KR20170140957A - System and process for location identification using visible light communication - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a positioning system using visible light communications to identify positions of people located in each space in a structure having a plurality of spaces. The positioning system of the present invention comprises: information terminals carried by each person, having an identification code stored therein, and having a light emitting element for transmitting the identification code by the dimming of visible light; lighting lamps installed in each space and illuminating a corresponding space, separately having an identification code, and having a visible light receiving element for receiving the visible light transmitted by the light emitting element of each information terminal; and a positioning server connected to each lighting lamp through a network to receive information received by the lighting lamps from the information terminals, and information on the identification codes of the lighting lamps, from each of the lighting lamps, and storing the identification code of each lighting lamp, information on a space where the lighting lamps are disposed, and the identification code of the information terminals carried by each person.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0001] The present invention relates to a position determination system and a position determination method using visible light communication,

The present invention relates to a positioning system and a positioning method using visible light communication. More particularly, the present invention relates to a positioning system and a positioning method using visible light communication, And more particularly, to a system and method for confirming a position using visible light communication with an illumination lamp.

With the development of information communication technology and the development and popularization of portable information terminal technology such as smart phone, a user of information terminal can check his / her position in real time by using a positioning system such as GPS.

As a configuration for the position confirmation method in the information terminal, there is a position measurement using a GPS (Global Positioning System), a position confirmation using a positioning service provided by a mobile communication company, and a positioning using a local communication such as Bluetooth or infrared communication .

The GPS positioning technique receives a GPS signal from a satellite in an information terminal equipped with an antenna capable of receiving GPS signals, calculates a current location of the user based on the received GPS signal, and displays the calculated current position on the display of the information terminal . In the location confirmation using the positioning service provided by the mobile communication company, the server of the mobile communication company judges at the request of the user whether the user's information terminal is connected to the base station operated by the mobile communication company, To the user. The localization technique using the short-range communication is to measure the user's current position using a radio signal or an infrared signal emitted from three or more access points.

However, there is a decisive problem that the location of the user can not be confirmed in the inside of the structure where the GPS signal can not reach such as the inside of a ship, a building, or a plant. In addition, since the service area of one base station is very wide in location confirmation using the positioning service provided by the mobile communication company, even if the location is confirmed through the service, the base position of the user can not be precisely specified In addition, there is a problem in that it is impossible to confirm the position of the mobile terminal in a subterranean space or a plant where a base station of a mobile communication company, a base station of a mobile communication company, .

A smart device that performs LED-ID / RF communication through a camera and a system and method for providing a location-based service using the smart device, which is disclosed in Patent Publication No. 10-1511442 (Document 1) as an alternative technique for identifying a person's location, .

According to the disclosure of the document 1, a smart device possessed by a person has a visible light transmission / reception module and receives location information through visible light from a lighting or display or the like in a building, acquires location information, And receives location-based information according to its own location information.

However, since the system of the document 1 receives the location-based information service by receiving the location information from the lighting device or the like and transmitting it to the separate wireless access point, the system of the document 1 can not communicate with the wireless access point, Or can not function as a method or system for confirming the position of a person in an underground space such as a plant.

In particular, the systems and methods of document 1 are intended to allow a person possessing a smart device to only receive information services based on his or her current location, and to provide a method or system that allows a third party to verify the location of the person It is not.

Document 1: Patent Publication No. 10-1511442

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems of the prior art and it is an object of the present invention to provide a structure in which a human information terminal such as a ship, a building, or a plant can not communicate with a wireless access point (AP) A system and a method for confirming the position of people located in each space in the structure by using an information terminal held by a person inside and an illumination lamp disposed in each space in the structure.

Particularly, the present invention uses an ordinary smartphone configuration without adding a separate device for location confirmation to an information terminal, such as a smart phone, which is possessed and used by most people, And to provide a system and method for confirming the position of people in the structure by adding a minimal configuration to an existing facility or device without building a separate network or communication infrastructure for location confirmation .

The above-mentioned object of the present invention is achieved by a positioning system and a positioning method according to the present invention.

A positioning system according to the present invention is directed to a positioning system that utilizes visible light communication to identify the position of people located in each space within a structure having a plurality of spaces, An information terminal having a light emitting element which is stored and which transmits the identification code by dimming of visible light; An illuminating lamp provided in each of the spaces and illuminating the space, the illuminating lamp including an visible light receiving element each having an identification code and receiving the visible light emitted by the light emitting element of each information terminal; And information on the identification code of the illumination lamp and the information from the information terminal received by the illumination lamp from each illumination lamp is received by the network and the identification code of each illumination lamp and the identification code of the illumination lamp Information and an identification code of the information terminal possessed by each person are stored.

According to the configuration of the position determination system of the present invention, it is possible to confirm the position of the persons located in the respective spaces of the structure, for example, in a situation where the ship is stranded and sinks, The user can confirm the position of the passengers or crew members by using the positioning system of the present invention.

The positioning according to the positioning system of the present invention can be performed by the positioning method of the present invention as follows.

The positioning server provided in the structure grants each identification code recognizable by the positioning server to the information terminal held by the persons entering the space in the structure or stores the respective identification codes possessed by the information terminal.

Each of the information terminals transmits the identification code by dimming of visible light through the light emitting element in a situation where the position of a person is to be confirmed.

Accordingly, the visible light receiving element of the space where the person is located, that is, the space of the space where each information terminal is located, receives the information of the identification code transmitted by the information terminal, and the identification code of the received information terminal and the identification code And transmits the information to the location confirmation server.

The location confirmation server receives the information transmitted by each illumination light and identifies the person who holds the information terminal through the identification code of the information terminal by specifying the space where the information is transmitted through the identification code of the illumination light, Of people are located in a specific space within the structure.

The positioning system and the positioning method according to the present invention will be described in connection with a ship operating on the sea.

The internal space of the ship operating from the sea remote from the land can not receive the GPS signal, the mobile communication network on the land can not communicate, each space is clogged by the iron wall, connect.

An information terminal carried by a ship's crew and a passenger has a luminous element for transmitting its own identification code by dimming of visible light and an illumination lamp arranged in a space in the vessel where the luminous element is placed is used for dimming of visible light transmitted by the information terminal And a visible light receiving element for receiving the signal by the light receiving element.

Therefore, when a crew member or a passenger is isolated in a specific space in an urgent situation where there is a risk of sinking due to the stranding of the ship, the crew member or the passenger manipulates his / her information terminal so that the light- , The visible light receiving element such as a lamp disposed in the space receives the visible light receiving element and transmits it to the position check server through the network in the ship together with the identification code unique to the illumination lamp.

In this way, the location confirmation server confirms which information is sent from the illumination light disposed in which space through the identification code of the illumination or the like among the received information, identifies the corresponding space, and confirms which information terminal sent information through the identification code of the information terminal So that it is possible to specify which person is located in which space in the ship by specifying a crew or a passenger holding the information terminal.

Based on this specified information, the ship operator can confirm who is staying in the space and carry out the structure.

Such a configuration and operation positioning system and method can be applied not only to a ship but also to a building or a plant.

As described above, according to the configuration of the present invention, since it is an isolated space such as a cabin of a ship or an underground space of a building or a plant, it is difficult to visually confirm the position of a person located in the space and communication and GPS signal reception A person in one space can be positioned.

Particularly, according to the configuration of the present invention, the information terminal is provided with a receiving element for receiving information to be transmitted by dimming of visible light in an illumination lamp disposed in the structure, and a lighting device is connected to the position confirmation server through a network The present invention can be embodied by the present invention. However, since most information terminals such as a smart phone have a LED light emitting element and a display functioning as a camera flash, a smart phone is required to have its own identification LED light emitting element The display can transmit the identification code by dimming of visible light, so there is no need to provide a separate light emitting element.

On the other hand, as a further feature of the present invention, each of the information terminals in the positioning system of the present invention further includes a receiving element for receiving information sent by dimming of visible light, information about the arrangement of each space in the structure, And each of the illumination lamps may further include a light source element for transmitting information corresponding to the identification code to each of the information terminals by dimming of visible light.

According to this configuration, the light source element such as the illumination transmits information corresponding to the identification code of the illumination or the like by dimming of the visible light, and the information terminal receives the information by the receiving element and transmits the identification code By matching the identification code of the illumination lamp or the like extracted and stored with the position of the illumination lamp in the structure, it is possible to specify in which space the information terminal is located in the structure.

Accordingly, the user of the information terminal can confirm through the information terminal the space in the structure.

The positioning according to the positioning system of the present invention can be realized by the positioning method of the present invention as follows.

The person entering the structure records the information about the arrangement of each space in the structure and the identification codes of the illumination lamps arranged in each space in the information terminal carried by the person.

In a specific situation, when each illumination light transmits the identification code by dimming of visible light through the light source element, each information terminal receives visible light from the light emitting element such as illumination through the image pickup element of the camera.

The identification code of the illumination lamp is extracted from the visible light received by each information terminal, the extracted identification code is matched with the information on the arrangement of each space in the structure and the identification codes of the illumination lamps, .

Thus, the user of the information terminal can confirm through the display of the information terminal that the user of the information terminal is located in the space in the structure.

The positioning system and the positioning method according to a further feature of the present invention are applied to a ship operating in the sea.

The internal space of the ship operating from the sea remote from the land can not receive the GPS signal, the mobile communication network on the land can not communicate, each space is clogged by the iron wall, connect.

If a crew member who is accustomed to the structure of the ship is aware of the position of the cabin in which the ship is located, and if the crew is in danger of sinking due to stranding, It is difficult for passengers who board the vessel to know the position of the cabin in which they are currently located on the vessel, although we know the escape route from the cabin to the deck.

In such a situation, if the position checking system of the present invention is provided on the ship, the operation person responsible for the ship, through the position check server, measures the illumination light of each space in the ship to transmit information on the identification code by dimming of visible light , The occupant can receive the information of the identification code from the illumination lamp of the place where he / she is located and confirm his / her position in the ship through the display of the information terminal and find the escape route to the deck.

The positioning system and method having the additional features of the present invention can be used not only for ships but also for vessels such as underground spaces and plants where the GPS signal can not be received and positioning by communication network is impossible Even inside the structure, a person staying in that space can still be applied and used to identify their location.

1,

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of a positioning system and a positioning method according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

Fig. 1 schematically shows a state in which a positioning system according to the present embodiment is implemented in a ship. As shown in the figure, the positioning system of the present embodiment includes a positioning server 10, an emergency light 20 disposed in each space in the ship, and an emergency light 20 connecting the positioning server 10 and the emergency light 20 And information terminals 40 that transmit and receive information by visible light to the power line network 30 and each emergency light 20,

The position check server 10 is a part of a central control computer 1 for controlling the ship's navigation equipment, various facilities and lights, and is disposed in the steering room 2 of the ship. Each of the cabin and the restaurant An emergency light 20 installed in a passageway between passenger compartments, a rest room, and the power line network 30 so that signals can be transmitted and received.

At the end of the power line network 30 is disposed a control module 31 for controlling the emergency lights 20 of the cabins arranged in each floor or a certain section in the ship, 2 to control the power supply to the emergency light 20 and the lighting at the time of an emergency and controls transmission and reception of information due to the demerit of visible light in the emergency light etc. under the control of the position check server 10 .

The location confirmation server 10 stores information for confirming the location of the ship. The location information includes arrangement information for a space in a ship including arrangement of a cabin and a passageway, information of a space allocated to each of the emergency lights 20 arranged in each space, And the identification code of the illumination or the like is recorded.

The location confirmation server 10 contains a source and an identification number of the information terminal 40 carried by a passenger boarding the ship. When registering the information terminal such as a smart phone at the time of check-in to a ship, a crew member or a passenger registers an information terminal having a function as a mobile phone such as a smart phone, registers the phone number, A separate identification number is assigned by the person in charge of boarding the ship, and the identification number is provided to the passenger.

When the information terminal of the passenger is a smart phone, the person in charge of boarding the ship records the phone number as the identification code together with the personal information of the passenger in the location confirmation server 10, and if the identification number is given, Include the passenger's personal information along with the number.

On the other hand, the crew and the passengers boarding the ship are connected to the position confirmation server 10 at the time of boarding the ship, and input information about the ship to their information terminal 40. The input information is the arrangement information of each space in the ship and the identification number of the emergency light 20 arranged in each space. This information is input to each information terminal 40 so that a passenger or a crew member is used to confirm his / her position in the ship in an emergency.

Next, a configuration in which the illumination lamp 20 and the information terminal 40 transmit and receive information will be described with reference to FIG. 2 showing a schematic configuration of each information terminal 40 and each illumination light 20.

The emergency lighting lamp 20 is disposed in the cabin and the passageway of the ship and lights up in an emergency state. Normally, the emergency lighting lamp 20 is controlled by the central control computer 1 in the power line network 30 ).

The emergency light 20 has an LED light source module 21 as a light source element and a photodiode module 22 as a visible light receiving element and controls them and these are connected to a control module 31 disposed at the end of the power line network 10 And transmits and receives signals.

The LED light source module 21 illuminates the position where the emergency light 20 is disposed when it is in an emergency state and the LED light source module 21 outputs a signal corresponding to the identification code under the control of the control module 31 And transmitted to the illumination area by OOK (On-Off Keying) by dimming of the LED element.

Each of the LED light source modules 21 is turned on and off according to a signal corresponding to the assigned identification code generated by the control module 31. However, since the on / The function as the illumination light source of the illumination lamp 20 is not affected.

As the information terminal 40, the smart phone has an LED light emitting element 41 used as a flash of a camera and an image sensor 42 as an image pickup element of a camera, and these are configured to function as a light source element and a receiver element, respectively .

The passengers and crews receive the space arrangement information of the ship from the position confirmation server 10 in the information terminal 40 held by the ship at the time of check-in to the ship, and receive and install the application program AP, This AP is mounted on the information terminal 40 and controls the operation so that the LED light emitting element 41 and the image sensor 42 function as a part of the positioning system, And an identification code of an illumination lamp, etc., on the display 43 of the information terminal 40. The display 43 of the information terminal 40 shown in Fig.

The LED light emitting element 41 is provided with a unique identification code of the information terminal 40 or an identification code stored in the information terminal 40 from the position check server 10 and is used for on- To the illumination area.

The display 43 other than the LED light emitting element 41 of the camera may be used as the light source element of the information terminal 40. [

The image sensor 42 of the information terminal receives the light from the LED light emitting element 41 such as an emergency light under the control of the AP and the AP mounted on the information terminal 40 extracts the signal by dimming from the received light And confirms the information contained in this signal.

The process of confirming the position of the passenger on the ship in accordance with the configuration of the positioning system of the present embodiment as described above will be described.

1. Check-in Step 1 - Identification of passengers' information terminals

In the case of an information terminal such as a telephone number or a tablet that does not have a telephone function, the identification code assigned by the person in charge of boarding the ship is assigned to the location where the passenger is carrying the smart phone while the passenger is boarding the vessel Save to the confirmation server. The location confirmation server 10 stores the identification code of the information terminal 40 of the passenger together with the personal information of the passenger described by the passenger at the time of check-in.

2. Check-in Step 2 - Ship Information Information Terminal

At the time of check-in, an application program for enabling identification of the user's position at the time of an emergency is issued along with identification or storage of the identification number in step S1, and the passenger is provided with a location confirmation server 10 Or downloads the application program through the mobile communication network provided on the land at the time of check-in and mounts the application program on the information terminal 40 of the user. When an identification code is assigned to the occupant's information terminal 40, the occupant inputs the identification code to the information terminal 40 when the application program is loaded.

The application program stores information about the layout of each space in the ship and the identification codes of the illumination lamps disposed in each space. The LED light emitting element 41 of the information terminal 40 displays the identification code As shown in FIG. The image sensor 42 of the information terminal 40 receives the light of the illumination lamp 20 when the LED light source module 21 of the illumination light 20 transmits its identification number by dimming of light emission, To extract the transmitted signal.

The application program extracts the identification code of the corresponding illumination lamp 20 from the signal received from the illumination lamp 20 and compares the space allocation information in the stored vessel with the identification code of the illumination lamp disposed in each space, The display 43 of the information terminal 40 operates the information terminal 40 to display the space where the illumination light 20 having the received identification code is arranged.

3. Information transmission phase of information terminal

When an emergency situation occurs on the ship or when the passenger is in danger in a state of being isolated from the space in the ship, the information terminal 40 operates the application program of the information terminal 40 carried by him, And is sent by dimming of visible light through the element 41. [

4. Information reception stage of emergency lights

The visible light from the LED light emitting element 41 of the information terminal 40 is incident on the photodiode module 22 of the illumination lamp 20 in the space where the passenger is located and the photodiode module 22 is turned on and off of the incident visible light Extracts the identification code of the information terminal 40 that emitted the visible light from the signal, and transmits it to the position check server 10 together with the information of the identification code of the illumination light.

5. Steps to verify the location server

The location confirmation server 10 receives the information transmitted from the emergency light 20 through the power line network 30 in the ship and specifies the space where the information is transmitted through the identification code of the received emergency light 20, The identification code of the terminal 40 is extracted and it is confirmed who is located in the space where the signal is transmitted.

Through this process, the passenger can not receive any signal or information from the outside, in which the information terminal 40 carried by him can grasp the information of the position of the space, Information about the user himself / herself and information about the space in which the user himself / herself is located can be transmitted to the person in charge of the ship who manages the location confirmation server 10.

Through the information transmitted to the location confirmation server 10, the flight manager can recognize that a specific passenger is in a dangerous situation or is isolated in a specific space, and by knowing in which space the passenger is located, And to take relief measures.

Next, a process of confirming the position of the passenger at the time of occurrence of an emergency situation on the ship according to the configuration of the positioning system of the present embodiment will be described.

The steps 1 and 2, which are the processes in which a passenger is given an identification code while boarding a ship and an application program is loaded on the information terminal 40, are the same as those described above, and therefore, a description thereof will be omitted.

3. Emergency lighting

In an emergency such as a ship stranded or a fire occurring on a ship, the ship's operation supervisor takes measures to emit the emergency light 20 disposed in each space of the ship through the central control computer 2. According to this measure, the positioning server 10 transmits each identification light through the power line network 30 to each of the emergency light lamps 20 by dimming the illumination light of the LED light source module 21 .

4. Information receiving step of the information terminal

When an emergency situation occurs on a ship and an emergency light 20 such as a cabin lights up, a passenger who is not seated in a cabin or the like and can not grasp his / her position in the ship can receive an application program of the information terminal 40 So that visible light from the LED light source module 21 of the emergency light 20 is incident on the image pickup device 42 of the information terminal.

5. Locations

The application program of the information terminal 40 extracts the identification code of the emergency lighting lamp 20 by the dimming from the received visible light and matches the extracted identification code with the identification codes of the emergency lights and the like arranged in each space in the ship, The emergency lighting lamp relating to one identification code is specified and information on the space in which the specified emergency lighting lamp is arranged together with the arrangement information of the space in the ship is displayed on the display 43. [

The passenger can check the space layout information in the ship and information on the space where the space is located from the display 43 of the information terminal and take measures such as finding an escape route from the space.

As described above, according to the configuration and operation of the present embodiment in which the positioning system and the positioning method of the present invention are applied to a ship, the passenger does not need to carry an information terminal having a configuration unique to the present invention, It is possible to receive the positioning system according to the present embodiment and the positioning service according to the positioning method by mounting only the application program required for the implementation of the present invention in the smartphone.

From the viewpoint of the ship's structure or facility, the ship also has a light receiving module such as a photodiode in each emergency light, and a light receiving module of information capable of extracting the dimming signal from the received light, The position determination system and method according to the present embodiment can be implemented by adding the control module 31 that can send and receive signals through the power line network 30 installed between the central control computer 20 and the central control computer 2 .

Particularly, in this embodiment, the same process as the identification code is given to the information terminal at the time of check-in of the passenger, but the personal information such as the name, address and telephone number of the passenger is provided in the check- Since such personal information must be maintained as a boarding record, such a procedure is not a troublesome procedure that must be separately performed for the positioning method according to the present embodiment.

Although the foregoing description of the embodiments has been provided with respect to the position confirmation on the ship, it may be applied to other fields by applying the same configuration or slight modifications and variations within the scope of the present invention.

For example, in order to confirm the position of a worker performing an operation in an iron plant space in which a GPS signal can not be received, communication with the outside is difficult, and short-range wireless communication in the inside is difficult, The configuration according to the confirmation system is provided in the information terminal of the plant and the worker, and the manager of the plant confirms the position of the worker through the position checking method according to the present embodiment, and the worker also confirms his / her position in the plant, Path and the like can be grasped.

While the present invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be the most practical embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but, on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

10: Position check server 20: Emergency light
30: Power line network 40: Information terminal

Claims (10)

1. A positioning system using visible light communication to identify locations of persons located in respective spaces within a structure having a plurality of spaces,
An information terminal equipped with a light emitting element which is held by each person, stores the identification code, and transmits the identification code by dimming of visible light;
An illuminating lamp provided in each of the spaces and illuminating the space, the illuminating lamp including an visible light receiving element each having an identification code and receiving the visible light emitted by the light emitting element of each information terminal; And
And information on the identification code of the illumination lamp is received from each of the illumination lamps, and the identification code of each illumination lamp and the information of the space in which the illumination lamp is arranged And an identification code of an information terminal possessed by each person is stored,
. ≪ / RTI > The method according to claim 1,
Each information terminal further includes a receiving element for receiving information transmitted by dimming of visible light, and information about the arrangement of each space in the structure and the identification numbers of the illumination lamps disposed in each space are recorded,
Wherein each of the illumination lamps further comprises a light source element for sending information corresponding to the identification code to each information terminal by dimming of visible light. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the light emitting element of each information terminal is a LED light emitting element or a display of a camera. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the receiving element of each information terminal is an image sensor of the camera. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the location confirmation server stores personal information of the holder of the information terminal matching the identification code of each information terminal. The system according to claim 1, wherein each information terminal stores information on a plurality of spaces of a structure in which the user of the information terminal is located, and an identification code of a lighting lamp disposed in each space. A positioning system according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the structure is a ship and the information terminal held by the occupants in order to ascertain the position of the occupants in the ship, And uses visible light communication. The positioning system according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the structure is a building or a plant, and each of the persons staying in the building or plant Visual communication between an information terminal and an illuminating lamp disposed in each space in the building or plant. Using visible light communication between an information terminal held by a person located in each space of the structure and an illuminated lamp placed in each space in the structure to confirm the position of people located in the structure having a plurality of spaces As a positioning method,
An illumination lamp provided in each space in the structure and having a visible light receiving element for receiving information transmitted by the information terminal by dimming of the visible light and having information about its own identification code, Providing a location confirmation server for receiving information transmitted through a network in a structure from an illumination light;
A step of assigning each identification code recognizable by the location confirmation server to the information terminal held by the people entering the space in the structure or storing each identification code of the information terminal in the location confirmation server;
Each of the information terminals sending the identification code by dimming of visible light through the light emitting element;
A step in which the visible light receiving element of the illumination lamp of the space where each information terminal is located receives the information of the identification code transmitted by the information terminal and the information of the identification code of the received information terminal and the identification code of the illumination lamp to the position check server ; And
The location confirmation server receives the information transmitted by each illumination light and identifies the person who holds the information terminal through the identification code of the information terminal by specifying the space where the information is transmitted through the identification code of the illumination light, Of the person is located in a specific space within the structure
/ RTI > The method of claim 9,
Each illumination lamp has a light source element for transmitting its identification code by dimming of visible light,
Storing information on the arrangement of each space in the structure and identification codes of the illumination lamps disposed in each space in each information terminal;
Each illumination light transmitting its identification code by dimming of visible light through a light source element;
Each of the information terminals receiving visible light from a light emitting element such as a lamp through an image pickup element of the camera; And
The identification code of the illumination lamp is extracted from the visible light received by each information terminal, the extracted identification code is matched with the information about the arrangement of each space in the structure and the identification codes of the illumination lamps, ≪ / RTI >
/ RTI >

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