KR102264456B1 - Method for positioning of terminal, apparatus and system using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a positioning method, an apparatus and a system therefor, and more particularly, when it is determined that a positioning error has occurred during positioning based on a signal transmitted from an access point device, a beacon device supporting a Bluetooth communication method It relates to a positioning method capable of performing positioning based on a beacon signal transmitted from a positioning method, an apparatus and a system therefor.
The terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention performs positioning based on a communication unit for receiving a signal transmitted from one or more access point devices and one or more beacon devices, and a signal transmitted from one or more access point devices through the communication unit. and, if it is determined that a positioning error has occurred while performing positioning, a control unit configured to perform positioning based on a beacon signal received according to a communication protocol interoperable from one or more beacon devices through the communication unit. .

Description

Positioning method, apparatus and system for the same {METHOD FOR POSITIONING OF TERMINAL, APPARATUS AND SYSTEM USING THE SAME}

The present invention relates to a positioning method, an apparatus and a system therefor, and more particularly, when it is determined that a positioning error has occurred during positioning based on a signal transmitted from an access point device, a beacon device supporting a Bluetooth communication method It relates to a positioning method capable of performing positioning based on a beacon signal transmitted from a positioning method, an apparatus and a system therefor.

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

Location Based System (LBS) is an application system and service that accurately identifies the location of a person or thing and utilizes it based on a wired and mobile communication network. In other words, it is a service technology that provides a user with the location of a subscriber of a mobile communication terminal such as a laptop computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), and a mobile phone in real time by using a positioning technology.

For this location-based service, various types of positioning technologies such as Global Positioning System (GPS), Wi-Fi geotagging, and base station triangulation have been introduced, and recently, wireless LAN Based on WPS (Wifi Positioning System) technology, etc. are being introduced.

WPS receives the parameters (MAC address, signal strength, etc.) of the RF signal radiated from the access point (AP) from the terminal, and the WPS server calculates the user's location using the positioning technology between the terminal and the system. This is a technology that is provided to the terminal.

However, the RF signal radiated from the access point has a problem in that it is difficult to continuously position the RF signal when the signal is not received or the strength of the received signal is low due to various reasons.

Korean Patent Registration No. 10-0619418, registered on September 08, 2006 (Name: Location check method)

The present invention has been proposed to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art. In particular, when it is determined that a positioning error has occurred during positioning based on a signal transmitted from an access point device, the data transmitted from a beacon device supporting the Bluetooth communication method is transmitted. An object of the present invention is to provide a positioning method capable of performing positioning based on a beacon signal, an apparatus and a system for the same.

A terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention for achieving the above object includes a communication unit for receiving a signal transmitted from one or more access point devices and one or more beacon devices; and performing positioning based on signals transmitted from one or more access point devices through the communication unit, and when it is determined that a positioning error has occurred during positioning, receiving according to a communication protocol that can be interlocked from one or more beacon devices through the communication unit It may be configured to include; a control unit for performing positioning based on the beacon signal.

At this time, the control unit transmits the signal transmitted from the access point device to the location information providing device through the communication unit, and then the location information is not received from the location information providing device or the signal transmitted from the access point device is lower than a preset threshold value. If it falls, it can be determined that a positioning error has occurred.

In addition, the communication unit may be configured to include a wireless communication module for receiving a signal transmitted from the access point device and a short-range wireless communication module for receiving a signal transmitted from the beacon device.

At this time, when it is determined that a positioning error has occurred, the control unit turns on the short-range wireless communication module in the off state, and transmits a beacon signal transmitted from one or more beacon devices through the short-range wireless communication module changed to the on state. can receive

Also, after extracting beacon identification information for identifying the beacon device from the beacon signal received from the beacon device, the controller may transmit the extracted beacon identification information to the location information providing device.

In addition, after estimating the size of the indoor space using beacon signals received from at least two or more beacon devices, the controller may adjust the detection range of the beacon signal of the communication unit according to the estimated size of the indoor space.

A location information providing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention for achieving the above object includes a service communication unit for transmitting and receiving information with a terminal; And when a signal transmitted from one or more access point devices is received from any one terminal through the service communication unit, the location information generated by performing positioning of the terminal based on the received signal is transmitted to the terminal through the service communication unit, If it is determined that a positioning error has occurred, it requests the terminal to receive a beacon signal transmitted from one or more beacon devices through the service communication unit, and when a beacon signal is received from the terminal through the service communication unit, the terminal based on the received beacon signal It may be configured to include; a service control unit for transmitting the location information generated by performing the location positioning of the service communication unit to the terminal.

In this case, the service control unit may determine that a positioning error has occurred when the signal transmitted from the access point device is not received from the terminal or the transmitted signal falls below a preset threshold value.

In addition, the service control unit receives distance information and time information from the terminal to the beacon device, and when the received distance information and time information is greater than or equal to a preset reference value, generating guide information for inducing the user of the terminal to enter the store, It can be transmitted to the terminal.

In addition, when the distance information and time information with the beacon device are received from the terminal, the distance information is less than a preset reference value, and the time information is greater than or equal to the preset reference value, the service control unit generates product information about a product located near the beacon device can be transmitted to the terminal.

The positioning system according to an embodiment of the present invention for achieving the above object performs positioning based on signals transmitted from one or more access point devices, and when it is determined that a positioning error occurs during positioning, , a terminal for performing positioning based on a beacon signal received according to a communication protocol interoperable from one or more beacon devices; and providing location information generated by performing location positioning based on a signal received from the terminal, and when a beacon signal transmitted from the beacon device is received from the terminal, induce the user of the terminal to enter the store based on the beacon signal It may be configured to include a; location information providing device for generating guidance information for, or generating product information on a product located near the beacon device and transmitting it to the terminal.

Positioning method according to an embodiment of the present invention for achieving the object as described above, the terminal performing the positioning based on a signal transmitted from one or more access point devices; determining, by the terminal, that a positioning error has occurred while positioning is performed; and if it is determined that a positioning error has occurred, performing, by the terminal, positioning based on a beacon signal received according to a communication protocol interoperable from one or more beacon devices.

In this case, the step of determining that a positioning error has occurred is that the terminal transmits the signal transmitted from the access point device to the location information providing device and then the location information is not received from the location information providing device, or the signal transmitted from the access point device is not received. When it falls below a preset threshold value, it may be determined that a positioning error has occurred.

In addition, in the step of performing positioning based on the beacon signal, the terminal turns on the short-range wireless communication module in the off state, and is transmitted from one or more beacon devices through the short-range wireless communication module changed to the on state. receiving a beacon signal; and performing, by the terminal, positioning based on the received beacon signal.

In addition, after performing the positioning based on the beacon signal, the terminal using the beacon signal received from the beacon device, calculating distance information with the beacon device, and checking the beacon signal reception time information; transmitting, by the terminal, distance information and time information to a location information providing device; and receiving, by the terminal, additional information generated based on the determined location information, distance information, and time information from the location information providing device;

In addition, after performing the positioning based on the beacon signal, the terminal estimating the size of the indoor space using beacon signals received from at least two beacon devices; and adjusting, by the terminal, the beacon signal detection range according to the estimated size of the indoor space.

Positioning method according to an embodiment of the present invention for achieving the object as described above includes the steps of receiving, by a location information providing device, a signal transmitted from one or more access point devices from any one terminal; transmitting, by the location information providing apparatus, the location information generated by positioning the terminal based on the received signal to the terminal; determining, by the location information providing device, that a positioning error has occurred while positioning is performed; when it is determined that a positioning error has occurred, the location information providing device requesting the terminal to receive a beacon signal transmitted from one or more beacon devices; and when the location information providing apparatus receives a beacon signal from the terminal, performing location positioning of the terminal based on the received beacon signal and transmitting the generated location information to the terminal.

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

According to the method, apparatus and system for positioning the present invention, if it is determined that a positioning error has occurred during positioning based on a signal transmitted from an access point device, a beacon signal transmitted from a beacon device supporting the Bluetooth communication method By performing positioning based on the, there is an effect that continuous positioning is possible.

In addition, according to the present invention, if it is determined that a positioning error has occurred during positioning based on a signal transmitted from the access point device, it is turned off to receive a beacon signal transmitted from a beacon device supporting the Bluetooth communication method. By receiving a beacon signal after turning on the short-range wireless communication module, which is in the state, there is an effect that power can be used more efficiently and accurate positioning is possible at the same time.

In addition, according to the present invention, information such as a distance and time between a user and a beacon device is extracted using a beacon signal transmitted through a beacon device, and induction information or product for inducing a user to enter a store using this information By generating product information about a location, it is possible to provide a more efficient location-based service.

1 is a configuration diagram showing a schematic configuration of a positioning system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a main configuration of a terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 1 .
FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a main configuration of an apparatus for providing location information according to an embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 1 .
4 is a flowchart for explaining a location positioning method in a terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a flowchart for explaining in more detail a method for positioning a location in a terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.
6 is a data flow chart for explaining a positioning method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings, a preferred embodiment in which a person of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention pertains can easily practice the present invention will be described in detail. However, when it is determined that a detailed description of a related well-known function or configuration may unnecessarily obscure the gist of the present invention in describing the operating principle of a preferred embodiment of the present invention in detail, the detailed description thereof will be omitted. This is to more clearly convey the essence of the present invention by omitting unnecessary description. In addition, the present invention can make various changes and can have various embodiments, and specific embodiments are illustrated in the drawings and described in detail in the detailed description, which is not intended to limit the present invention to specific embodiments, It should be understood to include all modifications, equivalents and substitutes included in the spirit and scope of the present invention.

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

In addition, when an element is referred to as being “connected” or “connected” to another element, 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, and may be indirectly connected or connected.

In addition, the terms used herein are used only to describe specific embodiments, and are not intended to limit the present invention. The singular expression includes the plural expression unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. In addition, terms such as "comprises" or "have" described in this specification are intended to designate that the features, numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof described in the specification exist, but one or the It should be understood that the above does not preclude the possibility of the existence or addition of other features or numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof.

Now, a positioning method according to an embodiment of the present invention, an apparatus and a system therefor will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In this case, the same reference numerals are used for parts having similar functions and actions throughout the drawings, and overlapping descriptions thereof will be omitted.

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

Referring to FIG. 1 , the positioning system 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention positions the terminal 10 based on the information transmitted from the terminal 10 and the terminal 10, and positions the location of the terminal 10, the positioned location It may include a location information providing device 20 for providing information related to , and a communication network 30 supporting transmission/reception of information between the terminal 10 and the location information providing device 20 . Also, the terminal 10 may collect information for positioning by interworking with one or more access point devices 40 and beacon devices 50 .

Briefly describing each component, first, the terminal 10 refers to a user's device capable of transmitting and receiving various data via the communication network 30 according to the user's manipulation. The terminal 10 may perform voice or data communication through the communication network 30 , and may transmit/receive various information to and from the location information providing device 20 . For this purpose, the terminal 10 of the present invention may include a browser for transmitting and receiving information, a memory for storing programs and protocols, and a microprocessor for executing and controlling various programs.

In particular, the terminal 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention performs positioning based on signals transmitted from one or more access point devices 40, and when it is determined that a positioning error has occurred during positioning, one or more Positioning is performed based on a beacon signal received from the beacon device 40 according to an interoperable communication protocol.

At this time, after the terminal 10 transmits the signal transmitted from the access point device 40 to the location information providing device 20 , the location information is not received from the location information providing device 20 , or the access point device When the signal transmitted from (40) falls below a preset threshold value, it is determined that a positioning error has occurred, and a communication protocol interoperable from the beacon device 40, for example, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) By receiving a beacon signal using a communication protocol method, positioning may be performed.

The location information providing apparatus 20 performs a role of generating location information by positioning the current location of the terminal 10 according to a request of the terminal 10 , and providing the generated location information to the terminal 10 . In addition, the location information providing device 20 provides various additional services according to the current location of the terminal 10 , for example, when the current location of the terminal 10 is 'B clothing store in shopping mall A', the location information providing device 20 may provide information such as discount coupons and advertisements usable in the store to the terminal 10 .

A more specific main configuration and operation method of the location information providing apparatus 20 will be described later, and the processor mounted on the terminal 10 and the location information providing apparatus 20 according to an embodiment of the present invention is a method according to the present invention. Can process program commands to execute . In one implementation, the processor may be a single-threaded processor, and in another implementation, the processor may be a multi-threaded processor. Furthermore, the processor may process instructions stored in a memory or a storage device.

In addition, the access point device 40 is a device that supports the wireless network access and connection of the terminal 10, and includes a centralized controller, a base station (BS), a node-B (node-B), an eNode-B, It may also be referred to as a base transceiver system (BTS), a site controller, or the like, and may be implemented including some or all functions thereof. The access point device 40 is to support a wireless network connection through the communication network 30 of the terminal 10, and the terminal 10 receives a signal transmitted from the access point device 40 in a passive or active scanning manner. can receive Thereafter, the terminal 10 may select an appropriate access point device 40 , and perform a procedure of authenticating itself as a valid terminal with the selected access point device 40 . Thereafter, the terminal 10 connects to the corresponding access point device 40 after successful authentication, and when the connection is completed, the terminal 10 enables access to the communication network 30 through the access point device 40 . do.

In addition, the terminal 10 may perform location positioning in conjunction with the location information providing device 20 based on the signal transmitted through the access point device 40 . For example, Time of Arrival (TOA), which is a method using a difference in signal reception time after a signal request, Time Difference of Arrival (TDoA), which is an improved TOA method, and Received Signal Strength (RSS) values from various access point devices 40 . After receiving, positioning can be performed through various methods such as fingerprinting, which is a method of determining a reference point with the smallest error as a location through comparison with a pre-stored DB.

On the other hand, the beacon device 50 transmits a beacon signal using short-range wireless communication, and preferably, the beacon device 50 transmits a beacon signal according to a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) communication protocol. have. The beacon device 50 is installed indoors, for example, in a store, and may transmit a beacon signal within a certain radius of 5 cm to 49 m.

A more specific location positioning method using the access point device 40 and the beacon device 50 will be described later, and the terminal 10 and the location information providing device 20 according to an embodiment of the present invention connect the communication network 30 . Various types of information are transmitted and received through the communication network, and various types of communication networks may be used as the communication network 30 at this time.

For example, wireless communication methods such as WLAN (Wireless LAN), Wi-Fi (Wi-Fi), Wibro, Wimax, HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access) or Ethernet (Ethernet), xDSL (ADSL, VDSL) , HFC (Hybrid Fiber Coaxial Cable), FTTC (Fiber to The Curb), FTTH (Fiber To The Home), such as wired communication methods can be used. In addition, in addition to the above-described communication methods, other well-known or future-developed communication methods may be included.

Hereinafter, the main configuration and operation method of the terminal 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a main configuration of a terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 1 .

1 and 2 , the terminal 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a communication unit 11 , an input unit 12 , a control unit 13 , a storage unit 14 , and a display unit 15 . can be

Each component will be described in more detail. First, the communication unit 11 serves to support transmission and reception of various information with the location information providing device 20 through the communication network 30 . In addition, the communication unit 11 may be configured to include a wireless communication module 11a and a short-range wireless communication module 11b, and transmit a signal transmitted from one or more access point devices 40 through the wireless communication module 11a. or may receive a signal transmitted from one or more beacon devices 50 through the short-range wireless communication module 11b. In addition, the wireless communication module 11a may be preferably a Wi-Fi communication module, and the short-range wireless communication module 11b may be a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) communication module. .

In addition, although not shown in the drawing, the communication unit 11 may further include a wireless communication module supporting a wireless communication method different from the wireless communication module 11a, and may further include a wired communication module. .

The input unit 12 transmits, to the control unit 13 , various information such as number and character information input from the user, various function settings, and signals input in relation to function control of the terminal 10 . In particular, the input unit 12 of the present invention may support a user selection input for various information provided by the location information providing apparatus 20 .

As described above, the input unit 12 includes a key input means such as a keyboard or keypad, a touch input means such as a touch sensor or a touch pad, a voice input means, a gyro sensor, a geomagnetic sensor, an acceleration sensor and a proximity sensor, and a camera. It may include a gesture input means including at least one or more.

In addition to this, all types of input means currently under development or that may be developed in the future may be included.

The control unit 13 performs overall control of the terminal 10, and at least one processor including a CPU (Central Processing Unit)/MPU (Micro Processing Unit) and at least one or more memory loading data is loaded in hardware. It may include an execution memory (eg, registers and/or random access memory (RAM)) and a bus (BUS) for inputting and outputting at least one or more data to and from the processor and memory. In addition, a predetermined program routine or program that is loaded into the execution memory from a predetermined recording medium to perform a function (eg, a positioning function) defined in the terminal 10 by software and is arithmetically processed by the processor data may be included. In other words, in order to process the positioning method according to an embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to determine a software-processable component among functions provided in the terminal 10 as a function of the control unit 13 .

Such, the control unit 13 of the present invention is functionally connected to at least one or more components provided to support the positioning method. That is, the control unit 13 is functionally connected to the communication unit 11 , the input unit 12 , the storage unit 14 , and the display unit 15 , and controls the flow of signals for supplying power to each component and performing a function. will do

In particular, the controller 13 according to an embodiment of the present invention may position the user's current location through one or more access point devices 40 and one or more beacon devices 50 .

More specifically, first, the control unit 13 may perform positioning based on a signal transmitted from one or more access point devices 40 through the wireless communication module 11a of the communication unit 11 . A process of performing positioning based on a signal transmitted from the access point device 40 may be performed by applying various known methods. At this time, the control unit 13 may directly perform location positioning without interworking with the location information providing device 20 , and may generate location information according to the result of the performance, and a signal transmitted from the access point device 40 , more precisely, After extracting the identification information of the access point device 40 from the signal, the extracted identification information may be transmitted to the location information providing device 20 to receive the location information generated from the location information providing device 20 .

While positioning is performed through the access point device 40 , the controller 13 may determine whether a positioning error has occurred. In this case, the control unit 13 transmits the signal transmitted from the access point device 40 to the location information providing device 20 through the communication unit 11 , and then receives the location information from the location information providing device 20 . If the signal is not received or the signal transmitted from the access point device 40 falls below a preset threshold value, it may be determined that a positioning error has occurred.

Thereafter, since a positioning error has occurred, the control unit 13 receives a beacon signal transmitted from one or more beacon devices 50 according to an interoperable communication protocol. At this time, the control unit 13 receives a beacon signal transmitted from the beacon device 50 through the short-range wireless communication module 11b of the communication unit 11, and the short-range wireless communication module 11b of the present invention consumes power. In general, it is in an off state in order to save , and is changed to an on state under the control of the controller 13 to receive a signal transmitted from the beacon device 50 .

In addition, the controller 13 may extract identification information for identifying the beacon device 50 from the beacon signal received from the beacon device 50 . When the location information for the extracted identification information is stored in the storage unit 14 in advance, the control unit 13 may position the current location without interworking with the location information providing device 20, otherwise, the extracted The identification information may be transmitted to the location information providing device 20 , and location information confirmed based on the identification information may be received from the location information providing device 20 .

In addition, the control unit 13 calculates distance information with the beacon device 50 using the beacon signal transmitted from the beacon device 50 , checks the beacon signal reception time information, and then converts the distance information and the time information to the location information It may be provided by the providing device 20 . The distance information and time information are for receiving additional information related to the current location from the location information providing device 20, and the controller 13 first performs a received signal strength indicator (RSSI) and transmission of a beacon signal. Distance information with the beacon device 50 is calculated using the power Tx POWER. For example, the controller 13 may obtain a loss value that is a difference between the transmit power value and the received signal strength value, and calculate distance information from the beacon device 50 by applying the loss value. Here, the maximum communication distance of BLE is, for example, within 50 m, and the recognition speed is about 6 ms. As another example, the distance value corresponding to the received signal strength value may be preset through an experiment and stored in advance through the distance table, and when calculating the distance, the beacon device 50 ) and distance information can also be calculated.

In addition, the control unit 13 checks the time information from the start time when the beacon signal is received from the beacon device 50 to the end time when the beacon signal is no longer received from the beacon device 50, and then the distance information and Time information may be transmitted to the location information providing device 20 .

In addition, after estimating the size of the indoor space using beacon signals received from at least two or more beacon devices 50 , the controller 13 may adjust the detection range of the beacon signal according to the estimated size of the indoor space.

That is, the larger the detection range of the beacon signal, the greater the power consumed by the short-range wireless communication module 11b of the communication unit 11. By flexibly adjusting the detection range of the beacon signal according to the size of the indoor space, the terminal 10 power consumption can be minimized.

Also, when location information and additional information related to location information are received from the location information providing device 20 , the control unit 13 may control a process of displaying the location information through the display unit 15 .

In order to perform the operation of the controller 13 as described above, the controller 13 may include an access point positioning module 13a and a beacon positioning module 13b. The access point positioning module 13a supports a role of positioning based on a signal received from the access point device 40 , and the beacon positioning module 13b is a beacon signal transmitted from the beacon device 50 . It supports the role of performing positioning using

The storage unit 14 may temporarily store various data generated during execution of the application program, including an application program required for a functional operation according to an embodiment of the present invention. In particular, the storage unit 14 according to an embodiment of the present invention may store information of the access point device 40 and the beacon device 50 , and when the information is stored, the controller 13 provides location information Current location positioning may be performed without interworking with the device 20 .

In addition, the storage unit 14 may store and manage various information required to calculate distance information, check time information, or estimate the size of an indoor space using a beacon signal transmitted from the beacon device 50 . have.

The storage unit 14 may largely include a program area and a data area. The program area stores related information for driving the terminal 10 , such as an operating system (OS) for booting the terminal 10 . The data area is an area in which data generated according to the use of the terminal 10 is stored, and as described above, various information necessary for positioning may be stored. The storage unit 14 includes a flash memory, a hard disk, a multimedia card micro type memory (eg, SD or XD memory, etc.), RAM, ROM (eg, SD or XD memory). ROM) and the like.

The display unit 15 displays information about a series of operation states and operation results that occur while the function of the terminal 10 is performed. In particular, the display unit 15 of the present invention may display various information generated during execution of a service application. In addition, the display unit 15 according to an embodiment of the present invention may display location information and various additional information related to location information under the control of the controller 13 .

As described above, the display unit 15 may be implemented in the form of a single touch panel (or touch screen) together with the input unit 12, and when implemented together with the input unit 12, the user's touch operation Various information generated according to it can be displayed.

In addition, the display unit 15 of the present invention as described above is a liquid crystal display (LCD), a thin film transistor LCD (TFT-LCD), an organic light emitting diode (OLED), a light emitting diode (LED), an active matrix organic (AMOLED) LED), a flexible display, a three-dimensional display, and the like. In addition, some of these displays may be configured as a transparent type or a light transmitting type so that the outside can be viewed through them. This may be configured in the form of a transparent display including a TOLED (Transparant OLED).

As described above, the main components of the terminal 10 have been described with reference to FIG. 2 . However, not all of the components shown in FIG. 2 are essential components, and the terminal 10 may be implemented by more components than the illustrated components, and the terminal 10 by fewer components. may be implemented. For example, the terminal 10 may be configured to further include a sound source output unit (not shown) for converting a sound source, which is an electrical signal, into an analog signal and outputting it, and such a sound source output unit (not shown) is a location information providing device ( 20) may serve to support the output of location information and additional information.

Also, it goes without saying that the positions of the main components of the terminal 10 shown in FIG. 2 may be changed for convenience or other reasons. In addition, although the module constituting the control unit 13 shows only the access point positioning module 13a and the beacon positioning module 13b, it is not limited thereto, and the control unit 13 includes various modules for performing various functions. may be configured.

As described above, the main configuration and operation method of the terminal 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention has been described. The terminal 10 of the present invention may be implemented in various forms. For example, the terminal 10 described herein is a mobile terminal such as a smart phone, a tablet PC, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a portable multimedia player (PMP), an MP3 player, etc. , a fixed terminal such as a smart TV, a desktop computer, and the like may be used.

The terminal 10 of the present invention can not enumerate all the variations of the mobile device according to the convergence trend of digital devices, so it is not possible to enumerate them all, but the unit of the same level as the above-mentioned units is the terminal according to the present invention It may be used as (10), and any device capable of transmitting and receiving information to and from the location information providing device 20 through the communication network 30 is applicable as the terminal 10 of the present invention.

Hereinafter, the main configuration and operation method of the location information providing apparatus 20 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a main configuration of an apparatus for providing location information according to an embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 1 .

1 and 3 , an apparatus 20 for providing location information according to an embodiment of the present invention may include a service communication unit 21 , a service control unit 22 , and a service storage unit 23 .

When describing each component in more detail, first, the service communication unit 21 supports a role of transmitting and receiving various information with one or more terminals 10 through the communication network 30 . In particular, the service communication unit 21 of the present invention may receive a signal transmitted by the access point device 40 and a signal transmitted by the beacon device 50 from any one terminal 10, and the terminal 10 It is possible to receive the calculated distance information to the beacon device 50 , time information, and information on the size of the indoor space.

The service control unit 22 performs overall control of the location information providing apparatus 20 according to an embodiment of the present invention. In particular, the service control unit 22 according to an embodiment of the present invention is the access point device 40 . The current location of the terminal 10 may be determined using the transmitted signal and the signal transmitted by the beacon device 50 .

More specifically, when a signal transmitted from one or more access point devices 40 is received from any one terminal 10 through the service communication unit 21 first, the service control unit 22 is based on the received signal. By performing location positioning of the terminal 10 , it is possible to generate location information for the terminal 10 . In this case, the service control unit 22 may receive identification information and signal strength of the access point device 40 from the terminal 10 , and use pre-stored location information in response to the identification information of the access point device 40 . The current location of the terminal 10 may be checked.

In the meantime, the service control unit 22 may determine whether there is a positioning error. For example, when a signal is not received from the terminal 10 or the transmitted signal falls below a preset threshold value, the service control unit 22 may determine that a positioning error has occurred.

If it is determined that a positioning error has occurred, the service control unit 22 requests the terminal 10 to receive a beacon signal transmitted from the beacon device 50 . Thereafter, when the beacon signal is received from the terminal 10 through the service communication unit 21, location information of the terminal 10 is performed based on the received beacon signal to generate location information, and the terminal ( 10) can be sent. More precisely, the service control unit 22 receives the identification information of the beacon device 50 from the terminal 10, checks the pre-stored location information based on the received identification information of the beacon device 50, and then the terminal ( You can check the current location of 10).

In addition, the service control unit 22 may provide various additional information related to the location information of the terminal 10 .

At this time, when the distance information and time information with the beacon device are received from the terminal 10, the service control unit 22 checks the distance information and the time information, and if the distance information and the time information are equal to or greater than a preset reference value, the Induction information for inducing the user of the terminal 10 to enter the store may be generated and transmitted to the terminal 10 . In other words, if the distance information is greater than or equal to the preset reference value, it is determined that the user of the terminal 10 is located outside the store. (22) may generate the guidance information and transmit it to the terminal (10). Here, the induction information is information for inducing the user to enter the store, and may include, for example, one or more of store information (location, business name, contact information, etc.), discount information, event information, and promotional information.

In addition, if the distance information is less than a preset reference value and the time information is greater than or equal to a preset reference value, the service control unit 22 generates product information about a product located near the beacon device 50 and sends it to the terminal 10 . can be transmitted In other words, since the distance information is less than the preset reference value, it is determined that the user is located in the store, and when the time information is greater than the preset reference value, it can be determined that the user stays in the store for a predetermined time or more, so that the service control unit 22 controls the user may provide at least one of product information, product detailed information, coupon information, event information, and affiliate service information to promote purchase of the product.

In order to control the operation of the service control unit 22 as described above, the service control unit 22 may be configured to include a positioning module 22a.

A more detailed operation of the service control unit 22 will be described with reference to a flowchart.

The service storage unit 23 stores all programs according to the function execution of the location information providing device 20 . In particular, the service storage unit 23 according to the present invention stores various information according to the service provision to the terminal 10 . For example, the service storage unit 22 may store and manage the beacon device information 23a and the access point device information 23b, and each information may include location information where the corresponding device is located.

The service storage unit 23 of the present invention may be a storage located within the location information providing device 20 , and may be located outside the location information providing device 20 to transmit and receive data to and from the location information providing device 20 . It can also be a data storage server.

As described above, the main configuration and operation method of the location information providing apparatus 20 according to an embodiment of the present invention has been described.

The location information providing apparatus 20 according to an embodiment of the present invention has the same configuration as a typical web server or a network server in terms of hardware. However, in terms of software, program modules implemented through languages such as C, C++, Java, Visual Basic, and Visual C are included. The location information providing device 20 may be implemented in the form of a web server or a network server, and the web server is generally connected to an unspecified number of clients and/or other servers through an open computer network such as the Internet, and the client or other It refers to a computer system that receives a request for performing work from a web server, derives the work result and provides it, and computer software (web server program) installed therefor. However, in addition to the above-described web server program, it should be understood as a broad concept including a series of application programs operating on the web server and, in some cases, various databases built therein. The location information providing device 20 is a web server program that is provided in various ways according to operating systems such as DOS, Windows, Linux, UNIX, and Macintosh on general server hardware. can be implemented using , and representative examples include a website used in a Windows environment, Internet Information Server (IIS), and CERN, NCSA, APPACH, etc. used in a Unix environment. In addition, the location information providing apparatus 20 may classify service subscription information, store and manage it in a member database (Database), and this database may be implemented inside or outside the location information providing apparatus 20 . In this case, the database implemented inside the location information providing device 20 may be the service storage unit 23 .

In addition, the location information providing apparatus 20 of the present invention may be implemented as one or more servers operating in a server-based computing method or a cloud method. In particular, information transmitted and received through the group driving system 100 may be provided through a cloud computing function that may be permanently stored in a cloud computing device on the Internet. Here, cloud computing is a virtualized IT (Information Technology) resource, for example, hardware (server, storage, network, etc.), software by utilizing Internet technology in digital terminals such as desktops, tablet computers, laptops, netbooks and smart phones. (Database, security, web server, etc.), service, data, etc., refers to a technology that provides an on-demand method. In the present invention, all information transmitted and received between one or more terminals 10 and the location information providing device 20 is stored in a cloud computing device on the Internet, and can be transmitted anytime, anywhere.

On the other hand, the memory mounted on the terminal 10 or the location information providing device 20 stores information in the device. For 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 embodiment, 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.

Although this specification and drawings describe exemplary device configurations, implementations of the functional operations and subject matter described herein may be embodied in other types of digital electronic circuits, or may involve the structures disclosed herein and structural equivalents thereof. It may be implemented as computer software, firmware, or hardware including, or a combination of one or more of these. Implementations of the subject matter described herein relate to one or more computer program products, ie computer program instructions encoded on a tangible program storage medium for execution by or for controlling the operation of an apparatus according to the invention. It can be implemented as the above modules. The computer readable medium may be a machine readable storage device, a machine readable storage substrate, a memory device, a composition of matter that affects a machine readable radio wave signal, or a combination of one or more thereof.

Hereinafter, a method for positioning a location in a terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described.

4 is a flowchart illustrating a method for positioning a location in a terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.

1 and 4 , the positioning method in the terminal 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention schematically performs positioning using a signal transmitted through the access point device 40 (S101). ), determining whether a positioning error occurs during positioning (S103), when it is determined that a positioning error has occurred, receiving a beacon signal transmitted from the beacon device 50 (S105), and using this It may be made of a step (S107) of performing the positioning.

Each step will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. 5 .

5 is a flowchart for explaining in more detail a method for positioning a location in a terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.

1 and 5 , first, the terminal 10 receives a signal transmitted from one or more access point devices 40 ( S201 ). For example, when the terminal 10 enters a predetermined area, the terminal 10 may receive a signal transmitted by one or more access point devices 40 covering the predetermined area.

And the terminal 10 extracts the identification information of the access point device 40 from the received signal, more precisely, the signal, and then transmits the extracted identification information to the location information providing device 20, the location information providing device 20 ) to receive the location information generated from the location positioning is performed (S203).

Here, the process of performing positioning based on the signal transmitted from the access point device 40 may be performed by applying various known methods. For example, Time of Arrival (TOA), which is a method using a difference in signal reception time after a signal request, Time Difference of Arrival (TDoA), which is an improved TOA method, and Received Signal Strength (RSS) values from various access point devices 40 . After receiving, positioning can be performed through various methods such as fingerprinting, which is a method of determining a reference point with the smallest error as a location through comparison with a pre-stored DB.

Also, when the terminal 10 has previously stored information on the access point device 40 , the terminal 10 may directly perform location positioning without interworking with the location information providing device 20 .

While performing positioning through the access point device 40, the terminal 10 may determine whether a positioning error has occurred (S205). That is, the terminal 10 may determine whether the signal transmitted from the access point device 40 falls below a preset threshold value (S205), and if it falls, it may determine that a positioning error has occurred (S207) .

In addition, the terminal 10 transmits the signal transmitted from the access point device 40 to the location information providing device 20 , and even when location information is not received from the location information providing device 20 , a positioning error can be considered to have occurred.

Thereafter, the terminal 10 turns on the short-range wireless communication module in order to receive the beacon signal transmitted from the beacon device 50 .

Thereafter, the terminal 10 may receive a beacon signal transmitted from the beacon device 50 according to the set beacon signal detection range ( S211 ), and at this time, whether it is necessary to adjust the beacon signal detection range based on the beacon signal can be determined (S213). For example, the terminal 10 may estimate the size of the indoor space using the beacon signal transmitted from the beacon device 50 , and may adjust the beacon signal detection range according to the estimated size of the indoor space.

As a result of the determination, if it is determined that adjustment of the beacon signal detection range is necessary, the beacon signal detection range is adjusted (S211), the beacon signal is received according to the adjusted beacon signal detection range, and positioning is performed based on this. (S217).

At this time, the terminal 10 extracts beacon identification information based on the beacon signal, and when the location information for the extracted beacon identification information is stored in advance, the current location is determined without interworking with the location information providing device 20. Otherwise, the extracted beacon identification information may be transmitted to the location information providing device 20 , and location information identified based on the beacon identification information may be received from the location information providing device 20 .

In addition, the terminal 10 calculates distance information with the beacon device 50 using the beacon signal transmitted from the beacon device 50 , checks the beacon signal reception time information, and then converts the distance information and the time information to the location information It may be provided by the providing device 20 . The distance information and time information are for receiving additional information related to a current location from the location information providing device 20 , and the terminal 10 first performs a received signal strength indicator (RSSI) and transmission of a beacon signal. Distance information with the beacon device 50 is calculated using the power Tx POWER. For example, the controller 13 may obtain a loss value that is a difference between the transmit power value and the received signal strength value, and calculate distance information from the beacon device 50 by applying the loss value. Here, the maximum communication distance of BLE is, for example, within 50 m, and the recognition speed is about 6 ms. As another example, a distance value corresponding to the received signal strength value may be preset through an experiment and stored in advance through a distance table, and when calculating the distance, a distance value corresponding to the received signal strength value stored in the distance table is read out to the beacon device 50 ) and distance information can also be calculated.

In addition, the terminal 10 checks the time information from the start time when the beacon signal is received from the beacon device 50 to the end time when the beacon signal is no longer received from the beacon device 50, and then the distance information and Time information may be transmitted to the location information providing device 20 .

Hereinafter, a location positioning method through interworking between the terminal 10 and the location information providing apparatus 20 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described.

6 is a data flow diagram illustrating a positioning method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 6 , first, the terminal 10 receives a signal transmitted from one or more access point devices 40 ( S301 ). For example, when the terminal 10 enters a predetermined area, the terminal 10 may receive a signal transmitted by one or more access point devices 40 covering the predetermined area.

And, after extracting the identification information of the access point device 40 from the signal transmitted from the access point device 40, the terminal 10 may transmit the extracted identification information to the location information providing device 20 (S303).

The location information providing device 20 that has received this locates the current location information of the terminal 10 using the identification information of the access point device 40 , and transmits the generated location information to the terminal 10 . (S305).

The terminal 10 may continuously receive a signal transmitted from the access point device 40 (S307), perform positioning, and determine whether a positioning error occurs during positioning (S309) ).

As a result of the determination, if it is determined that a positioning error has occurred, the terminal 10 changes the short-range wireless communication module, which is in an off state, to an on state (S311), and then a beacon device located within a certain radius ( 50) receives a signal transmitted from (S313).

At this time, the terminal 10 may estimate the size of the indoor space based on the received beacon signal (S315), and adjust the beacon signal detection range according to the estimated size of the indoor space (S317 to S319), and the above process is omitted. can be

In addition, the terminal 10 continuously receives a beacon signal from one or more beacon devices 50 ( S321 ), extracts identification information of the beacon device 50 from the received beacon signal, and then the extracted beacon device 50 of The identification information may be transmitted to the location information providing device 20 (S323).

The location information providing device 20 that has received this may check the current location of the terminal 10 using the identification information of the beacon device 50 and transmit the confirmed location information to the terminal 10 (S325). .

In addition, the terminal 10 calculates distance information with the beacon device 50 using the beacon signal transmitted from the beacon device 50 , checks the beacon signal reception time information, and then converts the distance information and the time information to the location information It may be provided by the providing device 20 . The distance information and time information is for receiving additional information related to the current location from the location information providing device 20, and the receiving location information providing device 20 checks the distance information and time information to determine the distance If the information and time information are equal to or greater than the preset reference value, guidance information for inducing the user of the terminal 10 to enter the store may be generated and transmitted to the terminal 10 . Here, the induction information is information for inducing the user to enter the store, and may include, for example, one or more of store information (location, business name, contact information, etc.), discount information, event information, and promotional information.

In addition, when the distance information is less than the preset reference value and the time information is greater than or equal to the preset reference value, the location information providing device 20 generates product information about a product located in the vicinity of the beacon device 50 to the terminal 10 . can be sent to For example, it is possible to provide a differential service such as transmitting coupon information, event information, and affiliate service information to the terminal 10 (S327).

As described above, according to the positioning method of the present invention, the device and the system therefor, when it is determined that a positioning error has occurred during positioning based on a signal transmitted from the access point device, the transmission is transmitted from the beacon device supporting the Bluetooth communication method. By performing positioning based on the beacon signal, there is an effect that continuous positioning is possible.

In addition, according to the present invention, if it is determined that a positioning error has occurred during positioning based on a signal transmitted from the access point device, it is turned off to receive a beacon signal transmitted from a beacon device supporting the Bluetooth communication method. By receiving a beacon signal after turning on the short-range wireless communication module, which is in the state, there is an effect that power can be used more efficiently and accurate positioning is possible at the same time.

In addition, according to the present invention, information such as a distance and time between a user and a beacon device is extracted using a beacon signal transmitted through a beacon device, and induction information or product for inducing a user to enter a store using this information By generating product information about a location, it is possible to provide a more efficient location-based service.

The positioning method according to the embodiment of the present invention has been described above.

The positioning 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 this case, a computer-readable medium suitable for storing computer program instructions and data, for example, a recording medium is a magnetic medium such as a hard disk, a floppy disk and a magnetic tape, and a compact disk read only memory (CD-ROM). , an optical recording medium such as a DVD (Digital Video Disk), a magneto-optical medium such as a floppy disk, and a ROM (Read Only Memory), RAM (RAM) , Random Access Memory), flash memory, EPROM (Erasable Programmable ROM), and includes a semiconductor memory such as EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM). The processor and memory may be supplemented by, or incorporated into, special purpose logic circuitry. Examples of program instructions may include not only machine language codes such as those generated by a compiler, but also high-level language codes that can be executed by a computer using an interpreter or the like. Such hardware devices may be configured to operate as one or more software modules to perform the operations of the present invention, and vice versa.

While this specification contains numerous specific implementation details, they should not be construed as limitations on the scope of any invention or claim, but rather as descriptions of features that may be specific to particular embodiments of particular inventions. should be understood Certain features that are described herein in the context of separate embodiments may be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features that are described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented in multiple embodiments, either individually or in any suitable subcombination. Furthermore, although features operate in a particular combination and may be initially depicted as claimed as such, one or more features from a claimed combination may in some cases be excluded from the combination, the claimed combination being a sub-combination. or a variant of a subcombination.

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

The present invention relates to a positioning method, an apparatus and a system therefor, and more particularly, when it is determined that a positioning error has occurred during positioning based on a signal transmitted from an access point device, a beacon device supporting a Bluetooth communication method It relates to a positioning method capable of performing positioning based on a beacon signal transmitted from a positioning method, an apparatus and a system therefor.

According to the present invention, continuous positioning may be possible, contributing to the development of the location-based service industry.

In addition, the present invention has industrial applicability because it has sufficient potential for marketing or business as well as a degree that can be clearly implemented in reality.

10: terminal 11: communication unit 12: input unit
13: control unit 14: storage unit 15: display unit
20: service device 21: service communication unit 22: service control unit
23: service storage unit 30: communication network 40: access point device
50: beacon device 100: positioning system

Claims (19)

a communication unit for receiving signals transmitted from one or more access point devices and one or more beacon devices; and
Positioning is performed based on a signal transmitted from one or more access point devices through the communication unit, and when it is determined that a positioning error has occurred during positioning, according to a communication protocol that can be linked from one or more beacon devices through the communication unit Including; a control unit for performing positioning based on the received beacon signal;
The control unit is
When it is determined that the positioning error has occurred, the short-range communication module in the off state is turned on, and the beacon signal transmitted from one or more beacon devices is received through the short-distance wireless communication module changed to the on state. A terminal, characterized in that. The method of claim 1,
the control unit
After transmitting the signal transmitted from the access point device to the location information providing device through the communication unit, location information is not received from the location information providing device, or the signal transmitted from the access point device is lower than a preset threshold value. If it falls, the terminal characterized in that it is determined that a positioning error has occurred. The method of claim 1,
the communication unit
A terminal comprising a wireless communication module for receiving a signal transmitted from the access point device and a short-range wireless communication module for receiving a signal transmitted from the beacon device. delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete performing, by the terminal, positioning based on a signal transmitted from one or more access point devices;
determining, by the terminal, that a positioning error has occurred while positioning is performed; and
When it is determined that a positioning error has occurred, the terminal performs positioning based on a beacon signal received according to a communication protocol interoperable from one or more beacon devices;
Performing positioning based on the beacon signal comprises:
receiving, by the terminal, a beacon signal transmitted from one or more beacon devices through the short-range wireless communication module changed to the on-state by turning on the short-range wireless communication module in the off state; and
performing, by the terminal, positioning based on the received beacon signal;
Positioning method comprising a. delete delete delete delete delete delete

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