server transmission mode, and the beacon signal relay device 102 transmits the received beacon signal to the wireless access point 220 It can be passed to the server via the server.

If the beacon signal included in the beacon signal is not a server or a separate reception target is not specified, the beacon signal relay device 102 is set to a repeater mode, and the beacon signal relay device 102 May communicate the received beacon signal to the user terminal 213. [

Here, the beacon signal relay device 102 may transmit a beacon signal to the server using a Wi-Fi standard or may transmit a beacon signal to the user terminal 213 using a Bluetooth method.

In addition, the beacon signal relay device 100 can determine whether the server is operating through a periodic Ping message or monitor the status of the server.

The user terminal 210 may display the content corresponding to the beacon signal transmitted from the beacon signal relay device 100 through the beacon application.

The content may be visual or auditory data itself such as text, images, moving pictures, sound sources, etc., or it may correspond to a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) as path information to access the contents.

The beacon application may be an application embedded in the user terminal 210 or an application downloaded from the application distribution server and installed in the user terminal 210 or a web provided through a web browser built in or installed in the user terminal 210. [ Application.

The user terminals 210 are communication terminals that can use applications in a wireless communication environment. 1, the user terminal 210 is illustrated as a smart phone. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the terminal equipped with the terminal application as described above can be borrowed without limitation.

The user terminal 210 may be a computer (e.g., a desktop, a laptop, a tablet or the like), a media computing platform (e.g., a cable, a satellite set top box, a digital video recorder), a handheld computing device E. G., A PDA, an email client, etc.), any form of mobile phone, any type of computing or communication platform of a different kind, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

The wireless access point 220 is a device for providing a connection to a communication network and plays a role of connecting the beacon signal relay device 100 and the server. Here, the communication network may be a wired network such as LANs (Local Area Networks), WANs (Wide Area Networks), MANs (Metropolitan Area Networks), ISDNs (Integrated Service Digital Networks), wireless LANs, CDMA, Bluetooth, Network, but the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto.

The connection between the wireless access point 200 and the beacon signal relay device 100 may be connected using a Wi-Fi standard wireless communication scheme.

The beacon signal sending device 230 may be a beacon terminal using any one of an identifier (ID) method and a URL (URL) method. The beacon terminal of the identifier type may be a beacon terminal that transmits a beacon signal including an identifier of the beacon terminal, and the bevel terminal of the bevel type may be a beacon terminal that transmits a beacon signal including the real information.

When the beacon signal includes the identifier of the beacon terminal, the user terminal 210 may request the server for the content corresponding to the beacon terminal and provide the content to the user in a format to be downloaded.

If the beacon signal includes URL, the user terminal 210 provides a page corresponding to the corresponding URL to the user through the web browsing application, or treats the corresponding URL as an identifier, And provide the contents to the user in the format in which they are downloaded.

2 is a block diagram showing an example of the internal configuration of the beacon signal relay apparatus 100 shown in FIG.

Referring to FIG. 2, the beacon signal relay apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 1 includes a controller 110, a database 115, a wireless communication unit 120, and a wired communication unit 130.

The control unit 110 controls the wireless communication unit 120 and the wired communication unit 130 with a kind of central processing unit to perform a beacon signal relay process.

Here, the control unit 110 may include any kind of device capable of processing data, such as a processor. Herein, the term " processor " may refer to a data processing apparatus embedded in hardware, for example, having a circuit physically structured to perform a function represented by a code or an instruction contained in the program. As an example of the data processing apparatus built in hardware, a microprocessor, a central processing unit (CPU), a processor core, a multiprocessor, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) circuit, and a field programmable gate array (FPGA), but the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto.

 More specifically, the control unit 110 can control various communication modules according to the operation purpose as shown in Table 1 below.

purpose division Wi-Fi Ethernet Power supply Bluetooth 1 Bluetooth 2
Server transmission Wi-Fi O X USB


Central
(scan)
Options (Central, Peripheral, Off) Ethernet X O POE or separate adapter
re-send
(Repeater) Forward to other receiver X X USB
Peripheral Receive radius enlargement X X USB

That is, when the operation object is the server transmission, the controller 110 controls the module of either the Wi-Fi module or the Ethernet module to transmit the beacon signal scanned through the first Bluetooth module to the server. In this case, The module can be operated in an additional central or peripheral mode. The scan performance is enhanced when the second Bluetooth module operates in the central mode, and the normal beacon function when the second Bluetooth module operates in the peripheral mode. When controlling the WiFi module, it can receive power through USB. In case of controlling the Ethernet module, power can be supplied through POE or power can be supplied through a separate adapter.

The control unit 110 may transmit the beacon signal scanned through the first Bluetooth module to another beacon signal relay device or the user terminal through the second Bluetooth module when the operation objective is retransmission. In this case, Lt; / RTI > can be operated in the peripheral mode. More specifically, when transmitting a beacon signal to another beacon signal relay apparatus, it is possible to repeatedly transmit a beacon signal a predetermined number of times before receiving an acknowledge character (ACK) signal from another beacon terminal, If there is no terminal, the output radius can be increased to increase the receiving radius.

Here, the beacon terminal may be any one of a beacon signal transmitting apparatus and another beacon signal relay apparatus.

Also, the beacon signal relay device 100 can communicate with the beacon manager terminal or the client via the first Bluetooth module, and the controller 110 can transmit the beacon signal to at least one of the black list and the whitelist to the user terminal using the first Bluetooth module And a WiFi configuration interface for setting access information to a WiFi access point.

The filtering configuration interface may be provided to an external beacon manager terminal or client so that the beacon manager can add and delete beacon identifiers for filtering.

In an alternative embodiment, if the beacon signal relay device 100 is connected to a wireless access point, the filtering configuration interface may be provided to the beacon manager terminal or client via a Wi-Fi module instead of the first Bluetooth module.

The WiFi configuration interface may be provided to an external beacon manager terminal or client so that the beacon manager can enter settings for the WiFi connection.

The database 115 may store information on a black list or a whitelist for relay destination terminal filtering from the beacon administrator terminal. The blacklist or whitelist may include an identifier (ID) for uniquely identifying the beacon signal transmitting device or the beacon signal transmitting terminal, and may include a specific keyword.

The wireless communication unit 120 includes at least one Wi-Fi module and a plurality of Bluetooth modules. In order to overcome the limitation of the maximum number of beacons scanned by one Bluetooth module, if a plurality of beacon terminals are present, analysis of the beacon signals by using a plurality of Bluetooth modules and antennas can operate as a higher performance scanner .

The wireless communication unit 120 may receive a beacon signal from the beacon signal transmitting apparatus using a Bluetooth module, transmit / receive a beacon signal to / from the beacon signal relay terminal, and transmit a beacon signal to the user terminal.

Also, the wireless communication unit 120 can transmit a beacon signal to the server via the wireless access point using the Wi-Fi module.

The wired communication unit 130 may provide an interface for receiving a setting value for Wi-Fi connection or a setting value for filtering of a relay target terminal to the beacon manager terminal.

For example, the wired communication unit 130 includes a universal serial bus (USB) module, and can connect the beacon relay apparatus 100 to the beacon manager terminal through a USB terminal connection.

In an alternate embodiment, the beacon signal relay device 100 may be powered by connecting a power source to a USB terminal.

The antenna unit 140 is connected to the wireless communication unit 120 and transmits / receives a beacon signal.

The antenna included in the antenna unit 140 is based on an external antenna fastening system in order to maximize a radius for receiving a beacon signal and is easily changed to an antenna having high sensitivity through an external antenna fastening system Can be designed.

Although not shown in FIG. 2, the antenna unit 140 may be provided inside the beacon signal relay apparatus 100 shown in FIG.

3 is a flowchart illustrating a beacon signal relaying method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3, a beacon signal relaying method according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes a controller (see 110 in FIG. 2) including at least one Wi-Fi module and a plurality of Bluetooth modules A beacon signal is received from the first beacon terminal using the first Bluetooth module of the communication module (S310).

Also, in the beacon signal relaying method according to an embodiment of the present invention, the controller (see 110 in FIG. 2) performs filtering on the beacon identifier included in the beacon signal to determine whether the first beacon terminal is the relay target terminal (S320).

Prior to step S320, the control unit (see 110 in FIG. 2) provides the user terminal with a filtering setting interface for setting at least one of a black list and a white list, and in step S320, Filtering may be performed using at least one of a set black list and a white list.

In the beacon signal relaying method according to an embodiment of the present invention, when the first beacon terminal is the relay target terminal, the controller (see 110 in FIG. 2) changes the operation mode of the beacon signal relay device to the server transmission mode or the repeater mode (S330).

In step S330, the controller (see 110 in FIG. 2) analyzes the data included in the beacon signal to determine the terminal to receive the beacon signal. If the terminal is a server, the operation mode is set to the server transmission mode And the operation mode is set to the repeater mode when the reception target terminal is not the server.

In the beacon signal relaying method according to an embodiment of the present invention, the controller (see 110 in FIG. 2) determines one of the communication modules as a transmission module based on the operation mode and transmits a beacon signal (S340).

If the operation mode is the repeater mode, the control unit (see 110 in FIG. 2) drives the first Bluetooth modules in the central mode, and the first Bluetooth module of the plurality of Bluetooth modules The second Bluetooth module may be driven in a peripheral mode so that the beacon signal received using the first Bluetooth module can be transmitted in real time using the second Bluetooth module.

In step S340, the controller (see 110 in FIG. 2) can transmit a beacon signal using a Wi-Fi module when the operation mode is the server transmission mode.

Prior to step S340, the control unit (see 110 in FIG. 2) provides a WiFi setting interface for setting access information to a WiFi access point to the user terminal, and in step S340, In the transmission mode, it is possible to access the Wi-Fi access point using the access information set through the Wi-Fi setting interface, and transmit the beacon signal via the Wi-Fi access point.

In step S340, the controller (see 110 in FIG. 2) may repeatedly transmit a beacon signal a predetermined number of times before receiving an acknowledge character (ACK) signal from the second beacon terminal that has received the beacon signal .

In this case, the transmission direction of the beacon signal may be unidirectional from the first beacon terminal to the final beacon signal repeater.

Basically, the beacon signal repeater amplifies the beacon signal as it is, and relays the beacon signal to the final beacon signal relay device. The relay counter is added to the beacon signal in order to check whether the beacon signal has been transmitted through several times of relay .

3, the control unit (see 110 in FIG. 2) determines whether or not there is a Relay Counter in the beacon signal, and if the Relay Counter is not in the beacon signal If it does not exist, you can add the Relay Counter to the beacon signal, set the Relay Counter to the initial value, and set the Relay Counter value to increase by a preset value if there is a Relay Counter.

4 is a diagram showing an example of a case where the beacon signal relay apparatus 100 of the present invention is in a server transmission mode.

4, when the beacon signal relay apparatus 100 of the present invention is in the server transmission mode, the controller 110 receives a beacon signal through the first Bluetooth module 121 and the second Bluetooth module 122 , And transmits the beacon signal through the Wi-Fi module 123.

The Bluetooth antenna 141 and the Wi-Fi antenna 142 are connected to the Bluetooth modules 121 and 122 and the Wi-Fi module 123, respectively, and may be provided outside the beacon signal relay device 100, 4, but may be provided inside the beacon signal relay device 100. [

4, according to another embodiment of the present invention, the beacon signal relay apparatus 100 of the present invention uses a single Bluetooth module (for example, 121 and 122) to transmit a beacon signal And transmit a beacon signal through the Bluetooth module (e.g., 121 and 122) or the Wi-Fi module 123. [

5 is a diagram showing an example of a case where the beacon signal relay apparatus 100 of the present invention is a repeater mode.

5, when the beacon signal repeater 100 of the present invention is in the repeater mode, the controller 110 receives a beacon signal through the first Bluetooth module 121 and transmits the beacon signal to the second Bluetooth module 122 Lt; / RTI > In this case, the Wi-Fi module 123 may be turned off.

The Bluetooth antenna 141 and the Wi-Fi antenna 142 are connected to the Bluetooth modules 121 and 122 and the Wi-Fi module 123, respectively, and may be provided outside the beacon signal relay device 100, 5, it may be provided inside the beacon signal relay device 100. [

5, according to another embodiment of the present invention, the beacon signal relay apparatus 100 of the present invention can use only one Bluetooth module (for example, 121 and 122) (E. G., 121 and 122) in a central mode to transmit a beacon signal and to switch a Bluetooth module (e.g., 121 and 122) to a peripheral mode to transmit a beacon signal .

6 is a diagram illustrating a beacon signal relaying process by a beacon signal relaying system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 6, in the beacon signal relaying process by the beacon signal relay system according to the embodiment of the present invention, the beacon signal transmitting device 230 first transmits a beacon signal to the beacon signal relay device 100 (S610 ).

Next, the beacon signal relay device 100 analyzes the beacon signal to determine an operation mode (S620).

If the receiving destination of the beacon signal is the server, the beacon signal relay device 100 sets the operation mode to the server transmission mode (S630).

Next, the beacon signal relay device 100 transmits the beacon signal to the server via the wireless access point 220 (S640).

Although not shown in FIG. 6, instead of step S610, beacon signal relaying may be performed as shown in FIG. 6 even when another beacon signal relay device transmits a beacon signal to the beacon signal relay device 100. FIG.

7 is a diagram illustrating a beacon signal relaying process by the beacon signal relay system according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 7, in the beacon signal relaying process by the beacon signal relay system according to another embodiment of the present invention, the beacon signal transmitting device 230 transmits a beacon signal to the first beacon signal relay device 101 (S710).

Next, the first beacon signal relay apparatus 101 analyzes the beacon signal to determine an operation mode (S720).

If the beacon signal is not received by the server, the first beacon signal relay device 101 sets the operation mode to the repeater mode (S730).

Next, the first beacon signal relay device 101 transmits a beacon signal to the second beacon signal relay device 102 (S740).

The first beacon signal relay apparatus 101 may wait for reception of an ACK signal while repeatedly transmitting a beacon signal at predetermined time intervals (S741).

The second beacon signal relay device 102 analyzes the beacon signal to determine an operation mode (S750).

If the reception target of the beacon signal is not the server, the second beacon signal relay device 102 sets the operation mode to the repeater mode (S760).

Next, the second beacon signal relay device 102 transmits an ACK signal to the object that has transmitted the beacon signal (S770), and transmits a beacon signal to the user terminal (S780).

The first beacon signal relay device 101 receives the ACK signal from the second beacon signal relay device 102 and stops the repeated transmission of the beacon signal (S771).

Also, the second beacon signal relay device 102 may wait for reception of the ACK signal while repeatedly transmitting the beacon signal at predetermined time intervals (S781).

Although not shown in FIG. 7, in step S740, the first beacon signal relay device 101 may directly transmit a beacon signal to the user terminal 210. [

8 is a diagram showing an example of a case where the beacon signal relay device 100 of the present invention is a scanner and a beacon mode.

Referring to FIG. 8, the beacon signal relay apparatus 100 of the present invention may be a scanner and a beacon mode.

The scanner and the beacon mode are different from the server transmission mode in that the controller 110 receives the first beacon signal using the first Bluetooth module 121 and transmits the first beacon signal through the Wi-Fi module 123, The controller 110 transmits the second beacon signal different from the first beacon signal using the second Bluetooth module 122. [

That is, the beacon signal relay apparatus 100 of FIG. 8 can perform both the functions of the beacon scanner and the beacon signal transmitting apparatus.

9 is a diagram illustrating an example in which the beacon signal relay apparatus 100 of the present invention supports both a power source and an Internet connection.

Referring to FIG. 9, the beacon signal relay apparatus 100 of the present invention may further include an auxiliary device 160 that further supports a power source or a network connection method.

The power supply unit 150 of the beacon signal repeater 100 receives power through the USB terminal 151 and can support a wireless Internet connection through the WiFi module 123. [

In this case, the beacon signal relay device 100 can perform firmware update via the wireless Internet as a FOTA (Firmware Over The Air) function.

Also, the beacon signal relay device 100 may be configured to be powered by the UTP cable using the auxiliary device 160 and to be capable of wired Internet connection.

The auxiliary device 160 includes a USB terminal 171 directly connectable to the USB terminal 151 of the beacon signal repeater 100, an RJ45 terminal 172 to which a UTP cable can be connected, and a PoE (Power Over Ethernet) The beacon signal repeater 100 may be powered by a single Ethernet cable including the controller 170 to enable wired Internet connection.

The description sets forth the best mode of the invention, and is provided to illustrate the invention and to enable those skilled in the art to make and use the invention. The written description is not intended to limit the invention to the specific terminology presented.

Thus, while the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the above examples, those skilled in the art will be able to make adaptations, modifications, and variations on these examples without departing from the scope of the present invention. In other words, in order to achieve the intended effect of the present invention, all the functional blocks shown in the drawings are separately included or all the steps shown in the drawings are not necessarily followed in the order shown, It can be in the range.

Claims (10)

Receiving a beacon signal from a first beacon terminal using a first Bluetooth module of a communication module including at least one Wi-Fi module and a plurality of Bluetooth modules; And
Determining one of the communication modules as a transmission module based on an operation mode of the beacon signal relay device and transmitting the beacon signal to the second beacon terminal using the transmission module,
The step of receiving the beacon signal
The first Bluetooth module is driven in a central mode to receive the beacon signal
The step of transmitting the beacon signal to the second beacon terminal
Wherein the first Bluetooth module is configured to switch the second Bluetooth module from a central mode to a peripheral mode when the operation mode is a repeater mode and to transmit the beacon signal received using the first Bluetooth module to the peripheral device, 2 Bluetooth module to transmit in real time,
Further comprising: performing filtering on a beacon identifier included in the beacon signal to determine whether the first beacon terminal is a relay target terminal,
The step of transmitting the beacon signal to the second beacon terminal
When the first beacon terminal is a relay target terminal, transmits the beacon signal using the transmission module,
The step of transmitting the beacon signal to the second beacon terminal
When the operation mode is the server transmission mode, transmits the beacon signal using the Wi-Fi module,
The communication module
Further comprising a Power Over Ethernet module,
The step of transmitting the beacon signal to the second beacon terminal
When the operation mode is the server transmission mode, transmitting the beacon signal using the Ethernet power module,
Setting a Relay Counter of the beacon signal,
The step of setting the Relay Counter
Determining whether a Relay Counter is present in the beacon signal;
Adding the Relay Counter to the beacon signal and setting the Relay Counter to an initial value if the Relay Counter does not exist; And
And setting the value of the Relay Counter to be increased by a predetermined value when the Relay Counter is present. delete delete delete The method according to claim 1,
The beacon signal relaying method
Further comprising: providing a user terminal with a filtering setting interface for setting at least one of a black list and a white list,
The step of determining whether the terminal is the relay target terminal
Wherein the filtering is performed using at least one of a black list and a white list set through the filtering setting interface. The method according to claim 1,
The beacon signal relaying method
And providing a Wi-Fi setting interface for setting access information to a Wi-Fi access point at the user terminal,
The step of transmitting the beacon signal to the second beacon terminal
When the operation mode is the server transmission mode, accesses the Wi-Fi access point using access information set through the Wi-Fi setting interface, and transmits the beacon signal via the Wi-Fi access point. Relay method. delete The method according to claim 1,
The step of transmitting the beacon signal to the second beacon terminal
And repeatedly transmitting the beacon signal a predetermined number of times before receiving an acknowledge character (ACK) signal from the second beacon terminal that received the beacon signal. delete delete

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