WO2014102931A1

WO2014102931A1 - Positioning system, mobile station, and base station

Info

Publication number: WO2014102931A1
Application number: PCT/JP2012/083652
Authority: WO
Inventors: 和敏小林
Original assignee: 株式会社安川電機
Priority date: 2012-12-26
Filing date: 2012-12-26
Publication date: 2014-07-03
Also published as: JPWO2014102931A1

Abstract

A positioning system (100) is provided with: a plurality of base stations (1a, 1b, 1c, 1d) that transmit ultrasonic signals; and a mobile station (2) that includes a receiver (42) for receiving the ultrasonic signals transmitted from the base stations. The mobile station includes a position acquiring unit (51) that acquires at least a position of the mobile station on the basis of the ultrasonic signals transmitted from the base stations and received by means of the receiver.

Description

Positioning system, mobile station and base station

The present invention relates to a positioning system, a mobile station, and a base station.

Conventionally, a positioning system including a base station and a mobile terminal is known. Such a positioning system is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-281522.

The positioning system disclosed in JP 2008-281522 A includes a plurality of base stations, mobile terminals, and servers. The server and the base station are connected by a wireless LAN. The mobile terminal is configured to transmit radio signals (radio waves) to a plurality of base stations. Each of the plurality of base stations has a clock circuit and is configured to acquire the reception time of the radio signal transmitted from the mobile terminal. And a server calculates the distance between a mobile terminal and each base station based on the time (difference of the time which each base station received) which each base station received the radio signal transmitted from the mobile terminal At the same time, the position of the mobile terminal is calculated (acquired) based on the calculated distances between the plurality of base stations and the mobile terminal.

JP 2008-281522 A

However, the positioning system described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-281522 has a problem that the system configuration becomes complicated because a server is required as an essential component in addition to the base station and the mobile terminal. Further, in the positioning system described in the above Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-281522, based on the difference in time when each base station received a radio signal (radio wave) transmitted from the mobile terminal, the mobile terminal and each base station Since the distance between the mobile terminal and each base station is relatively close, the radio signal transmitted from the mobile terminal (the radio ) Is inconvenient in that it is difficult to detect the difference in time at which each base station has received. For this reason, there is a problem that it is difficult to accurately obtain the position of the mobile terminal.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-described problems, and one object of the present invention is to enable simplification of constituent elements and to increase the distance between a mobile station and a base station. To provide a positioning system, a mobile station, and a base station that can accurately acquire the position of a mobile station even when it is relatively close.

A positioning system according to a first aspect includes a plurality of base stations that transmit ultrasonic signals, and a mobile station that includes a receiver for receiving ultrasonic signals transmitted from the plurality of base stations. And a position acquisition unit that acquires at least the position of the mobile station based on ultrasonic signals transmitted from a plurality of base stations and received by a receiver.

In the positioning system according to the first aspect, as described above, the position acquisition unit that acquires at least the position of the mobile station based on the ultrasonic signals transmitted from the plurality of base stations and received by the receiver as described above. Is configured to include. Thereby, since the position of the mobile station is acquired by the mobile station itself, it is not necessary to separately provide a server for acquiring the position of the mobile station, so that the components of the system can be simplified. In addition, since the position of the mobile station is acquired based on the ultrasonic signals transmitted from a plurality of base stations and received by the receiver, the ultrasonic speed is slow compared to the radio wave speed. It is possible to detect a difference in time when the mobile station receives the ultrasonic signal transmitted from each base station. As a result, even when the distance between the mobile station and the base station is relatively short, the position of the mobile station can be obtained accurately.

The mobile station according to the second aspect is based on a receiver for receiving ultrasonic signals transmitted from a plurality of base stations and an ultrasonic signal transmitted from a plurality of base stations and received by the receiver. A position acquisition unit that acquires the position of the mobile station.

As described above, the mobile station according to the second aspect includes a position acquisition unit that acquires the position of the mobile station based on the ultrasonic signals transmitted from the plurality of base stations and received by the receiver. Thereby, since the position of the mobile station is acquired by the mobile station itself, it is not necessary to separately provide a server for acquiring the position of the mobile station, so that the components of the system can be simplified. In addition, since the position of the mobile station is acquired based on the ultrasonic signals transmitted from a plurality of base stations and received by the receiver, each ultrasonic wave is slower than the radio wave. It is possible to detect a difference in time when the mobile station receives the ultrasonic signal transmitted from the base station. As a result, it is possible to provide a mobile station that can accurately acquire the position of the mobile station even when the distance between the mobile station and the base station is relatively short.

The base station according to the third aspect is an ultrasonic signal in which a mobile station having a receiver for receiving ultrasonic signals transmitted from a plurality of base stations is transmitted from a plurality of base stations and received by the receiver. Based on the above, an ultrasonic signal capable of acquiring the position of the mobile station is transmitted.

In the base station according to the third aspect, as described above, the mobile station can acquire the position of the mobile station based on the ultrasonic signals transmitted from the plurality of base stations and received by the receiver. Send. Thereby, since the position of the mobile station is acquired by the mobile station itself, it is not necessary to separately provide a server for acquiring the position of the mobile station, so that the components of the system can be simplified. In addition, since the position of the mobile station is acquired based on the ultrasonic signals transmitted from a plurality of base stations and received by the receiver, the ultrasonic speed is slow compared to the radio wave speed. It is possible to detect a difference in time when the mobile station receives the ultrasonic signal transmitted from each base station. As a result, it is possible to provide a base station that transmits an ultrasonic signal capable of accurately acquiring the position of the mobile station even when the distance between the mobile station and the base station is relatively short.

According to the positioning system, mobile station, and base station, the components can be simplified, and the position of the mobile station can be accurately acquired even when the distance between the mobile station and the base station is relatively short. be able to.

It is the conceptual diagram which looked at the positioning system by 1st Embodiment from upper direction. 1 is a perspective view of a positioning system according to a first embodiment. It is a perspective view of the base station of the positioning system by 1st Embodiment. It is the perspective view which looked at the base station of FIG. 3 from a different direction. It is a block diagram of the base station of the positioning system by 1st Embodiment. It is the figure which looked at the mobile station main-body part of the positioning system by 1st Embodiment from the side. It is the figure which looked at the mobile station main-body part of the positioning system by 1st Embodiment from upper direction. It is a block diagram of the mobile station main-body part of the positioning system by 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the pattern of the ultrasonic signal transmitted from the base station of the positioning system by 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart for demonstrating operation | movement of the base station of the positioning system by 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the fixed-cycle interruption process of the base station of the positioning system by 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart for demonstrating a fixed period interruption for the pulse transmission of the ultrasonic transmission pattern of the base station of the positioning system by 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart for demonstrating operation | movement of the mobile station main-body part of the positioning system by 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the position estimation process of the mobile station main-body part of the positioning system by 1st Embodiment. It is a perspective view of the positioning system by 2nd Embodiment. It is the figure which looked at the mobile station main-body part of the positioning system by 2nd Embodiment from the side. It is a flowchart for demonstrating operation | movement of the mobile station main-body part of the positioning system by 2nd Embodiment. It is a flowchart for demonstrating operation | movement of the base station of the positioning system by 2nd Embodiment.

Hereinafter, embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings.

(First embodiment)
First, the configuration of the positioning system 100 according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the positioning system 100 according to the first embodiment includes four

base stations

1a, 1b, 1c and 1d (slave base stations) and a robot 2. The four base stations 1a to 1d are arranged at corners of a substantially rectangular region 200 in plan view. Further, the four base stations 1a to 1d are arranged at a height h2 from the floor surface that is larger than the height h1 from the floor surface of the robot 2. The four base stations 1a to 1d are connected to an Ethernet 4 via a switching hub 3. A master base station 1 e is connected to the switching hub 3. Here, in the first embodiment, the four base stations 1a to 1d are configured to transmit ultrasonic signals at the same time, and the time is periodically set among the five base stations 1a to 1e. Is configured to be performed. Specifically, the base stations 1a to 1e have a physical layer 22 (see FIG. 5) corresponding to IEEE 1588, which will be described later, and time adjustment is periodically performed between the base stations 1a to 1e according to the IEEE 1588 regulations. Is done. IEEE 1588 defines a protocol for synchronizing distributed clocks on the network. The robot 2 is an example of a “mobile station”. The Ethernet 4 is an example of a “network”.

As shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, the base stations 1a to 1d have a rectangular parallelepiped shape. Instrument slits 11a and 11b are provided. The

ultrasonic transmitter slits

11a and 11b are provided to expose a plurality (two in the first embodiment) of

ultrasonic transmitters

31a and 31b (see FIG. 5), respectively. Further, an LED slit 12 for exposing the LED 28 (see FIG. 5) is provided adjacent to the ultrasonic transmitter slit 11a. As shown in FIG. 4, a power supply terminal 13 and a terminal 14 to which the Ethernet 4 cable is connected are provided on the side opposite to the side where the LED slits 12 of the base stations 1a to 1d are provided. It has been. A screw hole 15 is provided on the lower surface of the base stations 1a to 1d.

As shown in FIG. 5, the base stations 1a to 1d include a CPU 21, a physical layer (PHY) 22, a communication ASIC 23, a memory 24, a dip switch (DIP SW) 25, two ultrasonic transmission circuits 26, two A transmitter 27, an LED 28, a serial port 29, and a temperature sensor 30 are provided. The physical layer 22 corresponds to IEEE 1588 and is connected to the CPU 21 via the communication ASIC 23. Further, the memory 24, the dip switch 25, the LED 28, the serial port 29, and the temperature sensor 30 are connected to the CPU 21. In the first embodiment, the LED 28 has a function of notifying the user whether or not the operations of the base stations 1a to 1d are appropriately performed. The two ultrasonic transmission circuits 26 are connected to the CPU 21. The ultrasonic transmitter circuit 26 and the transmitter 27 constitute an ultrasonic transmitter 31a (ultrasonic transmitter 31b). The LED 28 is an example of a “base station side notification unit”. The base station 1e as the master has the same configuration as the four base stations 1a to 1d, but is configured not to transmit an ultrasonic signal.

As shown in FIG. 1, the robot 2 includes a mobile station main body 41 provided with an ultrasonic receiver 42 to be described later. In the first embodiment, the mobile station body 41 (ultrasound receiver 42) is provided on the head 2 a of the robot 2.

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the mobile station body 41 is provided with a columnar base 41a and above the base 41a (in the direction of the arrow Z1), and a plurality of ultrasonic receivers 42 are arranged. An ultrasonic receiver placement unit 41b is included. The ultrasonic receiver arrangement portion 41b has a circular shape in plan view, and is formed so that the diameter gradually decreases after increasing in diameter upward (in the direction of arrow Z1) when viewed from the side. Has been. Further, the base portion 41a is provided with a wiring slit 41c into which a wiring (not shown) is inserted. The ultrasonic receiver 42 is an example of a “receiver”.

Here, in the first embodiment, the ultrasonic receiver 42 is configured to receive ultrasonic signals transmitted from the four base stations 1a to 1d. In addition, a plurality of ultrasonic receivers 42 (eight in the first embodiment) are provided. The eight ultrasonic receivers 42 are arranged on the upper surface of the ultrasonic receiver arrangement portion 41b at predetermined intervals (substantially equiangular (approximately 45 degrees) intervals) on the circumference. Further, the eight ultrasonic receivers 42 have reception surfaces 42a for receiving ultrasonic signals transmitted from the four base stations 1a to 1d, and the ultrasonic receiver 42 has the reception surfaces 42a facing obliquely upward. It is configured as follows. Further, the mobile station body 41 is provided with an LED slit 41d for exposing the LED 56 (see FIG. 8) so as to be adjacent to one of the eight ultrasonic receivers 42. ing.

As shown in FIG. 8, the mobile station body 41 includes a CPU 51, a memory 52, a DIP switch (DIP SW) 53, eight ultrasonic reception circuits 54, eight receivers 55, LEDs 56, a serial port 57, and A temperature sensor 58 is provided. The memory 52, DIP switch 53, LED 56, serial port 57, and temperature sensor 58 are connected to the CPU 51. In the first embodiment, the LED 56 has a function of notifying the user whether or not the operation of the mobile station body 41 (robot 2) is appropriately performed. Further, the eight ultrasonic wave reception circuits 54 are connected to the CPU 51. An ultrasonic receiver 42 is configured by the ultrasonic receiving circuit 54 and the receiver 55. The CPU 51 is an example of a “position acquisition unit”. The LED 56 is an example of a “mobile station side notification unit”.

Here, in the first embodiment, the robot 2 (the CPU 51 of the mobile station body 41) is based on the ultrasonic signals transmitted from the four base stations 1a to 1d and received by the eight ultrasonic receivers 42. The position and orientation of the robot 2 are acquired. Specifically, the robot 2 receives the 2 of the robot 2 based on the ultrasonic signals transmitted from the base stations 1a to 1d arranged at the four corners of the area 200 and received by the ultrasonic receiver 42. It is configured to acquire the position and orientation of the dimension (XY plane, see FIG. 2). In the first embodiment, the position (coordinates) in the Z direction of the robot 2 is known.

In the first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 9, the four base stations 1a to 1d are configured to transmit ultrasonic signals of different patterns (patterns 0 to 3 in FIG. 9), respectively. . As described above, the master base station 1e is configured not to transmit an ultrasonic signal. Further, the four ultrasonic signals form different patterns by making the time for generating the pulses different from each other. Then, the robot 2 (the CPU 51 of the mobile station body 41) transmits four base stations based on ultrasonic signals of different patterns transmitted from the four base stations 1a to 1d and received by the eight ultrasonic receivers 42. The time at the reception time of each of the ultrasonic signals transmitted from 1a to 1d is obtained. Specifically, the robot 2 preliminarily includes ultrasonic signal patterns for each of the four base stations 1a to 1d of the robot 2 (mobile station body 41) and ultrasonic signals received by the eight ultrasonic receivers 42. On the basis of the correlation with the pattern, the time at the reception time of each of the ultrasonic signals transmitted from the four base stations 1a to 1d is acquired. Further, the robot 2 is configured to acquire the position of the robot 2 based on the time difference at the reception time of each of the ultrasonic signals transmitted from the four base stations 1a to 1d. The robot 2 also includes an ultrasonic receiver 42 that first receives an ultrasonic signal among the eight ultrasonic receivers 42, and a base station 1 a that transmits the ultrasonic signal first received by the ultrasonic receiver 42. The direction of the robot 2 is acquired by specifying ~ 1d.

In the first embodiment, the robot 2 (the CPU 51 of the mobile station body 41) is based on the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 58 of the mobile station body 41 (or the temperature sensor 30 of the base stations 1a to 1d). The position of the robot 2 is acquired based on the ultrasonic signals transmitted from the four base stations 1a to 1d and received by the ultrasonic receiver 42 while correcting the sound speed.

Next, the operation of the positioning system 100 according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

First, the operation of the base stations 1a to 1e will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 10, in step S1, the base stations 1a to 1e are powered on. Next, in step S2, initialization processing (initial setting, Ethernet setting, timer setting, etc.) is performed. Specifically, in the initial setting, settings such as IEEE 1588 master and slave settings, IEEE 1588 synchronization timing, ultrasonic signal transmission pattern, and transmission timing are set. Further, at the time of initial setting, an ultrasonic transmission flag (a mark indicating whether or not ultrasonic transmission is being performed) is set to be stopped, and represents a carrier flag (whether or not a carrier wave is being generated). The mark) is set during stoppage. In the Ethernet setting, Ethernet communication setting (Ethernet packet reception interrupt), IEEE 1588 setting (fixed-cycle interrupt setting by the physical layer 22), and the like are performed. In addition, the timer setting includes generation of a carrier wave (for example, 40 kHz) of an ultrasonic signal, one periodic interrupt for synchronization, and one periodic interrupt for pulse transmission of an ultrasonic transmission pattern. Done for each. In step S3, an interrupt is permitted.

Next, in step S4, it is determined whether or not the ultrasonic transmission flag is stopped. If it is determined that the ultrasonic transmission flag is stopped, the process proceeds to step S5, where the ultrasonic transmission flag is set during operation. As a result, transmission of ultrasonic signals from the base stations 1a to 1d is started. Then, it progresses to step S6. If it is determined in step S4 that the ultrasonic transmission flag is not stopped, the process proceeds to step S6. In step S6, when the operation of the base stations 1a to 1e is not properly performed, the operation of the base stations 1a to 1e is inappropriate by turning on (or blinking, turning off, etc.) the LED 28. Is notified to the user. Then, it returns to step S4. In the normal operation, the operations in steps S4 to S6 are repeated.

Further, when an Ethernet packet reception interrupt occurs during the normal operation of the base stations 1a to 1e, if the packet received by the base stations 1a to 1e is an IEEE 1588 message, the processing of IEEE 1588 is performed. When the received packet is a packet of another protocol (such as ARP (Address Resolution Protocol), PING), processing according to the protocol is performed.

Next, the operation of the periodic interrupt processing for synchronization will be described with reference to FIG. The periodic interrupt processing for synchronization is performed periodically (for example, every 500 ms) during normal operation of the base stations 1a to 1e.

First, in step S11, it is determined whether or not the base station is a master (master or slave). If it is determined in step S11 that the base station is the master (ie, base station 1e), in step S12, the master base station 1e synchronizes the four slave base stations 1a to 1d. A message (time adjustment message) is sent. Thereby, time adjustment is performed between the base stations 1a to 1e. Then, the process proceeds to step S13. Note that if it is determined in step S11 that the base station is not the master (that is, the base stations 1a to 1d), the process proceeds to step S13.

In step S13, it is determined whether or not the ultrasonic transmission flag is operating. If it is determined in step S13 that the ultrasonic transmission flag is in operation, the process proceeds to step S14 to determine whether or not the carrier wave flag is stopped. If it is determined in step S14 that the carrier wave flag is stopped, the process proceeds to step S15 to start generation of the carrier wave, and in step S16, the pattern length counter is set to “0” (zero). In step S17, the pattern transmission number counter is set to “0” (zero). In step S18, the transmission pattern flag is set during generation. Thereafter, the operation of the periodic interrupt processing is terminated. Further, when it is determined in step S13 that the ultrasonic transmission flag is not in operation, and in step S14, it is also determined that the carrier wave flag is not stopped. .

Next, with reference to FIG. 12, the operation of the periodic interrupt processing for pulse transmission of the ultrasonic transmission pattern will be described. Note that the periodic interrupt processing for synchronization is performed periodically (for example, 200 μs) during the normal operation of the base stations 1a to 1e.

First, in step S61, it is determined whether a transmission pattern flag is being generated. If it is determined in step S61 that a transmission pattern flag is being generated, it is determined in step S62 whether or not the pattern length counter has reached the transmission pattern length. If it is determined in step S62 that the pattern length counter has reached the transmission pattern length, the process proceeds to step S63. If it is determined in step S62 that the pattern length counter has not reached the transmission pattern length, it is determined in step S64a whether it is time for the pattern length counter to generate a pulse. If it is determined in step S64a that the pattern length counter is to generate a pulse, the process proceeds to step S64b to start ultrasonic transmission from the ultrasonic transmitter 31a (ultrasonic transmitter 31b), and in step S64d. Proceed to If it is determined in step S64a that it is not the timing for the pattern length counter to generate a pulse, the process proceeds to step S64c to stop ultrasonic transmission from the ultrasonic transmitter 31a (ultrasonic transmitter 31b). Proceed to S64d. In step S64d, the pattern length counter is set by adding “1”. Thereafter, the operation of the periodic interrupt processing is terminated. In step S61, also when it is determined that the portable transmission pattern flag is not being generated, the operation of the periodic interrupt processing is ended.

In step S63, it is determined whether or not the pattern transmission number counter has reached a predetermined number of times. If it is determined in step S63 that the pattern transmission number counter has reached a predetermined number of times, the process proceeds to step S65, and the generation of the carrier wave is stopped. In step S66, the transmission pattern flag is stopped. Is set. Thereafter, the operation of the periodic interrupt processing is terminated. If it is determined in step S63 that the pattern transmission number counter has not reached the predetermined number of times, the process proceeds to step S67 and the pattern length counter is set to “0” (zero). In step S68, the pattern transmission number counter is set by adding “1”. Thereafter, the operation of the periodic interrupt processing is terminated.

Next, the operation of the robot 2 (mobile station main body 41) will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 13, in step S21, the mobile station body 41 is powered on. Next, in step S22, initialization processing (initial setting, serial setting, timer setting, etc.) is performed. At the time of initial setting, the reception flag (a mark indicating that reception of an ultrasonic signal having a predetermined pattern length (see FIG. 9) has been completed) is set to incomplete, and the position estimation status (position estimation processing is performed). The state of whether or not it is being performed) is set during standby. In the serial setting, serial communication is set. The timer setting is set to a sampling cycle (for example, 20 kHz) for receiving an ultrasonic signal. In step S23, an interrupt is permitted. Thereafter, reception processing of ultrasonic signals transmitted from the base stations 1a to 1d is started.

Next, in step S24, it is determined whether or not the reception flag is set to complete (whether or not the reception of the ultrasonic signal shown in FIG. 9 is completed). If it is determined in step S24 that the reception flag has been set to completion, the process proceeds to step S25, in which it is determined whether the position estimation status is on standby. If it is determined in step S25 that the position estimation status is standby, the process proceeds to step S26, where the position estimation status is set in the correlation calculation process. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S27. In addition, if it is determined in step S24 that the reception flag is not set to complete, or if it is determined in step S25 that the position estimation status is not in standby, the process proceeds to step S27. In step S27, serial communication processing is performed.

Next, in step S28, a process (details will be described later) for estimating (acquiring) the position and orientation of the robot 2 (mobile station body 41) is performed. In step S29, when the operation of the robot 2 (mobile station main body 41) is not properly performed, the LED 56 is turned on (or blinking, turned off, etc.), so that the operation of the mobile station main body 41 is performed. The user is informed that it is inappropriate. Thereafter, the process returns to step S24. During normal operation, the operations from step S24 to step S29 are repeated.

Next, with reference to FIG. 14, the process of estimating (acquiring) the position and orientation of the robot 2 (mobile station body 41) (the operation in step S28, see FIG. 13) will be described.

First, in step S31, it is determined whether or not the position estimation status is on standby. If it is determined in step S31 that the position estimation status is standby, the position estimation process ends. If it is determined in step S31 that the position estimation status is not waiting (correlation calculation process, see step S26), the process proceeds to step S32. In step S32, it is determined whether or not the position estimation status is correlation calculation processing. If it is determined in step S32 that the position estimation status is the correlation calculation process, the correlation calculation process is executed in step S32a. Specifically, the calculation processing of the correlation between the ultrasonic signal pattern for each of the base stations 1a to 1d of the mobile station body 41 in advance and the ultrasonic signal pattern received by the ultrasonic receiver 42 is performed. Is called. Thereafter, in step S32b, the position estimation status is set in the positioning preparation process, and the position estimation process is terminated. Thereafter, the operation of step S29 shown in FIG. 13 is performed.

Thereafter, when the position estimation process is called again in step S28 shown in FIG. 13, it is determined in step S33 whether or not the position estimation status is the positioning preparation process via steps S31 and S32. The If it is determined in step S33 that the position estimation status is the positioning preparation process, the positioning preparation process is executed in step S33a. Thereafter, in step S33b, the position estimation status is set to the positioning process, and the position estimation process is terminated. Thereafter, the operation of step S29 shown in FIG. 13 is performed.

Thereafter, when the position estimation process is called again in step S28 shown in FIG. 13, it is determined whether or not the position estimation status is the positioning process in step S34 via steps S31 to S33. . If it is determined in step S34 that the position estimation status is positioning processing, positioning processing is executed in step S34a. Then, estimation (acquisition) of the position and orientation of the robot 2 (mobile station main body 41) is performed. Specifically, the position of the mobile station main body 41 is acquired by the TDOA (Time Difference of Arrival) method based on the time difference at the time of reception of the ultrasonic signals transmitted from the base stations 1a to 1d. The More specifically, the mobile station body 41 and each of the base stations 1a to 1d are calculated based on the time difference at the time of reception of the ultrasonic signals transmitted from the base stations 1a to 1d and the sound speed of the ultrasonic waves. The difference in distance between them is required. Further, among the eight ultrasonic receivers 42, the ultrasonic receiver 42 that first receives the ultrasonic signal and the base stations 1a to 1d that transmitted the ultrasonic signal first received by the ultrasonic receiver 42 are provided. In addition to being specified, the relationship (angle) between the position of the specified mobile station main body 41 (the position of the mobile station main body 41 acquired by the TDOA method) and the positions (coordinates) of the base stations 1a to 1d previously held Thus, the orientation of the robot 2 is acquired.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 1, from the relationship between the reference point O of the area 200 (for example, the coordinates of the base station 1a) and the position of the mobile station main body 41, the mobile station main body 41 is moved from the reference point O. The viewed angle α is calculated. Also, an angle β when the base station (for example, the base station 1d) that transmitted the ultrasonic signal first received by the ultrasonic receiver 42 when viewed from the mobile station body 41 is calculated. Furthermore, based on the difference in time at which the ultrasonic signals are received by the ultrasonic receivers 42 of the mobile station main body 41, the base station (for example, for example, transmitting the ultrasonic signal received by the ultrasonic receiver 42) The arrival angle γ (angle of the base station 1d with respect to the front direction of the mobile station body 41) of the ultrasonic signal transmitted from the base station 1d) is calculated. Then, the orientation of the mobile station main body 41 is calculated as the sum of three angles α, β, and γ. Thereafter, in step S34b, the position estimation status is set in the temperature acquisition preparation process, and the position estimation process is terminated. Thereafter, the operation of step S29 shown in FIG. 13 is performed.

Thereafter, when the position estimation process is called again in step S28 shown in FIG. 13, it is determined in step S35 whether or not the position estimation status is a temperature acquisition preparation process via steps S31 to S34. Is done. When it is determined in step S35 that the position estimation status is the temperature acquisition preparation process, the temperature acquisition preparation process is executed in step S35a. Thereafter, in step S35b, the position estimation status is set to the temperature acquisition process, and the position estimation process is terminated. Thereafter, the operation of step S29 shown in FIG. 13 is performed.

Thereafter, when the position estimation process is called again in step S28 shown in FIG. 13, it is determined in step S36 whether or not the position estimation status is a temperature acquisition process via steps S31 to S35. The If it is determined in step S36 that the position estimation status is the temperature acquisition process, the temperature acquisition process is executed in step S36a. Thereafter, in step S36b, the position estimation status is set to the sound speed calculation process, and the position estimation process is terminated. Thereafter, the operation of step S29 shown in FIG. 13 is performed.

Thereafter, when the position estimation process is called again in step S28 shown in FIG. 13, it is determined in step S37 whether or not the position estimation status is the sound speed calculation process via steps S31 to S36. The If it is determined in step S37 that the position estimation status is sound speed calculation processing, sound speed calculation processing is executed in step S37a. Thereafter, in step S37b, the position estimation status is set to standby, and in step S37c, the reception flag is set to incomplete. In step S37d, the ultrasonic signal reception process is resumed. Thereafter, the position estimation process is terminated. If it is determined in step S37 that the position estimation status is not the sound speed calculation process, the process proceeds to step S38 and error processing is performed.

In the first embodiment, as described above, the robot 2 (the CPU 51 of the mobile station body 41) is based on the ultrasonic signals transmitted from the plurality of base stations 1a to 1d and received by the ultrasonic receiver 42. The position of the robot 2 is acquired. Thereby, since the position of the robot 2 is acquired by the robot 2 itself, it is not necessary to separately provide a server for acquiring the position of the robot 2, so that the components of the system can be simplified. Further, since the position of the robot 2 is acquired based on the ultrasonic signals transmitted from the plurality of base stations 1a to 1d and received by the ultrasonic receiver 42, the ultrasonic velocity is higher than the radio wave velocity. The difference in time when the robot 2 (mobile station main body 41) receives the ultrasonic signals transmitted from the respective base stations 1a to 1d can be easily detected. As a result, even when the distance between the robot 2 and the base stations 1a to 1d is relatively short, the position of the robot 2 can be accurately acquired.

In the first embodiment, as described above, the robot 2 (the CPU 51 of the mobile station body 41) transmits the ultrasonic waves transmitted from the plurality of base stations 1a to 1d and received by the plurality of ultrasonic receivers 42. Based on the signal, the position and orientation of the robot 2 are obtained. Thereby, in addition to the position of the robot 2, the orientation of the robot 2 is also acquired. Therefore, when the robot 2 is moving, the direction in which the robot 2 is moving can also be acquired.

In the first embodiment, as described above, a plurality of ultrasonic receivers 42 are arranged on the circumference at predetermined intervals (substantially equiangular intervals), and the robot 2 (the CPU 51 of the mobile station body 41). The position and orientation of the robot 2 are acquired based on the ultrasonic signals transmitted from the plurality of base stations 1a to 1d and received by the ultrasonic receivers 42 arranged on the circumference at substantially equal angular intervals. To be configured. As a result, an ultrasonic signal can be received by the ultrasonic receivers 42 arranged at substantially equal angular intervals on the circumference, regardless of which direction the robot 2 is facing.

In the first embodiment, as described above, among the plurality of ultrasonic receivers 42, the ultrasonic receiver 42 that first receives an ultrasonic signal and the ultrasonic wave that the ultrasonic receiver 42 first receives. The robot 2 (the CPU 51 of the mobile station main body 41) is configured to acquire the orientation of the robot 2 by specifying the base stations 1a to 1d that transmitted the signals. Thereby, the orientation of the robot 2 can be easily acquired from the relationship between the position of the base stations 1a to 1d that transmitted the ultrasonic signal first received by the ultrasonic receiver 42 and the position of the robot 2. .

In the first embodiment, as described above, the plurality of base stations 1a to 1d are arranged at positions higher than the positions at which the plurality of ultrasonic receivers 42 are arranged. Then, the plurality of ultrasonic receivers 42 are configured to have reception surfaces 42a for receiving ultrasonic signals transmitted from the plurality of base stations 1a to 1d, and the ultrasonic receiver 42 is configured so that the reception surface 42a has the reception surfaces 42a. It is configured to face diagonally upward. This makes it easier for the ultrasonic receiver 42 to receive ultrasonic signals transmitted from the plurality of base stations 1a to 1d installed at high positions, so that the position of the robot 2 can be easily acquired.

In the first embodiment, as described above, the plurality of base stations 1a to 1d are configured to transmit ultrasonic signals having different patterns, and the robot 2 (the CPU 51 of the mobile station body 41). Of the ultrasonic signals transmitted from the plurality of base stations 1a to 1d based on the ultrasonic signals of different patterns transmitted from the plurality of base stations 1a to 1d and received by the plurality of ultrasonic receivers 42. The time at the time of reception is configured to be acquired. Thereby, even when there are a plurality of base stations 1a to 1d, it is possible to easily identify the individual base stations 1a to 1d that have transmitted the ultrasonic signals.

In the first embodiment, as described above, the robot 2 (the CPU 51 of the mobile station main body 41) makes the difference in time at the reception time of each of the ultrasonic signals transmitted from the plurality of base stations 1a to 1d. Based on this, the position of the robot 2 is obtained. Thereby, the position of the robot 2 can be easily acquired by a TDOA (Time Difference of Arrival) method.

Further, in the first embodiment, as described above, the robot 2 (the CPU 51 of the mobile station main body 41) performs the ultrasonic signal pattern for each of the plurality of base stations 1a to 1d included in the robot 2 and a plurality of super Based on the correlation between the ultrasonic signal patterns received by the acoustic wave receiver 42, the time at the reception time of each of the ultrasonic signals transmitted from the plurality of base stations 1a to 1d is obtained. As a result, the ultrasonic signal pattern of each of the plurality of base stations 1a to 1d previously possessed by the robot 2 and the pattern of the ultrasonic signal received by the plurality of ultrasonic receivers 42 can be easily detected. The individual base stations 1a to 1d that have transmitted the sound wave signals can be identified.

In the first embodiment, as described above, four base stations 1a to 1d are provided, and each of the four base stations 1a to 1d is arranged at a corner of the approximately rectangular region 200. Based on the ultrasonic signals transmitted from the base stations 1a to 1d arranged at the four corners and received by the ultrasonic receiver 42, the robot 2 ( The CPU 51) of the mobile station body 41 is configured. As a result, even when there is a shield that shields the ultrasonic signal between one of the four base stations 1a to 1d and the robot 2, the ultrasonic signals transmitted from the remaining three base stations. Based on the above, the position of the robot 2 can be acquired.

In the first embodiment, as described above, the plurality of base stations 1a to 1d are configured to transmit ultrasonic signals at the same time, and are connected to the Ethernet 4 so that the plurality of base stations 1a to 1e are connected. It is configured to perform time adjustment periodically. As a result, it is possible to prevent the position of the robot 2 from being accurately acquired due to the time difference between the plurality of base stations 1a to 1e.

In the first embodiment, as described above, a plurality of ultrasonic receivers 42 are provided in the robot 2, and the robot 2 (the CPU 51 of the mobile station body 41) is transmitted from the plurality of base stations 1a to 1d. Based on the ultrasonic signals received by the plurality of ultrasonic receivers 42, the position and orientation of the robot 2 are acquired. Thereby, the position and orientation of the robot 2 can be easily acquired.

In the first embodiment, as described above, the plurality of ultrasonic receivers 42 are provided on the head 2 a of the robot 2. Thereby, it is possible to easily receive ultrasonic signals from the plurality of base stations 1a to 1d arranged at positions higher than the positions where the plurality of ultrasonic receivers 42 are arranged.

In the first embodiment, as described above, the base stations 1a to 1d are configured to include the LED 28 for notifying the user whether or not the operations of the base stations 1a to 1d are appropriately performed. . Thereby, it is possible to easily notify the user of the malfunction of the base stations 1a to 1d.

In the first embodiment, as described above, the mobile station body 41 is configured to include the LED 56 for notifying the user whether or not the operation of the mobile station body 41 is appropriately performed. . Thereby, it is possible to easily notify the user of the malfunction of the mobile station main body 41.

In the first embodiment, as described above, the temperature sensor 58 that detects the temperature in the region 200 is provided in the region 200 where the position of the robot 2 is acquired, and based on the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 58. Thus, the speed of sound is corrected, and the position of the robot 2 is acquired based on the ultrasonic signals transmitted from the plurality of base stations 1a to 1d and received by the ultrasonic receiver 42. Thereby, even when the temperature in the region 200 where the position of the robot 2 is acquired changes, the position of the robot 2 can be acquired accurately.

(Second Embodiment)
Next, with reference to FIG. 15 and FIG. 16, the structure of the positioning system 101 by 2nd Embodiment is demonstrated. In the second embodiment, when the robot 61 is moved to the region 200 where the position of the robot 61 is acquired, transmission of ultrasonic signals from the base stations 1a to 1d is started. . The robot 61 is an example of a “mobile station”.

As shown in FIG. 15, the positioning system 101 according to the second embodiment is connected to the base station 1a to 1d via the switching hub 3 and the server 62, and the position of the robot 61 is acquired. And a radio receiver 63 provided in the area 200 (in the area surrounded by a dotted line in FIG. 15). Further, as shown in FIG. 16, the robot 61 (mobile station main body 61 a) includes a transmission unit 64 for transmitting a signal to the radio receiver 63. Then, the server 62 determines that the robot 61 has been moved into the region 200 where the position of the robot 61 is acquired based on the reception of the signal transmitted from the robot 61 by the wireless receiver 63. It is configured to start transmission of ultrasonic signals from the base stations 1a to 1d. The robot 61 is configured to acquire the position of the robot 61 based on the ultrasonic signals transmitted from the base stations 1a to 1d and received by the ultrasonic receiver 42.

Next, the operation of the positioning system 101 (server 62, robot 61) according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 17 and FIG.

First, in step S41 shown in FIG. 17, when the robot 61 is located outside the area 200 (outside the area surrounded by the dotted line in FIG. 15) (position A of the robot 61 in FIG. 15), the robot 61 The robot can be used by methods such as odometry (estimating the current position of the robot 61 from the rotation angle of the tire provided on the robot 61) and environment recognition technology (estimating the current position of the robot 61 from the images of the floor and ceiling taken by the camera). The position 61 is moved while being estimated (acquired). In this state, transmission of ultrasonic signals from the base stations 1a to 1d is stopped. When the robot 61 reaches the area 200, in step S42, the operation start signal of the positioning system 101 (and the ID of the robot 61) is transmitted from the transmission unit 64 of the robot 61.

Then, in step S51 shown in FIG. 18, the server 62 determines whether or not the wireless receiver 63 has received a signal transmitted from the transmission unit 64 of the robot 61. If it is determined in step S51 that a signal has been received (when the robot 61 has reached position B in FIG. 15), transmission of ultrasonic signals from the base stations 1a to 1d is started in step S52. The

Next, in step S43 shown in FIG. 17, the robot 61 receives the position and orientation of the robot 61 based on the ultrasonic signals transmitted from the base stations 1a to 1d and received by the ultrasonic receiver 42. Moved. In step S44, it is determined whether or not the robot 61 has reached the target point (position C in FIG. 15). If it is determined in step S44 that the robot 61 has reached the target point, in step S45, a signal requesting stop of the positioning system 101 (stop of transmission of ultrasonic signals from the base stations 1a to 1d) ( And the ID of the robot 61) are transmitted from the transmitter 64.

Next, in step S53 shown in FIG. 18, it is determined whether or not the stop signal of the positioning system 101 transmitted from the transmission unit 64 has been received. If it is determined in step S53 that a stop signal for the positioning system 101 has been received, transmission of ultrasonic signals from the base stations 1a to 1d is stopped in step S54.

In the second embodiment, as described above, when the server 62 connected to the plurality of base stations 1a to 1d is provided and the robot 61 is moved to the area 200 where the position of the robot 61 is acquired, The server 62 is configured to start transmission of ultrasonic signals from the stations 1a to 1d, and the robot 61 (the CPU 51 of the mobile station body 41) transmits ultrasonic waves from a plurality of base stations 1a to 1d. The position of the robot 61 is acquired based on the ultrasonic signal received by the device 42. As a result, in areas other than the area 200 where the position of the robot 61 is acquired, transmission of ultrasonic signals from the base stations 1a to 1d is stopped, so that the burden on the server 62 and the base stations 1a to 1d can be reduced. Can do.

In the second embodiment, as described above, the wireless receiver 63 that is connected to the server 62 and is provided in the region 200 where the position of the robot 61 is obtained is provided, and the robot 61 is connected to the wireless receiver 63. A transmission unit 64 for transmitting a signal is included. Further, based on the fact that the signal transmitted from the robot 61 is received by the wireless receiver 63, the robot 61 determines that the position of the robot 61 is moved into the area 200 where the position of the robot 61 is acquired, and the base stations 1a to 1 The server 62 is configured to start transmission of the ultrasonic signal from 1d. Thereby, it can be easily determined that the robot 61 has been moved into the region 200 where the position of the robot 61 is acquired.

In addition, it should be thought that embodiment disclosed this time is an illustration and restrictive at no points. The scope of the present invention is shown not by the above description of the embodiments but by the scope of claims for patent, and further includes all modifications within the meaning and scope equivalent to the scope of claims for patent.

For example, in the first and second embodiments described above, an example in which the robot acquires the position and orientation of the robot has been described. However, for example, the robot may acquire only the position of the robot.

In the first and second embodiments, an example is shown in which the robot is provided with eight ultrasonic receivers. However, for example, the robot may be provided with a plurality of ultrasonic receivers other than eight. .

In the first and second embodiments, the ultrasonic receiver that first receives the ultrasonic signal and the base station that transmitted the ultrasonic signal that was first received by the ultrasonic receiver are specified and specified. In the above example, the orientation of the robot is acquired based on the relationship (angle) between the base station and the robot (mobile station body). For example, the difference in time at which each ultrasonic receiver receives the ultrasonic wave. Alternatively, the orientation of the robot may be acquired based on the intensity of the received ultrasonic signal, or the orientation of the robot may be acquired by combining these (angle, time difference, intensity).

In the first and second embodiments, the example in which the plurality of base stations are arranged at positions higher than the positions at which the plurality of receivers are arranged has been described. And the height of the plurality of receivers may be the same.

In the first and second embodiments, an example in which two ultrasonic transmitters are provided in the base station has been described. However, it is sufficient that at least one ultrasonic transmitter is provided.

In the first and second embodiments, an example is shown in which four

base stations

1a, 1b, 1c and 1d (slave base stations) and a master base station 1e are provided. As a master, the base station 1e may not be installed.

In the first and second embodiments, the example in which the four base stations 1a to 1d are arranged at the four corners of the substantially rectangular region has been described. For example, the region having a shape other than the substantially rectangular shape is used. A base station may be arranged at the location. That is, according to the arrangement of the base stations, a region in which the mobile station body (ultrasonic receiver) can receive the ultrasonic signals of the base station may be set as an area. Further, the base station may be arranged in a region other than the corners of the region. For example, each base station may be arranged on the side of a substantially triangular area.

In the first and second embodiments, an example in which four base stations are provided has been described. However, for example, three base stations may be provided to acquire the two-dimensional position of the robot.

In the first and second embodiments, the example in which the two-dimensional coordinates of the robot are acquired based on the ultrasonic signals transmitted from the four base stations has been described. For example, the transmission is performed from the four base stations. The three-dimensional coordinates of the robot may be acquired on the basis of the ultrasonic signal.

In the first and second embodiments, the mobile station body (ultrasonic receiver) is provided in the robot. However, for example, the mobile station body (ultrasonic receiver) is connected to a mobile terminal, etc. You may provide in apparatuses other than a robot.

In the second embodiment, one robot moves into an area where the position of the robot is acquired, and stops transmitting ultrasonic signals from the base station when the robot moves to a target point. Although an example has been shown, for example, a plurality of robots may be configured to move within an area where the position of the robot is acquired. In this case, it is preferable that the transmission of the ultrasonic signal from the base station is not stopped even when one robot moves to the target point.

In the second embodiment, the example in which the server is configured to stop the transmission of the ultrasonic signal from the base station when the robot moves to the target point has been described. The server may be configured to stop the transmission of the ultrasonic signal after a predetermined time has elapsed since the start of.

Moreover, in the said 2nd Embodiment, the example which the transmission of an ultrasonic signal is started based on the wireless receiver connected to a server having received the signal transmitted from the transmission part provided in a robot is shown. However, for example, an ultrasonic receiver is provided in the base station, an ultrasonic transmitter is provided in the robot, and an ultrasonic signal transmitted by the robot is received by the base station ultrasonic receiver. Transmission of an ultrasonic signal from the station may be started.

In the second embodiment, when the robot reaches the area, an example in which the operation start signal of the positioning system is transmitted from the transmission unit of the robot is shown. However, for example, when the robot reaches the area, And when an ultrasonic signal cannot be received, you may comprise so that the signal of the operation start of a positioning system may be transmitted from the transmission part of a robot.

1a, 1b, 1c,

1d Base station

2, 61 Robot (mobile station)
2a Head 4 Ethernet (network)
28 LED (base station side notification unit)
42 Ultrasonic receiver (receiver)
42a Reception surface 51 CPU (position acquisition unit)
56 LED (mobile station side notification unit)
58 Temperature sensor 62 Server 63 Wireless receiver 64

Transmitter

100, 101 Positioning system 200 Area

Claims

A plurality of base stations transmitting ultrasonic signals;
A mobile station including a receiver for receiving the ultrasonic signals transmitted from the plurality of base stations,
The positioning system includes a position acquisition unit that acquires at least a position of the mobile station based on the ultrasonic signals transmitted from the plurality of base stations and received by the receiver.
A plurality of the receivers are provided,
The mobile station position acquisition unit is configured to acquire the position and orientation of the mobile station based on the ultrasonic signals transmitted from the plurality of base stations and received by the plurality of receivers. The positioning system according to claim 1.
The plurality of receivers are arranged at predetermined intervals on the circumference, and the position acquisition unit of the mobile station is transmitted from the plurality of base stations and arranged at predetermined intervals on the circumference. The positioning system according to claim 2, wherein the positioning system is configured to acquire the position and orientation of the mobile station based on the ultrasonic signal received by the mobile station.
The position acquisition unit of the mobile station specifies a receiver that first receives an ultrasonic signal among the plurality of receivers, and a base station that transmits the ultrasonic signal first received by the receiver. The positioning system according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the positioning system is configured to acquire an orientation of the mobile station.
The plurality of base stations are arranged at a position higher than a position where the plurality of receivers are arranged,
The plurality of receivers have a receiving surface for receiving the ultrasonic signals transmitted from the plurality of base stations,
The positioning system according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the receiver is configured such that the reception surface faces obliquely upward.
Each of the plurality of base stations is configured to transmit ultrasonic signals of different patterns,
The position acquisition unit of the mobile station transmits the ultrasonic signals transmitted from the plurality of base stations based on the ultrasonic signals of the different patterns transmitted from the plurality of base stations and received by the plurality of receivers. The positioning system according to any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein the positioning system is configured to acquire a time at each reception time.
The position acquisition unit of the mobile station is configured to acquire the position of the mobile station based on a time difference at each reception time of the ultrasonic signals transmitted from the plurality of base stations. The positioning system according to claim 6.
The position acquisition unit of the mobile station is preliminarily based on a correlation between an ultrasonic signal pattern for each of the plurality of base stations included in the mobile station and an ultrasonic signal pattern received by the plurality of receivers. The positioning system according to claim 6, wherein the positioning system is configured to acquire a time at each reception time point of the ultrasonic signals transmitted from the plurality of base stations.
The plurality of base stations includes at least three base stations;
The position acquisition unit of the mobile station is configured to acquire a two-dimensional position of the mobile station based on the ultrasonic signal transmitted from the at least three base stations and received by the receiver. The positioning system according to any one of claims 1 to 8.
Four base stations are provided, and each of the four base stations is disposed at a corner of a substantially rectangular area,
The position acquisition unit of the mobile station acquires a two-dimensional position of the mobile station based on the ultrasonic signals transmitted from the base stations arranged at the four corners and received by the receiver The positioning system according to claim 9, wherein the positioning system is configured to.
The plurality of base stations are configured to transmit the ultrasonic signals at the same time, and are connected to a network so that time adjustment is periodically performed between the plurality of base stations. The positioning system according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the positioning system is configured.
The mobile station has a robot,
A plurality of the receivers are provided,
The robot is configured to acquire the position and orientation of the robot based on the ultrasonic signals transmitted from the plurality of base stations and received by the plurality of receivers. The positioning system according to any one of 1 to 11.
The positioning system according to claim 12, wherein the plurality of receivers are provided on a head of the robot.
A server connected to the plurality of base stations;
The server starts transmission of the ultrasonic signal from the base station when the mobile station is moved to an area where the position of the mobile station is acquired, and the mobile station The positioning according to any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein the positioning is configured to acquire a position of the mobile station based on the ultrasonic signal transmitted from a base station and received by the receiver. system.
A radio receiver connected to the server and provided in an area where the location of the mobile station is obtained;
The mobile station includes a transmission unit for transmitting a signal to the wireless receiver,
The server determines that the mobile station has been moved into an area where the position of the mobile station is obtained based on the fact that a signal transmitted from the mobile station is received by the wireless receiver; The positioning system according to claim 14, wherein the positioning system is configured to start transmission of an ultrasonic signal from the base station.
The positioning system according to any one of claims 1 to 15, wherein the base station includes a base station side notifying unit for notifying a user whether or not the operation of the base station is appropriately performed.
The positioning system according to any one of claims 1 to 16, wherein the mobile station includes a mobile station side notification unit for notifying a user whether or not the operation of the mobile station is appropriately performed.
A temperature sensor provided in an area where the position of the mobile station is acquired, and detecting a temperature in the area;
The mobile station corrects the sound speed based on the temperature detected by the temperature sensor, and based on the ultrasonic signal transmitted from the plurality of base stations and received by the receiver, The positioning system according to any one of claims 1 to 17, wherein the positioning system is configured to acquire the position of the position.
A receiver for receiving ultrasonic signals transmitted from a plurality of base stations;
A mobile station comprising: a position acquisition unit that acquires the position of the mobile station based on the ultrasonic signals transmitted from the plurality of base stations and received by the receiver.
A mobile station having a receiver for receiving ultrasonic signals transmitted from a plurality of base stations, based on the ultrasonic signals transmitted from the plurality of base stations and received by the receiver A base station that transmits the ultrasonic signal capable of acquiring the position of the station.