KR102646378B1 - System and method for providing virtual beacon service, and apparatus for executing virtual beacon service - Google Patents

Abstract

A technology related to a virtual beacon service provision system and method is disclosed.
The virtual beacon service providing system according to an embodiment of the present invention is related to a virtual beacon zone where a virtual beacon service is provided and a virtual beacon located virtually at a predetermined point within the virtual beacon zone. Thus, a service information management unit storing virtual beacon identification information identifying the virtual beacon; And when a predetermined mobile terminal enters the virtual beacon zone corresponding to the virtual location of the virtual beacon or a predetermined area within the virtual beacon zone, providing virtual beacon information including the virtual beacon identification information to the mobile terminal. , including a service provider that allows the mobile terminal to receive content corresponding to the virtual beacon identification information, thereby reducing the time and cost required to build a beacon system and increasing the utilization of already established WiFi AP infrastructure.

Description

System and method for providing virtual beacon service, and apparatus for executing virtual beacon service}

The present invention relates to a virtual beacon service providing system and method and a virtual beacon service execution device, and more specifically, to providing a virtual beacon service that provides the same or similar services as an existing beacon system without using a separate physical beacon terminal. It relates to a system and method and a device for executing a virtual beacon service.

Generally, a beacon refers to a short-range communication terminal that uses BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) technology. These beacons do not require a pairing procedure between communication terminals, communicate with low power, and are capable of one-to-many as well as many-to-many communication, so they are being applied to various services such as advertising, information transmission, home automation, and payment.

However, as disclosed in Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2016-0029896, etc., existing technologies build a beacon service system by installing a separate physical beacon terminal, so it takes a lot of time to purchase, install, maintain, and repair the beacon terminal. There is a problem that it requires a lot of money, and in particular, there is a problem that the beacon service cannot be provided in places other than the place where the beacon terminal is installed.

In addition, as disclosed in Korean Patent Publication No. 10-0357258, etc., existing technologies only generate beacon signals as beacon signals that simply provide location information through mobile communication terminals, so they are used for products, store advertisements, and marketing services. It cannot be applied, and there is a problem of not fully utilizing the existing WiFi AP infrastructure.

The technical problem to be solved by the present invention relates to a virtual beacon service provision system and method and a virtual beacon service execution device that reduces the time and cost required to build a beacon system and improves the utilization of already established WiFi AP infrastructure. .

The virtual beacon service providing system according to an embodiment of the present invention is related to a virtual beacon zone where a virtual beacon service is provided and a virtual beacon located virtually at a predetermined point within the virtual beacon zone. Thus, a service information management unit storing virtual beacon identification information identifying the virtual beacon; And when a predetermined mobile terminal enters the virtual beacon zone corresponding to the virtual location of the virtual beacon or a predetermined area within the virtual beacon zone, providing virtual beacon information including the virtual beacon identification information to the mobile terminal. , It may include a service provider that allows the mobile terminal to receive content corresponding to the virtual beacon identification information.

In one embodiment, the service information management unit includes: a service setting information receiving unit that receives location information of the virtual beacon zone and virtual location information of the virtual beacon from a terminal of a virtual beacon service subscriber; And a service including location information of the virtual beacon zone, virtual beacon identification information identifying the virtual beacon, and AP identification information identifying at least one AP (Access Point) installed within a predetermined distance from the virtual location of the virtual beacon. It may include a service information register that stores and registers information.

In one embodiment, the location information of the virtual beacon zone received by the service setting information receiver may include information about the center position and radius of the virtual beacon zone.

In one embodiment, the service information management unit includes a virtual beacon identification information allocation unit that allocates the virtual beacon identification information to the virtual beacon; an AP information collection unit that collects address information and location information of the AP from a predetermined AP management server that stores and manages information about the AP; And it may further include a reference distance calculation unit that calculates a reference distance that the mobile terminal must maintain from the AP in order to receive the corresponding content, using the location information of the AP.

In one embodiment, the AP identification information registered by the service information register may include information about the MAC (Media Access Control) address of the AP and the reference distance.

In one embodiment, the service provider receives location information of the mobile terminal from the mobile terminal, and determines whether the mobile terminal has entered the virtual beacon zone or a predetermined area within the virtual beacon zone. ; And when the mobile terminal enters the virtual beacon zone or a predetermined area within the virtual beacon zone, it may include a virtual beacon information transmission unit that transmits the virtual beacon information to the mobile terminal.

In one embodiment, the virtual beacon information transmitted by the virtual beacon information transmission unit, together with the virtual beacon identification information, includes an AP identification that identifies at least one AP installed within a predetermined distance from the virtual location of the virtual beacon. May contain information.

In one embodiment, the AP identification information may include information about the MAC address of the AP and a reference distance that the mobile terminal must maintain from the AP in order to receive the corresponding content.

In one embodiment, the service provider may further include a content transmission unit that transmits predetermined content corresponding to the virtual beacon identification information to the mobile terminal when receiving the virtual beacon identification information from the mobile terminal. there is.

A method of providing a virtual beacon service according to an embodiment of the present invention provides a virtual beacon service using a computer system that communicates with an external terminal through a network, and the system is a virtual beacon zone where the virtual beacon service is provided. A service information management step of storing virtual beacon identification information identifying the virtual beacon in relation to a virtual beacon zone and a virtual beacon located virtually at a predetermined point within the virtual beacon zone; And when a predetermined mobile terminal enters the virtual beacon zone corresponding to the virtual location of the virtual beacon or a predetermined area within the virtual beacon zone, the system sends virtual beacon information including the virtual beacon identification information to the mobile terminal. It may include a service provision step of allowing the mobile terminal to receive content corresponding to the virtual beacon identification information.

In one embodiment, the service information management step includes: a service setting information receiving step in which the system receives location information of the virtual beacon zone and virtual location information of the virtual beacon from a terminal of a virtual beacon service subscriber; And the system includes location information of the virtual beacon zone, virtual beacon identification information identifying the virtual beacon, and AP identification information identifying at least one access point (AP) installed within a predetermined distance from the virtual location of the virtual beacon. It may include a service information registration step of storing and registering service information including.

In one embodiment, the location information of the virtual beacon zone received in the service setting information receiving step may include information about the center position and radius of the virtual beacon zone.

In one embodiment, the service information management step includes: a virtual beacon identification information allocation step in which the system allocates the virtual beacon identification information to the virtual beacon; An AP information collection step in which the system collects address information and location information of the AP from a predetermined AP management server that stores and manages information about the AP; And the system may further include a reference distance calculation step of calculating a reference distance that the mobile terminal must maintain from the AP in order to receive the corresponding content, using the location information of the AP.

In one embodiment, the AP identification information registered in the service information registration step may include information about the MAC (Media Access Control) address of the AP and the reference distance.

In one embodiment, in the service provision step, the system receives location information of the mobile terminal from the mobile terminal and determines whether the mobile terminal has entered the virtual beacon zone or a predetermined area within the virtual beacon zone. A terminal location determination step; And when the mobile terminal enters the virtual beacon zone or a predetermined area within the virtual beacon zone, the system may include a virtual beacon information transmission step of transmitting the virtual beacon information to the mobile terminal.

In one embodiment, the virtual beacon information transmitted in the virtual beacon information transmission step includes AP identification information that identifies at least one AP installed within a predetermined distance from the virtual location of the virtual beacon, along with the virtual beacon identification information. may include.

In one embodiment, the AP identification information may include information about the MAC address of the AP and a reference distance that the mobile terminal must maintain from the AP in order to receive the corresponding content.

In one embodiment, the service providing step is a content transmission step of transmitting predetermined content corresponding to the virtual beacon identification information to the mobile terminal when the system receives the virtual beacon identification information from the mobile terminal. It may further include.

A virtual beacon service execution device according to an embodiment of the present invention is a virtual beacon service execution device installed in a mobile terminal, and measures the location of the mobile terminal in a virtual beacon zone where a virtual beacon service is provided, and provides a predetermined virtual beacon service. a terminal location information transmission unit that transmits location information of the mobile terminal to a provision system; Virtual beacon identification information identifying a virtual beacon virtually located at a predetermined point within the virtual beacon zone from the system in response to the location of the mobile terminal, and at least one AP installed within a predetermined distance from the virtual location of the virtual beacon a virtual beacon information receiving unit that receives virtual beacon information including AP identification information identifying; Discover at least one AP in the vicinity of the mobile terminal, obtain identification information of the discovered AP, compare the identification information of the discovered AP with the AP identification information of the virtual beacon information, and determine the mobile terminal of the virtual beacon. a virtual signal zone determination unit that determines whether the virtual signal zone is located in a predetermined virtual signal zone; And when the mobile terminal is located in the virtual signal area, it may include a content receiver that transmits the virtual beacon identification information to a predetermined content providing server and receives content corresponding to the virtual beacon identification information from the server. there is.

In one embodiment, the AP identification information of the virtual beacon information includes the MAC address of the AP that must be discovered to receive content corresponding to the virtual beacon identification information and the reference distance that the mobile terminal must maintain with the AP. It may contain information about

In one embodiment, the virtual signal zone determination unit, if the MAC address of the discovered AP is the same as the MAC address of the AP identification information and the discovered AP is located within the reference distance, the mobile terminal It can be determined that this is located in the virtual signal zone.

Embodiments according to the present invention may be implemented as a computer program that executes the above-described operations or methods through a computer system.

The present invention provides the same or similar services as existing beacon systems without using a separate physical beacon terminal, thereby reducing the time and cost required to build a beacon system and increasing the utilization of already established WiFi AP infrastructure. You can.

In particular, by allowing the service subscriber to freely set a virtual beacon zone, which is the geographical range where the virtual beacon service is provided, and a virtual beacon located virtually within the virtual beacon zone, beacon services can be provided in areas with various environments and areas. Of course, it can respond adaptively according to changes in the service subscriber's situation, such as business expansion or relocation.

In addition, by having the customer's mobile terminal determine whether the virtual beacon has entered the virtual signal zone and receive content corresponding to the virtual beacon, different contents can be provided to the customer for each virtual beacon setting location within the virtual beacon zone. .

Furthermore, those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains will clearly understand from the following description that various embodiments according to the present invention can solve various technical problems not mentioned above.

Figure 1 is a diagram showing an example of a virtual beacon service environment to which the present invention is applied.
Figure 2 is a flowchart showing a virtual beacon service providing system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 3 is a flowchart showing a service information management process of a virtual beacon service provision method according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 4 is a diagram showing an example of a user interface screen for entering service setting information.
Figure 5 is a diagram showing an example of service information stored in the database of the virtual beacon service providing system.
Figure 6 is a diagram showing an example of a virtual beacon information table stored in the database of the virtual beacon service providing system.
Figure 7 is a block diagram showing a virtual beacon service execution device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 8 is a flowchart showing a service provision process of a virtual beacon service provision method according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 9 is a diagram showing an example of a virtual signal zone formed by virtual beacon settings.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings to clarify solutions to the technical problems of the present invention. However, in describing the present invention, if the description of related known technology rather obscures the gist of the present invention, the description thereof will be omitted. In addition, the terms described below are terms defined in consideration of functions in the present invention, and may vary depending on the intention or custom of the designer, manufacturer, etc. Therefore, the definition should be made based on the contents throughout this specification.

Figure 1 shows an example of a virtual beacon service environment to which the present invention is applied.

As shown in FIG. 1, the virtual beacon service environment includes the virtual beacon service providing system 100 according to the present invention, the subscriber terminal 10 of the virtual beacon service subscriber, the AP management server 20, the customer, etc. It may include a mobile terminal 30, and depending on the embodiment, it may further include a content provision server (not shown). The virtual beacon service providing system 100 according to the present invention can provide the same or similar services as existing beacon services in such an environment without using a separate physical beacon terminal.

That is, the subscriber terminal 10 of the virtual beacon service subscriber connects to the virtual beacon service providing system 100 through a communication network, performs a virtual beacon service subscription procedure, and sets a virtual beacon zone (Z). , a procedure for setting a virtual beacon at a predetermined point within the virtual beacon zone (Z) can be performed. In this case, the subscriber terminal 10 may be a wired or wireless communication terminal such as a service subscriber's PC or smartphone.

In this specification, a virtual beacon zone refers to a geographical range in which a virtual beacon service can be provided. Additionally, a virtual beacon refers to a beacon that is virtually located at a predetermined point in the virtual beacon zone. In other words, the virtual beacon is only set to be located at a predetermined point within the virtual beacon zone, and is a conceptual beacon that does not exist.

The virtual beacon service providing system 100 receives service setting information from the subscriber terminal 10, and connects at least one Access Point (AP) pre-installed in the virtual beacon zone (Z) from the AP management server 20. ), for example, by receiving information about an AP for WiFi (Wireless Fidelity) communication, service information necessary to provide a virtual beacon service can be registered.

When the mobile terminal 30 enters the virtual beacon zone (Z), it receives virtual beacon identification information corresponding to its location from the system 100, and uses the received virtual beacon identification information as the By transmitting it to the system 100 or a separate content provision server (not shown), various contents such as advertisements, messages, coupons, etc. of service subscribers corresponding to the virtual beacon identification information can be provided.

As will be explained again below, a virtual beacon service execution device (700 in FIG. 7) according to the present invention may be installed in the mobile terminal 30. In this way, the virtual beacon service execution device installed in the mobile terminal 30 can be implemented as an application program that controls the mobile terminal 30 by combining with the hardware of the mobile terminal 30, as well as It may be installed in and implemented as a separate device that interoperates with the mobile terminal 30.

Figure 2 shows a block diagram of a virtual beacon service providing system 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 2, the system 100 may include a service information management unit 110 and a service provision unit 120, a data communication unit 102 that performs data communication, and a database that stores data ( 104) may further be included.

The service information management unit 110 transmits and receives data to the subscriber terminal 10 of the service subscriber, the AP management server 20, etc. through the data communication unit 102, thereby providing a virtual beacon zone, which is the geographical range in which the virtual beacon service is provided. Z) and a virtual beacon virtually located at a predetermined point within the virtual beacon zone, virtual beacon identification information identifying the virtual beacon may be stored directly or stored in a separate database 104. To this end, the service information management unit 110 may include a service setting information reception unit 112 and a service information registration unit 114, a virtual beacon identification information allocation unit 116, an AP information collection unit 118, and a standard It may further include a distance calculation unit 119, etc.

The service provider 120, when a predetermined mobile terminal 30 enters the virtual beacon zone (Z) or a predetermined area within the virtual beacon zone (Z) corresponding to the virtual location of the virtual beacon, Virtual beacon information including virtual beacon identification information can be provided to the mobile terminal 30 so that the mobile terminal 30 can receive content corresponding to the virtual beacon identification information. To this end, the service provider 120 may include a terminal location determination unit 122 and a virtual beacon information transmission unit 124, and may further include a content transmission unit 126.

Figure 3 shows a flowchart of the service information management process of the virtual beacon service provision method according to an embodiment of the present invention. With reference to FIG. 3, the detailed configuration and operation of the virtual beacon service providing system 100 shown in FIG. 2 will be described in more detail.

As shown in FIG. 3, the service information management unit 110 of the virtual beacon service providing system 100 stores information about the subscriber terminal 10 of the service subscriber and APs installed in the virtual beacon zone (Z). By linking with the AP management server 20, which registers, stores, and manages, service information required to provide a virtual beacon service can be stored and managed.

First, when a service subscriber who has subscribed to the virtual beacon service enters the subscriber ID, password, etc. through the subscriber terminal 10 and accesses the web page provided by the virtual beacon service providing system 100 (S310), the system ( The service setting information receiving unit 112 of 100 requests the subscriber terminal 10 for service setting information necessary for providing a virtual beacon service (S320), and receives location information and virtual information of the virtual beacon zone (Z) from the subscriber's terminal. The virtual location information of the beacon can be received (S330, S340).

In this case, the subscriber terminal 10 can display a user interface screen for entering service setting information through the display and receive setting information input by the service subscriber (S330).

Figure 4 shows an example of a user interface screen for entering service setting information.

As shown in FIG. 4, a user interface screen 400 for inputting service setting information may be displayed on the display of the subscriber terminal 10. The user interface screen 400 may include a map display unit 410, a virtual beacon zone location input unit 420, a virtual beacon location input unit 430, etc.

In this case, the map display unit 410 may display a map of the corresponding area to facilitate location setting of the virtual beacon zone. This map display unit 410 allows the service subscriber to set the center location (C) of the virtual beacon zone by clicking on a specific point 412 on the map, and form a portion of the circle 414 centered on the center location (C). It can be configured to adjust and set the radius (R) of the beacon zone by clicking and dragging.

The virtual beacon zone location input unit 420 is an input window where the center position value and radius value set through the map display unit 410 are input, or the service subscriber directly inputs the center position value and radius value of the virtual beacon zone ( 422) may be included. In this case, the center position value of the virtual beacon zone can be input as latitude and longitude.

The virtual beacon location input unit 430 displays the virtual beacon as an icon 432 and allows the service subscriber to drag and drop the icon 432 into the virtual beacon zone displayed on the map display unit 410 to determine the virtual beacon. Can be configured to set up a virtual location.

Referring again to FIG. 3, the service setting information receiver 112 of the system 100 provides a service including the location information of the virtual beacon zone (Z) transmitted from the subscriber terminal 10 and the virtual location information of the virtual beacon. Setting information can be received (S340). In this case, the location information of the virtual beacon zone (Z) may include information about the center position coordinates and radius of the virtual beacon zone (Z). Additionally, the virtual location information of the virtual beacon may include coordinate information set by the service subscriber.

Then, the service information registration unit 114 of the system 100 includes location information of the virtual beacon zone (Z), virtual beacon identification information identifying the virtual beacon, and within a predetermined distance from the virtual location of the virtual beacon. Service information including AP identification information identifying at least one installed Access Point (AP) can be stored and registered. To this end, the service information management unit 110 of the system 100 includes the service setting information receiving unit 112 and the service information registering unit 114, a virtual beacon identification information allocation unit 116, and an AP information collection unit ( 118), a reference distance calculation unit 119, etc. may be further included.

In this case, the virtual beacon identification information allocation unit 116 of the system 100 may allocate virtual beacon identification information to the virtual beacon (S350).

In addition, the AP information collection unit 118 of the system 100 requests information about at least one AP installed within a predetermined distance from the virtual location of the virtual beacon to the AP management server 20 (S360), MAC (Media Access Control) address information and location information of the AP can be collected from the AP management server 20 (S370). Here, the AP management server 20 is a server that stores serial numbers, address information, location information, etc. of APs installed in the virtual beacon zone (Z) as well as various regions and registers and manages the corresponding APs. In this case, the AP may be an AP for WiFi communication.

Next, the reference distance calculation unit 119 of the system 100 may calculate the reference distance that the customer's mobile terminal 30 must maintain from the AP in order to receive the corresponding content (S380). For example, the reference distance calculation unit 119 calculates the actual distance between the virtual beacon and the AP by considering the virtual location of the virtual beacon and the location of the AP installed around the virtual beacon, and calculates the actual distance between the virtual beacon and the AP. The reference distance can be calculated by considering the communication distance, etc. When a plurality of APs are installed within a predetermined distance from the virtual location of the virtual beacon, the reference distance calculation unit 119 may calculate a different reference distance for each AP.

Then, the service information registration unit 114 of the system 100 includes location information of the virtual beacon zone (Z), virtual beacon identification information identifying the virtual beacon, and within a predetermined distance from the virtual location of the virtual beacon. AP identification information identifying at least one installed AP can be stored and registered as service information (S390). In this case, the AP identification information may include information about the MAC (Media Access Control) address and reference distance of the corresponding AP.

FIG. 5 shows an example of service information stored in the database 104 of the virtual beacon service providing system 100.

As shown in FIG. 5, the database 104 of the virtual beacon service providing system 100 contains the ID (user_id) of the virtual beacon service subscriber and the ID (zone_id) of the virtual beacon zone (Z) set by the service subscriber. , the location (latitude, longitude, radius) of the virtual beacon zone (Z), if the virtual beacon zone (Z) includes certain communication cells, the ID (cell_id) of the corresponding cells, the virtual beacon zone (Z) or the virtual beacon zone ( Z), virtual beacon information including virtual beacon identification information (virtual_id) of a virtual beacon set to be located in a specific cell may be stored. Meanwhile, when a plurality of virtual beacons are set in the same virtual beacon zone (Z), a plurality of virtual beacon information corresponding to each of the plurality of virtual beacons may be stored.

FIG. 6 shows an example of a virtual beacon information table stored in the database 104 of the virtual beacon service providing system 100.

As shown in FIG. 6, virtual beacon information may include virtual beacon identification information (virtual_id) that identifies the corresponding virtual beacon, and AP identification information that identifies APs installed around the corresponding virtual beacon. In this case, the AP identification information may include information about the MAC address (MAC) and reference distance (D) of the AP. Additionally, when a plurality of APs are installed around a virtual beacon, the corresponding virtual beacon information may include a plurality of AP identification information that each identifies the plurality of APs.

As described above, when the service information management process is performed, the service information required to provide the virtual beacon service may be stored and managed in the database 104 of the virtual beacon service providing system 100.

Next, the virtual beacon service providing system 100 may provide a virtual beacon service in conjunction with the customer's mobile terminal 30. That is, the service provider 120 of the system 100 is configured to set the customer's mobile terminal 30 to a virtual beacon zone (Z) corresponding to the virtual location of the virtual beacon or a predetermined area within the virtual beacon zone (Z). When entering, virtual beacon information including the virtual beacon identification information may be provided to the mobile terminal 30, allowing the mobile terminal 30 to receive content corresponding to the virtual beacon identification information. there is.

To this end, the service provider 120 of the system 100 may include a terminal location determination unit 122, a virtual beacon information transmission unit 124, and a content transmission unit 126.

In this case, the terminal location determination unit 122 receives the location information of the mobile terminal 30 from the customer's mobile terminal 30, and the mobile terminal 30 is located in the virtual beacon zone (Z) or the virtual It can be determined whether a predetermined area within the beacon zone (Z) has been entered.

The virtual beacon information transmission unit 124, when the mobile terminal 30 enters the virtual beacon zone (Z) or a predetermined area within the virtual beacon zone (Z), provides virtual beacon information for the corresponding virtual beacon. It can be transmitted to the mobile terminal 30. In this case, the virtual beacon information may include AP identification information identifying at least one AP installed within a predetermined distance from the virtual location of the virtual beacon, along with virtual beacon identification information identifying the corresponding virtual beacon. Additionally, the AP identification information may include information about the MAC address of the AP and a reference distance that the mobile terminal 30 must maintain from the AP in order to receive the content.

When receiving the virtual beacon identification information from the mobile terminal 30 in the future, the content transmission unit 126 may transmit predetermined content corresponding to the virtual beacon identification information to the mobile terminal 30. Depending on the embodiment, the content transmission unit 126 may be implemented as a separate content provision server.

Meanwhile, in order to interoperate with the above-described virtual beacon service providing system 100, the virtual beacon service execution device according to the present invention may be installed in the customer's mobile terminal 30.

Figure 7 shows a block diagram of a virtual beacon service execution device 700 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 7, the virtual beacon service execution device 700 includes a terminal location information transmitter 710, a virtual beacon information receiver 720, a virtual signal zone determination unit 730, and a content receiver 740. may include. In addition, the virtual beacon service execution device 700 may interoperate with the wireless communication module 32, location measurement module 34, output module 36, storage module 38, etc. of the mobile terminal 30. In this case, the mobile terminal 30 is of various types such as a smart phone, PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), PMP (Portable Multimedia Player), etc. that can perform data communication using the wireless communication module 32. It can be implemented in a mobile communication terminal. The virtual beacon service execution device 700 can be implemented as an application program that controls the mobile terminal 30 by combining with the hardware of the mobile terminal 30, and is installed on the mobile terminal 30 to control the mobile terminal ( 30) can also be implemented as a separate device that works in conjunction with it.

Figure 8 shows a flowchart showing the service provision process of the virtual beacon service provision method according to an embodiment of the present invention. With reference to FIG. 8, the detailed configuration and operation of the virtual beacon service execution device 700 shown in FIG. 7 will be described in more detail.

As shown in FIG. 8, the terminal location information transmission unit 710 of the virtual beacon service execution device 700 installed in the mobile terminal 30 is connected to the mobile terminal (Z) in the virtual beacon zone (Z) where the virtual beacon service is provided. 30) measures the location of the mobile terminal 30 through the location measurement module 34 (S810), and transmits the measured location information to the virtual beacon service through the wireless communication module 32 of the mobile terminal 30. It can be transmitted to the provision system 100 (S820). In this case, the location measurement module 34 of the mobile terminal 30 is based on GPS (Global Positioning System), a mobile communication base station, or a WiFi signal. Position can be measured.

Next, the terminal location determination unit 122 of the system 100 receives the location information received from the mobile terminal 30, and determines whether the mobile terminal 30 is in the virtual beacon zone (Z) or the virtual beacon zone. It can be determined whether a predetermined area has been entered (S830). In this case, the terminal location determination unit 122 may refer to location information of the virtual beacon zone (Z) stored in the database 104 or cell information within the corresponding virtual beacon zone (Z).

Next, the virtual beacon information transmission unit 124 of the system 100, when the mobile terminal 30 enters the virtual beacon zone (Z) or a predetermined area within the virtual beacon zone (Z), database At (104), virtual beacon information of the virtual beacon corresponding to the location of the mobile terminal 30 may be searched (S840), and the searched virtual beacon information may be transmitted to the mobile terminal 30 (S850). As mentioned above, the virtual beacon information may include AP identification information that identifies at least one AP installed within a predetermined distance from the virtual location of the virtual beacon, along with virtual beacon identification information that identifies the corresponding virtual beacon. . In this case, the AP identification information may include information about the MAC address of the AP and a reference distance that the mobile terminal 30 must maintain from the AP in order to receive the content.

Next, when the virtual beacon signal receiver 720 of the mobile terminal 30 receives the virtual beacon information transmitted from the system 100, the virtual signal zone determination unit 730 of the mobile terminal 30, By scanning nearby APs, at least one AP can be discovered in the vicinity of the mobile terminal 30, and identification information of the discovered AP can be obtained (S860). And, the virtual signal zone determination unit 730 compares the identification information of the discovered AP with the AP identification information of the virtual beacon information received from the system 100, and determines whether the mobile terminal 30 is connected to the corresponding virtual beacon information. It can be determined whether the beacon is located in a predetermined virtual signal area (S870).

Here, the virtual signal area of the virtual beacon is an area where the mobile terminal 30 receives content, like the beacon signal transmission area of the actual beacon. The location and range of this virtual signal zone can be determined by the AP identification information of the virtual beacon information received from the system 100.

That is, when the virtual signal zone determination unit 730 of the mobile terminal 30 is identical to the AP identification information of the discovered AP and the virtual beacon information, the virtual signal zone determination unit 730 of the mobile terminal 30 It can be determined that it is located in a signal area.

Depending on the embodiment, the AP identification information of the virtual beacon information may include the MAC address of the AP and information about the reference distance that the mobile terminal 30 must maintain from the AP in order to receive the content. there is. In addition, the virtual signal zone determination unit 730 of the mobile terminal 30 determines that the MAC address of the discovered AP is the same as the MAC address of the AP identification information and the discovered AP is located within the reference distance. In this case, it may be determined that the mobile terminal 30 is located in a virtual signal zone.

Figure 9 shows an example of a virtual signal zone 900 formed by virtual beacon settings.

As shown in FIG. 9, when a service subscriber sets a virtual beacon at a predetermined point within the virtual beacon zone (Z), the system 100 configures the APs 902, 904, and 906 installed around the virtual beacon. MAC addresses can be collected and the reference distance (D1, D2, D3) for each AP can be calculated. When calculating the reference distance, the range of the virtual signal area 900 to be formed may be considered. That is, if the reference distance changes, the range of the virtual signal zone may change.

For example, when the virtual beacon information received from the system 100 includes AP identification information for three APs 902, 904, and 906, the virtual signal zone determination unit 730 of the mobile terminal 30 , APs (902, 904, 906) each having the same MAC address as the MAC address included in the AP identification information are discovered in the vicinity, and the mobile terminal 30 is connected to the discovered APs (902, 904, 906) and the corresponding reference distances D1, D2, and D3, respectively, it may be determined that the mobile terminal 30 is located in the virtual signal area 900.

That is, in FIG. 9, a first virtual circle centered on the installation point of the first AP 902 and having the reference distance D1 as its radius, centered on the installation point of the second AP 904 and the corresponding reference distance The overlapped portion included in both the second virtual circle with radius D2 and the third virtual circle centered on the installation point of the third AP 906 and with radius D3 is a virtual signal area. This part corresponds to 900, and when the mobile terminal 30 enters the virtual signal area 900, content corresponding to the corresponding virtual beacon identification information can be provided.

Referring again to FIG. 8, when the mobile terminal 30 is located in the virtual signal zone, the content receiver 740 of the mobile terminal 30 sends the corresponding virtual beacon identification information to the system 100. It is possible to transmit (S880) and receive various contents such as advertisements, messages, coupons, etc. of service subscribers corresponding to the virtual beacon identification information from the content transmission unit 126 of the system 100 (S890). In this case, the content transmission unit 126 of the system 100 compares the virtual beacon signal identification information received from the mobile terminal 30 and the pre-stored virtual beacon identification information, and if there is an identity, the corresponding virtual beacon signal Content corresponding to signal identification information can be transmitted to the mobile terminal 30. The content transmission unit 126 of the system 100 may also be implemented as a separate content provision server.

In addition, the content receiving unit 740 of the mobile terminal 30 may output the received content through an output module 36 such as a display of the mobile terminal 30 or store it in a storage module 38 such as a memory. there is.

Meanwhile, embodiments of the present invention can be implemented by recording a computer-readable computer program on a computer-readable recording medium. When embodiments of the present invention are implemented using a computer program, the constituent means of the present invention are program code segments that execute necessary tasks. These computer programs or code segments may be stored in a computer-readable recording medium. Computer-readable recording media include all types of media that record data that can be read by a computer system. For example, computer-readable recording media may include ROM, RAM, CD-ROM, magnetic tape, floppy disk, and optical data storage devices. Additionally, by distributing these recording media in computer systems connected to various networks, program codes can be stored or executed in a distributed manner.

As described above, the present invention provides the same or similar services as existing beacon services without using a separate physical beacon terminal, thereby reducing the time and cost required to build a beacon system, and reducing the time and cost required for building a beacon system using a pre-built WiFi AP infrastructure. The usability can be increased. In particular, by allowing the service subscriber to freely set the virtual beacon zone, which is the geographical range where the virtual beacon service is provided, and the virtual beacon located virtually within the virtual beacon zone, beacon services can be provided in areas with various environments and areas. Of course, it can respond adaptively according to changes in the service subscriber's situation, such as business expansion or relocation. In addition, by having the customer's mobile terminal determine whether the virtual beacon has entered the virtual signal zone and receive content corresponding to the virtual beacon, different contents can be provided to the customer for each virtual beacon setting location within the virtual beacon zone. . Furthermore, of course, the embodiments according to the present invention can solve various technical problems other than those mentioned in this specification in the relevant technical field as well as in the related technical field.

So far, the present invention has been described with reference to specific embodiments. However, those skilled in the art will clearly understand that various modified embodiments can be implemented within the technical scope of the present invention. Therefore, the previously disclosed embodiments should be considered from an explanatory perspective rather than a limiting perspective. In other words, the scope of the true technical idea of the present invention is shown in the claims, and all differences within the scope of equivalents should be construed as being included in the present invention.

10: Subscriber terminal 20: AP management server
30: Mobile terminal 100: Virtual beacon service provision system
102: Data communication department 104: Database
110: Service information management unit 112: Service setting information reception unit
114: Service information register 116: Virtual beacon identification information allocation unit
118: AP information collection unit 119: Terminal location determination unit
120: Service provision unit 122: Terminal location determination unit
124: Virtual beacon information transmission unit 126: Content transmission unit

Claims (22)

In relation to a virtual beacon zone where a virtual beacon service is provided and a virtual beacon located virtually at a predetermined point within the virtual beacon zone, storing virtual beacon identification information that identifies the virtual beacon. Service Information Management Department; and
When a predetermined mobile terminal enters the virtual beacon zone corresponding to the virtual location of the virtual beacon, virtual beacon information including the virtual beacon identification information is provided to the mobile terminal to enable the mobile terminal to use the virtual beacon. It includes a service provider that receives content corresponding to the virtual beacon identification information in the virtual signal area,
The service provider department,
a terminal location determination unit that receives location information of the mobile terminal from the mobile terminal and determines whether the mobile terminal has entered the virtual beacon zone; and
When the mobile terminal enters the virtual beacon zone, the virtual beacon information and AP identification information identifying at least one access point (AP) installed within a predetermined distance from the virtual location of the virtual beacon are transmitted to the mobile terminal. A virtual beacon information transmission unit; and
When the virtual beacon identification information is received from the mobile terminal that is determined to have entered the virtual signal zone using the AP identification information, it includes a content transmission unit that transmits predetermined content corresponding to the virtual beacon identification information to the mobile terminal. doing
Virtual beacon service provision system. According to paragraph 1,
The service information management department,
A service setting information receiving unit that receives location information of the virtual beacon zone and virtual location information of the virtual beacon from a terminal of a virtual beacon service subscriber; and
Service information including location information of the virtual beacon zone, virtual beacon identification information identifying the virtual beacon, and AP identification information identifying at least one access point (AP) installed within a predetermined distance from the virtual location of the virtual beacon. A virtual beacon service providing system comprising a service information register that stores and registers. According to paragraph 2,
The location information of the virtual beacon zone received by the service setting information receiving unit is a virtual beacon service providing system, characterized in that it includes information about the center position and radius of the virtual beacon zone. According to paragraph 2,
The service information management department,
a virtual beacon identification information allocation unit that allocates the virtual beacon identification information to the virtual beacon;
an AP information collection unit that collects address information and location information of the AP from a predetermined AP management server that stores and manages information about the AP; and
A virtual beacon service providing system further comprising a reference distance calculation unit that calculates a reference distance that the mobile terminal must maintain from the AP in order to receive the corresponding content, using the location information of the AP. According to paragraph 4,
The AP identification information registered by the service information register is a virtual beacon service providing system, characterized in that it includes information about the MAC (Media Access Control) address of the AP and the reference distance. delete delete According to paragraph 1,
The AP identification information is a virtual beacon service providing system, characterized in that it includes information on the MAC address of the AP and a reference distance that the mobile terminal must maintain from the AP in order to receive the corresponding content. delete A method of providing a virtual beacon service using a computer system that communicates with an external terminal through a network,
The system identifies a virtual beacon that identifies the virtual beacon in relation to a virtual beacon zone in which a virtual beacon service is provided and a virtual beacon located virtually at a predetermined point within the virtual beacon zone. A service information management step for storing information; and
When a certain mobile terminal enters the virtual beacon zone corresponding to the virtual location of the virtual beacon, the system provides virtual beacon information including the virtual beacon identification information to the mobile terminal, allowing the mobile terminal to Comprising a service provision step of receiving content corresponding to the virtual beacon identification information in the virtual signal area of the virtual beacon,
The service provision step is,
A terminal location determination step in which the system receives location information of the mobile terminal from the mobile terminal and determines whether the mobile terminal has entered the virtual beacon zone; and
When the mobile terminal enters the virtual beacon zone, the system transmits the virtual beacon information and AP identification information identifying at least one AP installed within a predetermined distance from the virtual location of the virtual beacon to the mobile terminal. Including a virtual beacon information transmission step,
The service provision step is,
When the virtual beacon identification information is received from the mobile terminal that is determined to have entered the virtual signal zone using the AP identification information, a content transmission step of transmitting predetermined content corresponding to the virtual beacon identification information to the mobile terminal. containing
How to provide virtual beacon services. According to clause 10,
The service information management step is,
A service setting information receiving step in which the system receives location information of the virtual beacon zone and virtual location information of the virtual beacon from a terminal of a virtual beacon service subscriber; and
The system includes location information of the virtual beacon zone, virtual beacon identification information identifying the virtual beacon, and AP identification information identifying at least one access point (AP) installed within a predetermined distance from the virtual location of the virtual beacon. A method of providing a virtual beacon service, comprising a service information registration step of storing and registering service information. According to clause 11,
The location information of the virtual beacon zone received in the service setting information receiving step is a virtual beacon service providing method, characterized in that it includes information about the center position and radius of the virtual beacon zone. According to clause 11,
The service information management step is,
A virtual beacon identification information allocation step in which the system allocates the virtual beacon identification information to the virtual beacon;
An AP information collection step in which the system collects address information and location information of the AP from a predetermined AP management server that stores and manages information about the AP; and
Providing a virtual beacon service, wherein the system further includes a reference distance calculation step of calculating a reference distance that the mobile terminal must maintain from the AP in order to receive the corresponding content, using the location information of the AP. method. According to clause 13,
The AP identification information registered in the service information registration step includes a MAC (Media Access Control) address of the AP and information about the reference distance. delete delete According to clause 10,
The AP identification information includes a MAC address of the AP and information on a reference distance that the mobile terminal must maintain from the AP in order to receive the corresponding content. delete A computer program that executes the method according to any one of claims 10 to 14 and 17 through a computer system, and is recorded on a recording medium. delete delete delete

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