KR20070071866A - Method for obtaining location using mobile phone having a function of rfid reader - Google Patents

Abstract

A location tracking method using a mobile communication terminal having an RFID(Radio Frequency Identification) reader function is provided to be capable of attaching an RFID tag to a tracking target, so as to track a location of the tracking target by perceiving a distance to the tracking target. A location tracking signal recognized by an RFID tag is outputted(S11,S15). It is decided whether an RF signal inputted as a response signal for the location tracking signal is equivalent to an ID number preset to a mobile communication terminal(S17). If so, field strength of the inputted RF signal is measured to calculate a distance value corresponding to the measured strength(S19). The calculated distance value is displayed(S31,S33).

Description

Method for obtaining location using mobile phone having a function of RFID reader}

1 is an electrical block diagram of an RFID tag that can be applied to the present invention;

2A and 2B are front and rear views respectively showing the appearance of a mobile communication terminal equipped with an RFID reader function that can be applied to the present invention;

3 is an electrical block diagram of a mobile communication terminal having an RFID reader function applicable to the present invention;

4 is a flowchart illustrating a location tracking method using a mobile communication terminal having an RFID reader function according to the present invention.

*** Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawing ***

100: mobile communication terminal 110: main body

112: numeric / character key buttons 113: microphone hole

114: Volume button 115: Position tracking mode selection button

116: Standard terminal slot 117: Camera lens

118: flash 119: infrared communication element

120: slider 121: function key button

122: flat panel indicator 123: speaker hole

130: antenna 140: battery pack

143: charging terminal

210: control unit 220: radio frequency transmitting and receiving unit

222: antenna 230: key input unit

232: Function key 234: Numeric / character keys

240: memory 242: program storage unit

244: data storage unit 250: voice signal processing unit

252: microphone 254: speaker

260: flat panel display driver 262: flat panel display

270: vibration generator 272: vibration motor

274: LED driver 276: LED

280: camera driver 282: CCD camera

284: Image Processing Unit 286: IrDA Transmitter / Receiver

288: RFID transmitter and receiver 288a: antenna

300: RFID tag 310: antenna

321: transmit / receive module 323: control logic

325: memory 327: power supply

The present invention relates to a location tracking method using a mobile communication terminal having an RFID reader function, and more particularly, to a location tracking method using a mobile communication terminal having an RFID reader function to track a location of a tracking object to which an RFID tag is attached. .

The mobile communication terminal, which is a necessity for modern people, is not only compact and lightweight due to steady development, but also is emerging as a complex communication terminal having various functions such as mp3, camera and navigation. In addition to the above functions, such a mobile terminal has a voice mail service (called a voice mail service) that allows a sender to leave a message in a recipient's voice mailbox or a fax mailbox when the receiver cannot answer a call. Voice Activated Dialing Service, which uses numbers and letters to connect a recognition device to memorize / register a user's voice and then make a voice call without having to dial the phone number when the user makes a call. Short message service (SMS) and short message service that can send and receive messages about 80 bytes, that is, 40 ~ 50 characters in Korean and 80 characters in English, can make a sentence longer and can add sound, video, etc. It provides various functions and services such as Multimedia Message Service (MMS).

In addition, the Voice Activated Dialing Service connects a voice recognition device to a mobile communication terminal to memorize / register a subscriber's voice and then make a voice call without pressing a phone number when the subscriber makes a call. ), The voice password setting function that sets the user's voice as a password instead of the password when setting the outgoing lock function, and the voice / text that helps the visually impaired or the general public to use SMS or MMS while driving by automatically converting the user's voice into a text. Contrary to Speech to Text (STT) and SST, Text to Speech (TTS), which converts text into voice and reads the text when a text message is received or a missed call is received. Voice / text recognition technology, such as, has been introduced into the mobile communication terminal.

On the other hand, pets are being treated as a member of the family, in addition to providing fun to people. In line with this current climate, animal hospitals are in the middle of business, and processed foods for pets, also known as pet foods, are not only animal foods, but various forms that people can consume enough. Is skyrocketing. In addition, pet grooming and hygiene products are also increasing in demand, and is still rare in the country, but the animal protection in foreign countries, especially in the United Kingdom, such as the situation of animal insurance.

However, the above pets are often lost due to carelessness of the owner while leaving the house or walking with the owner. Therefore, in order to prevent this in advance, the dog wearing a necklace with the owner's phone number on the dog, but there is a problem to tease the owner because there is no guarantee to find.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, by attaching an RFID tag to the tracking object, the position using the mobile communication terminal having an RFID reader function to track the location of the tracking object by determining the distance to the tracking object. The purpose is to provide a tracking method.

Location tracking method using a mobile communication terminal having an RFID reader function of the present invention for achieving the above object is performed in a mobile communication terminal having an RFID reader function for wireless communication with an RFID tag attached to any tracking object, (a) outputting a location tracking signal recognized by the RFID tag; (b) determining whether a radio frequency signal input as a response signal of the location tracking signal corresponds to an identification number preset in the mobile communication terminal; (c) if the inputted radio frequency signal corresponds to the identification number as a result of the determination of step (b), calculating a field value of the input radio frequency signal and calculating a corresponding distance value; d) providing a location tracking method using a mobile communication terminal having an RFID reader function comprising the step of displaying the distance value calculated in step (c).

Hereinafter, a location tracking method using a mobile communication terminal having an RFID reader function according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings will be described in detail.

RFID (Radio Frequency IDentification) has its own antenna that contains information on the entire process of production, distribution, storage and consumption on a tag attached to the product, and enables readers to read this information, An activity or chip used in conjunction with an information system in conjunction with a communication network.

In Korea, the Ministry of Information and Communication defines RFID as a U-sensor network service, which attaches electronic tags to objects and collects / processes the information of each object to exchange information, locate, remotely process and manage the objects. It is defined as providing services, and the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy's technology for recognizing people, goods, and vehicles as non-contact by using RFID to read and write information on chips attached to products using frequencies. 'Is defined. The definition of domestic research institutes is defined as 'technology that automatically recognizes data stored in tags, labels, cards, etc. embedded with micro-chips in the reader using radio frequency.' The researcher is a technology that recognizes objects without contact by using a small IC chip that uses radio frequency, and can deliver information on the status of products to companies in real time through the location and tracking of objects. Explaining. Therefore, the official name of RFID has not been determined until now, and is currently called as radio recognition, radio identification, radio wave identification,, electronic tag, electronic chip or electronic label.

On the other hand, the RFID system consists of a tag that stores information and exchanges data with a protocol as described above, and a reader (reader) that communicates with the tag.

First of all, RFID tag is divided into active type that requires power and passive type which is operated by electromagnetic field of reader without supplying power directly from inside or outside depending on power supply. The active type has the advantage of reducing the power required of the reader and the recognition distance from the reader. However, the active type is limited in operating time and expensive compared to the passive type because it requires a power supply. On the other hand, the passive type is very lighter than the active type, and the price is low and semi-permanent. However, the passive type has a shorter recognition distance and consumes more power in the reader.

In addition, RFID tags can be made in various shapes, and can be inserted into plastic discs, cylinders, cards, thin, flexible strips or glass beads (with center holes). In addition, the RFID tag is a read-only tag with 1-bit storage used simply for theft protection, and has 32-bit or 64-bit storage with unique data that can be read-only and the user can arbitrarily modify the contents of the memory. There are 512kb read and write tags available, and the 125.134KHz, 13.56MHz, 433MHz, 860 ~ 960MHz or 2.45GHz frequency bands are used.

Next, the RFID reader, also called an interrogator or reader, has an RF frequency unit that enables radio communication with the tag using RF (Radio Friquency) energy, which can be handheld or fixed. It is installed to receive the signal emitted from the RFID tag and reads the data contained in the signal.

1 is an electrical block diagram of an RFID tag that can be applied to the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, an RFID tag 300 that can be applied to the present invention includes: an antenna 310 that emits or receives a predetermined radio frequency signal; A transmission / reception module 321 for modulating and demodulating a predetermined radio frequency signal; A memory 325 in which a unique identification number of the RFID tag is stored; A control logic 323 for controlling the transmission / reception module 321 and the memory 325; It includes a power supply unit 327 for supplying the driving power of each part of the RFID tag (300).

In the above-described configuration, the control logic 323 is configured to output a response signal corresponding to a unique identification number stored in the memory 325 with a constant political strength when the signal flowing from the antenna 310 is a predetermined radio frequency signal. The transceiver module 321 and the antenna 310 are controlled.

Figures 2a and 2b is a front view and a rear view showing the appearance of a mobile communication terminal equipped with an RFID reader function that can be applied to the present invention, respectively, illustrating a slide type mobile communication terminal. Of course, it should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the terminal of this manner and structure. As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, a mobile communication terminal (hereinafter, also referred to as a “terminal”) 100 to which the present invention can be applied includes a main body 110 and a flat panel display 122 having a main circuit built therein. It may be made to include a slider 120 that slides up and down in the main body 110 while mounting.

In the above-described configuration, the front of the main body 110 is arranged with a number / letter key button 112 used to receive the numbers and letters, the upper surface and the infrared communication (IrDA) with the antenna 130 and other external communication devices Infrared communication element 119 is used to dispose, and the microphone hole 113 in communication with the microphone (not shown) in the lower portion of the lower portion is perforated. The main body 110 is also provided with a rear surface in place, for example, a camera lens 117 and a flash 118 for illumination at night, and a battery pack 140 is detachable at the bottom thereof. The lower surface of the main body 110 is provided with a standard connection terminal slot 116 through which power for transmitting / receiving data with other terminals or charging the battery pack 140 coupled to the main body 110 is transmitted. .

On the other hand, the front surface of the slider 120 is provided with a flat panel display 122 for displaying various characters or graphic elements indicating the operation and operation state of the mobile communication terminal 100 and still images and moving pictures, and below the terminal ( A function key button 121 used to select or receive various functions included in 100 is disposed. Further, a speaker hole 123 communicating with an internal speaker (not shown) is drilled in place of the slider 120, for example, the flat display 122. In the drawing, reference numeral 114 denotes a volume button, 115 denotes a location tracking mode selection button, and 143 denotes a charging terminal exposed to the lower part of the battery pack 140.

3 is an electrical block diagram of a mobile communication terminal having an RFID reader function applicable to the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 3, an electrical configuration of a mobile communication terminal to which the present invention can be applied includes: a radio frequency transmitter / receiver 220 that transmits / receives a radio frequency signal with a base station through an antenna 222; A key input unit 230 including a function key input unit 232 and a number / character key input unit 234 for generating a corresponding key signal when the numeric / character key button 112 and the function key button 121 are operated. ; A program storage unit 242 for storing various application programs, such as an operating system (OS) or a RFID tag location tracking program of the terminal, a unique identification number of the RFID tag 300, data generated during a calculation process, or data set by a user Memory 240 including a data storage unit 244 for storing the; A microphone 252 for converting an external sound wave into a corresponding analog type speech signal; A speaker 254 for converting an analog signal generated inside the terminal into sound waves; A voice signal processor 250 for converting an analog voice signal input from the microphone 252 into a corresponding digital voice signal, converting the digital voice signal into a corresponding analog voice signal, and outputting the analog voice signal to the speaker 254; An RFID transmitter / receiver 288 for transmitting / receiving a radio frequency signal corresponding to a unique identification number of the RFID tag 300 through the antenna 288a; A flat panel display 262 and a flat panel display driver 260 for driving the flat panel display 262; A vibration motor 272 and a driving unit 270 which generate vibration when the terminal 100 operates in a vibration mode; An LED 276 and a driver 274 for visually displaying an event when a call or a message is received; As the short range communication means, an infrared ray transmitter / receiver 286 which emits infrared rays and receives infrared rays emitted from the outside, and a controller 210 which controls them collectively may be included.

In addition to the mobile communication terminal to which the present invention is applied, a camera driver 280 for driving the CCD camera 282 under the control of the control unit 210 and the CCD camera 282 installed in place of the main body 110 or the slider 120. And an image processor 284 for processing image data output from the CCD camera 282 may be further provided as necessary.

In the above-described configuration, the controller 210 decodes the radio frequency signal received from the RFID tag 300 based on the RFID tag position program stored in the program storage unit 242 and stores the data in the data storage unit 244. Make sure it matches the unique identification number you have. In addition, the controller 210 measures the electric field strength of the received radio frequency signal, and calculates a distance value corresponding to the measured electric field strength.

4 is a flowchart illustrating a location tracking method using a mobile communication terminal having an RFID reader function according to the present invention, and the subject is a control unit 210 unless specifically mentioned in FIG. 4.

First, in step S11, it is determined whether the location tracking mode. That is, it is determined whether a key signal for tracking the position of the RFID tag 300 is input according to the operation of the key input unit 230 or the location tracking mode selection button 115 of the terminal user.

If the determination result in step S11 is not the location tracking mode, the process proceeds to step S13 to perform other functions of the mobile communication terminal. On the other hand, when the determination result in step S11 is the location tracking mode, the control proceeds to step S15 to control the RFID transmitter / receiver 288 to output the location tracking signal to find the RFID tag (300). In this case, the RFID tag 300 proceeds to the description of FIG. 4 as being attached to a place of a pet, for example, a body or a necklace that a user of the terminal raises.

Next, in step S17, it is determined whether a response signal is received from the RFID tag 300 to the RFID transmitter / receiver 288. As a result of the determination in step S17, when a response signal is received, that is, when a response signal corresponding to a unique identification number previously stored in the data storage unit 244 is received, the flow advances to step S19 to determine the electric field strength of the received response signal. The corresponding distance value, that is, the distance value with the RFID tag 300 is calculated.

In step S31, it is determined whether the distance to the RFID tag 300 calculated in step S19, that is, the pet, is within a predetermined distance. If the determination result in step S31 is within the predetermined distance, the flow advances to step S33 to control the flat panel display driver 260 such that the distance to the pet with the RFID tag 300 is output through the flat panel display 262. do. In addition, the control unit 210 outputs a voice signal corresponding to the calculated distance value to the voice signal processing unit 250, so that the terminal user can determine the distance from the pet with a predetermined sound wave output from the speaker 254. You may be guided.

On the other hand, when the determination result in step S17 does not receive a response signal from the RFID tag 300 or when the determination result in step S31 indicates that the distance to the RFID tag 300 exceeds a predetermined distance, the process proceeds to step S21. Proceed to step S35 after generating an alarm to warn that the pet may be lost. That is, the vibration generating unit 270, the LED driving unit 274 or the flat panel display driving unit 260 by a predetermined method or a predetermined voice signal so that the terminal user can recognize that the pet is out of the reference distance The signal processor 250 outputs the signal.

Next, in step S35, it is determined whether the position tracking mode is turned off. If it is determined that the position of the pet is to be continuously tracked, the process returns to step S15, whereas if the position tracking mode is turned off, the position tracking mode ends.

The location tracking method using the mobile communication terminal having the RFID reader function of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments and can be modified in various ways within the scope of the technical idea of the present invention.

According to the location tracking method using the mobile communication terminal having the RFID reader function of the present invention as described above, the pets or guardians, such as pets to raise a pet, for example, to a young child RFID tag to communicate with the mobile communication terminal according to the present invention By attaching, there is an effect that can prevent the pet from being lost or lost.

Claims (3)

It is performed in a mobile communication terminal equipped with an RFID reader function for wireless communication with an RFID tag attached to an arbitrary tracking object, (a) outputting a location tracking signal recognized by the RFID tag; (b) determining whether a radio frequency signal input as a response signal of the location tracking signal corresponds to an identification number preset in the mobile communication terminal; (c) if the inputted radio frequency signal corresponds to the identification number as a result of the determination in step (b), calculating a field value of the input radio frequency signal and calculating a corresponding distance value; (d) location tracking method using a mobile communication terminal having an RFID reader function comprising the step of displaying the distance value calculated in step (c). The method of claim 1, (e) if the distance value calculated in step (c) exceeds a predetermined reference value, further comprising the step of outputting a warning sound, characterized in that the location tracking method using a mobile communication terminal having an RFID reader function. The method according to claim 1 or 2, The RFID tag is an active RFID tag having a self-powered power source, characterized in that the location tracking method using a mobile communication terminal having an RFID reader function.

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