KR102149912B1 - Method for tracking position of terminal and apparatus therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a location tracking method, and more particularly, to a location tracking method capable of performing location tracking more organically in consideration of the remaining battery capacity of the terminal when a user's terminal is lost, and an apparatus therefor. .
For this purpose, the location tracking method in a location tracking device including a separate communication module that is provided in the terminal of the present invention and operates using a power source of the terminal or an independent power source, and is different from the communication module of the terminal Checking, by a tracking device, whether the terminal is lost through the separate communication module, and if it is determined that the terminal is lost, shutting off the supply of power to the terminal and the separate It may include checking location information through a communication module and transmitting the checked location information to a location tracking server.

Description

Location tracking method and apparatus therefor TECHNICAL FIELD [METHOD FOR TRACKING POSITION OF TERMINAL AND APPARATUS THEREFOR}

The present invention relates to a location tracking method, and more particularly, to a location tracking method capable of performing location tracking more organically in consideration of the remaining battery capacity of the terminal when a user's terminal is lost, and an apparatus therefor. .

The content described in this section merely provides background information on the present embodiment and does not constitute the prior art.

The spread of personal portable terminals such as smart phones is rapidly increasing. Accordingly, accidents of loss of personal portable terminals are also frequently occurring. The loss of personal information is likely to be used by malicious users as well as the possibility of leakage of personal information, and various services have been developed to solve the problem of loss of personal portable terminals.

Among these services, there is a service that tracks the location of a lost mobile terminal and informs the user of the location through a separate path.

However, a service for tracking the location of a lost portable terminal up to now generally uses a GPS function installed in the portable terminal. However, when the location of the mobile terminal is determined through GPS positioning, there is a problem in that the time required for location positioning is long and the battery consumption of the terminal is high, so that the period during which location tracking can be performed is short.

Korean Patent Application Publication No. 10-2014-0141889, published on December 11, 2014 (Name: Smartphone with built-in location information tracking device)

The present invention has been proposed to solve the above-described conventional problem. In particular, when a user's terminal is lost, a location tracking method capable of performing location tracking more organically in consideration of the remaining battery capacity of the terminal, and an apparatus therefor There is a purpose to provide.

In particular, the present invention is provided in the terminal and operates using the power of the terminal or an independent power source, and a location tracking device including a separate communication module different from the communication module of the terminal is different from the communication module of the terminal. Another object of the present invention is to provide a location tracking method and apparatus for performing location tracking even when the power of the terminal is turned off or the battery is herniated by checking location information using the separate communication module and transmitting it to the location tracking server. There is this.

However, the object of the present invention is not limited to the above object, and other objects that are not mentioned will be clearly understood from the following description.

It is provided in a terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention for achieving the above-described object, operates using the power of the terminal or an independent power source, and includes a separate communication module different from the communication module of the terminal. A method for tracking a location in a location tracking device, the method comprising: determining, by the location tracking device, whether the terminal is lost through the separate communication module; If it is determined that the terminal is lost, cutting off the supply of power to the terminal; And checking location information through the separate communication module according to a set period and transmitting the checked location information to a location tracking server.

At this time, the separate communication module refers to a LoRa (Long Range Sub-Ghz Module) communication module, and the step of checking whether the terminal is lost may be performed by the location tracking server for the terminal through the separate communication module. You can check whether it is lost or not by sending a message.

In this case, the step of transmitting to the location tracking server includes: checking the power capacity of the terminal or the independent power capacity; Setting a period for measuring location information based on the checked power capacity; And transmitting the checked location information to the location tracking server after checking location information using the separate communication module according to the set period.

Further, after the step of transmitting to the location tracking server, reconfirming whether the terminal is lost; And as a result of reconfirming whether the terminal is lost, if it is confirmed that the terminal is not lost, wait for a certain period of time, otherwise, reset the period for measuring location information, and check the location information according to the reset period. It may include; transmitting to the location tracking server.

In this case, if it is determined that the terminal is lost, changing the current class type information according to the power capacity of the terminal or the independent power capacity, or performing a procedure of changing according to the urgency of a preset control; It can be done including.

Additionally, the present invention can provide a computer-readable recording medium in which a program for executing the method as described above is recorded.

In addition, the present invention can provide a computer program stored in a computer-readable recording medium by implementing the method as described above.

It is provided in a terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention for achieving the above-described object, operates using the power of the terminal or an independent power source, and includes a separate communication module different from the communication module of the terminal. The location tracking device includes: a communication unit that checks location information through the separate communication module and transmits and receives information to and from a location tracking server; A terminal power management unit that controls the supply of power delivered to the terminal; And check whether the terminal is lost through the separate communication module, and if the terminal is found to be lost, the terminal power management unit is controlled to cut off the supply of power to the terminal, and according to a set cycle It may include a control unit that checks the location information through the separate communication module and controls to transmit the checked location information to the location tracking server.

At this time, after transmitting the confirmed location information to the location tracking server, the control unit waits for a certain time according to the power capacity of the terminal or the independent power capacity provided, and then reconfirms whether the terminal is lost. I can.

According to the location tracking method and apparatus therefor of the present invention, a location tracking device provided in a terminal and operating using a power source of the terminal or an independent power source, and including a separate communication module different from the communication module of the terminal By using the separate communication module different from the communication module of the terminal, the location information is checked and transmitted to the location tracking server, so that even when the power of the terminal is turned off or the battery is herniated, location tracking can be easily performed.

In addition, according to the present invention, it is possible to perform location tracking of the terminal for a longer time by more organically setting a period for location measurement in consideration of the remaining battery capacity of the terminal or by variably adjusting the waiting time.

In addition, according to the present invention, the location tracking device minimizes power consumption generated for location tracking by performing an operation according to a separate communication module different from the communication module of the terminal, in particular, a Long Range Sub-Ghz Module (LoRa) communication protocol. Location tracking can be performed.

In addition, the location tracking device of the present invention can block a case where the location of the personal terminal is exposed to the outside by encrypting and transmitting the location information about the terminal to the location tracking server according to the LoRa communication protocol.

In addition, according to the present invention, when it is determined that the terminal is lost, the power supply to the terminal is cut off, thereby fundamentally blocking access to the terminal by a malicious user, thereby preventing malicious use of the lost terminal.

In addition, various effects other than the above-described effects may be directly or implicitly disclosed in the detailed description according to an embodiment of the present invention to be described later.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a location tracking system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a block diagram showing a main configuration of a location tracking device according to an embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG.
3 is a diagram illustrating an example in which a location tracking device according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied to a terminal.
4 is a flowchart illustrating a location tracking method according to an embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a flowchart illustrating a location tracking method according to another embodiment of the present invention.
6 is a data flow diagram illustrating a location tracking method using a LoRa communication protocol according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In order to clarify the features and advantages of the problem solving means of the present invention, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to specific embodiments of the present invention shown in the accompanying drawings.

However, in the following description and the accompanying drawings, detailed descriptions of known functions or configurations that may obscure the subject matter of the present invention will be omitted. In addition, it should be noted that the same components are indicated by the same reference numerals as possible throughout the drawings.

Terms and words used in the following description and drawings should not be construed as being limited to a conventional or dictionary meaning, and the inventor may appropriately define the concept of terms for describing his or her invention in the best way. It should be interpreted as meaning and concept consistent with the technical idea of the present invention based on the principle that Therefore, the embodiments described in the present specification and the configurations shown in the drawings are only the most preferred embodiments of the present invention, and do not represent all the technical ideas of the present invention, and thus various alternatives that can be substituted for them at the time of application It should be understood that there may be equivalents and variations.

In addition, terms including ordinal numbers such as first and second are used to describe various elements, and are only used for the purpose of distinguishing one element from other elements, and to limit the elements. Not used. For example, without departing from the scope of the present invention, a second element may be referred to as a first element, and similarly, a first element may be referred to as a second element.

In addition, when a component is referred to as being "connected" or "connected" to another component, it means that it is logically or physically connected or can be connected. In other words, it should be understood that a component may be directly connected or connected to another component, but another component may exist in the middle, or may be indirectly connected or connected.

In addition, terms used in the present specification are only used to describe specific embodiments, and are not intended to limit the present invention. Singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. In addition, terms such as "comprises" or "have" described herein are intended to designate the presence of features, numbers, steps, actions, components, parts, or a combination thereof described in the specification. It is to be understood that the above other features, or the possibility of the presence or addition of numbers, steps, actions, components, parts, or combinations thereof, are not preliminarily excluded.

In addition, embodiments within the scope of the present invention include computer-readable media having or transferring computer-executable instructions or data structures stored in the computer-readable media. Such computer-readable media may be any available media accessible by a general purpose or special purpose computer system. By way of example, such computer readable media may be in the form of RAM, ROM, EPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage, or computer executable instructions, computer readable instructions, or data structures. It may include, but is not limited to, physical storage media such as any other media that can be used to store or deliver certain program code means of the computer and can be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer system. .

In the description and claims that follow, a “network” or “communication network” is defined as one or more data links that enable the transfer of electronic data between computer systems and/or modules. When information is transmitted or provided to a computer system through a network or other (wired, wireless, or a combination of wired or wireless) communication connection, this connection can be understood as a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable instructions include, for example, instructions and data that cause a general purpose computer system or a special purpose computer system to perform a specific function or group of functions. Computer-executable instructions may be, for example, assembly language, or even binary, intermediate format instructions such as source code.

In addition, the present invention relates to a personal computer, a laptop computer, a handheld device, a multiprocessor system, a microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics, a network PC, a minicomputer, a mainframe computer, a mobile phone, a PDA, a pager. It can be implemented in a network computing environment having various types of computer system configurations including (pager) and the like.

The invention may also be practiced in a distributed system environment where both local and remote computer systems linked through a network with a wired data link, a wireless data link, or a combination of wired and wireless data links perform tasks. In a distributed system environment, program modules may be located in local and remote memory storage devices.

In addition, the terminal described in the specification of the present invention can be implemented in various forms. For example, mobile terminals such as smart phones, tablet PCs, personal digital assistants (PDAs), portable multimedia players (PMPs), and MP3 players, as well as smart TVs and desktop computers A fixed terminal such as, for example, may be used, and any device may be applied to the terminal of the present invention as long as it is a terminal capable of embedding a location tracking device.

Now, a method and an apparatus for tracking a location according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described.

First, a main configuration of a location tracking system to which a location tracking method according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied will be described.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a location tracking system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, a location tracking system 1000 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a location tracking device 600 provided in the terminal 100, a location tracking device 600, and a location tracking server 500. It may be configured to include a gateway 200, a network server 300, and a network controller 400 supporting transmission and reception of information according to a protocol.

In this case, it is preferable that the communication method supported by the location tracking device 600 is a communication method different from a communication method that can be operated in the terminal 100. That is, the terminal 100 of the present invention is not only a closed network such as a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), an open network such as the Internet, but also a code division multiple access (CDMA), a WCDMA ( Wideband Code Division Multiple Access), GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications), recently attracting attention such as LTE (Long Term Evolution), EPC (Evolved Packet Core), etc., and next-generation networks to be implemented in the future. You can connect to the network and send and receive information. However, the location tracking device 600 of the present invention can transmit and receive information preferably using a low power wide area (LPWA) communication method. LPWA communication technology is a collective term for IoT-based network technology specialized in small data transmission that allows low-speed transmission and supports long battery life that requires wide area coverage, and a representative example of such LPWA network technology is LoRa. It's technology. LoRa (Long Range Sub-Ghz Module) is a low-power long-distance communication protocol that uses a frequency in the 900 MHz band. It does not require many repeaters and APs, which reduces the cost of building infrastructure and provides higher scalability and cost for embedded applications compared to cellular networks. It refers to a communication protocol that can provide efficiency.

Hereinafter, for convenience of explanation, a description will be made focusing on transmitting and receiving information with the location tracking server 500 in a LoRa communication method different from the communication method of the terminal 100 by the location tracking device 600 of the present invention. However, it is not necessarily limited to the above example, and it should be noted that the terminal 100 of the present invention may also be a device supporting a LoRa communication method, and the LoRa communication method may be replaced with another equivalent or similar communication method. do.

The location tracking device 600 of the present invention is provided in the terminal 100, checks whether the terminal 100 is lost, determines that the terminal 100 is lost, and stores location information according to a preset period. After checking, until it is confirmed that the terminal 100 is not lost, the location of the terminal 100 may be tracked by transmitting the identified location information to the location tracking server 500.

The location tracking device 600 of the present invention may perform a join procedure to access the location tracking 500 according to the LoRa communication protocol, and when the subscription process is completed, the location tracking server 500 It is possible to transmit information such as transmitting the confirmed location information, and to receive information transmitted by the location tracking server 500. At this time, data packets transmitted and received between the location tracking device 600 and the location tracking server 500 may be encrypted and transmitted/received, and the location tracking device 600 encrypts the data packet according to an encryption method supported by the LoRa communication protocol. It is also possible to perform a process such as decoding a data packet transmitted to the location tracking server 500 and transmitted from the location tracking server 500.

The gateway 200 is logically connected to the location tracking device 600, transfers the information transferred from the location tracking device 600 to the network server 300, and transfers the information transferred from the network server 300 to the location tracking device. It plays a role of conveying to 600. In particular, the gateway 200 of the present invention may be a base station to which LoRa technology is applied, and may transmit and receive packets in a spread spectrum CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) method capable of simultaneous transmission. At this time, the gateway 200 of the present invention may perform a role of tunneling and transmitting information transmitted and received between the location tracking device 600 and the network server 300.

In addition, the gateway 200 of the present invention may be connected to a plurality of location tracking devices 600, and transmits information transmitted from the location tracking device 600 that is allocated or located within a certain radius to the network server 300, At this time, it can be transmitted including its own identification number. Through this, the network server 300 can check the gateway 200 to which the location tracking device 600 is connected, and perform a process of accurately transferring the data packet transmitted from the location tracking server 500 to the corresponding gateway 200. do.

The network server 300 refers to a node that authenticates the location tracking device 600 and serves as an exchange supporting packet transmission/reception. More specifically, the network server 300 may relay a subscription procedure between the location tracking device 600 and the location tracking server 500. That is, when a Join Request message for connecting to the location tracking server 500 is transmitted from the location tracking device 600, the location tracking server 500 is checked using application identification information included in the subscription request message. And, it transmits a Join Request message to the confirmed location tracking server 500. And when a confirmation message for the Join Request message is transmitted from the location tracking server 500, the network ID and the location tracking device 600 address information are checked and transmitted to the location tracking server 500, and the location tracking server A session key generation process for encryption at 500 may be supported.

When the subscription procedure is completed through this process, the subsequent network server 300 may perform integrity verification on data packets transmitted and received between the location tracking device 600 and the location tracking server 500, and at this time, the location tracking server Integrity verification can be performed using the session key generated by 500.

The network controller 400 interworks with the network server 300 to set connection-related values. The network controller 400 may interwork with a service provider that manages the location tracking system 1000 of the present invention to set and register various functions according to a policy of the service provider. In addition, the network controller 400 may support a process of registering a new location tracking device 600 to access the location tracking system 1000 of the present invention, and may support a process of registering a new gateway 200.

The location tracking server 500 is connected to the network server 300 and tracks the current location of the terminal 100 using various information transmitted by the location tracking device 600 transmitted from the network server 300 and It can play a role of guiding people. In addition, the location tracking server 500 of the present invention, when it is confirmed that the loss setting for the terminal 100 has been input by the user, transfers the information about this to the requested location tracking device 600, and the location tracking process that occurs later It can play a role of supporting and managing the whole.

In addition, the location tracking server 500 according to an embodiment of the present invention may generate a session key for packet encryption, and after encrypting the packet using the generated session key, the location tracking through the network server 300 It can support the process of delivering to the device 600.

A processor mounted in each device constituting the location tracking system 1000 according to the embodiment of the present invention may process program instructions for executing the method according to the present invention. In one implementation example, the processor may be a single-threaded processor, and in another implementation example, the processor may be a multithreaded processor. Furthermore, the processor is capable of processing instructions stored in a memory or a storage device.

Hereinafter, the main configuration and operation method of the location tracking device 600 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a main configuration of a location tracking device according to an embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a view showing an example in which the location tracking device according to the embodiment of the present invention is applied to a terminal. to be.

First, referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a location tracking device 600 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a communication unit 610, a control unit 620, a terminal power management unit 630, and a power storage unit 640. It can be configured.

Here, the power storage unit 640 of the present invention plays a role of managing the power when the location tracking device 600 of the present invention has a built-in power source, and the location tracking device 600 of the present invention ) Uses the power of a battery integrally provided in the terminal 100, the configuration may be omitted.

First, the communication unit 610 performs a role of checking location information according to a Long Range Sub-Ghz Module (LoRa) communication protocol and transmitting and receiving information with the location tracking server 500. In particular, the communication unit 610 of the present invention may check the current location information by interworking with the adjacent gateway 200 according to the LoRa communication protocol, and transmit it to the location tracking server 500. In addition, the communication unit 610 of the present invention may transmit a loss or not query message to the terminal 100 to the location tracking server 500 by including a message according to the LoRa communication protocol under the control of the control unit 620 to the location tracking server 500. It may serve to transfer information transmitted from the server 500 to the controller 620.

The controller 620 is an element that performs overall control of the location tracking device 600 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The controller 620 may control the entire procedure of connecting to the location tracking server 500 according to the LoRa communication protocol. In particular, the control unit 620 according to an embodiment of the present invention checks whether the terminal 100 is lost by interworking with the location tracking server 600, and when it is determined that the terminal 100 is lost, a preset After checking the location information by interlocking with the gateway 200 through the communication unit 610 according to a period, the confirmed location information is transmitted to the communication unit 610 until it is confirmed that the terminal 100 is not lost. It serves to control the transmission to the location tracking server 600 through. At this time, after transmitting the identified location information to the location tracking server 600, the control unit 620 of the present invention waits for a predetermined time according to the power capacity of the terminal 100 or the independent power capacity provided. The above process is performed in consideration of the power capacity of the terminal 100 or the independent power capacity provided when re-checking whether 100 is lost or not, or checking the location information according to a preset period and transmitting it to the location tracking server 500. Can be done. A location tracking method under the control of the controller 620 will be described later in more detail.

The terminal power management unit 630 is physically or logically connected to the terminal 100 and serves to cut off the supply of power delivered to the terminal 100 at the request of the control unit 620.

Referring to FIG. 3, in general, the terminal 100 includes a communication device 110, a storage device 120, a control device 130, an input device 140, an output device 150, and a battery device ( 170) and the power interface device 180 may be configured as a set of a plurality of module devices.

The location tracking device 600 of the present invention may be logically and physically connected between the battery device 170, the power interface device 180, and the control device 130 of the terminal 100. At this time, the location tracking device 600 of the present invention is preferably physically connected to the terminal 100, and when physically connected, the terminal power management unit 630 of the location tracking device 600 is the battery device 170 And by turning off a connection switch provided between the power interface device 180 and the control device 130, the power stored in the battery device 170 may be blocked from being transferred to each device including the control device 130. have. In addition, even if a separate power is connected to the power interface device 180 by turning off the connection switch between the power interface device 180 and the battery device 170, the process of transmitting the corresponding power to the battery device 170 can be blocked. have.

On the other hand, the battery device 170 provided in the terminal 100 includes a battery module and can store power in the battery. In this case, the battery device 170 may be provided integrally with the terminal 100 or provided separately. have. When the battery device 170 is provided in a separate type, the location tracking device 600 is preferably provided with a small amount of power, and detects the separation of the battery device 170 and changes the logic at the time of location tracking accordingly. The process of can be carried out.

In the above, the main configuration of the location tracking device 600 according to an embodiment of the present invention and an example of implementation in the terminal 100 have been described.

A memory mounted on each device of the present invention stores information within the device. In one implementation, the memory is a computer-readable medium. In one implementation, the memory may be a volatile memory unit, and in another implementation, the memory may be a non-volatile memory unit. In one implementation, the storage device is a computer-readable medium. In various different implementations, the storage device may include, for example, a hard disk device, an optical disk device, or some other mass storage device.

In addition, the term'~module' used in an embodiment of the present invention refers to a software component, and'~module' performs certain roles. As an example,'~module' refers to components such as software components, object-oriented software components, class components, and task components, processes, functions, properties, procedures, and sub It includes routines, segments of program code, drivers, data, databases, data structures, tables, arrays, and variables. In addition, the components and functions provided in the'~modules' may be combined into a smaller number of components and'~modules' or further separated into additional components and'~modules'.

Although this specification and drawings describe exemplary device configurations, the functional operations and implementations of the subject described in this specification may be implemented with other types of digital electronic circuits, or the structures disclosed herein and structural equivalents thereof. It may be implemented with computer software, firmware, or hardware, or may be implemented by a combination of one or more of them. The implementations of the subject matter described herein are one or more computer program products, that is, one relating to computer program instructions encoded on a tangible program storage medium for execution by or for controlling the operation of a device according to the invention. It can be implemented as the above module. The computer-readable medium may be a machine-readable storage device, a machine-readable storage substrate, a memory device, a composition of materials that affect a machine-readable radio wave signal, or a combination of one or more of them.

Hereinafter, a location tracking method according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described.

The location tracking method according to an embodiment of the present invention may vary in specific embodiments according to whether the terminal 100 and the battery device of the terminal 100 are integrated or separated.

First, a description will be given of a location tracking method when the internal battery device of the terminal 100 is implemented integrally.

4 is a flowchart illustrating a location tracking method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

1 and 4, first, the location tracking device 600 provided inside the terminal 100 checks whether the terminal 100 is lost in a standby state (S101) (S103). The standby state in step S101 refers to an activated state in which power is supplied to the location tracking device 600, and power required for each component of the device is distributed using the supplied power, and subsequent steps can be performed. . Here, the power used by the location tracking device 600 uses the power of a battery device integrally provided in the terminal 100.

In addition, the location tracking device 600 checks whether the terminal 100 is in a lost state (S103). For example, the location tracking device 600 is the location tracking server 500 and the terminal 100 The loss status of the terminal 100 can be checked by inquiring whether or not the loss has been set. Here, the loss setting for the terminal 100 may be set by informing the user of the terminal 100 that the terminal 100 is currently lost to the location tracking server 500 through a separate path.

In addition, when moving from the standby state to the terminal loss confirmation step, the location tracking device 600 may move to the terminal loss check step according to a preset event, or move to the terminal loss check step according to a preset period. In other words, the location tracking device 600 is located in response to a request for access to a specific service, etc., a designated application or a browser is executed, or the terminal 100 is turned on from an off state. As a preset event is detected, such as performing an initial join procedure with the tracking server 500, the terminal loss verification procedure can be performed, and a location tracking server according to a specific period such as 1 day, 15 days, etc. It is also possible to query 500 to perform the terminal loss verification procedure.

In addition, as a result of the confirmation, the location tracking device 600 cuts off the supply of power to each device of the terminal 100 when it is determined that the terminal 100 has been lost (S105). In other words, the location tracking device 600 of the present invention may be logically and physically connected to a battery device integrally provided in the terminal 100 to block on/off and provided inside the terminal 100. As it is determined that the terminal 100 is lost, the location tracking device 600 cuts off the power supply to each device of the terminal 100 so that manipulation of the terminal 100 by a malicious user is impossible. In addition, at this time, the location tracking device 600 logically and physically controls the operation of the power interface device provided in the terminal 100 so that the terminal 100 is connected to an external power source and does not receive power from the outside.

Thereafter, the location tracking device 600 of the present invention determines a period for performing location tracking (S107). In addition, the location tracking device 600 may check the location information according to the determined period and transmit the confirmed location information to the location tracking server 500 (S109). Here, the period may include information on a measurement period for checking location information and the number of transmissions (or time, etc.) to be transmitted to the location tracking server 500, such as “10 times every 3 seconds”.

In addition, the location tracking device 600 of the present invention may omit the initial period determination step in step S107, or may be omitted to check the location information according to a preset period and transmit it to the location tracking server 500.

In particular, the location tracking device 600 of the present invention may check the power capacity of the battery device integrally provided in the terminal 100 in step S107 and determine a cycle according to the checked power capacity. For example, if the power capacity of the battery device is greater than or equal to a preset value, it means that there is a lot of available power, so the location tracking device 600 checks the location information according to a short period and stores the confirmed location information in the location tracking server 500 ). On the other hand, if the power capacity of the battery device is less than a preset value, it means that the available power is low, so the location tracking device 600 sets a long period, and checks the location information according to the set period, so that the location tracking server 500 Can be transferred to.

In addition, in step S109, the location tracking device 600 of the present invention includes a low power wide area (LPWA) communication module, and checks the location information by interworking with the gateway 200 within a certain radius according to the communication method of the LPWA. , The confirmed location information may be transmitted to the location tracking server 500 through the connected gateway 200. In particular, the location tracking device 600 of the present invention can check location information and transmit/receive information according to a Long Range Sub-Ghz Module (LoRa) communication protocol specialized for small data transmission.

Thereafter, the location tracking device 600 of the present invention checks whether the terminal 100 continues to be lost in step S111. This process can be confirmed through a query to the location tracking server 500.

In addition, when it is determined that the terminal 100 continues to be lost as a result of the check, the location tracking apparatus 600 of the present invention may check the remaining battery capacity and determine the cycle again in consideration of the checked remaining battery capacity. In addition, the process of transmitting the location information according to a period determined by the location tracking server 500 may be repeatedly performed.

On the other hand, in step S111, when it is confirmed that the current state of the terminal 100 is changed from a lost state to a lost canceled state, the waiting time is determined (S1013), and the waiting state is set by the determined waiting time. By performing it again (S101), it is possible to continuously check whether the terminal 100 is in a lost state. In addition, the waiting time may be determined according to the power capacity of the battery device integrally provided in the terminal 100 or may use a waiting time according to a user setting.

Hereinafter, a location tracking method when the battery device of the terminal 100 is a detachable type will be described.

5 is a flowchart illustrating a terminal location tracking method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

1 and 5, a terminal 100 according to another embodiment of the present invention refers to a case in which a battery device can be removed at any time. At this time, the location tracking device 600 provided inside the terminal 100 checks whether the terminal 100 is lost in the first standby state (S201) (S103). Here, the first standby state is an initial standby state, and may be an initial state before the terminal loss verification step is performed. In addition, in the first standby state of the present invention, power is supplied to the location tracking device 600, and the power required for each component of the device is distributed by using the supplied power, and the active state is capable of performing subsequent steps. Means state. Here, the power used by the location tracking device 600 can use the power of the installed battery device when the battery device detachably provided in the terminal 100 is mounted on the terminal 100, and in the detached state, the location tracking A small power source built into the device 600 can be used.

In addition, the location tracking device 600 checks whether the terminal 100 is in a lost state (S203), for example, the location tracking device 600 is the location tracking server 500 and the terminal 100 The loss status of the terminal 100 can be checked by inquiring whether or not the loss has been set. Here, the loss setting for the terminal 100 may be set by informing the user of the terminal 100 that the terminal 100 is currently lost to the location tracking server 500 through a separate path.

In addition, when moving from the first standby state to the terminal loss confirmation step, the location tracking device 600 may move to the terminal loss confirmation step according to a preset event, or move to the terminal loss check step according to a preset period.

In addition, as a result of checking whether the terminal is lost in step S203, the location tracking device 600 cuts off the power supply to each device of the terminal 100 when it is confirmed that the loss setting for the terminal 100 has been established (S205). ). That is, the location tracking device 600 of the present invention may be provided inside the terminal 100 by logically and physically connected to the battery device provided separately in the terminal 100 to block on-off. As it is confirmed that the terminal 100 is lost, the tracking device 600 cuts off the power supply to each device of the terminal 100 so that manipulation of the terminal 100 by a malicious user is impossible. In addition, at this time, the location tracking device 600 may disable the operation of the power interface device provided in the terminal 100 so that the terminal 100 is connected to an external power source so that power is not supplied from the outside.

On the other hand, if the battery device is detached and the terminal 100 is already cut off the power supply to each device, step S205 may be omitted.

In addition, after the step S203, the location tracking device 600 checks whether the terminal 100 is lost, and if it is determined that the terminal 100 is not in a lost state, the battery attachment state is checked (S219), and the battery device is the terminal 100 A waiting time may be determined according to whether or not it is attached to (S221), and accordingly, a first waiting state (S201) may be performed again.

In addition, the location tracking device 600 of the present invention determines a period for performing location tracking (S207). In addition, the location tracking device 600 may check the location information according to the determined period and transmit the confirmed location information to the location tracking server 500 (S209). In step S207, the location tracking device 600 of the present invention may omit the initial period determination step, or may be omitted to check the location information according to a preset period and transmit it to the location tracking server 500.

In addition, the location tracking device 600 of the present invention checks the power capacity of the battery device detachably provided in the terminal 100 in step S207, or checks the capacity of power provided inside the location tracking device 600 The cycle can also be determined according to the power capacity. Through this process, the location tracking apparatus 600 of the present invention can optimally perform a location tracking process according to available power capacity.

In addition, in step S209, the location tracking device 600 of the present invention includes a low power wide area (LPWA) communication module, and checks the location information by interworking with the gateway 200 within a certain radius according to the communication method of the LPWA. , The confirmed location information may be transmitted to the location tracking server 500 through the connected gateway 200. In particular, the location tracking device 600 of the present invention can check location information and transmit/receive information according to a Long Range Sub-Ghz Module (LoRa) communication protocol specialized for small data transmission.

Thereafter, the location tracking device 600 of the present invention checks whether the terminal 100 continues to be lost in step S211. This process can be confirmed through a query to the location tracking server 500.

In addition, when it is determined that the terminal 100 continues to be lost as a result of the check, the location tracking device 600 of the present invention may check the remaining battery power capacity and determine the cycle again in consideration of the confirmed power capacity. In addition, the process of transmitting the location information according to a period determined by the location tracking server 500 may be repeatedly performed.

In step S211, when it is confirmed that the current state of the terminal 100 has been changed from a lost state to a lost canceled state, it moves to step S219 and adjusts the waiting time according to the battery attachment state (S219). It may be determined (S221), and subsequent steps may be sequentially performed from the first waiting state (S201) again for the determined waiting time.

On the other hand, if it is determined that the terminal 100 is continuously lost in step S211, the location tracking device 600 checks whether the detachable battery device of the terminal 100 is attached (S213), and the waiting time accordingly After determining (S215), through the second standby state (S217), the procedure after step S207 may be continuously performed. This is to perform location tracking for a longer time by using a small amount of power provided in the location tracking device 600 while the battery device of the terminal 100 is detached. After waiting for a certain period of time, the location information is checked again. This can be delivered to the location tracking server 500.

As described above, the location tracking device 600 of the present invention existing inside the terminal 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention more efficiently tracks the location of the lost terminal 100 in consideration of the battery power capacity of the terminal 100 You will be able to do it.

In addition, the location tracking device 600 according to an embodiment of the present invention checks location information using an LPWA communication module, preferably a LoRa communication protocol module, provided inside, unlike a communication device provided in the terminal 100 And, it is transmitted to the location tracking server 500.

This will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. 6.

6 is a data flow diagram illustrating a location tracking method using a LoRa communication protocol according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 6, for convenience of explanation, the terminal 100 and the location tracking device 600 are divided into separate device types, but preferably, the location tracking device 600 of the present invention is provided inside the terminal 100. It is provided in, and is a device capable of operating using the power of the terminal 100 or using an independent power supply according to the battery attachment type of the terminal 100.

In this environment, the location tracking device 600 of the present invention is first in a standby state (S301). This standby state is an activation state prior to performing location tracking. In an embodiment of the present invention, an event is generated in the terminal 100 (S303), and according to a notification to the location tracking device 600 (S305), The location tracking device 600 may perform a substantial location tracking step.

In this case, the event of the terminal 100 generated in the step S303 may be turned on, for example, from a power-off state, and execution of a designated application or browser, or a specific service It may be an event related to an initial join procedure with the location tracking server 500, such as a connection request.

When a message informing that a preset event has occurred from the terminal 100 is transmitted, the location tracking device 600 transmits a terminal loss inquiry message to the location tracking server 500 through the gateway 200 and the network server 300 It should be (S307 to S311).

The terminal loss query message according to an embodiment of the present invention is preferably a message conforming to the LoRa (Long Range Sub-Ghz Module) communication protocol with the location tracking server 500, for example, a Join Request message. I can.

In addition, the terminal loss inquiry message transmitted from the gateway 200 to the network server 300 may be transmitted including gateway identification information, and the network server 300 may transmit the gateway identification information to the location tracking device identification information ( Alternatively, after storing corresponding to the terminal identification information), information transmitted from the location tracking server 500 may be transmitted to the location tracking device 600 through the corresponding gateway 200.

At this time, the location tracking device 600 of the terminal 100 may transmit a loss or not query message to at least one or more gateways 200 within a certain radius, and when a plurality of gateways receive the loss or not query message, each The gateway includes its identification information in the loss or not query message and transmits it to the network server 300. The network server 300 may check the location tracking device identification information (or terminal identification information) included in the loss inquiry message to confirm that the loss inquiry message has been received from a plurality of gateways. At this time, the network server 300 stores each gateway identification information corresponding to the location tracking device identification information (or terminal identification information), and then transmits a loss inquiry message to the location tracking server 500 by removing the redundancy of the message. do. In addition, the network server 300 may receive a response message from the location tracking server 500 in a process to be described later, and to transmit the received response message to the location tracking device 600 via the gateway 200, An optimal gateway may be selected from among a plurality of gateways, and a response message may be selectively transmitted only to the selected gateway 200. Here, the network server 300 may select an optimal gateway according to various criteria. For example, the network server 300 may control a response message to be transmitted only to the selected gateway after selecting an optimal gateway in consideration of a signal strength level or network conditions such as the number of connected devices.

In addition, after step S309, the network server 300 checks the identification information of the location tracking server 500 included in the terminal loss query message, and then delivers the message to the verified location tracking server 500. (S311) can be performed.

When the location tracking server 500 receives a message asking whether the terminal is lost or not through step S311, it checks the loss of the terminal 100 (S313). The above process can be confirmed by the location tracking server 500 using the loss information input through a separate path by the user of the terminal 100. In addition, even if there is no loss information input from the user of the terminal 100 according to the system implementation method, the location tracking server 500 identifies the gateway 200 to which the location tracking device 600 of the terminal 100 is connected. Check the information, if it is not the gateway 200 that is normally connected, transmits a query message to the terminal 100 or a device designated by the user, and if a response message is not received, the state of the terminal 100 is lost. You can also confirm it.

In addition, the location tracking server 500 transmits the information confirmed through the above process to the location tracking device 600 provided in the terminal 100 through the network server 300 and the gateway 200 (S315 to S319).

In this case, the process of transmitting the location tracking device 600 to the location tracking server 500 via the gateway 200 and the network server 300 (S307 to S311), the location tracking server 500 After confirming the loss of the terminal, the process of transmitting a response message to the location tracking device 600 through the network server 300 and the gateway 200 (S315 to S319) is performed in consideration of the mobility of the terminal 100. I can.

More specifically, the terminal 100, which is easy to carry by the user, can be moved at any time. Accordingly, the location tracking device 600 implemented inside the terminal 100 may also change the gateway 200 connected according to the movement. In consideration of this point, the location tracking device 600 periodically sends a message to the location tracking server 500 through the gateway 200 and the network server 300 after transmitting a loss inquiry message. Will be sent to. Here, the periodically transmitted message may be a loss or not query message, or may be a message for separate access confirmation.

For a more specific example, it is assumed that after the location tracking device 600 transmits an initial loss inquiry message to the network server 300 via gateway A, it moves into the coverage of gateway B.

The initial loss inquiry message transmitted by the location tracking device 600 is transmitted to the network server 300 including gateway A identification information, and the network server 300 determines the location tracking device identification information in the initial loss inquiry message. Correspondingly, gateway A identification information is stored and transmitted to the location tracking server 500. In addition, the network server 500 receives a response message to the initial loss inquiry message from the location tracking server 500.

At this time, since the location tracking device 600 has not yet received a response message after transmitting the initial loss or not query message, it periodically (for example, 128 seconds) transmits the loss or not query message again, which passes through the B gateway. It is transmitted to the network server 300.

The network server 300 confirms that the gateway identification information of the location tracking device 600 has been changed by checking the loss of the location tracking device 600 received through the B gateway, and the location tracking device 600 It can be seen that is moved from gateway A to gateway B. Therefore, the network server 300 transmits the response message transmitted by the location tracking server 500 to the B gateway to which the message was delivered last, not the A gateway, and the location tracking device 600 normally passes through the moved B gateway. You will receive a response message. This process may be repeatedly performed until the location tracking device 600 normally receives a response message from the location tracking server 500.

The location tracking device 600 receiving this checks that the terminal 100 is in a lost state (S321), and cuts off the power supply to each device of the terminal 100 (S323). That is, the location tracking device 600 of the present invention may be logically and physically connected to a battery device integrally provided in the terminal 100 to block on-off and provided inside the terminal 100. The location of the present invention As it is confirmed that the terminal 100 is lost, the tracking device 600 cuts off the power supply to each device of the terminal 100 so that manipulation of the terminal 100 by a malicious user is impossible. In addition, at this time, the location tracking device 600 may block the operation of the power interface device provided in the terminal 100 so that the terminal 100 is connected to an external power source so that power is not supplied from the outside.

In addition, the location tracking device 600 of the present invention may perform a procedure of checking the currently set class state, and may perform a procedure of changing the currently set class state according to the amount of power and the urgency of control (S325). . In other words, the location tracking device 600 of the present invention may be set to any one of the classes defined in the LoRa communication protocol. For example, in the class A, the location tracking device 600 downlinks only after transmitting an uplink data packet. It refers to a class type capable of receiving a link data packet, and class B refers to a class type in which the location tracking device 600 can receive a downlink data packet every predetermined period (eg, 128 seconds), and class C Denotes a class type that can always receive only downlink data packets. The location tracking device 600 of the present invention may perform a procedure of changing in consideration of the remaining battery power of the terminal 100 and the remaining power of the built-in power among the class types, and the terminal 100 or the terminal 100 A procedure of changing the class type is performed according to the level of information and the urgency of controlling the terminal 100 according to the user setting. For example, when the amount of power available to the location tracking device 600 is large, the location tracking device 600 may change to a class C type capable of always receiving downlink data packets. On the other hand, when the amount of power available to the location tracking device 600 is small, the location tracking device 600 may change to a class A type capable of receiving a downlink data packet only after it transmits the data packet.

In addition, the class type of the present invention is not limited to the above example, and may vary according to a predefined definition, and the location tracking device 600 may perform a procedure of changing the class type according to a preset condition. Through this process, the location tracking apparatus 600 of the present invention performs the location tracking process more efficiently in consideration of the limited amount of power and the urgency of control.

And the location tracking device 600 of the present invention determines the period (S327). Here, the period may include period information about a measurement period for checking location information and the number of transmissions (or time) to be transmitted to the location tracking server 500, such as “10 times every 30 seconds”.

In addition, the location tracking device 600 checks the current location by interworking with the gateway 200. The configuration for checking the current location information in conjunction with the gateway 200 can use various known methods, so a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

Thereafter, the location tracking device 600 of the present invention may transmit the location information checked according to the period to the location tracking server 500 through the gateway 200 and the network server 300 (S329).

Thereafter, the location tracking device 600 of the present invention again checks whether the terminal 100 is lost (S331). The process of checking whether the loss is lost may be performed through the same procedure as the process of S307 to S319.

And when the location tracking device 600 is provided with the battery device of the terminal 100 integrally with the terminal 100, after re-checking the loss state of the terminal 100, the terminal 100 is continuously lost. If it is confirmed that the process is performed S327 and S329 again. At this time, the period determined in step S327 may vary according to the amount of battery power.

On the other hand, if it is confirmed that the loss state of the terminal 100 has been canceled, the location tracking device 600 may determine a waiting time and proceed to the standby state (S333 to S335). Here, the standby state is for waiting to perform location tracking for the next terminal 100, and is preferably set in units of, for example, 1 day or 3 days, and the standby time is also dependent on the battery power capacity of the terminal 100. It may vary.

On the other hand, when the battery device of the terminal 100 is of a detachable type that can be separated from the terminal 100, the location tracking device 600 of the present invention continuously locates the terminal 100 when it is determined that the terminal 100 is continuously lost. Rather than performing location tracking by checking the information, first, after checking the battery power capacity and waiting for a predetermined time accordingly, location information may be checked according to periods and transmitted to the location tracking server 500. In addition, when it is confirmed that the loss state of the terminal 100 is canceled, the location tracking apparatus 600 of the present invention may determine a waiting time and proceed to the standby state, similar to the integrated type.

As described above, a method for tracking a location according to an embodiment of the present invention has been described.

The location tracking method of the present invention as described above may be provided in the form of a computer-readable medium suitable for storing computer program instructions and data. In the program recorded on a recording medium for implementing a location tracking method according to an embodiment of the present invention, the step of checking whether the terminal is lost through the separate communication module, and when it is determined that the terminal is lost, the Blocking the supply of power to the terminal and checking the location information through the separate communication module according to a set period, and transmitting the confirmed location information to a location tracking server.

At this time, the program recorded on the recording medium can be read, installed, and executed by a computer to execute the above-described functions.

Here, in order for the computer to read the program recorded on the recording medium and execute the functions implemented as the program, the above-described program is C, C++, which can be read by the computer's processor (CPU) through the computer's device interface. It may include code coded in a computer language such as JAVA and machine language.

This code may include a functional code related to a function defining the above-described functions, and may include a control code related to an execution procedure necessary for the processor of the computer to execute the above-described functions according to a predetermined procedure. In addition, these codes may further include additional information necessary for the processor of the computer to execute the above-described functions, or code related to a memory reference to which location (address address) of the internal or external memory of the computer should be referenced. . In addition, when the computer's processor needs to communicate with any other computer or server in a remote in order to execute the above-described functions, the code is used by the computer's processor using the computer's communication module. It may further include a communication-related code for how to communicate with other computers or servers, and what information or media should be transmitted and received during communication.

Such computer-readable media suitable for storing computer program commands and data include, for example, magnetic media such as hard disks, floppy disks, and magnetic tapes, and compact disk read only memory (CD-ROM). , Optical Media such as DVD (Digital Video Disk), Magneto-Optical Media such as Floptical Disk, and ROM (Read Only Memory), RAM (RAM) , Random Access Memory), flash memory, EPROM (Erasable Programmable ROM), and EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM). The processor and memory can be supplemented by special purpose logic circuits or incorporated into it.

In addition, the computer-readable recording medium is distributed over a computer system connected through a network, so that computer-readable codes can be stored and executed in a distributed manner. In addition, a functional program for implementing the present invention, and related codes and code segments, etc., are programmers in the technical field to which the present invention pertains in consideration of the system environment of a computer that reads the recording medium and executes the program. May be easily inferred or modified by

While this specification includes details of a number of specific implementations, these should not be construed as limiting to the scope of any invention or claim, but rather as a description of features that may be peculiar to a particular embodiment of a particular invention. It must be understood. Certain features described herein in the context of separate embodiments may be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features described in the context of a single embodiment can also be implemented in multiple embodiments individually or in any suitable sub-combination. Furthermore, although features operate in a particular combination and may be initially described as so claimed, one or more features from a claimed combination may in some cases be excluded from the combination, and the claimed combination may be a subcombination. Or sub-combination variations.

Likewise, although operations are depicted in the drawings in a specific order, it should not be understood that such operations must be performed in that particular order or sequential order shown, or that all illustrated operations must be performed in order to obtain a desired result. In certain cases, multitasking and parallel processing can be advantageous. In addition, separation of the various system components of the above-described embodiments should not be understood as requiring such separation in all embodiments, and the program components and systems described are generally integrated together into a single software product or packaged in multiple software products. You should understand that you can.

The present invention relates to a location tracking method, and more particularly, to a location tracking method capable of performing location tracking more organically in consideration of the remaining battery capacity of the terminal when a user's terminal is lost, and an apparatus therefor. .

According to the present invention, according to the location tracking method and apparatus therefor of the present invention, a separate communication module is provided in a terminal and operates using power of the terminal or an independent power source, and a separate communication module different from the communication module of the terminal is provided. The included location tracking device checks the location information using the separate communication module different from the communication module of the terminal and transmits it to the location tracking server, thereby facilitating location tracking even when the power of the terminal is turned off or the battery is herniated. It has the effect of being able to perform.

Through this, the present invention can contribute to the development of the location tracking service industry, and in addition, the present invention has industrial applicability because not only has the possibility of commercialization or business, but also a degree that can be practically clearly implemented.

100: terminal 110: communication device
120: storage device 130: control device
140: input device 150: output device
170: battery device 180: power interface device
200: gateway 300: network server
400: network controller 500: location tracking server
600: location tracking device 610: communication unit
620: control unit 630: terminal power management unit
640: power storage unit 1000: location tracking system

Claims (9)

In the location tracking method in a location tracking device that is provided in a terminal and operates using a power source of the terminal or an independent power source, and includes a separate communication module different from the communication module of the terminal,
The location tracking device
Checking whether the terminal is lost through the separate communication module;
If it is determined that the terminal is lost, cutting off the supply of power to the terminal; And
Receiving power from the power supply of the terminal or the independent power supply, checking location information through the separate communication module according to a set period, and transmitting the confirmed location information to a location tracking server;
Location tracking method comprising a. The method of claim 1,
The separate communication module
It refers to a LoRa (Long Range Sub-Ghz Module) communication module,
The step of checking whether the terminal is lost
The location tracking method, characterized in that for checking by transmitting a loss inquiry message for the terminal to the location tracking server through the separate communication module. The method of claim 1,
The step of transmitting to the location tracking server
Checking the power capacity of the terminal or the independent power capacity provided;
Setting a period for measuring location information based on the checked power capacity; And
Checking location information using the separate communication module according to the set period, and transmitting the checked location information to the location tracking server;
Location tracking method comprising a. The method of claim 1,
After the step of transmitting to the location tracking server,
Reconfirming whether the terminal is lost; And
As a result of rechecking whether the terminal has been lost, if it is confirmed that the terminal has not been lost, it waits for a certain period of time. Otherwise, the cycle for measuring location information is reset, and the location information is checked according to the reset cycle. Transmitting to a location tracking server;
Location tracking method comprising a. The method of claim 1,
If it is determined that the terminal is lost,
Performing a procedure of changing the current class type information according to the power capacity of the terminal or the independent power capacity or according to the urgency of a preset control;
Location tracking method comprising a further. A computer-readable recording medium on which a program for executing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 5 is recorded. A computer program implemented to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 5 and stored in a computer-readable recording medium. In the location tracking device that is provided in the terminal and operates using a power source of the terminal or an independent power source, and includes a separate communication module different from the communication module of the terminal,
The location tracking device
A communication unit that checks location information through the separate communication module and transmits and receives information to and from a location tracking server;
A terminal power management unit that controls the supply of power delivered to the terminal; And
Checks whether the terminal is lost through the separate communication module, and if the terminal is found to be lost, the terminal power management unit is controlled to cut off the supply of power to the terminal, and the power of the terminal or A control unit configured to receive power from the independent power source, check location information through the separate communication module according to a set period, and control to transmit the checked location information to the location tracking server;
Location tracking device comprising a. The method of claim 8,
The control unit
After transmitting the identified location information to the location tracking server, after waiting a certain time according to the power capacity of the terminal or the independent power capacity provided, the location characterized in that it rechecks whether the terminal is lost Tracking device.

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